EAILWAYS. 
 
 THE GAUGE QUESTION 
 
 EVILS OE A DIVERSITY OF GAUGE, 
 AND A REMEDY. 
 
 WYNDHAM HARDING. 
 
 ^ttf) a iBap. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 J. VYEALE, 59 HIGH HOLBORN. 
 
 M.DCCC.XLV. 
 
 Price One Shilling. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 C. F. HODGSON, FRINTER, 1 GOUGH SQUARE, FLEET STREET. 
 
 S e\' (o'^‘ 3 
 
 VS^vVSt 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Railway Station at Gloucester is the only point at 
 which two Railways, the one of the Broad and the other of 
 the Narrow Gauge, have hitherto met. 
 
 The Bristol and Gloucester Railway is of the Broad Gauge, 
 and was, until lately, in the possession of a distinct company 
 of proprietors, during which time I was the manager of the 
 line. The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, using the 
 same Station at Gloucester, is of the Narrow Gauge; my 
 attention was thus necessarily directed to the evils of a diver¬ 
 sity of Gauge, as they were daily brought under my notice in 
 a practical form. 
 
 I had managed a Narrow Gauge Railway, and was familiar 
 with the mode of working the Narrow Gauge lines, before I 
 undertook the control of the Bristol and Gloucester, a Broad 
 Gauge line. I was therefore able to institute a comparison 
 between the practical advantages of the Narrow and Broad 
 Gauge systems, as affecting the different descriptions of 
 traffic which Railways convey. 
 
 These circumstances led me, some months ago, to write a 
 memoir on the subject of the present remarks, which I did not 
 then publish, because at that time, from the great excitement 
 which prevailed in reference to the Railway schemes about to 
 come before Parliament, there seemed little probability of 
 arresting attention on such a topic. 
 
 The session of Parliament is now nearly concluded, and 
 attention is at length directed to the fast-approaching evils of 
 diversity of Gauge. I now, therefore, venture to state the 
 views on the subject to which, after much consideration, I 
 have arrived, and to explain as clearly and as briefly as the 
 technical nature of the question will allow me, the principal 
 reasons which have led me to these opinions. 
 
 I should perhaps add, that I am solely responsible for the 
 statements and arguments adduced, and that I have not the 
 slightest personal interest, direct or indirect, in the decision 
 of the question, either as it may afiect the extension of arty 
 particular Gauge, or the success or failure of any particular 
 Railway company. 
 
 My 1,1845. 
 
 WYNDHAM HARDING. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Division of the subject .. *1 
 
 Description of various Gauges adopted.... 2 
 
 Table of comparative length of lines of different Ganges. 3 
 
 Broad Gaugearguments of its advocates in 1838 . 4 
 
 Pallacy in those arguments.6—8 
 
 Contrivances to overcome the difficulty attending a diversity of 
 
 Gauge—classed under two heads. 10 
 
 First Class;—^Vehicles of peculiar construction. 12 
 
 Reasons why this class of contrivances is inapplicable to a 
 Goods Traffic, Coal Traffic, and Passenger Traffic .. 13—16 
 Second Class;—Double Gauge arrangements: objections to 
 
 the same . 17 
 
 Description of the effects of a change of Gauge upon various 
 
 descriptions of traffic. 19 
 
 Examination of the commercial traffic which will suffer from a 
 
 change of Gauge . 22 
 
 Change of Gauge regarded in a military point of view . 24 
 
 Lnumeration of three modes of attaining imiformity of Gauge 27 
 Examination of first method; adoption of an Intermediate Gauge ib. 
 Second method; alteration of Narrow Gauge lines to the Broad 
 
 Gauge . 31 
 
 Comparison of Broad and Narrow Gauge systems . 33 
 
 As regards Safety. 32 
 
 Speed, with table of speed on various Railways.. 35 
 
 Comfort . 38 
 
 Economy, with table of cost of locomotive power 
 
 on various lines . 42 
 
 Third method; alteration of Broad Gauge lines to the Narrow 
 
 Gauge. 44 
 
 Mode of accomplishing uniformity of Gauge by the Third Method 47 
 
 Financially and mechanically .50—54 
 
 Concluding Remarks. 55 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Capital represented by Great Western, and Bristol and Exeter 
 
 Railways . 58 
 
 Expense of altering the Broad Gauge to the Narrow Gauge .. 60 
 
THE GAUGE QUESTION. 
 
 It may conduce to clearness to state the order in 
 which I purpose to arrange the following remarks; it 
 is briefly this :— 
 
 First. To consider the actual state of the Railway 
 System of this country, in reference to diversity of 
 Gauge, and to glance at the origin of that diversity. 
 
 Secondly. To enquire if, as long as this diversity re¬ 
 mains, there is a prospect that the difficulties attending 
 a change of Gauge may be removed, or mitigated, by 
 mechanical arrangements, to such an extent as that 
 they shall be commercially inappreciable ; and, if it 
 appears that this' is an impossible result, to consider 
 what the consequences of such diversity are, and must 
 be, upon the internal commerce of the country. 
 
 Thirdly. If it appear necessary to establish one uni¬ 
 form Gauge in order to obviate the continually increas¬ 
 ing difficulties attending a diversity of Gauge, to deter- 
 
2 
 
 mine which of the three modes of attaining this object 
 which present themselves should be preferred. 
 
 Should the existing Narrow Gauge lines be altered 
 to the Broad Gauge ? 
 
 Should the existing Broad Gauge lines be altered to 
 the Narrow Gauge ? or, 
 
 Can a third Gauge be discovered so superior to both 
 those now in use, that it will be most expedient to alter 
 both the existing Gauges to this third Gauge? 
 
 Fourthly. Having determined which of these three 
 plans it is most expedient to adopt, to see how it can be 
 best carried into execution, financially and mechanically. 
 
 I. The passenger Railways of England were com¬ 
 menced on a Gauge of 4 ft. 8i in., (commonly called 
 the Narrow Gauge when speaking of it in reference to 
 the Broad, or 7-feet Gauge;) that is to say, the width 
 between the rails was adjusted to a measure of that 
 length. After a time, two other Gauges were adopted; 
 namely, on the Northern and Eastern and Eastern 
 Counties Railways, a Gauge of 5 feet; and on the Great 
 Western Railway, a Gauge of 7 feet, commonly called 
 the Broad Gauge.* 
 
 The two former lines were only laid for a length of 
 
 * Some short railways in the neighhourhood of Dundee, in Scot¬ 
 land, were laid to a Gauge of 5 ft. 6 in., hut they are, according to the 
 statement of the engineer who laid them down, {Mr. Miller), on the 
 point of being altered, in order to enable them to he joined to lines 
 of the Gauge of 4 ft. 8^ in., which are projected in the neighhourhood. 
 
s 
 
 about eighty miles, when it became obvious that their 
 peculiarity of Gauge would place them in an insulated 
 position, and would be, therefore, disadvantageous. 
 The 5-feet Gauge was accordingly altered in 184i4i, and 
 the Narrow Gauge (4 ft. 8i in.) substituted for it, 
 without hindrance to the traffic.* 
 
 There are, therefore, now only two Gauges in use, 
 viz., the Broad, 7 feet, and the Narrow, 4 ft. 8i in. 
 
 The relative length of the lines constructed, in pro¬ 
 gress, and projected, of each Gauge, are set forth in the 
 subjoined Table. 
 
 Narmi) Gauge Railways. Broad Gauge Railways. 
 
 Miles. Miles. 
 
 Completed. 1844 Completed: GreatWestern; 278 
 
 Bristol & Exeter; Chel- 
 tenham&Great Western, 
 
 (just completed); Bris¬ 
 tol and Gloucester. 
 
 In progress. 614 In progress. 52 
 
 Projectedt. 6918 Projectedf. 1311 
 
 9376 1641 
 
 or as 5| to 1. 
 
 * Although, from peculiar circumstances, the 5-feet Gauge has 
 been altered without the intervention of the legislature, it is scarcely 
 necessary to say, that there is not the most remote probability of the 
 Companies now existing establishing uniformity of Gauge generally, 
 of their own accord. Not only would it be a difficult tiling to do, 
 but party feeling is roused with regard to the relative advantages of 
 the Gauges ; and the break of Gauge is considered a sort of protection 
 from competition by the London and Birmingham Company, the 
 Great Western Company, and some railway interests, though others 
 view it differently. It is, of course, a mode of protection most dis¬ 
 advantageous to the public. 
 
 t Omitting one line in all cases of duplicate competing lines, 
 B 3 
 
4 
 
 The Gauge of the Great Western Railway was the 
 project of Mr. Brunei, the engineer of that Company. 
 It was strongly opposed by a body of the proprietors 
 of the Company when the line was being constructed. 
 Engineers were called in to advise, even after a portion 
 of the line was open for traffic, and they reported against 
 the Broad Gauge; the majority, however, of the pro¬ 
 prietors supported it, on the plea that it would be so 
 decidedly superior to other railways in point of safety, 
 rapidity, comfort, and economy, that it would attract 
 an enormous traffic, and, in short, would “ pay ” as 
 a commercial arrangement. 
 
 It also appeared to be their impression, that, by 
 adopting a peculiar arrangement, such as the Broad 
 Gauge on a trunk line such as the Great Western 
 Railway, they would secure to themselves the trade of 
 a large district, including the whole West of England. 
 
 Thus arose the diversity of Gauge, with which we 
 have now to deal. 
 
 It will be proper here to glance at the arguments 
 with which the advocates of the Broad Gauge met the 
 objections raised by some of the proprietors against 
 introducing a new and peculiar Gauge, in order 
 to see how far they are applicable to present circum¬ 
 stances. 
 
 except North of Oxford, where both Broad and Narrow Gauge lines 
 are projected. Of the projected lines included in the above Table,' 
 the prosecution of about 650 miles of Narrow Gauge railway, and 
 about 400 miles of Broad Gauge railway, may be held to depend on 
 whether or not the Broad Gauge is allowed to come North of Oxford. 
 
5 
 
 The advocates of the Broad Gauge maintained that 
 the railways of one “ district,” as they termed it, never 
 could have any connection with the railways of ano- 
 ther. They did not explain what were the boundaries 
 of these “ districts,” but assumed that the Great 
 Western Railway commanded such a “district.” 
 
 “ Such,” says Mr. Brunei, (the able representative of the advo¬ 
 cates of the Broad Gauge),* “is the position of the Great Western 
 Railway; it could have no connection with any other of the main 
 lines, and the principal branches likely to be made were well consi¬ 
 dered, and almost formed part of the original plan. Nor can they be 
 dependent on any of the existing lines for the trafiSc which they wilt 
 bring to the main line.” 
 
 That is to say, there will be no traffic coming from 
 a Narrow Gauge line and passing over a Broad Gauge, 
 such Broad Gauge line being a branch of the Great 
 Western, or vice versa. 
 
 Again ; after stating that no railways will have 
 any connection with each other at their London 
 extremities, Mr. Brunei goes on to say,! 
 
 “ The Great Western was therefore free to adopt its own dimen¬ 
 sions, aud none of the difficulties, which would entirely prevent such 
 
 * Mr. Brunei’s Export to Direetors of the Great Western Railway, 
 Oct. 1838, written in reply to the Reports of the Engineers appointed 
 to enquire into the expediency of altering the Gauge of the Great 
 Western Radway. winch was not then open for traffic throughout. 
 I quote Mr. Bruners opinion on this subject as that of the repre¬ 
 sentative of the advocates of the Broad Gauge, he himself being the 
 projector of the Broad Gauge, and its most able and ingenious sup- 
 
 t Eej)ort to Great Western Directors, Oct. 1838, before quoted. 
 
6 
 
 a course in the North of England, had any existence in the West; 
 and, consequently, all the general arguments advanced, and the com¬ 
 parisons made, on the supposition of such diflSculties occurring— 
 all excellent in case they did—are totally inapplicable to the 
 case of the Great Western Bailway, to which they have no reference 
 whatever.” 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to say, that these views of 
 laying out railways are proved, by the events of the 
 last eight years, to be entirely fallacious. 
 
