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S.WILLIAMS 


/ERS1TY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT    LOS  ANGELES 


d- 


SHAKESPEARE'S   CLIFF,    SOUTH   EASTERN    RAILWAY. 


VALE   OF   LLANGOLLEN   VIADUCT. 


OUR     IRON     ROADS 


&bcir  Jisforg,  (Construction,  antr  glbministninoiT. 


FREDERICK    S.    WILLIAMS, 

Author   of   "The    Midland    Railway:    its    Rise   and    Progress." 


A   SNOW   PLOUGH. 

"Now,  lads,  you  will  live  to  see  the  day  when  mail-coaches  will  go  by  rail- 
way, and  when  it  will  be  cheaper  for  a  working  man  to  travel  on  a  railway 
than  to  walk  on  foot." — George  Stephenson. 

"Railways  have  rendered  more  services,  and  have  received  less  gratitude, 
than  any  other  institution  in  the  land." — John  Bright. 


(UlUib    Numerous    Illustrations. 


SECOND  EDITION,  REVISED. 


LONDON : 

BEMROSE    &    SONS,    OLD    BAILEY, 

AND   IRONGATE,    DERBY. 

1883. 


Butler  &  Tanner, 

The  Selwood  Printing  Works, 

Frome,  and  London. 


3019 


PREFACE    TO    SECOND    EDITION. 


T 

Thirty  years  ago  the  Author  had  the  impression  that 
the  rise  and  progress  of  our  great  peaceful  and  human- 
ising industries  should  be  more  interesting  and  in- 
structive than   that  which   generally  fills    our  books  of 

>.    history — the  blood-stained  annals  of  war.     Accordingly, 

OS 

though  a  young  writer,  he  published  the  first  edition  of 

"Our    Iron    Roads";   and    the    favour   with  which    his 

book  was  honoured  showed  that,  happily,  his  impression 

a>    was  widely  shared.     Since   then  he  has  been  gratified 

g    by   the    reception   given   by   the   press   and    the  public 

to    his    work — "  The     Midland    Railway :    a    Narrative 

!   of   Modern    Enterprise "  ;    of  which,  within  a  week   of 

--  its    publication,   half  a  large    edition   was   sold,   and   of 

which  four  editions,  of  8,000  copies,  have  nearly  been 

exhausted. 

On  two  occasions  "  Our  Iron  Roads "  has  been 
recommended  to  the  Author  (not  knowing  who  he 
was)  by  principal  Librarians  of  the  British  Museum, 
one  of  whom  subsequently  urged  him  to  bring  out  a 
Second  Edition ;  and  various  requests  have  reached 
him  from  other  quarters  to  the  same  effect.  After 
careful  revision  it  is  now  issued,  the  Author  venturing 

424118 


viii  PREFACE. 

tsk  for  it  the  goodwill  that  its  predecessor  enjoyed. 
!!-■    hopes    that    its    perusal    may   help    to    quicken,   es- 

ially  in  the  minds  of  the  young,  a  deeper  interest 
in  the  social  and  industrial  progress  of  the  people; 
and  that  it  may  also  inspire  a  kindlier  appreciation 
of  the  endless  skill,  labour,  and  cost  with  which  our 
railway  service  is  carried  forward,  not  only  by  the 
chiefs  at  the  head  of  the  administration,  but  by  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  workmen,  who  intelligently 
and  faithfully  fulfil  their  responsibilities  for  the  com- 
fort  and  safety  of  the  public. 

Forest  Road,  Nottingham. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 


Dr.  Johnson's  Ideal. — "The  Coaching  Days  of  Old." — The  Troubles  of  page 

Travel. — Tramroads. — Mr.  Outram. — Roger  North. — Iron  Tramroad  in 
Colebrook  Dale. — The  Peak  Forest  Line. — The  Edge  Railway. — Fish- 
bellied  Rails. — The  Surrey  Iron  Railway  Company. — Dr.  James  Anderson. 
— Thomas  Gray  of  Nottingham. — Complaints  about  Canals. — Stockton  and 
Darlington  Line  Projected. — Wooden  Trams  and  Horses  to  be  Used. — 
"The  Quakers'  Line." — Mr.  Edward  Pease. — The  Line  Opened. — Joy  and 
Sorrow. — The  Engine-wright  and  the  Quaker. — Colliery  Engines. — Success 
of  Stockton  and  Darlington  Line. — Rise  of  Middlesbrough. — Liverpool 
and  Manchester  Line  Projected. — First  English  Railway  Prospectus. — 
First  Great  Parliamentary  Railway  Battle. — The  Northumbrian  Engineer 
before  the  Parliamentary  Committee. — Opposition  of  Engineers  to  the 
Project. — The  Bill  Rejected. — Renewed  Efforts. — The  Bill  Carried. — 
Anticipated  Failure  of  Railways. — Premium  for  Locomotives. — The  Com- 
petition.— The  Rocket. — The  Sans  Parcil. — The  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
Line  Opened. — Success  of  Line. — George  Stephenson. — Robert  Stephenson  1-32 

CHAPTER  II. 

Change  of  Public  Feeling  towards  Railways. — Wordsworth's  Indigna- 
tion.— Alarm  of  Vested  Interests. — Colonel  Sibthorpe. — Opposition  of 
Northampton,  Oxford,  and  Eton. — Hatred  "even  unto  Death." — Prophe- 
cies of  Disaster  Falsified. — Progress  of  Railway  Enterprise. — Select  Com- 
mittee of  House  of  Commons. — Excellent  Dividends. — Unwelcome  Truths. 
— Railway  Mania. — Extraordinary  Excitement. — Gambling  and  Suicide. — 
"Stags." — George  Hudson. — Remarkable  Career. — The  Railway  King. 
— Decline  and  Fall. — Deposit  of  Plans  at  Board  of  Trade. — November 
30th,  1845. — Sharp  Practice. — Statistics  of  Railways. — Cost  of  Railway 
Mania. — Disastrous  Issues. — Confidence  Returning     .....         33~6o 

CHAPTER   III. 

A  New  Railway  Project. — The  Prospectus. — Advertisement. — Deposit 
Money. — Flying  Levels. — The  Course  of  a  Line. — Opposition  to  Survey. — 
Mr.  Gooch. — A  Clergyman  Outwitted. — The  Breadalbane  People. — "  The 
Battle  of  Saxby  Bridge." — Experience  of  Surveyors. — Mr.  Sharland  Snowed 
Up. — Deposit  of  Notices. — Fighting  for  the  Act. — Theory  and  Practice 
of  Parliamentary  Committees. — "The  Railway  Session. " — "The  Minting 
Age." — The  Hon.  John  Talbot  and  Mr.  Charles  Austin. — Scenes  in  Rail- 
way Committee  Rooms. — Amusing  Displays  of  Forensic  Genius. — The 
Defence  and  the  Attack.  —  Witnesses. — Professional  Reputations.  —  Sir 
Edmund   Beckett. — Cheap    Amusement. — buying    off   Opposition. — Enor- 


I  ON  ii  NTS. 

|  \    Curious    Bill.-   Compensalion.     A     Pleasing         '  "■" 

an  Editor.     Mr.    Venables,  <.'•'•.  on  Compensation, 
iamentary  Committees.     The  Preamble  Proved.— Cost 
I  ■  i.tcMs. — Cost  of  Railwaj  61-90 

CHAPTER    IV. 

I  1  Railway.— Turning  First  Sod. — The  Ceremony. — 

tchley  Line  —Difficulties  in  the  Construction  of  Railways. 

rheoretical  and   Practical  Considerations. — Undulating  and 

1    ,   .   I.  li,    Desborough   Bank.— Special   Precautions.— The  High 

Peak    Railway.     The    Lickey    Incline. — Spragging   and   Skidding. — The 

:  Incline.—  The  Fell  Line  over  Mont  Cenis.—  Working  of  this  Line. — 

The  Great    Horse-shoe  Curve. — Commencement    of   Works. — 

Making  Cuttings. — Making  the  Running. — Angle  of  Repose. — Illustrations. 

Retaining  Walls. — Ditches  and  1  trains. — The  Great  Enemy  of  Cuttings. 

The  Road-bed.— Crest  Ditches  and  Spade  Drains. — Embankments. — The 

Haslingden   Cutting.  —  Three    Remarkable    Cuttings. —  Vicissitudes. —  A 

Terrible  Storm.— Slips. — Chemical  Combination  of  Soils. — Precautions. — 

Covering  the  Slopes  of  Cuttings 91-122 

CHAPTER   V. 

I     veiling  of  the  Round   Down  Cliff. — Blasting  on  the  Londonderry  and 

raine  Railway  Embankments. — Making  an  Embankment. — The  Tip. 

— Disappearance  of  an  Embankment. — Embankments  on  Marshes. — Chat 

. — Embankments  Chained  with  Iron  Cables. — Ilanwell  Embankment. 

—  Intake  Embankment. — Embankments  on  Loch  Foyle. — A  Baked  Era- 
bankment-— Earthworks  of  Railways. — Comparison  of  Labour  of  Ancients 

Moderns.  —  Market  Gardens  on  Railway  Banks. — Navigators  and  their 
-  Cunning    of    Navvies.  —  Comparison    of    English     and 
Navvies. — Nicknames  of  Navvies. — Courage  and  Recklessness  of 
Navvies. — Management  of  Navvies 123-151 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Tunnels. — Shape  of  Tunnels.— Shafts. — The  Horse-Gin. — Timbering. — 
Driftways.— Air  Shafts  in  Kilsby  Tunnel. — "  Cut  and  Cover"  Tunnels. — 
'  of  Tunnels.  —  Vicissitudes  of  Tunnel  Making. — Drainage  of  Tunnels. 

—  Lining  of  Tunnels. — Making  of  Tunnels. — Box  Tunnel. — Woodhead 
Tunnel. — KiLby  Tunnel.— The  Deepest  Tunnel  in  England. — The  Longest 
Tunnel  in  England.— The  Metropolitan  Railway.— A  Tunnel  Carried 
under  a  Tunnel. — Construction  of  the  Underground  Railway. — Moorfields 
I  Underpinned.— Potholes.— Tunnel   under   the   Thames.— Tunnel 

er  the  Severn.— Lost  in  a  Tunnel.— Length  of  Tunnels.— The  Channel 
imneL  —  Mont   Cenis  Tunnel. —St.    Gothard  Tunnel.  —  Spruce  Creek 
Tunnel.  — Shogborough  Tunnel 152-181 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Viaduc  traction  of  Viaducts.— Arten  Gill  Viaduct.— Smardale 

net.— Materials  fur  Construction  of  Viaducts.— Stone  and  Timber  Via- 

1    Viaduct. — Sankey    Viaduct.  — Tarentine    Viaduct. — 

Duitun  Viaduct.  — Dryfe  Sands  Viaduct.  —Avon  Viaduct.  —Dinting  Viaduct. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

— Congleton  Viaduct. — Foord  Viaduct. — Ouse  Viaduct. — Llangollen  Via-  page 

duct. — Skelton  Viaduct. — Bugsworth  Viaduct. — Ribblehead  Viaduct. — 
Dent  Head  Viaduct. — New  Holland  Ferry. — Vicenza  and  Venice  Railway. 
— Conewago  Viaduct. — Trenton  Viaduct. — Bridges. — Skew  Bridges. — 
Winkwell  Skew  Bridge. — Rugby  Road  Bridge. — Maidenhead  Bridge. — 
Drawbridge  over  the  Arun. — Floating  Bridge  on  the  Forth. — High  Level 
Bridge  at  Newcastle. — Royal  Border  Bridge. — Runcorn  Bridge. — Conway 
Tubular  Bridge. — Chepstow  Bridge. —Sinking  the  Cylinders. — Britannia 
Tubular  Bridge. — Severn  Bridge. — Saltash  Bridge. — Charing  Cross  Bridge. 
— Battersea  Bridge. — Forth  Bridge. — Elevated  Railways. — Suspension 
Bridge  over  Niagara  River. — Conemaugh  Bridge. — Level  Crossings  .         .      1S2-226 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Temporary  and  Permanent  Way. — Broad  and  Narrow  Gauge. — Break 
of  Gauge. — "  Clever  but  Theoretical." — Broad  Gauge  Changed  to  Narrow. 
— Formation  of  the  Line. — The  Road  Laid. — Rigidness  or  Elasticity  of 
Roads. — Ballast. — Burnt  Clay. — Stone  Sleepers. — Wooden  Sleepers. — 
Creosoting  Sleepers. — Longitudinal  Sleepers. — Chairs. — Keys. — Rails. — 
Controversies. — Smoothness  of  Track. — Rails  Kept  Warm. — Fish  Plates. — 
Cast-iron  Rails. — Wrought-iron  Rails. — Steel  Rails. — "Creeping"  of  Rails. 
Repair  of  Permanent  Way. — Plate-layers. — Duties  of  Plate-layers. — 
Enemies  of  the  Permanent  Way. — Water  Troughs  on  Permanent  Way. — 
Opening  of  a  Line. — Opening  of  London  and  Bedford  Line.       .         .         .     227-251 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Paddington  Terminus. — "A  Certain  Field." — Preamble  of  the  Act. — 
Station  and  Staff. — Euston. — St.  Pancras. — Lost  Luggage  Office. — Variety 
of  Articles  Lost. — The  Hat  Shelf. — Curiosities  of  Lost  Luggage. — The 
Departing  Train.  —  Passengers.  —  Intermediate  Stations.  —  Woburn.  — A 
Lonely  Station.  —  The  Station  Master  and  the  Keeper. — York  Station. — 
Names  of  Stations. — Station  Notices. — A  Passing  Train. — Strange  Move- 
ments of  Engines. — A  Group  on  the  Platform. — Arrival  of  Train  and 
Departure. — Maintaining  the  British  Constitution. —Refreshment  Rooms. — 
Wolverton.  —  Swindon.  —  Rugby  Junction.  —  Good  Digestion.  —  Wagon 
Loading  Gauge. — Strange  Visitors  at  Stations. — Points. — Crossings  and 
Sidings. — A  Railway  Siding. — Toton  Sidings. — Ingenuity  of  Inventors. — 
Home  Signals. — Distant  Signals. — Junction  Signals. — A  Country  Signal 
Box. — A  Station  Signal  Box. — Interlocking  Signals. —  Cannon  Street 
Station. — Cannon  Street  Interlocking  Signals.  —  Cannon  Street  Signal 
Platform.— Messrs.  Saxby  and  Farmer's  Instruments. — Seeing  through  a 
Brick  Bridge. — Block  System. — Block  System  on  Metropolitan  Line. — 
Cost  of  Block  Signal  Machines. — The  Lamp  Room.- — Fogmen. — Fog 
Signalling. — Fog  Signals. — Construction  of  Railway  Signals. — Railway 
Telegraphy. 252-299 

CHAPTER  X. 

