Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924062544832 3 1924 062 544 832 Production Note Cornell University Library produced this volume to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. It was scanned using Xerox software and equipment at 600 dots per inch resolution and compressed prior to storage using CCITT Group 4 compression. The digital data were used to create Cornell's replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39. 48-1984. The production of this volume was supported in part by the Commission on Preservation and Access and the Xerox Corporation. 1992. BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OP Henrg W, Sage Z891 ..A/itP../..^,. ^^/f.;/.,. LIGHT RAILWAYS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM, INDIA, AND THE COLONIES LIGHT RAILWAYS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM, INDIA, AND THE COLONIES A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK SETTING FORTH THE PRINCIPLES ON WHICH LIGHT RAILWAYS SHOULD BE CONSTRUCTED, WORKED, AND FINANCED AND DETAILING THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT, REVENUE, AND WORKING EXPENSES OF LOCAL RAILWAYS ALREADY ESTABLISHED IN THE ABOVE-MENTIONED COUNTRIES, AND IN BELGIUM, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, ETC. BY JOHN CHARLES MACKAY F.G.S. A.M.INST.C.E. KUudtratel) toitib Pl^otogiaplbic l^XuXti anti otj^er Utagiams gpiom]ts^ LONDON CROSBY LOCKWOOD AND SON 7, STATIONERS' HALL COURT, LUDGATE HILL 1896 PREFACE The construction of Light Eailways, as distinct from the Main-liue standard, has not found much favour in this country, and such lines are only to be found in a few isolated instances. On the contrary, however, nearly every other nation has long ago found out their usefulness, and assistance from pubKc funds has been largely given towards their construction. In Belgium alone there are upwards of 700 miles of Light Eailways, with a capital of nearly £2,000,000 sterling ; while Hungary has also over 2300 miles, with a gross revenue of £663,000. per annum. Saxony, Switzerland, Italy, and France have all their local railways and tramways, and in Germany the system has been so far developed that a Light Eailway periodical has been in existence since 1874. The want of such railways in the United Kingdom may partly be attributed to our insular prejudice. We like "something sub- stantial" in the shape of railways; we are wedded to high speeds and absolute safety in travelling; and under the paternal care of the Board of Trade the conditions imposed on the construction and working of local railways has hitherto rendered them financially impossible. During the past year a wave of opinion in favour of Light Eailways has affected not only this country but our Colonies VI PREFACE. also, and the cry from Ceylon, from Australia, from India, and from Africa has gone forth to their respective Governments for cheap means of communication to outlying districts. In South Africa the Author had the honour of addressing a special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce in Port Elizabeth on " Little Eailways for the Development of Poor Districts," on the day before the Light Kailway Conference met at the Guildhall, in London, in 1894 ; and, later on, a special meeting of the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce ; and although he had brought this matter prominently before the Cape Colony, the Orange Free State, and Natal, some twelve years ago, it was only last year that people became alive to the advantages of these railways as the only means, under the iinan- cial circumstances of the country, of placing the fertile districts of those Colonies in ready communication with the chief markets. Every district had wanted its main line of the standard type to serve its requirements ; but it being impossible to constriict a railway costing over £8000 per mile for traffic that would only support one costing £2000, the inhabitants had perforce to stick to their slow, cumbrous, but nevertheless useful, bullock-waggons. The English Eailway Companies, under the exigencies of our Acts of Parliament and the requirements of the Board of Trade — and in some cases under the fear of competition from other companies, and the pressure brought to bear upon them by different districts — have constructed branch lines on a scale far in advance of any traffic that is likely to come upon them for many years, and at such a cost that it is hopeless ever to expect a dividend on the capital expended. Our Colonies have done the same, but from other causes. The Consulting Engineers in England, the Managers and the Engineers of the Eailways in the Colonies, have generally set their faces against the construction of any branch lines that were not equal to PREFACE. vu the main lines of the Colony, as if they would sooner cut off a district from any railway communication at all than depart from the standard they had laid down for the main lines. In this there is hardly cause for surprise. Men who have had to deal with large schemes of engineering enterprise, involving the tunnelling of mountains, or the construction of colossal bridges, can hardly be expected to take to the planning of a railway limited to a cost of £2500 per mile, or to organize the details of traffic amounting, perhaps, to no more than fifty tons per day. Again, personal interests and political expedi- ency have in many cases dictated the route and the standard of a railway abroad, and consequently every country is now saddled with branch lines that are only paying their working expenses, and, in some instances, not even these. The Commissioners of our Colonial railways say that all feeder branch lines must be constructed at as small a capital cost as possible, and yet they will not depart from the main-line standard. The continued agricultural depression in England is compelling the farmer to turn his attention to anything that may benefit him, and he at last sees that cheap and rapid transport to available markets, and low freights, are the only means left to him to compete with those nations that have them. Our Colonists, living in districts not served by railways, cannot compete with their fellow-colonists having that advantage, and consequently they want a railway to serve them ; but if every district is to have one, the capital cost of the railway (as compared with present undertakings) must be con- siderably reduced, and the revenue to be derived from the working of it must be sufficient to pay interest on capital, after paying working expenses, in a reasonable time after construction — say in five years, so that the finances of the country may not be unduly taxed. It is the object of the present work to show that this is by no VIU PREFACE. means such a difficult matter as many people suppose, and that were the same degree of common-sense brought to bear upon railway construction and working as is used in ordinary business matters, and were subsidiary railways treated entirely in a commercial spirit, we should have fewer unprofitable railways to-day, and many places which are now devoid of railway communication would be hearing the welcome sound of the railway whistle. In compiling this volume, I have made liberal use of information bearing upon the question of "light" railways and "little" rail- ways which has appeared from time to time in technical newspapers and periodicals, and especially in JEfigineering, the Engineer, the Railway World, Transport, the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the papers published by the International Eailway Con- gress, and the Eailway Eeports of the different countries and Colonies mentioned in the work ; while to several of the above-mentioned journals, as well as to private firms, I have to acknowledge my indebtedness for the loan of blocks of illustrations. The greatest care having been taken to ensure accuracy in all details, as well as comprehensiveness of treatment, it is confidently anticipated that the work will prove of material assistance to the large number of persons directly interested in this question of the hour. The full text of the " Bill to Facilitate the Construction of Light Eailways in Great Britain " — which has been introduced in the House of Commons by the President of the Board of Trade (Eight Hon. C. T. Eitchie, M.P.), while the later sheets of the work were passing through the press — will be found set out in an Appendix. Ealing, W. February, 189G. Erratum. Page 221, line 5, for " Sir Alexander Rendnl " read "Sir Alexander Rendel." CONTENTS, CHA1*TER I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. Light Railways Considered Most Suitable Gauge and Beeak of Gauge The Survey and Location of Light Railways ... The Permanent Way Bridges and Culverts Locomotives and Rolling Stock Probable Cost oe Construction and Equipment ... Working Expenses The Financing and Working of Light Railways Light Railway s of other Countries, viz. : England and Wales, Ireland, Belgium, Geneva, Italy, Saxony, Hungary, France, Prussia, Austria. Sundry Light Railways in Different Parts of the AVorld: Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, South Australia, India, Ceylon, New South Wales, Cape Colony, etc. Rates, Fares, and Wages on Different Railway Systems TAGE 1 .. 17 .. 29 .. 34 .. 42 .. 49 .. 73 .. 77 .. 81 89 240 APPENDIX I. Report of Committee of a Conference on Light Railways, 1895 247 Light 1'ailway Bill presented to the House of Commons, 1896 255 Light Railway Bill passed by the Cape House of Assembly, 1895 266 Land Gbakt Bill for Railways in Queensland 274 Conclusions arrived at, on Light Railways, by the Inter- national Railway Congress at the Different Meetings of THAT Body during the last Ten Years 280 Railways and Agriculture in England — Reprinted from the " Times " (November and December, 1895; February, 1896) ... 288 Particulars of the Working of the Belgian Light Railways BY THE National Light Railway Company 301 IL III. ir. V. VI. VII. Table A. Probable Cost of the Permanent Way, Laid and Ballasted, IN THE United Kingdom 40 X CONTENTS. PAGE Table B. Probable Cost of the Pkemanent Way, Laid and Ballasted, IN the Colonies 41 „ C. Paetioulabs of Locomotives in Actual Use 55 „ D. Quantity of Rolling Stock used on Several Railways ... 58 „ E. Leading Particulabs, Capital, and Cost of Construction OF some Railways in England and Wales 98 „ P. Revenue and Working Expenses op some Railways in England and Wales 99 „ G. Leading Particulars, Capital, and Cost of Construction, etc., of some Railways in Ireland 106 „ H. Revenue and Working Expenses of some Railways in Ireland ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 107 „ I. Particulars of Cost, Revenue, and Expenditure on Light Railways in Belgium 118 „ J. Particulars op Capital, Train Service, and Working Agreements on Light Railways in Belgium 120 „ K. Particulars of Cost, Revenue, Expenditure, and Interest PAID ON some Railways in Hungary 142 „ L. Particulars of Sundry Continental Local Railways ... 154 „ M. Particulars of Cost, Revenue, and Working Expenses, ETC., of Local Railways in New Zealand 180 „ N. Particulars op Cost, Revenue, and Working Expenses, etc., of Local Railways in South Australia 189 „ 0. Consumption of Fuel, ftc, on the Broad and Narrow Gauge Railways of South Australia 190 „ P. Particulars of Cost, Revenue, and Working Expenses of THE Standard, Metre, and Special Gauge Railways of India, and also of some Standard, Metre, and Special Gauge Local Railways 222 „ Q. Details of Cost of Construction and Equipment of some Standard, Metre, and Special Gauge Local Railways OF India 224 „ R. Details of Traffic and Cost of Hauling and other Items OF SOME Standard, Metre, and Special Gauge Local Rail- ways of India 225 ,, S. Particulars of Cost, Revenue, and Working Expenses of SOME Railways in New South Wales 235 „ T. Particulars of Cost, Revenue, and Working Expenses of some Railways in the Cape Colony, South Africa ... 239 „ U. Comparison of some Rates in Different Countries ... 246 Index 31] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 37 45 53 56 Daejeeling Railway (2-ft. gauge) Frontispiece Steel Sleeper, Indian State Railways Steel Bridges CoMPouKD Locomotive (2 ft. 6 ins. gauge) Locomotive (2 ft. gauge) Plates I., II., III., IV., V. — Locomotives in Actual Use on the Morvi, Festinioo, Dakjeeling, Antofagasta and Bolivia, Railways Between 56 and 57 Open Third-class Carriage (Bogie) Composite Carriage , Bogie Passenger Carriage Plate VI. — ^Bogie Saloon Carriage First-class Bogie Carriage Third-class „ „ Plate VII. — Third-class Open Bogie Carriage ... Plate VIII. — First-class Bogie Carriage, open each End, with Closed Compartment in Centre Plate IX. — Third-class Closed Bogie Carriage ... Plate X. — Bogie Goods Waggon Plate XL — „ „ „ Plate XIL— Light Goods Waggon Bogie Covered Goods Waggon Bogie Cattle-truck Bogie Sugar-cane or Forage Waggon Bogie Horse-box Bogie Covered Goods Waggon Bogie Open Goods Waggon Plate XIII. — Covered Goods Waggon Plate XIV. — The Corris Railway Plates XV. and XVI.— The Festiniog Railway ... . .. 59 .. 60 .. 61 Between 62 and 63 .. 68 .. 64 Between 64 and 65 with Closed Between 64 and 65 ,, 64 „ 65 „ 64 ,, 65 „ 66 „ 67 „ 66 „ 67 .. 67 .. 68 . .. 69 .. 70 .. 71 .. 72 Between 75 andlZ ,, 9( ) ,, 91 J 95 ! „ 93 Xll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FAGG Plate XVII. — The North Wales Narrow-gauge Railway Between 92 and 93 Plates XVIII., XIX., XX., and XXI. — Rolling Stock on the Light Railways OF Ireland ... ... ... ... Between 100 andlOl Plate XXII. — The Listowel axd Ballybunion Single-rail Railway Between 104 and 105 Train on Light Railway in the Canton of G-eneva 121 Plates XXIIL, XXIV., and XXV. — Railway Caen to Dives and Luc- sur-Mer ... ... ... ... ... ... Between 14A: and 14& Plate XXVI. — Dabjeeling Railway, India Plate XXVIL— Plate XXVIIL— „ Plate XXIX.— „ „ ,. Plate XXX. — Train on the Tezpore Railway, India (2 ft. 6 ins. gauge) Bttween 204 and 205 Plate XXXI. — Rolling Stock on Mr. Percival Heywood's Experi- mental Railway (1 ft. 3 ins. gauge) Betiveen 238 and 239 198 ., 199 198 ,, 199 198 „ 199 198 „ 199 LIGHT EAILWAYS- CHAPTEE I. LIGHT EAILWAYS OONSIBEBED. In talking about light railways many people at once jump at the conclusion that a light railway means a narrow-gauge railway, and the vision of a break of gauge at once obscures their faculties, and they dismiss the matter without further consideration. There is no reason why a light railway, if circumstances warrant it, should not be constructed on the standard gauge, and in speaking of light railways in any country they may be described generally, as railways con- structed to a lighter standard than the main lines of the country, worked at a slower speed, with less accommodation for passengers and goods, but capable of carrying the main-line rolling stock, but not the main-line engines. In Britain, with our standard gauge of 4 ft. 8^ ins. and 90-lb. rails, worked at a speed of 55 miles per hour, a light railway is one with 50-lb. rails, on the same gauge, and worked at a maintained speed for passenger trains of say 25 miles per hour. In South Africa, with a standard gauge of 3 ft. 6 ins. and 60-lb. rails, worked at a maintained speed of 23 miles per hour, a light railway is one with 45-lb. raUs, and worked at a maintained speed of 15 mUes an hour. What is a light railway in one country becomes a heavy line in another. A narrow-gauge railway is not necessarily a light one, as instance theFestiniog Eailway of 1 ft. 11 J ins. gauge, laid with 50-lb. B ^ LIGHT EAILWAYS. rails, and the railways in Natal, of 3 ft. 6 ias. gauge, to be relaid with rails weighing 70 lbs. per yard. In dealing with this subject of light railways, it is necessary to go further than this, and to consider railways laid with rails lighter than what is sufficient to carry the rolling stock of the main lines of a country, and on a narrower gauge, and which may be designated by the term " little " railways, and worked at a less speed than the light railways. In the development of poor districts, light and little railways are of much more service than the main line. The main line, being of considerable cost, must be taken as straight as the " lie " of the country will allow, between the two objective points, and cannot therefore deviate to the right or left for the purpose of serving an outlying town or moderate-sized village, and the working of the traffic will not allow of frequent stoppages for passengers or goods at small stations ; but the local railway for the purpose of securing traffic, and following out the intentions for which it was constructed, can go out of its direct route to serve a large farm or a small village, and the cost will not be greatly enhanced thereby. There are places in England served by the main lines which are eight miles from a railway station, although the farm may be within a short distance of the railway, whilst in the colonies many places are also similarly situated. With local railways as feeders to the main lines, an enterprising farmer might extend the siding right into his homestead, and, by means of a portable railway, convey the trucks to the very spot where he wishes the goods to be taken up. There is no reason why country towns should not lay a branch right down the main street, and every merchant might have a siding right into his store. That this can be more easily done by a " little " railway than by a " light " railway will be obvious to every one from the fact that the rolling stock on the one wUl be considerably lighter than that on the other, and consequently more easily handled. One of the most difficult matters to decide in any new country, is the style and class of railway to lay down in a certain district for the traffic that is likely to come upon it. We find many lines in this country and in our colonies in a chronic state of bankruptcy because the works and rolling stock are out of proportion to the traffic, whereas. THE "LITTLE BAIL WAY. d had the railway been justly proportioned to the traffic to be carried, it would have earned a fair dividend. A railway is most economically worked when it is fully occupied, and when it is fully occupied it ought to be highly remunerative. It is much better in the first instance to lay down a light or little railway to develop a poor district, than to lay down a main- line standard. During the years that the district is developing, the railway will be fully equal to the traffic, and when the revenue is such that interest can be paid on increased capital, the permanent way and its rolling stock can be removed to develop another district, and the main-line standard substituted. In matters of railway construction we must follow the lines that a business man would adopt in opening a store in a new country. He would first build premises suitable to the amount of business he expected to do, or could do, with the capital at his disposal, and as his business increased he would enlarge his premises. The little railway being first constructed in a district of such a size and weight of rail that it would economically carry the traffic that is likely to pass over it for the first ten years, would be earning a dividend on its small capital, during the greater part, if not the whole, of this time, and when the district had become properly developed by its means, the time would be ripe for replacing it by the heavier rail and rolling stock of the main line. By the very fact of having the little railway running through a district, the main line can be laid down at a cheaper cost afterwards than if it had been constructed in the first instance, and were the work properly organized no hindrance to traffic need take place. By following this method of railway construction in the development of poor districts, a country would possess railways which were always paying their interest on capital, and consequently more districts in a country could have a railway, and no burden would be placed on the finances of a country. The " little " railway, with its light rolling stock and slow speed, is much cheaper to maintain than a railway with heavy rolling stock, and even if a light line is laid down, using the main-Hne rolling stock, but running at slow speed, there is always the tendency to increase the speed, and to send over the light railway the heaviest engines of the main line, and the disability, therefore, of constructing 4 LIGHT RAILWAYS. feeders to the main line on a different gauge becomes very often an advantage. Feeders to the main line in South Australia were constructed on the 5 ft. 3 ins. gauge, with 40-lb. rails, the greatest axle weight was to be 7 tons, and 20-ton engines were to be used, whilst the speed was not to exceed 20 miles an hour. When the line had been opened some time, public pressure was brought to bear on a democratic Govern- ment, heavier engines and faster speed were introduced, until at last the engines weighed 9 tons per axle, and the speed increased to 35 miles an hour. The engineer-in-chief, in reporting to the Govern- ment, on the opening of the first section, said — "It must distinctly be borne in mind that the success or otherwise of the economical working of this line will depend upon two principal circumstances : the weight imposed by the rolling stock upon the rails, and the speed of the trains. The weight on any wheel of the engines should not exceed 3J tons (or 7 tons per axle), and the speed should be limited to 10 miles an hour for goods, and from 15 to 20 miles an hour for passengers." The principle adopted for South Australia was no doubt quite right in trying to find economy of construction in keeping the same gauge, laying a lighter rail, and using lighter engines; but the after events were most serious, and no one can deny that an engine with 9 tons per axle, running 35 miles an hour on a 40-lb. rail, was a condition of affairs that was most dangerous to all concerned. In future railway constructions, constant agitation in Parliament lead to the introduction of the 3 ft. 6 ins. gauge for branch lines into poor districts, and it is admitted that the carrying capacity of this gauge has not yet been reached in that colony, nor is likely to be, for the next thirty years, and it is worthy of note that the working expenses on these railways are less than on the broad gauge. Scarcely any of the branch lines in New South Wales pay interest on capital after deducting working expenses (some of them do not even pay working expenses), yet the traffic on the majority of them suffices to pay the working expenses of a railway on the main-line standard, and consequently the great desideratum on future branch lines must be to keep down the capital cost. This point has been brought very prominently before the Government by the Commissioners, and they have advocated branch lines of a different type from the main line. In their report for 1894, just to hand, they say — NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA. " We have for some years past urged that for new extensions in a purely pastoral and level country, where the traffic would be exceedingly light, a line capable of carrying a light locomotive, with the ordinary class of rolling stock, at a speed of about 15 miles per hour in daylight only, could be constmcted, exclusive of bridges, waterways, and station accommodation, which latter should be of the most simple nature, for £1750 per mile. This could only be considered a * pioneer ' railway, and would be altogether different from a standard railway line, even of light construction. It would be simply a line to carry traffic with reasonable speed at a lower scale of charges than is now carried by road. The rates for such lines would bring about a material saving to the users, compared with what is paid for the carriage by road, and the scale of charges should be such as to avoid any material loss to the country. Lines of this character would avoid the great disadvantage of break of gauge ; they would cost scarcely anything more in the first instance than a narrow-gauge line ; and the whole of the ordinary rolling stock, exclusive of engines, which could be selected from the lightest types existing in the service, could pass over them, and thus avoid the great disadvantage and cost of creating a new class of rolling stock." The Commissioners recognize that the great desideratum in de- veloping lines is to keep down the capital cost, but the lines they advocate even in a very even country must cost £3000 per mile with bridges and waterways. But how are the fertile districts to be served which are separated from the main lines by an intervening stretch of difficult country ? There is no reason why railways, and especially branch lines, should all be constructed on the same gauge as the main line. The means of transport should be proportioned to the quantities of traffic, and whUst it may be advisable to make a branch line on the main-line standard in one instance, in another it would be well to lay down a light or even a little railway. So impressed with this idea is the Minister of Railways in Victoria that, even against the engineering evidence in the colony, he favours the construction of narrow-gauge railways, and even goes so far as to say that the excessive cost of two shillings per ton for transhipment, is a small price to pay as against the advantages of railways. He goes on further to say that there is no district in that colony where a broad-gauge railway would pay, and the principle the colony must follow in all future railway extensions is to build such lines as will carry the probable traffic. In the Cape Colony the branch lines there have entailed such an expenditure, that they do not pay the fuH interest on the capital after deducting working expenses, and, although the whole system yields a return of more than five per cent., the whole of the surplus b LiaHT EAILWAYS. money is earned by one line, the Midland, running from Port Elizabeth to the Transvaal Gold Fields. A branch line, constructed and worked by a private company, cannot earn more than 2 per cent., even after the capital has been reduced to about £4700 per mile, with a gross revenue of £297 per mile. It is therefore necessary for the Colonial Government to take an entirely new departure in the construction and working of future branch lines, and, if they are to be built and worked in such a manner as to pay their way, radical alterations will be necessary in the weight of rail laid down, and in the rolUng stock employed. There is no district in this colony that can support a railway cost- ing even £4,000 per mile, and the utmost limit that a railway should cost, even in the best districts, must not exceed £3,000 per mile, if the revenue derived therefrom is to pay interest on the capital as well as working expenses. There are many fertile districts, with plenty of water, and a good rainfall, and capable of being put under irrigation, which will remain in their present stagnate condition untO. they can have railway communication to take their produce to the nearest market. Some of these districts are over a hundred miles from that market, and the only means of transport being the bullock- waggon, the farmer is very often six weeks away from home, and never less than three, in taking a waggon-load of produce there. His capital being limited, his means of transport is on the same scale, and he can, therefore, grow on his farm no greater quantity of produce than he can convey to market, yet the farm he holds could be made to produce ten, twenty, perhaps fifty times the quantity. Under such conditions the country cannot progress agriculturally, and it is not to be wondered at that the Cape Colony is in a worse condition in this respect to-day, than it was fifteen years ago. Were these districts supplied with railway communication, a much larger population could be put upon the land, a larger acreage could be brought under cultivation, and the capital that the farmer has in- vested in his buUock-waggons and bullocks for transport purposes, would be released for other uses; and, free from transport riding, he would be able to devote more time to his farming operations, to say nothing of the moral and social advantages the district would enjoy by the advent of the railway. o POET ELIZABETH AND UNIONDALE. i But, in designing a railway for such a district, we have to face the fact that the traffic likely to come upon it at the commencement is of the smallest, that the population is scarce, and that, before the railway — even the smallest possible railway serviceable for steam traction — can have sufficient traffic to pay interest on capital and working expenses, more land wiU have to be brought into cultivation, the farmer will have to get accustomed to the new condition of things, and the transport rider will have gradually to get rid of his oxen, and settle on the land. The question arises, Is it worth while to give such a district railway communication? Is it possible to lay down a railway to serve such circumstances ? Unless the district has railway communication it cannot progress, and we have only to disabuse our minds of the ingrained prejudice we have against break of gauge and " toy " railways, and bring to our aid business principles, when we shall be able, without attempting anything new in railway construction, to build and work such a railway that will have a carrying capacity ample for the district for many years to come. It may be interesting to show the present poverty of a very fertile district, but one capable of immense possibilities, lying between Port Elizabeth and Uniondale, a distance of about 150 miles. REVENUE. Say the traffic crossing the Gamtoos River ferry will travel on an average 120 miles — 5612 Tons 2925 Passengers 1st Class 300 Trucks (Cattle) 40 Trucks (Goats, Sheep, etc.) 1023 Passengers 3rd Class 1000 Holiday Passengers return to Gamtoos River (40 miles) 5/- ... 250 Between "Van Staaden's River and Gamtoos River, average distance say 30 miles — ® 3000 Tons 11/- ... 1,650 1000 Passengers 1st Class 11/- ... 550 2000 Passengers 3rd Class 2/9 ... 275 Between Van Staaden's and Port Elizabeth, average distance 12 miles — ® 1000 Tons 4/- ... 200 1000 Passengers 1st Class 4/- ... 200 Carried forward ... 21,730 10 ® £ s. d. 40/- . .. 11,224 40/- . .. 5,850 60/- . 900 '. 60/- . 120 10/- . 511 10 £ s. d. ... 21,730 10 ® 3/- 450 1/6 1,125 ... 1,200 ... £24,505 10 ... 24,505 10 ... 16,405 10 ... £8,100 164 ... 109 .. . 55 O LIGHT KAILWAYS. Brought forward 2000 Passengers 3rd Class return. Holiday Trafific (25 miles) 15,000 Passengers, Suburban (season) to Walmer ... Mails and Parcels for 150 miles Estimated total revenue Total Revenue Allowing 67 % for working expenses on the small traffic Nett revenue Revenue per mile of Railway Working Expenses of do. Nett Revenue Interest on Capital of £300,000 (150 miles at £2000 per mile) ... 2j per cent. Here we see that, if the whole of the traffic passed over the rail- way, it would pay nearly 3 per cent, on £2000 per mile only, but not much more than one-half would use the railway in the first year (from various causes previously mentioned), but it is safe to predict that in less than five years the railway would pay 4 per cent, in addition to working expenses. In twenty years' time the district would no doubt support a railway of the main-line standard, and had the line been'gradually extended towards Cape Town in the mean time, other districts would have been developed, so that the main line could be laid from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, a distance of about 450 mUes, and have a traffic ready developed for it. It is no argument to say, that because this district is not capable of supporting a light line it shall have no railway at all. We have examples of what can be done by " little " railways in India to guide us in this matter, and so long as a district has fair prospects before it, and when the people of the district are willing to take some of the financial burden on their own shoulders, it is the duty of those who have it in their power, to assist in supplying the pressing needs of such a fertile district. South Australia is even in a worse position, for a railway in the northern portion, running from Port Darwin to Pine Creek, a distance of 145 miles, has a gross revenue of only £16,000 per annum, and a net revenue of £33 per mile, but, constructed at a cost of £7880 per mile, pays only | per cent, on its capital. Turning from our colonies to this country, we have a few local TRAFFIC DEVELOPMENT. 9 railways, notably the Corris Eailway, the Southwold, the Easingwold, and one or two others constructed for special purposes, and we have the so-called light railways in Ireland. As showing what local lines can do for a district, we may take the Southwold Eailway, running between Halesworth and Southwold, on the Suffolk coast. This line cost about £8000 per mile (the excessive cost due, perhaps, to financing), and is constructed on a 3-ft. gauge. Before this railway was constructed, an omnibus used to run now and again between the two towns, whereas the railway now carries 90,000 passengers and 9000 tons of goods and minerals annually. In the Easingwold district, an omnibus, running three times a day each way, carried all the traffic, whereas by the railway upwards of 43,000 pas- sengers and 12,500 tons of goods and minerals are conveyed annually. The same statistics might be given of the Corris, the Wisbech and Upwell, and other railways. It cannot be doubted that the traffic has immensely increased through the medium of the railway, and in much greater proportions than if the old carts, waggons, and omnibuses had still been in existence. Turning again to the light railways on the Continent, it will be seen that the increase in traffic after the con- struction of these railways has been very marked, as instanced by the following lines. Ohent-Eedoo-Bruges. — From 1861-1868 goods receipts grew slowly but regularly from £10 to £147 per mile. The latter figure is practi- cally that of the normal receipts for the following 14 years (1868- 1882), when the average was £154 per mile. From 1882 to 1892 the average was £192 per mile. Antwerp-Ghent. — From 1847 to 1857 the goods receipts rose very slowly from £42 to £288 per mile. Liege Maestricht. — From 1862 to 1872 the goods receipts grew from £169 to £824 per mile, that is, about 10 per cent, per mile per annum. In 1887 the gross receipts per mile reached £960, that is, during the following 15 years, an annual increase of 1 per cent, per mUe. Termonde-Saint-Nicolas. — In 1877 goods receipts £80 per mile. In 1883 it had increased by gradual leaps to £242 per mile. From 1883 to 1892 the average remained at £243 per mile. Malines-Terneuzen. — In 1872 the goods mileage receipts were 10 LIGHT RAILWAYS. £192. In 1884, £448 per mile, which is approaching the normal. In 1892, in fact, the goods mileage receipts were £512 per mile. The light railways in Ireland have greatly benefited the districts they serve both socially and commercially, but they have l)oen con- structed at such a cost, that they are not financially successful in themselves, though contributing to the general prosperity of the country. Their construction has been on too elaborate a scale for them to be classed as light railways, under the category of local railways we are now considering, and their working in too similar to that of the main lines to allow of their being economically worked and maintained, and for the relief of agriculture we must look to something more simple than the light railways of Ireland. If we have not done much in this country for the benefit- of agricul- ture, by providing cheap transport from the main lines, or from the chief markets to outlying districts, other countries have not followed our example, and perhaps the most successful, as well as the best organized system of local railways is to be found in JJolgium. ]3y means of a National Society of Local Kail ways, guaranteed by tfio Government, and financed by the Government, the State, the Com- mune, and by private individuals, and worked by private enterprise, a large mileage of these railways has l)een constructed and successfully worked, and the tariffs charged are very low. It is tfio object of these railways to earn only the minimum dividend to make them self- supporting, and to charge the rates accordingly. In many instances, during the summer months, six trains per day or more are run in each direction, and in the winter months never less than four. The objects of the Government in organizing these lines are set forth in a docu- ment issued by the Society, from which the following is extracted — " For years past the spirit of enterprise and progress lias rlirccteil itself almost exclusively to the extension and improvement of rfjain lines of railway. It is true that the numljcr of roads and canals has been increased, and that their constructiorj has been improved, but there have been no chiinf^cs, or almost nonn, in ihu manner in which traffic is conducted on these lines of communication. Old-fashioned waggons continue to travel on the high-roads, and whereas the price of carriage for long distances has enormously decreased, it costs as much as, if not more than, it did half a century back, to cart a load of wheat. " It is the function of local railways to improve this state of things. (hnntra«t(xl, as a general rule, on the existing roads, and, in consequefjce, more economically than main railway lines, operated with the greatest economy, and by inrians of cheap OBJECTS. 11 rolling stock, they will furnish the people with the means of transporting their pro- ducts at the lowest possible price. By means of their junctions with the main railway lines, they will render access to them more convenient both for passengers and for goods. They will assist communication from village to village, and from village to the adjacent station. They will call into being new industries, by affording them new outlets for their products. Finally, they vrill enable the farmer to procure at a cheap rate the fertilizers necessary to enable him to face foreign competition, and by the low cost of carriage, will open to him the markets of his own country, as well as those abroad. For many places, deprived, as it seemed, for all time of railway com- munication, these light lines will furnish an opportunity unhoped for, and possibly the last, of escaping from their fatal position of isolation." Austria has also promulgated a Liglit Eailway Act, and the Minister of Commerce, in introducing the measure, said — " His conviction was that light railways could only be built on a large scale if the cost of construction was kept as low as possible, and was so simple and cheap that the lines would return 3 per cent." So impressed with the benefits which light railways are expected to bring to the country, an Austrian official railway journal says — " Where, it may be asked, is the reasonable limit of light-railway construction to stop ? Only at a point where there is no cart left running, except upon rails, when the last waggoner has taken service as a railway fireman. " For a manufacturing centre, or, it may be, only a single factory, which is a dozen miles from the nearest station, will, other things being equal, hardly be able to compete with a rival which avoids this dozen miles of cartage, or with a mill which can load its produce direct, because it has a siding into the yard. Once started, the demand for even more and more light railways, even for the shortest distances, and the smallest village, will press forward resistlessly." The light railways in France have not been such a success financially as they have been in Belgium, and they are a heavy tax on the public exchequer. Still, in every instance, they contribute largely to the finances of the main lines they join, and, from statistics collected, it has been proved that a branch line joining a main line has increased the receipts of the main line very considerably, and yet, while the branch line only earned 77,500 frs., it contributed traf&c to the ;main line which earned for that body 313,500 frs., and which it would not have earned had not the light railway been in existence. K light railways are to pay in themselves, without taking into account their contributory value to other systems, they must be constructed on the most economical system possible, and this has not been done in France. Most extravagant prices have been paid for the land, and other expenses have been incurred which should not be 12 LIGHT RAILWAYS. exacted in the case of a local railway, and the agreements made with the working companies have been upon too liberal a scale. Yet, if the same economical system had been followed in France as in Belgium, better results would have accrued. Every nation on the Continent has interested itself in light railways, and the Prussian Minister of Public "Works, in moving the third reading of the Light Eailway Law (1892), said — " Elsewhere the construction and working of similar light railways have proved a blessing to the country. A traveller to-day through North Italy, through Belgium, and through Holland can satisfy himself what a blessing these light railways have been. It is as though irrigation canals have been carried through the fields, and everything was growing and flourishing under their fertilizing streams. In North Italy in particular, the blessing which they bring with them is so obvious that even the casual tourist can hardly fail to notice it." These expressions of the leading statesmen on the Continent are based on the practical working of thousands of miles of light railways, and one can scarcely understand the position taken up by our own leading engineers and railway managers, whenever the question of light or little railways, or no railways at all, has to be considered for many of the districts in our colonies, and even in this country. Looking at what has been done in other countries for agricultiire, by means of light railways, we are right in assimiing that, notwithstanding the different circumstances and surroundings of our own people, they would be of equal benefit here, and if they did not benefit agriculture directly, they would indirectly, by elevating the social and moral condition of the country-people, and affording them some inducement to remain in their villages, when the drawback of isolation was removed. It cannot be expected that industries or manufactories can flourish in places removed from railway communication, and here we have another inducement for the construction of these railways into certain districts, and which may encourage capital to be dis- tributed about the country. By means of the lightest of light rail- ways, viz. a little railway, or a steam tramway, the farmer may be induced to cultivate poultry farming and butter making, and so prevent the importation of a large quantity of produce which annually comes into this country from abroad. The farmer is more likely to get a better price for his perishable commodities by being able to send them daily to market, than he does by only sending them once FINANCIAL POSITION, 13 a week, and when he knows that by despatching them by train daily, they will be on the market within twelve hours, he will be incited to greater exertions, and his mind will be strengthened and invigorated by being in daily contact with the outside world. It is a favourite argument against the construction of light railways that they do not pay, that the accommodation they give is of the scantiest, and that it is not worth any one's while to interest them- selves in the matter. One can only reply that they are not expected to pay handsome dividends, the raison d'etre of their being constructed as light railways is that the present and near future traffic is not expected to pay a large dividend, but if they pay working expenses, and the interest on their capital, they are doing all that must be expected of them financially. Did they do more, the rates should be reduced to such a point as to wipe off the surplus, and give whatever benefit financially there was to the population of the district. Whether they pay directly or not, however, does not weigh with the Governments on the Continent, as they estimate the indirect gain as greater than the direct loss. The construction of light railways in this country should not be undertaken in any hap-hazard way, without any regard to their financial position. One of the greatest questions to be decided in projecting any of these lines is its future financial position, and any line projected should have resources to pay, at any rate, for its work- ing expenses in the first year. Some of the light railways in Ireland do not do this, and the best way of securing this object is perhaps by making the people of a district share in the profit or loss of the undertaking. In our colonies especially should this be the case, and in a pro- posal made for the financing of a " little " railway in South Africa, the advisability of the people interested, offering to Government to contribute 1 per cent, towards a guarantee required was considered. The railway passed through the districts of five Divisional Councils and one large Municipal Council. Were the proportions of a guaran- tee to be divided, according to the advantages likely to be gained by each, the burden to be borne by the poorer districts should be lightened by a share of its guarantee being taken up by its rich municipal neighbour, which, being the terminus of the line, would 14 LIGHT EAILWAYS. reap practically the greatest benefit. Each Divisional Council has to maintain its own roads, and, even if a guarantee of 1 per cent, on the cost of construction of the line, had to be paid by all the parties interested, the share of each would not amount to the saving effected in the repair of the roads (always an expensive item in our colonies), by the removal of the heavy traffic there- from. There are no statistics with reference to this affecting the roads in South Africa, but it must be considerable. In Ireland some of the highway authorities show that the repairs of a road, which cost lA^d. per yard before a railway was made, had been reduced to S^d. As has been mentioned before, the construction and working of light railways must be of the cheapest and simplest. In this country, over bridges and under bridges must be dispensed with; level-crossing gates, keepers' lodges, and signals will not be necessary. Except in special cases, fencing must not be required, land must be purchased at its agricultural value, and the working hours of the employees must not be limited to an eight-hours' day. Expensive station buildings and goods sheds must not be erected; the guard must give out the tickets in the train, and all items of working must be reduced to the most rudimentary and economical system. The restrictions required by the Board of Trade as to interlocking points and signals, as to signals themselves, automatic brakes, and other items, vrill have to be considerably modified before light railways can hope to have any prospect of being a financial success. The tedious and expensive process of getting Parliamentary sanction for any railway will have to be simplified, and payments made for these services more in accordance with the work to be done. In this country, where our standard gauge is 4 ft. 8J ins., that of each light railway will have to be considered on its own merits, and the gauge best suited for its requirements adopted. It is a favourite argument that the gauge, or the distance between the rails, has the least influence on the cost of a railway, and that it is madness to put down a different gaiige from the main line, and so have the expense of transhipping at the junction. This cannot be disputed in the main, but special cases require special treatment, and if a ROLLING STOCK. 