 The Map, with the Railways constructed, in pro¬ 
 gress, and projected, marked upon it, including the 
 branches of the Great Western Railway itself, is the 
 best answer to them—it is there evident that railways 
 are spreading themselves over the face of the country 
 like a net-work, and are intersecting each other at a 
 hundred different points. 
 
 Where then shall we fix the boundaries of the 
 districts, the railways in which are to have no con¬ 
 nection with thosein any other ? 
 
 The completed or projected branches of the Great 
 Western Railway itself—which was expected, as we 
 have seen, to have no connection with any other exist¬ 
 ing line—now join it to most of the other main lines in 
 the country. For instance ;— 
 
 To the Grand Junction, and to the projected 
 Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railways, at Wolver¬ 
 hampton. 
 
 To the Grand Junction, London and Birmingham, 
 and Midland Railways, at Birmingham. 
 
 To the London and Birmingham, the Midland, and 
 
7 
 
 the proposed Trent Valley and Churnet Valley Lines, 
 at Rugby. 
 
 To the London and Birmingham Railway again, at 
 Warwick. 
 
 To the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, at 
 Cheltenham and Worcester. 
 
 To the South-Western Railway, at Basingstoke and 
 Salisbury. 
 
 To the projected Dorchester and Southampton 
 Rail way, at Dor Chester. 
 
 To the proposed Welsh Midland Line, at Hereford 
 and Swansea. 
 
 To the Bristol and Gloucester Line, with which it is 
 already connected, at Bristol and Stonehouse.* 
 
 And if the Great Western Railway, with its Broad 
 Gauge branches, does not go to these lines, they with 
 their Narrow Gauge branches will come to the 
 Great Western. Thus connecting by railway almost 
 every county and town in the kingdom with every 
 other. 
 
 What are all these branches projected for except to 
 bring traffic from the lines and districts with which 
 they communicate, or to take traffic to them from one 
 extremity of the country to another ? and therefore 
 over the Narrow Gauge on to the Broad Gauge, or over 
 
 * All these are Narrow Gauge lines, with the exception of the last, 
 which is a Broad Gauge line at present; but its proprietors have 
 announced their desire and intention of obtaining powers to convert 
 it into a Narrow Gauge line. 
 
8 
 
 the Broad Gauge on to the Narrow Gauge ? The diffi¬ 
 culties attending a change of Gauge then, which, as was 
 admitted, would in 1838 “ have entirely prevented in 
 the North such a course” as one railway adopting 
 different dimensions from the rest, now have “ exist¬ 
 ence in the West.” 
 
 To support the theory of isolated districts, the ad¬ 
 vocates of the Broad Gauge also brought forward views 
 regarding the mode in which railways would be worked 
 as well as laid out, which experience has proved to be 
 entirely mistaken; for, in reply to the objection, that 
 they (the Great Western Railway Company) were acting 
 like a Canal Company, who, in a country of canals, 
 were to construct their locks of such dimensions as 
 would totally shut out the boats of all the canals that 
 surrounded them, they said 
 
 “ The cases are not similar, because railway waggons and carriages 
 must belong to the particular bne on which they run, and except in 
 such cases as the Grand Junction and Birmingham Railways, which 
 form in fact one line, although they happen to be made by two 
 Companies, it will never pay to trust them into the hands of 
 others.”* 
 
 Now, it is a well-known fact to all who are conver¬ 
 sant with the working of the Narrow Gauge railways, 
 that the carrying stock of all Narrow Gauge lines are 
 used very much in common by the different Com¬ 
 panies ; that carriages and waggons, the property of 
 
 * Report to the Directors of the Great Western Railway, before 
 quoted, Oct. 1838. 
 
9 
 
 one Company, are sent over other Companies’ lines 
 according' to the destination of the passengers or goods 
 with which they are laden ; thus you may continually 
 find Darlington and Hull waggons at Gloucester, and 
 the reverse. 
 
 To facilitate this interchange, there is a central 
 office, called the Railway Clearing-House, established 
 in London, to which daily returns from the stations 
 in the Narrow Gauge district are made, and each com¬ 
 pany is there charged for the use it has made of the 
 carrying stock of the neighbouring lines. 
 
 The system is evidently the correct one j and it 
 was stated before the Committee of the House of 
 Commons on the contending schemes for the country 
 immediately north of Oxford, that to the facilities 
 which it affords, the vast increase in the goods traffic 
 upon railways which has taken place within the last 
 three or four years, is mainly attributable. 
 
 It appears, then, that the party who introduced the 
 7-feet Gaugeafter thed-.ft. 8i.in. Gauge had been in ope¬ 
 ration for some time over a large district of country, 
 were, like many others, mistaken in their anticipations 
 of the mode in which railways would be laid out and 
 worked in connection with each other as the system 
 extended itself. It is necessary to shew this, not only 
 in order to satisfy ourselves that the arguments used 
 to justify the introduction of a distinct and peculiar 
 Gauge are not applicable to the present state of cir¬ 
 cumstances, but also in order to prove that the evils of 
 a diversity of Gauge have long been foreseen by those 
 
10 
 
 experienced in railways; and that the attention which 
 is now being directed to the subject does not arise 
 from the arguments which parties contending for lines 
 before Parliament may find it convenient to advance, 
 but from the circumstance that the difficulties attending 
 a change of Gauge have just begun to make themselves 
 felt at Gloucester, where the Gauges have for the first 
 time met, and that the schemes now before Parlia¬ 
 ment involve many other such points of meeting. 
 
 . We have seen how diversity of Gauge arose, and on 
 what grounds the objections to it were set aside, as well 
 as to what extent it now exists. It is evident that if 
 this diversity occasion every passenger or article of 
 carriage arriving in a vehicle of one Gauge to be moved 
 into one of the other Gauge, in order to be conveyed 
 forward, great inconvenience will be the result; but 
 we will not stop here to consider the degree of this 
 inconvenience, or its extent and consequences, as it 
 may be said tnat by mechanical arrangements these 
 may be avoided, and no change of vehicle rendered 
 necessary. Let us therefore see what mechanical 
 arrangement can accomplish in reference to this ob¬ 
 ject, and what it cannot. 
 
 II. All such contrivances can be ranged under two 
 heads. 
 
 They must either consist of new vehicles, the bodies 
 of which shall be so constructed as that, either upon the 
 same axles and wheels, (these being so made as to be 
 capable of adjustment to different Gauges), or upon 
 
11 
 
 others to which they shall he shifted at the point of 
 junction of the Gauges, they shall he capable of run¬ 
 ning upon a railway of either Gauge.* 
 
 Or they must be arrangements of the lines of rails by 
 the introduction of additional rails; so that a Broad 
 Gauge railway and a Narrow Gauge railway shall co¬ 
 exist on the same track.t 
 
 * Mr. Brunei’s machine, now exhibited at Paddington, is part of 
 an arrangement of this character. It is a hoisting machine, worked 
 by hydraulic pressure, which lifts an iron-box containing coke from 
 a Broad Gauge truck, and places it on a Narrow Gauge truck. 
 
 It is precisely one of those ingenious contrivances against which 
 the objections I state, apply; it appears to overcome the diffi¬ 
 culty of a change of Gauge to a great extent, but in practice, 
 and as applied to a general goods traffic, it would be worse than 
 useless. 
 
 t I do not allude to the plan of laying down two railways, one 
 a Broad Gauge railway, and the other a Narrow Gauge railway, side 
 by side, and distinct from each other; the double expense of such 
 an arrangement, without regard to other objections, I conceive to 
 he conclusive against it. 
 
 Lest it should he supposed that I had omitted to consider the 
 idea which has been thrown out, that the ordinary Narrow Gauge 
 waggon itself, with the ordinary Narrow Gauge wheels and axles, 
 might be lifted on to a Broad Gauge truck, and the goods it contained 
 might be thus conveyed over the Broad Gauge lines without the 
 necessity of unloading them, in the same sort of way that a 
 gentleman’s carriage is put upon a truck; I will state the reasons 
 why this arrangement would not be feasible in itself, or effectual in 
 diminishing the difficulties of a change of Gauge, premising that there 
 would, in my opinion, be little difficulty in transferring the Narrow 
 Gauge waggon to a Broad Gauge truck; and that if this were the 
 only objection to the arrangement, I should pay little regard to it, 
 but the objections are of a different character. 
 
 When the Narrow Gauge waggon was hoisted on to the Broad 
 Gauge truck, its loading must be kept down, in order to enable it to 
 
12 
 
 With regard to the first class of these Contrivances. 
 The present railways are generally well furnished with 
 carriages and waggons ; so well, indeed, as usually to 
 he able to work branch lines of considerable length, 
 without additional carrying stock ;* their aggregate 
 stock is of great value; but unless the existing lines of 
 the Broad and Narrow Gauge will consent to destroy 
 their present stock, and to build in lieu of it the newly 
 
 get under the bridges with safety, and even then the centre of gravity 
 of the mass would often he higher than was desirable. 
 
 When it arrived at a Broad Gauge Station, the Narrow Gauge 
 waggon, owing to its being elevated on to a Broad Gauge truck, would 
 be above all the platforms; it could not be got at in order to be 
 loader or unloaded by the ordinary means: the Narrow Gauge waggon 
 moreover would not be close up to the platform as it should be, but 
 more than a foot off it, owing to the difference of Gauge. 
 
 There would be a very great loss of dead weight by the arrange¬ 
 ment, equivalent to an increase of expense, in conveying goods in 
 any considerable quantities, for you would be hauling a Broad Gauge 
 truck and a Narrow Gauge waggon, in order to convey the maximum 
 net or profitable load of only a Narrow Gauge truck partially 
 loaded. 
 
 The arrangement would not be perfectly safe in practice; a 
 gentleman’s carriage or a cart is taken well enough on a railway 
 truck, but a train of Narrow Gauge goods waggons, each weighing 
 with its load from six to seven tons, perched on Broad Gauge 
 trucks, would be a very different matter. 
 
 For these and other reasons the arrangment is not a proper or 
 feasible one; and were it so, it would not he effectual in removing the 
 difficulties of a change of Gauge, because even if you could place 
 Narrow Gauge waggons on Broad Guage trucks, you could not place 
 Broad Gauge waggons on Narrow Gauge trucks in return; and there¬ 
 fore the difficulty of a change of Gauge would still remain. 
 
 t Cartying-stock implies carriages, waggons, horse-boxes, &c., 
 and their aceessaries. 
 
13 
 
 contrived stock capable of running on both Gauges, no 
 contrivance of this class will remove the difficulties of 
 a change of Gauge. For if, comparatively, only a few 
 of the new veiiicles are introduced, they will be 
 scattered throughout the country, and not available 
 when wanted for the purpose for wdiich they are in¬ 
 tended ; and the contrivance will thus fail to elFect its 
 object, of remedying the evil of a change of convey¬ 
 ance. To make this clear: Take the case of the gene¬ 
 ra! goods trade ;* the arrangement we are considering 
 involves the keeping up throughout the country of 
 three distinct desci’iptions of waggons j namely, the 
 oi’dinary Narrow Gauge, the ordinary Broad Gauge 
 waggon, and the new and peculiarly constructed wag¬ 
 gon, capable of running on both Gauges, to be used 
 exclusively for traffic, going beyond the point of meet¬ 
 ing of the Gauges, and therefore having to pass over 
 lines of both Gauges ; these waggons we will call, for 
 the sake of distinction, “ shifting waggonsand we 
 will call traffic which has to go over lines of both 
 Gauges, and consequently to pass the point of a change 
 of Gauge, “thorough traffic:”—a ton of wool, for 
 instance, going from Bristol to Birmingham, and 
 having to pass the point of meeting of the Gauges at 
 Gloucestei-j would be “ thorough traffic.” 
 