Station  Masters. — Duties  of  Station  Masters. — Working  Single  Line 
Traffic— Exceptional  Duties. — Perplexities.— Names  of  Station  Masters. — 
Booking  Clerks. — The  Booking  Office. — Thomas  Edmondson.  — Ticket- 
making  Machine. — The  Dating  Press. — The  Cash  Counter. — Train  Books. 


mi  CONTEN  I'S. 

\  .  House      Experiences  of  Booking  Clerks.— 

.    .     .       i        i  Office,    -All  Sorts  of  Parcels. — Work 

rnalmea     Duties  of  Signalmen.— Guards. — Duties  of 

\    Polite    Guard.     Porters.    -Complaints   about    Luggage.— A 

Dynamite.— Baggage  Smashers  and  Bees. — What   is    Personal 

;  "  Checking  the  Baggage " 300-328 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Vicar's  Alarm,— The  First  Locomotive  in  the  World. — Trevethick 
and  Jones. — The  Trial.  —  Improvements  in  Engines. — London  and  North 
Western,  Midland,  and  American  Locomotives. — Speed  and  Momentum  of 

-  .1:1  I  Trains. — Life  of  a  Locomotive. — Cost  of  Engine  Coal. — Loco- 
motive Establishments. — The  Metropolitan  Railway  Locomotives. — Fitters 
and  their  Ways.  —  Duties  of  I  (rivers  and  Firemen. — Working  of  Engines. — 
Incidents.— A  Night  Journey  on  the  Dover  Night  Mail. — Possible  Locomo- 

f  the  Future. —Flectric  Railways. — Break-down  Train. — Railway 
Carriages.— The  Old  Tub  and  the  New  Bogie. — A  Railway  Carriage 
Building  Works.— The  Wood  Yard,  the  Shaping  Machinery,  Carriage 
Wheels. — Wringing  on  the  Tires. — Furnishing  the  Carriages. — Painting  of 
1  iges.  —Pullmans. — Injuries   of    Carriages    by    Travellers.  —  Cost    of 

rs.— The  Botany  of  a  Railway  Carriage  Window. — Sleeping  Cars  in 
America. — " One  Good  Turn  Deserves  Another." — A  Sheet  Stores    .        .     329-3S0 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"Bradshaw." — T:       I         rial  Department  of  a  Railway. — The  Official 

Time-Table. — The  "  Working  Time-Table." — The    "Appendix"    to    the 

Working  Time-Table.  —  Excursion  Time-Table. — The  Staff  of  a  Railway 

r. — Charms  of  Early  Railway  Travelling. — Third-Class  Passengers. — 

Improvements  in  Third-*  !lass  Travelling. — "  Third  Class  by  all  Trains." — 

Number;  of  Third-Class  Passengers. — First-Class  Passengers. — Workmen's 

Trains. — Special  Trains. —  Fox   Hunters.  — New  "Twin  Day  Saloons"  of 

London  and  North  Western.— Dining  Saloon  Cars  on  Midland. — Limited 

Pullman  Express  on  London  and  Brighton. — Special  Sociability  of  Certain 

Railroad  Travellers. — The  Royal  Train. —Odd  Ideas  of  Locomotion. — A 

fflger  Travelling  as  Merchandise. — An  Exciting  Episode. — Careless- 

"f  Travellers.  —  Foolishness  of  Travellers. — A  New  Zealander. — An 

Iron-Clad  1  rain  on  1  >uty. — Railway  Travelling  in  War  Time.  —A  Military 

Railway.  —  Private  Owners  of  Railways. — Other  Passengers  by    Railway: 

title,  etc. — Legal  Definition  of  a  Pig. — A  Lap  Dog. — A  Tiger. 

.  Trattic  —  Milk  Traffic— A  Goods  Station  at  Night.— Coal  Traffic  .     381-423 

CHAD  I  ER    XIII. 

of    Trains.  —  "Correspondence"   of    Trains. — Punctuality   of 

Train..      Mr.   .s.    Laing. — Sir  D.  Gooch. — Mr.  Allport. — Mr.  Paterfamilias 

and  his  Opinions. — Snow-storms  on  Railways. — A  Young  Lady's  Experi- 

Other  Trains  Snowed  up. — Snow-storm  in  Scotland. — Results   of 

her  on   Railway   Finance. — Cost  of  a  Snow-storm  to  a  Railway. — 

Snow   Sheds. — Railway   Accidents. — A    Paradox:    is   it    true? — Safety   of 

Railway    Travelling. — Curative    Effects    of    Railway    Accidents. — Horse- 

\Q      Ra  Brake  Trial,  at  Newark. —The  Trial  Trains.— The 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Westinghouse  Brake. — "  Mr.  Vacuus  Smith." — Mr.  Clayton's  Brake. —  page 
A  Ride  on  an  Engine  with  a  Vacuum  Brake. — Earl  de  la  Warr's  Bill. — 
Communicators. — The  Cord  System. — Results. — Running  Powers  of  Rail- 
ways.— "  Facility  Clauses." — Interchange  of  Traffic  on  Metropolitan  Lines. 
— Lines  jointly  Owned  or  Worked. — "  Compensation." — Curious  Cases. — 
Taxation  of  Railways. — "The  Railway  Commission." — Alleged  Excessive 
Railway  Rates. — Reply  of  Companies. — Classification  of  Rates. — Special 
Rates. — Reasons  for  Special  Rates. — Uniform  Mileage  Rates  Impracticable 
and  Pernicious 424-467 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Financial  Aspects  of  Railways. — Closing  of  Capital  Accounts.— Enor- 
mous Demands  on  Railway  Shareholders. — The  Crucial  Question. — 
Dividends  on  English  Railways. — Capital  Authorized. — A  Profitable  Line. 
— The  State  Purchase  of  Railways. — Financial  Difficulties. — Increasing 
Value  of  Railways. — Captain  Tyler's  Proposal. — Cost  of  Purchase. — The 
Speculator. — Stupendous  Financial  Problems. — Logical  Results. — Political 
Aspects  of  the  Subject. — Political  Pressure. — "Portentous  Mischief." — 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Opinion  ..........     468-486 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Continental  Railways. — Belgian  Railways. — Railways  in  France. — Rail- 
way up  Vesuvius. — Spanish  Railways. — Railways  in  India. — American 
Railways 4$7-494 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

Railway  Revolutions. — Increased  Comfort  and  Convenience  of  our 
Locomotion. — English  Locomotion  Fifty  Years  Ago. — Wealth-creating 
Power  of  Railways. — New  Industries  brought  into  Existence. — Improve- 
ments in  Country  Towns  and  Country  Life. — Lowestoft  and  Harwich. — 
Crewe  and  Swindon. — Railway  Companies  as  Landowners. — Increased 
Value  of  Land  in  Scotland  through  Railways. — Residential  Area  of 
London  Enlarged  by  Railways. — Diminished  Cost  of  Locomotion. — 
Numbers  of  Passengers  who  Travel  by  Railway. — Goods  and  Mineral 
Traffic. — Conclusion  ..........     495-5I* 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


V 

Page 

] 

»AGE 

Shakespeare's  Cliff        .     Ft 

■ontispiece 

Intake  Embankment     . 

US 

Llangollen  Viaduct       .        Title  Page 

Willersley    Cutting  :     a     Winter 

Snow  Plough         .         .        Title  Page 

Sketch 

l5* 

Chee  Vale     .... 

I 

"  Beware  of  the  Trains  ! "    . 

152 

The  Wayside  Inn . 

3 

Interior  of  a  Tunnel     . 

i53 

Sections  of  Rails  . 

5 

The  Horse-gin      .... 

•53 

"  Fish-bellied  "  Rail      . 

6 

Temporary  Props  in  a  Tunnel     . 

154 

Opening    of    the    Stockton 

anc 

Shaft  in  Kilsby  Tunnel. 

156 

Darlington  Line     . 

1 1 

Diverting  the  Fleet  Sewer    . 

165 

The     First     Railway     Passenger 

The  Underground  under  the  Un- 

Carriage 

14 

derground  Line 

16S 

The  "  Novelty  "    .         . 

21 

St.  Gothard  Tunnel 

177 

The  "  Rocket "... 

22 

Spruce  Creek  Tunnel    . 

180 

The  "  Sans  Pared  " 

23 

Shugborough  Tunnel    . 

181 

Trent  Bridge,  Nottingham    . 

32 

Railway  Tools       .... 

182 

Lledyr  Vale  .... 

33 

Arten   Gill  Viaduct  in  Course  of 

Barnsley  Viaduct . 

60 

Construction  .... 

183 

George  Stephenson's  Birthpl 

ace  . 

61 

Smardale  Viaduct   in    Course   of 

A  Levelling  Party 

65 

Construction  .... 

184 

Parliamentary  Committee-room  . 

87 

The  Tarentin  Viaduct  . 

185 

Viaduct  near  Mansfield 

90 

The  Viaduct  as  it  was  (Midland 

Olive  Mount  Cutting     . 

9i 

Railway)  :      Niphany,     near 

Diagram  of  Earthworks 

93 

Skipton 

186 

Chiques  Rock  Curve 

104 

The   Viaduct   as   it   is    (Midland 

Horse-shoe  Curve 

105 

Railway)  :     Niphany,      near 

Making  a  Cutting 

107 

Skipton 

1 86 

Making  the  Running     . 

109 

Dryfe  Sands  Viaduct    . 

188 

Retaining  Walls,  Haverstock  Hill 

1 12 

Viaduct  on  the   Midland  Railway 

Birkett  Cutting 

116 

near  Rugby    .... 

189 

Baron  Wood  Cutting    . 

117 

Congleton  Viaduct 

190 

Dove  Holes  Cutting 

118 

Bugsworth  Viaducts,  near    Man- 

Dove Holes  Cutting  Cleared 

119 

chester  ..... 

191 

Woodhouse  Tower  and  Cutting    . 

120 

Ribblehead  Viaduct,  Blea  Moor  . 

[92 

A  Welsh  Railway  Station     . 

122 

Dent  Head  Viaduct 

'93 

Viaduct  and    Tunnel    near 

Pen- 

New  Holland  Ferry 

193 

maenmawr 

123 

Vicenza  and  Venice  Viaduct 

'94 

Abbot's  Cliff. 

124 

Conewago  Viaduct 

iyS 

Making  the  Wolverton   Eml 

tank- 

Trenton  Viaduct   .... 

196 

ment      .... 

127 

Diagrams  of  Skew  Bridges  (fig.  1, 

The  "  Tip  "   . 

129 

fig.  2,  fig.  3)    . 

•97 

XVI 


1  [ST   OF    [ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Paci 

Pagi 

Winkwell  Skew  Brid 

[98 

Malvern  Link  Station    . 

300 

Road  Bridge 

[98 

A  Metal  Ticket     . 

307 

Maidenhead  Bridge 

•99 

Cash  Bowls  .... 

3°9 

Drawbridge  over  the  Arun   . 

200 

Clay  Cross  Junction 

328 

Floating  Railway  across  the  Forth 

201 

Initial  Letter 

329 

High-level  Bridge  at  Newcastle  . 

202 

A    London   and    North  Westeri 

Border  1!  ridge    . 

203 

Engine  .... 

334 

Runcorn  Bridge    . 

204 

Midland  Express  Engine 

334 

Bridge  over  the  Avon,  near  Bath. 

205 

New  Midland  Bogie  Engine 

335 

Britannia   Tubular  Hridge     . 

207 

An  American  Locomotive     . 

336 

Elevated  Railway,  New  York 

223 

Locomotive      Station,      Welling 

Conemaugh  Bridge 

225 

borough 

342 

Level-crossings      .         .         .         . 

226 

Break-down  Train 

360 

Conway  Castle  and  Tubular  and 

A  Snatch-block     . 

362 

Suspension  Bridges 

227 

A  Ramp         .... 

.  363 

Stone  Sleepers       . 

235 

A  Clip 

364 

Stone  Sleepers  Laid  Diagonally  . 

236 

New  Midland  Bogie  Carriage 

368 

Wooden  Sleepers .... 

237 

Interior  of  Pullman  Car 

372 

Railway    Chair,   and    Section  of 

Pullman  Parlour  Car     . 

373 

Chair,  Key,  and  Rail 

240 

Pullman  Drawing-room   Sleeping 

Section  of  Bridge-shaped  Rail 

241 

Car         ...         . 

373 

Sections  of  Rails  . 

243 

Monsal  Dale 

380 

Fish-plates    . 

243 

Temporary  Over-bridge 

38i 

Section  of  Wrought-iron  Rail  and 

British  Iron-clad  Train  in  Egypt 

403 

Longitudinal  Sleepers   . 