15 light railway is to run alongside a country road, or through country villages, a narrower gauge than the main line must perforce be put down. If a light railway is to be worked as a light railway, even if it is the same gauge as the main line, a lighter class of rolling stock should be used, in which the dead weight to the live load shall be better proportioned, and in which each individual truck can be more easily handled at any of the stopping-places or loading- places en route. We need only mention the practice of our Conti- nental neighbours, in adopting a metre gauge, to add to our arguments, even on lines that have little length. In our colonies which have adopted the narrow gauge of 3 ft. 6 ins. as their main line, it may be advisable to adopt, in certain districts, a stiU narrower gauge. It is more advantageous for the working of a light railway that the rolling stock should be apportioned to the work it has to do, and not be burdened by the comparatively heavy rolling stock of the main line. The rolling stock of these light lines may have to travel over portable lines on a farm, or to a store, and be propelled, in many instances, by hand, or by ponies. It may be difficult to find a load of six tons in one place to fill the truck, and, consequently, a very large dead load, in proportion to the live load, is being hauled for no purpose. By adopting a special gauge, we show at once that we have departed from the extravagant conditions of the main line, and have taken away the only lever political agitators could have for enforcing higher speeds, better accommodation, and more elaborate working, as instanced in the South Australian light railways constructed on the main-line gauge, and mentioned previously. If agriculture is to be benefited to any extent by means of light railways in this country, the trucks must run from the field direct to market-places. Lines laid out on this principle will no doubt compete with the main lines ; but it cannot be said that at present the main-line companies either care for this traffic or do much to cultivate it. It will be useless for a farmer to support a light line of short length, carrying traf&c at a comparatively low rate, if at the junction the traffic is to be handicapped by the excessive rates charged by the main-line companies. To make these lines remune- rative, they must have length of haul as well as traffic, they must 16 LIGHT RAILWAYS. pick up traffic as they go along at any point, and must put the producer in direct touch with the consumer without passing through intermediary hands. The lines must be worked by a company distinct from the main line, and by officials who have not been brought up to the red-tape rules and lavish expenditure of the present railways. The men in charge must be able to cut down expenses in every item, to simplify every detail, and to adopt cheap means for gaining cheap ends. The local railways of the country must take the place of the carrier's cart of years gone by ; but, in view of their being connected up at some future time, and formed into a secondary railway system, it would be advisable to construct them on one gauge, say 2 ft. 6 ins. or 3 ft., and use rolling stock that could be interchanged. ( 17 ) CHAPTER II. MOST SUITABLE GAUGE AND BREAK OF GAUGE. Perhaps on no detail of railway construction for local railways, or even for opening up new countries by railways, is there so much difference of opinion amongst engineers as on the subject of gauge. It is a common-sense matter after all, and one that can be decided by any one trained to business principles, and with a fair amount of common sense. England, with a larger quantity of traffic per mile of railway than any other country in the world, does her work very well on a gauge of 4 ft. Sj^ ins., and we may consider this now as the best gauge that can be put down for all practical purposes for heavy traf&c, and though, perhaps, a better gauge to have adopted in the first instance would have been one of 5 ft. 3 ins., still it cannot be denied that our work is done very well on the standard one. The next gauges of importance are the metre (3 ft. 3| Ins.), and 3 ft. 6 Ins., and these have proved very serviceable wherever they have been put down. In poor and mountainous districts they have rendered railway construction financially possible, and profitable, which would otherwise have been impossible with a wider gauge. Wherever the narrow gauge has been put down, its carrying capacity has not yet been reached, and though in many cases in America it has been replaced by the standard gauge, this was considered advisable more to facilitate traffic interchanged, than from any inherent faults of the narrow gauge, and was perfectly justifiable under the increased volume of traffic. The naiTOW gauge, however, made the standard gauge possible in its district much sooner than would have been the case, had a district waited until it could have furnished sufficient traffic for the standard gauge at first. 18 LIGHT EAILWAY8. Other districts can be named where the standard gauge has been replaced by the naiTow gauge, and in considering the two gauges, we must remember that the cost of moving a ton of goods on either gauge is the same, under similar conditions, but the interest to be paid on capital is greater in the former than in the latter case. There are gauges of all widths, constructed in different countries, viz. : 1 ft. llj ins., 2 ft. in., 2 ft. 3 ins., 2 ft. 5J ins., 2 ft. 6 ins., 2 ft. 7J ins., 2 ft. 9 ins., 3 ft. in., 3 ft. 3g ins., 3 ft. 6 ins., 4 ft. in., 4 ft. 8 J ins., 5 ft. 3 ins., and 7 ft. in., but for all practical purposes the 4 ft. 8^ ins,, 3 ft. 6 ins., and 2 ft. 6 ins. represent the three gauges most suitable for economical railway construction, where steam traction is employed. The gauge of 2 ft. 6 ins. may be very usefully employed i u moun- tainous districts, or in other places where the traffic is of the scantiest, and where a railway of some kind is necessary to develop traffic and increase the productions of a district, which would otherwise remain stationary, were it not for the railway. Where railways already exist in a country, and it is desirable to construct feeder or branch lines, which are not likely to be remunera- tive in themselves, it would be justifiable to run a Ught line, capable of carrying the main-line rolling stock, but worked with lighter engines, where — 1. The branch line is a short one. 2. A continuation of the main line. 3. On very even ground. But where the branch line exceeds say 25 miles in length, or has to be constructed in a very rough country, it becomes a question of financial consideration whether it is advisable to construct a cheaper line on a separate gauge, and face the seeming disadvantages of a break of gauge. The inconvenience of transhipment can be best gauged by the question of expense, which will range from l^d. to ?jd. per ton, and, with the use of modem appliances, can now be done without damage. On some short lines special trucks have been arranged for carrying the main-line trucks over the narrow branch lines, but these have not proved satisfactory in every instance, as it has been found that the loss in work of the main-line truck, during its time on the branch TRANSHIPMENT. 19 line, more than counterbalanced the cost of transhipment. A better arrangement for the transhipment of perishable goods, such as fruit, fish, vegetables, etc., or other goods that will not bear much handling, is for the bodies of the branch rolling stock to be made as boxes, and of such a size that two or four of them can fill a main-line truck. The farmer could load these boxes at his farm, bring them to the station on his waggon, load them by cranes on to the branch truck, they would then be transferred to the main-line truck, and finally, if advisable, from the main-line truck to the delivery waggon at the receiving end, and by this method the perishable goods would go from the farm to the market-place without being once handled. The boxes, when empty, could be returned loaded with other commodities, or if empty, could be so packed that one main-line truck would be able to carry several of them. For the purposes of deciding whether the cost of transhipment would not allow a more expensive line to be constructed, each branch line must be considered on its own merits. Supposing we have a branch line 25 miles long, and we have to tranship 24,000 tons per annum ; this, at Sd. per ton, represents an expenditure of £300 per annum, or £12 per mile, which, capitalized at 3 per cent., means that a further sum of £400 per mile could have been spent on the railway for the purpose of avoiding transhipment; but this, again, may be more than covered by the reductions that could be made in the cost of construction, and in the running expenses of the lighter line. If it is a question of having a break of gauge, or no railway at all, the evils of transhipment have not to be considered. A break of gauge occurs wherever produce is handled, as loading from the store to the waggon, and from the waggon to the railway truck ; and why there should be so much outcry against the unloading from one rail- way truck to another one cannot understand. The transhipment of traffic from a branch line to the main line can never be a serious matter. Those who make a " bogey " of tran- shipment should give attention to the remarks of one who perhaps has had to deal with this in far larger proportions than any one previously, or than any one is likely to encounter again. The late Mr. Grierson, General Manager of the Great Western Eailway, said — 20 LIGHT RAILWAYS. " The truth was, that some of those who were opposed to a break of gauge, under any circumstances, had very much exaggerated the cost and damages arising from a transfer from one gauge to another. The delay and difficulties arising from a break of gauge were not of a serious nature. With regard to the construction of new lines of railway on a different gauge from that on existing lines, he could quite understand that there would be, and were, cases in every country in which that was a necessity, and even desirable course to adopt, where, from the nature or amount of traffic, the character of the country, or other circumstances, narrow-gauge branches would be sufficient for all commercial purposes, without any serious disadvantages. It would then, and then only, be a question of constructing railways on the narrow gauge, or of having no railways at all ; and in such a position he would distinctly say (although it would be a misfortune to be placed in the position of choosing such an alternative), that the railways should be made, notwithstanding that the evil of a break of gauge was incurred." Sir James Brunlees, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, said — "His opinion was that the gauge was a question of circumstances, and that where it would be wisdom in one case to lay a certain gauge, it would be in another the height of folly. As regarded metre-gauge lines, he thought they should be laid out merely as feeders to the railway system of the country, in fact, taking the place of roads. The rails should weigh not more than 30 lbs. to the yard, the engines 8 to 10 tons, and the waggons IJ tons empty, with a carrying capacity of 3 tons." In considering the evils and expense of a break of gauge, much is made by persons, experienced in Government employ, of the necessity of having separate workshops and workmen for the repairs of the rolling stock of the narrow gauge ; and this additional establishment must be built and maintained if a different gauge from the main line is decided upon for a branch line. To any one who has had to work railways distinct from the main line, and in an economical manner, this seems a very exaggerated proposition, and will appear so to others when properly considered. On many branch lines one engine, perhaps two, or at most three, will be employed, and even if there were a dozen the ordinary repairs to keep these engines in work would be done by the engine-drivers themselves, assisted by a competent fitter and a blacksmith, as has been done, and as is now done by railway contractors in aU parts of the country ; and the extensive (?) workshops need only contain a lathe and forge. When it was necessary for an engine to undergo important repairs it would be run on to a special truck — the work of a few minutes — and conveyed over the main line to an established workshop. The ordinary rolling stock would be INDIAN BllANCH LINES. 21 treated in the same manner ; but this would not occur to anything like the same extent as with locomotives. As to the point of providing additional rolling stock, there may be sound argument in this, when an isolated branch line is under con- sideration ; and this is a point which should be taken notice of when considering the financial cost of the question. There will be times when a short branch line, at busy seasons, might be pressed for rolling stock, and, being isolated, have no opportunity of drawing upon similar lines for a temporary supply. At the same time, it must be re- membered that the branch Kne must be equipped with rolling stock, and if the main line has barely sufficient for its own wants, more must be purchased, and the cost of the main-line rolling stock will be often more than three times the cost of the rolling stock for a branch line, designed for slow speeds, and with a due regard to the proportion of the dead weight to the live load. No country in the world has taken more advantage of economical means of transport than India, or has made a better adaptation of different types of railway as a means to an end. In that country there is the broad 5 ft. 6. ins. running through the main arteries of traffic, and carrying a large traffic at low rates and at a fair percentage of receipts. Eunning out of these there are the first-class metre-gauge lines carrjdng less traffic per mile, but stiU a very considerable one, and paying a good dividend on the cost of construction. In other places there are second-class metre-gauge lines, serving poorer districts ; and, finally, the special gauges of 2 ft. 6 ins. and 2 ft., serving places where, in some instances, it would be financially impossible to employ any other line. A railway is simply a machine to serve a definite purpose, and the nearer the machine is apportioned to the work it has to do the cheaper will that work be done, and the better return will there be on the capital outlay. One does not generally employ a waggon and a team of horses to do the work which can easily be done by a coster- monger's barrow. Engineers, and especially Government engineers, are so rooted to one gauge, that it is refreshing to find the chief officers of the Bombay, Baroda, and Central Indian Eailway advising the construction of a branch line only 22 miles long on the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge, as there was not sufficient traffic to pay for a 5 ft. 6 ins. railway. 22 LIGHT EAILWAYS. In departing from the normal gauge for the construction of local rail-ways in poor districts (and it is railway construction into these districts that is being considered), the saving in the cost of adopting a different gauge from the main line may be summed up as follows — 1. The saving in cost of construction. 2. The saving in cost of rolling stock. 3. The saving in cost of running expenses and maintenance. In comparing railways of the same weight of rail, and built for the same speed, and with the same provision for stations, etc., the difference in cost of construction, attributable to the gauge, does not amount to so very much in an easy country for railway construction. By many authorities it is put down as varying between £400 and £1000 per mile. An estimate made in India for a standard, metre, and special gauge railway between certain points 17 miles apart was as under — Standard gauge 5 ft. 6 ins. Metre gauge 3 ft. 3f ins. Special gauge 2 ft. 6 ins. , £2,927 per mile. £1969 £1817 And it has been fairly shown that the difference in cost in India, between a 5 ft. 6 ins. and metre-gauge line, comparing like with like, is not under £750 per mile. Taking the case of a railway in Ireland on the 5 ft. 3 ins. gauge constructed to carry the main-line rolling stock, and comparing it with the cost of a line on the 3 -ft. gauge of lighter construction, but still amply sufficient for the estimated traffic, Mr. W. B. Lewis estimates the saving on one mile of the single narrow gauge, as follows — Earthworks Road approaolies . . . Fencing of do. Eoad metal Ballast and boxing Public road bridges Permanent ways rails and fastenings Sleepers Carriage of materials and laying Car ied forAV ard £ s. d. 150 10 194 4 16 10 12 12 133 12 211 423 133 6 8 5 16 1280 10 8 GAUGE INFLUENCING COST. 23 Brought forward .. 1280 10 8 Culverts 7 10 Accommodation works 20 Land 75 Proportion of signals 20 Stations and platforms 100 Add contingencies 10 per cent £1503 8 150 £1653 8 The cost of a railway in an easy country is influenced by four conditions, and to compare one railway with another, these conditions must be known, viz. — 1. The greatest weight to be carried on one axle, on which the weight of the rail depends. 2. The speed of the trains. 3. The gauge of the railway. 4. The station accommodation. From which it will be seen that the gauge comes third on the list as influencing the cost of construction in an easy country. But when we come to consider the cost of construction in a mountainous district, the difference may become very considerable, and amount in some instances to many thousands of pounds. The reduction of the gauge enables curves of very small radii to be used, and whilst a 5 chains radius is as small as it is convenient to go, on the gauge of 4 ft. 8J- ins., a 3 chains radius can be used on the metre gauge, and a 1\ chain on the 2 ft. 6 ins., and the railways wUl still be in good working condition. The question of curves in laying out a line in a difficult country is one of great importance, as it enables a railway to follow the contour of the ground, to avoid heavy embankments, cuttings and tunnels, and by these means to effect a great saving in first cost. The greater flexibility of the narrow gauge also allows the railway to approach the different large centres of population more readily, and by being able to turn and twist about the streets of a town, to deliver without intermediate transport, at the very doors of the warehouses and market-places, the goods and produce collected in the country. 24 LIGHT EAILWAYS. A table has been published* which gives very accurately the difference in cost due to the gauge of similar railways, of the same character, constructed through different conditions of country, and serves to show how much can be saved by suiting the gauge to the country to be traversed. But, at the same time, there are various questions to be considered in the solutions of a railway problem, and each proposed line should be considered on its merits. Cost pee Mile. Nature of couotry. Standard gauge, 4 ft. 8^ ins. Metre gauge, 3 ft. 33 ins. 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge. £ £ £ £ £ £ Level 2,392 to 3,987 1,595 to 2,551 1,260 to 2,057 Slightly undulating . . 3,652 „ 5,582 2,392 „ 3,987 1,595 „ 2,392 Very undulating 4,785 „ 7,179 3,652 „ 4,785 2,057 „ 3,190 Slightly hilly .. 6,380 „ 9,571 3,987 „ 5,582 2,392 „ 3,987 Very hilly 8,742 „ 11,163 4,785 „ 7,178 3,652 „ 5,582 Slightly mountainous 10,365 „ 12,760 6,380 „ 8,774 4,785 „ 6,380 Very mountainous 11,963 „ 15,950 7,977 „ 11,164 5,183 „ 7,976 In estimating the difference in cost of two gauges in a certain district, it would be necessary to make a separate alignment for each, putting in the curves suitable for each gauge. Where this has been done in one or two cases before deciding upon the type of railway to be put down, the difference in cost has been very remarkable. Por the Denver and Eio Grande, 20 miles in length — Standard gauge 3-ft. gauge For a railway in Queensland — Standard gauge 3 ft. 6 ins. gauge In Queensland, two lines of 6 miles and 16 miles respectively were surveyed, crossing a mountainous district. The curves for the standard gauge (4 ft. 8^ ins.) were fixed at 8 chains radius, and for the narrow gauge at 5 chains. The great difference in cost was due principally to the necessarily larger curves on the one line, whereby the quantity of excavation, the length of tunnelling, the height and length of viaducts, and the length of culverts were considerably in- creased, causing a difference of £31,000 per mile in construction alone, and adding a considerable annual sum to the cost of maintenance. * International Railway Congress. £13,952 per mile. £3,908 „ .. £46,000 per mile. .. £15,000 „ VEHICLES IN TRAINS ON DIFFERENT GAUGES. 25 In adopting a local line on a different gauge from the main line, a considerable saving can be effected in the rolling stock. The rolling stock, not having to intermix with the waggons on the main line, can be of much Lighter construction, and consequently cheaper. The waggons on the main line, carrying a load of 10 tons, generally weigh more than 5 tons, having a ratio of live load to dead load of 1"75 to 1 ; whereas waggons of the same capacity on a narrower gauge can be made, weighing only 2 J to 3 tons, or a ratio of 3 or 4 to 1. On the broad gauge of 5 ft. 6 ins. it has not been found necessary to make the waggons wider than 8 feet; on the metre gauge there are waggons 8 feet wide, and on the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge 6 ft. 8 ins. wide. It is not found in practice, on lines of light traffic, that a greater number of vehicles are required on the narrow gauge to carry the same amount of traffic. The waggons scarcely ever carry their full weight, and this fact gives the light rolling stock an advantage over the heavy stock in reducing working expenses. Comparing the standard-gauge lines, Bengal-ISTagprn- (ISTo. 1), and Indian Midland (jSTo. 2), with the metre gauge lines, Bengal North Western (No. 3), and Eajputana Malwa (No. 4), in India, we find that the number of vehicles in a train, with practically the same amount of traffic, differs only in a small degree, which may be attributable to local conditions, and slightly to the advantage of the narrow gauge. Gadge. No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, 5 ft. 6 ins. 5 ft. 6 ins. 3 ft. 3t ins. 3 ft. 3t ins. Average mrmber of passengers in a passenger train .. 260 175 248 255 Average distance travelled by a pas- senger in miles . . 49 68 35 54 Average number of tons in a goods train 110 101 97 100 Average distance in miles hauled of a ton of goods 99 140 127 242 Average number of vehicles in a jias- senger train 19 11 13 16 Average number of vehicles in a goods train 24 28 32 24 Average number of vehicles in a mixed train : Coaches . . 8 9 12 12 „ Goods waggons . . 14 13 11 9 26 LIGHT EAILWAYS. The saving in running expenses and maintenance on a narrow- gauge line, provided with light rolling stock, may be divided under the following heads, commencing with the most important — Maintenance. Traction and rolling stock. Administration. The maintenance of a railway depends so much upon the amount of traffic passing over it, the number of the trains, the curves and gradients, that it is difficult to give any correct comparison between the main- tenance of one line and another. The first cost of construction of a narrow gauge is less by the avoidance of heavy cuttings and embank- ments ; the dead load is less in proportion to the live load carried ; the weight per axle is less, and the speed is less ; it must therefore follow that the cost of maintenance must be less, both in labour and material. The cost of maintenance of the three different gauges in India standard. Metre. Special. 8d. £137 6-3d. £67 5-M. £41 Per train mile. Per mile. Whilst in Ireland, taking railways with practically the same amount of traffic — 6 ft. 3 in. 6-40d to 15-78d. £77 „ £189 All railways. 7-OSd. £144 3 ft. in. '6-16d. to 5-07d. £32 „ £65 Per train mile. Per mile. The maintenance expenses on the narrow gauge would show still more favourable results were the traffic greater. The traction expenses on a line with light rolling stock must necessarily be less, as the locomotive has less dead weight to haul per ton of paying load. On lines of small traffic the haulage expenses are still further reduced by the smaller waggons being better filled, con- sequently they are more efficiently used. The administrative expenses should be, of course, independent of the gauge. They are influenced more by the exigencies of the traffic and the style of the management ; MOST SUITABLE GAUGE. 27 but as a rule the public will look over the deficiencies of a narrow- gauge Une, and suit themselves to a less luxurious condition of things, which, were the line of the main-line gauge, would flood the General Manager's office with letters of complaint, and the newspapers with columns of pent-up wrath. Knowing the advantages and the disadvantages of a break of gauge, and how much a line may be expected to cost on a certain gauge, under different conditions, it may be useful to consider what is the most useful gauge for local railways. Notwithstanding the systematic opposition which has to be faced in proposing a break of gauge, it cannot be denied that a gauge differing from the main line, has great advantages from the point of view of economy, and may prove the solution of the difficult problem, for the relief of agriculture, of economical local railways. The most suitable gauge for local railways may be taken to be the 2 feet, or, preferably, the 2 ft. 6 ias. A railway on this gauge can follow the windings and the turnings of any cart road ; it can be laid without inconvenience on the cess of the main roads ; sufficient power can be developed in the locomotive to enable it to haul any load that the district may reasonably require ; and it has the advantage of being the most economical gauge that can be usefully employed in steam traction. By using this gauge, the farmer can employ a portable liae about his farm, on which the waggons can be drawn by horses to the place of loading ; the merchant can do the same in his warehouse, and by this means there need be no transhipment between the places of first loading and final unloading. The weight of rail should not exceed 30 lbs. per lineal yard, and steel sleepers should be used for the better preserving of the gauge. On this rail a four-wheel- coupled engine weighing 15 tons in working order, will haul a gross load of 150 tons up a gradient of 1 in 100, or 75 tons up 1 in 50. Engines up to 25 tons can be used on this rail, if necessary, with a hauling capacity of 225 tons up 1 in 100. The former engine will run a passenger train, if necessary, at the rate of 35 miles per hour, and can be fitted with a tender to enable it to run 50 miles without stopping. Full particulars of the loco- motives and rolling stock suitable for this line will be found under Chapter III. 28 LIGHT RAILWAYS. Several railways on a gauge of 2 ft., 2 ft. 3 ins., and 2 ft. 6 ins. have been built, and are working satisfactorily, and of these may be mentioned the Festiniog, the North Wales narrow gauge, and the Darjeeling railways on the 2-ft. gauge. The Corris Eailway on the 2 ft. 3 ins. gauge, and the Morvi, the Gaekwai's Dabhoi, and the Antofagasta and Bolivia (574 miles long) on the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge. Details as to construction and working of these railways are given in Chapter X. If in any new country, or in oiir colonies, a narrow-gauge line has been laid down to develop a certain district, and after the lapse of ten or twenty years it has become inadequate for the traffic, no difficulty need be experienced in making the line of the main-line standard and gauge; and the work can be done without any interference to the traffic. The Bengal-Nagpur Eailway, in India, was converted from the metre gauge to the standard gauge for 145 miles of its length in this way, in the space of twelve months ; whilst the Great Western Eailway, in England, changed 200 miles of their line from 7 ft. to 4 ft. 8J ins. in three days, by stopping all traffic during the work of conversion. The rolling stock, permanent way, and iron superstructure of the bridges used on the pioneer line will be useful to lay down in another district, to develop that district for the advent of the heavier Une. The very fact of having the pioneer line in existence will cheapen the construction of the heavier line, and the extra cost of the heavier line will now have a revenue created for it which will make it im- mediately remunerative. Were this policy more generally followed, the traffic-producing capabilities of a district would be proved at a minimum of cost, and if they did not come up to expectations, the loss incurred would be of the smallest. Whereas, under the present system, branch lines of the main-line standard have been laid down, and the traffic forthcoming has not been sufficient to pay working expenses. The lines are burdened by a heavy capital cost, which hangs as a millstone round the neck of the constructing company or the colony, and that further construction of branch lines — of which many countries, and especially our colonies, stand so much in need — has thus been prevented. ( 29 ) CHAPTER III. THE SUEVET AND LOCATION OF LIGHT RAILWAYS. The survey and economical location of a local railway is almost of the same importance, perhaps of more importance, than the location of a main line. The main line, as a rule, runs between two objective points, and its mission is to get there with the best gradients obtain- able, but in the shortest distance, due regard being had to the cost of working eventually. The object of the local line is to develop a district, and to make traffic for itself, and consequently must go, in a certain degree, where that traffic is en route, and with the best gradients possible for economical working afterwards. For the purpose of collecting traffic from a town some considerable distance from the straight route, it might be necessary to deviate from the straight route some ten miles or more, and increase the length of the line by three miles by doing so, thus — „,.% ? 3i:_B ,^''' \lO Miles -_ - I; 20 Miles * 30 Miles • — ■> FiS. 1. The distance AC = 50 miles. „ „ ABC = 54 miles. A considerable degree of success of the local line will depend upon its judicious location, and no effort should be spared to effect this by well-trained and experienced individuals. The position of the line being decided upon, that which should have the next consideration is the gradient. This rules the load an engine can haul, and is a measure of the accommodation afforded by. 30 LIGHT RAILWAYS. and determines the carrying capacity of, the line. Whilst no regard in ordinary light lines need be paid to gradients over 1 in 200 for the purpose of cheapening construction, all gradients below this should be considered and calculated on measure of distance. The influence of a gradient on the value of a railway is of very great importance ; and in comparing one main line with another, their equivalents in distance has been reckoned as follows. In considering gradients below 1 in 200, one line may practically be considered as good as another, but for gradients between 1 in 200 and 1 in 100, one mile should be reckoned as 1} mile, and the following table will show the value of two railways reckoned by the gradients — Between 1 in 100 and 1 in 66 as If miles. 1 ., 66 „ 1 „ 50 „ 1:1 „ „ 1 „ 50 „ 1 „ 40 „ If „ 1 „ 40 „ 1 „ 33 „ 2 „ Above 1 „ 33 2i „ Passenger traffic always follows the route which most suits its convenience, but goods traffic goes by the shortest route, and in dealing with competitive lines, the shortest route for goods traffic can be determined by the above table. The hauling power of a locomotive is considerably lessened on the steeper gradients, and there are also many difficulties raised by them in the speed of trains, both ascending and descending, and a considerable element of danger in working heavy goods trains. The table on page 51 will show the power of a locomotive working on different gradients. It will be seen that the influence of severe gradients has a very material effect on the carrying power of a railway, and, in laying out a line, it may be policy to follow that route which affords the easiest possible gradients for the longest distance, and cross over the intervening distances with such gradients as are found necessary. If it is in any way practicable to locate the Une that the steepest gradients can be in one district of 30 miles or so, this district could be worked by special engines, either of heavier type, or of special construction. The weight of rails and curves could be com- pensated for this, and the extra cost of construction for this portion. RULING GRADIENTS. 31 if any, may be allowable by the saving effected in working expenses over tbe whole line. It has been estimated as nnder for two lines of railway between two points 80 miles apart, point to point, one with a gradient of 1 ia 30, and the other 1 in 15.* Ordinary light system. [ PropoBed light system. Length of line 135 miles 93 miles Maximum gradient linSO linl5 Weight of engine . . 24 tons 40 tons „ of rails 40 lbs. 32 lbs. „ of adhesion 19 tons 40 tons AtaTriTmiTn Inarl up, 1 in .^0 61 „ 148 „ „ linl5 9 „ 61*,, Ck)St per mUe £5896 £4268 Total capital £794,780 £394,363 WorTring expenses £38,880 £31,758 Train miles 260,164 miles 187,303 miles Receipts £56,000 £56,000 Interest on capital 2J per cent. 6J per cent. With a traffic of 60 tons of goods per day, and one passenger train in each direction, and rates charged at 2d. per ton per mile for goods traffic, and Id. per mile for passengers. It should be particularly borne in mind that, because a 1 in 40 gradient has been found necessary in one particular place, the same gradient can with impunity be laid out ia other places. The best gradients that can be obtained must be used — of course with due regard to the cost of construction in each particular section of the Une. There is an instance in one of our colonies where, because 1 in 40 was adopted as the ruling gradient, the engineer, in staking out the line, put in this gradient without taking the trouble to see whether better gradients could be obtained at certain places. In after years, when the traffic of the line considerably increased, and competition from another line was an element of danger, it was decided to reduce the gradients on certain sections to 1 in 80 ; and, in surveying for these reduced gradients, it was found, in one instance, that the 1 in 80 gradients shortened the distance between the two respective points, and, had this gradient been adopted in the first * Min. Proe. J}}st. C.E. 32 LIGHT EAILWAYS. instance at this particular place, the original cost of construction would also have been reduced. A ruling gradient of 1 in 80 is, perhaps, the best gradient that can be obtained in many countries, and steeper gradients than this, for any considerable length, should not be put in unless for the purpose of avoiding heavy earthworks or bridges. Where it is absolutely necessary to use steeper gradients at successive points to overcome sharp rises, the gradients may be so arranged that they will not interfere with the hauling capacity of the locomotive. The light lines in Prussia, on the 2-ft. gauge, used for both passenger and goods trafBc, have a ruling gradient of 1 in 50 ; but, when gradients between 1 in 40 and 50 are introduced, if longer than 500 yards, a horizontal stretch of double the length of the gradient is arranged before it, so as to allow the train to store momentum for the ascent. Steeper gradients also up to 1 in 25, if they do not exceed 120 yards long, and 1 in 30, not exceeding 220 yards long, can also be overcome by the tractive power generated, and without additional locomotives ; and stUl steeper gradients of 1 in 18 can be negotiated, if such gradients do not exceed the length of the train. From what has been written, it will be seen that the question of gradients is one of great importance, and its importance may be carried a step further if the light line has any probability of being converted into a main line at some future period. The conversion of the light line to one of heavier construction, necessitates the widening of cuttings and embankments, if on a wider gauge, and, may be, the flattening of curves. It will be seen that, if the light line has been laid to the best gradients obtainable in the first instance, the conversion of the line can take place on the same track, and at the least possible cost. Every latitude must be allowed in the laying out of a line in the matter of curves, and, when the minimum radius has been decided upon, it can be introduced, and must of necessity be intro- duced, wherever a saving in cost of construction can be effected. In laying out a curve on the ruling gradient, the gradient for this particular distance must be compensated to suit the radius of the curve, so as not to increase the resistance to the locomotives CURVES. 33 more than on the ruling gradient. The compensation generally allowed is 0'05 per cent, of gradient for each degree of curvature. A gradient of 1 per cent, is 1 in 100, and a degree of curvature is 5730 feet radius. There will be no occasion to consider the future conversion of the line in the matter of curves, as the first cost being a con- sideration, it is absolutely necessary to introduce sharp curves. When it becomes necessary to convert the line, the traffic on the line must be such that the extra expenditure in flattening the original curves for the new line will be justifiable, or the necessity for converting the line would not have arisen. No obstruction or delay to traffic will occur, and little expenditure will have been wasted in the original trace. The minimum radius of curves generally adopted on a 3 ft. 6 ins. gauge is one of 5 chains, and this is the radius which experience has proved to be the smallest that can practically be used on open liaes for ordinary speeds, though curves of 3 chains radius are freely used in station yards and sidings. The corresponding curve on a 4 ft. 8^ ins. gauge open line would be 8 chains radius ; but, when dealing with a gauge of 2 ft. 6 ins., the curve would only be IJ chain radius. The following diagram will show, to the non-professional mind, in a graphic manner the saving to be effected in earthworks and bridges, viaducts or tunnels, and afterwards in maintenance expenses, by being able to follow the contour of the ground in a mountainous coimtry by using sharp curves. Cutting Section N?I. Fig. 2. Embankment Section N?2. 34 LIGHT RAILWAYS. CHAPTEE IV. THE PERMANENT WAY. In designing a local railway, and deciding upon tlie type of line pro- posed to be laid down for serving a particular district, it is necessary to fix, in the first instance, the weight per lineal yard of the rail to be used. On this depends the character of the line in a great measure : the ballast, the sleepers, the bridges and viaducts, the maintenance of the line, the weight per axle of the engine and rolling stock, and the capability of the line for carrying either a heavy or a fast traffic. The chief item in the construction of cheap railways that is generally fixed upon for economy is the weight of the rails, and this is so for the reason stated above, and also because the permanent way is the largest individual item of cost in a light line. It is of the utmost importance that the rail should be amply sufficient to carry the rolling stock and traffic that is likely to come upon the road ; and of economies practised, and which must necessarily be practised, in the construction of local railways, the worst economy is that of cutting down the weight of the rail to the lowest possible limit. There axe ample opportunities to the efficient engineer to effect economies other than in the rail, and where such economies can have very little harm either in the future capability of the line, for carrying traffic, or in increasing the cost of maintenance. Stations and station buildings, earthworks, masonry, culverts, bridges, signals, and manage- ment, are all legitimate items for economy, which may be cut down to a very considerable extent from the standard adopted on the main lines, without in any way interfering with the earning capacity of the line. If it is decided to construct a local line capable of conveying the rolling stock of the main lines, but not the engines, it will be neces- sary, in many instances, to use a rail of 50 lbs. weight per lineal yard, whereas if the line is to be extended into poor districts, and a break of gauge is decided upon, a rail of 30 lbs. weight can be used. E-ails BAILS AND SLEEPERS. 35 of a lighter weight than this have been used for locomotive traction but for practical purposes, and for the lines under consideration, a rail of 30 lbs. weight is the lowest weight economically justifiable for local railways for steam traction. Even for a roadway that has little more than the traffic going along the ordinary turnpike road, it is advisable to effect the economies necessary in the works below formation level, rather than to cut down to the lowest possible limit the weight of the rail. The weight per axle that a rail of a certain weight will carry depends upon the spacing of the sleepers and the quantity and quality of the ballast. The usual practice in India has been to allow, with 2000 sleepers per mile, 8 tons per axle for a40-lb. rail, and 10 tons per axle for a 50-lb. rail ; whilst in other places a much less axle weight has been followed. A rough-and-ready rule for calculating the weight per axle that rails up to 45 lbs. per yard will carry, is to allow 6 lbs. per yard of rail, for every ton weight on an axle. Experience has shown that 7 tons per axle is a sufficient load for a 41|-lb. rail to carry for economical maintenance, with 1920 sleepers to the mile, and 6 ins. depth of ballast under the sleepers. The sleepers to be used will depend upon the facility the country affords for supplying them, but if the difference in cost is not con- siderable, steel sleepers are to be preferred to wooden ones. The life of a steel sleeper may be taken at from four times that of a wooden one, and it has the additional advantage of keeping the road in better gauge when light rails are used, and forming altogether a firmer permanent way. They should have the clips punched out of the solid, and the rail fastened with a jagged steel key. On the straight portions of the railway, the key would be placed on the outside of the rail, and on curves, on the inside of one or both rails, according to the allowance of extra width of gauge required by the radius of the curve. If wooden sleepers are used, they can be either square or half-round, and should be creosoted if possible, and thoroughly dried and seasoned before being used. On the Ught railways in Hungary the sleepers are of this section /«iM \i > ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ °^ ^ sole-plate on the sleeper. 36 LIGHT RAILWAYS. This is a very good form for a sleeper with a flat-bottom rail, as it has a good wide base, and the rail, having a shorter bearing on the sleeper, is not so liable to cause the sleeper to rock on the passing of the rolling load. Spikes or coach-screws may be used for fastening the sole-plates to the sleepers, and wherever possible, the sole-plates should be fastened to the sleepers before the latter are dis- tributed for laying. It is also advisable for the sleeper to be bored for the spikes before creosoting, as by so doing the creosote penetrates into the timber surrounding the spike, and the timber is thus pre- vented from prematurely decaying at the spike holes. The switches and crossings should be riveted to iron sole-plates, so as to ensure them keeping their respective positions. Being of light material, they are more liable to shift, and are not so easily kept in their place as the heavier material used on main lines. The ballast should be of the best description obtainable, and as a small quantity per lineal yard is used, it would not cost much, if it were screened before being put in position. This would ensure better drainage in wet weather, and would also prevent the clogging of the axle-boxes with fine dust. The permanent way also must be of the best description of its kind, as on this depends, in a great measure, the annual cost of maintenance. The following table gives the cost for the permanent way of four probable light lines, including laying and ballasting, each line appor- tioned to the weight carried per axle, and to a speed of 10 to 20 miles per hour — Railway No. 1 ... 2 3 4 ... ... 20-lb. rails . 25 ... 30 „ - 50 , Permanent Way. 2 ft. ins. gauge. 2 ft. 6 ins. „ 2 ft. 6 ins. „ Metre or 3 ft. 6 ins. ditto. The rails in use on different railways vary only as to size and weight ; steel is now universally used. A rail of 36 lbs. per yard on the 2-ft. gauge, Al\ lbs. on the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge, and 60 lbs. on the metre or 3 ft. 6 ins. gauge, is the heaviest that should be used for ordinary work. The fish-plates are generally plain, and vary in size and weight according to the rail ; sometimes they are angular. Steel Sleepers (Indian States Eailway pattern). — As will be seen STEEL SLEEPERS. 