 Now in practice it would be found that “ thorough 
 
 * The terms “ goods trade” and “goods” include merchandise of 
 every description, as distinguished from passengers and parcels; 
 cattle and pigs are included among the articles of the “goods trade,” 
 except where the contrary is expressed. 
 
goods ” would come to a station at times when the new 
 “ shifting waggons” were not there ;* at another time 
 the new “ shifting waggons ” would be there when there 
 were no “ thorough goods ” to be conveyed. 
 
 It must be so by the very nature of a goods trade; at 
 any given Station they may have no goods to a certain 
 locality for a week, or a month; and then some 
 morning a turn of the market takes place, or a ship 
 comes in, and they have fifty tons to be forwarded 
 immediately; they have probably none of the new 
 shifting waggons at the Station, and do not know where 
 to send for a certain supply of them ; they therefore 
 pack off the goods in such ordinary waggons as they have 
 at their command, and what follows? The fifty tons 
 of goods arrive at the place of meeting of the Gauges, 
 and instead of running on to the other Gauge at once 
 in the “ shifting waggons” without being unpacked, as 
 theoretically they are intended to do, they have, owing 
 to their arrivii^ in an ordinary waggon, to be un¬ 
 packed and shifted by hand, , article by article, there 
 being, in all probability, no arrangements at the 
 Station for getting through this unexpected influx of 
 business even with ordinary dispatch. 
 
 It would then be a delusion to suppose that the 
 
 * The waggons adapted to both Gauges might even be in the 
 Station, and it might he very inconvenient to get at them. The 
 introduction of two different sorts of carrying stock into a Goods 
 Station would embarrass the working of the Station in many other 
 ways, which space does not allow me to point out; but which would 
 occur at once to any person practically conversant with the intricate 
 arrangements of a large railway Goods Station. 
 
15 
 
 difficulty of a change of Gauge as regards the goods 
 trade could be overcome, by having only a certain 
 number of vehicles capable of running on both 
 Gauges; on the contrary, the evil would often be 
 aggravated ; and for this reason. Arrangements on a 
 large scale for shifting the goods themselves from one 
 vehicle to another at the point of meeting of the 
 Gauges, would not be made if the goods were expected 
 to arrive at this place of meeting of the Gauges in the 
 new “ shifting waggons,” constructed for the express 
 purpose of obviating the necessity of shifting the goods 
 themselves from the ordinary waggons of the one 
 Gauge to the ordinary waggons of the other; and, 
 therefore, if the goods did arrive, not in such “ shifting 
 waggons,” but, contrary to expectation, in the ordinary 
 waggons, and consequently had to be transhipped 
 article by article, the arrangements necessary to effect 
 this transference would be wanting, and the result 
 would be greater delay in such a case than would have 
 taken place if there had been no such things as shifting 
 waggons. 
 
 In the case of a tolerably steady traffic, such as a 
 coal traffic, the waggons for which would regularly 
 return empty, w,e can conceive a vehicle capable of 
 running on both Gauges being introduced with 
 advantage ; still the arrangement would not be popular 
 with the coal-owner. The “shifting stock” would 
 be more expensive (probably very much more so, 
 when the spare stock he would have to keep at the 
 meeting of the Gauges was taken into account) than 
 
16 
 
 his ordinary stock ; and the waggons at a colliery are 
 a source of great expense as it is. The two sorts of 
 stock having to be kept separate, would require more 
 siding length,* and different arrangements at the 
 collieries; and the expense of maintenance of the 
 “shifting waggons” would probably be greater than 
 that of ordinary waggons. The coal-owner would there¬ 
 fore probably seek other markets for his coal, or he 
 would put on a considerably higher price on the coal 
 he sold in the district beyond the point of meeting of 
 the Gauges. 
 
 In the case of passenger traffic, the introduction 
 of a certain number of vehicles capable of running 
 upon railways of both Gauges, would not obviate (for 
 the same reasons as have been given with respect to 
 the goods trade) the necessity of passengers having 
 frequently to change their vehicles at the point of 
 meeting of the Gauges;—this would of course be of 
 little consequence as compared to the difficulty and 
 delay attending the shifting of merchandise. Still the 
 objections attending a change of Gauge, as regards 
 passengers, carriages, and horses, would not be remov¬ 
 ed by the arrangement we are considering, but would 
 be frequently increased. 
 
 In the foregoing remarks, I have assumed that 
 vehicles may be constructed so that they can be bodily 
 shifted, either with or without the wheels and axles, 
 from one Gauge to another, without disturbing the 
 persons, or injuring the animals or goods, which may 
 * Standing-room not upon the main line of railway. 
 
17 
 
 be in them. I have made no mention of the increased 
 dead-weight, or of the risk of casualties, attending a 
 large machine for the purpose of lifting the body of the 
 vehicle from one Gauge to the other, if the transference 
 is effected in that way ; or of the time which the shifting, 
 and the operations contingent upon it, will occupy. 
 All the modes of shifting vehicles bodily which have 
 yet been suggested involve these objections; but I am 
 desirous to address myself solely to the principle of 
 the arrangement, which no ingenuity can alter; and 
 am willing to assume that, in carrying out this prin¬ 
 ciple, all that mechanical skill can do will be done. 
 
 This principle is faulty; for it is certain that the 
 existing Railway Companies will not, for many reasons, 
 change all their canying-stock to suit the convenience, 
 as they would say, of those Railway Companies who 
 have to encounter the difficulty of a change of Gauge ; 
 and the partial introduction of vehicles capable of 
 running on both Gauges, cannot, as we have seen, 
 afford a remedy for the evils attending a change of 
 Gauge, or even diminish those evils, except to some 
 one or two branches of traffic. 
 
 We have now to consider the second class of con¬ 
 trivances for the purpose of removing the difficulty 
 attending diversity of Gauge. They have been 
 described as arrangements of the lines of rails by the 
 introduction of additional rails, so that a Broad and 
 Narrow Gauge railway shall co-exist on the same track. 
 The following are objections to all such arrangments. 
 
 They do not allow of reciprocal working as between 
 the Broad and Narrow Gauges; for though they allow 
 
18 
 
 Narrow Gauge carrying stock to come on the Broad 
 Gauge lines, Broad Gauge vehicles cannot, in return, 
 go on to the Narrow Gauge lines,* They could never, 
 therefore, be more than very imperfect remedies for a 
 difference of Gauge. 
 
 They introduce two descriptions of carrying stock 
 into the Broad Gauge Stations, which, as we have seen, 
 would be a source of the greatest inconvenience; so 
 much so, that in most cases it would be found better 
 to build two Stations, the one for the Broad Gauge, 
 and the other for the Narrow Gauge. This would 
 probably require two establishments, and more police¬ 
 men, and would be objectionable in several ways. 
 
 They increase the difficulty and expense of main¬ 
 taining the line ; and from this cause, as well as from 
 the frequent intersection of the railst which they 
 involve, they affect injuriously the comfort of travel¬ 
 ling; and what is of more importance, materially 
 increase the risk of accident. 
 
 * The Double Gauge arrangement is impracticable on Narrow 
 Gauge lines, because the width of the works will not allow the pas¬ 
 sage of Broad Gauge vehicles. 
 
 t Where one rail intersects another, it is necessary to cut two 
 openings, one in each of the rails so intersecting, to allow of the 
 passage of the wheel. At each of such places there are, therefore, 
 two gaps in the rails. At these places it is not unusual for an 
 engine or carriage to get off the rails, and they always cause a 
 jolt ; by the most complete Double Gauge arrangements, there are 
 more than twice as many of such crossings for the trains to pass 
 over as are necessary in an ordinary railway, adapted for carriages of 
 one Gauge only; the risk of accident, and certainty of annoyance 
 from this cause, are therefore more than doubled by the Double 
 Gauge arrangement. 
 
19 
 
 They add enormously to the expense of a Broad 
 Gauge railway, (which is already very great), not only 
 the additional iron and timber incidental to the ad¬ 
 ditional rails (be they two or four) required for the 
 Narrow Gauge, but by the necessity they will often 
 entail of double Stations. 
 
 Other objections may be urged to these Double 
 Gauge arrangements, but it is presumed that any one 
 of the objections mentioned would be sufficient to 
 prohibit their general introduction ; for were any such 
 arrangement introduced, it would seem likely to 
 entail as many evils as those it would be designed to 
 ,obviate. 
 
 It appears, then, that from the defects in principle 
 inherent in all mechanical arrangements for obviating 
 the difficulties of a change of Gauge, we cannot 
 anticipate relief from this source ; we must, therefore, 
 regard the evil as it exists, and suppose that the 
 passengers, on arriving at the point of meeting of 
 the Gauges, move with their luggage into different 
 carriages running upon the railway of different Gauge, 
 and that cattle and merchandise are moved from vehicles 
 of one Gauge to those of the other, by the ordinary 
 means adopted on railways for unloading and loading. 
 
 At each point of meeting of the Gauges, it would be 
 necessary then, that the passengers alight, produce their 
 luggage,* see that it is replaced in the proper vehicle 
 
 * Which would pi'obably have to be weighed, in order to satisfy 
 the regulations of the New Company into whose keeping it Was about 
 to be transferred. 
 
 C 3 
 
on the other Gauge. The passengers themselves, with 
 all the accompaniments of travellers,* must move into 
 another carriage ; if a private carriage or liorses have 
 to be shifted, the risk of injury in shifting must be 
 undergone ; goods in various but sometimes enormous 
 quantities must be unsheeted, unpacked, over-hauled 
 package by package, (in order that the precise condi¬ 
 tion of each article turned over from the Narrow 
 Gauge Company’s keeping to the Broad Gauge Com¬ 
 pany, or vice versa, may be noted by the responsible offi¬ 
 cers of each Company ;) an inventory must be taken of 
 the whole, and they must then be re-loaded into another 
 vehicle. This proceeding will often have to take place 
 at night, and in a hurry; and mistakes and injury to 
 the goods are sure to occur continually. 
 
 The goods will arrive in varying quantities, five el¬ 
 even ten times more on one day than on another, the 
 number of clerks, and porters, and the premises would 
 be only adapted to the shifting of a certain average 
 quantity of goods in a given time; when, therefore, 
 as would continually happen in practice, such a sudden 
 influx of business took place, the goods would have to 
 wait at the Station for an indefinite time until they 
 could he shifted. 
 
 This would give rise to constant irregularity in the 
 time of conveyance of merchandise to its destination; 
 which is now found to be the case at Gloucester, so 
 
 * In the shape of hats, great coats, cloaks, shawls, sticks, 
 umbrellas, small parcels, &c. 
 
21 
 
 that the carrier is unable to tell the sender of goods 
 how long his goods will be in reaching any jdace lying 
 beyond the point of the meeting of the Gauges; 
 whereas he is able to give this information accurately 
 in all other cases when the goods go over railways of 
 one Gauge. It is a matter of the greatest practical 
 importance in the operations of commerce; for punc¬ 
 tuality in the arrival of goods at the expected time, is 
 even more desirable than speed of conveyance. It was 
 the want of this punctuality which was so seriously felt 
 in canal conveyance; and it is this which constitutes 
 the great superiority of railway conveyance for the 
 carriage of merchandise. At the meeting of the 
 merchants at Birmingham in October last, to com¬ 
 plain of the irregularity in the conveyance of goods 
 between Bristol and Birmingham, owing to the break 
 of the Gauge at Gloucester, it was this want of 
 punctuality which was the principal subject of com¬ 
 plaint ; and it was urged on , the meeting as a most 
 weighty grievance by every one who spoke. 
 
 It is evident that the delaying of goods at the point 
 of meeting of the Gauges, arising, as I have explained, 
 from the fluctuations which are characteristic of the 
 goods traffic, may be of the most serious consequence: 
 the goods delayed may, for instance, comprise a part of 
 the stores or cargo of a ship waiting to sail, which may 
 miss the tide or wind by the delay; they may consist 
 of the material of manufacture for a mill, which may 
 be brought to a'stand, with all its hands, for want of 
 them. Every person conversant with the mode of 
 
22 
 
 transacting business at the present day will, .I- am sure, 
 confirm the statement, that fearful loss and inconve¬ 
 nience must arise from irregularities in the time occu¬ 
 pied in the conveyance of merchandise. 
 