244 

St.  Pancras  Goods  Station  . 

419 

Picking    up    Water    from    Feed 

Hampton  Station. 

423 

Trough  

247 

Fogman's  Hut 

424 

Elstow 

248 

A  Midland  Train  Snowed  up,  nea 

Luton 

249 

Dent       .... 

433 

St.  Albans 

250 

Accident  to  an  Empty  Coal  Trair 

>  437 

Initial  Letter          . 

252 

Lawley  Street  Goods  Station 

.  461 

Woburn  Station    .        .         .        . 

259 

Chesterford      Station,       Easterr 

L 

York  Station         . 

260 

Counties  Railway  . 

467 

Water  Crane         . 

267 

Saltash  Viaduct     . 

.  468 

u  Points  "  as  they  were. 

268 

Chee  Vale  Tunnels 

.  486 

Crossing  and  Siding 

268 

View  of  part  of  the  Righi  Railway 

r  487 

Home  Signal         . 

274 

The  Railway  up  Vesuvius,  with  1 

L 

Auxiliary  or  Distant  Signal . 

276 

Sketch  of  the  Carriage  .  48E 

,489 

Junction  Signals  . 

277 

Lewistown  Narrows 

491 

Plan  of  Cannon  Street  Station 

282 

Conestoga  Bridge,  on  the  Penn 

Cannon  Street  Station  Signals 

284 

sylvania  Railroad  . 

.    494 

Interior  of  London  Bridge  Signal- 

Embankment  on  the  London  anc 

I 

box         

286 

North    Western    Line    nea 

r 

Fog-signal 

296 

Lancaster 

•  495 

Monsal  Dale  Footbridge  and  Via- 

A "Dead  End"    . 

•  5H 

duct        

299 

OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Dr.  Johnson's  Ideal.— "The  Coaching  Days  of  Old."— The  Troubles  of 
Travel. — Tramroads. — Mr.  Outram. — Roger  North. — Iron  Tramroad  in 
Colebrook  Dale. — The  Peak  Forest  Line. — The  Edge  Railway.— Fish- 
bellied  Rails. — The  Surrey  Iron  Railway  Company. — Dr.  James  Ander- 
son.— Thomas  Gray  of  Nottingham. — Complaints  about  Canals. — 
Stockton  and  Darlington  Line  Projected. — Wooden  Trams  and  Horses 
to  be  Used. — "The  Quakers'  Line." — Mr.  Edward  Pease. — The  Line 
Opened. — Joy  and  Sorrow. — The  Engine-wright  and  the  Quaker. — 
Colliery  Engines. — Success  of  Stockton  and  Darlington  Line. — Rise  of 
Middlesbrough. — Liverpool  and  Manchester  Line  Projected. — First 
English  Railway  Prospectus. — First  Great  Parliamentary  Railway 
Battle. — The  Northumbrian  Engineer  before  the  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittee.— Opposition  of  Engineers  to  the  Project — The  Bill  Rejected. — 
Renewed  Efforts. — The  Bill  Carried. — Anticipated  Failure  of  Railways. 
—  Premium  for  Locomotives.  —  The  Competition. — The  Rocket.  —  The 
Sans  Pareil. — The  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Line  Opened. — Success 
of  Line. — George  Stephenson. — Robert  Stephenson. 

kOCTOR  JOHNSON  has  left  it  on  record 
that  the  most  pleasing  thing  in  exist- 
ence is  to  travel,  accompanied  by  a 
pretty  woman,  in  a  mail  coach,  at  the 
rate  of  six  miles  an  hour ;  and  there 
are  some,  besides  the  great  lexico- 
grapher, who  talk  of  the  delights  of 
travelling  in  "the  coaching  days  of 
old."  They  tell,  in  glowing  terms,  how 
the  mail  was  daily  examined  from  pole 
to  boot— wheels,  axles,  linch-pins,  springs,  and  glasses  ;  how 
scrupulously   each    part   was    cleaned;    how   every   horse    was 

The  initial  letter  represents  a  tunnel-mouth  in  Chee  Vale,  on  the  Kowsley 
and  Manchester  line  of  the  Midland  Railway. 

15 


OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

med  as  carefully  as  if  it  belonged  to  the  stud  of  a  noble- 
man ;  and  how,  at  eight  o'clock  at  night,  coach  and  mettled 
steeds  wire  ready  "  on  parade,"  in  Lombard  Street,  to  receive 
the  b 

Perhaps  it  was  a  special  occasion.  The  tidings  of  a  military 
victory  had  been  received — a  national  foe  had  been  defeated — 
and  the  mail  would  convey  the  news  to  ten  thousand  English 
homes.  Instead  of,  as  now,  being  silently  flashed  in  a  few 
seconds  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  resort  was  had 
to  more  ordinary,  and  yet  more  striking  means.  Horses,  men, 
and  carriages  were  dressed  with  laurels  and  flowers,  with  oak- 
leaves  and  ribbons.  Coachmen  and  guards  displayed  to  the 
best  advantage  around  their  rotund  forms  the  royal  livery ;  pas- 
sengers, in  a  feeling  of  national  exultation,  lost  their  usual 
reserve  ;  and,  when  the  noise  of  the  lids  locked  down  on  the 
mail-bags  smote  on  the  ear,  the  trampling  of  high-bred  horses, 
as  they  bounded  off  like  leopards,  and  the  thundering  of  wheels, 
were  soon  lost  amid  the  shouts  of  hosts  of  spectators.  In  the 
remembrance  of  such  scenes,  it  is  scarcely  surprising  that  some 
regret  that  they  have  passed  away  for  ever.  We  can  almost 
join  in  the  song, — 

•'  We  miss  the  cantering  team,  the  winding  way, 
The  road-side  halt,  the  post-horn's  well-known  air, 
The  inns,  the  gaping  towns,  and  all  the  landscape  fair." 

There  were  also  various  other  sources  of  innocent  enjoyment 
in  the  journeyings  of  our  grandfathers  of  which  we  have  been 
bereft  ;  and  it  must,  for  instance,  have  been  very  agreeable  "  for 
a  lady  to  be  married  in  her  riding  habit,  and  jog  off  for  her 
honeymoon  on  her  pillion,  with  her  arm  round  her  husband's 
waist." 

Still,  the  joys  even  of  those  days  were  not  without  alloy. 
Stories  are  told  of  dreary  waitings  at  road  sides  in  the  small 
hours  of  wintry  mornings  for  coaches  which,  when  they  arrived, 
were  full ;  of  how  travellers  could  not  keep  awake  and  dared  not 
go  to  sleep;  of  roads  "  infamously  bad,"  which  "the  whole  range 
of  language  could  not  sufficiently  describe;"  and  of  the  addi- 
tional and  exciting  perils  ever  and  anon  of  "  a  race  betwixt  two 
stage  coaches,  in  which  the  lives  of  thirty  or  forty  distressed  or 
helpless  individuals  were  at  the  mercy  of  two  intoxicated 
brutes."     To  be  perched  for  perhaps  twenty  hours,  exposed  to 


"  THE    COACHING    DAYS    OF    OLD."  3 

all  weathers,  on  the  outside  of  a  coach,  trying  in  vain  to  find  a 
soft  seat,  sitting  now  with  the  face  and  now  with  the  back  to 
the  wind,  rain,  or  sun  ;  to  endure  long  and  wretched  winter 
nights,  when  the  passenger  was  half  starved  with  cold  and  the 
other  half  with  hunger, — was  a  miserable  undertaking,  and  was 
often  looked  forward  to  with  no  small  anxiety  by  many  whose 
business  required  them  frequently  to  travel.  Nor  were  the 
inside  passengers  much  more  agreeably  accommodated.  To  be 
closely  packed  in  a  little  straight-backed  vehicle,  where  the 
cramped  limbs  could  not  be  in  the  least  extended,  nor  the 
wearied  frame  indulged  by  any  change  of  posture,  was  felt  by 


THE   WAY-SIDE   INN. 


many  to  be  a  distressing  experience,  while  the  constantly  re- 
curring demands  of  driver  and  guard,  and  the  exactions  of  inn- 
keepers, often  destroyed  the  last  traces  of  the  fancied  romance 
of  stage-coach  travelling.  In  fact,  a  wet,  steaming,  dripping 
coach,  swaying  along  through  a  village,  covered  with  a  compact 
hood  of  umbrellas,  and  looking  for  all  the  world  like  a  huge 
moist  green  tortoise,  was  an  object  sufficiently  melancholy  for 
any  one  to  contemplate.  Even  aristocratic  dignity  could  scarcely 
be  maintained  "when,  for  instance,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough's 
enormous  gilt  coach  broke  down  in  Chancery  Lane,  when  his 
Grace  was  entering  London  in  triumph;"   and    in   after  days 


4  OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

many  travellers  shared  the  experience  of  Charles  Dickens,  who, 
when  he  was  a  reporter,  was  "upset  in  almost  every  description 
of  vehicle  known  in  this  country." 

Truth  to  say,  modern  wayfarers  have  little  conception  of  what 
travelling  used  to  be.  It  killed  hundreds  of  people;  and  often 
in  winter  a  man  would  get  so  nearly  frozen  to  death  that  he 
could  only  be  got  down  from  the  top  of  a  coach  in  the  bent 
position  into  which  he  had  stiffened.  "The  railroad  grumblers 
of  to-day  know  nothing  of  the  sufferings  of  their  Spartan 
fathers." 

"  You  must  be  making  handsomely  out  with  your  canals," 
was  once  remarked  to  the  celebrated  Duke  of  Bridgewater. 
"  Oh,  yes,"  rejoined  his  grace,  "they  will  last  my  time  ;  but  I 
don't  like  the  look  of  these  tramroads — there's  mischief  in 
them."  The  observation  of  the  duke  was,  in  a  sense,  prophetic  : 
those  wooden  roads  were  the  foreshadowing  of  the  Railway 
system  of  the  present  day.  Many  conjectures  have  been  offered 
as  to  the  origin  of  the  term  "  tramroad,"  but  it  appears  to  have 
been  taken  from  the  name  of  Mr.  Outram,  who  was  early  con- 
nected with  their  employment  ;  and  they  would,  doubtless,  have 
been  called  outram-roads,  were  it  not  for  the  well-known  custom 
of  Englishmen  to  reduce  their  words  to  the  most  practical 
dimensions.  The  application  of  the  principle  on  which  their 
value  depends,  may  be  traced  in  the  construction  of  early  Italian 
streets,  and  especially  of  those  of  Milan,  where  a  smooth  sur- 
face is  provided  for  the  passage  of  wheels,  and  a  rough  one  on 
which  the  horses  may  tread  with  security ;,  but  the  precise  date 
at  which  they  were  first  used  does  not  appear.  It  is  sufficient 
to  observe  that  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  tramroads 
existed  in  the  colliery  districts  ;  and  Roger  North,  in  describing 
a  visit  paid  by  his  brother,  Lord  Guildford,  to  Newcastle, 
remarks,  that  among  the  curiosities  of  the  region  were  the 
way-leaves."  "  When  men,"  he  wrote  in  1676,  "have  pieces  of 
ground  between  the  colliery  and  the  river,  they  sell  leave  to  lead 
coals  over  the  ground,  and  so  dear,  that  the  owner  of  a  rood  of 
ground  will  expect  ^20  per  annum  for  this  leave.  The  manner 
of  the  carriage  is  by  laying  rails  of  timber  from  the  colliery 
down  to  the  river,  exactly  straight  and  parallel,  and  bulky  carts 
are  made  with  four  rowlets  fitting  these  rails,  whereby  the  car- 


TRAMROADS.  5 

riage  is  so  easy,  that  one  horse  will  draw  four  or  five  chaldrons 
of  coals,  and  is  of  immense  benefit  to  the  coal  merchants."  The 
hard,  smooth,  and  unchanging  surface  on  which  the  wheels 
passed,  was  then  and  is  now  the  characteristic  of  the  tramroad. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  wooden  tramroads 
were  extensively  employed  in  mining  and  coal  districts,  where 
much  heavy  material  had  to  be  transported  ;  and  they  rapidly 
spread  in  Shropshire,  Staffordshire,  and  the  midland  counties 
generally. 

An  iron  tramroad,  or  railway,  as  it  may  be  called,  was  in  use 
at  Colebrook  Dale — a  spot  celebrated  for  having  the  first  iron 
bridge  in  the  world — about  the  year  1760  ;  for  the  price  of  iron 
having  fallen,  it  was  determined,  in  order  to  keep  the  furnaces  at 
work,  to  cast  plates  to  be  laid  on  the  upper  edge  of  the  wooden 
tramroads  ;  this,  it  was  thought,  would  diminish  friction,  and 
prevent  abrasion,  while  the  iron  could  be  sold  as  "  pigs  "  in  case 
of  a  sudden  rise  of  price.  These  "  scantlings  of  iron  "  were  four 
inches  broad,  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  thickness,  and  five  feet 
long,  and  were  cast  with  holes  so  that  they  might  easily  be 
fastened  to  the  wooden  rails  beneath.  So  successful,  however, 
was  the  plan,  that  the  plates  remained  undisturbed,  and  rails  of 
solid  iron  were  gradually  adopted  in  those  districts.  An  iron 
tramway  was  formed  from  the  collieries  near  Derby  to  that 
town  ;  a  second,  called  the  Peak  Forest  line,  was  laid  down  for 
six  miles ;  and  another  was  constructed  near  Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 
which  had  four  miles  of  double  and  eight  of  single  rails.  In  181 1 
there  were  in  South  Wales  no  fewer  than  180  miles  completed, 
of  which  thirty  belonged  to  the  Merthyr  Tydvil  Company. 