37 from the following illustratioii of this sleeper, the metal is roUed thicker on the top than on sides, the sleeper being afterwards pressed to form Fig. 3. by hydraulic pressure, and the clips punched out at top, and bent to fit rails. The raUs are held in position by steel wedges, one end of which is split. When extra width of gauge is required for curves, etc., this may be easUy obtained by fixing the wedges at inside of rails. Gauge. ft ins. 2 6 Metre 3 6 Approximate weight of sleeper. lbs. 35 65 67 Length of sleepers. ft. ins. 4 6 5 4 5 6 Price, complete with wedges. £ s. d. 2 lOJ 4 3 4 41 Suitable for rails. lbs. per yard. 25 to 30 40 „ 60 40 „ CO Fish-bolts and Spikes. Size of bolt Spikes .. Weight of Eau. pek Yard. No. 1. 20 lbs. ins. in. 4 xi No. 2. 25 lbs. ins, in. 2Sxt 4ixi No. 3. 30 lbs. 2|xf No. 4. 50 lbs. 5i X i Bed-plates are flat pieces of iron interposed between the rails and sleeper to give the rail a greater bearing, and are absolutely necessary when wooden sleepers are used. A raised rim on the other edge is an improvement on the otherwise plain plate. Size of bed-plate ins. ins. 5 X 4 x ins. ins. m. 5 X 4 X i IDS. ins. ID. 5 X 5 X i ins. ins. in. 38 LIGHT BAILWAYS. Sleepers, wood. 2000 per mile. Weight per mile. Weight each. Gauge, ft. ins. ft. ins. ins. ins. tons lbs. Kailway No. 1 ..2 4 0x6x4 22 25 2 ..2 6 5 0x6x4 27 30 3 ..2 6 5 0x6x4 27 30 4 .. 3 3| 6 8x8x5 58 66 steel, with keys. Plain trough. Railway No 1 Gange. ft. ins. ..2 ft. ins. ins. ins. 4 X 6 X i » 2 .. 2 6 5 X 6 X i >» 3 .. 2 6 5 X 6| X i »» 4 .. 3 3| 5 9 X 12 X i Weight each. lbs. 20 25 30 70 Steel, with keys. Corrugated. Weight per mile. Weight each. Gauge, ft. ins. EailwayNo. 1 .. 2 3 .. 2 6 ft. Ins. ins. ins. 4 0x6 X 1^ 5 X 6f X ^ tons 16 35 lbs. 18 39 Points and Crossings, riveted to Weought-ieon Base-plates. Two-switch and crossing Single crossover Rails per Yakd. 20 lbs. 25 lbs. 30 lbs. 50 lbs. £ s. d. 5 15 11 15 £ s. d. 6 15 14 £ s. d. 7 5 15 £ s. d. 16 32 "WEIGHT OF PERMANENT "WAY. 39 Total "Weight of Permanent "Wat pee Mile. Rails pee Yakd, and Gacge of Railway. No.l. 20 lbs. 2 ft. ins. No. 2. 25 lbs. 2 ft. 6 iuB. No. 3. 30 lbs. 2 ft. 6 ins. No. 4. 50 lbs. 3 It. 3} ins., or 3 ft. 6 ins. EaJls Fish-plates Fish-bolts Spikes .. Bed-plates Sleepers, wood . . » steel tons cwts. qrs. 31 9 17 2 5 14 3 2 22 18 tons cwts. qrs. 39 5 12 3 9 16 3 27 22 tons cwts. qrs. 47 3 17 9 16 4 27 27 tons cwts. qrs. 78 10 4 15 12 2 8 11 6 58 10 62 10 Total weight, with wood sleepers 57 16 1 72 2 3 81 5 156 1 „ „ steel „ 50 11 2 62 16 3 75 19 146 7 Ballast. Rails. ft. ins. ft. ins. ft. ins. Railway No. 1 20-lb. 5 0x3 0x0 6 = 0-36 cubic yd. per lin. yd. 2&3 25 & 30-lb. 6 0x3 0x0 9 = 0-50 „ „ 4 50-lb. 8 0x3 0x1 = 0-89 40 LIGHT RAILWAYS. TABLE A. Probable Cost of the Permanent Way, Laid akd Ballasted, in the United Kingdom. Rails, at £4 10s. per ton Fastenings, at £15 per ton .. Steel sleepers, at £8 „ Add 10 per cent, for points, crossings, and sidings Cost of materials Loading and distributing materials along line, at 2s. fii. per ton liaying road and lifting, at 9d. per lineal yard Is. Is. 3d. „ Ballasting, at 2s. 6a!. per cubic yard Add 10 per cent, for points, crossings, and sidings Cost of laying, etc. . . Cost of materials Cost of laying Total cost per mile .. Weight of Rail per Lin SAL Yard, akd Gauge op Railway. 20 lbs. j 25 lbs. 2 ft. ins. 2 ft. Bins. 30 lbs. 2 ft. 6 Ids. 50 lbs. 3 It. 3t ins. f s. 141 15 16 17 144 d. 6 £ s. 176 12 23 5 176 d. 6 £ ». d. 212 3 6 27 216 £ 5. d. 353 5 80 5 500 30 5 3 37 n 9 45 10 4 93 7 332 17 9 413 9 3 500 13 JO 1026 17 6 17 6 7 15 2 9 10 18 5 66 88 88 110 80 110 110 198 15 5 9 20 11 6 20 15 32 12 6 168 3 3 9 3 226 6 8 228 5 358 17 6 332 17 168 3 413 9 226 6 3 8 500 13 10 228 5 1026 17 358 17 6 £501 1 £639 15 11 £728 18 10 £1385 14 6 COST OP PERMANENT WAT. 41 If constructed in one of our colonies, the cost may amount to : — TABLE B. Weight op Bail per Lineal Yard, akd GrAUGE OF Railway. 20 lbs. 25 lbs. 30 lbs 50 lbs. 2 ft. ins. 2 ft. 6 ins. 2 ft. 6 ins. 3 ft. 3} ins. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ 5. d. Materials f. o. b. England . . 332 17 9 413 9 3 500 13 10 1026 17 Freight and landing, at 25s. per ton 63 15 78 15 95 183 2 6 Duty free — add points and crossings .. 6 7 6 7 17 6 9 10 18 e 3 Cost of materials landed 403 3 500 1 9 605 3 10 1228 5 9 Loading, conveying, and dis- tributing materials along line, say at 20s. per ton .. 51 63 76 147 Laying road and lifting, at 20 per cent, on English prices 79 4 105 12 105 12 132 Ballasting, at 20 per cent. extra to English prices .. 96 132 132 237 12 Add 10 per cent, for points, crossings, and sidings 22 12 4 30 1 2 31 7 2 51 13 2 Cost of laying, etc 248 16 4 330 13 2 344 19 2 568 5 2 Cost of materials landed .. 403 3 500 1 9 605 3 10 1228 5 9 Cost of laying, etc 248 16 4 330 13 2 344 19 2 568 5 2 Total cost in a colony (prob- able) per mile £651 16 7 £830 14 11 £950 3 £1796 10 11 42 LIGHT RAILWAYS, CHAPTER V. BRIDGES AND CULVERTS. It may be economy in the first instance to construct the bridges for local lines of timber, if procurable in the country, so as to lessen the first cost. Timber bridges will last for twenty years, and when it becomes necessary to renew them, the line may be in such a position financially that this can be done out of revenue, or, at any rate, out of a sinking fund provided for this purpose. If stone is plentiful in the district, the abutments may be of dry rubble or concrete, with timber tops or rolled joists, as may be found convenient. The abutments and piers must be built of sufficient strength to support the thrusts imposed upon them, irrespective of the gauge or the rolling load ; but the superstructure, when of iron or timber, may be made according to the rolling load first determined upon. First cost is a consideration in constructing local lines, and if the character of the line is not likely to be altered for the space of twenty years, it is a waste of money to pay for extra iron, however small, in the superstructure, until the standard of the line is changed. It may be also more economical in certain places to use timber tressels, where the railway runs for a considerable distance above the original surface of the ground, say at a height of 10 or 15 ft., instead of making an earthen embankment. These are details that can be decided on the spot by the engineer in charge of the construction, and much will depend on the resources of the engineer, whether the line is economically constructed or not. In crossing rivers of considerable width, as are met with in our colonies, with the bed of the stream between high surrounding banks, and which are subject to high floods, rising and falling rapidly, at ROLLING LOADS. 43 certain periods of the year, it may be advisable to approach the river with 1 in 80 gradients, and run across the bed of the river on a masonry or concrete wall, say 6 ft. high, rather than bmld an expensive bridge several feet above the highest known flood, with deep foundations. Communications may be interrupted for three or perhaps four days at a time twice a year, but this would not be of so much importance as the saving of several thousands of pounds. The concrete wall would answer the purpose of a dam which may serve for irrigation purposes, or the watering of cattle. Self-acting sluices, or other arrangements, would be necessary to prevent commimications being interrupted by every slight freshet, and which would also allow free passage of the water in the main channel at the time of heavy flood. Wrought-iron pipes, earthenware pipes, wooden boxes, or tressel work might take the place of culverts in small and large water-ways in the first instance, as would be found most economical, and in tropical countries it would be better to repair washaways, rather than anticipate them by extensive precautions years before they would be called into use. The interruption of communications now and again would not be a serious matter on a local line, and might conveniently be risked, if considerable sums of money would be saved thereby. In calculating the strength for the superstructure of bridges, a rolling load of 15 cwt. per lineal foot may be taken for rails up to 30 lbs. per lineal yard for spans of 20, 40, and up to 60 feet, whilst for heavier rails the weight adopted on the Indian metre-gauge railways may be used. Span. Boiling load. Weight of iron in bridge. ft. tons tons cwtB. 20 20 2 5 30 30 5 40 40 7 50 50 11 70 62 Load on bottom 22 >J " I top 14 150 110 1 72 The weights under the Board of Trade requirements for this country are nearly double the above. Steel Bridge — A light lattice steel-girder bridge, suitable for 44 LIGHT RAILWAYS. carrying a light railway over a valley or river, is shown in Fig. 4. The approximate prices and weights for several spans, suitable for carrying railways of 30-in. to metre gauge, with rails 30 to 36 lbs. per yard, and locomotives weighing 18 tons, with corresponding rolling stock, are — Span. Approximate weight. Price. ft. ft. tons ' £ 60 X 13 wide 20 250 80 X 13 „ v8 325 100 X 13 „ 47 450 120 X 13 „ 55 650 160 X 13 „ 95 1050 The above prices include construction, erection, painting, taking down, packing, re-marking for re-erection at destination, and delivery f. 0. b. export steamer. The approximate weight of iron in the superstructure of bridges, suitable for light railways, and capable of carrying a locomotive weigh- ing 20 tons and a train, may be given as under, fixed complete : — Span. Approximate weight. Per ton. Cost. Per lineal foot. ft. tons £ f £ «. d. 20 2-5 12 30 1 10 30 5-0 60 2 40 7-0 84 2 2 50 11-0 132 2 13 60 18-0 216 3 12 8 70 70 22-0 load on bottomi 14-0 load on top / 168 2 5 9 80 28-0 336 4 4 100 47-0 564 5 12 9 120 55-0 660 5 10 160 95-0 1140 7 2 6 In New Zealand, timber bridges * were erected as under : Greatest , „ „, height. '^"E'li. Area in ICOsq. ft. Total cost. Costptr 100 sq. ft. Cost per lineal ft. ft. 89 86 76 ft. 484 606 224 ft. 267 356 106 £ 5799 8412 3049 £ 21-71 23-63 28-75 £ 11-98 13-86 13-60 In South Australia,t a 60-ft. span, capable of carrying a load of * Min. Proc. Inst. C.E., vol. Ixiii. p. 60. t Ibid., vol. Ivi. p. 36. STEEL BRIDGES. 45 .JJit WA I I '■! li !l V bD a "Sfl 13 ifTja) <*H 3 I ■';' a ho liii .€ia»,J 46 LIGHT RAILWAYS. 15 cwt. per lineal foot, with the load on the top of the girders, has been built as under. With limited headway, plate girders are used 4 ft. 6 ins. deep, and in all other cases lattice girders 6 ft. deep. The girders are spaced 5 ft. apart, centre to centre, braced together with vertical cross bracing, and stiffened by horizontal sway bracing. The girders are fixed on screw piles 21 ins. diameter, spaced 10 ft. apart, centre to centre, and braced together. The total weight of wrought iron in a bridge of 60-ft. span was as follows : — Two plate girders, etc. Two lattice girders Cross-head girder . . Cast iron in screw piles, 2 piles per span, 20 ft. above ground and 10 ft. below Total iron in a plate-girder span „ lattice-girder span tons cwt-=. tons cwts. 9 I2h — 8 2i\ 181/ 181 7 7 17 11 — 16 1 at £12 per ton = 108 12 at £6 42 £150 12 or £2 10s. Od. per lineal ft. To this must be added the timber flooring and hand railing. In Sumatra, for 35-ton engines, having an axle weight of 9 tons, the weight of iron in the superstructure of bridges for the different spans is as under : — Clear span between abutments. Eailwaj' on top flange. Railway belweeu girders. ft. ins. tons tons 6 7 0-35 10 2 0-87 — 19 8 2-40 — 23 8 2-46 — 26 3 4-05 6-80 32 9 5-75 — 39 4 — 11-21 49 3 15-00 11-38 65 3 16-95 21-02 82 — 26-79 98 2 — 40-01 130 11 — 58-66 163 7 — 83-05 183 9 arch — 122-02 > The following bridges * have been erected in India, on the Eajputana State EaUway, metre gauge, and 50-lb. steel rails : — * Min. Proc. Inst. C.E., vol. 1. p. 154. CULVEETS. 47 Name of river. No. of openings. Clear Fpan of each opening. Height of under side of girder to above bed of stream. Cost per lineal foot, including abutments and piers. Pempura PaCara Amanisliah . . Datra .. Banowlee Jataoli Sabi . . 3 4 4 8 30 130 ft. 40 60 142 20 lOJ 22 ft. 23 15 48 16 134 10 £ s. d. 14 14 25 10 48 14 12 11 7 15 11 11 On railways in the Cape Colony, bridges have been erected for a 3 ft. 6 ins. gauge railway and 60-lb. rails, including masonry abutments and piers : — ft. £ s. d. 1 200 45 1 150 40 1 80 31 1 70 31 2 50 30 The Americans have built tressel work for their railways, 40 feet high, at from £2 to £2 10s. per lineal foot. Timber-trussed bridges, 100 ft. to 150 ft. high, from £5 5s. to £6 15s. per lineal foot, and pin-jointed girder bridges, 100 ft. to 200 ft. span, superstructure only, at £9 per lineal foot. Culverts. — The culverts can be constructed of concrete, masonry, brickwork, timber, or piping, as may be most economical, according to their situation, and have either arches, timber, or roUed joists for covering. The following table of rolled joists, suitable for a rolling load of 1 ton per lineal foot, may be useful : — Span in feet. Weight per lineal foot. Size of joist. It. . lbs. ins. ins. 6 16 5x3 8 16 6x3 10 26 6x5 12 31 8x5 14 35 10 X 5 16 35 10 X 5 18 43 12 X 5 20 54 12 X 6 22 42 15 X 5 24 61 15 X 6 26 65 16 X 6 28 84 18 X 7 30 84 18 X 7 48 LIGHT RAILWAYS. The following table gives the number of cubic yards of concrete or masonry per lineal yard in culverts : — Size. Arch. ft. ft. ins. 3 y 4 I 2 5 1 2 6 1 6 8 1 6 10 1 6 Invert. Sides. Height, inside diameter. Cubic yards per lineal yard. ins. ft. ins. ft. ins. — 1 6 0-60 — 2 0-75 9 1 2 3 3 1-60 9 1 1 6 4 6 3-30 9 1 10 5 6 4-70 9 2 3 6 6 6-10 9 2 9 8 6 9-0 9 i 3 6 10 6 11-0 Culverts in masonry, or 5-to-l lime concrete, sides and inverts, with timber bearers or rolled joists : — Width. Height. Sides. Invert. Cubic yards per lineal yard. Length of top girder. Size of limber. ft. ins. 2 (i ft. ins. 5 ft. ins. 2 3 ine. 9 2J ft. ins. 5 6 ins. ins. 12 X « 5 7 6 2 6 9 5 8 6 12 X 6 10 13 3 3 9 Hi 13 14 X 12 ( 49 ) CHAPTER VI. LOCOMOTIVES AND EOLLING STOCK. A GEEAT argument in favour of constructing light railways in a poor country, and where little traffic is in sight, or the probable increase small, on a different gauge from the main line, is, that you can suit the rolling stock to the work it has to do, and so proportion the dead weight to the live load more advantageously than can possibly be done on main lines, where the speed is considerable, and where much shunting is inevitable. Light rolling stock cannot run intermixed with heavy stock, as it would come to grief in the different shunting operations, and, moreover, it would be an element of danger in running at high speeds. The slightest check in the speed of a goods train running downhiU, or on a curve, would- have a tendency to jump a light waggon, in contact with a heavy one, off the road; and railway managers will not allow an indiscriminate use of light and heavy rolling stock in one train. It is not practicable to run a train of light rolling stock by itself on a main line, as the main-line train passing the several junctions may only have one truck to pick up here and there, and could scarcely get a full load of light rolling stock in the whole length of its journey. Even if this could be done, it is not possible to keep the light rolling stock separate from the heavy stock at station yards and junctions; and in the shunting operations, the light rolling stock must be considerably damaged. For light railways to earn the interest on capital, and at the E 50 LIGHT EAILWAYS. same time to carry produce at a low rate, advantage must be taken of every item where economy can be made, and, if economical working is a feature — and it must necessarily be an important feature in every railway — the rolling stock on light railways must be built for the work it has to do. In our main lines carrying traffic long distances, the working expenses are influenced by the increased capacity of the waggons, and the consequent reduction of the dead weight to the live load, and by the increase of the paying load drawn by increased power of the locomotives. It is the object of good management to make up the load on the train as large as possible, and reduce the number of trains. This is, of course, sound policy, but the same rule cannot apply to light lines, as there is not the same amount of traffic to handle, nor the same distance to haul. Were it followed on light lines, the service of trains would, perhaps, be one every other day, instead of, as it should be to give proper facilities to a district, at least two trains each way per day ; and statistics show that, for distances up to 125 miles, even on main lines, small waggons are better. If, therefore, this service is to be obtained, the locomotives and waggons must be designed accordingly, and we must not employ large engines and trucks to do the work that can easily be done by small ones. The maintenance of the permanent way, both in labour and in renewals, is governed in a great measure by the weight passing over it daily, and if, in the carrying of the traffic, we employ vehicles having a greater dead weight in proportion to the paying load, so much more have we to pay for maintenance expenses. The cost of haulage per train mUe is the same whether the engine pulls live or dead load ; but the revenue per train mile is, of course, more, the greater the paying load is to the dead load. Locomotives.— These should generally be of the tank type, with four or six wheels coupled according to the work to be done, but every engine should have more than four wheels. A four-wheel engine is generally very unsteady in its running, and destructive to the road, causing increased cost of maintenance. Four-wheel-coupled engines LOAD HAULKD ON VARIOUS GRADIENTS. 51 should have a radial axle or a bogie, to give greater steadiness. The engine should not be heavier than is required to produce the necessary tractive force by adhesion, and the weight on the driving wheels must be proportioned to the weight of the rails. Unless the traffic is very heavy, or other conditions are unfavour- able, a four-wheel-coupled engine is to be preferred to any other, both on account of the facility it has in passing round curves, and of its being less destructive to the road. In these light engines the hand- brake should be placed conveniently for the driver to work, so as to dispense with a great portion of the labour of the fireman on the engine. The fireman would act, when required, as brakesman to the front of the train, and would assist in all shunting operations, whilst the guard would attend to the brakes at the rear of the train. The speed on these light lines will necessarily be slow for goods traffic, and, except in special cases, continuous brakes will not be required ; but a simple arrangement might be adopted, by which the lever-brakes could be lowered from the engines by means of a cord. The engines should have a gangway along each side and at the ends, as is now done on contractors' engines in this country, so that the firemen might easily pass from the engine to the adjoining vehicle. The cost of fuel and repairs may be kept at a minimum by keeping the speeds on gradients (below the ruling gradient), and on the level within proper limits, which on the level should not exceed 18 miles per hour for passenger trains, and 12 mUes per hour for goods trains. Engines for light railways can be designed to have a tractive force per ton weight of about 321 lbs., including friction, and the speed required to develop the maximum tractive force is 7 miles per hour, and this should be the speed on the steepest gradient. The haulage load on the various gradients wiU therefore be — Maximum Weight of Train in Tons on Gradient of (exclusive of Engine)- Engine weight. Tons. ?Jn1: i^«°- lin 100. lin 30. 1 in 60. lin 60. lin 40. lin 30. lin 25. lin 20. 1 .. 7^ 2 .. Ill 3 .. 1.5 4 .. 221 1-0 1-6 2-0 3-0 132 200 265 400 75 113 150 225 61 92 122 183 46 70 92 128 38 57 75 114 30 45 59 89 21 31 42 63 16 25 33 49 12 18 24 35 52 LIGHT RAILWAYS. The watering stations may be placed at a distance of two hours' rim, as it would scarcely ever happen that the engine would have to exert its maximum power for so long a time. These stations should also be of the simplest character, and were the engine fitted with a pump, no overhead tank would be necessary along the line at any place, except at the engine-sheds. The coaling stations might be arranged at every second water-tank. For extra long runs, or in places where it would be difficult to get water or store coal, a tender would have to follow the engine. For passenger and parcel traffic on lines with light traffic, a steam carriage may be advantageously used. It can be constructed to hold from 60 to 100 passengers, and travel at a speed of 25 miles an hour, or even up to 37 miles an hour, if necessary. The steam-carriage alone consumes about 7 lbs. of coal per hour, and can be constructed to carry water and coal for a 50-mile run. There is a great saving effected in using these carriages, as the working expenses and main- tenance of the road is less than one-half that of an ordinary light railway, and the travelling is quite smooth and safe. The carriage can be started and stopped much more quickly than a small train, and as the passengers themselves supply the extra weight required for adhesion, there is consequently a great reduction in the dead weight of the steam-carriage itself The cost of a carriage varies from £600 to £1500. Compound Locomotive — The illustration (Pig. 5a) shows a type of compound locomotives — there being one high-pressure cylinder exhausting into a reheating receiver in the hot-smoke box, and thence into the two low-pressure cylinders outside — this gives the same number of exhausts as an ordinary locomotive, and is effective in making a steady blast. The engine, one of several built by the Avonside Engine Company, for a 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge railway in South America, is of the dimensions given in the subjoined list (p. 54). c3 O pq a si c3 to a i o o I 1^ 64 LIGHT RAILWAYS. Dimensions of Engine Illustrated in Fig. 5a (p. 53). 1 high-pressure cylinder 15 ins. by 16 ins. stroke. 2 low-pressure cylinders „ 20 „ Fixed wheel-base 7 ft. 6 coupled wheels 3 ft. in diameter, centre wheels having no flanges. Trailing bogie (4: wheels) 2 ft. in diameter. Leading pony truck (2 wheels) do. Heating surface, tubes 676 square feet. „ fire-box 70 „ Tank capacity ... ... ... ... 860 gallons. Bunker capacity 90 cubic feet. Working pressure 180 lbs. per square inch. Weight on any axle not exceeding 7 tons . . . Total weight, 37 tons, in work- ing order. Sleepers are spaced about 2 ft. 5 ins. centres. Eails, 36 lbs. per yard. In order to make an engine with a long total wheel-base accommo- date itself to the road, all the coupled wheels and the pony truck are compensated together, and to give great lateral flexibility when on sharp curves the hind bogie and front pony truck are free to move 9 ins., subject to controlling springs. The draw gear also — which pulls from a point near the centre coupled wheels — can move laterally 10 ins. at the buffer beam. The adoption of compound engines was determined by the great cost of fuel and water they were to use, and it has been found in actual working that they save about 25 per cent, on these items over plain engines doing the same work. The engines are reported to run very steadily, and are probably the largest engines made for the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge. The reversing handles are arranged so that both high and low- pressure cylinders may be worked in various grades of expansion. The sanding is done by Gresham's steam sanding apparatus. The starting apparatus is by a simple valve which admits a small amount of high-pressure steam into the low-pressure cylinders, and it has been found in practice to be very effective. There is a safety-valve on the receiver to blow off at 125 lbs. per square inch. The engines have cabs of commodious pattern, having a clear working space for driver and stoker of 6 ft. by 4 ft. 6 ins. The tractive force of these engines is 10,870 lbs. LOCOMOTIVES. 55 The following Table gives details of the various types of loco- motives shown in Figs. 6-11 (see next page) : — TABLE C. Pakticulaes op Locomotives in Actual Use. * Fig. 6. Fig. 1. Fig. 8. Fig. 9. Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Weight of rails on wliicli engine is now working .. lbs. 20 26J 30 30 40 36 36 Gauge of railway on which engine is now working . . feet 2 2 2 6 2 2 2 6 2 6 Diameter of cylinders ins. H 9| 9 9 11 12 13 Stroke of cylinders .. » llf 12A 16 14 14 18 18 Diameter of coupled wheels feet 2 2 H 3 3 2 8 2 2 2 9 2 9 Eigid wheel-hase » 3 4 7 6 3 5 4 5 6 6 5 6 9 Coal capacity cwts. 25 30 40 12 — 15 20 Water „ galls. 760 900 800 380 600 400 700 Weight of engine in working order tons 8^ 18 13i ui 13| 25 28 Tractive force lbs. 2240 8360 3360 3543 5000 7700 9100 Gross load hauled up (exclu- sive of engine) — linSO tons 61 92 92 98 137 213 244 1 „ 40 )> 30 45 45 48 66 105 118 1 „ 25 » 16 25 25 27 37 57 66 Kadius of curves round which engine will pass freely feet 49 82 100 70 70 132 165 Price of locomotive .. £ 846 1136 1020 926 — 1665 1860 * Similar to Fig. 6, but with four wheels coupled. Waggons and Carriages. — For lines of light traffic the most economical waggons are those of the fonr-wheel type, carrying 5 to 6 tons in paying load, and weighing from 1^ to 2 tons. This gives a proportion between live and dead load of 3 to 1. Bogie trucks can be used for special purposes, such as the conveyance of cattle or other special traffic ; but trucks can be so arranged that small animals, as sheep, goats, or calves, can be conveyed in the ordinary waggons in use. Bogie trucks are not suitable generally for short lines, say under 125 miles in length, where the traffic is distributed throughout the length of the line, and which has to be picked up here and there. These trucks will carry 10 tons, and having a fair cubic capacity, it is not easy to get them fully loaded at one station; consequently there is a probability of their being only partly loaded, and a mass of dead weight is added to the train for no purpose. It is also more 56 LIGHT RAILWAYS. C5 3 & ;/ "'fc ; > o H O > H O O o o ►J (5 > < O o H CO W H Z O W > H O S O O O -J 1-1 < « z I— t ►-1 w w s^ H O O o o Oh < < o m Q Z < 1/5 <; o < o (^ z o > H O g o u o WAGGONS AND CAEEIAGES. 57 economical in working light lines to have as few types of waggons as possible, and it will generally be found that waggons about 14 ft. long and 6 ft. 6 ins. to 7 ft. wide, inside measurement, according to the gauge of 2 ft. 6 ins. or 3 ft. 6 ins., will be large enough for ordinary traffic. The open waggons can be 1 ft. 3 ins. deep, whilst waggons 3 ft. deep, with a cross-bar from end to end on top, on which can be stretched a net for cattle, and a tarpaulin for covering goods, will serve for both a cattle-truck and a covered van, with wheels 1 ft. 10 ins. diameter. The waggons can be of Ught construction, as although they may be made strong enough to carry five tons at low speeds, it will be found in practice that they will scarcely ever be called upon to carry this weight on the lines under consideration. These waggons would not cost more than £45 each. The lightest waggons on the ordinary 4 ft. 8J ins. gauge working on the main lines, carrying 6 tons, weigh 4^ tons, whilst the same waggons on the narrow gauge weigh 2 tons. The passenger carriages would also be on the same scale of lightness as the goods waggons, and it may be advisable to construct these on the bogie principle. The first-class carriages may be either divided into square com- partments seating nine passengers, arranged with sleeping berths and lavatory arrangements, or with the seats longitudinally, as in a tramcar. They should not weigh more than from 220 to 320 lbs. per passenger, and the cost will be about £10 to £14 per passenger carried. The third-class carriages can be both opened and closed, according to the class of traffic, and should weigh from 220 lbs. per passenger, and cost from £4 per passenger. It is not advisable to have more than two classes on light railways, and if short of rollmg stock at any time, the goods waggons should be available for fitting up as third class, and might be so designed as to serve this purpose. 58 LIGHT RAILWAYS. M < a CO o p M ■< •sm -« E ■ptOMmni.g CO 'Jh (M , . , CO CD cq U3 •sni 8 -i; 5 -8UJ00 0-27 0-64 1-6 2207 ■sai f 8 -5( t •puBiaii 0010^ ' ' ' •pUBHOOg 3 •raijjrai pUB UBABO 00 N ^ §3_ •SUI -JJ £ ^ -tj* CO ^ ^^ -^IlU3!t -JSJJ3T pUB ^uapuopao'-i OCO CO •sai -JJ E •81J8B0 iSuBg 03 05 i2 N yX> CO 6 6 CO cq -SUI ?8 -JJ \ 10 (N l^ •PJOJUK p™ 'r"P?=§ MtsaqouBM 00 iM cq •saifn -JJI '-'5 * £: 'aaasa 410JJBK oq i^^;' -s^lBM qJ-io.M 0-H-?i « -. ^ - - , cS ^ ^ -tJ bC a 05 1 — 1 -rJ A C3 -*J m 33 1— 1 -(:3 -4-=> CS O o O O ^ CO lO CO iH 1— 1 i-H « « =H m ;>:, CS &: t-H •iH cS h « to &PT3 M 3 d ^ <:« 05 s 60 05 H ^ -1-3 •rH H ^ ^ S ^ d QJ ^Jh ii ^ (M ^ CO =3 O o -1^ 05 s g >5 60 -l-i 05 rd 1" ^ -^=> ^ o rM «^ r^ o o CS g 05 05 -4J C5 -d 05 •a H ^ P^ BOaiE SUGAE-CANE OR FORAGE WAGGON. 69 i £ s. d. 20 21 10 24 £ s. d. 2 10 2 10 2 10 Extra for lever brake on one bogie. £ s. d. 15 15 15 if CO CD O s 4 1 Jooo ft. ins. 12 12 12 51 II P 3 ft. ins. 2 2 6 Metre, or 3 6 70 LIGHT RAILWAYS. •'''^ CO T-H c+8 Ph 3 C5 BOGIE COVERED VAN. 71 P-, 72 LIGHT RAILWAYS. fe =rt 7i 6C in ■¥» =H 03 S •c CM tij H— ( J-, Jj II ^ CO 1-:! P4 33 CO .3 .9 CD CD C5 z o o o 01 Q O o o c w > o o ( 73 ) CHAPTEE VII. PBOBABLE COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT. The cost of construction and equipment of any railway, obviously depends on the character of the railway, of the country through which it passes, and the amount of traffic it has to carry. All that can be done here, is to suggest the probable cost of certain railways in easy districts, and to cite what other similar railways have cost, in detail. From this a comparison can be made of various types of railways, wliich may enable many to form an approximate estimate, of what a particular railway may cost in a certain district. I Weight of Rails, and Gauge of Railway. 20 lbs. 30 lbs. 30 lbs. 50 lbs. 2 ft. ins. 2 ft. 6 ins. 3 ft. 6 ins. 3 ft. 6 ins. £ £ £ £ Survey 25 25 25 25 Engineering and supervision 125 125 125 125 Earthworks 200 250 350 400 Bridges and culverts 200 250 350 500 Permanent way and ballasting 500 730 864 1385 Stations and buildings, etc., say . . 50 50 60 70 Rolling stock 250 300 350 450 Temporary works and sundries 100 100 100 150 Probable cost per mile £1450 £1830 £2224 £3105 Land has not been considered. Fencing may or may not be required, and, in any case, the cost would be the same for each line. 74 LIGHT RAILWAYS. The following light railways have been estimated for : — Weight of Rails, and Gauge of Kailwat. Queens- land. Barbadoes. Cape Colony. England. Ceylon. 35 lbs. 3 ft. 6 ins. 40 lbs. 3 ft. ins. 45 lbs. 3 ft. 6 ins. 30 lbs. 2 ft. 6 ins. 60 lbs. 4 ft. Siina. 45 lbs. 5 ft. 6 ins. Survey Engineering and super- vision Land . . Fencing Earthworks Bridges and culverts .. Permanent way and ballasting . . Stations, buildings, etc. liolling stock . . Temporary work and sundries Contingencies .. £ 100 150 600 640 1418 60 110 £ 64 222 293 225 1194 70 527 125 £ 30 100 80 80 703 752 1736 324 300 170 £ 25 125 250 250 950 50 250 100 £ 150 360 165 300 1364 50 200* 111 £ 117-7 28-0 17-3 232-8 469-5 1326-0 106-6 162-3 98-1 179-2 Estimate per mile £3078 £2720 £4275 £2000 £2700 £2737-5 Estimate of cost per mile of a light surface line of railway, with 60-lb. steel rails, by Mr. Price WiUiams. Permanent Way. 95 tons steel rails, 60 lbs. per yard ... 3-22 „ fish-plates 0-65 „ bolts (No. 1408) 2-80 „ spikes (No. 7744) 1936 sleepers, 2 ft. 10 ins. centres, 8 ft. x9in. x4| ins., at 2s. 6cZ. each 1760 lineal yards laying road 1200 cubic yards ballast, 6 ins. deep, under sleepers 2200 cubic yards earthwork (forming) ... Sidings, switches, crossings, etc. —-fjr- Culverts, waterways, side drains, etc. Station platforms, etc. Land, 3 acres per mile ... 8600 lineal yards fencing and gates £ s. d ... at £5 475 at £8 16s. 28 6 9 at £16 6s. 6d. 10 12 3 at £13 8s. 37 10 3 ,at2s.6cZ.each 242 at Is. 8d. 146 13 4 at 5s. 300 £1240 2 7 ... at Is. 6a!. 165 124 300 50 ... at £50 150 ... ,,, 360 Locomotives, £2,000 10 £2389 2 7 200 111 £2700 Contingencies, 5 per cent., say Total cost per mile Note. — In this estimate, Mr. Price Williams has allowed nothing for En- gineering, Promotion, or preliminary expenses. * Locomotives only. CONSTKUCTED. The following light railways have been constructed : In India.* 75 Weight op Eails, akd Gauge of Eailwat. Hyderabad, Gaekwai'3 Morvi. Bickaneer Tirhoot Umarkot. Dabhoi. section. section. 60 lbs. 30 lbs. 30 lbs. 40 lbs. 40 lbs. 5 ft. 6 ins. 2 ft. 61ns. 2 ft. 6 ins. 3 ft. 3S ins. 3 ft. 3} Ins. £ £ £ £ £ Preliminary expenses 44 36 14 12 40 Iiand 1^7 1 — 214 Formation 164 } 132 235 Bridgework 333 405 520 9 889 Fencing .. 23 1 0-5 199 Permanent way and ballast 1036 985 762 1105 1755 Stations and buUdines . . 175 271 30 101 691 Plant .. .. .. 24 9 12 9 127 Rolling stock 9 271 278 181 675 General charges 866 148 92 17 299 Cost per mile £2701 £2125 £1709 £1566-5 £5124 In Europe.' Weight op Eaii, akd Gauge op Railway. Caen to Dives-en- Luc, France. Pithiviers to Toury, France. Belgium. Corris, North Wales. Ologher Valley, Ireland. 45 lbs. 3 It. ins. Wooton tramway. 30 lbs. 2 ft. ins. 19 lbs. 2 ft. ins. 35 lbs. 3 ft. 3» ins. 2 ft. 3 ins. 48 lbs. 4 ft. SJ ins. Cost of construction . . „ rolling stock . . £ [2143 £ 1223 328 £ 2038 650 £ 1814 £ 3286 £ 1600 400 Total cost per mile £2143 £1551 £2688 £1814 £3286 £2000 See also Chap. X. 76 LIGHT EAILWAYS. In our Colonies.* Weight op Rail, and Gauge of Railway. South Australia. Cape Colony. New South Wales. 40 lbs. ' 40 lbs. 5 ft. 3 ins. , 3 It. 6 ins. 45 Iba. 3 ft. 6 ins. 4 ft. 8i ins. Cost of construction „ rolling stock 5000 3548 £ 4700 £ 3708 161 Total cost per mile 5000 3548 4700 t 3869 In this country two light railways are being constructed, one on the standard gauge, from Castle Gary to Somerton (capable of carrying the Great Western rolling stock). There are to be no stations or signals, and the capital cost is to be £5000 per mile. The other railway is to run from Barnstable to Lynton, on a gauge of 2 feet. The capital cost is to be £3,660 per mile, but the cost of construction is estimated at £2614 per mile. In India, a railway on the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge, with 30-lb. rails, is under construction, from the Barsi Eoad Station of the Great Indian Peninsular Eailway to the town of Barsi, a distance of nearly 22 miles. The capital cost of the line is £3,409 per mile, which is sufficient to provide for the complete and efficient construction and equipment of the line, including rolling stock, and to meet all preliminary expenses, and the payment of interest on capital during construction. The traffic on the railway is estimated at 70,000 tons of goods and 63,000 passengers annually, or 3182 tons and 2863 passengers per mile per annum. * See also Chap. X. t Without rolling stock. ( 77 ) CHAPTEE VIII. WORKING EXPENSES. The working expenses of railways depend upon several conditions, which vary on different railways. The length of the railway, and the quantity of the traffic, the gradients and curves, the cost of fuel and labour, all have a direct effect on the carrying cost, irrespective of the gauge of the railway; but, as has been previously stated, it is as economical to move a ton of goods or a passenger on a narrow-gauge railway as on a broad one, if like with like is compared. Where the trafi&c is very small, not reaching more than £300 per mile per annum, the balance is more in favour of lines built in accord- ance with this traffic, both as to gauge and strength, than of others built to the standard of the main lines, or of lighter construction, to carry the main-line rolling stock without the engines. Whatever the traf&c, there axe certain standing charges to be paid, which will not vary to any great extent, whether the trafi&c is light or fairly heavy. The general management, the superior supervision, and station staff, will be the same for a light line as for a heavy one, with small traffic ; but the expenditure in maintenance, both for labour and materials, will be greater on a line carrying heavy rolling stock than on one carrying light rolling stock for the same amount of traffic. The usual expenditure for labour on maintenance of lines carrying the main-line rolling stock averages one man per mile of railway, whilst the same on lines of lighter construction is as low, in some instances, as 018 per man per mile. The haulage expenses and the shunting operations of lighter rolling stock wiU be additional items of economy, whilst the proportion of live paying load to dead load wiU be more favourable in the case of the lighter rolling stock. On a line noM' working, 400 miles long, with a traffic of about £300 78 LIGHT RAILWAYS. per mile per annum, the average freight load was only 2'49 tons in a vehicle capable of carrying 5 tons, and the percentage of freight to total weight on rails was 43'32 per cent. Had the main-line rdHng stock of the country been employed for this traffic, the per centage of freight to total weight would have been about 33 per cent. It has been stated that the standing expenses of light lines with small traffic, say under £500 per mile per annum, will amount to about £70 per mile per annum, and the working expenses will be this sum, with an addition of I of the receipts. That is, if the revenue of a line amounts to, say, £300 per mile, the workiag expenses may be expected to reach £70 + £^P, = £170 per mUe per annum, or, say, 56 per cent, of gross earnings. The train mileage per mile per annum for this traffic would probably amount to 3000 train miles, or nearly Is. 2d. per train mile, as low a figure as may be expected to be reached in this country on any light railway, carrying passengers and goods traffic, unless under very special circumstances. If a line constructed for this traffic is to earn, say, 4 per cent, on its capital, after paying working expenses, the capital cost must not exceed £3000 per mile. There are no light railways in this country, excepting perhaps one or two, which are worked at as low a figure, but which must be attained, if the railways are to be a financial success. The railways in the Isle of Man (see Chap. X. for details) are worked at 2s. per train mile, and earn 4s. Sd., but this is less than 50 per cent, of the receipts ; whUst the locomotive charges, including cost of repairs, is only 5'75d. per train mile — The Corris EaOway is worked at 2s. 2d. per train mile, earning 3s. 2d. The Easingwold „ „ Is. lOd. „ „ 2s. Id. The Glyn Valley „ „ Is. Id. ,, „ 2s. 9d. The Golden Valley Eailway, worked by the Great Western Ea0.way Company, using the main-line waggons, but light engiaes and coaches, with a traffic earning Is. 2d. per train mile, is worked at Is. 8d. Compared with the other railways, this line is only charged with a proportion of the " repairs to waggons " and traffic charges. The Wolverton and Stoney Stratford Railway is worked at Is. Od. per train mile. The Wooton Tramway „ „ Sd. „ „ WOEKma EXPENSES. 79 The working expenses of the so-called light railways in Ireland vary from Is. 5d. to 2s. 7d. per train mile. The main results of working the light railways of Belgium is lOd. per train mile, or £204 per mile per annum, earning Is. 2^cZ., or £286 per mile, and, on account of the very low rates charged — under id. per ton per mile — the expenses are 71"31 of the gross earnings. Each line, or series of lines, is worked by a private company or firm, which provides all labour, fuel, etc., and executes all repairs both to the works and rolling stock. The agreements vary on nearly every line. The principal items are as follows : — On the Ostend-Purnes line, the working company receives — 70 per cent, of all receipts up to £288 per mile per annum. 69 „ „ „ £320 68 „ „ „ £352 „ „ 65 „ „ „ beyond this sum. On the Ostend-Blankenberghe the agreement is — All receipts up to £128 per mile ; 44'95 per cent, of all receipts up to £320 per mile, -with a deduction of O'l per cent, for every additional £6-4 per mile above £320. The working company is guaranteed a minimum of £128 per mile by the National Society. The details of the working expenses of local railways in other countries are dealt with in Chapter X., and particular attention should be given to the Palmerstone and Pine Creek Eailway, in South Australia. This railway is worked at a cost of only £78 per mile, but giving only 214 train mUes per mile per annum. In comparing the locomotive expenses on a broad- and narrow- gauge railway, the statistics, furnished by the Locomotive Super- intendent of South Australia, show good results in favour of light narrow-gauge railways for small trafiic. As will be seen from Table S, the relative cost of consumption of coal and lubricants per 100 tons per mile is less on the narrow gauge than on the broad. In New South Wales, the Lismore-Tweed line is worked at a cost of £84 per mile per annum, giving a train service of 607 train miles per mile per annum, or a train each way per day. The revenue is so very small, amounting to only £69 per mile per annum, that it is questionable whether any railway with this small amount of traffic, even of the simplest and most economical type, could do more than pay working expenses. 80 LIGHT EAILWAYS. The ■working expenses on light lines in our colonies, with a train service of not less than 1200 train miles per mile per annum, should not exceed 2s. 6d. per train mile; but, of course, this will depend on many circumstances, and particularly on the length of the line, and also on its quality and type. The ordinary daily run of a locomotive is about 100 mUes, and, consequently, a line 50 miles long, or in multiples of 50, will be more economically worked than, say, one of 30 miles. The former will allow an engine to complete the double journey in one day, and, consequently, both men and plant are fully employed. Fixed charges will also be less per train mile the longer the distance to divide them over. A well-constructed, well-ballasted and maintained little railway, with rolling stock in good order, will be more cheaply worked than the ordinary railway constructed -for the sake of economy, with the secondhand rails, shaky rolling stock, and patched-up locomotives of the main lines. Eailways constructed for special traf&c have been worked at a low cost per mile, and the following statistics will show what has been done on a railway in Brazil for sugar traffic. The railway is 100 miles long, with branches, laid with rails 14 lbs. per lineal yard, and the total cost, including equipment, was £1263 per mUe, or a total cost of £126,300. The working expenses are : — Per mile per ann. Maintenance Locomotive 5 16-3 Repairs to rolliiig stock 2-0 Management 37-0 Sundry charges 4-7 £65-0 The gross earnings amounted to £225 per mile per annum. The working expenses are therefore 28'8 per cent, of gross earnings, and the net return on capital is 12'6 per cent. The traffic carried amounted to 45,000 tons. ( 81 ) CHAPTER IX. THE FINANCING AND WORKING OF LIGHT RAILWAYS. In the financing and -working of light railways in this country and in our colonies, every precaution must be taken to ascertain that the railway has some future prospect of paying its way, and the following elementary rules must be observed : — " 1. The most careful possible estimate of earnings must be made, and without being turned aside by mirages, which lead not only County Councillors but also working Companies aside, we must resolutely refuse to have anything to do with lines where we cannot feel sure of immediate earnings of at least 50s. per mile per week. On general principles, we shall not be far wrong in assuming that a line which serves a district where there are manufactories of some kind, and a dense population, will always pay its working expenses, whereas a line which has nothing but agricultural traffic will rarely cover its working expenses, unless it leads directly to an important town. " 2. We must get rid of all the unnecessary surplusage to which the main lines have too much accustomed us. Let the railway be as far as possible a high-road, and worked with the most strict economy. Do not demand three trains each way daily at the outset, as a matter of course. Almost aU the places where light lines are asked for have at present only two connections by public vehicle each way daily, one in the morning and one in the evening. It would, therefore, be only reasonable for poor lines to only have two trains each way daily, which ought to satisfy the inhabitants by their additional speed and additional comfort. Later on, if the receipts increase, the Department may require a third train to be put on under conditions laid down to start with in the concession. If this be done, there will be little risk to fear insufficiency of receipts. Unfortunately it would be very difficult now to induce people who have got their light lines to consent to one of the existing trains being taken off, though in fact it may be practically empty. " 3. The number of locomotives required might be somewhat reduced, and there might be certain motor vehicles which, either alone or drawing a single carriage, could at certain hours give an additional service on the most populous portion of the line, such as the suburbs of a town. "4. There should be some modification introduced into the requirement that there shall be for each Department a separate working Company, and a single working Company might be allowed to work the lines of two or more adjoining Departments G 82 LIGHT RAILWAYS. which are in similar conditions. In this manner the general expenses would be diminished, and also the cost of repairs." * In Great Britain it may be said that we have practically no light railways, and that all the railways have been built by private enter- prise without the assistance of the State or of any local corporations. The competition here has been so keen amongst the great railway companies, that they have undertaken the construction of branch or feeder lines in districts where it was almost impossible for the traffic to do much more than pay working expenses, even if so much. These lines have all been constructed on the standard gauge, con- forming in all respects to the Board of Trade requirements, and worked by the main-line engines and rolling stock. There seems now to be a very strong movement in the country in favour of light railways in the interests of agriculture, and, if these railways are to be constructed, it is probable that the State and local bodies will have to assist in the financing of them. This has been done very considerably on the Continent, and if these light railways are to be a partial solution of the problem of agricultural depression, and the agricultural interest cannot pay for them, then the State must assist, or the railways will never be made. There is no doubt that better communication between towns and villages must tend to bring more land into cultivation, and open up a wider area to a good market; and, if it is to the interest of the country as a whole, that more land should be brought into cultivation, it is surely the duty of the State to assist in providing the means of better communication. Means of communication ia the form of roads, bridges, and railways, are provided by Government in every colony; and, in countries over which we have established a protectorate, the State undertakes the whole burden of constructing and working the railways, necessary for the development of the country. State and local assistance have been given to the railways in Ireland, and it may be said that nearly every railway in that country has, at one time or another, received some financial assistance from one or other of these bodies, and, up to the present time, a sum * Transport, Nov. 30th, 1894. BAEONIAL GUAEANTEE. 