 The evils of a change of Gauge really seem to be 
 analogous to what would take place, were a cordon 
 of Custom-houses established at all the points of 
 meeting of the Broad and Narrow Gauge, which will 
 extend across England, from Fishguard, West, to 
 London, East. 
 
 Before concluding this part of the subject, it is 
 necessary to glance at the character of the traffic which 
 will he impeded by the change of Gauge. 
 
 The break of Gauge* will separate! the Southern 
 maritime coast of England, with its numerous ports 
 and its packet-stations, between Portsmouth and the 
 Land’s End, J from the central Northern and Eastern 
 counties of England, including the principal manufac¬ 
 turing and mineral districts, and a population of more 
 than ten million of persons. 
 
 It will place the Southern agricultural counties. 
 West of the London and Southampton Railway, rela- 
 
 * See Map. 
 
 f By the term “ separate,” I mean to say, that the break of Gauge 
 occurs in the direct railway route between the points mentioned : in 
 some of the cases cited the break may he avoided by a long circuit; 
 in others it cannot. 
 
 + Portsmouth; Gosport; Southampton; Cowes; Yarmouth and 
 Newport; Poole; Weymouth; Bridport; Exmouth; Dartmouth ; 
 Plymouth; Devonport; Falmouth; Truro, and many other smaller 
 ports, some of which may grow into importance at a future day. 
 
tively further, so to speak, from the markets of the 
 manufacturing districts ; while the course of legislation 
 and the improvement of the modes of conveyance are 
 bringing other agricultural districts, at home and 
 abroad, nearer to the manufacturing consumers. 
 
 It will separate those Southern counties which stand 
 so much in need of coal from the rich supplies of 
 Leicestershire and Derbyshire. 
 
 If a good communication with Ireland is established 
 by way of Fishguard, (as seems pi'obable), the break of 
 Gauge will interfere with the distribution of the Irish 
 traffic by this channel in the central manufacturing 
 counties. 
 
 It cannot but be injurious to Cornwall, with its 
 active population and mineral wealth, to have its 
 communication by railway, with the seats of manufac¬ 
 ture in the centre of England, impeded by the change 
 of Gauge. 
 
 With regard to the district of Glamorganshire, with 
 its great coal-field, and its iron, copper, and tin-plate 
 works, which cause it to be rising rapidly in importance; 
 a Company* is now before Parliament for powers to 
 run a Broad Gauge Railway through it from East to 
 West; and if this is to be the route from Glamor¬ 
 ganshire to the Northern and Midland districts of 
 England, the break of Gauge will interfere with 
 the communication. Accordingly, we find another 
 Company t has come forward with the enormous 
 
 * The South Wales Railway Company. 
 
 t The Welsh Midland Railway Company. 
 
capital of £3,500,000, in order to make ,a North and 
 South communication with Glamorganshire. One of 
 the principal reasons for the formation of this Com¬ 
 pany being stated in its prospectus, to be “ the insu¬ 
 perable difficulty of the difference of Gauge,”—i. e. 
 between the South Wales Railway, which is to be a 
 Broad Gauge line; and the Midland and Northern 
 lines, which are on the Narrow Gauge. 
 
 It is clear that even with the proposed vast outlay of 
 capital, the railway communications of South Wales 
 will be very imperfect, intersected as the country will 
 be by a Broad Gauge line communicating East and 
 West, and by a Narrow Gauge line communicating 
 North and South. 
 
 The local intercommunication throughout the coun¬ 
 try in the neighbourhood of the points where the changes 
 of Gauge are proposed to occur, will be afforded 
 no accommodation by the railways adjacent to them, 
 inasmuch as the delay and inconvenience of a change 
 of Gauge in a short traffic will render railway con¬ 
 veyance not superior to the present modes of travel- 
 ling. 
 
 Such is an outline of the traffic which will be affected, 
 in commercial respects, by the evils attending the 
 change of Gauge. 
 
 But the subject deserves consideration in a military* 
 
 * In the possible case of the invasion of this country, or of its 
 becoming the seat of war, let any person, particularly any one con- 
 versant with military operations, imagine the difficulty, delay, confu¬ 
 sion, and casualties which must infallibly arise, if it be attempted to 
 
25 
 
 as well as in a commercial point of view. The appli¬ 
 cation of railway conveyance and steam navigation to 
 military purposes is yet in its infancy; but the most 
 obvious and imjjortant advantages will be derived from 
 the facility afforded by them, of moving not only large 
 bodies of men, but that without which men are in 
 modern warfare useless—artillery, ammunition, bag¬ 
 gage, and materiel. It should, moreover, be borne in 
 mind, that it is in the rapid and easy conveyance of the 
 materiel of war that the advantages of railway commu¬ 
 nication are, in a military point of view, most obvious; 
 and this is especially important, in relation to the great 
 military and naval arsenals and establishments. But 
 here the serious impediments offered by a change 
 of Gauge are at once apparent; such a change has 
 
 shift, under circumstances of great haste and excitement, a battering 
 or pontoon train, camp equipage, heavy shot and shells, sick or 
 wounded men, ammunition and provisions. In many cases these 
 obstacles would be found so serious in practice, as almost, if not 
 altogether, to neutriilize the anticipated advantages of railways as a 
 means of military communication. 
 
 Take for instance the case of an invading army suddenly landing 
 in force on the coast of Norfolk; it becomes of the last importance 
 to bring troops and materiel from the South of Ireland, (where a 
 large force has always been stationed,) and we will assume that the 
 termini of the Metropolitan Railways are connected by railway, as 
 they shortly will be. The troops and stores are conveyed from 
 Waterford to London, (say in twenty-four hours); on arriving in 
 London, instead of being carried on to the plaee required in two 
 hours more, every thing has to be shifted into other vehicles—a 
 process which would occupy, even a single division, a space of time, to 
 say the least of it, much greater than would be sufScient with a 
 uniform Gauge, to place the troops on the spot when they were 
 required. 
 
26 
 
 the practical effect of adding a space of time of many 
 hours, or in other words, many miles of distance, to 
 every movement of men or transport of materiel. 
 
 In connexion with this view of the subject, it is 
 surely most undesirable that the South-Coast line of 
 railway, which will shortly be completed, from the 
 North Foreland to the Land’s End, should be broken 
 in two (see Map) by a change of Gauge ; and that the 
 communication between the dock-yards and arsenals 
 of the Thames, (Woolwich, Chatham, Sheerness, and 
 Deptford,) and Plymouth, Torbay, Falmouth, and 
 Milford-Haven, should be impeded from the same 
 cause, as Avell as the communication between Plymouth, 
 Falmouth, Milford-Haven, and the whole North and 
 East of England. 
 
 It may be attempted to be shewn that some of the 
 descriptions of traffic which have been mentioned as 
 among those which will be affected by the dilBculties 
 attending a change of Gauge, are not at present con¬ 
 siderable ; but it must be remembered, that the incon¬ 
 venience and delay attending a change of Gauge, will 
 more or less affect every ton of goods, and every pas¬ 
 senger passing the barrier of the change of Gauge, in 
 all time coming ; that if the present diversity of Gauge 
 be allowed to continue, the two Gauges will more and 
 more become interwoven, and the points of meeting of 
 the Gauge thereby more and more frequent; and that 
 with the development of the railway system, and the 
 increase of population and trade, the traffic between 
 every part of the country will increase most rapidly. 
 
 When these considerations are taken into account, I 
 
2 ? 
 
 think it must be admitted that the ag-gregate amount 
 of evil* to be apprehended from a change of Gauge is 
 most formidable. 
 
 We have already seen that no effectual relief can'be 
 anticipated from mechanical arrangements, however 
 skilful in themselves they may be, while diversity of 
 Gauge continues to exist. 
 
 The only remedy to the evil, then, is to be found 
 in the establishment of uniformity of Gauge ; and this 
 brings me to the third division of the subject. 
 
 III. Which of the three modes of attaining unifor¬ 
 mity is to be preferred ? 
 
 Should both the existing Gauges be altered to .an 
 intermediate Gauge, and all lines of railway hereafter 
 be constructed according to this juste milieu Gauge ? 
 
 Should the Narrow Gauge be altered to the Broad 
 Gauge ? 
 
 Or, thirdly, should the Broad Gauge be altered to 
 the Narrow Gauge ? 
 
 First then as to the advantage of an intermediate 
 Gauge, differing from both those at present in use. 
 
 The impression which prevails among many persons 
 that an intermediate Gauge would be the best, princi¬ 
 pally rests upon the opinion of engine-builders who 
 have from time to time been requested to give their 
 views on the subject. 
 
 These views are given at length in the correspond- 
 
 * To say nothing of the expence which, in some form or other, 
 must ultimately fall upon the public. - 
 
28 
 
 ence attached to General Pasley’s Report on the 
 Gauge of the Dublin and Drogheda Railway; by 
 referring to that correspondence, it will be seen that 
 these gentlemen generally appear to speak solely in 
 reference to their convenience as engine builders. Their 
 principal objection to the 4 ft. 81 in. Gauge seems to be 
 this; that with a cranked axle* there is little room left 
 on the Narrow Gauge for the gearing for working the 
 valves. This may be true; nevertheless their ingenuity 
 has enabled them to introduce four eccentrics on the 
 cranked axle instead of two, which number only was 
 applied to the first locomotives; it has not prevented 
 them lately from adopting expansive gearing when it 
 seemed desirable to do so, and, in short, from working 
 the valves by precisely the same mechanism as is in use 
 on the 7 feet Gauge when they have seen fit to do so; 
 the difficulty has therefore been practically overcome,! 
 or it has not effected the improvements they desired to 
 introduce, although it may have cost them as mechanics, 
 and may still cost them, some trouble ; but the public 
 have only to look to large results in these matters, and 
 
 * Outside cylinders seem to be again coming into use; with this 
 arrangement the difficulty of arranging the gearing disappears. 
 
 t The engines now in use on the Eastern Counties Ime, the Gauge 
 of which has been altered from 5 ft. 1 in. to 4 ft. 8^ in., are the same 
 engines which were employed on the Wider Gauge, the position of 
 the wheels having been altered. The change of Gauge did not make 
 it necessary to alter the size of the fire-box; they remain the same on 
 the 4 ft. 8^ in. Gauge as they were on the 5 ft. Gauge; and where the 
 gearing was altered, which in the greater part of the engines it was 
 not, it was for the purpose of improving it. 
 
29 
 
 I think that it is evident, from considerations which I 
 proceed to explain, that neither in speed, safety, nor 
 economy, would any appreciable result be found to 
 ensue from an alteration of the Ciauge to an extent 
 varying from three to nine inches, as suggested by 
 engine builders. 
 
 As to speed, the engine builders themselves do not 
 seem to anticipate any material difference in this respect 
 from the additional width ; nor, I may state generally, 
 without going into details, is there any good reason of 
 which I am aware (when the resistances are taken into 
 account) for expecting that there will be. Experience 
 
 confirms this view. 
 
 The speed of the fastest train on the 
 Northern and Eastern, wdien the Gauge 
 
 was five feet, was, per hour,.32^ miles, 
 
 And of the ordinary trains, per hour, .... 23 t miles. 
 Now that the Gauge is altered to 4. ft in. 
 the speed of the fastest train is, per houi-,.. 43 miles, 
 and of the oi-dinary trains, with the same 
 
 number of stoppages, per hour,. 23i miles. 
 
 On the Dublin and Drogheda line, with a 
 Gauge of 5 ft. .3 in., the speed of the fastest 
 
 train is, per hour, ;. miles, 
 
 and of the ordinary trains, per hour. 21f miles. 
 