Shortly  after  the  experiment  at  Colebrook  Dale  cast-iron  rails 
with  an  upright  flange  were  invented,  and  they  seem 
to  have  been  first  used  at  the  colliery  of  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk,  near  Sheffield.  They  were  originally 
fixed  on  cross  sleepers  of  wood,  but  stone  blocks 
were  afterwards  substituted.  The  "  edge  railway  "  was  intro- 
duced at  the  slate  quarries  of  Lord  Penrhyn  in  Carmarthen- 
shire. The  "  metals,"  as  they  are  called,  were  be- 
tween four  and  five  feet  long,  their  section  repre- 
senting an  oval,  as  seen  in  the  diagram.  The  wheels 
were  formed  with  a  grooved  tire,  so  as  to  run  easily 
on   the  rail  ;  but  it  was  subsequently  found   that   the   groove 


t>  OUR    [RON    ROADS, 

became  so  deepened  by  wear  as  to  fit  the  rail  tightly,  and  thus 
to  occasion  unnecessary  friction.  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  the 
bearing  surface  i'\  the  rail  and  the  corresponding  part  of  the 
wheel  were  made  flat  ;  and  two  horses  were  then  able,  with 
comparative  case,  to  thaw  a  train  weighing  twenty-four  tons, 
and  they  could  conduct  a  traffic  which,  on  a  common  road, 
would  have  required  four  hundred. 

Experience  suggested  various  improvements  in  the  construc- 
tion ot  the  tram-rail.     "  Fish-bellied  "  rails,  as  they  were  denom- 

_^_  inated,    were    made    three    or 

=^1^-^^^-— r^^i^^  f°ur  feet  m  length,  with  their 

greatest  strength  in  the  middle; 
they  were  secured  one  to  another  in  the  "  chair,"  or  iron  box, 
and  this  was  so  fixed  to  the  sleeper  that  the  whole  was  safe. 

In  1801  the  "Surrey  Iron  Railway  Company"  obtained  an 
Act  for  the  construction  of  a  tramway  for  general  merchan- 
dise from  Wandsworth  to  Croydon,  and  the  advantages  it  pre- 
sented were  subjected  to  a  practical  test.  The  draught  of  a 
horse  on  a  good  road  is  about  fifteen  hundredweight,  and  strong 
horses  can,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  draw  two  thousand 
pounds.  Twelve  wagons  were  on  this  occasion  loaded  with 
stones  till  each  weighed  about  three  tons,  and  a  horse  then  drew 
them  with  apparent  ease  a  distance  of  six  miles  in  an  hour  and 
three  quarters.  At  each  stoppage,  other  wagons  were  added  to 
the  train,  with  which  the  horse  resumed  his  journey,  with  appa- 
rently undiminished  power  ;  and  the  attending  workmen,  to  the 
number  of  about  fifty,  also  mounted  the  wagons,  without  any 
apparent  effect  on  the  horse.  The  load  at  the  end  of  the  journey 
was  found  to  weigh  more  than  fifty-five  tons. 

"  I  found  delight,"  said  Sir  Richard  Phillips,  "  in  witnessing, 
at  Wandsworth,  the  economy  of  horse-labour  on  the  iron  rail- 
way. Yet  a  heavy  sigh  escaped  me,  as  I  thought  of  the  incon- 
ceivable millions  of  money  which  had  been  spent  about  Malta  ; 
four  or  five  of  which  might  have  been  the  means  of  extending 
double  lines  of  iron  railway  from  London  to  Edinburgh,  Glas- 
glow,  Holyhead,  Milford,  Falmouth,  Yarmouth,  Dover,  and 
Portsmouth." 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  tramroads,  the  name  of  Dr. 
James  Anderson  is  well  deserving  of  notice.  In  1800  he  pub- 
lished a  book,  entitled   "  Recreations  in  Agriculture,"  in  which 


DR.    ANDERSON    AND    THOMAS    GRAY.  7 

he  proposed  the  adoption  of  lines  of  railway  along  the  sides  of 
turnpike  roads,  both  for  heavy  loads  at  slow  rates,  and  for 
accelerated  motion.  Dr.  Anderson  proposed  that  they  should  be 
tried  between  the  metropolis  and  the  docks  then  projected  at 
the  Isle  of  Dogs,  and  also  along  the  western  road  to  Hounslow  ; 
after  which,  if  successful,  he  recommended  that  they  should  be 
more  fully  applied  on  the  turnpike  from  London  to  Bath.  He 
estimated  that  heavily-laden  wagons  could  be  drawn  with  one- 
tenth  of  the  force  and  cost  of  the  common  modes  of  traffic  ;  and 
he  recommended  that  the  whole  should  be  "  kept  open  and 
patent  to  all  alike  who  shall  choose  to  employ  them,  as  the 
king's  highway,  under  such  regulations  as  it  shall  be  found 
necessary."  He  subsequently  described  the  method  in  which 
these  railways  might  be  constructed ;  their  width,  height, 
gradients,  curves,  bridges,  and  even  "  short  tunnels."  "  Dr. 
Anderson's  description  might  pass  for  that  of  a  modern  rail- 
road." 

A  thoughtful  man  in  the  north  of  England  visited  one  of  these 
tramways  which  connected  the  mouth  of  a  colliery  with  a  wharf 
at  which  the  coals  were  shipped  ;  and,  after  watching  the  passing 
trains  for  some  time,  he  turned  to  the  engineer  of  the  line,  and 
said,  "  Why  are  not  these  tramroads  laid  down  all  over  England, 
so  as  to  supersede  our  common  roads,  and  steam-engines  em- 
ployed to  convey  goods  and  passengers  along  them,  so  as  to 
supersede  horse-power  ?  "  The  engineer  looked  at  the  questioner 
and  replied, — "Just  propose  you  that  to  the  nation,  sir,  and  see 
what  you  will  get  by  it  !  Why,  sir,  you  will  be  worried  to  death 
for  your  pains."  The  conversation  on  this  topic  terminated  ;  but 
Thomas  Gray,  of  Nottingham,  did  not  allow  the  matter  to  escape 
him.  Tramroads,  locomotive  steam-engines,  and  the  superseding 
of  horse-power,  filled  his  mind.  "  It  was  hfs  thought  by  day  ; 
it  was  his  dream  by  night.  He  talked  of  it  till  his  friends  voted 
him  an  intolerable  bore.  He  wrote  of  it  till  the  reviewers  deemed 
him  mad." 

Meanwhile,  the  growing  demands  of  commerce  had  led  to 
general  discontent  with  the  means  of  intercommunication  through 
the  country.  The  tramroads  were  detached  and  isolated  under- 
takings ;  and  the  proprietors  of  canals,  thinking  themselves  secure 
in  their  possession  of  a  monopoly,  were  extravagant  in  their 
charges  as  well  as  inefficient  in  their  administration.     The  dis- 


8  OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

iction  that  resulted  was  specially  strong  in  the  coal  dis- 
trict^ of  the  north,  where  the  burdens  to  be  carried  were  large 
and  heavy.  One  of  the  richest  coalfields  in  the  country  lay  to 
the  west  and  north-west  o(  Darlington,  a  long  way  from  the  sea  ; 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  here  the  great  practical  problem  of 
transport  eventually  found  its  solution.  The  story  of  that  time 
has  been  admirably  told  by  Dr.  Smiles,  in  his  "Lives  of  the 
Stephensons."  How  it  was  proposed  to  overcome  the  local  diffi- 
culties by  the  construction  of  a  canal,  but  nothing  was  done  ;  how 
Stockton  waited  twenty  years  for  Darlington,  and  Darlington 
for  Stockton  ;  how,  at  length,  the  Stocktonians,  who  adopted  as 
the  motto  of  their  company,  "  Meliora  speramus,"  held  a  public 
meeting  to  discuss  the  "better  things"  to  come,  and  appointed 
a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  advantages  of  forming  a  raihvay 
or  canal ;  how  the  Darlington  committee  went  to  sleep,  woke 
up,  made  a  report,  but  could  not  decide  ;  and  how  imperial  wars 
arose  and  general  apathy  ensued  :  all  this  and  much  more  is 
narrated  by  Dr.  Smiles  with  the  fidelity  of  the  historian  and  the 
vividness  of  the  painter. 

In  estimating  the  possible  results  of  their  work,  if  a  railway 
were   made,  the  friends  of  the  enterprise  were  modest  indeed. 
The  line  itself  was  to  be  a  wooden   tramway,  over  which  coal 
trucks  and  other  vehicles  were  to  be  drawn  either  by  horses  or 
by  ropes  attached  to  stationary  engines,   and  it  was   estimated 
that  "  one  horse  of  moderate  power  could  easily  draw  downwards 
on  the  railway,  between  Darlington  and   Stockton,  about    ten 
tons,  and  upwards  about  four  tons  of  loading,  exclusive   of  the 
empty  wagons."     By  the  advice  of  George  Stephenson,  who  was 
appointed  engineer  and  surveyor  to  the  line,  iron  rails  were  sub- 
stituted for  wood  ;  and,  as  he  gradually  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  directors,  he  urged  upon  them,  at  length  successfully,  to 
employ  a  locomotive  engine,  such  as  that  which  he  had  already 
constructed  and  was  working  successfully  at  Killingworth   col- 
lier)'.    The  export  trade  in  coal  it  was  calculated,  "  might  be 
taken,  perhaps  at    10,000  tons   a  year,''  about  a  cargo  a  week. 
No  allusion  in  any  of  the  reports  was  made  to  the  carriage  of 
passengers.     At  length,  towards  the   end  of  18 16,  a  company 
was    formed    for   constructing   the    railway,    and  the    requisite 
capital  was  raised,  though  not  so  much   by  faith   in  the  under- 
taking as  by  faith  in  the  character  of  its  friend  and   advocate, 


"  the  Quakers'  line."  9 

Edward  Pease.  The  leading  men  of  the  district  ridiculed  or 
opposed  the  idea  ;  and  even  the  merchants  of  Stockton,  who 
had  most  to  gain  in  the  enterprise,  were  so  lukewarm  in  its 
support  that  Mr.  Pease  was  not  able,  with  all  his  energy,  to 
dispose  in  the  whole  town  of  twenty  shares  !  That  he  succeeded 
in  the  end  was  through  the  help  of  his  immediate  personal  friends. 
"  The  two  principal  Quaker  families  next  to  his  own,  the  Back- 
houses and  the  Richardsons,  gave  their  liberal  support  to  Edward 
Pease,  having  unbounded  faith  in  his  wisdom  ;  and  it  was  with 
their  help,  and  that  of  other  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
that  he  was  finally  enabled  to  establish  the  company  and  obtain 
an  Act  of  Parliament  for  the  construction  of  the  Stockton-Dar- 
lington railway."  No  wonder  that  the  people  of  the  district  gave 
the  undertaking  a  name  it  still  retains,  "  the  Quakers'  line." 

In  looking  back,  many  years  afterwards,  on  the  origin  of  this 
railway,  Mr.  Henry  Pease  observed  that  it  was  remarkable  that 
the  world  should  have  had  to  be   many  thousands  of  years  old 
"  before  it   was  thoroughly  known  to  what  extent  two  simple 
parallel  bars,  laid  at  a  given  distance,  would  facilitate  the  inter- 
course of  mankind."     It  was  not  that  the  principle  was  new,  but 
it  was  to  a  certain  extent  developed  by  the  early  pioneers  of 
railways.     At  that  time,  also,  the  power  of  the  locomotive  was 
little  known.     Its  opponents  said,  "  It  is  folly :  you  will  not  get 
your  wagons  to  travel   on   the  railroad,"   and  the  answer  they 
received  was,  "  On  our  two  parallel  bars  our  horse  shall  carry 
eight  tons  at  twice  the  speed  that  your  horse  can   carry  one." 
"  I  am  sorry  to  find,"  said  Lord  Eldon,  "  the  intelligent  people 
of   the   north  country  gone  mad  on   the  subject  of  railways." 
Another  authority  declared  :  "  It  is  all  very  well  to  spend  money  ; 
it  will  do  some  good,  but  I  will  eat  all  the  coals  that  your  rail- 
road will   carry."     "  He   did   not   live,"   said  Mr.   Henry   Pease, 
"until  the  year   1874,  when    127,000,000  of  tons  of  coal   were 
carried  by  railway,  and  I  hope  that   he  had  many  good  dinners 
on  much  more  digestible  material.     You  will   not  wonder  that 
the  farmers  were  in  array  against  the  railway  system,  for  their 
landlords  said  to  them,  '  You  will  be  ruined,  as  there  will  be  no 
demand  for  horses.'     But  they  were  not  men  of  sufficient  per- 
ception  (and   there   are   probably  very  few   now  who  can   look 
forward  fifty  years)  to  look  forward  to   1874,  when  a  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons  had  to  sit  to  consider  what  should 


IO  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

be  clone  to  overcome  the  dearth  of  English  horses.  Whether 
gentlemen  have  yet  found  out  a  law  by  which  they  can 
contravene  the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  I  do  not  know,  as 
the}-  have  not  yet  been  good  enough  to  inform  us.  There  was 
also  the  absence  of  the  cash.  Persons  said,  '  This  is  a  very 
foolish  scheme  ;  I  will  not  put  my  money  into  it.'  One  year 
the  bill  was  thrown  out  of  Parliament,  and  the  second  year  it 
could  not  have  gone  to  Parliament  if  one  of  the  promoters  had 
not  said  at  the  last  moment,  'I  would  rather  risk  ;£io,000  more 
than  this  bill  should  not  be  lodged  in  the  House  of  Commons.'" 