83 of nearly three millions sterling of Government money has been contributed to these railways. Part of this money, to the extent of about one million sterling, has been advanced to the private railway companies as a loan, the security being a mortgage on the property. The remainder has been given out and out, without any Government control in the manage- ment, to the several railway companies, on their undertaking to construct and work certaiu railways. The subsidy for these so-called light railways, under the Acts of 1889 and 1890, amounts to about £5000 per mile of railway, a sum which should have been more than sufficient to cover the whole cost of the railways per mile. The private railway companies in Ireland are receiving at the hands of the State, not only a branch railway free of cost, but also all the new traffic which the branch railway collects and delivers to the parent line. Another form of assistance given to these railways has been the Baronial guarantee of interest. In this case the Baronial authorities have guaranteed interest on the whole, or on part of the capital, at the rate of 4, and sometimes 5, per cent., either in perpetuity or for 30 years. In these cases the guaranteed companies manage their own affairs, whilst the Baronies have the power to appoint one or more directors on the board. It is needless to say that these so-called light railways have not been a financial success, though they have contributed very materially to the improvement and welfare of the districts through which they have been constructed. The capital cost of the lines has been excessive, the financial arrangements have been on too lavish a scale, and have not contaraed in them the elements of commercial success, whilst the working expenses, under the Board of Trade regulations, and perhaps incompetent management, have been too high. Agricultural lines, pure and simple, are not sufficiently remunera- tive to tempt the employment of private capital, and all experience on the Continent, with the exception of one or two instances, points to the association of the State and the local authorities with private enterprise, in the construction and working of these lines. Unless some such basis as this can be arranged for the Ught railways in 84 LIGHT RAILWAYS. Britain, there is very little hope of many lines being built. With the Board of Trade regulations amended for a maximum speed of 20 miles an hour, instead of 70, as at present, and the preliminary negotiations necessary for obtaining authority for the construction of a railway simplified, and expenses reduced, there are districts in which light railways can be constructed without State or local aid, and which will not only pay their way, but return a fair percentage on their capital. It will be a matter for arrangement whether these lines shall be constructed and worked by a separate company, or whether they shall be undertaken by the main-line companies, as is done in Ireland. The capital for these lines might be found by private individuals interested in the district, and, after construction, the line could be handed over to a main-line company to work at a fixed percentage of receipts, as is proposed to be done in one or two light railways now before Parliament. For a short isolated branch, this may be the best method, but the calculation of the receipts earned by the branch, should follow on the lines adopted for branch lines financed by private companies in India, as explained in Chapter X. The branch line is entitled to a percentage of any increase of traf&c collected and handed over to the main line, which traffic would not have been created had the branch line not been made. If a system of light railways, radiating from large towns or a good market, is decided upon — and these are the lines which will mostly benefit agriculture, and are most likely to be financially successful — it would be better to follow the system adopted in Belgium, and form a separate company for their construction and working. If any lines proposed in a district do not show sufficient induce- ment for private enterprise to take up, the money for these should be raised by a guarantee of interest, shared by the State and the local authorities, the working company taking the risk of the line paying working expenses. The locality requiring the railway should take the initiative in promoting the railway, and be prepared to undertake a certain proportion of the guarantee of interest. If a district is prepared to do this, the State can hardly refuse to supply the balance of the guarantee necessary for raising the capital. The localities and private enterprise being associated STANDING OEDEES MODIFIED. 85 together in the risk would prevent lines being undertaken without due consideration, or prospect of returning a fair interest on capital, after paying working expenses. The guarantee of the State would enable the money to be raised without difficulty and at little expense, and would do away with those large financial swindles which have handicapped many lines already constructed. Even if the lines did not earn the whole of the guarantee, it can scarcely be said that the country would lose, as the undertaking would undoubtedly improve the condition of the people, and confer benefits on the districts which would not have been obtained otherwise. Light railways, under this principle, should mean railways costing not more than £3500 per mile. For this sum, a line on the standard gauge can be built in a fairly easy country, whilst a serviceable line on the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge can be constructed, and equipped, in almost any mountainous district. The following are the principal modifications of the Standing Orders of Parliament, and the laws affecting the authorization and construction of light railways, proposed by Mr. Pain, in a paper read before the Surveyors' Institute, on February 18, 1895 : — " 1st. One notice only of the intention to introduce a Bill to be required in a paper circulated in the district sei-ved by the light railway, one in a London daily paper, and none in the London Gazette, which the public never sees or reads. " 2nd. The Parliamentary deposit to be at the rate of 2 J per cent, on the cost of the works, instead of 5 per cent., as at present, and the promoters to be at liberty to deposit stock of the trustees' investment class. " 3rd. The scale of fees payable during the passing of the Bill through Parliament to be 50 per cent, less than that now in force. "4th. The provisions under the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1889 (Mr. Goschen's), by which 2s. per cent, on the authorized capital has to be paid on the passing of the Act, to be repealed so far as regards light railways. " 5th. Power to be given in all Light Railway Acts to authorize the company to issue ordinary shares at a discount not exceeding 10 per cent., or to pay interest out of capital not exceeding 3 per cent, per annum during the construction of the line. " 6th. Power also to be given to issue debentures not exceeding one-half the amount of the ordinary share capital. " 7th. Power to be given to the company to compel parishes, or parts of parishes, to be benefited by the construction of the light railway, to make and levy a rate on all property, such rate to be determined by the valuer appointed by the Board of Trade, and to be equal to one moiety of the improved annual value arising from the opening of the light railway. No such rate to be levied until the light railway is 86 LIGHT RAILWAYS. opened for traffic ; and as soon as 3 per cent, has been earned on the ordinary stock from the net traffic receipts, and paid for three consecutive years, the power to rate the parish to cease. The maximum amount in the £ of the rate to be levied to be fixed in the Bill by Parliament after having received a report on the same by the valuer appointed by the Board of Trade. " 8th. Acquisition of land. The powers of the Board of Trade imder the 85th section of the Lands Clauses Act to appoint a valuer for immediate possession to be extended, so as to constitute such surveyor or valuer the official umpire in all cases of disputed compensation between the company and those beneficially interested in the property to be acquired. " 9th. Power to be given to the company, in all cases where the compensation exceeds the sum of £100, to give a rent-charge in place of such money payment of compensation, such rent to be based on the 3 per cent, tables. " 10th. Powers of the Board of Trade to be further extended as follows : — After the passing of an Act, but before the commencement of the construction of a light railway, working plans and sections, with a specification of the works, to be deposited by the company's engineer with the Board of Trade, who shall state, in writing, what relaxation of the usual requirements will be permitted under the particular circumstances of each case, under the following heads : — Description of Permanent Way ; Signalling at Junctions and Stations ; Length and Height of Passenger Platforms, if any ; Accommodation at Stations for Passengers ; Gate-keepers' Huts at Level Crossings ; Speed of Trains, and Description of Rolling Stock. " 11th. Power to be given to the Board of Ti-ade to permit the company to use materials which have been used before, but which are in a thoroughly sound condition, such as rails, sleepers, fastenings, fencing, gates, girders for over and under bridges, station buildings, or other materials which the company's engineer shall declare, in writing, are fit and proper to he used for the purpose. " 12th. Light railways not to be subject to the clauses in the Regulation of Railways Act, 1889 : — 1st. As regards mixed trains ; 2nd. As regards continuous brakes, except in cases where the gradients are so long and severe that, in the opinion of the Board of Trade inspector, it would be dangerous to work the trains without them. " 13th. No passenger duty to be paid by a light railway company." Financing and Working Light Railways on the Continent. " On account of the direct or indirect advantages accruing from contributive lines to the communes, the State and the nation, the intervention of corporate bodies by means of subsidies, advances or guarantees of interest, is justified, both by reason and experience. "This intervention is, moreover, a necessary condition of existence for these lines. "The subscription for ordinary shares on the part of the communes, as in Austria or, in another shape, as in Belgium, appears to be the most logical method, for it is in conformity with considerations of abstract justice ; first, because the sacrifice should be only temporary, since the development of traffic should render it unnecessary later on ; and secondly, because corporate or associated bodies which are indirectly interested in the existence of the line, independently of the direct advantages they gain, should fairly give preferential interest in return, to private parties working the line who have spent time, trouble, and money upon it. CONTINENTAL FINANCING AND WORKING. 87 "I do not advocate that tlie great companies should supply capital. This generally induces a false position, and produces too great dependence of the little line, and is unprofitable both to the company working the line and to the public. "I am not here criticizing lump-sum grants, or subscriptions for deferred shares. " The leasing of contributive lines constructed entirely by the great lines, or taken over by them, on condition of leaving the lessee sufficient liberty and ample return on capital expended, and capability of grouping the lines so as to decrease general expenses, seems to me iDreferable. The foundation of special companies to undertake the construction and working of light lines tributaries to main lines, with the assistance of the great companies to assist or help in the working, seems to me the most logical, complete, and, financially speaking, the most favourable method, if the assistance is ample and genuine. Working under these conditions will be more economical than if great companies worked the lines directly, and there should be preliminary agreements duly defined, and fixed rules as to the method in which the great companies should assist the smaller ones. " Indirect subsidies, such as granting land, allowing the stations, shops, etc., to be used, seem to be the rule everywhere; these are reasonable, and ought to be obligatory, if only in the public interest. They should never become a handle for high-handed oppression on the little line, or a source of profit out of proportion with the sacrifice entailed. " They may also result in making the little lines share in expenses and methods of working incompatible with the economy which shoidd prevail. However, day by day, relations are becoming more cordial with the main lines ; distrust is tending to disappear, and the burdens laid on the little lines are losing their appearance of exaction and unjustifiable indirect taxation. " The public authorities will soon compel main lines to bear the cost of joint establishment. " The payment of a bonus by the great line to the little line per passenger or per ton brought on to their line, or on the total of new earnings gained at the junction, seems the fairest and most precise method of subsidizing light lines. M. Consid&-e's investigation shows this method to be actually only fair, and the companies who have applied it have certainly gone in the right and most liberal direction. " In goods traffic, connecting service is necessary, but I advocate the method of re-booking, simplifying the formalities between the companies, and giving up through service, even when the gauge is the same. For the secondary lines, through booking is a useless burden and expense, without being of any real advantage to the public. Through service requires or results in the entire adoption of all the rates, classifications, formalities, regulations, and account-keeping systems as carried out on the great lines. " The principle of absolute simplification and of economy which ought to be the essence of the organization of a local or secondary line, the limited staff, the avoidance of clerkage, the absolute simplicity of rates and audit ; all this is destroyed by copying main lines, and replaced by compUcated machinery which the main lines have been obliged to build up owing to the extent, complexity, and even intemationality of their services. These reasons are exactly those which do not exist for light contributive lines. " To apply the ordinary rates to light lines is anomalous, but if the services are carried out jointly with the main lines, they become almost absolutely necessary. This is an anomaly, because classification has but little importance for lines of short 88 LIGHT EAILWATS. length, as was the case with cartage ; the weight, space occupied, and manner of packing are almost the only) things to consider; moreover, the ratio between the mileage rate and terminals [is inversely proportionate for the little and big lines ; for the short contributive lines the constant element is of primary instead of secondary importance. If light lines are, so to speak, to be squeezed into the mould made for the main lines, the result will be that they will come out misshapen, and their growth will be stunted. " In order to give the public the same advantages, the connecting service requires, on the part of the main systems, a simplified and liberal organization, the reduction of formalities required for re-booking, and regulations which still have to be investigated ; but when the main lines choose, agreement will be established without difficulty. " AU methods of ^transhipment belong to this part of the subject. The organi- zation of stations where the lines meet with methods of transhipment, loading and unloading worked completely by mechanical power, and acting rapidly, still require completion if not actual invention. The realization of this requirement api^ears to be the first step necessary to allow of the connecting method gaining the upper hand. " The actual passage of rolling stock from the main line on to the secondary lines is a burden which, from the time of equipping the line, encroaches upon the principle of economical construction. It would be advantageous never to expect this ; and on this account, were it the only advantage, it seems to me that narrow gauge ought always to be adopted for contributive hues. " Transhipment of goods is represented as a bugbear. This is a heresy that ought to be extirpated. Everybody knows that even where there is no need for transhipment, transhipment is carried out all the same, and to a considerable extent. " My report has placed side by side what is required and what has been attained. As a matter of fact, there exist everywhere modest attempts at help or assistance on the part of great companies. Nevertheless, reserve and hesitation in granting it are the usual rule. " Many favours are only apparent, although held out as advantages generously conceded. " At any rate, we can assert that no recognized method of assistance is adopted in practice. " The great companies, if they will be less dictatorial, will find their relations with their tributaries daily more active, and more close to the great benefit not only of both sides but of the public." * * Report to the International Railway Congress, London, 1895. By M. H. de Backer, General Manager of the General Economic Railway Society (Belgium). ( 89 ) CHAPTEE X. LIGHT RAILWAYS OF OTHER COUNTRIES. In this chapter are collected statistics of railways in several countries, which may be considered the light railways of those countries, and a perusal of this information will show in many instances why the net revenue does not suffice to pay interest on the capital expenditure. The information may also be of service in determining what type of railway should be laid down to suit certain conditions in any district. " The rapid growth of interest," says the Railway World,* " in the development of light railways, among both officials and the general public, has, however, drawn marked attention to the possibility of using a narrower gauge than that generally adopted as a standard, for the lines intended as feeders to main routes where some economy in land, construction, work, or material, may conceivably result from such a course. It is, therefore, of no little interest to see what is being done in foreign countries in the direction of narrow-gauge lines ; though, of course, other considera- tions than those which are merely technical must govern the adoption of such railways for this country, where financial and social conditions may he in this respect quite different. StiU, speaking generally, there are many cases in Great Britain where the use of a narrow-gauge system at least merits careful consideration, unbiassed by the fact of an already fixed standard." England and Wales. In the Isle of Man there are about 46 miles of railways, and the railway taken here as an illustration runs from Douglas to Castleton and Port Erin to Peel. The lines have been substantially constructed, and the capital cost amounts to £9875 per mUe. The traffic is chiefly passengers, with a large tourist traffic in the * March, 1895. 90 LIGHT RAILWAYS. summer, when as many as twelve trains each way per day are run. The railway is worked on the staff system, the trains are not fitted with continuous brakes, signals are not used except in a very primitive fashion, there are no platforms at the stations, and all the usual requirements of the Board of Trade are conspicuous by their absence. Yet with a traf&c of 640,000 passengers and 22,000 tons -of merchandise per annum, and passenger trains running with sixteen coaches at the rate of 30 miles an hour, there are no accidents. Labour and materials were high in price when the railway was built in 1873, hence the cost of the works is higher than it otherwise would have been. The railway returns 5 per cent, on its fairly large capital. The gauge of the line is 3 ft. The rails weigh 40 lbs. per lineal yard. The steepest gradient is 1 in 65. The sharpest curve is 10 chains radius. The locomotives have a single bogie in front, weigh 18 tons, and take 15 coaches, with 360 passengers, up the steepest incline. The goods waggons weigh 2 tons 12 cwts., and carry 6 tons ; whilst the passenger carriages are of the ordinary type. The details of the revenue and working expenses per annum are as follows : — Revenue — £ Passengers Parcels, horses, carriages Mails Merchandise, minerals . . . Rents, etc Transfer fees Total revenue 20,767 1875 325 2975 394 7 £26,343 The number of passengers carried per annum is 648,779 The tonnage of merchandise carried per annum is 22,794 The working expenses — Maintenance, locomotive, and all charges £12,446 Rates, taxes, and law charges ... ... ... ... 182 Compensation and losses 3 Total working expenses £12,631 Revenue per mile = £976, and per train mile 4s. Zd. Working expenses ,, = £468, „ „ 2s. Od. 01 ■< >< ■5; o o ENGLAND AND WALES. 91 The Corris Railway (see tables E and F) is one of the most successful of the small railways in Wales. It has been constructed at a reasonable cost, and is economically worked, considering the gradients on the line. It pays 6 per cent, on its capital, and affords an excellent example of what the local railways intended for the benefit of agriculture in this country should be, if they are to pay their way financially. (Plate XIV.) The liasiugwold Kailway (tables E and E) is a light railway on the standard gauge, and yet, with a traffic per mile much greater than the previous railway, only contributes 1"1 per cent, towards the interest on its capital. The Southwold Railway (tables E and F) runs from Halesworth Station on the Great Eastern Eailway to Southwold on the east coast. It has been the means of very materially developing this district, for whereas formerly an omnibus running at irregular intervals carried all the traffic, this now amounts to 87,000 passengers, and 9000 tons of goods annually. Owing to the regulations imposed by the Board of Trade, and probably also to financial operations, the cost of the line has been unnecessarily high, the working expenses increased, and consequently very little towards the payment of a dividend is earned. Eegarding the evUs of transhipment, of which so much is made, the people prefer to tranship their coal from the main- line waggons into those of the narrow gauge, send it along the small railway, and then cart it three quarters of a mile, rather than cart it in the first instance three miles from the main-Hue junction. The Festiniog Railway has been constructed for a special traffic, which is mostly with the gradient, and enjoys a revenue per mile greatly in excess of anything that may be expected to be obtained, from a purely agricultural line. With a capital cost of £10,727 per mile, it earns a dividend of over 5 per cent., and is an excellent example of what can be done on a 2-ft. gauge railway. The line is excellently managed, and may be considered the pioneer of narrow-gauge railways. The locomotives are powerful little machines, and are capable of 92 LIGHT RAILWAYS. doing excellent work. The double-bogie Fairlie engines weigh 24 tons in working order, and carry 700 gallons of water and 1| ton of coal. These engines are used mostly for working the mixed passenger and goods trains, and are very satisfactory. They consume on an average 15 lbs. of coal per mile, and haul a gross load of about 120 tons up a gradient of 1 in 80. There is a large tourist traffic on the line, and also a special traffic in workmen employed in the quarries. The charge for a workman's weekly ticket for the whole distance is only 2s. M., about 350 men being conveyed daily. On Saturdays and Mondays, some of the workmen's trains convey 700 men, and, at holiday times, as many as 1000 passengers have been conveyed in one train. The slate traffic is not so great as formerly, owing to the London and North- Western and Great Western Eailway Companies having run their lines into the district. The rate for slates is 2d. per ton per mile, and the passenger fares are as follows : — iBt Class. 2nd Class. 3rd Class. 60 per cent. 2d. 60 per cent. l^d. per mile 40 per cent., additional for return fare The railway is well equipped with a complete system of inter- locking ; the trains are worked by the staff and ticket. The average speed is about 15 miles per hour, though a speed of 35 miles an hour has been run. The station yards and buildings provide everything needed for a well-equipped railway. The transhipment is carried on as follows : miscellaneous goods and merchandise are dealt with in sheds, being unloaded from broad- gauge to narrow-gauge trucks, and vice versa, by hand. Coal is trans- ferred by tipping the contents of the broad-gauge trucks into the narrow-gauge trucks by means of a special apparatus. Slates are either conveyed in their own small trucks, loaded on the broad- gauge trucks — three to a truck — or are transferred by hand. To facilitate operations, the rails of the respective gauges are either > X i a, i o < < o o '4, i' o < o o H in ENGLAND AND "WALES. 93 raised or lowered to bring the platforms of the trucks level with each other. The earthworks on the line are very heavy ; there are numerous bridges and retaining walls, and also a tunnel 700 yards long. The cost for maintenance, for labour only, amounts to £35 per mile per annum. (Plates XV. and XVI.) The Ifortli Wales Narrow Gauge Railway has a large capital, due to the way in which it was financed. The actual cost of con- struction and equipment could not have exceeded £3500 per mile. This railway runs from Dinas, near Carnarvon, to Snowdon. (Plate XVII.) Tlie Golden Valley Railway is a purely agricultural line, built on the standard gauge, and running from PontrUas to Hay, in the counties of Hereford and Brecon. It is worked by the Great Western Eailway Company. The passenger carriages are of light construction, but the ordinary rolling stock of the main-line company conveys the goods traffic. The traffic is very scanty, amounting to only £111 per mile per annum, which is not sufficient to cover the working expenses. With all the so-called advantages of being managed and worked by the main-line company, using the main-line rolling stock (for which no charge for repairs, etc., appears in the accounts), and debited with small traffic charges, the working expenses amount to Is. 8d. per train mile. The Uancliester and SCilford Railway runs through an agri- cultural district in the county of Carmarthen. The Wisbeach and Upwell Railway is a Hght line 5f miles long, on the standard gauge, owned and worked by the Great Eastern Eailway Company ; it is laid with flat-bottom rails, weighing 55 lbs. per lineal yard. A guard rail of angle iron is laid throughout the whole length. No bottom ballast is put down, but a top dress- ing of ballast is used. There is no fencing alongside the public road, on which the line runs, neither are there any stations or telegraph. The gradients are generally 1 in 100, but 1 in 30 inclines for short distances are introduced, where the line crosses over ordinary bridges. 94 LIGHT KAILWAYS. The engines have four wheels, sheeted on the sides as in tramway engines, with wheel-bases of 6 ft. 6 iqs. They carry 450 gallons of water, 15 cwts. of fuel, and weigh in working order 20 tons. The consumption of coal is 15 lbs. per mile, and the gross load taken by the engine is 65 tons, exclusive of the engine. The passenger carriages used on the line are similar to ordinary tramcars, and the goods waggons are those running on the main line. The average speed of the trains is eight miles an horn-, and the maximum speed ten miles, but the speed has to be considerably reduced when passing the worst curves of three chains radius, and the truck wheels grind very badly in passing round them. The raUway successfully competes with the canal as between Wisbeach and Upwell. The train service is confined to week days only. Seven passenger trains and three goods trains are run each way daily. Trains stop anywhere to pick up and set down passengers, and the line is worked similarly to a street tramway. The traffic for 1894 amounted to 103,966 passengers, and 33,385 tons of goods and minerals. The first-class fare is at the rate of three-farthings per mile, the third-class one halfpenny, and the guard gives out the tickets in the train. The train mileage per mile per annum ... ... 6000 miles. The passengers carried „ ,. ... ... 18,081 No. The tonnage of goods „ „ ... ... 5806 tons. The Glyn Valley Tramway was originally constructed as a horse tramway, but was not a financial success. It was opened as a steam tramway in 1888, and last year carried upwards of 20,000 passengers and 45,000 tons of goods and minerals. The line is 9 miles long, starting from Chirk on the Great Western Eailway, and running along the roadside to Glyn. The traffic is mostly stone for road repairing purposes, and slates from the quarries. There is also a considerable tourist traffic in the summer, 300 passengers being conveyed in a single train. The engines have 10^ ins. cylinders, 16-in. stroke, and the cost of haulage, including all charges for fuel and wages, is l^d. per ton per ENGLAND AND WALES. 95 mile. The cost of an engine working, including engine driver's and fireman's wages, cleaning, coal, oil, water, and all charges, amounts to £13 per week. The engines cost £1200 each. The waggons, holding from 1 to 4 tons each, cost from £15 to £22. The coaches, open, seating 10 passengers, cost £60 each, and closed, £88 each. 96 LIGHT EAILWAYS. a £ ■ . t^ I- 'O CO CQ -* bf Ni 4, ^d !5 '''1 ^ a g £a d l3 1 ^1 ^ ate H K < ^1 B'g £f= Jl ss -33 n be CO Alford ways Van 1 ENGLAND AND WALES. 97 ftj i^ ^ M b s s^^ s ■a ••■ ="13 §.§ § -^ llpi a-St- B 1 s 5 " *«., ff « n £■"" ell ■§!§ St goo '^ S bo go " » o 3 I 'O o •3 iZi s iz; * to ^ a> 8 S- .6 g ^ rt g «^ '.So a-§^ " 00 g «s a 0)0 p & as," M ggSa ^ o fi S 9 ^ o S g >, 00 g*-*^ «H n ^ b>, c Pol.§t|S M .0 ^ to .1: b .5 So 'Mi U O 00 QD QD jg "a -» 3 "I o f.5 a M O S 5 2 O.S g ■So « o » s. 00 toogooos-ooi. Moo a^-S '-s 7 64 (inclad 2 miles 1 CO ^ ^ 00 Tft (N (N -* (N (N s 1-i ^ ■«^ 00 00 CO ^ HM -«» HM H» 00 00 00 to 5 < a a If I a ** S a S Si g..a "136 S 5^ a 9 13 boS a CM CO M U s 2 H "a d 5 .5 « 2 3 .9 = CQ I a o bo 'H H 98 LIGHT RAILWAYS. &« ' 13*0 O O cri m § CXI 10 IXI IX) '^^ ™ § 03 I 1^ o cq^ { "^"^ '«J^' COCO IM (M 1-1 Hi o u ■3 -a ^53 I I I |o 'r-IO in o CO CO o o 00 (N o O IM O -^1 ON CO 10 OS ■OU5 ?2 at» (M ^-^-Olpff^»p OS "Th t* OS CJD « -*coc^(Nxn»o CO CO ^ '^ 00 00 ^CO OSrH CO 0^0^ «tS 03 -tUC^ »-i (Nt-I ^ (N OOCN ■* CO(N 00 SS£ rH W WS-^ o ifSCO CO i-H (Mr- r-t S2 rn" s OiO (N(N OS CO OSO OOCD C^ III 1 « ICO »c eoOi 5^ CD 00 1 »omcbi^(NO (NO(N«(N A r-l CO rf (MOO coco o 00 1 W3(N(N00CO(N 11 f-( iH i-< gg rjTr-Tw It e::^ I 1 (NOO 1 CO 1 Th0)0 m 00 f» O lO o lOOOOtN CO OS (poo «50 f- rH r^ 01 'M 00 ^ CO t-- (N CD (MrH CO ^ OS Si S^ "" iH tH vO(N SM 1-.CO iX)cbo(N(N CO :$» Cf rH* 11 |fi'^ «5 ^ 00 Tt* ■«t< cpor*ooo tra ^» o OS OS O) CD (N OS 00-^ ^- OS i;* c^cp o 00 rH - O CN CO (N iH UO w^ ^jTr-Ttrr rH ^ inrH a . COO CO W5 ^ t-- O |> Tti rtt O eb O iH (fq 00 00 OS CO '^ "-I CO CO OSCO^ OOOrl* a £- Tjtl> (NCO U3 eo(N l-H «^iO Qoeooilicoco .-IT-I 74 (N '5 « t- n CO CT> l> rH , (N CO THrH 5S 1? l> ^ 00 ■^ CO O « o uO o eoop ooo -^ oococoo h- iin> w^ i> Tt< 0> 00 1—1 OS CO OS— KNOp W^ CO CO rH CO (N >oco c^o^ r^oT 00 oTi-Taf P COI>- ooQO r-* S2S l>CO S ^o (N r-l CO o 00 T 00 y-t ir5ic»poci»p l?a in CO O rH Qp(N OS0 tN CO b-T-H CO ^"2 CDiO "0 10 CN CD rococo" OiTt* ■*ot^ 1 ^2S r-lCN COIM o CO CM o 1-t o> S ^ 1 a 5 's . . l=i = - P4 0) S •S £;• s 1 '. ' ' ■ •§ • -5 p, § . . . . . . ■ . o • • a a. . .1 . .1 S 1 s ,3 . s • eg || .2 « 1 = a •g 1 1. s ■ 1 ce e power d renewals of waggons rges ges, and legal and pari • . OD ' • * J::. ■•3 . a er mile, pas ,- goo ,, sun hi V m 1 .2 « a 1 a DD si s a IS oe e power . . d renewals rges ges, and as 1 carried f goods, etc age per ann a. o o If) IRELAND. 101 The ten-wheel tank engines have four-wheel leading bogies and six wheels coupled. The coupled wheels are 3 ft. 6 ins. diameter, and the fixed wheel-base is 9 ft. The engines carry 650 gallons of water, 2 tons of fuel, and weigh 30 tons in working order. The gross working load is 100 t«ns up 1 in 40, and the coal consumption 21 lbs. per mile. The passenger carriages are mostly of the six-wheel type, with a 20-ft. radial wheel-base, divided into five compartments each. There are also other carriages on bogies, 32 ft. long, with seats arranged as in a tramcar. The open trucks have four wheels, with a wheel-base of 8 ft. The tare weights are from 2 tons 10 cwts. to 2 tons 15 cwts., and the load carried is from 5 to 6 tons. The covered trucks weigh 4 tons 13 cwts., and carry 7 tons. The engines and coaches, and most of the trucks, are fitted with the automatic vacuum brake. There are repairing shops, engine-sheds, etc., at certain places. The railways axe worked with staff and ticket, and in some cases with the electric staff. The light railways constructed under the Tramways Acts (Ireland), 1860 to 1883, have been largely subsidized by Grovem- ment, and the following lines, amongst others, have raised their capital as under — £ Cavan, Leitrim, and Boscommon . . . 200,000 guaranteed at 5 per cent, per ann. Clogher Valley Tramway 121,500 Cork and Muskeny ... ... ... 75,000 , „ „ Tralee and Dingle 120,000 „ 4 „ 30,000 ordinary shares, on which no interest has yet been paid. West Clare ... ... 163,000 guaranteed at 4 per cent. per ann. „ 16,500 ordinary shares, on which no interest has yet been paid. The total capital on the light railways under these Acts amounts to £1,074,349, and the ordinary capital raised amounts to £111,730. The capital guaranteed amounts to over £4000 per mile, a sum more than should have been spent in the construction and equipment of such railways. The amount to be contributed from public funds towards the construction of railways authorized under the Light Eailways 102 LIGHT RAILWAYS. (Ireland) Act, 1889, the Railways (Ireland) Act, 1890, and the transfer of Railways (Ireland) Act, 1890, is as tinder — Name of Eailway. Milea. Amount. Working Railway Company. Achill Extension 8i 59,000 Midland Great Western. Ballina and Killala . . 8 44,000 » jy Baltimore and Skibbereen 7| 56,700 Cork, Bandon, and South. Coast. Bantry Bay Extension If 15,000 )» j» CoUooney and Claremoris 47 150,000 Waterford and Limerick. Donegal and Killybegs 18-1 115,600 Donegal. Downpatrick, Killough, and Ardglass 8 30,000 Belfast and County Down. Galway and Clifden . . 48i 2(;4,600 Midland Great Western. Headford and Kenmare 19i 50,000 Great Southern and Western. Killorglin and Valentia 26| 85,000 '» j» Stranorlar and Glenties 24| 116,000 Donegal. Westport and Mallaranny 18 131,400 Midland Great Western. 236| 1,117,300 Or an average of £4714 per mile. It will be seen from Table H that the light railways of Ireland earn very little interest on their capital cost. Some of them are worked at a loss, even with a revenue of Is. 5d. to Is. 7d. per train mile, and the working expenses are higher in every case than they should be. The railways are no doubt very advantageous to the districts through which they pass, and tend to improve the social and moral condition of the people; but without Government assistance the lines could not have been made of the substantial build they are at present. If light or local railways are to be constructed in this country, without financial assistance from either Government, or the rates, they will have to be made on a system entirely different from that of the so-called light railways of Ireland, and at a much less cost per mile. It may be argued whether such a system should not have been applied in Ireland, and, for the same amount of money that has been spent on these lines, have built at least twice the mileage. There is sufficient traffic on all the lines to pay working expenses, and interest on a capital cost of £2000 per mile; for this amount, a railway of 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge, with 30-lb. rails, and correspondingly IBELAKD. 103 of light constraction for earthworks, and equipment, conld have heen obtained snf&cient for all the traffic that is likely to come over these lines for many years. Several of the railway managers complain of the break of gange cansed by these lines, and say that they should have been constmcted on the standard gange, and so have avoided the transhipping of goods at the junctions. It is not difficolt to see what would have been the position of these lines financially had that been done. It is bad enough now, but with a capital cost of at least £1600 per mile more, and an increased cost in the working expenses, the annual deficit would have been very considerable. As to the evils of transhipment, about which so much is made, the argument loses its point, when the traffic returns for each line are examined separately. The chief earnings of the lines are from passengers, and no considerable inconvenience can occur to them from having to change trains at the junctions. They have to do this often, &om one main line to anoth^, and the advantages of having railway communication into an out-of-the-way district is well wortli the trouble of changing carriages, rather than having to make the journey by coach or otherwise. In the case of the goods teiffic, the whole of the tonnage passing over the lines selected for illustration is given in the table below. It may be assumed that only a small proportion of this would require transhipping, but even if the whole were transferred &om the broad to the narrow, and vice versa, the undertaking would not be very serious. Same of Baavay. Total tonnage. Avenee ton- nage pa day. AvErage tan- nage per mile perannmn. Ballycastle Londonderrjr, Letterkennv, and Lough Swilly West Clare .. .. " Cavan and Leitiim Clogher VaUey .. Cork and Muskernr Tralee and Dingle .. . 9,530 47,989 10,724 17416 16470 13,461 8,823 32 159 36 57 54 45 29 596 1,548 397 356 437 748 238 The traffic requiring transhipment varies from day to day, but, by taking the high^t figures as the daily average, the task is even 104 LIGHT RAILWAYS. then a very light one. The cost of transhipment for general goods varies from l^d. to M. per ton, and an outside average figure for this work would be 3d. per ton. If we capitalize the tonnage per mile at this figure, at 4 per cent., in the case of the Londonderry line, we get £500, and of the Tralee and Dingle £75, as the extra amount of capital that may have been spent per mile, to have avoided tran- shipment. Taking the figures given elsewhere, viz. £1600 per mile, as the saving between an ordinary standard and narrow gauge line, we save a capital of £1100 per mile in the former case, and £1525 per mile in the latter case, after paying all expenses of transhipment, by adopting a narrow-gauge railway. The total traffic has been taken in these instances, but had the actual traffic transhipped been obtained, the difference would have been still more favourable to the break of gauge. The Listowel and Ballybumon is a single-rail railway 10 miles long, known as the Lartigue system. The track consists of a double- headed rail, supported on angle-iron trestles, about three feet from the ground. On each side of these trestles, about 1 ft. 6 ins. below the bearing rail, runs a guide-rail which keeps the vehicles in a vertical position. The trestles are attached to steel sleepers 3 ft. 3 ins. long and 6 ins. wide, resting on wooden sleepers 6 ft. ins. X 9 ins. x 3 ins. The trestles are spaced about 3 feet apart. The weight of the bearing rail is 27 lbs. to the yard, in 33-ft. lengths, and the guide-rails weigh 11 lbs. each per yard in 20-ft. lengths. The crossing from one line to the other is effected by making a length of the road turn on its base, and at public level crossings a somewhat similar arrangement is adopted. The gradients and curves are as on other lines, and the maximum speed is 24 miles an hour. The cost of construction was £3666 per mile, including rolling stock, and the cost of maintenance in labour only, is £35 per mile per annum. The line was opened in 1888, with a capital of £11,000 5-per-cent. debenture stock, and £22,000 ordinary stock. Last year the line paid the interest on the debenture stock, and earned ^ per cent, on the ordinary stock. The locomotives weigh 6i tons, with a tender weighing 3 tons in addition. Owing to the peculiar nature of this system of railway. OTO SPtmcliE *■ C LONDOK LISTOWEL AND BALLYBUNION RAILWAY. (I.ARTIGUE SYSTEM.) IRELAND. 105 the engine has two separate boilers, and the driver and firemen are on opposite sides, being separated by the frame or girder which carries the supporting wheels of the engine, and to which the boilers are affixed. The engine is, however, arranged so that it can be worked from either side as desired. The tender carries 200 gallons of water, 1 ton of coal, and the consumption of coal is from 15 lbs. to 18 lbs. per mile. The tractive power of the engine is equal to a gross load of 88 tons up 1 in 80. The steepest gradient on the line is 1 in 45. The carriages are 18 ft. long and 9 ft. wide. They are arranged on the bogie principle, and are carried on either side of the centre rail. They are constructed to hold 28 passengers ; the seats are arranged longitudinally, the passengers sitting back to back. The waggons are on the same principle as the carriages, the open ones weigh 3^ tons, and carry 5 tons, the covered ones weigh 3^ tons, and carry 4 tons. The Westinghouse break is fitted on the engines, carriages, and vans. The train service provides for two trains per day each way, during winter, and for four each way during summer. The line is worked by means of the staff and ticket. The cost of construction and equipment, and the working expenses, do not vary from what a small railway of the ordinary type might be built and worked for. The passengers carried last year numbered 39,578, and the ton- nage of goods 8487 tons. The receipts amounted to £2283 ; or per mile £228 ; or per train mile 2s. lOd. The working expenses were £1663 ; or per mile £166 ; or per train mile 2s. Od. The rates charged are for sand 2d., breadstuffs 3d., and timber M. per ton per mile. (Plate XXII, ) 106 LIGHT EAILWATS, O w s i5 •sjomsn pas 'uBAitiSJanQ u,Sl 1 M |l 3rl in 280,000 113,270 oioaaaag 'JIIBpana ^ 1 1 1 1 CO 1 1 1 1 1 1 ll 1 1 1 CO < is "lUOOJOBpi puB HJoo CO (N «- M i 1 1 1 2* 1 w^ ^ o oo o -M o (N y^ o 1 — -H t> OS Tft CD CO ■noinnqitiiBa puB iaM0)9n 3 CD •SP -f, o »o <:o o ?S 1 ^ CO ^ 1 |« 1 o o 1 1 1 1 1 a pan 33IBJX 0-* 1 1 1 o o III 1 1 CO CN o d puB j|aoo |o 1, o |o| 1 ! TABLE G. D Cost of Consteuction, e isqaoio CO I"' M pUB UBABQ l^ww |l |« 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 ■3JBI0 IsaAV Isssis p ^* ! 1 1 o o o o oco" 1 1 1 rH CO o qSnoT puv 'jSau33ijan9'i '^jjapuopnoT; ■= ^ ,o S? * ^ CM CD O CD , CD (M Tt* co" 1 ofr-^ifT Oi rjl O T-H ■aHSOsilpa °S^g|S |l ++++ ■* o o h- o o iOO 1 o 1 lO ^ CO D o M 03 ■- ,-Q " flj -rH ^+1 " . . i Cf? :; . J r us g S • -.s -.g-^^ -"S e » .2 o » ^-^ • g 1 : : : ; : a 2 " ° S Tjr^ • " a -u >,& ^ S o g S 2 n IRELAND. 107 ■2"i < St; c = P-0 2 ■g St c g 5 oj <3 a o d CD ?0 00'^ OSC^O ^H Oi 00 CO r-co « (M CO T-t CM 1— I lO U3 CS O O Oi 1-1 *Ot>-(NeOOO 00 OS '-< to CO 00 ■* (N QO ^ 00 •-•••• E^COOGseOO -^(N l-'^OO csoooosooi • • • • • • ^r^ _^ _r -.r 00 O ^^ CO 1-1 i-i ifi 00 ^-l C3 ^-1 i-H •* CD ■* 1-1 c^ i-H 1-1 OQ 1-1 1-1 u3 00 1-1 »o r»eo»ocOTiOSiOw(NT^ «Dt--«ijO Oi-«(N o SI Ph C! SB (4 o Q -< P3 •rH t- ^-1 CO CO »0(N?D co- 05 ^ lO CO CO l> 00 00 c* o i>-i-i coTHeai-it^»-iuo(N05JOO ^-* ■^ _, ^ ,_( 1-1 CO 00 o CO i-iMi r* -^ o o 1-1 00 -# i-h o e> co » ■*** 5*1 i-< COCO 1-1 O t> CO 1-f Tt< CO t-oo coo i*iCOQO i^s*^ SE: s ""* "^ ^"^ r-?-*®'?*? ss:sp^o ^A^A^- Tti U30 O (NO lO !>. I (N lO t* GS J3 1 GiGi Oi 1-1 Si »> >« (D o a dps pa bO m C3 O ^ O . to ■ tlO a o a o c > a ca m S • ai § &* Mo. „ Mo. ID .9 K UJ .5 X >» O £ fl ^ ra fl g3 (4 o (-• 108 LIGHT RAILWAYS. Belgium. The light railways of Belgium have been instituted since 1885. These railways are constructed and organized by the Society Nationale des Chemin de Fer Vicinaux ; whilst the capital is found by the State, the Provinces, the Communes, and a small part by individuals. No railway can be made unless sufficient capital has been subscribed previously, to ensure its construction and equipment. The Government saw that such an important work could not be left entirely to private enterprise, and so allowed the above-named society to take the matter in hand, and granted to it the preferential right of constructing any light railway ia that country, provided that the Government was satisfied that it was beneficial to make it. The railways are generally laid alongside the public roads, and are worked very cheaply. They communicate with all the principal standard-gauge railways, thus giving ready access to them for goods and passengers, tending to develop new districts, affording more numerous outlets for agricultural products, and providing means of communication with districts that would otherwise be hopelessly isolated. The lines are built on the metre gauge, and this has only been departed from, where the railways join those on the Dutch gauge of 3 ft. 6 ins., or on very short isolated branches running out of the standard gauge. The National Society of Local Eailways has its head-office in Brussels, and its object is declared to be the construction and working of local railways in Belgium, and possibly their extension into other countries.