 On the Glasgow and Greenock, a shorter 
 line, with a 4 ft. 8iin. Gauge, the speed of 
 
 the fastest train is, per hour, . 30 miles, 
 
 and of the ordinary ti-ains, per hour,. 23i miles, 
 
 And so in the case of other Narrow Gauge lines, the 
 
30 
 
 speed is decidedly superior to that iipon the Inter¬ 
 mediate Gauge. It is, I think, unnecessary to add any 
 thing to these facts. 
 
 As to safety, by far the most frequent cause of 
 accident on railways is collision, with which the Gauge 
 has nothing to do. The next greatest danger arises 
 from the fracture of axles; if you widen the Gauge, 
 you lengthen the axle, and to increase the length of a 
 shaft exposed to torsion, as a railway axle is, certainly 
 does not seem the way to increase its strength. In 
 regard to safety, then, if there is any difference it is as 
 likely to be adverse to the wider Gauge, as compared 
 with the 4 ft. 8i in. Gauge, as in favour of it. 
 
 As to economy, to take a general view of the subject, 
 the average total cost of locomotive power on all the 
 railways in England, is about 10 per cent, of the receipts; 
 and the average receipts per mile about £2,800.; the 
 average cost of locomotive power per mile per annum 
 is therefore about £280. Let us suppose, for the sake 
 of argument, that the introduction of the Intermediate 
 Gauge would eflFect a saving of 10 per cent, on loco¬ 
 motive power, although there seems to me no good 
 reason for supposing that it would effect any appreciable 
 saving; nor is there any proof that it has done so. 
 But even in such a case the saving would only 
 amount to £28. per annum, or part of the receipts; 
 this would only pay the interest at 4 per cent, on 
 £700. which would go a very little way towards the 
 expense of effecting the change of Gauge. It is there¬ 
 fore not only improbable, but impossible, that any 
 
31 
 
 saving could result from the change when the expense 
 attending it is taken into account. 
 
 This expense would be very great; the bridges 
 over the railway on the Narrow Gauge lines, the 
 tunnels and the stations, and in some cases the cut¬ 
 tings and embankments, would not admit of the 
 widening of the way* one foot with safety. New carry¬ 
 ing stock, if the alteration of the Gauge was fairly to 
 be carried out,t would have to be provided on both 
 Broad and Narrow Gauge railways, at an expense of 
 some millions; and it would be impracticable on the 
 Narrow Gauge line to alter the Gauge so little as 6 
 inches without obstructing, or, in some cases, actually 
 stopping, the traffic.^ 
 
 In short, the proceeding would be fraught with 
 frightful expense and difficulty, utterly disproportioned 
 to any practical advantages which could accrue from 
 it, and it must, in my opinion, be regarded as imprac¬ 
 ticable. 
 
 Should the Narrow Gauge lines then be altered to 
 the Broad Gauge ? 
 
 * That is, widening each line 6 inches, which is about the mean 
 of the various widths suggested. 
 
 •j- To attempt to bring in usefully on the Intermediate Gauge the 
 existing carrying stock, or large parts of it—such, for instance, as 
 the bodies of the Narrow Gauge carriages, or the wheels and axles of 
 the Broad Gauge—would, in my opinion, be mere “ botchingit 
 would not be fair to the Intermediate Gauge, and would deprive you 
 of any chanee of gaining in any respect by the alteration of Gauge. 
 
 I The difficulty in this respect is greater when the alteration is to 
 so small an extent as 6 inches, than if it were more. 
 
This alteration would no doubt involve a very large 
 expenditure; it would be necessary to alter the bridges, 
 tunnels, and stations on more than 2000 miles of rail¬ 
 way ; in other words, onseven-eighths of the length of the 
 railway completed, or in an advanced state of progress 
 in this country j in many cases to reconstruct them; 
 portions of some lines* would probably have to be made 
 afresh, in order to adapt the curves to the Broad 
 Gauge carriages, which, in consequence of the length 
 of their axles, require flatter curves than the Narrow 
 Gauge carriages, to allow them to make a given circuit 
 with equal safety; cuttings and embankments, and 
 consequently culverts, would generally have to be 
 widened. The rails of the permanent way vvould in 
 many cases have to be superseded by heavier rails suited 
 to the heavier engines of the Broad Gauge, as would the 
 timbers, by longer and larger timbers. The existing 
 Narrow Gauge carrying stock, which has cost probably 
 more than four millions, would be nearly, if not quite, 
 useless, and new stock would have to be built. The 
 traffic of the Narrow Gauge districts (that is, of seven- 
 eighths of the railways completed in the country) would 
 be greatly impeded for a considerable length of time, 
 and in some cases stopped. In short, the undertaking 
 wordd be of the most formidable character, involving 
 an enormous expense, and a delay of several years, 
 unless the new lines of railway, now about to be com¬ 
 menced, were stopped. For there would be no means 
 of getting Broad Gauge engines and carriages built in 
 
 The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, for instance. 
 
less time for the new lines and for the existing Narrow 
 Gauge lines. 
 
 To set off against such objections, what advantage 
 would be obtained from the introduction of the Broad 
 Gauge in lieu of the Narrow ? To answer this ques¬ 
 tion, it becomes necessary to institute a comparison 
 - between the relative practical advantages of the Broad 
 and Narrow Gauges. 
 
 In order to do this, it is my intention to discard as 
 far as practicable all opinions which have been expressed 
 on this subject, and to regard solely the results which 
 the ordinary working* of the two systems exhibits, as 
 regards safety, speed, comfoj’t, and economy. 
 
 First, then, as regards safety. 
 
 There is a notion prevalent with the public, that a 
 carriage with a wide base must be much safer than 
 one with a narrower base, because less liable to upset, 
 as a highly laden coach used to do. I'his fear, I need 
 not say, is quite unfounded on a railway; it never hap¬ 
 pens, except in the possible case of a train getting alto¬ 
 gether off the rails when going at a high velocity, in which 
 event a carriage may be dashed to pieces, or hurled 
 over an embankment or bridge,tand the width of Gauge 
 
 * The Broad Gauge has now been in operation for seven years, 
 and the working of the Great Western Railway has been, during 
 that time, under the control of Mr. Brunei, the projector of the Broad 
 Gauge; we may he sure, therefore, the experiment has been fairly tried. 
 
 t As was the case in the accident near Slough a few weeks ago, 
 when the Broad Gauge 'carriages of the Express Train were hurled 
 over the edge of an embankment twelve feet high, into an adjoining 
 field, performing summer-saults as they fell. 
 
will certainly not save it. Mr. Brunei says; “I certainly 
 never thought of the danger of upsetting from the 
 narrowness of the base.”* 
 
 As, however, only two people were killed out of 
 48,000,000, carried in the years 1842-1843, out of 
 which number at least 45,000,000 were carried on 
 the Narrow Gauge, it is scarcely necessary to occupy 
 much time in discussing the comparative safety of the 
 Narrow and Broad Gauges.” 
 
 It may, however, be as well to state, that out of 43 
 accidents to trains, occurring in the years 1842-1843, 
 20 were from collision, to which the Broad Gauge 
 is as subject as the Narrow Gauge (indeed the most 
 disastrous collision which has yet taken place, chanced 
 to occur on the Great Western Railway, when a slip 
 from the side of a cutting covered the rails); and out 
 of the remaining 23, three only were attended with 
 personal injury. 
 
 No practical difference then, in point of safety, has 
 shewn itself in the working of the Broad and Narrow 
 Gauges. 
 
 Secondly, as regards speed. 
 
 The subjoined Table shews the speed about three 
 months ago on some of the principal lines of railway, 
 and the speed as advertised by the several Companies 
 on the 1st July, 1845. 
 
 * Mr. Brunei’s Report to the Directors of the Great Western Rail¬ 
 way, October 1838, before quoted. 
 
36 
 
 In order to make a fair comparison, I have taken 
 in each case, trains with as nearly as may he the same 
 proportional number of stoppages. 
 
 It must be borne in mind, that the Great Western, 
 between Bristol and London, possesses the best gra¬ 
 dients and curves of any line of equal length in the 
 country, the only steep inclines being two short ones, 
 of 1 in 100, on the longer of which, an assistant en¬ 
 gine is always in readiness; and that the managers of 
 that railway have had a reputation to keep up for 
 speed, in order to justifiy the peculiarity of their Gauge, 
 and the expense which attended its introduction. 
 
 With the ordinary and Fast trains, the advantage 
 seems rather in favour of the Narrow Gauge lines, on 
 several of which trains of these classes go faster than 
 upon the Broad Gauge lines. 
 
 The fastest or Express trains were brought into 
 vogue by the Broad Gauge railways, in order to shew 
 the superiority of the Broad Gauge in point of speed. 
 The Narrow Gauge railways soon came up to the Broad 
 Gauge in the rate of speed, whereupon the Broad 
 Gauge increased their pace. The Narrow Gauge have 
 reached them again; the Express trains oq the Eastern 
 Counties going at exactly the same speed as those on 
 the Great Western.* 
 
 We have evidently least experience in regard to the 
 relative working upon the two Gauges in the extreme 
 case of Express trains running at rates of speed which, 
 up to this spring, it was considered inexpedient to 
 
 * First and second-class carriages are attached to the Express 
 Trains on both these lines. 
 
■f 
 
 37 
 
 adopt,* the engineers of both the Broad and Narrow 
 Gauge lines telling us they have not yet constructed 
 such engines as they consider suitable to such velo¬ 
 cities ;t but whether the new Broad Gauge engines 
 turn out to be more powerful than the new Narrow 
 Gauge engines or not, there seems no reason to an- 
 ticipate that there will be any reason to prevent 
 
 * From the accident which has occurred lately on the Great 
 Western Railway, and which it would appear was twice nearly re¬ 
 curring, and from the fact that the resistance increases in a very rapid 
 rate as the velocity increases, it may he doubted if in the present 
 state of engines and railways it is judicious to drive Express trains at 
 the speed now in vogue—although neither the Broad Gauge nor the 
 Narrow Gauge party like to say so, lest it should appear as if they 
 were doubtful of their power to maintain such velocities. It may be 
 observed, that the power of sending an express with extraordinary 
 velocity—as, for instance, a government dispatch in time of war— 
 becomes of less importance as the electric telegraph is more generally 
 adopted. 
 
 t It appears that on the London and Birmingham Railway they 
 have engines of a different construction from those commonly in use 
 on Narrow Gauge lines, their engines having four wheels instead of 
 six, and being of somewhat less weight and power, as might be 
 expected. 
 
 It was stated in evidence this Session before the Committee of the 
 House of Commons on the competing schemes north of Oxford, that 
 on the Narrow Gauge lines, engines were now in course of con¬ 
 struction which would be as powerful, or more so, than the present 
 Broad Gauge passenger engines. As the goods engines now in 
 usej on the Narrow Gauge lines are, judging from their dimensions 
 and performances, at least as powerful, if not more so, than any goods 
 engines in use on the Broad Gauge lines; and as goods engines are 
 a more powerful class of engines than passenger engines, there is 
 said to be no reason to doubt that the passenger engines now in the 
 course of construction on the Narrow Gauge lines will be as powerful 
 as the passenger engines now in use on the Broad Gauge. 
 
 i 
 
38 
 
 trains running upon the Narrow Gauge at 50 miles 
 an hour, or at any speed which it may be found expe¬ 
 dient to maintain. 
 
 For it seems to be admitted on all hands, that the 
 possibility of attaining greater speed with any load 
 depends on the possibility of attaining greater power 
 in proportion to that load—and in the locomotive 
 system, if that is to continue to prevail, it is always 
 open to you to diminish your load* by taking it at 
 twice, or to increase your power by attaching another 
 engine. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the Atmospheric system is to 
 prevail, the principal argument which is adduced in 
 favour of the Broad Gauge—namely, the advantage, 
 real or supposed, which the greater width of base 
 gives you in the construction of the locomotive engine 
 —falls to the ground; with the atmospheric arrange¬ 
 ment, indeed, and its sharp curves, (the convenience and 
 economy of introducing which are among its recommen¬ 
 dations) it would seem probable that greater velocity 
 and safety could be obtained were the atmospheric pis¬ 
 ton drawing Narrow Gauge carriages, than if it were 
 drawing Broad Gauge carriages. 
 