Such  were  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Henry  Pease  at  the  Jubilee 
Celebration  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  line.  On  that 
occasion  Mr.  Moon  said  :  I  was  present  twenty-five  years  ago  in 
this  town,  when  Mr.  Joseph  Pease  pointed  out  to  me  the  tree 
from  which  George  Stephenson  took  his  first  survey  for  the  Stock- 
ton and  Darlington  line — a  tree  which  I  hope  the  inhabitants  will 
take  care  to  preserve.  He  told  me,  in  addition,  that  the  engineer 
only  charged  for  his  survey  the  modest  sum  of  £iiS,  a  sum 
which,  I  need  not  say,  is  very  different  from  what  we  railway 
directors  know  it  takes  to  complete  a  survey  of  a  railway  at  the 
present  day." 

The  Stockton  and  Darlington  scheme  had  three  times  to 
present  itself  before  it  received  the  sanction  of  Parliament.  The 
application  of  18 18  was  defeated  by  the  Duke  of  Cleveland, 
because  the  line  threatened  to  interfere  with  one  of  his  fox- 
covers.  Certain  road  trustees,  also,  spread  the  report  abroad 
that  the  mortgagees  of  the  tolls  would  suffer  ;  and  to  meet  this 
objection,  Edward  Pease  had  to  disarm  opposition  by  a  public 
notice  that  the  company's  solicitors  were  ready  to  purchase  these 
securities  at  the  price  originally  paid  for  them. 

In  182 1,  however,  the  Bill  passed  ;  and  on  Tuesday,  the  27th 
of  September,  1825,  the  line  was  opened.  "The  scene  on  the 
morning  of  that  day,"  said  Mr.  Pease,  fifty  years  afterwards, 
"  sets  description  at  defiance."  Many  who  were  to  take  part 
in  the  event  did  not  the  night  before  sleep  a  wink,  and  soon 
after  midnight  were  astir.  The  universal  cheers,  the  happy  faces 
of  many,  the  vacant  stare  of  astonishment  of  others,  and  the 
alarm  depicted  on  the  countenances  of  some,  gave  variety  to  the 
picture."  At  the  appointed  hour  the  procession  went  forward. 
The  train  moved  off  at  the  rate  of  from  ten  to  twelve  miles  an 


STOCKTON    AND    DARLINGTON    LINE. 


I  I 


hour,  with  a  weight  of  eighty  tons,  with  one  engine — "  No.  I  " — 
driven  by  George  Stephenson  himself;  after  it  six  wagons, 
loaded  with  coals  and  flour  ;  then  a  covered  coach,  containing 
directors  and  proprietors  ;  next  twenty-one  coal  wagons,  fitted 
up  for  passengers,  with  which  they  were  crammed  ;  and  lastly, 
six  more  wagons  loaded  with  coals. 

"  Off  started  the  procession,  with  the  horseman  at  its  head. 
A  great  concourse  of  people  stood  along  the  line.  Many  of 
them  tried  to  accompany  it  by  running,  and  some  gentlemen 
on  horseback  galloped  across  the  fields  to  keep  up  with  the 
engine.     The  railway  descending  with  a  gentle  incline  towards 


OPENING   OF   THE   STOCKTON    AND   DARLINGTON    LINE. 


Darlington,  the  rate  of  speed  was  consequently  variable.  At 
a  favourable  part  of  the  road,  Stephenson  determined  to  try  the 
speed  of  the  engine,  and  he  called  upon  the  horseman  with  the 
flag  to  get  out  of  the  way,"  and  Stephenson  put  on  the  speed 
to  twelve  miles,  and  then  to  fifteen  miles  an  hour,  and  the 
runners  on  foot,  the  gentlemen  on  horseback,  and  the  horseman 
with  the  flag,  were  soon  left  far  behind.  "  When  the  train 
reached  Darlington,  it  was  fornd  that  four  hundred  and  fifty 
passengers  occupied  the  wagons,  and  that  the  load  of  men,  coals, 
and  merchandise  amounted  to  about  ninety  tons." 

On  that  memorable  day  "  a  dark  shadow  fell  on   the  home 


12  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

of  Edward  Pease.  At  the  very  moment  when  the  old  Quaker 
was  counting  upon  enjoying  to  the  full  a  triumph  which  would 
recompense  him  for  countless  days  of  labour  and  nights  of 
anxiety,  the  Angel  of  Death  entered  his  dwelling,  and  the  day 
which  had  promised  to  be  one  of  triumphant  joy,  was,  in  the 
mysterious  dispensations  of  Providence,  converted  into  a  day 
of  desolation  and  anguish.  He  was  bereaved  of  his  best-loved 
son.  If  the  ringing  cheers  of  the  immense  crowd  which  hailed 
the  arrival  of  '  No.  I  '  and  her  lengthy  train  from  Brusselton 
reached  as  far  as  the  well-known  house  in  Northgate,  they  fell 
upon  the  ears  of  one  to  whom  they  seemed  but  empty  sounds 
compared  with  the  terrible  reality  of  death.  For  there,  in  an 
inner  chamber,  his  son  Isaac,  who  had  lived  by  his  father's  side 
for  two-and- twenty  years,  lay  dead.  He  had  always  been  a 
delicate  boy,  and  the  fond  heart  of  the  old  man  had  gone  out 
towards  the  weakly  member  of  his  numerous  household.  .  .  . 
The  day  which  brought  to  Edward  Pease  the  crowning  triumph 
of  his  active  life,  also  bore  with  it  the  greatest  grief  that  ever 
humbled  him  in  anguish  before  the  throne  of  his  Maker.  Thus 
it  was  that  while  crowds  were  shouting  and  bands  were  play- 
ing and  the  new  era  was  being  born,  he  who  had  done  more 
than  any  one  to  bring  about  the  triumph  of  that  day,  was  in  his 
house,  alone,  crushed  by  the  stroke  of  bereavement." 

The  part  taken  in  that  opening  ceremony  by  the  locomotive 
"  No.  I  "  was  interesting ;  but  it  was  the  beginning  of  more 
important  events.  The  engine  cost  only  £500 ;  it  was  the 
pioneer  of  multitudes  far  more  costly  and  powerful.  But  we 
must  here  retrace  our  steps  a  few  years,  and  recount  some 
incidents  that  had  already  occurred.  One  day,  in  the  spring 
of  182 1,  George  Stephenson,  the  Northumberland  engine-wright, 
had  called  upon  the  wealthy  Quaker  and  manufacturer  of 
Darlington.  "  Burly  men  they  were  both  ;  strong  in  mind,  too, 
as  in  body  ;  and  one  may  fancy  how  they  stood,  face  to  face, 
and  eye  to  eye,  to  read  each  other's  character."  As  was  the 
alliance  of  Bolton  with  Watt,  so  was  that  of  Stephenson  with 
Pease.  Pease  found  the  railway,  and  Stephenson  the  locomotive. 
Some  of  the  main  facts  with  regard  to  locomotives  had  already 
been  determined.  In  certain  districts  were  small  engines,  which, 
"with  much  clanging  and  rattling,  puffing  and  smoking,  with 
both  a  chimney  and  a  steam  vent,  drew  along,  at  the  sufficient 


EDWARD    PEASE    AND    GEORGE    STEPHENSON.  I  3 

pace  of  two  or  three  miles  an  hour,  a  dozen  or  more  small  iron 
wagons  loaded  with  coal.  A  man  would  walk  by  the  side  to 
open  gates,  remove  impediments,  or  assist  at  a  difficulty.  The 
colliers  themselves  would  sometimes  get  into  the  empty  wagons, 
as  a  tired  carter  will  get  into  his  empty  dung  cart,  or  sit  on  the 
shaft."  Stationary  engines  had  come  to  a  high  degree  of  perfec- 
tion, but  the  "  tramway "  of  those  days  consisted  of  light  bars 
of  iron,  stretching  from  block  to  block,  of  wood  or  stone,  which 
had  worn  for  themselves  sockets  in  the  soft  ground.  But  when 
the  Stockton  and  Darlington  was  projected,  there  was  no  inten- 
tion of  employing  the  locomotive  for  the  work  of  transport. 
In  the  preamble  of  the  first  Act,  it  was  stated  that  the  proposed 
line  would  "  be  of  great  public  utility,  by  facilitating  the  con- 
veyance of  coal,  iron,  lime,  corn,  and  other  commodities"  ;  and 
power  was  taken  to  provide  "  for  the  making  and  maintaining 
of  the  tramroads,  and  for  the  passage  upon  them  of  wagons 
and  other  carriages,  with  men  and  horses,  or  otherwise  " ;  but, 
though  the  margin — "  otherwise" — was  wide,  it  was  not  expected 
that  the  locomotive  would  fill  it.  Mr.  Pease  afterwards  said  : 
"  I  was  so  satisfied  that  a  horse  upon  an  iron  road  would  draw 
ten  tons  for  one  ton  on  a  common  road,  that  I  felt  sure  that 
before  long  the  railway  would  become  the  king's  highway." 
George  Stephenson,  moreover,  in  his  memorable  interview,  in- 
duced Edward  Pease  to  visit  Killingworth  ;  he  there  saw  for 
himself  what  a  locomotive  could  do,  and  he  consented  to  try 
to  obtain  power  to  work  the  railway  by  means  of  locomotives, 
and  also  to  employ  them  for  the  haulage  of  passengers  as  well 
as  of  goods. 

The  results  of  the  opening  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington 
line  were  in  many  respects  surprising.  Though  the  conveyance 
of  passengers  had  formed  no  part  of  the  original  scheme,  yet  on 
the  first  day  many  hundreds  of  persons  rode  from  Darlington  to 
Stockton  and  back,  and  passengers  soon  insisted  upon  being 
taken  regularly.  Hence  it  became  necessary  to  provide  car- 
riages adapted  to  their  requirements.  It  was  not,  however,  till 
October,  1825,  that  the  company  began  to  run  a  coach  of  their 
own.  They  announced  that  "  the  company's  coach,  called  the 
Experiment,"  would  run  from  Darlington  to  Stockton  and  back, 
except  Sunday,  making  one  journey  each  way  each  day,  and 
occupying  two  hours  in  its  completion.     Each  passenger  was 


14 


OUR    IKON    ROADS. 


allowed  to  take  "a  package  of  not  exceeding  14  lbs."     The  fare 

was  is. 

The  great  work  o\~  the  new  railway  was  in  the  conveyance  ot 
minerals  and  goods.  A  single  engine  could  draw  after  it,  at  the 
rate  of  five  miles  an  hour,  a  train  weighing  ninety-two  tons. 
The  rate,  too,  per  ton  for  the  carriage  of  merchandise  was  re- 
duced from  $d.  to  the  one-fifth  of  a  penny  per  mile  ;  the  price 
of  the  carriage  o(  minerals  declined  from  yd.  to  ihd.  per  ton  per 
mile;  coals  at  Darlington  fell  from  iSs.  to  8^.  6d.  per  ton  ;  and, 
as  one  consequence,  a  much  larger  tonnage  passed  along  the 
railway  than  had  been  anticipated.  "An  export  trade,"  said  a 
writer  of  the  time,  "  is  now  certain,  for  an  order  has  been  already 
contracted  for  for  100,000  tons  of  coals  annually  for  five  years 
by  one  house  alone  in  London,  the  produce  of  which  alone  to 


THE    FIRST    RAILWAY    PASSENGER    CARRIAGE. 


the  company  will  more  than  pay  4  per  cent,  on  their  whole  ex- 
penditure. The  shares  are  at  £40  premium  each;  plenty  of 
would-be  purchasers,  but  no  sellers." 

Meanwhile  the  administration  of  the  line  and  the  line  itself 
had  to  be  improved.  Additional  passing  places  had  to  be  pro- 
vided, and  the  road  had  to  be  doubled.  Stronger  engines  were 
made  ;  and  when  the  engine-men  put  on  the  power  of  the  steam 
too  rapidly,  they  had  to  be  taught  better  manners.  "  There 
were  no  buffers  on  the  trains  then,  the  wagons  got  knocked  to- 
gether most  cruelly,  and  the  coals  were  thrown  out  of  them  to 
the  great  annoyance  of  the  coalowners,  who  could  not  deliver 
them  as  put  into  the  wagons." 

The  Corporation  of  the  borough  of  Stockton  welcomed  the 
railway  to  their  port,  but  they  acted  in  a  shortsighted  manner 
as  regarded  the  accommodation  of  the  traffic  which  it  brought. 


LIVERPOOL    AND    MANCHESTER    RAILWAY    PROJECTED.       1 5 

The  Stockton  and  Darlington  Company  were  accordingly  com- 
pelled to  provide  for  themselves  elsewhere.  They  purchased 
500  acres  of  land  a  few  miles  below  Stockton,  on  the  mud- 
banks  of  the  river,  where  one  solitary  farmhouse  had  stood 
among  the  green  fields,  and  here  they  erected  staiths  and  other 
conveniences  for  the  loading  of  coal.  And  here,  as  if  by  magic, 
Middlesbrough  arose,  and  that  farmhouse  became  the  centre  of 
a  town  of  more  than  50,000  inhabitants. 

The  success  at  Darlington  of  the  initial  movement  in  railway 
enterprise  could  not  be  without  effect  elsewhere  ;  and  in  various 
directions  hopes  arose  that  relief  might  be  obtained  from  the 
inefficiency  and  the  exactions  of  canal  proprietors.  For  when 
an  application  was  made  for  a  reduction  of  charge,  and  an  in- 
crease of  accommodation,  a  decided  negative  was  returned,  and 
a  Jiauteur  was  manifested  by  the  canal  proprietors,  which  natu- 
rally gave  great  offence.  But  pride  went  before  a  fall.  A 
declaration  was  signed  by  a  hundred  and  fifty  leading  men  of 
Liverpool,  that  new  means  of  communication  were  indispens- 
able ;  and  measures  were  adopted  which  eventually  led  to  the 
establishment  of  means  of  communication  between  that  town 
and  Manchester  incomparably  superior  in  every  respect  to  those 
that  had  previously  existed. 