* The society is permitted to place its available funds in the deposit or current account of the National Savings Bank and Provident Fund, or in the Banque Nationale, while it may also purchase debenture bonds issued or guaranteed by the State, the Provinces, or the Communes ; but all other financial operations are expressly forbidden. The society, which can only be wound up by virtue of a law that wUl regulate the conditions, may abandon a line, if during three * The Engineer, March 29, April 5 and 19, 1895. BELGIUM. 109 consecutive years the gross receipts remain insufficient to cover the expenses of working, or if during five consecutive years the profit be less than 50 per cent, of the interest on the formation capital. The share capital which equals the cost of constructing the lines, and, if necessary, equipping them with rolling stock, will be divided into so many series of shares (each share bearing the value of £40) as the lines conceded ; and to each series of shares are attached the profit earned by the line which it represents, but only within the Umits mentioned below, whilst at least two-thirds of the shares of each series must be subscribed by the State, the Provinces, and the Communes. It was not considered — and the event has confirmed this as a rule — that local railways would be a bad investment for the Communes, considering the economical conditions under which the lines are made, and the very low rate of interest under which the money is obtained. The liability of shareholders is limited to the amount of their holdings, and the State and Provinces may pay their shares of the capital in annuities extending over ninety years, as also may the communal authorities on giving proof of sufficient resources. All shares in arrear bear interest at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum; and after repeated notice at intervals of two months, the council of the society may annul the shares in arrear, in which case all amounts paid in remain acquired to the society. After the expiration of the nineteenth year of working a line conceded, the State, the Provincial, and the Communal authorities interested, will have the right to buy at par, pro rata of their subscriptions, the shares originally subscribed by individuals; and the society is empowered to issue debenture bonds representing the annuities due to it. The society and its lines are relieved, as far as possible, from the payment of dues, rates, and taxes. The society is managed by a council consisting of a president, four administrators, and a director-general. The president is nomi- nated by the Eang for six years; and the nomination may be renewed indefinitely for the same period. There is a supervising committee consisting of six members; and the Government 110 LIGHT EAILWAYS. reserves the right of examining all the books and documents, for checking the operations of the society. A separate account is kept for each line, showing the expenses of construction and maintenance, and eventually those of working; and the share to be borne by each line in the general expenses of the society is determined by the amount of receipts which it contributes. When a line is worked at a loss, the deficiency is made good by the society, which reimburses itself from the first profit made by that line ; and if the line be abandoned, the loss will be debited to the reserve fund. The profits of each line are distributed in the form of a first dividend amongst the shareholders, up to 4i^ per cent, of the capital ; and the surplus (after deduction of certain percentages, due for their services, to the administrators and director-general, is distributed) — one quarter to form an individual reserve fund as provision for extensions and improvements ; three-eighths to the shareholders by way of second dividend ; and three-eighths to the society for forming a general reserve fund to cover possible losses, and permit extensions and improvements of the whole system. The funds of the individual reserve funds may now, with Govern- ment sanction, be applied to the payment of dividends. In the event of a local line being bought up by the State, the price paid vsdll be applied to reimburse, totally or partially, the payments made by the shareholders ; and the surplus, if any, will be applied, half for distribution amongst the shareholders, and haK as a contribution to the general reserve fund. In the event of the society abandoning an unproductive line, there is provision for its being handed over, under certain conditions, to a group of shareholders who may be directly interested in keeping it running ; but in no case can the society recover the sums advanced for working. Every application for a concession must be accompanied by — 1. A report as to the object, advantages expected, existing communications, and the influence likely to be exerted upon them by the new line. 2. A detailed estimate of cost. BELGIUM. HI 3. The proposed rates, and an estimate of the probable receipts, with consideration in support. 4. A complete specification of the project. 5. Part of a Government map, to the scale of 1 : 20,000, showing the proposed course of the line. 6. A general plan of the localities, to the scale of 1 : 2500, show- ing the proposed line and sidings, 7. A special plan, to the scale of 1 : 200, for each part of the proposed railway passing through portions of the commune where there are houses, and as to which detailed instructions are given. 8. A longitudinal section, with a sufiicient number of transverse sections ; and 9. Detailed drawings of the principal works and type of permanent way. The application for a concession is to be made by the society to the Department of Agriculture, Industry, and Public Works, which may require that the documents and drawings be multiplied to such an extent as may be considered necessary, the whole at the expense of the Society. The above Government department will then submit the project to a preliminary examination, completing and modifying it if necessary, and will decide whether it shall form the subject of an inquiry, the expense, both of the examination and the inquiry, being borne by the society. All the documents, etc., relating to the project, remain open for a fortnight to public inspection at the Town Hall of each commune interested, after publication of the fact. Any observations, duly signed, are included in a report ; and this, together with the opinion of the Common Council, must be forwarded within a week to the provincial authority, which must, within a fortnight, pass them on, with its opinion, to the Department of Public Works. This body will then, through the society, make any modifications that the inquiry may have shown advisable; and if they involve changes in the trace of the line, the Department of Public Works will determine if there be necessity for a fresh inquiry, in which case the formalities are the same as for the first. On their being termi- nated, the Department is to definitely settle the drawings and 112 LIGHT RAILWAYS. specifications, but no concession becomes definite until signed by the King. The total receipts for 1893, for all the lines, amounted to — Receipts Expenditure Balance ... £ 187,374 133,615 £53,759 and deducting interest at 4 per cent, on the excess of expenses over receipts, in the case of four lines which did not pay, we have a profit of £.52,834 on the year's working, giving a ratio of expenses to receipts of 71 per cent. A comparison of the total receipts in 1892 and 1893, for those lines only which had been in operation for two complete years, shows an increase for the latter year of £11,061. The following table gives the proportions of receipts from goods and passenger traffic on lines which carried both — 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 FiLSseugera and luggage, Goods, etc per cent. per cent. 93-35 6-65 87-04 12-96 79-25 20-75 71-62 28-38 75-36 24-64 73-26 26-74 73-56 26-44 72-16 27-84 Of the fifty-six lines in operation at the end of 1893, four of them showed a balance on the wrong side of £484. The whole amount of loss, however, from the beginning of the society's operations in 1887, to the end of 1893, only amounts to £3079 ; and, to meet this, there is the general reserve fund of £8795, while all the other lines have in addition, to back them up, the special reserve fund of each line, amounting together to £5852. Independently of the figures given in the table of the actual expenses for working each line, the general administrative expenses for the whole of the lines were maiatained at £11 per mile, this figure having been £12-8 in 1892. BELGIUM. 113 The general expenses are kept very low, representing only 3*68 per cent, of the total expenses for making and stocking the lines. The total amount of capital subscribed at the end of 1893 was — £ By the Government 493,440 By nine Provinces By the Communes By individuals Total capital 501,120 730,920 81,000 £1,806,480 The following table gives the proportional lengths for the three gauges adopted of all the lines made up to the end of 1893, laid along roads, on roads widened, and on land bought for the purpose, the term, " main line," being here employed for the working length, to the exclusion of sidings, etc. — Main Link J.KD Gauge 3 ft. 3iins. 3 ft. 6 ins. 4 ft. 8^ ins. Total. On roads not widened On roads widened On purchased land . . Sidings, etc miles 404-64 33-12 149-93 miles 117-81 5-39 6-12 miles 5-67 4-33 miles 528-12 38-51 160-38 587-69 86-70 129-32 17-76 10-00 2-65 727-01 110-11 Main and accessory lines together . . 674-39 147-08 12-65 837-12 The type of gauge chosen by the society is that of one metre (3 ft. 3| ins.), which has the double advantage of permitting economy in construction, and of meeting all probable increase of traffic that may be expected on a line under standard gauge. The Dutch local gauge of 3 ft. 6 ins. has been adopted only in the case of lines put out towards Holland, with a view to joining and working in connection, with pre-existing or future lines, the permanent way and rolling stock not differing greatly between the metre and the Dutch local gauge. The standard gauge of 4 ft. 8J ins. was admitted, only by way of exception, in the case of a few lines of slight length and likely to carry heavy traffic. 114 LIGHT KAILWAYS. Gradients of 1 in 40 are rarely exceeded on the local lines ; but three of them have much sharper gradients, as wiU be seen by the foUowing particulars. One from Brussels to Petite Espinette of metre gauge, 6 miles long, is worked electrically, with overhead wire and trolly, on the Thomson-Houston system. Out of a total length of 8 miles, a little more than £ of a mile includes the following gradients. The sharpest is 1 in 21^ for a length of 90 yards ; the next 1 in 22f for 148 yards ; also two of 1 in 23^ ; one of 1 in 22 ; three of 1 in 25 ; two of 1 in 26^ ; one of 1 in 27 ; one of 1 in 34^ ; one of 1 in 37 ; and two of 1 in 40. There are far sharper gradients, however, on one of the Charleroi lines, 5 miles long, and worked by locomotives, between Lodelinsart and Chatelet, viz. gradients of 1 in 14^ for a length of 33 yards ; of 1 in 16 for 88 yards ; of 1 in 17^ for 495 yards, and of 1 in 18 for 66 yards. There are also gradients on this line ranging from 1 in 20^ to 1 in 33 J. Another line, interesting as regards gradients, is that between Paliseul and Bouillon, 9 miles long, and worked by locomotives. It has several gradients of 1 in 28^, and two of 27|, one of the latter being more than 1000 yards long. More than half the line consists of gradients of 1 in 40 and over, including one 1247 yards long of 1 in 33J. Whereas, in 1892, the local lines had 57 points of connection with railways of standard gauge, at the end of 1893 the number of such points increased to 62, and break of gauge occurs at each one. In the course of 1893, 19 private sidings were made in connection with the local lines, bringing up the total number, at the end of that year, to 93, of which 31 may be regarded as specially agricultural, and 61 industrial, serving quarries, collieries, coal-depots, gas-works, brick-works, lime-kUns, foundries, and engine-works. Wherever possible, the system of public tender is adopted for con- tracts connected with permanent way, including earthwork, bridges, and other works, platelaying and buUding, as weU as rolling stock. The expenditure was as follows to the end of 1893 : — £ Permanent way materials, and works 718,558 Rolling stock 457,503 Buildings 612,237 £1,788,298 BELGIUM. 115 It is calculated that £128 per mile should suffice to repay to the society preliminary expenses, and the cost of watching the construction. This amoimt is included in all estimates. The society possessed at the end of 1893 — 245 locomotives, 663 passenger carriages, 1574 goods waggons and luggage vans. The mean expense for rolling stock, including engines, amounts to £650 per mUe, being (not including sidings) per mile — 0'33 locomotives, 0*9 coaches, 2'13 goods waggons. The locomotives weigh about 18 tons each ; there are also a few of less weight, and some up to nearly 30 tons. Of the waggons, more than 70 per cent, carry 10 tons, the remainder being for freight of 5 tons, and a few also for freight of 20 tons. When the railways are completed and equipped, the society lets them out to subsidiary companies to maintain the permanent way, renew and repair the rolling stock, and work the lines generally. These companies receive a fixed percentage of the gross receipts, with a guaranteed minimum in some cases of £128 per mile per annum. Details of the agreements for working wUl be found in Appendix VII. No accident occiured in 1893 from collision or derailment, bat five passengers were killed and three injured, through their trying to pass from one carriage to another, or mounting or descending while the train was moving. All the other accidents, forming the greater number, were due to drunkenness, suicide, or imprudence. In addition to the local lines worked by the society, there are six others conceded to companies, forming a length of 36 miles, so that, at the end of 1893, Belgium possessed a secondary railway system of 763 miles as against 2827 miles of standard gauge, or about 30 per cent. The main results of the Belgian light lines are as under — Miles open 730 Cost per mile — Construction £1818 „ Boiling stock £650 Land £220 £2688 per annum. Gross earning per mile £286 Working expenses „ £204 116 LIGHT RAILWAYS. In addition, the society takes £11 per mile per annum for supervision and payment of directors, etc. — s, d. Gross earnings per train mile ... ... ... ... ... 1 2^ Worlting expenses „ ... ... ... ... ... 10 Working expenses per cent, of gross earnings ... ... ... 71'31 Net return on capital ... ... ... ... .. ... 3'05 Amongst other advantages of the principle thus adopted in Belgium of having one central administrative body in the nature of a public trust, for carrying out light railway undertakings, with separate capital accounts for each line, the following may be cited : — * 1. Great saving in personnel and cost of management. 2. The society holds, for negotiations with the main-line companies and others, a much stronger position than could ever be the case were the undertakings left to small isolated companies. 3. Wild-cat speculations are discouraged. 4. Local authorities become the proprietors, with private sub- scribers, of the lines in which they are concerned, and whilst the operations of the society are carried out on strictly commercial Unes, the subscribers have the strong support of a Government guarantee, for the protection of the interests of individual undertakings. 5. The fact of the working of the society being centralized under the eyes of the Government greatly facilitates control by authorities ; and the society remains directly responsible to the State for the due carrying out of its obligations, and of the regulations which may be made in the public interest. In making technical and other regulations for the construction and working of light railways, the principle adopted by the Belgian Government appears to be, to keep them as simple as possible, and to tie the hands of those who are intrusted with their caiTying out, as little as is consistent with a due regard for public safety and convenience. At the end of 1893, a further network of 900 miles of these railways were either in course of construction or seriously taken in hand. t Taviers to Umbresm, 2 ft. 4 ins. gauge ; 30-lb. rails. — This * Circular issued by the Mansion House Association on Railway and Canal Traffic, compiled by P. C. Fairbolme, A.M. Inst. C.E. t Mm. Proc. Inst. C.E. BELGIUM. 117 constructed to the line, on a 2 ft. 4 ins. gauge, was constructed to open up rich and fertile district known as Hesbaye, which by reason of its forming a quadrilateral between existing main lines was previously cut off from railway communication. The railway is about 6 miles long, and an extension is proposed. The weight of the rail is 30 lbs., the maximum gradient 1 in 66, and the radius of the sharpest cm-ve 328 ft. The speed of the trains is limited to 9 miles an hour. The cost of the line, without rolling stock, was about £2000 ;per mile. There is an iron bridge 420 ft. long, a viaduct, and a bridge on iron piers, on the line. The earthwork amounted to 10,000 cubic yards per mile. The rolling stock consists of — £ 1440 160 2 locomotives, costing 2 brake-vans 2 passenger carriages ... 3 jardinieres 25 5-ton waggons 7 5-ton platform waggons Total 360 240 1400 336 £3936 or per mile The line carried, in 1881- Groods Parcels Passengers £656 17,354 tons = 2892 tons per mile. 230 No. 40,294 No. = 6715 No. „ Yielding a revenue of £1550 per annum, or £258 per mile per annum. The cost of fuel, oil, grease, etc., averaged £18 per month, or £216 per annum. Twelve persons are employed, viz. — 1 Inspector. 2 Engine drivers. 1 Stoker. 1 Clerk. 1 Eeceiver. 6 Workmen. The break of gauge at Taviers involves a cost of about 2d. per ton for transhipment, which service is performed by a special contractor, unless the parties prefer to do it themselves by their own workmen. 118 LIGHT EAILWAYS. ■flOaiposcpeqc^ocpippoMMipcpcpwr^iHT^qq-^O^aDcpo S -^ I^ Oi lO r^ ji O tH OD do l'*^ '^ '^ — ' ^ -^ "^ '*^ '^■' — ' ■* ' ~~ '*" "~ '" '* "^ i.t-cococococoi-t~toa5< J l-N UU ^— ' ^L^ UJ ^— ' ^-^ l.'^ "^J UJ 'J-' tij cij l^ I— I r-l 1*^ TP W it) UJ trj t^ S-^i^cbibA^jiO"^c»QOiAa30TH(b'^oiboqiH»Hoqocb»hCD!:0l--t*C0CDO00l:^l:-I>-t^C^l>>CD00C0C0t'irSO05L-^ ejTjHOlOCO-^IM'^O'— IOO'<^"^TH(Mt-I^COC3t^lOIX30ST-HOOCOOO "(MCOrHOai-HOqi-ICqi-KMi-HiHTiHCOCqCDrHtH^CQtMrHi-KMOqiHi-l M o lOCO-*^l^-OOOI3500^Tt^NOOt-0^0■*CT>030C^IOl^^t~t-OOOI^-00 ,rHC0000iL0OCJ'-C0-) S t^COO^;^U3_O 10^■^r^ OS^OO^^^t-^QO I:-^C;^lO^OC5COCOlOr-l050l0^0501>1000 .3 p -00 » o o 03 oj o . • <7 t- =? =P CO t- <^ >=? 00 [^ 00 J. OO J J OS 00 J. J, 00 QOooooooooooooooooQOooQOooaDoooogoogooggoooogggoo T~H i~^ 1^ rH rH i^ i~H t~H r~i f~H rH i~~( i~~l nH i~H t~^ ^y^ T~^ i-^-^ f~H ff^ /f-^ i~H i~H qq /sq i~H ioocococoot-coc;t-cqT-iL--'^^t OOOOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOf' ' CO' 1 00 ' ' 00 CO ' o Hi <5 g H I S -s O f^ .—I o ■ ••t-uj fl..3„.o II Hill PHlllliiililll^i 00PH<^<}PH^<1cQCt5HSOOi-^O^i-q c^pq pq pq r-HC^cdciOr-^o4cO'Tt^lO<:Ob^o6ciOrHC^CO"TiHl^ BELGIUM. 119 (»^'^cpqooooeqO(^lpO(po•^■THt>pl^spopcp (»-^l:r^l>t>i0OrHQ0'X)00iX)<»CDC0I>00Q005L^C0OrHQ0l:-00L-*l>l>'XO -^pCX)CClrtt>-COOCOOTH'<^eOC<:)CT>COCOi-HCOrHQOCOtH(M lOO3C0lr*Tt400"^(M03lOlO--^C0C0C0"^ir3l0C0'^OC0OC0 CO —t CO 05 0:1 05 CCi rH •t:H '^ 00 Ci CD 00 O rH CD r> -^ 00 t- Ci CO lO 00 iH t- 00 lO m 15Cgt--t;--rHlOi-HrHI>CO35-^rHTHt^O3U:)iHCOlMi-lOiQO^r:l'<*^OOwr^ (M CO rH CM ■>) rH T-t iH Oq CO — t (M TTl CO iM r-t T-l T-IOq O iH O rH lO (M lO Th CD l> CD i-H CO tH O lO i-H lO t- l« lO Oi CD CD T— I CD CD to CS (M C^ a50C5CD(MOOaST-ICM03r-tCD i 00OlC03l>C0 l>;^P^C^t^r-J^CD^CD00O^O3lOCOC0'^00CDt-t-I>CQOiC0C^L-- TfCD -"iiCOlO C^TCO rH Cr<-rTjr-.3^rH"cO rH i-T lO .-T cd" i-T CO OrH05-OiiH(MCO i-H CD O T-4 O ■'^i O 00 O 00 CD O (M O -^ O CO rH oq Tt< 00^ CO oscoo5mcoot>00ocO'^ '^^'^'^"^'^'^"^'^'''^ CD* TA'cofS-^Q^r^c^(>i(^c^aS't^iSo^r^<:oo^a^co(^co3 ^ o 0) . m JU 1 02 5 I S*"? J. "^ d =1 •3 3 o -^ 3 -t> ^ V J3 r"^ So (3 a) 5 1^ >T T3 o4; O^ ! O n o > ■s IS a ai ■s 171 m 3 H ,3 ^ < H ■< O p< ic o ■s.s° O „4J « CO a . ^ oj o a> -•J IH O •-' a lu — o So rt o M CI. \\ ^ j^tirt 5=*! S o S3 o-d) g §^ "-o^ a) CO '^ 'JS V* u OJ -- a,=fl p Co 0) a -- I I OO ^ ■- O lO • no ci <" ■" «c2 " LO lO O C5 ^ .^(M « »H ,£2 O* lu Coo CO oj p a. !- ^ o tjo .J s R.6 = p ^ o s S "^ 2 - _1 J- .^ 4^ ^ < gin io o r IM IM lO P S.o> ■' « a 3-pi§ .2(3 CO 2 MPhO ^ Tii^ re - c 3 cS o JU5 >0 O ^H O r- <1) ,— ^ gSsS.=53 § g go bo , a s->.> (M -Isi'M CN M t. O " o .J, S .9 aaSjg ' P .w P ^^T* cj Sin o o S >- orSs " M s • P5 o O t3 Ph pOpOpOOpppTOCapOpppON po>pp |^-pppippppp>pppp p I "Wp ppi;-pp ippppiNippip p I r-l;>p l~i-0 ipp ippp |>PPP'35 p iro Icpip |Op |pp It'v'?"?"? 0| I ! |:D|OX|cs>p|ip|THpp p p g I M 1 I I ^ I M Sg lOt^COCOCOlOL— COOOCDCOOOOCOC^ 00 00 DO '^ -^^ O CD CD rH lO Cq" tH" tH lO O" CO" CS" 000010000(MOO:^(MCO(ML^G^4COlMCMC010(M(Nr-lCOiO'^ O IM lO CO "* CO qi t> ■rt< O CO '«Ji O CO IC eg Ci^Ca-^OOt^mcOiHOOOt^OOCDrHOOCO x-^l-lC^lC5"<*^oOl^col•* o •z. W D 6 D Q <; en W > o H W o ^ ■ I < « w S 6 D J Q ?; > o H Z <^ o PRANCE. 145 When the gross receipts are between £116 and £148 per mile, no payment is made either way. The Department hoped to make a considerable saving in road maintenance by the construction of the railway. The line is laid alongside the public road, is 19 miles long, and has been increased in length to take in as much local traf&c as possible. There are seven intermediate stations, and six other stops, to pick up passengers without luggage. An open shed, and a small office for parcels and for a weighing machine, are the only accommodation at stations. Tickets are issued on the train by the guard. The steepest gradient is 1 in 100. The rails, 19 lbs., are found to be too light — 24 lbs. would have been better — and are riveted to steel sleepers. There are four engines, two for goods, weighing each 12 tons in working order, on Mallet's compound system, and two passenger engines, weighing each 8J tons in working order. There are two types of waggons : 10-ton open bogie waggons, weighing 3'17 tons, and 5-ton beet-root waggons on four wheels, and a cattle waggon, 32 ft. long, on bogies. Cost of construction £1223 per mile. Boiling stock 328 „ Total cost £1551 The line carried in 1893, 27,255 passengers, and earned £2086, or £109 12s. per mile per annum. The principal object of the line is to assist the cultivation of beet- root and the manufacture of sugar. Important branches have been laid down by cultivators and manufacturers, and this is easily done when this type of line is used. It can be laid and moved as the gathering of crops may require. State Subsidies to Light Eailways.* Under this title, my contemporary, the Voie Ferree, has recently published a most admirable article signed " Rossely." In view of the Board of Trade Conference and of the fact that our public authorities will undoubtedly be asked before long to consider the whole question of assistance to light railways, I think the article should be of very considerable interest in England, though I confess to feeling the • Transport, Nov. 23, 1894. 146 LIGHT RAILWAYS. contrast between the scientific manner in which these mattere are studied in France, and the happy-go-lucky method in which our Irish light railway guarantees were given, as somewhat humiliating. I therefore translate it, not in full but in a somewhat free rendering, omitting passages which have merely local application, and where necessary turning French phrases and conditions into their English equivalents : — It may be said in general that all methods of assistance to light railways can be divided into two categories : a guarantee of interest and a fixed subvention. 1. Guaranteed Interest. This was the method adopted by the law of June 11, 1880. The promoters of the Une build it, and furnish the rolling stock, at a fixed price either for the whole line or per mile, the State and the Department concerned paying interest on the sum so fixed at a prescribed rate. The promoters work on certain terms, which consist of a fixed sum and a proportion of the gross receipts, the State and the Department guaranteeing that the receipts shall not fall below a certain minimum ; in other words, undertaking to pay the difference when the gross receipts do fall below that minimum. This system has been adopted both in Algiers and Tunis, and on the systems of Le Sud de la France, Les Chemins de Fer Departementaux, Les Chemins de Fer Economiques. There has been a great outcry against this system, on the ground that it gave the promoting Companies a considerable profit on the cost of construction, and that by guaranteeing to them a minimum receipt per mile the State encom'aged them not to develop the traffic. The point has even been carried further, and it has been said that, as each increase in receipts implied an increase in the cost of working, the Companies had an interest in not developing the traffic ; and this idea has found expression in the very grave accusation phrased as " working for a deficit." This much is certain, for it is plainly to be seen in the accounts of the Companies which have built on the guarantee system ; the State and a certain number of Departments have, in consequence of the guarantee, to support every year considerable charges hugely in excess of what was anticipated. These excesses fall mainly on the Departments, as the State took the precaution to limit its share in the guarantee to a fixed maximum. This unfortunate result is due to several causes. The Departments, which were the first to encourage light railways, had not a sufiiciently accurate idea of the probable receipts of the lines which they caused to be constructed, and made serious mistakes in theh calculations. At that period there was not sufficient practical experience of the actual cost of working light lines, and by comparison with the cost of ordinary railways, a figure quite uimeces- sarily high was assumed. Accordingly the guaranteed minimum of earnings pei- mile was fixed much too high. Further, the cost of construction was also fixed by comparison with the money spent by the great Companies or on lines built by Government engineers on a quite unnecessarily magnificent scale. In one word, sufficient ailoiuances were not •n^-''' for the essential differences which ought to exist in the expenditure of an ordinary railway, and those of a light railway of metre gauge. Yet again, at the time that these lines were promoted, the interest on money was much higher than to-day, when it is scarcely 3 per cent., and the promoting Companies get the advantage of the difference. All these causes combined have been in favour of the Companies, while, on the other hand, certain Departments have seen their rates increase to an alarming extent, and have uttered a cry of alarm which has been re-echoed all through Prance. The Minister of Public Works and the Council FRANCE. 147 of State naturally desired to prevent the evil extending, and have accordingly sub- stituted the system of fiKed subsidy for the system of guaranteed interest. 2. Fixed Subsidy. The first reform was to put a stop to the lump-sum price for building the line. The Council of State has absolutely insisted on this in all recent concessions. This reform is entirely in the right direction. The second reform consists in putting an end to a guaranteed minimum sum for working expenses, for this is, in other words, a lump-sum price for working even more harmful than the lump sum for construction. Let us now proceed to examine some of the various solutions either adopted or proposed, and point out that which seems the best. First Solution. The cost of construction of the lines is estimated by engineers in the public service as exactly as possible. The Department gives to the Company that builds the line a fixed subsidy per mile huilt, usually about three quarters of the cost. The Company supplies the balance, and carries out the works under the control of the county engineer. Plainly this is, though disguised under a different shape, a lump-sum subsidy for construction. The Company works at its own cost and risk during the whole term of the concession (ordinarily on the average about ninety years). It keeps the entire earnings so long as the gross earnings, after deducting rates and taxes, do not reach a certain fixed maximum. When the gross receipt exceeds the maximum, it receives as cost of working a certain sum fixed according to the formula — W=F+x B. Where W is the working cost, J^ is a fixed sum which differs on the different lines, and is calculated as sufficient to cover the whole of the fixed costs * of working the line, R is the gross receipts less rates and taxes, and x is some fraction of the gross receipts varying in practice anywhere between one quarter and three quarters. The Company on this system takes the risk of the construction cost exceeding the estimate, and naturally, therefore, tries to build as cheaply as possible. But the works are carried out under the control of the county engineer, and further, the Company has an interest in building honestly, and avoiding scamping, from the fact that the cost of repair will fall on its shoulders ; and, further, the working expenses, for which the Company is responsible, would be heavier on a badly constructed line. This system, therefore, is a considerable protection to the Departments, but in order that the line may continue in a satisfactory condition, it is necessary that its earnings should be sufficient to cover, first, the interest on the sum which the Company has actually spent ; and second, the actual cost of working. If, therefore, a Company has committed itself to poor lines whose earnings only increase very gradually, a time may come when the Company, after having spent all its capital in meeting the deficits in the working expenses, will be obliged to go into liquidation and abandon its undertaking. The Department, it is true, will then enter into * Foreign railway economists always distinguish between " fixed costs," expenses for maintenance, signalling, station staff, etc., which remain in great measure the same whatever be the traffic, and " variable costs," such as locomotive and train staff expenses, which increase roughly proportionately to the traffic. 148 LIGHT RAILWAYS. possession of the line and the rolUng stock, but unless it has been very careful to see that they were properly maintained, it is quite possible that their actual value will turn out to be less than the sum which the Department has paid as its share of the cost of building. At best it will be forced to work the line itself, which is hardly iM-acticable, or to apply to some other Company to work it, which may demand an extravagant price. For certain lines this system has been combined with a fixed and guaranteed minimum of working expenses. Here we come back to the difSculty mentioned above in the case of guarantees of interest. Second Solution. The Department in this case built the line and supplied the rolling stock at its own sole cost, and then leased it to a contractor, who undertook to work it on the following conditions : — If the gross feoeipts, after deducting rales and taxes, are less than x fr. per mile, the x fr. are regarded as the cost of working. The line is then considered as not paying its working expenses, and the Department pays the contractor half the difference between x fr. and the actual gross receipts. If the gross receipts are more than X fr., but less than x + y fr., the contractor keeps the entire earnings. If the gross earnings are more than x + y fr., the contractor receives as his remuneration for working half x + y plus half the gross receipts, after deducting rates and taxes. The balance is employed to repay, with interest at 4-|- per cent., in the first place to the contractor, and secondly to the Department, the original deficits, if any, in the working expenses, and after this to repay the Department for its original capital expenditure. In the case of the Pithiviers to Toury, the value of x was taken as £120 per mile per annum, and the value of y at £32 per mile. This was allowing for three trains each way daily. In other words, the line would pay its working expenses if the receipts per train mile do not fall below £120 = 13d. per train mile. 6 X 365 '■ This line is worked by the Decauville Company. Under this system, the contracting Company has every interest in increasing the traffic as much as possible. Further, it only bears half the loss if the receipts at the outset are insufficient. In order to oblige the contracting Company to maintain the lines in a satisfactory manner, a very large deposit is required, which is forfeited to the Department if the contracting Company fails to carry out all the obligations in its contract, and the lease has to be cancelled. Finally, this lease is only granted for 15 years, so that the Department and the Contracting Company may not be bound to one another for too long a period. This system is ingenious, and the Department has deliberately faced the necessity of employing a contracting Company — a thing which, as has been said above, a certain number of the Depart- ments will be forced to accept sooner or later. At the same time, to my mind, there is a serious objection, namely, that the Department builds the line itself. On the other hand, in requiring the contracting Company to build on a schedule of prices fixed by the public engineers, and with as complete and strict a supervision as possible, there are the following advantages : — (1) There is no risk of taking a contract for building by public tender from an unsatisfactory contractor. (2) Accounts are much more easily settled, whereas, unfortunately, it very often FRANCE. 149 happens, in spite of all care taken, that contracts let by public tender lead to disputes and interminable litigation before the Prefectural Council and the Council of State. (3) The Department has the best guarantee of good workmanship in the fact that the contracting Company has to work the lines for a considerable number of years, and consequently is interested in the line being well constructed, and requiring in the future as little maintenance and repair as possible. (4) The buUding of the line is facilitated because the contractor, if he has got to work it afterwards, can use the road and rolling stock to carry out the works. (5) It is accepted as reasonable in the abstract that a contractor should always get a fair profit on the work, and it is onlj' right that the Company which is to work should get this profit, so as to counterbalance, to a certain extent, the risk which it must run in working later on. (6) Finally, the system of allowing the Company which is to work, to build also, avoids all the difficulties that a working Company might raise on taking over the line. The engineers who have built on behalf of the Government, lines wliicii have subsequently been handed over to the great Companies to work, know how there are questions of all kinds raised when these liues, however well constructed, are handed over. Further, if bj' chance an accident happened immediately after the line was opened, the working Company would not be able to attribute tliis to some imperfection in the line for wliich it was not responsible. Third Solntion. The lines are laid out and the cost estimated by the county engineers. This cost is estimated both per mile and for the entire line. The Department, with the help of the State subsidy, makes itself responsible for the greater jjart of the expense. The Companies who are inclined to bid for the concession examine the estimates and plans of the engineers, make their own calculations, and put in a tender in which they undertake : — (1) To build the lines either for a price per mUe, or for a lump sum which they put into their tender. In other words, they undertake to do the work at a certain discount off the price as estimated by the county engineer. (2) They ofl'er to work at a certain price, which they also put into their tender in the foim of a lump sum per mile, plus a definite percentage of the gross receipts. This system is in fact a lump-sum conti-act both for construction and working, a system which to my mind the Council of State ought to put a stop to. The Department examines the tenders and hesitates between them ; on the one hand, between the various discounts offered on the cost of construction ; on the other hand, between the advantages which one tender for working offers over another. Too often the Department decides not according to the business or financial capacity of the tenderers or their reputation, but according to the economies which it expects to make later on in the working expenses ; economies which probably wUl never be realized in practice. Under this system the tenderers may very likely themselves be in error as to the probable earnings, and may undertake to do the work too cheaply, and it is quite Ukely that later on a working Company win be compelled to abandon the undertaking to the very great injury of the Department. 150 LIGHT KAILWAYS. Fourtli Solution. The construction costs are estimated by engineers as exactly as possible, and with the help of a schedule of prices, which takes a liberal view of the cost and of the interest of the constructing Company. The Company executes the works under the conti-ol of the county engineers on a schedule of prices, but with a fixed maximum for the line or lines included in the concession. The object of fixing a maximum sum is this :— The accounts are settled after measuring up the work actually executed and charging them out at the schedule rates. If the result so arrived at is less than the fixed maximum, one-third of the difference goes to the Department and the remaining two-thirds to the constructing Company. If, on the other hand, the maximum is exceeded, the entire loss falls upon the Company. In contracts drawn after this model the Department undertakes to bear the entire capital expense, and in order to deter contractors or contracting Companies who are untrustworthy, or with insufficient capital, from tendering, it has recourse to the following expedient : Only three-quarters of the total expense are paid straight out ; the remaining quarter is advanced by the contractor, and is either held as caution money or employed straight away on the works, being only paid by the Department to the contracting Company at the end of the concession. But during the whole time of the concession it bears interest at the rate of 4 per cent. The working Company works at its own cost and risk. There is a fixed maximum for working expenses laid down in the concession. If this maximum is not attained the working Company receives as a premium two-thirds of the diflerenoe between the maximum, and the actual expenditure. If the gross receipts are inferior to the maximum laid down for working expenses, the deficiency is carried to a suspense account. If the receipts are larger than the expenses, the balance is, in the first jilace, devoted to paying off the deficiencies carried to suspense account, with interest at 4 per cent., and after this has been done is divided equally between the Department and the working Company. This system has been adopted by two light railways recently sanctioned in the Department of the Loire. In that case the actual figures were as follows : As long as the receipts are less than £192 per mile per annum, the maximum for working expenses is fixed at the same figure. When the receipts exceed this amount, the maximum is fixed by the following formula : — W=£93+ id. T+Sd.M + 0-30 B. In this formula W is working expenses, £93 is the fixed payment per mile per annum, the next item is one farthing per ton mile, the third 3d. per train mile, and the last item the percentage of the gross receipts less rates and taxes.* This system seems to me the best of all that have been adopted up to the present time. It protects the interests of the Department, and at the same time encourages the working Company to develop the traffic by giving it reasonable working expenses, which increase as the tonnage and the gross receipts increase. I may say further that this formula is practically that recommended by Messrs. Colson and Considere, and even at the risk of slight additional complication, it seems to me desirable to add an additional term taking account of the passenger miles as * The allowance paid to the contractor for working expenses per mile will be as follows : A fixed sum of £93 per mile per annum -1- ^d. per ton of goods carried over that mile -I- Sd. per train mile over it -1- 30 per cent, of the gross amount earned on that mile. PRUSSIA. 151 well as the ton miles. A further advantage is that the working Company may fairly hope that when the traffic develops it will repay the deficiencies in the earlier years if there were any. The only inconvenience — and it is an inconvenience common to all contracts where the working Company works at its own risk — ^is that a contractor may have undertaken an improductive or only slightly productive line, and in this case the time may come when the accumulated deficiency in receipts will have eaten up the entire capital of the working Company and it will be forced into bankruptcy. Pkussia..* Gauge, 1ft. 11 J ins. ; rails, 19 lis. per yard. KXPERIENCE OF THE PRUSSIAN RAILWAY DEPARTMENT IS THE CONSTRUCTION OP NARROW-GAUGE RAILWAYS. The trials which for a number of years have been made by the Prussian Eailway Administration in the construction and working of narrow-gauge lines of 60 centimetres (1 ft. llj ins.), have proved the efi&ciency and safety of these Unes for passenger, as well as for goods traffic. These lines are also largely used for military purposes, where speedy construction and the greatest simplicity and lightness of materials are the important factors, and have proved themselves perfectly adequate. The smallest admissible radius for the main-line curves is 98 feet ; sharper curves would necessitate a more complicated construction of the locomotives. The wheel-bases of the waggons are so dimensioned that curves up to 33 feet radius can be traversed ; this enables sidiags to be readily and economically laid to agricultural and industrial establishments. Taking from 60 to 70 tons as the average weight of a train, in- cluding the locomotive, the following statistics are given for the laying out of the lines. One in 50 should, if possible, be the steepest gradient allowed ; gradients steeper than 1 in 40 are not favourable to a regular and profitable working. With regard to gradients between 1 in 40 and 1 in 50, they should have, if longer than from 1300 to 1600 feet, horizontal stretches before them of at least double the distance. Steeper gradients also, up to 1 in 25, if they do not exceed a corre- sponding length (1 in 30 — 650 ft., 1 in 25 — 330 ft.), can be overcome by the tractive power generated, and without an additional locomotive. * Min. Proc. Inst. C.E., vol. cxvi. 152 LiaHT RAILWAYS. Still steeper gradients, up to 1 in 18, can be overcome, if the gradient is not longer than the length of the train. Curves under 650 ft. radius should be avoided in gradients steeper than 1 in 60. A good solid substructure is very important, both for safety and efficiency, as well as for cost of maintenance. With regard to the permanent way materials, the following statistics are given. The rails should weigh at least 19 lbs. per yard; for this weight a rail 2f ins. in height, with a strong head and wide base, is the most favourable. The distance between the sleepers should be from 2 ft. 1^ in. to 2 ft. 4J ins., the breadth of the sleepers from 5J ins. to 6;^ ins., and their length should not be under 4 feet. The fish-joint should be strong and durable, either flat or angular fish-plates, with 4 bolts and suspended joints, being used. The most suitable length of the rail is 16 feet. The locomotives, constructed at the works of Messrs. Krauss & Co., at Munich, have given satisfaction, and combine great flexibility with easy rimning, and, on account of the low position of the centre of gravity, have proved themselves especially adaptable to the sharpest curves and steepest gradients. The boilers of the locomotives are tested to 300 lbs. per sq. in., the highest steam pressure allowed in practice being 225 lbs. per sq. in. The weight of the locomotive, with coal, water, etc., amounts to 14 tons 14 cwts. The traction efficiency has been found as follows : — 1. On lines with gradients up to 1 in 100 108 to 117 tons 2. „ „ „ lin 50 59 to 69 „ 3. „ „ „ lin 40 49 to 54 „ 4. „ ., , lin 30 34 to 39 „ 5. „ „ „ lin 25 27} to 29^ „ The consumption of coal per locomotive per hour amounts to from 275 to 440 lbs., and of water from 132 to 198 gallons, according to the train loads, the speed, and the gradients. The locomotives can run with stores of water and coal carried in their own tanks, sufficient for 2^ hours' consumption, rendering tenders unnecessary. The average speed attained is 9^ mUes per hour, but on lines specially well laid out, this is increased considerably. The locomotives are fitted with pumps, so that the erection of elevated water-tanks is unnecessary, and water can be drawn from low-lying tanks or natural watercourses. PRUSSIA. 153 The waggons are so constructed that the upper frame or box can easily be taken off the light-wheeled under frame, and the under frame or waggon can then be employed for the transport of long timber, girders, etc. The boxes have a carrying capacity of 5 tons, and their cubical contents are 222 cubic feet. The waggons are fitted with central buffers of cylindrical form, well-made axles, without springs, single-flanged wheels, upright spindle brakes, with brake- blocks placed behind the wheels, and journals which can be well lubricated. By these contrivances, the cost of the waggons is in- creased ; but, on the other hand, they ensure easy running, and by that means diminish the train resistance, the consumption of coal, etc. The general average wheel diameter is 17^ ins., and the wheel-base 2 ft. 3i ins. The question as to whether a single or double-flanged wheel is best for the locomotive was decided in favour of the former. The possibility and safety of passenger traffic on the 1 ft. llj ins. gauge has been proved by practical experience. The car is con- structed after the style of a tramway-car, with longitudinal seating for twenty persons ; it rests upon two bogies with springs, and runs throughout lightly and easily. 