 As to comfort and convenience, the first-class 
 carriages in use upon the Broad Gauge are roomy 
 and most luxurious. The second-class carriages have 
 hitherto been most uncomfortable and injurious to 
 
 * This would sometimes tend to increase the accommodation 
 afforded to the public, giving them two fast trains where otherwise 
 they would only have one. 
 
health. Many of them are now covered in at the 
 sides, but they are still cold and draughty. The 
 roomy carriages can be given on the Narrow Gauge 
 as well as on the Broad by an equal sacrifice of dead 
 weight and resisting surface to each passenger, if such 
 were thought expedient; and I observe that the new 
 first-class carriages on some of the Narrow Gauge 
 railways are as roomy as appears desirable, even 
 with a view to the ease and comfort of the passenger 
 only. 
 
 It should be remarked, that as the second-class 
 includes the majority of railway passengers, and as it 
 appears from the ofiicial returns that the second and 
 third-class passengers constitute more than four-jifths 
 of all railway travellers, we are taking a very par¬ 
 tial view of the subject when we regard merely 
 the shade of luxury which the first-class passengers 
 enjoy, who are less than one-fifth in number of the 
 whole. 
 
 The goods traffic, moreover, by railway, now, is as 
 important, in a national point of view, as the passenger 
 traffic; and the balance of convenience as regards the 
 goods traffic would seem to be in favour of the Narrow 
 Gauge, especially in respect to the traffic at the 
 smaller class of stations; the goods for these stations 
 which are suitable to be placed together, are seldom in 
 sufficient quantity to fill a Broad Gauge waggon; and 
 the consequence is, that on the Broad Gauge goods 
 which should be kept separate are necessarily placed 
 in the same vehicle, or you have to occupy a very large 
 
40 
 
 waggon with a very small quantity of goods.* The 
 weight of the Broad Gauge waggons also renders them 
 inconvenient to move where you have not a strong 
 force of porters. On the other hand, with a great 
 quantity of the same sort of goods to be moved at once, 
 I can conceive the larger vehicles of the Broad Gauge 
 being the more convenient. 
 
 Speaking from my own experience in the manage¬ 
 ment of Broad and Narrow Gauge railways, I think 
 the balance of convenience as regards the goods traffic 
 lies in favour of the Narrow Gauge, and I find carriers 
 generally entertain this opinion. 
 
 As to steadiness of motion of the carriages, or free¬ 
 dom from oscillation, we have already considered the 
 relative safety of the two Gauges, into which the 
 effects of oscillation must enter, in so far as they are 
 practically appreciable in respect to safety. We are 
 now regarding them in so far as they affect the com¬ 
 fort of travellers, more particularly of first-class 
 travellers. 
 
 It certainly does seem natural to suppose that the 
 greater width of base of the carriages on the Broad 
 Gauge, and the fact of their having six wheels, while 
 
 * To give an example of this. On the Bristol and Gloucester 
 Broad Gauge line, where there are several towns of from 1,000 to 
 5,000 inhabitants near the line, for the accommodation of which 
 road stations are established—the weight of the waggons themselves 
 going to and coming from these stations was, in the month of April 
 1845, 283 tons, while the weight of the goods they conveyed was 
 only 83 tons; or the dead weight was to the profitable weight as 34 
 to 10, a disproportion which would certainly not have existed with 
 the lighter vehicles of the Narrow Gauge. 
 
41 
 
 Narrow Gauge carriages have generally (though not 
 necessarily) only four wheels, would result in less oscil¬ 
 lation when the carriage was in motion, for these 
 circumstances undoubtedly tend to produce stability 
 when the carriage is at rest. 
 
 Nevertheless, the relative steadiness of the motion 
 of a carriage does not seem, in practice, to be deter¬ 
 mined by these circumstances. 
 
 When the road is consolidated, it is found to 
 depend on the arrangement and coupling of the 
 carriages composing the train; on the state of repair 
 of the carriages themselves, and of their various parts— 
 wheels, axles,'and springs, which are brought into 
 action when" the carriage is in rapid motion ; on the 
 position of the particular carriage whose motion you 
 may be observing in the train, and on some other 
 points of detail not connected with the Gauge. 
 
 In going round sharp curves at a high speed, an 
 increase of oscillatory motion in Broad Gauge carriages 
 as compared with Narrow Gauge in the same circum¬ 
 stances, was found to arise on the Bristol and Glouces¬ 
 ter line where the curves were sharper than on the 
 Great Western line. It may from this be surmised 
 that were Broad Gauge rails laid on the sharper curves 
 of the existing Narrow Gauge lines on the same track 
 as the present Narrow Gauge rails, an increase of oscilla- 
 torymotion,as compared with what is nowfelt in the Nar- 
 rowGauge carriages, wouldbe experienced atthose points. 
 
 As to economy. - 
 
 The following are the locomotive expenses per train 
 
 i 
 
per mile, for the average of recent periods on several 
 railways whose expenses I have been able to ascertain. 
 
 It is difficult to compare with nicety statements 
 of the expense of locomotive power per mile, made by 
 different locomotive superintendents. Not only do the 
 circumstances of the different lines differ, but the 
 superintendents frequently differ in their modes of 
 making out their acccounts. The general results, how¬ 
 ever, may be relied on. 
 
 The price of coke on the Broad Gauge lines, is 
 moderate j* but some of the Narrow Gauge lines run¬ 
 ning through coal fields, may save as much as one 
 penny per mile from the cheapness of their coke, as 
 compared with that of the Great Western Company. 
 
 Statement of the Cost of Locomotive Power, per Train per Mile, on 
 
 various Railways. 
 
 Narrow Gauge. s. d. 
 
 Edinburgh & Glasgow (average of Passengers & Goods Trains) Oil 
 
 Great North of England ditto. 0 7 
 
 Hull and Selby (Passengers Trains only). 0 9 
 
 Grand Junction ditto ...;. 1 0 
 
 Glasgow and Greenock ditto. 0 8 
 
 London and Southwestern, ditto. 1 ' Of 
 
 Birmingham and Gloucester, ditto. 0 
 
 London & Birmingham:—(Passengers Trains only) 
 
 Engines with 12-inch cylinders. 1 3 
 
 Engines with 13-inch cylinders. 0 lOf 
 
 Manchester and Leeds (Passengers Trains only). 0 6 
 
 Sheffield and Manchester ditto. 0 6 
 
 Average. 0 9f 
 
 Broad Gauge. 
 
 Great Western (Passengers Trains only). 0 lOJ 
 
 * At the Bristol terminus they have easy access to the South Welsh 
 coal field. 
 
43 
 
 The general result of these figures, perhaps, is, that 
 there is no appreciable advantage in one Gauge over 
 the other, in expense of working; there seems certainly 
 to be no advantage of the Broad Gauge over the 
 Narrow. 
 
 In the present case, when the cost of working is re¬ 
 garded in connexion with the alteration of all the Nar¬ 
 row Gauge lines to the Broad Gauge, it is, in one sense, 
 of little importance which way the balance lies; for from 
 what has been stated (p. 30) as to the average cost of lo • 
 comotive power per mile annually, and the actual amount 
 of a saving so large as even 10 per cent, of the whole 
 expense of locomotive power, it is clear that, assuming 
 for the sake of argument that a saving of 10 per cent, or 
 even 15 per cent, would be the result of the change of 
 Gauge, this amount of saving on all the existing lines of 
 railway, and on as many more lines of railway as now ex¬ 
 ist, would go a very little way even towards paying the 
 interest of the expense of altering the existing Narrow 
 Gauge lines to the Broad Gauge. 
 
 In the first cost of construction of the lines, the ad¬ 
 vantage has of course been in favour of the railways of 
 smaller dimensions.* 
 
 Looking then' at the broad results shown in the ordi¬ 
 nary working of Narrow Gauge and Broad Gauge lines, 
 from which far more sound conclusions can generally be 
 
 * Under certain circumstances this additional capital, (rendered 
 necessary by the increased dimensions of works which the Broad 
 Gauge entails), on which some return is required, will make itself 
 felt in the fares; up to this time the public have certainly derived no 
 advantage in point of cheapness of fares from the Broad Gauge. 
 
44 
 
 derived, than by collecting the conflicting opinions of 
 engineers, who, as experience shews, have been con¬ 
 tinually mistaken in their predictions* in reference to 
 railways: I think the facts compel us to say, that no 
 appreciable advantages have yet shewn themselves either 
 in respect of safety, speed, or economy, in the Broad 
 Gauge arrangement per se, as compared with the 
 Narrow Gauge. 
 
 It follows, then, that while the alteration of the 
 Narrow Gauge lines to the Broad Gauge, would be at¬ 
 tended by most weighty objections, and enormous ex¬ 
 pense, we have no ground to anticipate any decided, 
 or even appreciable, superiority of the working of the 
 lines, as Broad Gauge lines, to what that working would 
 have been, had they continued Narrow Gauge lines. 
 
 Let us then examine the third method of obviating 
 diversity of Gauge, which presents itself, namely, by al¬ 
 tering the existing Broad Gauge lines to the Narrow 
 Gauge, and let us see if it appear feasible to effect this 
 change; for there can, I think, be no doubt, from our ex¬ 
 perience of the working of the two systems, that the ad¬ 
 vantages which would result to the whole country, and 
 to every part of it, from uniformity of Gauge, would 
 far outweigh any loss which that portion of the country 
 accommodated by the Broad Gauge, could experience 
 from the substitution of the Narrow for the Broad 
 Gauge; further than this, it is not necessary to press 
 the argument. 
 
 * Thus we have seen some engineers doubting if ten miles an 
 hour could ever be attained by locomotive engines on railway; others 
 asserting that 100 miles an hour could be attained. 
 
45 
 
 The following circumstances are obviously in favour 
 of preferring this method of attaining uniformity of 
 Gauge. 
 
 There will be only 278 miles of railway to alter, 
 instead of 2122 miles*, which would be required to be 
 altered by the first method, or 1844 railesf which would 
 be required to be altered by the second method we have 
 been examining; in other words, one-eighth of the rail¬ 
 ways in the country, instead of seven eighths. 
 
 The seven-feet Gauge is so wide as to allow another 
 longitudinal bearer with a rail upon it, to be laid be¬ 
 tween the existing longitudinal bearers ; and thus the 
 whole process of altering the Gauge, with the exception 
 of the crossings at the stations (all of which could be al¬ 
 tered simultaneously along the line in one night), could 
 be completed without disturbing the ordinary working of 
 the Broad Gauge, until every thing was ready to enable 
 you to commence working at once on the Narrow 
 Gauge. This could not be the case by either of the 
 other methods proposed for obtaining uniformity of 
 Gauge. 
 
 The dimensions of the bridges, tunnels, and works 
 upon the Broad Gauge lines will of course admit a 
 railway of smaller dimensions; by the other methods 
 proposed, we should have to alter either 1844 or 2122 
 miles of railway, and to adapt works which had been 
 constructed to suit a railway of a certain width to a 
 wider railway, a totally different operation. 
 
 * That is, by adopting an Intermediate Gange. 
 f That is, by altering the Narrow Gauge lines to the Broad Gauge. 
 
46 
 
 For these reasons, the expense of the alteration will 
 be reduced to comparatively a very small amount;— 
 such a sum as will be amply covered by the simple 
 financial operation I am about to describe. So that 
 the great object of uniformity of Gauge can be attained, 
 by altering the Broad Gauge lines to the Narrow 
 Gauge, without one shilling expense to the Govern¬ 
 ment,* or without obstructing the traflSc on existing 
 lines for a single day ;t and, which is of the first impor¬ 
 tance, without inflicting any injury upon the share- 
 holders of the Broad Gauge lines,! but on the contrary, 
 after awarding them most ample compensation. 
 