The  first  English  railway  prospectus  ever  issued  was  that  of 
the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  company.  It  was  drawn  up  by 
Mr.  Henry  Booth,  was  signed  by  the  chairman,  Charles  Law- 
rence, and  was  dated  Oct.  29th,  1824.  It  set  forth  that  "  railways 
hold  out  to  the  public  not  only  a  cheaper  but  far  more  expedi- 
tious mode  of  conveyance  than  any  yet  established  "  ;  and  it 
stated  that  "  in  the  present  state  of  trade  and  of  commercial 
enterprise  despatch  is  no  less  essential  than  economy.  Mer- 
chandise is  frequently  brought  across  the  Atlantic  from  New 
York  to  Liverpool  in  twenty-one  days  ;  while,  owing  to  the 
various  causes  of  delay  above  enumerated,  goods  have  in  some 
instances  been  longer  on  their  passage  from  Liverpool  to  Man- 
chester. But  this  reproach  must  not  be  perpetual.  The  ad- 
vancement in  mechanical  science  renders  it  unnecessary  ;  the 
good  sense  of  the  community  makes  it  impossible.  Let  it  not, 
however,  be  imagined  that  were  England  to  be  tardy  other 
countries  would  pause  in  the  march  of  improvement."  Among 
the  advantages  that  would  be  secured  by  the  new  system,  the 


l6  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

prospectus  said  :  "  Increased  facilities  for  the  general  operations 
of  commerce,  arising  out  of  that  punctuality  and  despatch  which 
will  attend  the  transit  of  merchandise  between  Liverpool  and 
Manchester,  as  well  as  an  immense  pecuniary  saving   to   the 

trading  community.  But  the  inhabitants  at  large  of  these 
populous  towns  will  reap  their  full  share  of  direct  and  imme- 
diate benefit.  Coal  will  be  brought  to  market  in  greater  plenty 
at  reduced  price  ;  and  farming  produce  of  various  kinds  will  find 
its  way  from  greater  distances  and  at  more  reasonable  rates. 
To  the  landholders  also,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  line,  the  railroad 
offers  important  advantages  in  extensive  markets  for  their 
mineral  and  agricultural  produce,  as  well  as  in  a  facility  of  ob- 
taining lime  and  manure  at  a  cheap  rate  in  return.  Moreover, 
as  a  cheap  and  expeditious  means  of  conveyance  for  travellers, 
the  railway  holds  out  the  fair  prospect  of  a  public  accommoda- 
tion the  magnitude  and  importance  of  which  cannot  be  imme- 
diately ascertained."  This  prospectus  may  be  pondered  as  a 
great  historical  document. 

The  first  great  parliamentary  battle  for  a  railway  was  fought 
over  the  proposal  to  construct  the  line  between  Liverpool  and 
Manchester.  The  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  to 
whom  the  Bill  was  referred,  met  for  the  first  time  on  Monday, 
March  21st,  1825.  The  chair  was  occupied  by  General  Gas- 
coigne,  then  member  for  Liverpool.  At  the  present  day  no 
member  for  a  locality  affected  by  a  Railway  Bill  is  allowed  to  be 
a  member  of  the  Committee  by  whom  it  is  to  be  considered, 
though  he  may  give  such  advice  and  assistance  as  his  local 
knowledge  and  position  may  render  useful.  Manchester  was  not 
then  represented  on  the  Committee,  nor  even  in  the  House. 
The  Company  appeared  by  counsel,  the  chief  of  whom  were 
Serjeant  Spankie  and  Mr.  Adam  ;  while  arrayed  against  the 
Bill  was  a  phalanx  of  canal-owners,  road-trustees,  and  landed 
proprietors  through  whose  property  the  intended  line  was  to  pass. 
The  legal  talent  engaged  on  their  side  appeared  overwhelming. 

Before  that  august  array  George  Stephenson,  a  self-taught 
mechanic,  appeared  to  prove  by  arguments  and  facts, — stated 
with  a  Northumbrian  dialect  and  "burr"  so  decided  as  to  make 
him  scarcely  intelligible  to  southerners, — that  a  certain  work  was 
possible  and  desirable  which  public  opinion  and  the  most  dis- 
tinguished engineers  of  the  day  had  declared  to  be  impracticable 


EVIDENCE    OF    THE    NORTHUMBRIAN    ENGINEER.  I J 

and  absurd.  "  Clear  though  the  subject  was  to  himself,  and 
familiar  as  he  was  with  the  powers  of  the  locomotive,"  sixteen  of 
which  he  had  built,  "  it  was  no  easy  task  for  him  to  bring  home 
his  convictions,  or  even  to  convey  his  meaning,  to  the  less 
informed  minds  of  his  hearers,  in  the  face  of  the  sneers,  inter- 
ruptions, and  ridicule  of  the  opponents  of  the  measure,  and  even 
of  the  Committee,  some  of  whom  shook  their  heads  and  whis- 
pered doubts  as  to  his  sanity." 

"  Have  you  any  doubt,"  he  was  asked,  "  that  a  locomotive 
engine  could  be  made  to  take  the  weight  of  forty  tons,  at  the 
rate  of  six  miles  an  hour,  with  perfect  safety  ?  " — "  An  engine," 
he  replied,  "  may  go  six  miles  an  hour  with  forty  tons  ;  that  is, 
including  the  weight  of  the  carriages."  "  Have  you  any  doubt 
that  the  power  of  the  engine  might  be  so  increased  as  to  take 
that  weight  at  any  speed  between  six  and  twelve  miles  an  hour?" 
— "  I  think  the  power  of  the  engine  may  be  increased  to  take 
that  weight."  "  To  what  extent  do  you  conceive  the  power  of 
the  engine  could  be  increased  to  take  that  weight  of  goods  ? " — 
"  I  can  scarcely  state  that  to  you  :  the  power  of  the  engine  may 
be  increased  very  greatly."  "  As  much  as  double  ?  " — "  I  think 
it  might."  "If  you  had  such  an  engine,  in  your  opinion  could  it 
be  made  to  go  with  perfect  safety  twelve  miles  an  hour,  with 
relation  to  the  bursting  of  the  boiler  ?  " — "  Yes,  I  think  it  might." 
"  At  the  rate  you  go  at  Killingworth,  are  the  engines  easily 
managed, — easily  stopped  ?  " — "  Very  easily."  "  Is  their  pace 
easily  slackened  ?  " — "  Yes."  "  Easily  started  again  ?  " — "  Yes." 
"In  short,  they  are  easily  manageable?" — "They  are."  "Do 
you  think  they  could  be  made  perfectly  manageable  to  go  at 
the  rate  of  eight  miles  an  hour  ?  " — "  Yes,  I  conceive  they  might 
at  eight  miles  an  hour." 

But  in  the  speech  with  which  he  summed  up  the  evidence 
given,  Mr.  Alderson  declared  :  "  I  say  there  is  no  evidence  upon 
which  the  Committee  can  safely  rely,  that  upon  an  average,  more 
than  three  and  a  half  or  four  and  a  half  miles  an  hour  can  be 
done.  Consider  the  nature  of  the  engine  :  it  consists  in  part  of 
a  large  iron  boiler,  and  the  elastic  force  of  steam  is  the  moving 
force,  and  that  depends  upon  the  quantity  of  heat  ;  the  water  is 
enclosed  in  a  boiler  of  iron,  a  most  rapid  conductor  of  heat,  and 
which  must  move  in  storms  of  snow,  in  storms  of  rain,  and 
during  the  times  of  frost.    At  all  those  times  it  will  be  extremely 

C 


iS  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

difficult  to  keep  up  the  clastic  force  of  the  steam  :  I  do  not  say- 
it  is  impossible,  but  extremely  difficult." 

With  regard  to  Chat  Moss,  which  the  proposed  line  had  to 
cross,  Mr.  Harrison  declared  that  "  it  rises  in  height  from  the 
rain  swelling  it  like  a  sponge,  and  sinks  again  in  dry  weather  ; 
and  if  a  boring  instrument  is  put  into  it,  it  sinks  immediately 
by  its  own  weight.  The  making  of  an  embankment  out 
of  this  pulpy  wet  moss  is  no  very  easy  task.  Who  but  Mr. 
Stephenson  would  have  thought  of  entering  into  Chat  Moss, 
carrying  it  out  almost  like  wet  dung  ?  It  is  ignorance  almost 
inconceivable.  It  is  perfect  madness."  "  No  engineer  in  his 
senses,"  said  Mr.  Francis  Giles,  C.E.,  "  would  go  through  Chat 
Moss  if  he  wanted  to  make  a  railroad  from  Liverpool  to  Man- 
chester. In  my  judgment,"  he  added,  with  amusing  self-contra- 
dictoriness  of  style,  "a  railroad  certainly  cannot  be  safely  made 
over  Chat  Moss  without  going  to  the  bottom  of  the  Moss." 

The  Committee  sat  for  thirty-eight  days.  On  the  31st  of 
May,  after  thirty-seven  witnesses,  and  an  indefinite  number  of 
speeches,  had  been  heard  against  the  Bill,  the  preamble  was 
declared  to  have  been  proved  by  a  vote  of  thirty-seven  to  thirty- 
six.  The  contest  was  continued  on  the  clauses.  On  the  1st  of 
June,  the  thirty-eighth  day  of  the  Committee's  sitting,  the  room 
was  cleared,  and  counsel,  agents,  and  parties  were  then  sum- 
moned to  be  informed  that  the  proposal  that  the  Company 
should  have  power  to  make  a  railway  had  been  "  put  and  nega- 
tived." 

A  first  failure  was  not,  however,  conclusive.  Steps  were  at 
once  taken  with  a  view  to  a  renewed  application  to  Parliament, 
and  Messrs.  John  and  George  Rennie  were  engaged  as  engineers, 
with  instructions  to  make  a  new  survey,  it  being  thought  that 
their  recognised  reputation  as  engineers  would  strengthen  the 
case.  The  promoters  also  determined  to  adopt  a  more  southern 
route,  although  it  involved  a  tunnel,  the  Olive  Mount  rock  cut- 
ting, and  other  works,  which  made  it  necessary  that  the  capital 
should  be  increased  from  £400,000  to  £510,000. 

The  third  reading  of  the  Bill  was  carried  in  the  Commons 
by  a  majority  of  88  to  41.  The  cost  of  obtaining  the  Act  was 
£27,000.  Mr.  George  Stephenson  was  now  appointed  principal 
engineer,  with  a  salary  of  £1,000  a  year. 

When  the  works  of  the  new  line  were  at  length  approaching 


A    PRIZE    FOR   A    LOCOMOTIVE.  1 9 

completion,  it  was  necessary  that  a  decision  should  be  made  as 
to  the  motive  agency  to  be  employed.  Horse-power  was  now 
regarded  as  inadequate,  and  the  choice  lay  between  locomotive 
and  stationary  engines.  If  the  latter  had  been  selected,  a  rope 
would  have  been  carried  along  the  line,  between  the  rails,  and 
would,  at  certain  intervals,  have  been  coiled  round  large  drums 
or  cylinders,  worked  by  fixed  steam  engines.  To  this  rope 
the  wagons  containing  passengers  or  goods  would  have  been 
attached,  and  been  drawn  from  station  to  station. 

In  the  spring  of  1829,  the  directors  of  the  Company  instructed 
Messrs.  Stephenson,  Locke,  Walker,  and  Rastrick  to  collect 
information  from  the  managers  of  the  various  railways  of  the 
country  as  to  the  comparative  merits  of  locomotive  and  fixed 
engines  ;  and  those  gentlemen  visited  the  railways  in  the  north 
of  England,  made  most  careful  inquiries  as  to  the  methods 
adopted  upon  them,  and  gave  the  results  in  separate  reports. 
These,  on  the  whole,  were  in  favour  of  stationary  engines  ;  but 
it  was  admitted  that  improvements  were  being  effected  in  the 
construction  of  locomotives  which  made  it  probable  that  their 
efficiency  would  be  materially  increased.  It  was  thought  that, 
in  the  stationary  system,  accidents  would  be  less  frequent ;  but 
that  when  they  occurred,  they  would  be  more  injurious,  as  they 
would  extend  to  the  whole  line  ;  whereas  in  the  locomotive 
system  they  would  be  confined  to  the  engine  that  was  disabled, 
and  to  its  train.  In  the  stationary  system  perfect  uniformity 
from  end  to  end  must  be  preserved  ;  in  the  locomotive  system, 
one  engine,  with  its  train,  by  passing  to  the  sidings,  might  be 
detained  without  inconvenience  to  others.  Eventually  it  was 
decided  that  locomotive  engines  should  be  employed  upon  the 
line  generally,  but  that  two  fixed  engines  should  be  placed  at 
Rainhill  and  Sutton,  to  draw  the  locomotive  engines,  as  well  as 
the  goods  and  carriages,  up  the  inclines  at  these  places.  Hitherto 
the  transport  of  passengers  had  not  formed  any  special  feature 
in  these  arrangements  :  it  was  now  suggested  that  locomotives 
might  possibly  be  so  constructed  as  to  convey  passengers  at  a 
speed  equal  to  that  attained  by  coaches.  Accordingly,  in  order 
to  attract  the  attention  of  men  of  science  to  the  subject,  a  pre- 
mium of  ,£500  was  publicly  offered  for  the  best  locomotive  that 
could,  under  certain  stipulations,  be  constructed  ;  and  though 
that  amount  was  comparatively  insignificant,  it  was  obvious  that 


20  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

on  the  successful  engineer  would  devolve  the  construction  of  the 
entire  "stud"  of  locomotives  for  the  new  line.  The  company 
required  o(  the  competing  engines,  that  they  should  consume 
their  own  smoke  ;  that,  if  they  weighed  six  tons  each,  they 
should  be  capable  of  drawing  a  train  of  twenty  tons  weight, 
including  the  tender,  at  a  speed  often  miles  an  hour,  on  a  level 
railway  ;  that  each  should  have  two  safety-valves, — one  beyond 
the  control  of  the  engine-driver  ;  and  that  their  height,  of  the 
engine  including  the  chimney,  should  not  exceed  fifteen  feet.  It 
was  also  announced  that  preference  would  be  given  to  an  engine 
of  less  weight,  if  it  performed  an  equal  amount  of  work  ;  that 
the  company  was  to  be  at  liberty  to  test  the  machinery  ;  and 
that  the  price  of  the  engine  of  the  successful  competitor  was 
not  to  exceed  ^550. 