154 LIGHT RAILWAYS. < ?i g B i5 O O (- Pi n ?; p CO D is pd o a oj-g _to 1 >-E2 6D -Al S tH b t,-^ t> Pice m >> a ,o ^ ^ ?Si 2\ lbs. per yard. The railway is 40 miles long, with 17 miles of branch lines in addition, making a length of 57 miles in all. The line was constructed for developing the Gran Chaco in the Argentine Republic, containing an area of 42 square leagues. The * Min. Proc. Inst. G.E., cxviii. SUNDRY. 171 country is much subjected to floods, and a number of bridges and culverts were necessary. Eough-log trestle bridges were employed for crossing rivers, the timber being obtained in the forests adjoining the line of railway for these and for the sleepers. The rails are of steel, 32i lbs. per yard. The sleepers of hard- wood 6 ft. 6 ins. X 8 ins. x 4 ins., spaced 2 ft. 8 ius. apart, centre to centre, and laid in 10 ins. of soft stone ballast. The maximum gradient is 1 in 80, and the minimum radius of curve 400 ft. The embankments were protected by fascines against floods, or planted with lagoon grass and long-rooted shrubs. Nine bridges were built on the line, mostly of wood, or with iron girders on wood piling, and sixty-six culverts, all constructed of hardwood. To protect the bridges from large masses of " camallotes," carried down by floods, an apparatus for loosening them was fixed in the river. This consisted of three sets of floating " spreaders," formed of three long balks, their ends being linked together with chains, and worked from the shore by winches. Narrow-gauge lines of 1 ft. 8 ins. gauge were used in the plan- tations, woods, mills, and brickworks, as feeders to the main lines, and for local transport of materials. The total length laid was about 42 miles ; the rails were 14 lbs. per yard, spiked to hardwood sleepers 3 ft. 3 ins. X 6 ins. X 4 ins. The sharpest curve was 33 ft. radius, and the maximum gradient 1 in 60. The rolling stock consisted of — 4 six-wheel-coupled locomotives, weighing each 20 tons fuU. 4 four-wheel „ „ „ „ 12 „ 5 small DecauviUe „ „ „ 4 „ 50 bogie truck waggons. 40 two-axled covered waggons. 40 „ low-sided waggons. 42 „ flat waggons. 6 brake vans, two-axled. 6 goods vans. 8 second-class carriages. 5 first-class „ The platforms and bodies of the rolling stock, with the exception of the carriages, brakes, and goods vans, were of native wood sawn in the colony. 172 LIGHT RAILWAYS. The following are the details of the locomotives :- 6-wheel coupled. 4-wbeel coupled. Decauville. Diameter of cylinder . . 13 ins. 10 ins. 5 ins. Length of stroke 20 ins. 16 ins. Tins. Wheel-base 12 ft. 9 ins. 6 ft. 4 ins. 3 ft. 3 ins. Diametsr of wheels . . 3 ft. ins. 2 ft. 6 ins. 1 ft. 6 ins. Working pressure 120 lbs. 110 lbs. 100 lbs. Tank capacity- 800 galls. 500 galls. 500 galls, m engine and tender Fuel 40 cub. ft. 25 cub. ft. 30 cub. ft. in engine and tender Weight of engine loaded 20 tons 12^ tons 4i\ytons Peed 2 injectors and 1 injector and 1 injector and pump pump pump The fuel used was wood having a calorific power of about 50 per cent, of coal. Canadian Naekow-gauge Eailways.* In introducing railways into the back country of Canada, it was found that £3000 per mile could be raised from the resources of the country, and consequently it was of great importance that means of communication, costing no more than this sum per mile, should be introduced. The result was the construction of railways on the 3 ft. 6 ins. gauge, with 40-lb. rails. The Toronto, Grey, and Bruce, and the Toronto and Mpissing, were thus projected to open up the country. The ruHng gradient was 1 in 60, with a minimum curve of 462 ft. radius. The structures on both railways, station buildings, bridges, culverts, cattle guards, etc., are of timber, and both are fenced their entire length. The permanent way consisted of iron rails, 40 lbs. per yard, spiked to wooden sleepers. The sleepers, spaced 2 ft. 6 ins. apart, are 7 ft. 6 ins. X 8 ins. X 5 ins., laid on ballast 12 ins. deep. The locomotives were as follows : — 1. Engines 16 tons, which have been found too light for the traffic. 2. Engines 21 tons, six wheels coupled, running 122 miles daily, * Min. Froc. Inst. C.E., vol. xlviii. CANADA. 173 witli a passenger train weighing 60 tons, and carrying 100 passengers, at a speed of 16 miles an hour, and burning 1 ton of coal. The passenger carriages were originally 30 ft. long, and 8 ft. 6 ins. wide (extreme), but now they are 43 ft. x 8 ft. 8 ins., and run more steadily. The waggon stock was 15 ft. and 18 ft. long X 8 ft. wide, on four wheels 24 ins. diameter ; but longer stock is now used. The Northern Kailway of Canada, 5 ft. 6 ins. gauge, runs through the territory between these two railways, through somewhat similar country, and has a traffic similar in character; and it may be in- teresting to compare the working of the two gauges. Toronto, Grey, and Bruce. 3 ft. 6 ins. Toronto and Nipissing. 3 ft. 6 ins. Nortncm Railway of Canada. 5 ft. 6 ins. Total earnings . . Total working expenses Per cent, of working expenses . . Miles open for traffic .. Earnings per mile of railway . . Train miles per mile Earnings per train mile Working expenses do. Net earnings do. Cost per mile of railway £74,467 £46,685 62-9 191 £389 2087 3s. lOd. 2s. 6d. Is. id. £4355 £41,447 £24,093 58-1 87 476 2357 4s. 2d. 2s. 6d. Is. 8d. £3678 £148,919 £94,792 63-6 165 902 3889 4s. 5d. 3s. Id. Is. id. £9568 £ = 7987 = 249 = 4016 = 162 Comparing the above figures, it will be found that- Broad-gauge railways, average cost per mile „ net income = 3 per cent, on cost. Narrow-gauge railways, average cost per mile „ „ net income ... = 4 per cent, on cost. Working expenses per train per mile, broad gauge, 4s. 5d. „ narrow „ 4s. Od. These facts afford a favourable comparison for the narrow-gauge railways, which pass through a country only recently opened up to railway facilities, whilst the broad gauge has been in operation many years. Durtag the ten years in which these railways had been working, from 1869 to 1879 (the colonies of Grey and Bruce were without railway accommodation in 1869, and WeUington and Simcoe were 174 LIGHT EAILWAYS. only partially accommodated in that year), the increase of the value of assessments in real estate was as under — County of Grey ,, Bruce ... „ Simcoe ... „ Wellington, including city of Guelph City of Toronto ,, Hamilton „ London Increase per cent. 17 210 45 258 115 124 70 Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway'. Gmu/e, 2 ft. 6 ins. ; rails, 36 Ihs. per yard. Tliis line is the most striking example of a railway attaining to a great height by means of steep gradients and tunnelling. It is 574 miles long, and reaches a height of 13,000 feet. The object of the line is to open up for the southern portion of the BoKvian table-land, a rapid and economical route to the Pacific, and to develop the mineral wealth of the Atacama desert. The gauge of the railway is 2 ft. 6 ins., the rails are of steel, 36 lbs. per yard, the sleepers are of Chilian wood (roUe). The gradients do not exceed 1 in 32, and, considering the nature of the railway, the curves are of good radius. The passenger carriages and covered goods waggons have a gang- way on the roof, provided with a double handrail, so that the railway officials may be able to walk along the train whilst in motion. At a height of 3,260 feet the line crosses the river Loa on an iron viaduct 940 feet long, carried on 7 iron piles, of which the two highest are 330 feet. The width of the roadway is 12 feet, and the total weight of the ironwork in the viaduct is 1115 tons. The railway, as a pioneer line, is a sound commercial undertaking. Although only a single Une, it carried in 1892 — 416,166 tons of freight 21,741 No. passengers = 725 tons per mile per annum. = 37 No. The engines working the heaviest gradients weigh 37 tons. BRAZIL. 175 Bkoad-gauge and Metee-gauge Eailways in Beazil. Mr. Hammond bears the following testimony to the success, financial and otherwise, of metre-gauge lines in Brazil : — " Having been both engineer and manager of broad- and narrow-gauge railways in Brazil for eighteen years, may I give a few facts ? " 1. The cost and equipment of the Paulista Railway, 200 miles long, a con- tinuation of the San Paulo Railway, 5 ft. 3 ins. gauge, with curves of 280 metres radius, and a ruling gradient of 1 in 50, was over £9600 per mile. "2. The cost and equipment of the Rio Claro Railway, 290 miles long, one metre (3 ft. 3| ins.) gauge, with curves 100 metres radius, and a ruling gradient of 1 in 50, was under £3200 per mile. I will not bring in evidence the other narrow (metre) gauge railways in the State of San Paulo, which measure more than 1800 rrdles, of which 80 per cent, cost less than £4000 per mile, the remaining 20 per cent, costing something more, on account of exceptional circumstances. "The two railways mentioned above, of which I was general manager and engineer, will illustrate exactly the relative costs of the two systems, because both are constructed in very similar country, namely, the coffee districts of San Paulo — the Rio Claro being an extension of the Paulista. " The rainfall on both lines varies from 36 ins. to 45 ins. of rain per annum. On both, considerably more than one-half the revenue comes from the carriage of coffee. The speed of the passenger trains on the Paulista broad gauge is 32 miles an hour, and on the Rio Claro narrow gauge 22 miles an hour. " The rails of the broad gauge weigh from 62 lbs. to 72 lbs. per yard, and on the narrow gauge from 42 lbs. to 47 lbs. per yard. The weights on the driving wheels of the engines are from 5 tons to 5 j tons on the broad gauge, and from 3J tons to 3f tons on the narrow. "The sleepers of the broad gauge have twice the amount of wood in them that the narrow gauge have. Both have Vignoles section rails, held in place by simple dog spikes. " Both have paid from 10 to 14 per cent, dividends to their shareholders. This last fact demonstrates that both are suitable for the work they do. Had the Rio Claro been made broad gauge, like the Paulista, its capital would have been increased to three times, and the shareholders, instead of receiving handsome dividends, would have been ruined. " It must be mentioned that the working of the trains on both lines is similar — that is, both have engine-drivers, and firemen, and guards, in proportion to the length of the train. "The above shows that narrow-gauge lines are very satisfactory, and just as commercially successful as the broad, with the tremendous fact in their favour that their cost is only one-half. All the lines now being constructed, or in contemplation, in Brazil, are of the narrow gauge. " In the suburbs of the city of San Paulo, Brazil, there is a railway, or tramway, which runs for a considerable part of its length on a high-road, where there is a large traffic of carts and vans always going on. On the engine there is but one man, who is both driver and fireman, and the waggons and carriages are under the control of one guard. The train stops anywhere for passengers, and has very 176 LIGHT EAILWATS. primitive stations, where tlie goods are received or delivered. The line answers its purpose admiraUy. The curves are very sharp, and there are gradients as steep as 1 in 28. "Such a system could be made in England at a cost of less than £1500 per mile, by following the highways as much as possible, by avoiding the useless luxuries, for a single line, of locking points, of signals, of fancy stations, of overhead bridges, and of a great staff on the trains, and would be an immense benefit to the farmers ; whereas, the cheapest and flimsiest extension of the normal 4 ft. 8J ins. gauge, if made to carry the waggon stock of the great companies, would cost so much that a dividend could not be earned, and inevitable failure would be the end." Colonial Eailways — New Zealand.* It was originally proposed to construct the railways in New Zealand of a cheap description. A gauge of 3 ft. 6 ins. was decided upon, with 40-lb. rails, sharp curves, steep gradients, and low speeds. It was assumed that £5000 per mile would be the cost, with extras for exceptionally heavy works. To overcome a very difficult point on the line from Wellington, a gradient of 1 in 15 for 2^ miles occurs, and is worked by a Fell engine with centre rail. The alternative, with a gradient of 1 in 40, would have involved a succession of curves of 3 chains radius, nineteen tunnels, and many embankments 100 ft. deep on the centre line, and the length of the line would have been 8J miles. The saving in cost by adopting the steeper incline was probably £100,000. The colony has a large mileage of railways in proportion to the population. The active competition of water carriage at many points, where the railways follow the coast, and the extension of other lines inland, to mountainous and pastoral districts, at present almost devoid of population, accounts for the unfavourable appearance of many of the figures relating to traffic receipts. In the remotest parts, trains only run once a week, and even on the busiest parts they run only during sixteen hours per day ; the heavy traffic is towards the ports, and a very moderate traffic in small lots forms the greater part of the return traffic. The average non-paying load to the paying load per waggon is as 2 to 1. The average cost per engine mile for all locomotive expenses is * it Government Eeport on Eailways for j^ear 1893." Min. Froc. Inst. C.E., vol. Ixiii. NEW ZEALAND. 177 as 9-55d., includiiig the Fell engine services, on the Eimutaka incline of 1 in 15 of 2^ miles. The Pell engines weigh 36 tons, and draw 70 tons up 1 in 15 at the rate of 5 miles per hour. These engines ran 17,900 mUes in one year, costing 3s. lOd. per engine mile. The raUs originally laid on the railways were 40-lb. iron, but all renewals are 53-lb. steel. The Auckland Section has a large proportion of its length in unsettled country with little traffic. The maximum gradients are lin40. The U'apier Section, for half its length, penetrates into a fertile country, it has neither water competition nor any non-paying branches. The maximum gradients are 1 in 45. On the other half, the district is as fertile and productive, but it is subjected to much water competition. It has many sharp curves and steep gradients, the maximum gradient being 1 in 33. The Wellington Section has a traffic similar to the Napier. It, however, crosses a mountain range for a distance of 18 miles, with gradients of 1 in 33 and 1 in 40, and a gradient of 1 in 15 against the chief traffic, with curves of 5 chains radius. The Hnmnni-Bloff Section has agricultural traffic of consider- able volume, but it has numerous short branches penetrating into sparsely populated pastoral districts, with light traffic. The line passes many seaports, so that the average distances over which the traffic is carried are short, the maintenance charges due to long and expensive bridges are heavy, and portions of the line are subjected to floods. The maximum gradients are 1 in 50, with curves of 7i chains radius in the central part ; but in the northern and southern parts the gradients are flat. Brown coals, costing 7s. <5d. to 8s. 6d. per ton at the pit mouth, axe largely used for locomotive purposes. The Extensions, while generally of great advantage to their respective localities in opening up new country, and giving access to timber, coal, and settlement areas, thereby enlarging the pro- ductive powers of the colony, do not, and cannot be expected to add, much to the net profit, until such time as these resources and their N 178 LIGHT RAILWAYS. attendant industries are developed. In such cases, the question is not so much, " Will a railway pay ? as " Is the district worth open- ing up by such means ? " There are extensive areas in the colony, especially in the North Island, which, for productive purposes, are useless until opened out by roads and railways. The Fell Eugine on Kimutaka Incline.* Distance, 3 miles ; gradient, 1 in 15 ; curves, 5 chains radius. The traffic over the incline, both ways, is equal to 50,000 tons of net-paying load per annum. The cost of the locomotive for this service is equal to 4d. per ton of net-paying load per mile. The passenger tonnage is calculated proportionately to the non-paying load carried, as compared with goods tonnage. During the descent, the steam is used in the cylinders for lubrica- tion, and jets of water are played on the centre rail, just in advance of the brake, which cool the rail and saturate the longitudinal sleepers, preventing them taking fire. The brake also works more smoothly on a wet rail, and lasts three times as long as on a dry one ; water is likewise used on the trailing- wheel tires, both when ascending and descending, which wets the rails for the vehicles following. The wear of rails and tires is considerably lessened by the free use of water, and the train friction is reduced. The centre engine of the locomotive can take alone 40 tons, and the outside engine, by adhesion only, 30 tons. The loads are all hauled, when two or three locomotives are used ; each locomotive is so placed as to haul its own load. Forty-five minutes are allowed between the stations for ascending goods trains, with a gross load of 65 tons, exclusive of the weight of the locomo- tive. Loads of 70 tons per locomotive are often taken up, but this is a maximum effort. Mixed ascending trains are allowed forty minutes, and a load of sixty tons. Trains are worked with one, two, or three locomotives, according to the loads, without inconvenience ; the locomotives being placed so as to divide the train, and to prevent overstraining of drawbars. * Mill. Proc. Inst. C.E., vol. xcvi. NEW ZEALAND. 179 The traffic is somewhat intermittent. A large portion being of live stock, having to be sent through without delay, at times entails three engines being in steam, which have not nearly full work. A continuous traffic, which would allow of one or two engines being kept constantly at work, would be carried on very much more cheaply. The capacity of such an incline for traffic will be limited by its length amongst other things. An incline from 2 to 3 miles long, up which are conveyed loads of say, 180 tons, with an allowance of 1^ hours for a double trip, is equal to the accommodation of an ascending traffic of 1440 tons of gross load per day of twelve hours. 180 LIGHT RAILWAYS. R < ■< m N 1" o H !> 00 »-( »ft CO -J* t^ CO I'- OS t>. 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"a „ ho •g M 3 mis S '.S £ g " n " S " S,_ >^ lL o} bn GO u o 'C £r OS ho fl >■ a d,:a ^ ■ Sfe s " a c to V v^ P^cj bo OS-- a,a o « go a, "^-g a o'cS{g V V J ° 2 u « " S o'Sie S S OiB s s a i§ S m n.S m a *S OS O S PkHE-i SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 181 South Australia..* The railways in this colony were commenced in 1854, on the 5 ft. 3 ins. gauge. The permanent way was originally of 65-lb. rails laid on longitudinal sleepers, and of 65-lb. double-headed rails, cast- iron chairs, and cross sleepers. The railways up to 1864 had cost £12,000 per mile, when it was decided to initiate a cheaper system. 1st. By the extension of the then existing system on the same gauge, but of lighter type, costing not more than £5500 per mile, including stations and equipment. 2nd. By the 3 ft. 6 ins. gauge for independent systems. The first 5 ft. 3 ins. gauge line (70 miles) on this principle cost £5247 per mile, and, being an extension of the existing system, only a small amount of additional rolling stock was necessary. The line ran through a very easy country, with one large bridge crossing a ravine 80 ft. deep, with two openings of 150 ft. each, and costing £14,000. The gradients were not steeper than 1 in 100, excepting three-quarters of a mile of 1 in 80, and the sharpest curve was 20 chains radius. The permanent way had rails 40 lbs. per yard, spiked to redwood, hard-gum sleepers, 9 ft. x 9 ins. x 4^ ins., spaced 2 ft. 9 ins. apart, and a sleeper under the joints, with 8 ins. ballast underneath, of limestone broken to 2^ ins. gauge. Stations were built every seven miles, with goods sheds from 60 to 100 ft. long. The fotmdations up to 3 ft. above rail level were of stone, upon which the side and end walls were built of wood frames covered with galvanized iron, 24 B.W.G. The roofs 45 ft. span, with circular wrought-iron principals, 10 ft. apart, were covered with similar iron. The other station buildings were, a station-master's house in stone, with booking-office and waiting-room in iron. The line was fenced with iron fencing. The low-sided waggons weighed 4 tons 4 cwts., and carried 7 tons, but were limited in practice to 6 tons. The locomotives were of 26 tons weight in working order, four wheels coupled and a bogie, with tenders weighing 19 tons, and capable of hauling 68 tons up 1 in 50 at 10 miles per hour. It was originally intended to work the line * " Government Eeport on Railways for 1893." Min. Proc. Inst. C.E., vol. Ivi. 182 LIGHT RAILWAYS. with 20-ton engines, running 10 miles an hour with goods and 20 miles with passenger trains, having no greater axle weight than 7 tons, but public pressure led to the use of heavier engines and higher speeds, even up to 20 miles an hour with goods and 35 with passenger trains. The line runs through a good wheat country, and, five years after opening, carried 97,238 tons, and 76,223 passengers. So great was the wear of the iron rails, under the heavy engines and fast speed, that the line was relaid as required with 60-lb. rails, commencing after only eight years' wear. Experience showed that a 40-lb. iron rail was serviceable as long as the speed of goods trains was limited to 15 miles and passenger trains to 20 miles per hour, and when no axle carried a greater weight than 5 tons. The following table gives the cost of other lines on this gauge, includ- ing stations and rolling stock, constructed between 1864 and 1878 : — Gauge. Per mile. Bails. ft. ins. £ lbs. Goolwa and Victor 5 3 5385 35 Line worked by horses. Eoseworth and Burra 5 3 5169 40 No. 1 section. ft )» 5 3 5604 40 No. 2 „ Burra and Hallet 5 3 5000 40 Eapunda and North-West Bend 5 3 5861 40 The narrow-gauge railways were to cost not more than £5500 per mile. The estimate for one from Port Augusta, for a distance of 200 miles, made in 1877, was £5042 per mile, and the capital account of the line now is £5228 per mile, so that the work must have been carried out for the original estimate in the first instance. The estimate per mile was — £ Land and fencing 17 Earthworks 785 Bridges and culverts 830 Permanent way, including sidings ... 2305 Stations and water supply 515 Rolling stock 350 Engineering 240 £5042 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 183 The steepest gradient is 1 in 60, and the sharpest curve 5 chains radius. Most of the land belonged to the Crown, and only private lands were fenced. The earthworks were generally of a light character. Bridges and culverts were numerous, there being 8750 lineal feet of iron bridging, and 570 culverts, mostly 10 ft. diameter, on the entire length. The bridges had masonry abutments, piers of hollow cast-iron screw-piles, and a superstructure of wrought-iron plate or lattice girders. For simplicity and economy, only 20, 40, and 60 ft. spans have been adopted. The speed of passenger trains is limited to 20 mUes an hour, and goods trains to 14 mUes. The greatest load for the bridges has been taken at 15 cwts. per lineal foot. The permanent way consists of 40-lb. rails spiked to hardwood cross sleepers 6 ft. 6 ins. x 8 ins. x 4 ins., 2 ft. 9 ins. apart, with 6 ins. ballast under the sleepers. The locomotives have six wheels coupled, 3 ft. 3 ins. diameter, with a two-wheel Bissel bogie in front. The cylinders are 12 ins. diameter, 20 ins. stroke, and are equal to a gross load of 85 tons, exclusive of engine and tender, up 1 in 50, at 10 miles per hour. They weigh 19 tons in working order, and carry 850 gallons of water. The passenger carriages (21 ft. 6 ins. long x 8 ft. wide) have longitudinal seats, with a centre passage, carrying 30 passengers, and weighing 5f tons, or 429 lbs. per passenger. The waggon stock is of three types. Empty. Live load. Batio, ft. ins. ft. ins. ft. ins. tonscwtB. qrs. tonscwtB. qrs. Low-side waggons . . 14 0x70x16 2 17 6 1:2-1 Medium „ 14 0x70x26 3 3 6 1:1-9 Covered vans 14 0x70x60 3 10 5 1:1-7 The underframes of carriages and waggons are of iron, and the uniform wheel-base is 7 feet. The stations occur at intervals of 20 miles, with station-master's 184 LIGHT RAILWAYS. house, booking-ofi&ce, and goods shed, etc. There are terminal work- shops, with engine and carriage sheds, and provision is made for erecting houses along the line for the repairers. The water supply forms a very serious item, and includes the construction of large covered concrete tanks, each with a capacity of 600,000 gallons, with overhead tanks and steam-pumps complete, every 20 miles. The amount of £5042 per mile includes the whole of these works, and also the complete equipment of the line. The conclusions arrived at in the working of the railways in South Australia is that, in opening up new countries, it is a mistake to adopt so wide and exceptional a gauge as the 5 ft. 3 ins. For poor countries, where the greatest economy in construction and in maintenance is necessary, and where time is of no great value, a gauge of 3 ft. 6 ins. with a 40-lb. rail, would probably be the best type of line that could be adopted. But for countries capable of a considerable degree of development, and that have the promise of a large population and future wealth, there can be no doubt of the wisdom of adopting the 4 ft. 8^ ins., with a section of rail in propor- tion to the power and weight of the engines employed, and the speed desired. If no axle carries a greater weight than 5 tons, and the speed is limited to a maximum of 15 miles an hour for goods and 20 miles for passenger trains, then a 40-lb. iron rail with a layer of 6 ins. of ballast under the sleepers, will, with the ordinary amount of traffic in a new country, last from twelve to fifteen years, or, if steel rails are employed, for a much longer period. If more powerful engines and higher speeds are required, the weight of rail and the quantity of ballast must be increased in pro- portion, but a 60-lb. rail on this gauge of 3 ft. 6 ins., with 9 ins. depth of ballast under the sleepers, would amply suffice for the conduct of the heaviest traffic that could arise in the wealthiest of these colonies, travelling at the rates of speed common upon English railways. The following table gives the cost of other lines on this gauge, including stations and rolling stock, constructed between 1867 and 1878 :— SOUTH AUSTEALIA. 185 Gauge. Cost per mUe. KaUs. Remarks. Port Wakefield and Blyth, No. 1 ft. ins. 3 6 3548 lbs. 40 Through, level country. >9 » }) ^ 3 6 6343 40 Port Broughton and Barunga .. 3 6 5579 35 Kingston and Narracote 3 6 3623 35 Level country. Very little traffic. Engines, 12 tons Port Augusta and Farina 3 6 5042 40 As described previously. Rivoli and Mount Grambier 3 6 4030* 40 As above. Hamley Bridge and Balaklava .. 3 6 4465* 40 Kadina and Black Point 3 6 3823* 40 )) The broad-gauge railways are being relaid with 60-lb. rails, and near Adelaide, where the suburban traffic is considerable, with 80-lb. rails ; and the narrow-gauge lines with 50-lb. rails. The following statement will show the results of working railways in the Australian Colonies. South Australia. Victoria. New South Wales. Queens- New land. Zealand. Tas- mania. Gauge .. Per centage of working expenses to revenue Net revenue on capital Maintenance per mile per annum .. 5 3 3 6 56-98 3-54 £155 £72 5 3 59-99 2-89 £174 4 81 56-58 3-46 £218 3 6 3 6 62-61 i 62-70 2-17 £133 £146 3 6 89-73 0-44 £146 The maintenance of the lines in this colony, compares very favourably with those in the other colonies, and is considered by the Commissioners to be due to the effective system of supervision which is in operation ; and " we cannot state too emphatically that if the present system were altered, as has been suggested, by placing in such responsible positions, as those occupied by the resident-engineers, non-professional men, the experiment would undoubtedly prove, as it did in the past, both unsatisfactory and costly." Falmerston and Pine Greek Railway — This railway has been constructed from Port Darwin, in the northern division of South Australia, and is, of course, entirely isolated from the other railways, * Country very level throughout. Timber bridges used for crossing creeks and watei-ways. 186 LIGHT KAILWAYS. which are all constructed in the southern division. The railway has a traffic of only £111 per nule per annum, but with this revenue it manages to pay working expenses, and to contribute £33 per mile per annum towards the payment of interest. The line is on the 3 ft. 6 ins. gauge, and is 145 miles long. It was opened in 1889. The expenditure on the railway and equipment, including a jetty at Port Darwin, has been as under, to June, 1894 — Ways, works, and buildings, including jetty Rolling stock ... Machinery and plant Interest during construction Discounts and floating charges Total expenditure Total. Per mile £ £ ling jetty :: 960,902 or 6600 31,070 „ 210 12,020 „ 80 £136,597 5388 141,985 „ 990 £1,145,977 „ £7880 The cost of the jetty is not given separately, but the amount raised for this item in 1884 was £57,000. The working expenditure was as follows : — Maintenance. Per Per mile, train mile £ £ £ d. Engineering and supen vision 1339 Way — Ballasting . 104 Weeding . 700 Sleepers 90 Hails ... 7 Platelaying . 1985 2886 Works — Clearing . 184 Fencing 8 Earthworks . . 655 Bridges, etc. . 157 Roads 3 Jetties and wharves . 109 1116 Buildings. £ 15 Traffic Locomotives ... 4 Maintenance ... 4 Residences . 164 187 Rolling stock ... . 34 Machinery and plant . .. 4 Reservoirs, etc. .. 5 Improvements 228 £5799 40 44-45 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Locomotive Power. Superintendence and office expenses Running — Drivers, firemen, and cleaners Stores Fuel Water £ 843 70 494 _69 £ 610 1476 Per mile. £ Per train mile. d. Repairs and renewals „ shop charges 603 87 690 £2776 19 21-45 Carriage and Waggon. Superintendence and office expenses Shop charges Carriages, repairs, and renewals Waggons, „ 93 38 76 271 £478 3 3-69 Traffic Expenses. General traffic manager's office Traffic officers Guards, porters, and others Printing and stationery Sundries 31 825 514 40 626 £2036 13 15-73 General Charg Gonamissioner's office Comptroller's office Sundries es. 38 281 4 £323 2 2-50 187 The train mileage was — Passengers 15206 Goods ... 15850 31,056, equal to a train each way twice a week. Revenue. Passengers, 1st class Passengers, etc No. £ 323 425 Per mile £ . Train mile <2. 2nd „ ... 3753 1573 „ excess fares ... 866 Parcels and cloak-room charges ... 329 Mails ... 475 Police and military subsidies 1-15 Sundry earnings 7 4,076 £3820 26 60-29 188 LIGHT BAIL WAYS. Goods. Minerals Grain Goods, other than above .. Cattle, calves, and horses . . Other live stock Passengers Goods Eents Sales of water Wharfage ... :::) Tons. 34 71 2241 178 2524 Per mile. £ Traiu mile. d. 793 69 £ 34 159 9425 } 642 £10260 70 155-36 Summary. 3820 10260 800 185 1128 Total revenue £16193 111 125-14 Maintenance Locomotive power ... Carriage and waggon repairs Traffic expenses General charges Working Expenses. 5790 2776 478 2036 323 £11403 40 19 3 14 2 44-75 21-45 3-69 15-73 2-50 78 88-12 33 37-00 Net revenue £4790 The average mileage travelled by a passengeo' was 44-65 miles, and the average receipts 2-64c?. per passenger per mile. The average mileage per ton was 116-04 miles, and the average receipts 8-41c?. per ton per mile. The rolling stock consisted of — 6 locomotives. 7 coaches. 134 waggons. There are fifteen stations or stopping places on the line, and the total staff consisted of — 3 men, generally for all branches. 9 „ traffic branch. 13 „ locomotive and carriage. 63 „ maintenance. total (35 Europeans, 53 Coolie and Chinese). SOUTH AUSTEALIA. 189 CO <1 W B O i32 o M o o Izi m o Ed CO o O Eh P3 sa.s ■ss<= SS! I i II I ttlW t T"? I I Oi 1H I I QOCO , , , I I II 11=2 I I I CO-* I «i^ I I M Is^ CO Oi 1-1 CD I I I I I I M I I I I I I I 1-1 O O) I I 00^ ft I I ll is as sa-9 'am. f^ in a=j -a-a (M W3 II II I II I II I iS"l I I ll£S I ! I II ill IN^ II I I I I I I I I (M O I I li^i I i I i&S I I I I I! waocDoio 1-100 CO la-^ i-> ■^00(MI>i-i 1-1 ^- CO 1-1 GO 1-1 l> O t- CO Oi T-ltM Oi Ol CO CO 00 ■* CD OS CD i-l i-i O-^ »0 OS lO 1ft (N CD (N OS CD (N ^ ■^ COCO (N " " " rH 1-* lO CO (N ^^ 00 lO COCM 00 o OS i> 00 p *y a h| 'i3 S lii t! ■« Sj P ft o '^f— < c3 «gS S^ -3 g ^-s i°5 3>2 S « g SB I Sow tt^ iZi O ^;z; P!zi gW^JMHOO S .5-g ,oi e ^ BO m o P to K.„ P p,o ■* u^-g •ssg&lgg Si S ■ .M 'O Tl 'O H o K o S o s o o) g bog mS) 2*0 E o J ffi S S S a m P tn P flS fiS O ej O IH PntHflLiHtH 190 LIGHT RAILWAYS. ■< P .s o 5 tH O DO cq M H 0-3 CO ^^ OQ _^ ■a •g -* o 05 c- S S ^ 00 cq ^ cq tH -* ^ 'a Ph T-H CO r-t 1 » <:^ oq l?^ 1 S 6 -* o 1 O e-i -rH ^ CO (M 1 oi "^ iH UO ^ S 05 6 T-i do O (M 1— 1 ^ T-i ■C lifSfe en oq "<*H CO t- Aver load, clud ngine tend S ^rt ce p^ c<3 .2'S S "ffl ^H g ^.a CD • ^j bD -ri IS ■D 03 C8 •Xi CD « OP :3 fl © o 'ce •3 S IS. ^ "S g m ts -« fH <1 fS < M op r-l CO ip CD CO 6 lO CO cq CO -»l rH ip o o rH CO CD cb rH IM 00 o oq CO r-l iH 05 Al CD rH OO O (>q 'il lO O cq o < w w > X w (J < < < Z w w I — , (A < >- <: < o g w w < Q INDIA. lt)9 3^ tons. The passenger carriages weigh (the small open ones, carrying 6 persons, seated in armchairs), 900 lbs. each, and the closed carnages 1 ton. The diameter of the wheels of all rolling stock is 18 ins. The rates in force are much higher than on the other railways in India. There is a large passenger traf&c in the cold season, and a large tea and general merchandise traffic, the revenue being £750 per mile per annum. The time occupied in the journey up is 9 hours, in- cluding one hour stoppage for luncheon half-way. Travelling on the gradient is limited to 6 miles per hour, up or down, but on the level a speed of 17 miles per hour is attained. The cost of construction was much cheapened by the line following the old cart road, but the estimate for a similar line from Kalka to Simla, where no cart road is available, through a similar difficult country, is at the rate of Es.90,000 = now £6,000 per mile. The alignment of the line has been improved, and is still being improved, but for five years the traffic was worked round a curve of 42 ft. radius, extending over more than half a circle, on a gradient of 1 in 32. The line has paid dividends at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum. Such a combination of narrow gauge, steep gradients, sharp curves, small waggons, and big dividends, is probably unique in the history of railways. The road along which the railway is made is 25 ft. wide, and was handed over to the Eailway Company, free of cost, by the Government. This was a great concession, as in a moimtainous district the expenses of excavation and bridging would certainly have cost an extra £2000 per mile, at least. For this concession, the Eailway Company divide with the Government half the profits over 5 per cent. (Plates XXVI., XXVII., XXVIII, XXIX.). Since the railway has been made, the road traffic has almost entirely disappeared, and although the rates charged are considerably in excess of the rates on the railways in the plains (viz. from 5 to 9 times), still they are less than one-half those charged by bullock- cart, and the speed of travelling is five times greater. If local railways in mountainous districts are to be financially successful, they must be bmlt along the mountain road, as, in many cases, a new alignment would make the expense prohibitive. The 200 LIGHT RAILWAYS. road, of course, would be hampered, to a certain extent, by having the railway upon it ; but when the railway is made, the road traffic becomes insignificant, and the necessity for a good road disappears. In the case of the Darjeeling Eailway, a good road has been con- verted into a good railway, and is a source of convenience and profit to the shareholders in it, and also to the Government. A long and important discussion on the gauge of the Indian railways, took place in the Institution of CivO. Engineers, in 1873, when it was proposed by the then Government of India to introduce narrow-gauge railways in future extensions. The mileage of the railways at that time was — Standard gauge ... ... ... ... ... ... 5326 miles Metre gauge 17 „ Special gauge 27 „ To-day the mileage of the different gauges is — Standard gauge ... miles 10,596 ... an increase of 5,270 miles Metre „ ... „ 7,637 ... „ 7,620 „ Special „ ... „ 267 ... „ 240 „ and there have been sanctioned — Standard gauge ... ... ... ... ... ... 11 miles Metre „ 143 „ Special „ 9 „ It is not necessary here to follow the arguments that were adduced as to the expense to be saved by changing the gauge, but the fact remains that the expenditure on the broad-gauge lines has been more than double that on the narrow gauge. Allowing that the broad gauge was constructed in the early days of railways ia India, that lit has several portions of its length double, and is altogether a most efficient machine, still the average cost per mile is £13,400 (approximate), as against £5880 for the metre gauge. Several estimates were made at that time as to the difference in cost between the two gauges, comparing like with like, and the estimates ranged from £200 to £1000 per mile. If the standard-gauge feeder lines are to carry the main-line rolling stock, they must have a rail weighing 50 lbs. per yard, otherwise there will be transhipment ; whereas, if the narrow-gauge lines were constructed for the quantity of traffic likely to come upon INDIA, 201 them, a 30-lb. rail may suffice, and consequently the saving in many items will be considerable, both of construction and rolling stock. To compare the cost of the two gauges, separate alignments should be taken, as a considerable saving may be effected in the earthworks by means of sharper curves. If the rigid wheel of the engine admits of a 5-chain curve on the 5 ft. 6 ins. gauge, the same wheel-base will admit of a 3 -chain curve on the metre gauge, and in a rough country this smaller radius of curve may be the means of saving a considerable sum. It may be interesting to state that the cheapest standard-gauge railway in India has cost per mile, for construction and equipment, Es.52,612, and the cheapest metre-gauge line, Es.20,045 ; but com- paring like with like, the difference in cost is put down, by local authorities, at Es.15,000 per mile. The following table gives the details of the cheapest standard- and metre-gauge branches in India ; but the standard line, being worked by the main-line company, has only a nominal amount for rolling stock, and was probably con- structed with second-hand rails. Hyderabad Umarkot. Jodhpore branch. Gauge .. feet. 5 6 3 3| Weight of rail per lineal yard . . lbs. 60 40 Miles open miles 59 321 Preliminary expenses . . £ 44 9 Land ^ 27 0-4 Formation 164 51 Bridgework jj 333 50 Fencing.. 23 1-3 Ballast and permanent way . . )) 1036 976 Stations and buildings ). 175 80 Plant 24 11 Boiling stock . . 9 225 General charges :er£ 866 20 Total cost per mile 2701 1424 Exchange value of rupee taken at ] 14 14 As bearing upon this point, it may be mentioned that the Baroda Darbar have asked for an extension on the standard gauge to Jain- busar, but the officers of the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Eailway Company do not consider that the prospects of traffic 202 LIGHT RAILWAYS. warrant them in recommending a standard-gauge line for this extension, which, if constructed, should, they consider, be on the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge. The Gaekwai's Government, also, having revived the proposal for the construction of an extension from Visnagar to Vijapur, estimates for the different gauges have been prepared and submitted as follows, for the 17 mUes : — £ £ Standard gauge 49,754 or 2,926 per mile Metre „ 33,393 „ 1,964 2 ft. 6 ins. „ 30,896 „ 1,817 A discussion on the working of the standard- and metre-gauge railways took place in the Institution of Civil Engineers, in 1889, when it was clearly proved, that the cost of transport on the metre gauge was as economical as on the standard gauge, under equal circimistances ; and it may be instructive to compare the working of two lines, having practically, the same amount of traf&c per mile, the same mileage, and equally favoured in gradients ; one line on the standard and the other on the metre gauge. (See following table) : — INDIA. 203 Working Expenses compared. Name and Gauge of Railway, Indian Midland 5 ft. 6 ins. Bengal and Nortli Western. 3 ft. 3|ins. Miles open Cost per mile . . Eeoeipts per mile — passengers „ goods „ sundries .. Gross earnings .. .. per mile Working expenses . . . . „ Gross earnings . . . . per train mile Working expenses . . „ Working expenses of gross earnings Net return on capital Maintenance . . . . . . per train mile Locomotive power . . . . „ Kepairs, etc., of carriages and waggons Traffic charges General charges Other charges Passengers carried . . . . per annum Tonnage of goods . . . . „ Passengers carried . . one mile Goods carried .. .. „ Train mileage per annum per mile . . Average cost of coal per ton . . Cost .. .. .. .. per train mUe Consumption .. .. .. „ Consumption per 1000 gross ton miles Average number of passengers in a pas- senger train Average distance travelled by a passenger . . „ No. of tons in a goods train „ distance over which a ton of goods was hauled Average No. of vehicles in a passenger train „ „ „ goods train .. „ „ „ in each mixed train passenger „ „ „ goods .. Average cost of hauling one mile — One passenger unit One ton of goods . . Average sum received for carrying one mile — One passenger unit One ton of goods .. Average No. of passengers per vehicle „ „ tons per waggon s. d. 5) per cent, pence total No. „ tons ,, No. tons train miles Es. As. lbs. No. miles tons miles No. Pies No. tons 735 8949 183 244 20 447 284 4 7 2 11 62-72 1-95 8-0 10-72 2-72 5-12 5-12 3-0 1,762,625 555,698 119,385,838 78,221,695 1,950 8-62 3-85 50-14 161-50 756 5016 191 237 1 429 181 4 1 8 43-20 5-65 5-0 4-8 1-2 4-0 4-0 1-0 5,073,323 693,809 177,907,946 88,388,326 2,145 6-97 1-54 30-86 152-61 175-24 67-73 100-85 247-66 35-07 96-80 140-01 11 28 127-40 16 32 9 13 12 11 1-62 4-44 0-78 2-48 2-87 6-76 17 3-60 2-10 5-62 15 3-0 204 LIGET RAILWAYS. One of the most successful of the special-gauge railways in India, running through an ordinary district, is the ISorvi Railway, of 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge, laid with 30 -lb. rails. It is of special interest at this moment, on account of the renewed feeling prevailing in this country for the construction of light railways in agricultural districts. In the Morvi Kailway we have a type of the smallest railway that should be put down for steam traction and passenger traffic, except in very exceptional circumstances, but one which is capable of doing a considerable amount of work in a cheap and expeditious manner. The main line runs from the termini of the broad and metre- gauge railways at Wadhwan, to Morvi, via Vaukaner, a distance of 68J miles, with a branch from Vaukaner to Eajkot of 25 J mUes, again joining the metre-gauge system at this point. The line is laid for 24 miles of its length along a bridged and metalled road, and for the remainder along an unbridged and unmetalled one. It is a fairly level surface line, with easy gradients, the maximum being 1 in 150, and curves varying from 250 to 600 feet radius. The cost of the railway, including construction and equipment, amounts to £1709 per mile. Up to the end of 1886, when the line was 68 miles long, and was laid with 19-lb. rails and patent steel sleepers, the capital cost per mile was only 13,500 rupees, or, say, £1075 per mile. The details of the cost of construction and equip- ment are as under, per mile — Preliminary expenses Land Formation, bridgework, and fencing Ballast and permanent way Stations and buildings Plant Polling stock General charges £ . 14 1 . 520 . 762 . 30 . 12 . 278 . 92 Total per mile £1709 The earnings of this railway amount to £22,500 or £240 per mile (£1 = 17 rupees) per annum, and the working expenses to £156 per mile, leaving a net return on capital of 5 per cent. In connection with a proposed redistribution of the proprietorship of the railways in Kathiawar, proposals were submitted to the local X a, >-4 < ai w o w H W X H o INDIA. 205 Government for the eventual conversion of the 2 ft. 6 ins. gauge to the metre gauge. As the present line runs along the Eajkot road, it is considered that, if the line is changed to a broader gauge, it must be put off the road. Orders have accordingly been issued for an entirely new alignment, to run as direct as possible from Wadhwau to Than, and to completely avoid the Bhagavo river. The locomotives are four-wheel coupled, with a four-wheel bogie in front, and a six-wheel tender behind (Fig. 7, page 55, and Plate I.). They have 9 ins. cylinders, 16 ins. stroke, and a rigid wheel-base of 6 ft. 2 ins. ; the driving wheels are 39 ins. diameter, and the wheels of the tender 24 ins. diameter. The engine weighs 12|- tons empty, and 15 tons in working order ; the tender weighs 5 tons empty, and 10 tons full; the tanks have a capacity of 850 gallons of water, and the coal-box of 80 cubic feet. As in one case there is a run of 50 miles without a stop, the water and fuel is of ample supply, and the oil-cups are designed for suf&cient lubrication. These engines have only recently been sent out, and give every satisfaction. The locomotive superintendent reports that they have run over 51,000 miles each, or an average of 2769 miles per month ; while the coal consumption per engine mile, including lighting up, is only 12'5 lbs., and the working expenses (not including supervision) S^cL per engine mile, or 30s. per day. The passenger carriages are composite, first and second class, on bogies, carrying 10 first- and 22 second-class passengers. They are 24 ft. 3 ins. long X 6 ft. 3 ins. wide, outside dimensions, with wheels 22 ins. diameter. The net weight of the carriage is 3 tons 18 cwts., or 273 lbs. per passenger. The third-class carriages are open, 23 ft. 7 ins. X 6 ft. 3 ins., carrying 32 passengers, and weighing 3 tons 5 cwts., or 227 lbs. per passenger. The general goods waggon is 12 ft. long x 5 ft. 6 ins. wide, weighs IJ tons and carries 5 tons. The high-sided goods waggon is of the same build, weighs 1| tons, and carries 5 tons. The covered goods waggon is also of similar build, weighs 2 J tons, and carries 5 tons. The goods trains are usually made up of 1 locomotive and 24 waggons, so that the total weight of the train may be taken at 130 206 LIGHT RAILWAYS. tous gross (the waggons not being fully loaded), exclusive of the weight of the engino. The speed attained with this load is from 15 to 1^0 miles an hour, and the consumption of coal under tliese conditions is 15 lbs. per train mile, including lighting up. The passenger trains consist of 18 vehicles, and are run at an average speed of 25 miles an hour. A post-office van travels with these trains (Plate XXX.). Bengal and Ifagpur Bailway.