 I confess, it seemed improbable to me, when I first 
 considered the subject, as it probably now does to my 
 readers, that it should be capable of proof, that all these 
 results could be realised. I will, therefore, proceed to 
 explain the simple arrangements, financial and mecha¬ 
 nical, by which, I believe, they will agree with me in 
 thinking it can be done. . 
 
 Before doing this, I will very shortly state two other 
 modes of arranging the financial part of the operation 
 
 * See p. 53. 
 
 f This is not a matter of theory, as the Gauge of the Eastern 
 Counties and Northern and Eastern Railway, 80 miles long, with a 
 terminal station in London, was altered from 5 feet to 4 feet 8j 
 inches, without losing the use of one station for a single daj', or 
 stopping one passenger train. The difference between the 7 feet 
 and 4 feet 8J inch Gauge being much greater than between the 5 
 feet 1 inch Gauge and the 4 feet 8j inch, renders the operation more 
 easy, as regards the facihty of executing it, without obstructing the 
 traffic. 
 
 ! See p. 48. 
 
47 
 
 which suggested themselves, and the objections to 
 which they seemed to me to be open. 
 
 The first mode which presented itself was, that 
 Government should pay the existing Broad Gauge 
 companies a sum of money to alter their Gauge; such 
 sum being suflScient to cover the expense of the change, 
 and to compensate the shareholders for the loss it may 
 be estimated they will sustain. 
 
 Objection .—In a bargain with Government of this 
 nature, the shareholders would not be satisfied by any 
 reasonable sum; there are, moreover, no public funds 
 provided for such a purpose. 
 
 The next mode was, that Government should pur- ' 
 chase the Broad Gauge railways, altering them to the 
 Narrow Gauge; and either selling them again, or 
 working them itself. 
 
 Objection _If they were sold again, they would be 
 
 sold, in all probability, to a loss; this plan there¬ 
 fore would not do; and it is presumed that Govern¬ 
 ment is not prepared to take to the working of two or 
 three railways, surrounded by others worked by mer¬ 
 cantile men, for the purposes of profit. Government, 
 moreover, would probably work them to a loss. 
 
 But if the following plan is pursued, these objec¬ 
 tions are, I submit, avoided. 
 
 IV. Let Government purchase* the railways laid on 
 
 * I have not thought it necessary to allude to the possible argu¬ 
 ment, that it would not be fair to purchase the two Broad Gauge 
 
the Broad Gauge—namely, the Great Western and 
 Bristol and Exeter Railways*—at a price fixed by three 
 competent parties; one appointed by Government, 
 and one by the Company, with power to choose an 
 umpire. 
 
 Let Government lease the line, say for twenty years, 
 or for such time as shall seem best, to the best bidder 
 as to price and conditions for the public advantage ; one 
 of the conditions being, that the alteration of the 
 Gauge shall be effected at the expense of Goverment 
 (in a certain manner to be set forth before-hand) after 
 the entrance of the lessees. 
 
 • Let the other conditions as to charges and speed 
 
 lines without previously obtaining the consent of the proprietors. 
 In the first place, there seems to be no reason why the proprietors 
 should object to selling their property at the present time, as it 
 stands excellently in the market, and as they will be allowed to bring 
 forward proof of its real value if they see fit to do so, instead of 
 taking the market price at any given period. In the next place. 
 Railway Companies themselves have so familiarized us with the 
 doctrine that private rights must give way to public advantage, that 
 it is scarcely to be anticipated that they will try to use in their own 
 favour the arguments they have so often opposed. That argument, 
 moreover, loses much of its point when used by a Railway Company, 
 the difliculty being, in the case of compulsory transfers of land and 
 houses, to award just compensation, since many of the injuries which 
 are inflicted are either such as money will not repair, or are exceed¬ 
 ingly difficult to estimate in money; whereas railway property is 
 merely held for purposes of profit, and all the Broad Gauge Com¬ 
 panies would have to look to would be to obtain a fair price for their 
 property, the value of which in money can be easily ascertained. 
 
 * The Mdland Company who have purchased the remaining 
 Broad Gauge line, the Bristol and Gloucester have stated their 
 readiness to alter it. to the Narrow Gauge line at their own expense. 
 
49 
 
 be as much or as little restrictive as may be thought 
 expedient, binding the lessees, for instance, to afford 
 in the first place at least as good accommodation as the 
 Great Western now afford, and to submit to a revision 
 of their charges and arrangements eveiy five years, 
 under certain restrictions in favour of the lessees which 
 might be easily adjusted in the lease. 
 
 Let all parties tendering deposit ample security in 
 cash, and let the accepted party leave the deposit in 
 the hands of Government as security for the due fulfil¬ 
 ment of the lease; Government allowing three per 
 cent, interest on such deposit. 
 
 To prevent the stock and permanent way becoming 
 depreciated unduly in the hands of the lessees, and to 
 give them the option of making such additional works 
 and purchasing such stock as they may think necessary, 
 let the stock, permanent way, and stations, be valued 
 at the commencement and at the termination of the 
 lease. Government paying or receiving the difference 
 in value at the end of the lease from the value at the 
 commencement; and let the lessees be bound to spend 
 a certain average annual amount in maintaining and 
 renewing the stock and permanent way.* 
 
 * In order to avoid disputes hereafter with the Lessees as to com¬ 
 peting lines, it would be well, I conceive, for Government to determine 
 the main lines it will sanction through the district near the Great 
 Western and Exeter railways. The position of the Lessees in refer¬ 
 ence to these additional lines can then form one of the subjects of 
 arrangement between Government and the Lessees in determining 
 the precise terms of the Lease. 
 
 E 
 
There will be no difficulty in adjusting the terms of 
 sucli a lease; it is being done continually abroad; and 
 there is no doubt that responsible tenderers to lease 
 the Great Western and Bristol and Exeter Railways (if 
 altered to the Narrow Gauge) on such terms as would 
 be advantageous both to Government and the public, 
 will come forward in abundance. 
 
 The principle of the operation is this, that inasmuch 
 as Government can raise money at a lower rate than 
 any trading Company, in consequence of the better 
 security it can olfer, it should raise money to purchase 
 the two Broad Gauge railways; that, having altered 
 them to Narrow Gauge railways, it should then lease 
 them to the best bidders in all respects—taking means 
 to secure itself and the public by the terms of the lease. 
 It will be found (see p. 53) that the saving of yearly 
 interest resulting from the substitution of Government 
 security for that of a trading Company on the amount 
 involved in the purchase of the Broad Gauge lines, will 
 put Government in possession of an income, after paying 
 the interest on the purchase-money, which will enable 
 it to pay tbe interest on the sum spent in altering the 
 Gauge—leaving a large surplus yearly for margin, to 
 be applied as shall appear best. 
 
 The principle is an established one in financial opera¬ 
 tions. 
 
 To make its application clear in the present instance, 
 I will reduce it to figures, taking the shares at the 
 present market price, and the earnings at the amount 
 of those for the current year. I express no opinion as 
 
whether the market price of the shares does or does 
 not represent the true value of the property ; but as at 
 that price the present dividend will only afford a pur¬ 
 chaser £8. 0,8. 5d.* per cent, on his purchase-money, 
 I think I may fairly assume, that if an increase to the 
 price of shares is to be allowed before they can be 
 considered to represent the true value of the property, 
 an increase in the prospective amount of the earnings 
 must also be allowed; and this comes to the same 
 
 * The Great AVestern is now paying 8 per cent, dividend on the 
 amount paid up, which is sfiSO on every ^6100 share; the market price 
 is, say ^e205. per share, the dividend thus gives £3. 2s. 5d. per 
 annum on the selling price. The present exceedingly high price is, 
 no doubt, attributable principally to the success which the Great Wes¬ 
 tern Company have had in their Parliamentary contests this Session. 
 
 Price of Great Western Railway Company's Shares. 
 
 
 Market 
 
 price. 
 
 Amount of 
 
 Amount 
 paid pp. 
 
 Premium. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 January 4, 1844 . 
 
 98 
 
 100 
 
 65 
 
 33 
 
 July 5, 1844. 
 
 126 
 
 100 
 
 75 
 
 51 
 
 January 3, 1845 . 
 
 157 
 
 100 
 
 75 
 
 82 
 
 May 2,1845. 
 
 187 
 
 100 
 
 80 
 
 107 
 
 June 27, 1845 . 
 
 205 
 
 100 
 
 80 
 
 125 
 
 The high prices of railway shares at present in reference to the return 
 per cent, the dividend will afford to purchasers, is, it is to be pre¬ 
 sumed, attributable to the peculiar state of the money market, com¬ 
 bined with the e.xcitement of the Parliamentary contests going on before 
 the Committees; for, until lately, the purchasers of railway stock for 
 investment appeared to look for something between 4 and 5 per cent, 
 interest on the purchase-money. 
 
 E 3 
 
52 
 
 thing, as far as the correctness of my calculation is con¬ 
 cerned. 
 
 Taking the Great Western shares 
 then at £205. (the £100 share, £80 paid) 
 and adding £150,000 for outstanding 
 liabilities, &c. to the total sum expended 
 on capital account by the last balance 
 sheet,* I find the capital represented 
 by the Great Western Railway Company 
 to bet.£13,516,189 
 
 And taking the Bristol and Exeter 
 shares (£100 share, £70 paid) at £100. and 
 adding to expenditure as per last balance 
 sheet,* £100,000 for outstanding liabili¬ 
 ties, I find the capital represented by the 
 Bristol and Exeter Company to bet_ 2,652,390 
 
 I also find that the expense of alteringt 
 the Gauge, and of providing New Stock,§ 
 taken at the highest prices, will be .... 1,063,380 
 
 The total sum to be provided by Go¬ 
 vernment, for the purchase of the Broad 
 Gauge railways, and for the altering of 
 the Gauge, will thus be.£17,231,959 
 
 And the interest on this, at £3 per cent., will be 
 £516,958. 
 
 Now, the annual earnings of the Great Western 
 must be taken at £615,773.11 
 
 And I estimate that the Government would be able 
 
 * December 31, 1844. f See Appendix, (I.) 
 
 I See Appendix, (II.) § Appendix, (III.) H Appendix (IV.) 
 
53 
 
 to get this sum, less £40,000 a-year for depreciation, 
 in the shape of rent from the lessees. 
 
 The difference between £575,773* and £516,958 
 (£58,815) the Government would therefore hold in its 
 hands as a surplus. For the first three years or so the 
 greater part would be required, in order to pay the 
 existing bondholders of the Company their highert rate 
 of interest; but when they were paid off, the Govern¬ 
 ment would have the whole to dispose of. 
 
 lam of opinion, that when the following circumstances 
 are considered, namely. 
 
 That the lessees will be placed, to some extent, 
 in a definite position as to competition ; 
 
 That the traffic on the Great Western and Bristol 
 and Exeter lines has not yet received those accessions 
 which the South Welsh extension—the extension into 
 Cornwall on the one hand, and Dorchester on the 
 other—are calculated to bring them—to say nothing 
 of the schemes the Great Western are now contending 
 for before Parliament; 
 
 That, looking forward for a term of some years, the 
 traffic must increase with the population ; 
 
 That all the lessees get above the sum mentioned will 
 be clear profit to. them, for which they have only to 
 run the risk of the income of the Great Western and 
 Exeter falling to less than it now is; 
 
 * Total earnings. ^661.5,773 
 
 Less. 40,000 
 
 £575,773 
 
 t Higher than 3 per cent. 
 
54 
 
 No doubt will be entertained by persons conversant 
 ■with the subject, that a greater rent than I have named 
 would be obtained by Government for the property, 
 notwithstanding the restrictions suggested as proper 
 to be inserted in the terms of the lease. 
 