Now  that  the  results  of  railway  enterprise  are  before  the 
world,  it  is  curious  to  observe  how  completely  many  of  them 
were  unforeseen.  One  distinguished  writer,  who  resided  in  a 
coal  country,  and  under  whose  windows  locomotives  had  been 
working  for  years,  has  left  his  disclaimer  on  record  in  a  published 
work.  "It  is  far  from  my  wish,"  said  he,  "to  promulgate  to  the 
world  that  the  ridiculous  expectations,  or  rather  professions,  of 
the  enthusiastic  speculatist  will  be  realized,  and  that  we  shall  see 
engines  travelling  at  the  rate  of  twelve,  sixteen,  eighteen,  and 
twenty  miles  an  hour.  Nothing  can  do  more  harm  towards 
their  general  adoption  and  improvement  than  the  promulgation 
of  such  nonsense  "  ! 

"  As  to  those  persons,"  said  the  Quarterly  Review,  "  who 
speculate  on  making  railways  generally  throughout  the  kingdom, 
and  superseding  all  the  canals,  all  the  wagons,  mails,  and  stage- 
coaches, post-chaises,  and,  in  short,  every  other  mode  of  con- 
veyance, by  land  and  by  water,  we  deem  them  and  their 
visionary  schemes  unworthy  of  notice.  The  gross  exaggerations 
of  the  powers  of  the  locomotive  steam-engine  (or,  to  speak  in 
plain  English,  the  steam-carriage),  may  delude  for  a  time,  but 
must  end  in  the  mortification  of  those  concerned.  We  should 
as  soon  expect  the  people  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  fired  off 
upon  one  of  Congreve's  ricochet  rockets,  as  trust  themselves  to 
the  mercy  of  such  a  machine,  going  at  such  a  rate." 

The  merits  of  the  competing  engines  for  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Railway  were  determined  by  the  directors,  assisted 


THE  NOVELTY  AND  THE  ROCKET. 


21 


by  Messrs.  Rastrick,  Kennedy,  and  Nicholas  Wood.  On  the 
day  appointed,  the  Roc- 
ket, constructed  by  Mr. 
George  Stephenson  ;  the 
Novelty,  by  Messrs. 
Braithwaite  &  Ericson; 
and  the  Sans  Pareil,  by 
Mr.  T.  Hack  worth,  en- 
tered the  lists,  on  a  piece 
of  railroad  which  had 
been  selected  between 
Liverpool      and      Man-  the  novelty. 

Chester.  In  consequence  of  this  space  being  little  more  than 
a  mile  and  a  half  long,  each  engine  had  to  travel  the  whole 
distance  backwards  and  forwards  ten  times,  making  a  journey 
of  thirty  miles.  In  order  that  the  performances  of  each  might 
be  accurately  tested,  a  judge  was  stationed  at  each  end  of  the 
real  running  course,  who  noticed  the  exact  time  at  which  the 
engines  passed  ;  the  additional  ground  at  each  end  being  allowed 
to  them  for  getting  up  their  speed.  When  the  Sans  Pareil  was 
examined,  it  was  found  not  to  have  been  constructed  in  precise 
accordance  with  the  stipulations  of  the  company,  and  therefore 
was,  in  strictness,  disqualified  ;  but  it  was  resolved  that  a  trial 
should  be  made,  and  that,  if  it  displayed  marked  superiority,  it 
should  be  recommended  to  the  favourable  consideration  of  the 
directors.  On  its  eighth  trip,  however,  the  pump  that  supplied 
the  water  failed,  and  the  accident  terminated  the  experiment. 
The  Novelty  succeeded  only  in  passing  twice  between  the 
stations,  .the  joints  of  the  boiler  then  gave  way.  The  Rocket 
having  been  supplied  with  water,  was  weighed,  and  the  load  of 
seventeen  tons  was  then  attached.  This  engine  twice  performed 
the  distance  of  thirty  miles  ;  the  first  time  in  about  two  hours 
and  a  quarter,  and  the  second  in  about  two  hours  and  seven 
minutes.  Its  greatest  speed  was  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  an 
hour,  and  the  average  about  fourteen.  The  marked  superiority 
exhibited  by  the  Rocket  was  owing  to  the  admirable  contrivance 
of  the  steam  blast,  and  the  use  of  a  tubular  boiler,  pierced  with 
twenty-five  copper  tubes,  through  which  the  heated  air  passed 
on  its  way  to  the  chimney,  the  tubes  being  surrounded  by  the 
water   of   the   boiler,   an    arrangement    by   which   a  very  large 


22 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 


surface  was  brought  in  contact  with  the  fire,  and  a  pi  iportionate 
amount  of  steam  generated.  This  engine,  also,  consumed  less 
coal  than  the  others,  in  the  proportion  of  eleven  to  twenty-eight. 
The  boiler  consisted  of  a  cylinder,  six  feet  in  length,  having  flat 
ends  ;  the  chimney  issued  from  one  extremity,  and  to  the  other 
the  fire-place  was  attached,  which,  externally,  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  square  box. 

The  opinion  has  been  confidently  expressed  to  the  writer,  that 
after  all  the  Satis  Pareil  was  as  good  an  engine  as  the  Rocket. 
The  accident  that  led  to  its  withdrawment  from  the  competition 
was  trifling,  and  could  now-a-days  have  been  repaired  in  two 
minutes.  "  But  it  frightened  the  driver,  and  he  gave  in.  It 
was  a  wonderful  little  engine,"  remarked  our  informant,  "and  for 


u  i  \r 


THE    ROCKET. 


years  did  a  deal  of  work.  After  the  competition  it  was  bought 
by  the  Bolton  and  Kenyon  Junction  Railway  people  ;  and  it 
ran  from  Bolton  by  Kenyon  Junction  to  Liverpool  and  back 
twice  a  day.  When  the  traffic  increased  the  runnings  had  to  be 
rearranged,  and  it  did  not  come  farther  than  the  junction,  but 
ran  the  ten  miles  to  and  from  Bolton  from  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  till  about  nine  at  night— 120  miles  a  day— for  years. 
The  Sans  Pareil  was  only  about  five  tons  weight  ;  it  carried 
a  tub  of  rainwater  for  the  boiler,  and  three  or  four  barrow- 
loads  of  coke  for  the  furnace.  The  boiler  had  one  tube,  a 
return  tube.  The  fireman  rode  on  the  foot-plate,  but  the  driver 
stood  at  the  front  end  of  his  engine  on  the  buffer-plank,  and  he 


COST    OF    CONSTRnr .  TON. 


23 


had  a  seat  on  one  side  boarded  in.  But  he  was  out  in  the  open 
during  rain,  hail,  or  sunshine ;  and  this  arrangement  lasted  as 
long  as  the  engine  lasted." 

Mr.  Stephenson,  having  thus  been  the  successful  competitor, 
was  appointed  to  build  the  engines  of  the  railway,  and  from 
that  period  to  his  death  he  conducted  the  engineering  depart- 
ment of  the  company. 

The  construction  of  the  works  of  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway  required  immense  and  unremitting  labour. 
Besides  the  embankment  over  Chat  Moss,  to  which  we  shall 
have  again  to  refer,  there  was  the  building  of  viaducts,  the 
formation  of  cuttings  and  embankments,  the  erection  of  sixty- 
three  bridges,  and  the  construction  of  a  tunnel  near  Liverpool  ; 


THE   SANS    PAREIL. 


besides  the  laying  down  of  the  permanent  way,  the  erection  of 
stations  and  warehouses,  and  the  preparation  of  the  engines, 
carriages,  and  wagons.     The  cost  was  as  follows  : — 

Cuttings  and  Embankments ,£I99»763 


Chat  Moss 

Tunnel      . 

Land 

Fencing     . 

Bridges 

Formation  of  Road 

Laying  of  Blocks  and  Sleepers 

,,  Rails  {£11  \os.  per  ton) 

Surveying,  Law,  Parliamentary,  and  Incidental 


27,719 
47,788 

95,305 
10,202 
99,065 
20,568 
20,520 
60,912 
157,341 


^739, '83 


24  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

The  opening  of  the  line  took  place  on  the  15th  of  September, 
is>\  when  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Prime  Minister,  Mr.  Peel, 
Home  Secretary,  Mr.  Huskisson,  and  a  number  of  other  dis- 
tinguished persons,  were  to  pass  in  the  first  train  with  the 
directors.  A  gay  cortige  of  thirty-three  carriages,  accompanied 
by  bands  of  music,  started  from  Liverpool,  amidst  the  acclama- 
tions of  a  countless  multitude  of  observers,  and  with  all  the 
splendour  of  an  ancient  pageant.  But  soon  the  enjoyment  of 
the  scene  was  marred.  While  the  engines  were  stopping  to 
take  in  water  at  Parkside,  Mr.  Huskisson,  with  some  other 
gentlemen,  strolled  along  the  line.  As  they  were  returning  to 
their  seats,  another  train  of  carriages  came  up.  All  ran  for 
shelter  ;  but,  unhappily,  Mr.  Huskisson  hurried  to  the  side  of 
the  train,  and,  opening  the  door,  attempted  to  enter  ;  the  door 
swung  back  at  the  moment — he  fell  to  the  ground,  and  was  in 
an  instant  overthrown  and  crushed  beneath  the  wheels  of  the 
advancing  carriage.  His  thigh  was  fractured  and  mangled,  and 
his  own  first  expression,  "  I  have  met  my  death,"  proved  too 
true,  for  he  died  that  evening  in  the  neighbouring  parsonage  of 
Eccles.  The  train  passed  on  to  Manchester  without  further 
accident ;  but  the  contemplated  festivities  were  forgotten  amidst 
the  gloom  occasioned  by  this  tragedy. 

Referring  to  the  events  of  that  memorable  day,  Lord 
Brougham  said  :  "  When  I  saw  the  difficulties  of  space,  as  it 
were,  overcome  ;  when  I  beheld  a  kind  of  miracle  exhibited 
before  my  astonished  eyes  ;  when  I  surveyed  masses  pierced 
through,  on  which  it  was  before  hardly  possible  for  man  or  beast 
to  plant  the  sole  of  the  foot,  now  covered  with  a  road,  and 
bearing  heavy  wagons,  laden  not  only  with  innumerable  pas- 
sengers, but  with  merchandise  of  the  largest  bulk  and  heaviest 
weight  ;  when  I  saw  valleys  made  practicable  by  the  bridges  of 
ample  height  and  length  which  spanned  them  ;  saw  the  steam 
railway  traversing  the  surface  of  the  water,  at  a  distance  of 
sixty  or  seventy  feet  perpendicular  height ;  saw  the  rocks 
excavated,  and  the  gigantic  power  of  man  penetrating  through 
miles  of  the  solid  mass,  and  gaining  a  great,  a  lasting,  an  almost 
perennial  conquest  over  the  power  of  nature,  by  his  skill  and 
industry  ;  when  I  contemplated  all  this,  was  it  possible  for  me 
to  avoid  the  reflections  which  crowded  into  my  mind — not  in 
praise  of  man's  great  success,  not  in  admiration  of  the  genius 


LIVERPOOL    AND    MANCHESTER    LINE    OPENED.  25 

and  perseverance  he  had  displayed,  or  even  of  the  courage  he 
had  shown  in  setting  himself  against  the  obstacles  that  matter 
offered  to  his  course — no  !  but  the  melancholy  reflections  that 
all  these  prodigious  efforts  of  the  human  race,  so  fruitful  of 
praise,  but  so  much  more  fruitful  of  lasting  blessings  to  man- 
kind, have  forced  a  tear  from  my  eye,  by  that  unhappy  casualty 
which  deprived  me  of  a  friend  and  you  of  a  representative." 

"  I  know  nothing,"  said  Mr.  George  Leeman,  M.P.,  many 
years  afterwards,  "  comparable  in  the  history  of  science  to  that 
triumphant  march — for  such  it  was— when  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Railway  was  opened,  with  George  Stephenson 
himself  driving  the  Northumbrian  engine  ;  Robert  Stephenson, 
his  son,  the  Phoenix ;  Joseph  Locke,  the  Rocket;  Alcard,  the 
Comet;  Thomas  Gooch,  the  Dart ;  and  Frederick  Swan  wick, 
the  Arrow — all  young  engineers  of  that  day  who  had  imbibed 
the  spirit  and  practical  genius  of  George  Stephenson — men 
whose  names,  as  well  as  those  of  others  who  have  followed, 
have  become  part  of  our  railway  history — men  who  are  to  be 
found,  not  only  in  our  own  country,  but  who  have  gone  forth 
over  the  whole  earth,  and  have  spread  their  names  wherever 
civilization  is  to  be  found,  and  have  themselves  been  the  great 
pioneers  of  civilization  itself." 