**^ — This railway from Nagjuu', for a distance of 145 miles, was originally laid on a metre gauge, but, when a shorter communication was required between Bombay and Calcutta, this portion was converted, and the remainder laid on the standard gauge. Additional land was requu-ed, cuttings and embankments had to be widened, and where the existing curves were too sliarp for the wider gauge, deviations were made. The old station yards were also extended, and the total amount of earthwork done in conversion was 1,404,312 cubic yards, equal to 9685 cubic yards per mile. All girders above 3 ft. span were replaced by stronger ones, necessitating corresponding masonry alterations ; the wing walls, face walls, or parapets of the bridges were altered or raised in consequence of the embankments being widened. New bridges were required in deviations, but a far greater quantity of work had to be done in consequence of the unsatisfactory condition of many of the abutments and wing walls, through badly designed foundations, inferior materials, and bad workmanship. Additional waterways were also provided, where experience proved them necessary. The deviations from the metre-gauge alignment amounted to nearly 2J miles. The additional quantity of ballast provided was 362,156 cubic yards, equal to a cost of £217 per mile. The metre gauge line was laid throughout with 40-lb. rails on wooden sleepers, 6 ft. long, while the new permanent way consisted of 75-lb. flat-bottom rails on steel sleepers, weighing 120 lbs. each. New passenger and goods platforms had to be provided at the stations, goods sheds had to be dismantled and re-erected, and new road approaches made to most of the goods platforms. Other minor alterations had to be made, such as raising water-tanks, providing * Mill. Proc. Inst. O.E., vol. ciii. INDIA. 207 larger turntables, etc., and large extensions to the workshops on account of the extension of the railway. The actual capital cost of the railway as taken over by the company before conversion was Es.80,309 per mile, and adding to this Es.38,752, the net cost of conversion, after allowing for the value of the old materials, the total cost of the new line was Es. 1,18,786 per mile. The following is the abstract of the cost of conversion of the 145^ miles : — Head. Total expenditure. Probable credits for metre-gauge materials. Net expenditure on converelon. R8. Be. Bs. Land .. 32,297 nil 32,297 Earthwork 2,58,362 10,000 2,48,362 Bridgework 10,45,712 2,12,265 8,33,447* Ballast 4,12,032 nil 4,12,032 Permanent way 37,64,253 8,28,156 29,36,097t Stations 83,045 1,000 82,045 Station machinery 1,48,027 35,195 1,12,832 Engine-sheds . . Eolling stock . . 79,403 nil 79,403 16,64,530 9,66,392 6,98,138t Tools and plant 65,532 nil 65,532 Establishment 1,38,316 nil 1,38,316§ Total in rupees 76,91,509 20,53,008 56,38,501 „ sterling £553,803 £157,923 £395,880 Or Cost per mile of conversion Rs.38,752 £2.721 From the figures quoted previously, it will be seen that the original cost of the railway (taking the rupee at 20d.), was £6666 per mile; deducting £666 per mile for rolling stock, we have, as the cost of construction, £6000 per mile. The total amount paid for con- version, without rolling stock, but with a heavier permanent way, * In cases of bridges rebuilt, or of which the waterway was increased, a portion only of the expenditure, equal to the cost of conversion, has been included. t The probable credit for metre-gauge materials appears small, but the wooden sleepers were almost of no value, a large proportion of the fastenings were broken, and the sale price of the rails is only 75 per cent, of the present cost price. % The probable credit for metre-gauge rolling stock seems rather high, but it must be noted that all stock was put into thorough repau- before sale. § Includes portion of charges for " direction." 208 LIGHT EAILWAYS. was £3000 per mile, or 50 per cent, more than the original narrow- gauge line cost. It may be said that a narrow-gauge line, capable of carrying more traffic than was forthcoming, was constructed for £6000 per mile, whilst the standard-gauge line (on the same alignment, but with easier curves), to carry the main-line rolling stock and engines, cost £9000 per mile. Taking the figures in the table above, we may compare the extra cost of a standard-gauge railway and a metre-gauge one, practically on the same alignment (neglecting the permanent way as an item, which will cost more or less, according to the weight of the rail), as exemplified in the conversion of this railway, at per mile. Land increase £ .. 17 Earthwork ,, .. 142 Bridgework „ .. 528 Ballast „ .. 217 Stations and buildings „ Rolling stock ,, Tools and plant „ .. 160 .. 100 .. 34 Total extra cost of the broad gauge over the metre gauge, ' ■without permanent way £]198 The items for land and earthwork represent fairly accurately the amount of difference between the two gauges; but on this railway there was a tunnel which had been excavated, in the first instance, wide enough for the standard gauge, and consequently has not come into the item for earthwork, otherwise this item would have been con- siderably increased for the standard gauge. The item for bridgework is large, though Note J explains that the expenditure equal to the cost of conversion only, has been included. The stations and buildings should be little affected by the gauge ; but in this instance the goods platforms had to be raised, and new approaches made, and new passenger platforms built, on account of the increased height of the main-line railway stock. Several sundry other details required attention, and those who put the difference in cost between a standard-gauge and narrow-gauge railway, comparing like with like, in an easy country, at £750 per mile, due to the gauge, are probably correct. INDIA. 209 Extra expense would be incurred by having to keep the traffic going on the metre-gauge line during the laying of the new permanent way ; but this would be more than counterbalanced by the facilities which the narrow gauge would give in transporting and laying out the broad-gauge materials. Ejciension of Railways in India. To encourage railway extensions in India, the Government of India issued a circular from Simla, dated September 15, 1893, and a further one from Calcutta, dated March 29, 1895, setting out the terms on which the Government of India are prepared to consider offers for the construction, by the agency of private companies, of branch lines or extensions of existing railways, to be worked, when constructed, by the main-line administrations. Before giving the details of these circulars, it may be well to refer to Sir Andrew Clarke's * reply to the address of the Agents of the Guaranteed Railway Companies of India (presented to him on his retirement), which appeared in the columns of the Indian Engineer. Sir Andrew wrote — "Representing as you do, the collective ioterests of the large body of Eaglish capitalists who have contributed a hundred millions sterling towards the material advancement of India, I attach especial value to the testimony you bear, to the improved relations that now exist between the representatives of this important interest and the Government, To you ... is really mainly due the present con- dition of these relations. Confidence begets confidence, and I cannot but think that whilst, on the one hand, the appreciation of my desire to comply with all your reasonable applications has of itself smoothed away difficulties of intercourse; on the other hand, the knowledge you have acquired of my reliance upon the general accuracy of your anticipations of the growth of traffic, has had the result of inducing still greater caution and care in tlie framing of your estimates, and of causing you to put forward only well-coasidered proposals. " In the interests of the public, as well as of private commercial enterprise, I would fain hope for a continuance of these improved relations. The aid and co-operation tendered by the railways under your management, during the crisis engendered of famine and war, have assured me of their perfect efficiency under such control and management, and that no advantage is to be gained by placing them entirely in the hands of the State, as has been the tendency of our policy for the last few years. Firmly convinced as I am that the development of the country's resources by encouragement to private enterprise is in every way more desirable than n universal reliance on direct agency of the State alone, I consider the experience * Late Director-General of Eailways in India. 210 LIGHT RAILWAYS. already acquired on our railways as of infinite value in determining our future policy regarding them. It seems to me, however, by no means improbable, that a time may come, if it has not come already, when adverse influences upon the public finances may seriously check the extension of our railway system exclusively by the State, and that their attention will, not unnaturally, be again directed to the propriety of substituting for it agencies somewhat similar to those which you represent." This reply was written in 1880, and to-day the prophecy contained in the latter part of his letter has come true. During this year two railways in India have been projected by private companies, under a guarantee from the State railways, viz. the South Behar and the Southern Punjab Eailways. The South Behar Railway is on the 5 ft. 6 ins. gauge, 83 miles long, and estimated to cost ^£7230 per mile without rolling stock. The prospectus of the company contains, amongst others, the following clauses : — " The railway will, as the various sections are completed, be worked by the East Indian Eailway Company, who will supply the requisite rolling stock, and maintain and work the line in consideration of receiving 45 per cent, of the gross receipts. Provision is made by the Government . . . for a rebate to this company of a sum not exceeding 30 per cent, of the gross earnings of the East Indian Eailway from traffic, interchanged between the new line and the East Indian Eailway, so long as the company does not otherwise receive a minimum return, after deducting the cost of working and maintenance, of 4 per cent, on the capital expenditure, as entered in the books in India. This arrangement has been adopted owing to the pohcy of the Government in ceasing to give specific guarantees of interest. " The whole of the net earnings beyond 4 per cent, will in every case belong exclusively to the shareholders. " The terms arranged between the Government and the company for carrying out this undertaking are as follows : — ■ " 1. The Secretary of State sanctions the payment by the company out of capital, of interest during construction, until the close of the half-year next following the half-year in which the line shall have been opened throughout for public traffic, or untQ June 30, 1899 (whichever shall be the earlier date), at a rate not exceeding 4 per cent, per annum. " 2. The company will have the free use of such land as is necessary, in the opinion of the Government of India, for the construction of the railway, and for the stations, station yards, offices, warehouses, houses for employees, conveniences, and works necessary or proper for the purposes of the railway, as well as for quarrying, ballast, brickfield, and kindred purposes. " 3. The railway will be maintained and worked by the East Indian Eailway Company, under contract between the Secretary of State and that company for the purpose, in return for 45 per cent, of the gross earnings from all sources. This payment will include charges for the use of the necessary rolling stock. After the INDIA. 211 opening of the line, charges for home management expenses of the company will have to be defrayed out of its share of gross earnings. " 4. A return will be made to this company, by the East Indian Railway, of such a sum from the receipts from the trafBc interchanged between that railway and the new railway as shall, together with this company's share of the earnings of its own line, and of the proportion of through traffic from Gyato Lak-Nisarai assigned to it, be sufBoient to give this company 4 per cent, per annum on the actual expenditure charged in the capital account of the company's railway, as entered in the company's books in India, at the close of each half-year ; provided always that the return so made to the company shall not exceed 30 per cent, of the share of the East Indian Railway of receipts from traffic interchanged between the two systems, nor shall be payable on any sum exceeding a maximum capital of Rs.1,20,00,000 = about £700,000. (The East Indian Railway Company have agreed that the charges for through traffic shall be allocated on the assumption that it has been sent over the shortest route, except in cases where the saving in mileage between the alternative routes is less that 5 miles, and except where passengers or consignors shall elect to travel or send their goods by the longer route, and to assign to this company a fixed proportion of the receipts therefrom.) " 5. The Secretary of State reserves the right of taking over the line on the 30th June, 1919, or on the 30th June in the last year of every subsequent period of 10 years, on giving the company 12 months' previous notice of his intention to do so, and paying to the company in England, in sterling, such a sum as shall, when added to any unspent capital, amount to the totil paid-up capital, in sterling, so far as such capital (exclusive of unspent capital) shall have been expended on the undertaking, with the authority of the Secretary of State. " 6. The line will be constructed on the 5 ft. 6 ins. gauge, equal to the standard of the East Indian Railway, and will be maintained by the company in good order for 24 months, from the date of the opening of any section for public traffic. "7. The company engages to provide the needful funds for the purposes of construction and maintenance of each section as opened, for two years, and thereafter for additions to block (as distinguished from rolhng stock), which may be necessitated by public requirements and traffic development, also to construct such extensions as may be agreed upon by the company and the Secretary of State, and to meet any further expenditure as shall be properly chargeable to capital." The Southern Pniijab Railway Company has the following clauses, amongst others, in its prospectus : — " The Company will construct, under a contract with the Secretary of State for India, a railway on the Indian standard gauge from Delhi to Samasata, on the North- Western State Railway, a distance of 400 miles. " The cost of the line will be exceptionally low. It will traverse a flat, unbroken country, the expense of bridges will be small (17 lineal feet per mile), and there are no engineeiing difficulties of any kind. According to the surveys and estimates recently prepared and submitted by its engineers to the Government of India, the estimated cost of construction per mile was £4044 (exchange being taken at 1 rupee = Is. id.). From this have to be deducted the cost of rolling stock, which will be met by the North-Western State Railway, and other items, such as the cost of land and surveys, and also certain savings on construction that can be effected. Adding 212 LIGHT RAILWAYS. interest during construction, and other charges, including maintenance for twelve months after opening, the total estimated cost of the line is £3664 per mile. " The principal terms of the agreements with the Secretary of State for India are briefly as follows : — " 1. Payment out of capital by the company, during construction, of interest calculated at £3 10s. per cent, on the capital of the company, including the debenture capital. " 2. The working and maintenance of the line, and the supply of the necessary rolling stock by the Secretary of State through the North- Western State Eailway, for 52 per cent, of the gross earnings. The North- Western State Eailway is worked by, and is the property of, the Government of India. " 3. The payment of a rebate to the Southern Punjab Railway of such a sum as will, together with the net earnings from traffic, and other receipts of that railway, provide a rate of interest not exceeding 3^ per cent, per annum, on the capital expenditure of that railway, as shown in the accounts in India. As these accounts are kept, all sums expended as capital are entered at the rate of exchange current at the time of the expenditure, and tlie total of the entries constitutes the capital expenditure for the purpose of calculating the rebate. " The rebate shall not exceed the net earnings, as defined in the contract, of the North- Western State Railway (1) from all traffic originating and terminating at stations of the North- Western State Eailway (including Delhi and Samasata) sent over the Southern Punjab Eailway, and (2) from the proper share attributable to the North- Western State Eailway of the traffic interchanged between the Southern Punjab Railway and the North- Western State Railway. " 4. When £3 15s. per cent, on the total capital expenditure of the company has been earned, the equal division of the surplus profits between the company and the Secretary of State for India. " 5. The use of land in British territoties, and surveys and reports, free of cost, the Secretary of State engaging to use his influence to acquire land in native States required for the company on the same terms. " 6. Special low rates for the carriage of materials for construction over State railways. " 7. The gross earnings of the Company's line to consist of — " (a) Gross earnings from its local or home traffic. " (6) Its mileage proportion of traffic interchanged between the North- western State railway system. " (c) Its mileage proportion of traffic interchanged between the North- Western State Railway system and other railways, in all cases in which the company's line forms part of the shortest route, whether such traffic passes over the company's line or not. " The charges for traffic of all kinds to be on the mileage of the shortest route, and when shared, to be shared proportionately on the respective mileages. " The charges to be governed by the rates and fares of the North- Western State Railway. " 8. The gross earnings from traffic originating and terminating at stations, including Delhi and Samasata, on the North- Western State Railway, to belong to the North- Western State Railway. " 9. The right of the Secretary of State to purchase the company's line at the expiration of 21 years from the date fixed for completion of the line, and thereafter at successive intervals of 10 years, at 25 years' purchase, based on the company's INDIA. 213 share of the average net earnings of the line for the 5 years immediately preceding the purchase; provided the price shall not in any case exceed the total capital expended in sterling, with the sanction of the Secretaiy of State for India (including the debenture capital so expended), by more than 20 per cent, on that capital, and shall not be less than the sterling capital expenditure. The net earnings will not include any payments made by way of rebate, nor the share of the surplus profits taken by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will have the right to purchase at a price equal to the capital expenditure, but not till the 31st December, 1948. The Secretary of State reserves the right of determining the contract if the line is not completed, and ready and fit to open for traffic, by the 31st December, 1898, unless he shaU be satisfied there has been no neglect or default by the company, and in the event of its being so determined, the Secretary of State will pay the fair value of the company's railway and works, to be ascertained, in case of difference, by arbitration. " 10. The Secretary of State accepts no responsibility for the estimates of the cost of the proposed undertaking or its probable profits after completion." Another railway, but of a different type, brought out this year, is the Barsi Ught Railway. This line joins the Great Indian Peninsular Eailway at the Barsi Eoad Station, and is intended to run to the town of Barsi, a distance of nearly 22 miles, and to be further extended as required. The following clauses, amongst others, appear iu the prospectus: — " The gauge adopted is 2 ft. 6 ins., which, after the fullest consideration and examination, has been deemed most suitable for the traffic and the character of the country to be traversed, with respect to extensions both in the direction of Pandharpur and beyond Barsi, which the successful working of the new line will necessitate, and its great carrying capacity in comparison with the low cost of construction per mile, and economy of working, and the flexibility of its alignment, which enables it to utilize existing roads, have also had great weight in deciding the question. " The line from Barsi Road Station to Barsi is nearly twenty-two miles in length, and will be laid on the existing provincial road. This road, with its earthworks, cuttings, and bridges, was constructed by the Government of Bombay, in 1870, for the purpose of a hght railway, with maximum gradients not exceeding 1 in 100, and with curves suitable for the alignment of a railway. The bridges have been built of sufficient strength to carry locomotives, and have stood the test of floods for twenty-five years ; the earthworks, too, are thoroughly consolidated. " Calculated upon an estimated annual goods trafl[ic of 70,000 tons, which appears reasonable, the receipts from goods, on the basis of the rates and terminals sanctioned, would amount to Es.2,29,767, and from an average of 62,731 passengers annually (excluding pilgrims), even if taken at the lowest rates sanctioned, would amount to Es.21,563, or an average gross total of Rs.2,51,330, equal, at exchange of even, say. Is. per rupee, or 9 per cent, below the current rate, to £12,566 10s. " The average percentage of working expenses to gross earnings of all railways of 2 ft. 6 ins. and 2 ft. gauge in India, as shown in the official administration report on the railways in India, for 1893-94, is 55-40 per cent., based on a much smaller traffic than that which the Barsi Eailway is likely to receive. " Subject to the provisions of the Indian Eailway Act, 1894, the Secretary of State 214 LIGHT KAILWAYS. sanctions the payment out of capital of interest, at the rate of 4 per cent., during the original construction of the railway ; but the Secretary of State, in granting this authorization, does so on the understanding that he does not thereby incur any responsibility for the estimates of the raUway, or its probable profits after completion. " The concession confers on the company an exclusive right, as carriers by railway, over the tract traversed by their line. " Subject to the duty of keeping the roads in repair, and reconstructing an old municipal road — for which purpose the company is to be at liberty, free of charge, to take road metal and material from Government quarries — the company has the right to use, for the purpose of constructing its railway, a sufficient portion of the provincial road, and the whole of the Barsi municipal road. " The tolls leviable under Bombay Act III., of 1875, on the ordinary traffic on tlie provincial road above referred to, are to be placed under the management of the company, and the company is to be entitled to appropriate such tolls. " The Secretary of State reserves the right (on giving to the company in England, not less than twelve calendar months' previous notice of his intention to do so) of determining the concession, and purchasing the undertaking of the company, either on the 1st day of January 1917, or at the expiration of any subsequent period of ten years, on paying to the company in England, in sterUng, such a sum as, with any unspent capital, shall amount to the total amount of the paid-up capital, in sterling, so far as such capital (other than unspent capital) shall have been expended on the undertaking with the authority of the Secretary of State." No assistance in the shape of a rebate is given to this company, but the value of the road handed over by the Government for the purposes of the railway is estimated at £30,000, or iElSOO per mile. The rebate proposed in the circular previously referred to, issued by the Government of India, was only 10 per cent, on the inter- changed traf&c between the main and the branch lines ; but it will be noticed that, in the case of the South Behar Eailway, the rebate allowed is 30 per cent. This alteration was probably due to the action taken by the London Chamber of Commerce, the secretary of which body wrote to the Secretary of State for India — " that the above section of this Chamber (the Engineering and Allied Trades Section) was of opinion that the proposed maximum rebate of 10 per cent, on the interchanged traffic between the main and branch lines was neither a fair division of the profits of such interchanged traffic nor a sufficient inducement to capitalists to invest in Indian railways." Speaking at the same meeting on the above subject, Sir Andrew Clarke said that : — " this question interested him considerably, as he was chairman of the first Indian Branch Company which was formed in London, and worked by the main line. Up to the present, although the success of the line had been very good, yet the arrange- ments with the Government of India had not been satisfactoiy, and he inferred from this that, unless the subsidiary lines were to a certain extent made identical with INDIA. 215 the working lines, their success would not be assured. While engineers understood, more or less, what the ' rebate ' meant, the English investing pubhc did not. His object in coming there that day, was to suggest that the old word, 'guarantee,' should be substituted for the word ' rebate.' " The guarantee system had been greatly conducive to the prosperity of the rail- way system and people of India. He had had some experience of the working of that system, and he had no hesitation in saying that the administration of the guarantees had been extraordinarily successful ... He found the guarantee system much more elastic than the State lines. He came there anxious to support private ■enterprise in railways in India. . . . The two practical points regarding which it was desirable to approach the Government were, first, to get rid of the ' rebate ' — do mot go to the public with the word 'rebate,' they do not imderstand it; let us return to the old guarantee system. " Secondly, what is the minimum we can go to the public with ? He thought he would be absolutely safe — that the jjarent companies would be safe — in saying 3|^ per •cent. He believed that rate would attract capital to Indian railways, especially if the first lines were made feeder hnes to the great system ... we might confine ourselves to the great feeder lines, leaving other lines to be developed." Terms put forward by tlie Government of India for the Extension of Railways by Private Enterprise, and Proposed Amendments. These were considered at the annual meeting of the Engineering and Allied Trades Section of the London Chamber of Commerce; and at an adjourned meeting in June, 1895, Mr. Duff-Bruce brought forward amendments which were supported by Sir Andrew Clarke, and finally adopted by the meeting. The amendments proposed are printed in italics. The concessions offered are — " 1. The free use of land. " 2. The provision of rolling stock, and the maintenance and working of the new lines at favourable rates by the main-line administrations. " 3. The free use of surveys, etc., at State expense. " 4. The carriage of stores and materials over State lines at favourable rates. " 5. The grant of a limited rebate, from the main-line earnings, towards ensuring the proprietors of the new lines a dividend of 4 per cent, per annum on the approved capital expenditure (or 3J per cent., if the capital is reckoned in rupees). " 6. If it can be legally arranged, authority will be given to charge to the capital account of the branch railway, during construction, and until the close of the half- year next following the half-year in which the branch railway may be fully opened for traffic, such sum as, together with any net receipts from working, will suffice to pay interest at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum on the paid-up capital. " Resolution. "Proposals for the corhstruction of iranch lines or extensions of existing railways, made hy persons who satisfy the Government that 216 LIGHT EAILWAYS. they are in a position to command substantial financial support, will le considered on the undermentioned terms and conditions, viz. : — " 1. The proposed railway (hereinafter called ' the branch railway ') must he built in accordance with the fixed and moving dimensions for the time being prescribed by the Governor-General in Council, and on plans and estimates that have been approved by that authority. " 2. The extent and details of the concessions to be granted in each case will be settled by agreement, hut the company will he allowed to dehit to capital such reasonable amount as may he found necessary to cover the preliminary expenses, and ohtain the necessary capital. Lines to be connected with State Eailways. The following terms will apply to projects for the construction of branch railways to be connected with State railways — " 3. Access will be given on application, and free of charge, to all information, plans, or estimates in the possession of Government that relate to railways whose' construction the Government is prepared to entrust to companies; but no responsibility will be accepted by Government for the accuracy of any information, plan, or estimate thus made available. " 4. The use of such land as is necessary, in the opinion of the Government of India, for the construction of the branch railway, and for the stations, station yards, ofSces, warehouses, houses for employees, conveniences, and works necessary or proper for the purposes of the railway, as well as for quarrying, ballast, brickfields, and kindred purposes, wiU be provided by Government free of charge. " A. Where application is made for a concession for a project which has not been surveyed, or the construction of which has not been approved by the Government of India, the applicants will be required to deposit the cost of the surveys, estimates, and collection of statistics necessary for the proper consideration of the project, as a condition preliminary to the acceptance for consideration of their proposals. In the event of the construction of the project being sanctioned, the costs incurred on this account will be admitted on capital account." The cost will depend on the difficulty of the route, and will vary from Es.250 per mile in very easy country, to Es.500 in ordinary country, not including Ghat surveys. " B. Provision will be made for including in the approved expenditure of the branch line railway company such expenses on account of the Board of Direction of the company as may be incurred, with the sanction of the Secretary of State. " (a) During the construction of the branch line, these expenses of direction may be charged to the capital account of the branch line company. " (6) After the opening for public traffic of the branch railway, these expenses of direction will be met from the general receipts of the branch line company. " 5. The branch railway will be maintained and worked by the main-line administration during the full currency of tlie contract to be entered into for the^ INDIA. 217 purpose, at a fixed ratio of expenses to earnings, in each half-year. The ratio will, when the branch railway is of the same gauge as that of the working railway, usually be that obtaining on the whole system, including the branch railway, and will not ordinarily exceed 50 per cent, of the gross earnings of the branch from all sources, and will be inclusive of charges for the use of the main-line rolling stock. Charges for Home Board direction of the branch railway will be excluded from the arrange- ment, and will have to be defrayed out of the share of the earnings pertaining to the branch railway. " After the words ' main-line rolling stock,^ substitute, ' but no deduction what- ever will be made for working expenses until the gross receipts of the line from all sources are sufficient to pay 3J per cent, on the whole capital of the company, lohether raised by shares or debentures, after providing a sum to be sanctioned by the Secretary of State for charges for Indian and London management. After the payment of 3 J per cent, on the capital and the full working expenses, the balance of the net earnings to be divided in the proportion of two-thirds to the owning company, and one-third to the working company.' " 6. Eailway materials for the branch railway will be carried over State lines at the special rates prescribed for such materials belonging to State railways. " 7. A return will be made to the branch line, by the main hne, of such a sum from the traffic interchanged with it as shall out of the gross earnings of the main line, together with the branch company's share of branch earnings, be sufficient to give the branch company a dividend of 4 per cent, (or if the capital is reckoned in rupees, 3 per cent,) per annum, on the actual expenditure charged in the capital account of the branch railway company, as entered in the company's books in India ; provided always that the return so made to the branch company shall in no case exceed 10 per cent, of the gross earnings of the main line, from traffic interchanged between the main and branch lines. This rebate will be granted from the first earning of revenue by the branch line, such payment being calculated at the close of the calendar year, payments on account, however, subject to adjustment being permissible at the close of the first half of each year." Note. — The net earnings of the main line from traffic interchanged with it from the branch line are assumed to bear the same proportion to the gross earnings from that traffic as the net earnings of the whole system bear to the gross earnings of the whole system. " It is proposed to omit this clause altogether, as it is not required if interest on the capital is made a first charge against the gross receipts. " 8. After the opening of the branch railway throughout for public traffic, every new work not costing more than ^s.lOOO, but otherwise properly chargeable to capital, shall be charged to revenue, and the cost thereof shall be held to be provided for, from the share of the gross receipts paid to the main-line administration. " Funds for the execution of all other new works — properly chargeable to capital — found necessary after the branch railway has been opened to traffic, shall be provided by the branch railway companj'. Such works, and their cost, must be agreed upon between the branch railway company and the main-line administration, before they are put in hand. In the event of any difference of opinion arising, between the branch-line and the main-line administration, as to the necessity for, and the cost of any new work, the matter will be referred to the Director-General of Railways as arbitrator, and his decision will be final. " 9. Rates and fares upon the branch railway shall be within the limits of the 218 LIGHT EAILWAYS. schedule of maximum and minimum rates that maybe from time to time authorized by the Government for the main line, and shall be controlled by the main-line adminis- tration. Ordinarily the rates and fares charged on the branch railway shall be not more than the highest, nor less than the lowest, mileage rates charged for the time being, for similar traffic on the main line. Deviations outside of these mileage rate limits will not be permissible, except with the special sanction of Government in each case. "In all cases in which the branch railway forms a part of the shortest route between the forwarding and receiving station, it is to be treated as the proper route for traffic. " 10. Government will have the right, on giving twelve months' notice, to purchase the branch railway, either — " A. At the expiration of 21 years from the date of opening to traffic of the branch railway, and thereafter, at successive intervals of 10 years, at 25 years' purchase, based on the average net earnings of the branch for the five years immediately preceding the purchase, provided that the price shall not in any case exceed the total capital expenditure by more than 20 per cent., and shall not be less than the capital expenditure. Amend this as follows : — "At the expiration of 26 years from the date of opening for traffic of the branch railway, and thereafter at successive intervals of 10 years, at 25 times the average amount paid to the company out of gross earnings for the three years immediately preceding the purchase, provided that — and so on as above. Or — " B. At the expiration of 50 years from the date of opening to traffic of the branch railway, on payment of the actual capital expenditure. This clause to be omitted altogether. "C. Provided always that in calculating the purchase price, the average net earnings of tlie branch shall not include, for the purposes of this clause, the payments by way of rebate under clause 7. " 11. Electric telegraphs and telegraphic apphances will be supplied and maintained by the Government of India ; the charges for rent, maintenance, and inspection of telegraph works and appliances wiU be included in the working expenses. Free passes shall be granted over the branch railway for persons employed by the Govern- ment of India, on the construction, maintenance, working, and inspection of the telegraphs. " 12. The rates and arrangements in force on State railways in the matter of services rendered to the Postal Department, to the Military, Police, and other Departments of the State, and to high Government officials, shall be applicable to the branch railway. " 13. The general character of the supervision and control that will be exercised by the Government of India over the branch railway, apart from the provisions of the Eailway Acts and the iDreceding provisions of the Resolution, is indicated in the following paragraphs : — " 1. The route of the line and the situation of the stations, and other similar details, will be determined by the Government of India. " The line, while under construction, shall be inspected when, and so often as, an inspecting officer appointed for that purpose by the Government of India, shall consider desirable, with a view to ensure the construction of the line up to the standard agreed on. " 2. The branch railway company, if required, shall keep cajiital accounts and INDIA. 219 statistics in forms approved by the Secretary of State, and stall render, free of cost, all accounts and statistics required by the Government. The accounts and books will be subject to audit on behalf of the Government. " 3. No capital expenditure by the branch railway company will be allowed as between the Secretary of State and the company, unless the prior sanction of the Secretary of State has been obtained. " 4. The company shall have no power to increase its share or stock capital, without the sanction of the Secretary of State, or to borrow money except within a fixed limit, and on specified conditions. "Lines to be connected with Railways belonging to, or worked by, Guaranteed or Assisted Companies. " As regards branch railways connecting with railways belonging, or leased to, guaranteed or assisted companies. " 14. Land necessary, in the opinion of the Government of India, for the purposes of the raUway will be provided by Government, free of charge, as indicated in para- graph (4) above. " 15. The terms under which the branch railway will be maintained and worked by the main-line administration will be subject in each case to agreement between the main-line and branch-line companies, and to the approval of the Government. The Government will endeavour to obtain for the branch railway company terms approximating to those that would be granted under the terms of this resolution if the branch railway were connected with a State railway. "16. Other relevant concessions and stipulations contemplated by this reso- lution in the case of branch railways connecting with State railways will be applied. "Alternative Terms and Surveys. "17. The Government of India will be prepared to consider proposals for working branch lines on teims other than the above which may be put forward by promoters. " 18. If, after consideration of the question on its merits, it be decided that the gauge of any branch line shall be different from that of the main line, the question of the ratio of expenses to earnings at which the branch shall be worked, will be subject to arrangement in each case, but in such cases the branch line must be fully supplied with necessary rolling stock, and workshops, by the branch railway company. " 19. When application is made for permission to construct a branch line, which the Government is inclin' .. ro entrust to a company, on a route which has not been surveyed, the survey wili, if so desired, be carried out by the Public Works Depart- ment of the Government of India, on the applicants undertaking to pay the cost of such survey, and depositing the estimated amount thereof, on the understanding that, if permission is eventually given for the construction of the line, the actual cost of the survey may be included in the capital cost of the undertaking. " Applications for permission to carry out surveys for the construction of branch lines should be submitted to the address of the Secretary to Government of India, Public Works Department, in the form prescribed by Memorandum B hereto attached." 220 LIGHT RAILWAYS. Remarks on the above Clauses hy Mr. Duff-Bruce. " Clause 2. It is of course impossible to lay down in general proposals sucli as these the exact extent, or the details of the concessions which will be required for each separate railway, but it would be well, in publishing general conditions, to let persons who are desirous of going in for Indian Railways understand that the Secretary of State would allow a reasonable sum to be debited to capital to cover their expenses, and secure the necessary capital, and also that, during construction, interest at the rate of 3§ per cent, will be allowed to be charged to capital. It cannot be expected that any one will take the trouble to get together particulars for the construction of a railway without being compensated, nor can it be expected that capitalists will come forward to guarantee the money required for the construction of the line unless they are allowed commission for accepting the responsibility of finding the money. " Clause 5. If Clauses 5 and 7 of the Grovernment proposals are read together, it seems clear that it was the intention of the G-overnment that this risk (of providing interest) should be taken by the working company, instead of by the shareholders of the branch line, as it is there provided that the working line shall grant a rebate from the earnings of interchanged traffic sufficient to give a branch company a dividend of 4 per cent. This has been the procedure hitherto adopted in England ; but in India it would, it is feared, be found in practice, difficult to work, and while it would secure very large dividends to some branch lines, it would be no advantage whatever to others. For instance, in the case of a branch line which had a lead over the main line very mtich longer than the length of the brancli line, the rebate would amount to a very considerable sum ; whereas, in the case of a branch line close to the terminus of the main Une, the lead on the main line would not probably be much greater than the length of the branch line, and the rebate allowed in clause 7 might be quite insufficient to make up the amount required to make up the 4 per cent. In every caee this arrangement would lead to a very complicated system of accounts, to ascertain the exact amount which was refundable to the branch-line company, and it would be very difficult, in a prospectus, to show shareholders that a rebate on an estimated traffic would be sufficient to make up the minimum dividend of 4 per cent. The object of the rebate is merely to insure that the receipts, after deducting working expenses, are made up to a sum sufficient to give the interest proposed; but this can be equally well done by the (condition) proposed ; a condition which has been adopted in an agreement recently made by the South-Western Railway Company for the working of the branch line between Waterloo Station and the City. In that case no absolute guarantee is given, but it is p)rovided that interest at the rate of 3 per cent, per annum on the whole authorized capital, whether it be raised in shares or debentures, shall be a first charge on the gross receipts of the undertaking before any deduction whatever is made for working expenses. When investors can get such terms as these from a railway company in England, it is not probable that they wiU invest money in India on less favourable terms. Such an arrangement would give great confidence to investors, and it would ensure that the officers of the working company who have the whole management of the line in their hands would do their best to increase the revenue, so as to enable them to meet their own. working expenses, after paying a dividend on the capital." It is of the utmost importance to the Empire of India that the country should have many more miles of railways, and a calculation INDIA. 