 We have now to consider the mechanical mode of 
 altering the Broad Gauge to the Narrow; the first 
 object being to effect the change, without impeding the 
 traflSc on existing lines. 
 
 The outline of the mode in which I propose to ac¬ 
 complish this, is as follows. 
 
 To lay an additional longitudinal timber and rail 
 between the Broad Gauge rails, on both the up and 
 down lines. 
 
 The construction of the Great Western admits of 
 this being done, with perfect ease, and without the 
 smallest danger or impediment to the traffic; it is 
 merely a matter of expense, and I have put down an 
 ample sum for it. 
 
 When this is done, and the Narrow Gauge carrying 
 stock is ready, and ranged upon sidings adjacent to 
 the main line. 
 
 To remove the Broad Gauge stock into sheds and 
 sidings provided for the purpose, bring on the Narrow 
 Gauge carrying stock in its place, and commence work¬ 
 ing on the Narrow Gauge at once. 
 
 I am prepared with the details of this plan; and 
 having bad some experience in operations of this 
 nature, I feel assured it is feasible; and I am confirmed 
 in this view by engineers to whom I have mentioned 
 
55 
 
 it; they were also of opinion, that the prices in the 
 estimate of the expense of the alteration were ample. 
 
 Such are the arrangements, financial and mechanical, 
 by which I propose to remedy the evils of diversity of 
 Gauge. I venture to think that I have shown that the 
 plan really possesses the advantages that I said it did. 
 
 That it secures to the proprietors of the existing 
 Broad Gauge lines ample remuneration, and the full 
 value for their property. 
 
 That it saves Government from any expense, while 
 it gives it the controul of a great line of railway, in 
 such a manner as could only otherwise have been 
 obtained by Government having originally constructed 
 the line, and that it does this without foregoing the 
 advantage of the energy and attention to the wants of 
 the public in the working of the line, which are best 
 secured by entrusting it to individuals exerting them¬ 
 selves with a view to mercantile profit. 
 
 That it ensures the mechanical operation of changing 
 the Gauge, and thus of establishing uniformity being 
 effected without one day’s obstruction to the traffic. 
 
 It has not been my purpose, in the foregoing re¬ 
 marks, to attempt to estimate precisely the abstract 
 mechanical advantages and disadvantages of the two 
 different Gauges to which railways are laid in this 
 country; I leave that to persons more competent than 
 I am, to deal with so difficult a question. 
 
 My object has bee'n to bring under the consideration 
 of the public the evils which must ensue from a diver¬ 
 sity of Gauge, in a small island such as England, de- 
 
56 
 
 pendent, to a great extent, for its strength upon the 
 facility of intercommunication which exists between its 
 different parts, especially between the inland districts 
 and the sea. 
 
 These evils are imminent, as the two Gauges are now 
 commencing to meet each other, and they must con¬ 
 tinue to increase and multiply themselves, if efficient 
 measures are not immediately taken to obviate them. 
 
 The Railway System of this wealthy country, whence 
 the invention of the modern form of railway emanated, 
 should be the most perfect in the world—if uniformity 
 of Gauge is not established it will shortly be the most 
 imperfect which any thriving European country will 
 possess. 
 
 Modern art has put us in possession of a mode of 
 conveyance so superior to all others, that it is no 
 exaggeration to say, that if, from the fear of encoun¬ 
 tering a present difficulty, we allow a portion, and a 
 large portion, of the advantages which might result 
 from this new source of power to be lost—we are 
 wasting the resources of the country. 
 
 It is not now too late to remedy the evil, but if 
 measures are not immediately taken it will be too late. 
 Judging from the extraordinary rapidity with which 
 railways are now constructed,* in another year 1,000 
 more miles of railway laid to different Gauges will be 
 completed or advancing to completion. 
 
 The present then is, I submit, a case in which it is 
 
 * The Scarborough Railway, the act for which was only obtained 
 in 1844, is to be opened on July 7th, 1845. 
 
57 
 
 absolutely necessary that Government should effectually 
 interfere. 
 
 A great evil is rapidly and certainly approaching. If 
 it is allowed once to fasten on the commerce of the 
 country, it will grow with its growth and strengthen 
 with its strength, impeding the one and diminishing 
 the other. 
 
 A needless burden on the country imposed at the 
 commencement of the commercial race with other 
 countries which is set before us, it will be regarded 
 as an opprobrium on an Administration whose name 
 was identified with commercial progress, and yet who 
 neglected to avert such a calamity when there was still 
 time to do so. 
 
 It is not individual interests which will directly 
 suffer by this obstruction to free intercommunication, 
 but national interests, and those as long as the Railway 
 system lasts. The remedy is beyond the power of 
 individuals to apply; it is certainly not to be sought 
 among the wranglings of Railway Companies: but in 
 the hands of Government, it is easy of application, and 
 certain to be efiScacious. In these remarks, I believe 
 I have pointed out one mode of applying such a 
 remedy, which will' not, I think I have shewn, be 
 attended with the slightest pecuniary risk; and which 
 I venture to believe will, on examination, be found 
 the most feasible mode of attaining uniformity of 
 Gauge and its consequence,—Free and uninter¬ 
 rupted Railway intercommunication through¬ 
 out Great Britain. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 (1.) The Value of the Great Western, and Bristol and Exeter Rail¬ 
 ways, talcing the Shares at the prices I have mentioned, (p. 52), 
 would be:— 
 
 GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. 
 Total Expenditure, as per Report of Half-year ending 
 
 31st December, 1844. 7,455,589 
 
 Add for outstanding Liabilities. 150,000 
 
 ^67,605,689 
 
 The Share Capital of the Company is as follows:— 
 
 No. of shares created. Amount of shares. Amount paid up. Market value, say 
 25,000 aeiOO ^680 £205 
 
 28,000 50 50 116 
 
 37,500 20 20 45 
 
 The above sum of £7,605,689 must therefore be held to be com¬ 
 
 posed of 
 
 Money raised on shares 25,000 at 80 = 2,000,000 
 28,000 50 = 1,400,000 
 
 37,500 20 = 750,000 
 
 £4,150,000 
 
 On loan. 3,455,689 
 
 £7,605,689 
 
 Now the shares taken at the prices given above will 
 
 amonntto. 10,060,500 
 
 Add on loan. 3,455,689 
 
 Capital represented by the Great Westen 
 Company. 
 
59 
 
 BRISTOL AND EXETER RAILWAY. 
 Total Expenditure as per Report of Half-year ending 
 
 31st December, 1844 . 2,044,296 
 
 Add for outstanding Liabilities. 100,000 
 
 And Amount apparently lost or forfeited shares.... 120,000 
 
 ^62,264,296 
 
 Deduct Rent and Toll received from Great Western I 
 
 Railway. } ' ’ 
 
 ^62,067,390 
 
 The Share Capital of the Company is as follows:— 
 
 No. of shares created. Amount of shares. Amount paid up. Market value, say 
 
 15,000 ^100 £70 £100 
 
 15,000 33^ 2 II 
 
 The above sum of a62,067,390 must therefore be held to be com¬ 
 posed of 
 
 Money raised on Shares 15,000 at a670 = 1,050,000 
 15,000— 2 = 30,000 
 
 ^1,080,000 
 
 On Loan. 987,390 
 
 a62,067,390 
 
 Now the Shares taken at the prices I have mentioned 
 
 will amount to . 
 
 Addon Loan.,- 
 
 1,665,000 
 
 987,390 
 
 Capital represented by the Bristol and Exeter Rail-1 ^52,652,390 
 way Company ... .. . 
 
 Amount of Capital represented by the Great West¬ 
 ern Railway Company .... 
 
 Amount of Capital represented by the Bnstol and 
 Exeter Railway Company. 
 
 3616,168,579 
 
60 
 
 (II.) Expense of altering the Broad Gauge Railways to 
 Narrow Gauge Railways. 
 
 The method proposed is hy laying a new and distinct longitu¬ 
 dinal hearer and rails between the existing rails laid tb the Broad 
 Gauge. 
 
 You have therefore to allow for a new single line of timber and rails, 
 the present outside timber and rails on each line being left to you 
 to be disposed of when the alteration is completed. 
 
 Expense of laying a single line of rails, with longitudinal hearings. 
 
 including materials, per mile:— 
 
 Timber, 150 loads, at 84s. per load. £630 
 
 Rails, 701bs. per yard, 110 tons, at £12 per ton . 1,320 
 
 Laying and fitting . 400 
 
 Carriage of materials, felt, screws, &c. &c. 345 
 
 £2 695 
 
 Deduct value of old material, (iron and timber,) taken at 
 half price.. 1,005 
 
 £1,690 
 
 Main Line and Branches, 242 miles, at£1690 per mile, £408,980 
 Alteration of switches, points, turntables, sidings, and 
 
 platforms.;. 30,000 
 
 Add for contingencies. 100,000 
 
 Total expence of alteration of road. £538,980 
 
 (III.) Expense of New Stock of Engines and Carriages adapted 
 to the Narrow Gauge, 
 
 The locomotive stock on different lines has cost as follows: per mile. 
 
 North Midland. £3,357 
 
 Grand Junction. 2,441 
 
 London and South Western. 2,049 
 
 Edinburgh and Glasgow . 1,987 
 
61 
 
 Experience now enables ns to fit up a railway with greater economy 
 than formerly, as we now know precisely what to order. 
 
 I take the expense of locomotive stock of all descriptions, including 
 
 engines, carriages, waggons, &c. to be: 
 
 For the Great Western. ^3,000. per mile. 
 
 For the Bristol and Exeter line, and branches 
 
 of the Great Western. 2,000. ditto 
 
 119 miles at 363,000. per mile . £357,000 
 
 129 „ 2,000. „ . 258,000 
 
 36615,000 
 
 Deduct the value of old stock, say only 15 per cent, 
 of prime cost. 90,600 
 
 Total expense of altering locomotive stock . £524,400 
 
 (IV.) Summary of Amount reqidred to purchase the Great Western 
 and Bristol and Exeter Railways; to alter the Gunge to which 
 their Rails are laid; and to provide them with new Narrow 
 Gauge Carrying Stock in the place of their present Stoek. 
 
 Purchase Money . 
 
 Expense of alteration of Gauge. 538,980 
 
 E.xpense of New Locomotive Stock..,. 524,400 
 
 3 per cent, per annum on this is. 
 
 Annual Earnings of the Great Western Railway 
 including those of the Bristol and Exeter, which 
 it leases:— 
 
 Receipts for Half-year ending 31st Dec. 1844 .. 
 For the next Half-year (say) . 
 
 Working expenses, say double those of last half-^ 
 year, (less £5,000 on account of traffic being less this r 281,560 
 half-year than last half-year) .. ^ 
 
 £16,168,579 
 
 1,063,380 
 
 £17,231,959 
 
 £516,958 
 
 441,333 
 
 412,000 
 
 £853,333 
 
 Carried forward £571,773 
 
Brought forward .^571,773 
 
 Earnings of Cheltenham and Great Western 
 Union Railway, the property of the Great 
 Western, just opened, 43 miles long; but as 
 the Birmingham and Gloucester Company and 
 this Company share the traffic between Chel¬ 
 tenham and Gloucester, I only take it as 40 
 miles long. Its traffic was proved before 
 Parliament to be ^117,429 per annum; I 
 think this too high, and take it at only 361,600 
 per mile per annum— 
 
 : 40 miles at i61,600 per mile*. a664,000 
 
 Rents agreed to be paid by the Bristol and 
 
 Gloucester Company, say . . 20,000 
 
 84,000 
 
 ■ Deduct Working Expenses at 361,000 per 
 
 mile per annum . 40,000 
 
 - 44,000 
 
 Total amount of actual annual earnings - 
 
 which the Great Western Railway must be 
 
 computed to be now in possession of.... ^615,773 
 
 * The Average Receipts of all the Railways in England are about 
 362,800 per mile per annum. 
 
 Printed by C. F. Hodgson, 1 Gougb Square, Fleet Street, London.