221 has been made that at least 1000 miles of railway per annum should be constructed to keep pace with the increase of population, if the people are to be fed, and employment foimd for them, on land that is at present cut off from railway communication. However correct this statement may be, Sir Alexander Eendal estimated the traffic requirements of India at 50,000 to 60,000 miles of railway, yet she has only 18,500 miles. 222 LIGHT RAILWAYS. TABLE Particulars of Cost, Eevenue, and Working Expenses of the Standard, Metre, Special G-auqe All railways on gauges — 2 ft. and :t. 6 ins. 3 ft. 3f ins. 2 ft. 6 ins. •2 C -a — c3 lO ^ 3 g Miles open Cost per mile, including rolling stock Receipts per mile — passengers ,, ,, goods ,, ,, sundries Gross earnings . . , . per mile Working expenses . . „ Net earnings . . . . . „ Gross earnings per train mile Working expenses .. .. ,, Net earnings „ Working expenses of gross earnings Net return on capital Maintenance . . . . . . . . per mile Locomotive power „ Repair & renewals of waggons & carriages ,, TrafiBc charges . . . . . . „ General charges . . . . ,, Other charges . . „ Maintenance per train mile Locomotive power . . . . „ Repair and renewal of waggons, etc. „ TraflQc charges ,, General charges.. .. .. „ Other charges PassengeiB carried per annum . . total Tonnage of goods carried per annum , . „ Passengers „ „ per mile Tonnage of goods „ ,, „ Train mileage ,, ,, miles £ ». d. per cent. pence No. tons No. tons miles 10,696 13,414 365 741 28 1134 513 5 1 2 6 45-68 5-48 137 172 48 85 49 27 8-0 100 2-8 5-0 2-8 1-4 88,454,834 21,242,685 8,446 2,028 4,073 7367 5882 214 312 20 546 272 4 2 2 1 51-12 5-38 67 92 21 44 36 12 6-3 8-5 19 3-9 3-4 1-0 46,245,635 7,484,701 6,178 1,000 2,63:i 267 2200 163 177 4 344 190 4 2 2 3 55-40 6-63 41 59 16 34 32 8 5-9 8-5 2-3 4-6 4-5 1-2 819,978 119,343 3,291 479 1,663 1610 14,800 670 1326 22 2018 566 6 10 1 11 27-44 9-82 118 172 49 118 74 35 4-8 7-0 2-0 4-8 3-0 1-6 15,832,268 5,340,692 9,864 3,317 5,906 862 9174 103 357 39 499 245 49-17 3-33 71 64 19 36 49 6 9-5 8-5 2-5 4-75 6-5 0-6 2,198,258 1,242,641 2,550 1,441 1,787 * Compiled from Railway Administration Report for year 1893, for standard and t Includes compensation. INDIA. 223 p. AND Special Gauge Railways of India, and also of some Standard, Metre, and Local Railways.* Name and Gacge of Railway. III , ■ CD IJ: •S5S •si". Bengal and North- Western. 3 ft. 3 J ins. CO 11" ii S a .1° IS 1-3 .§■ lii 735 108 125 59 1674 756 320 43 27 51 72 94 8949 4420 6500 2701 6936 5016 1432 1686 2288 4000 2125 1709 183 2U1 301 82 266 191 85 55 25-6 3270 117-6 149-8 244 214 114 66 629 237 96 48 145-9 539-8 84 3 86-6 20 4 1 — 2 1 — 1 3-1 11-1 1-3 3-9 44? 422 416 148 897 429 180 104 174-6 877-9 203-2 2403 234 236 248 131 360 181 86 63 170-6 506-7 134-8 155-9 163 186 163 17 637 248 94 41 40 372-2 68-4 84-4 i 1 4 10 3 6 2 11 4 7 4 3 10 2 9 3 11 S 10 3 7 2 11 2 11 2 9 2 1 2 7 1 10 1 8 1 10 1 8 3 10 3 4 2 4 1 10 1 8 2 1 1 5 4 2 9 2 4 2 1 1 1 2 11 1 3 1 1 62'72 55-00 59-80 87-41 41-12 43-20 47-83 61-43 97-2 57-6 66-3 64-9 1-95 4-58 3-12 0-47 10-15 5-63 6-3 2-66 0-2 8-78 3-81 6-36 65 62 49 62 61 45 28 16 44 110 61 33 87 83 54 33 163 43 33 30 39 176 41 53 23 22 22 11 37 11 4 3 17 54 10 9 43 32 53 14 60 36 10 9 43 69 21 22 42 20 53 8 48 35 7 5 26 78 12 29 24 7 5 3 9 11 4 — 2 19 t — 6 8-0 8-6 5-2 4-8 3-8 5-0 7-2 5-2 11'9 8-8 10-7 4-7 10 '72 11-52 6-7 7-8 9-4 4-8 8-5 9-6 10-6 14-2 8-7 7-7 2-72 3-0 2-4 2-5 2-3 1-2 1-1 0-9 4-4 4-3 2-0 1-2 5-12 4-5 6-7 3-2 3-7 4-0 2-6 2-8 11-7 5-6 4-6 3-3 6-12 2-7 6-6 2-0 2-9 4-0 1-6 1-7 7.0 6-2, 2-5 4-1 3-0 0-75 0-6 0-7 0-5 1-0 1-6 — 0-4 1-5 — 0-8 1,762,625 767,634 1,621,768 333,982 10,070,473 6,073,323 678,578 65,629 — _ 362,992 — 555,698 166,269 113,516 33,287 1,835,100 693,809 105,345 10,509 — — 46,533 — 2,398 7,108 12,974 6,608 6,016 6,711 1,808 1,526 206S 1069 6,041 2387 756 1,539 908 661 1,096 917 329 244 — — 646 — 1,950 1,722 2,265 1,015 3,914 2,145 939 766 884 2987 1,134 1655 metre gauge lines, and from Railway Reports for year 1891, for special gauges. 224 LIGHT RAILWAYS. I" < 2 ir * •a aJ 5^ - O) o S.SP ■5 » a o o : ^ : jj to d M " .9 '§1 ■^ S (D a, =1 CD bD S^ Phi-:i IMIIill p^ pq Pl( pq M Ph K Cs .a » pi? rri ,J3 r-> TtH (=1 o ni m nl w fl 0) ^ ^ H H INDIA. 225 226 LIGHT RAILWAYS. Ceylon Eailways. Gauge, 'oft. 6 ins. ; rails, 72 lbs. per lineal yard. The railways in Ceylon, as regards construction and equipment, are fully up to the standard of the Indian main lines. Exception may, perhaps, be taken to the first-class carriages, which are about equal to the best second-class on the main lines in the United Kingdom. The main line of Ceylon formerly ran from Colombo to Kandy, a distance of 74J miles. It has been continued from Peradeniya, near Kandy, to Nanu-Oya, and on to Bandarawela, a distance of 160 miles from Colombo, crossing on its way a summit of 6200 feet above sea level. For the first 52 miles the Line is through a fairly level and rather swampy country, with gradients of 1 in 100, and minimum curves of 10 chains radius. It then ascends for 12 miles by a con- tinuous gradient of 1 in 45. In this distance it passes through ten tunnels, all in solid rock, and traverses a succession of reverse curves of 10 chains radius. In several places the formation is galleried out of the solid, almost perpendicular, rock, showing to the passenger who has the nerve to look at it, a sheer descent of 500 feet into the valley below, from which the rice cultivation is extended, by terraces, several hundred feet up the hillsides. Erom the top of this incline at Kaduganawa to Peradeniya Junction, 7 miles, and Kandy, 4 miles, is an easy run through a comparatively level valley. A branch of 16 miles runs from Polgahawela to Kurunegala, another of 18 miles from Kandy to Matale, and a main line south- wards, skirting the west coast, from Colombo to Galle and Matara, a distance of nearly 100 miles. The whole of the country traversed by these lines, excepting the coast and low-country section, is rugged, broken, and steep, and in many places the slopes of the hills are almost precipitous ; ravines up to a hundred feet in depth have to be crossed frequently, especially in the higher parts, where curves of 5 chains radius are commonly met with. The ruling gradient on the section from CEYLON. 227 Nawalapitya to Bandarawela is 1 in 44, and between the former place and Hatton there is a continuous run of this for 6 miles. On the Nanu-Oya section, for a distance of 40 miles, only 13 are on the straight. As the crow flies, the distance between Nawa- lapitya and Nanu-Oya is only 18 miles, or less than half the distance by the railway. In travelling over the up-country sections of these railways, one wonders why such a gauge as the 5 ft. 6 ins. was ever adopted for such a country. So difficult is it for railway construction that the survey alone of the extension from Nawalapitya occupied a chief engineer and a considerable staff for four years, and cost £445 per mUe of line adopted. The capital cost of the line from Colombo to Kandy was, in 1868, when completed, Es.233,354 per mile, or in sterling — the rupee having been in those days rather above than below par — £23,335. The cost of the whole of the up-country lines has ranged from £15,000 to over £23,000 per mUe, whereas a first-class metre gauge could have been constructed for haK the cost, and, with a double line of rails, would have given a far better service of trains. The passenger trains on the 5 ft. 6 ins. gauge, with 5-chain curves and 1 in 44 gradients, crawl along at the rate of 12 miles an hour, very much, no doubt, to the interest and pleasure of the tourist in an interesting and highly picturesque country, but rather aggravating to the planter, satiated with frequent repetitions of the scene, and longing to be back in his factory, to make more of the world-celebrated Ceylon tea. The traffic in so small an island can only be limited, and the adoption of a narrower gauge, one more suited to the circum- stances and situation, has been the subject of discussion for many years; but latterly, in view of the construction of a line through the imdeveloped north of the island, to connect both with the thickly populated Jaffna peninsula and the South Indian lines, the agitation has been revived with greater vigour and effect ; and it seems more than probable that the northern, as well as aU future, extensions in the so-called low country, wUl be on a metre gauge. As a break of gauge where two systems meet is unavoidable, it is considered better to minimize a necessary evil by making 228 LIGHT EAILWAYS. Colombo the base for both the projected Northern line as well as the extension into the Kelani Valley, and probably another out of that line to and beyond Eatnapura. The Northern trunk line, about 200 miles from Kurunegala to Jaffna, is required for the development of an immense tract of country, at present waste; to connect Colombo with Jaffna, and Colombo with the South Indian railways. Considering the importance of the traffic when a junction is made with the Indian railways, the extension to Colombo of the metre gauge would not only be a necessity, but it might be found necessary to extend it from Kurunegala, also, to Kandy or Peradeniya, so that the transfer of traffic between India and the highlands of Ceylon, may be made above the Kaduganawa incline. The adoption of a narrow gauge, allowing large reduction in first cost, while being sufficient for the traffic, has not hitherto found favour with Govern- ment officials. Ceylon has at present nearly 350 miles of single broad-gauge line, earning not much more in the aggregate than the average of the Indian lines. It is not too miich to say that if metre gauge had from the outset been adopted, trains might to-day be running over 600 miles, constructed for the same capital outlay. The example of, and lessons from, the broad- and narrow-gauge Knes of India, and the comparison between the two systems in cost of construction and traffic earnings, seems to have been thrown away on the Administrators of the Government of Ceylon, and all their efforts would appear to have been directed, not to give a line cheap and sufficient for all purposes, but by hoisting periodically the " evil of break of gauge," to bolster up a system that was found too broad and costly for India, and which has been persisted in in Ceylon, in spite of the lesson over there, now so long before their eyes, and so instructive to those who have open minds to take them into consideration. For example, there is the lesson of the Gude and Eohilkund, a 5 ft. 6 ins. line of about 800 miles single line, costing over Es.126,000 per mile, through a comparatively easy country, with gross traffic earnings of Es.262 per mean mile worked per week, and giving in 1894 a return of 5'58 per cent, on capital outlay CEYLON. 229 against that of tlie Eajputana-Malwa line of 1674 miles of single metre gauge costing Es.76,003 per mile, over a rather more difficult country, with gross traffic earnings of Es.285 per mile per week, and giving a return of 7 '8 8 per cent, on capital outlay. It was in former years over 10 per cent. The latest effort to prop up the cause of the 5 ft. 6 ins. gauge against the assaults made on it has been the production of an estimate by the Chief Eesident Engineer for Eailway Construction for a light line to Jaffna from Kurunegala, of which the items and ■41 ■6f their amounts are given below, viz. ; Earthwork Bridges and culverts Permanent way — Material £1009-4: „ Laying and ballast 316' Fencing Felling trees and clearing land Level crossings and miscellaneous works Stations Telegraph Land and compensation EolUng stock ... Engineering and administration Contingencies ... Total Es.l8i = £1 sterlins;. Per mile. £ 232-8 469-5 1326-0 17-3 10-6 65-7 106-6 21-8 28-0 162-3 117-7 179-2 £2737-5 Notes. — Cm-ves, minimum 19 chains radius. Gradients, maximum 1 in 132. Rail level, 15 ins. above formation. Four-wheeled rolling stock of the simplest description to be used as preferable to bogie stock. Stations to have no platforms. Land and compensation at £28 per mile : this is mostly Crown land, and, therefore, no charge made for it. This estimate for a 5 ft. 6 ins. gauge railway, equipped with rolling stock, is lower than the actual cost of any similar line yet constructed in India — where the country is more favourable for railway construction, and where wages are considerably lower. The General Manager not being satisiied with the accommodation pro- vided for in this estimate, the amount was, to suit his requirements, increased to £3298 per mile. Further alterations in this estimate, in the direction of increasing it, are expected by those who know the district through which the line would run. 230 LIGHT RAILWAYS. If special rolling stock of the simplest kind only, is to be provided for future extensions on the 5 ft. 6 ins. gauge, it cannot work with the heavier rolling stock over the up-country lines ; and if the permanent way is not heavy enough to carry the main-line roUing stock, this stock cannot travel over the extensions, and, consequently, there will be break of gauge, or its equivalent, viz. transhipment. But, in any case, there must be break of gauge for the Indian traffic at some point or other, and it would surely be better to have the transhipment done at Colombo, the neutral axis of the traffic, than at Manaar, the focus of the greatest traffic. The railways in Ceylon, though constructed at so extravagant a cost, have been a good investment, because they have been run through either thickly populated provinces or districts abounding in traffic ; biit on many of the lines to be made the traffic has in great measure to be created, and it would be the height of folly to begin these with lines, three or four times the capacity, that will be required for many years to come. ISTew South Wales.* The Bailways in Ifew Soutli Wales are constructed on the 4 ft. 8^ ins. gauge, and, up to the present, a narrower gauge has not been introduced. They are constructed, equipped, worked, and maintained in the best possible manner, and carry a very heavy traffic at com- paratively low rates for a colonial railway. The railways have to cross rough and precipitous mountain ranges before reaching the plains of the interior, and, consequently, the cost of construction has been high. The gradients are heavy and numerous, ranging from 1 in 30 downwards, and the highest point reached is 4471 ft. above sea level. The total cost of the railways has been £14,335 per mile, including equipment, and they carry on the average 1068 passengers, and 1439 tons of goods per mile per annum ; the total number of passengers being, 19,265,732, of whom 16,672,543 are suburban. The rates for agricultural produce are low, being about ^d. per ton per mUe, and in a country like New South Wales and other colonies, * Government Eeport on Railways for 1893. NEW SOUTH WALES. 231 it is very important to fix as low a rate as possible for the traffic, on account of the long distances the traffic has to travel from the interior to the coast. A cheap mileage rate is also in force for long distances, by which the traffic pays very little extra rate, after a certain distance has been travelled. The average haulage of goods is 60"64 miles, and the average tonnage of trains is 58 tons. The colony has a number of branch lines in the outlying districts, constructed at such a cost per mile, that the traffic is not sufficient to pay anything towards the interest on capital, and in some instances not even working expenses. The mileage of these lines, 17 in number, amounts to 1112 miles, or nearly half the total railway mileage, and the annual loss to the colony, after paying working expenses and interest, amounts to £324,000. With the exception of two, on all these lines there is sufficient traffic to pay working expenses and a little towards the interest ; therefore it is the capital cost that requires to be kept down, and it is probable, this can only be done by break- ing the connection from main-line principles, and substituting a narrower and a lighter line for branches. The capital cost would not only be reduced by this method being followed, but the workiag expenses also, though it must be admitted that the branch lines seem to be economically worked at present. It has been suggested by the Commissioners that branch lines should be constructed on the present gauge, at a cost of £1750 per mile, exclusive of bridges and rolling stock. At this figure, would it not be better to have a substantial narrow line than a cheap broad one ? There is every provision on the lines for the present traffic, and a largely increased traffic could be carried without any material increase in the accommodation. A large proportion of the relaying is being done with 80-lb. steel rails, instead of the 70-lb. iron rails originally laid, and ironbark sleepers have been exclusively used for all renewals ; this is being paid for oiit of working expenses, at the rate of 65 miles per annum. The number of men employed on maintenance on lines of the heaviest traffic is from 0'94 to 0'69 men per mile, whilst the lines selected as local lines in Table S are maintained as under — Junee to Hay ... ... ... ... ... 0"41 men per mile Gundagai branch 0-35 „ „ Nyngan-Cobar do 0-29 „ „ 232 LIGHT RAILWAYS. With regard to the rates for agricultural produce, the Com- missioners, in their report, say — " As has been shown, the rates for agricultural produce have been made especially- low, in consequence of the settlement that the cultivation of the land induces, and owing to the fact that unless exceedingly low rates were adopted for the outlymg districts, it would be impossible to raise grain in districts at long distances from the seaboard. The following rough estimate of the value to the railways of 10,000 acres of land under cultivation, as against 10,000 acres of land employed for running sheep, will strongly illustrate this point. " A distance of 300 miles from Sydney has been adopted in each case. " Agricultural Result. " The average yield over the whole colony for the past three years has been 12i bushels per acre ; v?hich gives — 3304 tons® 14s Carriage of wheat-bags Machinery and implements of all kinds, binder twine, etc., materials for repairs, etc. ... ... ... 350 Rations, clothing, etc., for one man for every 100 acres = 100 men 398 (No allowance made for families, nor for travelling upon the railways, which would be a fair additional revenue) £ s. d. 2312 16 84 14 8 £3145 10 8 " If the crops were reaped, and the straw sent to market, a large additional revenue would result. " Pastoral Result. Average for the whole colony gives one sheep to 2\ £ s. d. acres = 11 tons of wool @ 72s. (5J lbs. per sheep) 39 12 Increase of the flock to be reduced by 25 per cent, each year, by trucking to market, or by boiling down ; say 600 sheep trucked, and 525 boiled down ... ... 44 4 4 Wool-packs, rations for one man to every 4000 sheep continuously, and two men for 14 days per 1000 sheep at shearing time ... ... ... ... 6 13 £90 9 4 " Allowing £20 per annum for each 10,000 acres for materials or improvements (as fencing, etc.), it gives a total revenue of £110, against £3145 per 10,000 acres under crop. "In addition to the enormous disadvantages these lines labour under, owing to the great amount of severe grades, we have the very great disadvantage of a large proportion of our business being "unbalanced," that is, trucks have to be hauled NEW SOUTH WALES. 233 to a very great extent empty in one direction, so practically reducing the earning powers of the train mileage by one-half. " One great feature in American railroad working which has had an enormous ■effect in enabling companies to reduce their rates, has been the adoption throughout the country, to a great extent, of sending traffic in truck loads, in the same way as has been in operation for a considerable time with the competitive traffic of the Darling, Eiverina, and other districts. If our customers would combine together with their fruit and other business, and consign full truck loads of traffic, it would economize the working expenses of the railway, and it could be made to work very much to the personal advantage of those using the railways. " What is wanted is volume of traffic, which can only be obtained in connection with increased population and the greater development of the land. If, on a large proportion of our railway lines, instead of ninning trains once a day, and on some only three days a week, we had trains running five or six times a day each way, even at our lowest existing rates, it would add largely to the net earnings, and so assist to reduce all rates." In their report for 1894, the Commissioners say — " We have for some years past urged that for new extensions in purely pastoral and level country, where the traffic would be exceedingly light, a line capable of carrying a light locomotive, with the ordinary class of rolling stock, at a speed of about 15 miles an hour, in daylight only, could be constructed, exclusive of bridges, waterways, and station accommodation (which latter should be of the most simple nature), for £1750 per mile. This could only be a pioneer railway, and would be altogether different from a standard railway line, even of light construction, such as that from Nyngan to Cobar. It would be simply a line to carry traffic with reason- able speed, at a lower scale of charges, than it is now carried by road. The rates for such lines would bring about a material saving to the users, compared with what is paid for the carriage by road, and the scale of charges should be such as to avoid any material loss to the country. Lines of this character would avoid the great disadvantage of break of gauge ; they would cost scarcely anything more in the first instance than a narrow-gauge line, and the whole of the ordinary rolling stock, ■exclusive of the engines — which could be selected from the lightest types existing in the service — could pass over them, and thus avoid the great disadvantage, and cost of creating a new class of rolling stock. " These lines, if constructed in districts warranting railway communication, should not be any great burden to the country. We have shown in our annual reports, in connection with a number of unprofitable hues, made in the past, of the expensive type, they, with scarcely any exception, supply sufficient earnings to pay all working expenses, and to contribute a small amount towards the interest on the ■cost of construction, thus showing the great importance of keeping the capital cost as low as possible. If this is effected, all the contingent advantages of the pioneer lines collecting business for the parent lines would be secured, in return for a small con- tribution from the parent system for interest on capital. The settlers would then have the great facility of moving their produce and stock cheaply and promptly." As instances of poor traffic-producing districts, into which branch railways have been run, the receipts of the Nyngan-Cobar and Lismore-Tweed lines, may be compared with the other two branch 234 LIGHT EAILWAYS. lines selected. The working expenses are certainly low on these lines, but notwithstanding the evils of the break of gauge, it may be open to question whether lighter and narrower-gauge lines should not first be put down in such districts, at a cost not exceeding £2000 per mile, including rolling stock. By adopting such lines, costing only the same amount as a good road, and much less expensive in maintenance, many more miles of railway could be laid down, and a larger extent of country opened up than would otherwise be possible were a more expensive type of railway adopted for local lines. On the Lismore-Tweed line, there is only shelter accommodation at the stations, and no platforms. NEW SOUTH WALES. 235 h IS -*a oo — c; :o 1 "^- 1 II "<*" oa l"^ 1 1 ?°° '.' O X 1 t- 00 *H ^ o I I I S ? I 236 LIGHT EAILWAYS. Cape Government Eailways. These railways are constructed and worked by the Cape Govern- ment, they are on the 3 ft, 6 ins. gauge, and have cost nearly £9000 per mile, including equipment. They were originally laid with 40-lb. iron rails, afterwards increased to 45 lbs., and now all relaying is done with 60-lb. rails. Both steel and wood sleepers are used. The maximum gradient is 1 in 40, and the sharpest curve 5 chains. The rolling stock is of the best description made for this gauge ; travelling is very comfortable, and all the railways are maintained and equipped in the best possible manner. Before the opening up of Johannesburg, the railways did not pay the full interest on capital, after deducting working expenses, even when the diamond industry of Kimberley was in full swing. Now that a large accession of traffic goes over the railway to the Transvaal, to Bechuanaland, and to the north, the earnings of the whole system is now over 5 per cent, per annum. South Africa is a country of samples. Mineral and fertile districts are found here and there, rich and luxuriant, but these are generally removed long distances from markets, and from the railways. Agriculturally, the Cape Colony is in a worse position to-day than it has been for many years past, and the chief problem before the colony is as to the best means of developing her internal resources, and getting a population on the land. It is monstrous to think that a country like South Africa cannot support the 500,000 white people in grain, and that she has to import largely from Australia. It is useless to think of placing a larger white population on the land, until better communication to markets has been provided, and in some districts also until water has been stored for irrigation purposes. In the opinion of those best qualified to judge, the railway must go first, and, whilst the people are being settled on the land, irrigation works can proceed ; but it is quite useless to think of extra production until some means are in vogue, cheaper and more expeditious than the bullock-waggon, for carrying the produce to market. All our colonies have constructed branch lines on the same lavish expenditure as their main lines, and now find that they cannot proceed further with railway construction for want of funds. CAPE COLONY. 237 Yet the country cannot progress agriculturally without better means of communication. The countries are poor, the people are poor, and produce has to travel long distances to market, yet all the branch lines constructed in our several colonies show traffic sufficient to pay more than working expenses. In this colony, to earn £332 per mile per annum at fairly high rates, the Graaf Eeinet branch has cost £7800 per mile, and has a train service of one train per day each way. The Malmesbury branch, earning £450 per mile, has cost £5800 per mile, and the Cape Central, a private branch, earning £297 per mile, has cost £4700 per mile, without rolHag stock, since reconstruction, returning 4 per cent, to the debenture holders, and nothing to the ordinary shareholders. It seems that a traffic of £250 per mile may be fairly reckoned upon as the amount to be expected from any branch line constructed in the colony, and that, except in special instances, a larger traffic will not be obtained, unless some means are forthcoming for developing the land and putting more people upon it. With this income, if branch lines are to be constructed in the colony without being a burden on the resources of the country, they must be constructed and equipped at a cost not exceeding £2500 per mile. The locomotives weigh 30 tons and upwards, carrying 600 gallons of water, but engines of 40 tons' weight are now being introduced. The consumption of coal averages 30 lbs. per train mile. The coaching stock consists of short carriages, and bogie carriages, with corridors and sleeping berths. The wheels are 33 ins. diameter. The short coaches are 16 ft. long, 7ft. 3 ins. wide (outside), with a wheel-base of 8 ft. The waggon stock consists mostly of the short type, having an inside length of 14 ft. and an outside width of 7ft. 3 ins. The waggon most generally useful is a short cattle-truck with gabled ends, and a bar longitudinally connecting their points, to which a tarpaulin is fixed, thus converting it into a covered waggon. In the early days, the bogie waggon was not found very satisfactory, owing to the increased expense of haulage and repair, and the difficulty of getting sufficient traffic to fill the individual waggons, but with the opening up of the gold-fields, the bogie stock is found very economical for the long-distance traffic. 238 LIGHT RAILWAYS. The only railway worked and constructed by a private company in the Cape Colony that has been able to earn any interest on its capital is the Cape Central Eailway. This line runs from Worcester to Ashton. The capital of the company has been reconstructed, and now consists of — Ordinary shares ... ... ... ... ... ... £96,680 Debentures 4 per cent. ... ... ... ... ... 98,400 Total £195,080 The net revenue of the railway is sufficient to pay interest on the debenture stock, but no dividend is paid on the ordinary stock. An Experimental Eailway neae Dekby. Mr. Percival Hey wood's experimental 15-in. gauge railway (Plate XXXI.), is laid with 14-lb. rails and steel sleepers, and equipped with rolling stock, and has cost about £1200 per mile. The locomotive most suitable for ordinary work has 4J ins. cylinders, 7 ins. stroke, and weighs, in working order, 2 tons 10 cwts., hauling, on the level, 29 tons ; up 1 in 50, 12 tons ; and up 1 in 12, 3 tons. It cost about £400. With a traffic of only 5000 tons passing over the line, the cost of transport, including interest on capital, and all working expenses, is about Is. per ton per mile ; but, if the engine is worked up to its full capacity of 20,000 tons, the cost would be less than one-half. The waggons are 5 ft. long by 2 ft. 6 ins. wide inside, weighing 5 cwts., and carrying 30 cwts., and cost £8 each. The passenger carriages are 19 ft. 6 ins. long by 3 ft. 6 ins. wide, and carry 16 persons, two abreast. They weigh 20 cwts. each (140 lbs. per passenger), and cost £37 each. The railway has been working very satisfactorily on the estate for nearly 20 years. CAPE COLONY. 239 B5 ■< w H o o O n lo CO , CO ^ 2 t- CO CO CO C3 QO — I l- CO-* ^ i-H (M C-l 3 TTH CO III 3 Al O II' a d-3 a * c tC3 ffl CO m CD . 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'5 ' :^ : : ■ aT ■ a : : : Sffi a ?o B luding rol passenge goods sundries m ■ s : Si : to ; : C3 : 1 : ■ a „ . — 05 - " *- " u S : ^a .2 a ^ o So 5!z; •i— t F^ gss. to ^^'.j- ^ .— I m u 3o« a a> P.o S CO fcOCn .S M M OJ 0&: So .5 >< as*" 'A a " a a S"' 2| is t2;l 3. a a a fcn t. ^ S a> £ £?« W) i2 o « S o §&& bill's il"i-a 5 a 10 H rt OJ o cs o K 240 LIGHT RAILWAYS. CHAPTER XI. RATES, FARES, AND WAGES ON DIFFERENT RAILWAY SYSTEMS.* England and Wales. Glyn Valley Railway.— d. Stone Slates Greneral goods ... Agricultural produce Hams and bacon Si 9| to Is. Id. 5 to 8d. lOf lOf Grain ... ... ... ... .•■ 'i These rates include terminal charges and transhipment. Wisbech, and Tlpwell. — Passenger fares — 1st class fii. per mile. per ton per mile. 2nd class U The wages paid on railways outside the large companies axe generally — Gangers Labourers Engine-diivers . . . Firemen s. d. s. d. 4 to 5 jier day. 2 10 to 3 9 „ 4 6 to 6 „ 3 6 to 4 „ Ieish Light Railways. Iron ore, coal, and lime Sand General rate for goods .. Id. to l\d. per ton per mile. 2ld. to 4d. „ * These rates are very incomplete. The author did not delay the publication of the work until such time as they could be completed. RATES, FARES, AND WAGES. 241 Transhipping — Iron ore ... General goods Fares — 1st class 3rd class The wages paid are — Gangers Labourers Engine-drivers Firemen ^d. per ton. Ihd.toid. l^d. to 2d. per mile, average IJtZ. per mile, fd. to lid. „ „ Id. „ d. s. 4 to 2 10 to 2 Oto7 to4 d. 6 per day. „ „ „ Belgian Light Eailways. Coal ... Fresh fruit Malt Oilcake Firewood Per ton or per passenger per mile. d. d. . 0-45 to 0-8 . 1-12 . 1-12 . 0-64 . 0-64 In addition to the above rates, a charge is made on each consignment of 5d for full loads of 80 tons, and of l-2ld. for part loads of 2 tons minimum. 1st class passenger... ... ... ... ... ... Id.tol^d. 2nd „ , |i. to 1^. No third class. New Zealand. Eates not given in report. The wages are- s. d. s. d. Labourers b 6 per day of eight hours Gangers 8 Mechanics and smiths 9 OtolO (J .. ,. Engine-drivers 10 Otol3 Firemen 7 6to 9 Coal is 17s. 6d. per ton. South Australia. The average receipts per ton of goods per mile was, for 1893, l-42d., and the average distance travelled was 116'16 miles. The initial rate for grain of 2d. per ton per mile for short distances 242 LIGHT RAILWAYS. has been reduced to If rf., aud the former minimum rate of Id. has been reduced to kd. per ton per mile. Live stock are conveyed as under, at per truck per mile — First 25 miles Cattle. Sbeep d. d. ... !)-t; 9-6 Second '25 „ ... 8-4 8-4 50 „ ... 7-0 7-0 „ 100 „ ... 5-0 5-0 Third 100 „ ... 3-0 3-0 The wages paid in this colony are — Labourers Pacliers s. ... C d. s. G to C d. Oper 6 day of eight hours. Gangers Carpenters . . . Fitters ... 7 Oto 7 8 14 6 »> »» Masons ■ . . 8 )? J. Enginemeii . . . ... s Oto 14 " )» Indian Eailways. d. Food grains — 1 to 100 miles ... ... 0'79 per ton per mile. 101 to 200 „ 0-56 201 to 400 „ 0-33 over 400 , 0-22 "VVlien in consignments of 5"88 (160 maunds) tons and over. d. Coal — 1 to 100 miles 0-45 per ton per mile. 101 to 200 „ 0-40 201 to 400 , 0'33 over 400 „ 0-22 Ordinary goods rates per ton per mile — 1st class. I 2nd class. I 3rd class. I 4th class. I 5th class. 0-70d. I l-18d. I l-58d. | l-93i. | 2-25d. But on the Jodhpore-Bickaneer line, the following — l-12d I l-69c/. I 2-13d. I 2-59d | S-OHd. 1st class passenger Id to lirf. per mile. 2nd „ „ Id.to^d. Intermediate,, ^d. to ^d. „ 3rd class „ O-Wd. „ Transhipment, including all loss, demurrage, and damage, l\d. to 2d. per ton. RATES, FARES, AND WAGES. 243 New South Wales. The earnings of the several kinds of merchandize are as under — Coal and shale Firewood Grain, flour, etc. Hay, straw, and chaff Timber, lime, manures, fruit, etc., bricks, gravel, etc. ... Wool Livestock All other goods 0-72 per ton per mile. 0-88 11 )i 0-63 »» )» 0-45 J) »» 0-84 It »» 2-48 ») )» 2-00 )» If 2-58 j» »» Average earnings on the tonnage carried ... 1'62 Rates- d. Hour, meal, and potatoes- - 100 miles . 1-0 1 per ton per mile, J six-ton lots. 200 „ . 0-7 300 „ . 0-56 5> )) 500 „ .. . 0-39 J1 )» 1000 „ .. . 0-275 d. per ton per mile. Dres — 100 miles I'O flve-ton lots. 200 „ .. . 0-94 300 „ ... 0-83 With a reduction for several trucks per week. d. Pruit- - 50 miles 100 „ 200 „ 300 „ 1'4 per ton per mile. 1-3 1-12 0-90 I ton Small lots and over. under 1 ton. d. d. Dairy produce — 50 miles 2'12 per ton per mile. 4-5 per ton per mile. 100 „ 2-06 „ „ 4-35 1-88 „ „ 3-41 „ 200 300 1-65 3-48 'arcels — 3 lbs. and under, each .. 50 miles, s. rf. 3 150 miles, s. d. 6 300 miles. s. d. 1 Any distance, s. d 1 6 7 lbs. to 14 lbs. „ .. 6 1 1 9 2 6 28 lbs. to 56 lbs. „ .. 1 2 6 4 G 981bs. toll21bs. „ .. 1 9 5 7 3 11 244 LIGHT RAILWAYS. The existing rates (1894) for grain, etc., is as follows :- Grain, flour, meal, bran, pollard, millet seed, beet-root, cbicory-root, potatoes, etc., on up journey, per ton, in 6-ton truck loads. Hay, straw, cbaif, green fodder, and ensilage per truck, not to exceed 6 tons. Miles. 5. d. £ s. d. 100 8 4 1 18 1 150 10 1 18 10 200 11 8 2 8 6 250 12 3 2 15 .300 12 9 3 1 6 350 13 3 3 7 6 400 13 9 3 33 6 450 14 3 3 19 6 500 14 9 4 5 6 The wages paid are — s. d. Labourers 7 6 pel day. Packers 7 6 Gangers 8 6? Carpenters 11 Fitters ... 13 0? Masons 11 0? Enginemen 14 Firemen ... 9 Cleaners 6 The passenger fares are — 1st class ... 2id. per mile. 2nd „ Hd. J Excursion, 33J per cent, extra to sin gle fare. Eeturn 50 ii )» Cape Goveknment Eailways. Ordinary Goods Bates — d. 1st class goods — up to 333 miles. 6 per tor Minimum, 5s. 2nd class — )) 25 ») 7 Minimum, 3s. 4(i. J) 50 )j 6 Bedsteads, beer, furniture, )> 100 jj 5-4 „ machinery, etc. »j 150 )» 4-4 „ 200 »» 4-9 „ 3rd class — 25 )) 3-2 „ Minimum, Is. Sd. )) 50 » 2-6 Colonial bacon,coal in bags. )} 100 )» 2-3 „ grain in bags, timber. 3> 150 )» 2-1 „ ag. machinery it 200 w 2-18 „ KATES, FARES, AND "WAGES. 245 d. Produce (clause 156a) — up to 25 miles. 1-5 per ton (2000 lbs.) per mile Minimum, Is. 3(Z. ...] „ 50 97 1-5 „ J) South African fencing, „ 100 » 1-5 j» )» pitwood,saU,hides,grainJ „ 150 » 1-5 ») j» » 200 JJ 1-5 )j )> Produce (clause 156b) — 25 »J 2-0 )» j» Minimum, Is. SA ...1 „ 50 J3 2-0 ») jt Acorns, imported fencing, | „ 100 )) 2-0 t) ») firewood, forage, fruit 1 „ 150 » 1-9 »» »i ii 200 » 1-9 f) )» Parcels — 25 ... 50 100 ... 150 ... 200 miles. 251bs. ... M. ... Is. Id. ... Is .lid 2s. 6d. ... 3s. 6d. each. 50 lbs. ... Is. Id ... 2s. 5d. ... 3. .6d. .. • 4s. 7c?. ... 5s. 9rf. „ 100 lbs. ... 2s. 6d ... is.Od. ... 6s .8d. 8s. 9rf. ... lOs.llrf. „ 1st class passenger ... Srf. pe • mile. 2nd „ ... 2d. ?> 3rd „ ... Id. „ Cattle Bates per SJwrt Truck (14: feet long). Horses, mules,. Horned cattle. donkeys, ostriches. Sheep, goats, and vehicles. fresh meat, and fruit. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Up to 8 miles 4 4 4 » 25 „ 12 6 11 3 9 5 „ 50 „ 15 12 6 18 9 ,, 100 „ 2 18 1 17 6 1 10 >, 150 „ 2 16 3 2 10 8 1 19 5 The wages paid are — Gangers Labourers (natives) Enginemen Firemen Carpenters Masons Fitters s. d. s. d. 7 6 to 10 6 2 6 to 3 15 0to20 7 6 to 10 10 Otol5 10 Otol5 15 0to20 246 LIGHT EAILWAYS. fa CO Eh ■< o IS o 1 1 1 1 1 1 o o r^-* ^;:> 1 SJ 1 1 1 1 1 1 -w 5 (M i-i 1 cr ^^ :$' 1-H .-1 .s" r-l r~i ! o 1 1 1 1 1 1 O O Krt 1 ■B 1 1 1 1 1 1 -tJ -^s (M tH 1 > II CO [~ O Mm CO o o (M B 2 o CO o O) t;;) a ^ ^ ^ ^ li K « ^ ;; ^ a> ft a> B " " "U ft • % ^ " o t-i ^ ;; ft t^ 0) a> U) ft * • a CO ;: :; 03 tH " 'o O s 13 r^ =! p< m fl 13 T— 1 CM o3 O : .i^ o fe ^ K -u w ft IB a 0) 1 1 o ■3 c y produc le, per tr «£h g C3 m •'^ ^ -^ V CO o Eh & 03 ce • rH ^ a> m a (1> iX ^ 03 rd cS m cb '''"' Oovern(ir and the cdnciisHionary, or tlio contractor, as pensatlon for tile caso may be, may by persons tliereto duly antlioriHcd in writiiiL', damoge done, by i i r Ii ,■ • , i i r meanaofarbltra- enter ii]iou any land lor tlio |iurpose ol BurveyniK tlio siuiio and ol °"' probing and boring in order to ascertain the nature ami I'orinatimi of the soil, making full compciisatioii to the oc(!Upler of this said laml for any damage thereby occasioned, such compensation to be, within three months from the date when such damage is alleg(!il to have bouii sustained, recovered, in case the amount is not settled by consent, either by arbitration if that course be mutually agreed upon or by action in some competent court. I'ower of entry 16. The concessiouary or contractor, as the case may Im, may with "f°™to°C'rown" ^^^ permission of the Oovernor cuter ujioii and take ]iosHessioii of and land under tbiB hold and retain for the purposes of this Act, free of charge, so much of any Waste Crown land as shall be rc(|uired for the construction and maintenance of any line of railway authorised by this Act, or for any other ]iur]iose relating to the due cxccutiou of this Act, oi' of any agreement between the Governor and such concessionary or contractor, and may with the like iicrinission, and free of (jliaigc, enter upon any such land lying convenient to such lino of railway and there dig for, excavate, and carry away all stones, clay, or other materials required for any of the ])ur])oses aforesaid: Provided (a) that nothing herein contained shall bo construed to establish any servitude in favour of such concessionary upon any such land, not being land reasonably required for tlio actual working (jf the railway, which may hereafter be sold or leased by the Colonial Government to any jnirchaser or lessee; and (6) That the term "Waste Crown hand" shall not be taken to include any land that has been or may be fu;qnired by the Colonial Government by ])urchasc or otherwise for ariy special purpose. frovlslons of 17. The concessionary, in resjiect of every subsidised line authorised Act No!°iVof "' by this Act and the Governor, in njspect of every line autimrised by mm, to apply to t^jj, j^pt to be constructed by a contractor, shall for tho purjiose of the concessionary or , . „ , , ,. ,. ., , . , contractor under construction and maintenance ol the several lines ol railway authorised tbiB Act. ^y j^j^j^ j^^^^ g^j^il j-^^j, ^jiy otlier purpose relating to the due execution of this Act, or of any agreement between tho Governor and any con- cessionary or contractor, have and exercise all the lights and jiowers, subject to all the duties and obligations which a Ihvisional Council by law has and exercises or is subject to under sections one hundred and forty-six and one hundred and forty-seven of the Act No. 40 of 18H!), for the jjuriJOHCH set forth in section one iiun e«H o o CO o ^ o i o s Cm 0U O CO tan en en »)j S3 o •S3) "" c O a S o O u o c a o c o a b S ^ ^ **■ C^^ va^ a> 2: ox: ^ 3 e ^ O ® «3 > o o c H •T3 S CO ::< C tS H s x; AD VERTISEMENTS. THE BRUSH Electrical Ei|gii|ecrii|g Compai|y, Linv^ZTEID. Falcon Engines Gar Works, Loughborough, Leicestershire. MAKERS OP Steam and Electric Locomotives, AND RAILWAY CARRIAGES & WAGGONS. HEAD OFFICES— 49, Queen Victoria Street, LONDON, E.G. A D VER TISEMENTS. The ^'Dec auYJlle" Light Ijailway. Fig. 1000. — Train stopping at. station passing thkough town. 2-feet gauge Railway for Goods and Passenger Traffic. 30-lb. rail, " DECAUVILLE" section, riveted to steel channel sleepers. Fig. 1006. — Composite bogie passenger cabs, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class, with brake WAGGON fitted WITH AUTOMATIC VACDUM BRAKE. u'^!?ed^f"*^d?;} ALEXANDER von GLEHN & Co. "iilZI'SS^] 7, IDOL LANE, GT. TOWER ST., LONDON, E.O. ■Westminster Office:— 28, VICTORIA ST., WESTMINSTER, S.W. Telephone No. 2276. Consulting Engineer— LesUe S. Robinson, A.M.I.C E. A D VER TI SEME NTS. ---7iBi.'^4(!!*^!ffc!»!*»S*i*-i!-I-w wJUS?. ■ W. G. BAGNALL, Ld., Castle Engine Works, STAFFORD. MAKERS OF LOCOMOTIVES OF ALL DESGEIPTIONS. Light Railway Material for all purposes. Tipping Waggons, Turntables, &c. NARROW GAUGE PERMANENT WAYS, RAILWAY VELOCIPEDES. Telegraphic Address ... " BAGNALL, STAFFORD." Engineering axd ABC Codes used. CATALOGUE, 1895, TO BUYERS, ON APPLICATION. A D VEB TI8EMENTS. IMPORTANT BOOKS ON SURVEYING AND LEVELLING Juit published, Imperial 8vo, 580 pp., with 34 Folding Plates. 428., cloth. PRACTICAL TUNNELLING. By Fredk. Walter SiMMS, C.E. Fourth Edition, Revised and greatly Extended. "With Additional Chapters illustrating Recent Practice. By D. Kinneab Claek, C.E. "The estimation in which Mr. Simms's boolc on tunnelling has been held for over thirty years cannot be more truly expressed than in the words of the late Professor Eankine : ' The best source of information on the subject of tunnels is Mr. F. W. Simms's work on Practical Tunnelling.' " — Architect, " It has been regarded from the first as a text book of the subject. , . . Mr. Clark has added immensely to the value of the hook." —Enr/ineer. PRACTICAL SURVEYING : A Text-Book for Students prepariug for Examinations or for Survey-work in the ColonieB. By George W. Usill, A.M.I.C.E. With upwards of 330 Illustrations. Fourth Edition, Revised. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d., cloth ; or on Thin Paper, bound in limp leather, gilt edges, lounded corners, for pocket use, price 128. Gd. " The best forms of instruments are described as to their constructioD, uses and modes of employment^ and tbere are innumerable hints on worlc and equipment such as the author, in his experience as surveyor, draughtsman and teacher, has found necessury, and which the student in his inexperience will find most serviceable." — Engineer. AID TO SURVEY PRACTICE: for Reference in Surveying, Levelling, and Setting-out ; and in Route Surveys of Travellers by Land and Sea. "With Tables, IllustrationB, and Records. By Lowis D'A. Jackson, A.M.I.C.E. Crown 8vo, 128. 6d., cloth. " Mr. Jackson has produced a valuable vade-mecum for the surveyor. We can recommend this book as containing an admirable supplement to the teaching of the accomplished surveyor." — Aikenmwni, **The author brings to his work a fortunate union of theory and practical experience ^hicb, aided by a clear and lucid style ol writing, renders the book a very useful one." — Builder. HANDY GENERAL EARTHWORK TABLES. Givdng the Contests in Cubic Yards of Centre and Slopes of Cuttings and Embankments, from 3 inches to 80 feet in Depth or Height, for use with 66-feet Chain or lUO-feet Chain. By J. H. Watson Buck, M.Inst.C.E. On a sheet mounted in cloth case, 3s. 6d. [Just published. AN OUTLINE OP THE METHOD OP CONDUCTING A TEiaONOMETRICAL SaKVEY. ByLieut.-GeneralPBOME,K.E. Fourth Edition, Revised by Major-Cieneral Sir Charles Warren, G.C.M.G., K.E. Royal 8vo, 16s., cloth. *' No word of piaise from us can strengthen the position so well and so steadily maintained by this work. Sir Charles Warren has revised the entire worli:. and made such additions as were necessary to bring every portion of the contents up to the present d&te."— Broad Arrow. A TREATISE ON THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OP LEVELLING. By Frederick W. Simms, F.G.S., M.Inst.C.E. Seventh Edition, with Law's Examples for Setting-out Railway Curves. Svo, 8«. 6d., cloth. "The text-book on levelling in most of our engineering schools and colleges." — Engineer. LAND AND ENGINEERING SURVEYING. By T. Baker, C.E. Fifteenth Edition, revised and corrected by Professor J. R. Young. With Plates and Diagrams. 12ino, 2g., cloth. TABLES OP TANGENTIAL ANGLES AND MULTIPLES FOB SETTIIfa-OUT CURVES from 5 to 200 Radius. By A. Beazeley, Mlnst.C.E. Fourth Edition. Printed on 48 Cards, and sold in a. cloth box, waistcoat-pocket size, 3s. &d. " Each table is printed on a small card, which, being placed on the theodolite, leaves the hands free to manipulate Ihe instrument — no small advantage as regards the rapidity of work."*-^n^'7ie€r. London: CROSBY LOCKWOOD & SON, 7, Stationers' Hall Court, E.C, AD VEll riSEMENTS. LIGHT RAILWAYS OF EVERY DESCETPTION. LOCOMOTIVES OF EVERY TYPE. Open and Covered Goods Wagons. Open and Closed Passenger Carriages. STEEL RAILS, STREET TRAMWAY RAILS {Every Section and Weight). STEEL SLEEPERS. PORTABLE RAILWAY & WAGONS. Points and Crossings. Turntables. Catalogues and fidl jMrticidars on apiMcaiion to — ALEXANDER PENNEY & Co., LIGHT RAILWAY ENGINEERS AND CONTRACTORS, 107, FENCHURCH STREET, LONDON, E.C. Telegraphic Address: "FINITIMUS.' ABC Code used.