Next  day  the  business  of  the  railway  began.  The  Northum- 
brian drew  a  train  of  130  passengers  from  Liverpool  to  Man- 
chester in  an  hour  and  fifty  minutes  ;  and  before  the  close  of 
the  week  six  trains  were  running  daily.  Instead  of  thirty  stage- 
coaches that  had  plied  between  the  two  towns,  there  was  only 
one  left ;  but,  instead  of  500  passengers,  there  were  1,600.  On 
one  occasion  one  of  the  engines  travelled  thirty-one  miles  in 
less  than  an  hour;  and  in  February,  1831,  the  Samson  accom- 
plished the  greater  feat  of  conveying  164  tons  from  Liverpool 
to  Manchester  in  two  hours  and  a  half,  a  load  that  would  have 
required  seventy  horses  to  draw. 

The  advantages  that  accrued  to  the  public  from  the  opening 
of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line  were  great,  but  it  did  not 
realize  the  precise  results  expected.  The  goods  traffic  had  been 
estimated  at  £50,000  a  year,  but  did  not  produce  £3,000  ;  and 
coals,  which  had  been  put  at  £20,000,  yielded  less  than  £1,000. 
The  tariff  of  the  canal  was  lowered  to  that  of  the  railway,  and 
speed  and  attention  to  the  accommodation  of  customers  were 


20  OUR    tRON    ROADS. 

increased  The  canal  also  possessed  this  important  advantage 
over  the  railway,  that,  as  it  wound  through  Manchester  it  touched 
the  warehouses  of  the  merchants  and  manufacturers,  and  it  ter- 
minated at  the  Liverpool  docks,  thereby  avoiding  expense  in 
cartage.  On  the  other  hand,  the  passenger  traffic,  which  had 
been  calculated  at  .£10,000,  brought  in  tenfold  that  amount  ; 
and  instead  oi  the  passengers  by  the  twenty  or  thirty  coaches 
that  had  run  between  the  two  towns,  there  were  more  than  1,000 
a  daw  The  saving  to  manufacturers  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Manchester,  in  the  carriage  of  cotton  alone,  soon  amounted  to 
£ 20,000  a  year;  while  some  houses  saved  £500  per  annum. 
New  factories  were  established  and  new  coal-pits  were  sunk 
near  the  line,  giving  increased  employment  ;  and  while  reducing 
the  claimants  for  parochial  relief,  the  line  paid  one-fifth  of  the 
poor-rates  in  the  parishes.  The  shareholders  of  the  company, 
also,  by  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1835,  were  receiving  a  divi- 
dend at  the  rate  of  10  per  cent,  per  annum. 

The  success  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line  destroyed 
all  doubt  as  to  the  possibilities  of  the  railway  system,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  its  advantages  were  sought  in  other  parts  of  the 
country.  Branches  were  made  from  the  main  line  to  Warrington 
on  the  south,  and  to  Bolton  on  the  north,  besides  others  of 
minor  importance.  At  a  later  period,  Birmingham  was  united 
to  Warrington,  and  consequently  with  Liverpool  and  Manches- 
ter, by  the  Grand  Junction  Railway. 

It  was  subsequently  resolved  to  form  a  line  from  London  to 
Birmingham,  and  in  1830  two  companies  started  on  this  enter- 
prise. By  one  it  was  proposed  to  proceed  through  Oxford  ;  by 
the  other  to  pass  near  Coventry.  Eventually  the  promoters  of 
the  two  schemes  decided  to  unite  ;  the  Coventry  route  was  pre- 
ferred ;  surveys  were  made  of  the  country  through  which  the 
line  was  to  pass,  estimates  of  the  expense  of  the  works  were 
completed,  and  an  application  was  made  to  Parliament  for  the 
necessary  Acts.  In  1832  the  Bill  was  read  a  third  time  and 
passed  in  the  Commons,  but  a  few  days  afterwards  it  was  thrown 
out  in  the  Lords,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  undesirable  to  force 
"  the  proposed  railway  through  the  land  and  property  of  so  great 
a  proportion  of  dissentient  landowners  and  proprietors."  In  the 
following  year  the  Bill  was  again  brought  before  Parliament, 
and  received  the  sanction  of  both  Houses. 


GEORGE    STEPHENSON.  2*] 

Some  further  reference  should  now  be  made  to  two  men 
whose  names  are  identified  with  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
railway  system.  George  Stephenson  was  born  in  a  small 
cottage,  in  the  village  of  Wylam,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tyne,  near 
Newcastle.  He  was  the  son  of  a  collier,  and  had  early  to  labour 
for  his  share  of  the  household  bread.  Heavy  were  the  demands 
upon  him.  When  "  too  young  to  stride  across  the  furrow  "  he 
went  to  plough.  Then  we  find  him  picking  bats  and  dross  from 
the  coal-heaps,  at  twopence  a  day,  and  he  was  still  so  small 
that  he  often  hid  himself  when  the  overseer  passed,  lest  he 
should  be  thought  too  little  to  earn  his  wages.  Shortly  after  he 
entered  his  teens  he  worked  as  brakesman  on  a  tramway,  and 
subsequently  became  stoker  to  an  engine  on  an  estate  of  Lord 
Ravensworth,  often  having  to  rise  at  one  and  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  to  work  till  a  late  hour  at  night.  Thankful  in  the 
receipt  of  a  wage  of  a  shilling  a  day,  he  declared,  when  this 
amount  was  doubled,  that  he  was  "  a  man  for  life."  He  was 
still  a  stoker — but  a  thoughtful  and  observant  one — showing  the 
native  ingenuity  that  dwelt  beneath  his  rough  exterior  in  the 
execution  of  some  repairs  that  were  required  in  the  machine  he 
tended.  Yet  his  circumstances  were  far  from  cheering.  In  the 
year  1800  the  scourge  of  war,  with  famine  in  its  wake,  was 
raging  over  Europe.  Wages  were  low  and  food  was  dear,  while 
the  militia  and  the  pressgang  imperilled  the  occupation  of  the 
artisan  ;  and  we  find  George  Stephenson  seriously  thinking  of 
the  New  World  as  a  more  fitting  field  for  his  labours.  With  a 
keen  and  painful  recollection  of  the  embarrassments  of  that 
period,  he  afterwards  remarked  to  one  who  was  well  acquainted 
with  him  :  "  You  know  the  road  from  my  house  at  Killingworth, 
to  such  a  spot.  When  I  left  home  and  came  down  that  road,  I 
wept,  for  I  knew  not  where  my  lot  would  be  cast." 

As  his  prospects  somewhat  improved,  he  gave  up  the  thought 
of  emigration,  and  when  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he 
married.  In  1803,  his  only  child,  Robert,  was  born.  With  in- 
creasing responsibilities  the  father  became,  if  possible,  still  more 
industrious.  He  tried  his  hand  at  all  kinds  of  work,  and  while 
he  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  of  personal  improve- 
ment, he  cut  out  clothes  for  the  pitmen,  taught  the  pitmen's 
wives,  and  made  shoes  for  his  poorer  relatives. 

Meanwhile,  his  powers  of  contrivance  and  invention  had  been 


28  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

developed  in  various  ways,  and  had  created  For  him  what  may 
be  designated  a  local  reputation.  So  decided  was  his  ability, 
and  so  great  was  the  confidence  Lord  Ravensworth  and  the 
Killingworth  owners  had  in  him,  that  they  supplied  him  with 
money  to  make  a  locomotive,  and  in  the  month  of  July,  1 8 14,  it 
was  tried  on  a  tramway.  "  Yes,"  said  Stephenson  himself,  in  a 
speech  which  he  delivered  at  the  opening  of  the  Newcastle  and 
Darlington  Railway,  in  June,  1844,  "Yes,  Lord  Ravensworth  & 
Co.,  were  the  first  parties  that  would  intrust  me  with  money  to 
make  a  locomotive  engine.  That  engine  was  made  thirty-two 
years  ago.  I  said  to  my  friends,  that  there  was  no  limit  to  the 
speed  of  such  an  engine,  provided  the  works  could  be  made  to 
stand.  In  this  respect,  great  perfection  has  been  reached,  and, 
in  consequence,  a  very  high  velocity  has  been  obtained.  In 
what  has  been  done  under  my  management,  the  merit  is  only  in 
part  my  own.  I  have  been  most  ably  assisted  and  seconded  by 
my  son.  In  the  earlier  period  of  my  career,  and  when  he  was  a 
little  boy,  I  saw  how  deficient  I  was  in  education,  and  made  up 
my  mind  that  he  should  not  labour  under  the  same  defect,  but 
that  I  would  put  him  to  a  good  school,  and  give  him  a  liberal 
training.  I  was,  however,  a  poor  man  ;  and  how  do  you  think 
I  managed.  I  betook  myself  to  mending  my  neighbours'  clocks 
and  watches  at  night,  after  my  daily  labour  was  done  ;  and  thus 
I  procured  the  means  of  educating  my  son.  He  became  my 
assistant  and  my  companion.  He  got  an  appointment  as  under 
reviewer,  and  at  night  we  worked  together  at  our  engineering. 
I  got  leave  to  go  to  Killingworth  to  lay  down  a  railway  at 
Hetton,  and  next  to  Darlington  ;  and  after  that  I  went  to 
Liverpool,  to  plan  a  line  to  Manchester.  I  there  pledged 
myself  to  attain  a  speed  of  ten  miles  an  hour.  I  said  I  had  no 
doubt  the  locomotive  might  be  made  to  go  much  faster,  but  we 
had  better  be  moderate  at  the  beginning.  The  directors  said  I 
was  quite  right  ;  for  if,  when  they  went  to  Parliament,  I  talked 
of  going  at  a  greater  rate  than  ten  miles  an  hour,  I  would  put  a 
cross  on  the  concern.  It  was  not  an  easy  task  for  me  to  keep 
the  engine  down  to  ten  miles  an  hour  ;  but  it  must  be  done, 
and  I  did  my  best.  I  had  to  place  myself  in  that  most  un- 
pleasant of  all  positions — the  witness-box  of  a  Parliamentary 
Committee.  I  could  not  find  words  to  satisfy  either  the  com- 
mittee or  myself.     Some  one  inquired  if  I  were  a  foreigner,  and 


ROBERT    STEPHENSON.  29 

another  hinted  that  I  was  mad."  "  I  put  up,"  he  continued, 
"  with  every  rebuff,  and  went  on  with  my  plans,  determined  not 
to  be  put  down.  Assistance  gradually  increased — improve- 
ments were  made — and  to-day,  a  train,  which  started  from 
London  in  the  morning,  has  brought  me  in  the  afternoon  to  my 
native  soil,  and  enabled  me  to  take  my  place  in  this  room,  and 
see  around  me  many  faces  which  I  have  great  pleasure  in  look- 
ing upon." 

George  Stephenson's  connection  with  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester railway  brought  him  into  the  front  rank  of  the  engineers 
of  his  day.  He  became  an  extensive  locomotive  manufacturer 
at  Newcastle,  a  railway  contractor,  and  a  great  colliery  and 
iron-work  owner,  particularly  at  Clay  Cross.  It  is  recorded  of 
him,  that  in  reply  to  the  inquiry  of  a  lady,  he  said,  in  review  of 
his  past  career : — "  Why,  madam,  they  used  to  call  me  George 
Stephenson  ;  I  am  now  called  George  Stephenson,  Esquire,  of 
Tapton  House,  near  Chesterfield.  And,  further,  let  me  say, 
that  I  have  dined  with  princes,  peers,  and  commoners,  with 
persons  of  all  classes,  from  the  humblest  to  the  highest.  I  have 
dined  off  a  red-herring  when  seated  in  a  hedge-bottom,  and  I 
have  gone  through  the  meanest  drudgery.  I  have  seen  man- 
kind in  all  its  phases,  and  the  conclusion  I  have  arrived  at  is 
this, — that  if  we  were  all  stripped,  there  is  not  much  difference." 

Robert  Stephenson,  when  a  lad,  served  for  three  years  as  a 
coal-viewer  to  Mr.  Nicholas  Wood  ;  and,  as  better  prospects 
opened  up  to  his  father,  he  attended  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh for  a  session.  During  that  period  there  was  not  a  more 
diligent  student  there.  He  knew  the  value  of  knowledge, 
applied  himself  earnestly  to  its  pursuit,  and  learned  how  to 
teach  himself.  In  1822  he  returned  from  Edinburgh,  and  com- 
menced his  apprenticeship  to  engineering,  under  his  father,  who 
had  just  established  a  steam-engine  factory  at  Newcastle.  But 
two  years  of  laborious  application  to  the  study  and  practice  of 
his  profession,  gave  evidence,  in  his  failing  health,  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  doing  too  much  even  for  his  robust  frame.  It 
happened  at  that  time  that  an  expedition  had  been  arranged 
for  exploring  the  silver  and  gold  mines  of  Venezuela,  New 
Grenada,  and  Colombia,  the  charge  of  which  was  offered  to  him, 
and  it  was  accepted.  The  change  of  work  and  of  climate  were 
the   means  of  restoring  his  health,  and  on  his  way  home,   in 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

1828,  he  met  with  Mr.  Trevithick,  the  engineer,  from  whom  he 
gathered  much  information  in  reference  to  the  mines  of  Corn- 
wall, and  this  tended,  by  its  application  to  the  construction  of 
Locomotives,  to  his  ultimate  success  in  that  department. 

During  the  absence  of  Robert  Stephenson  from  England,  a 
new  era  had  arisen  in  our  railway  history.  The  Rocket  was 
nearly  completed.  The  success  of  that  engine  encouraged 
Robert  Stephenson  to  devote  his  attention  to  the  construction 
of  locomotives  ;  and,  by  simplifying  the  working  parts  of  the 
engine,  enlarging  the  steam-generating  capacities  of  the  boiler, 
and  varying  the  proportions  of  several  parts  of  the  engine,  he 
obtained  a  great  increase  both  of  power  and  speed.  The  engines 
that  issued,  month  by  month,  from  the  factory,  were  a  con- 
tinuous improvement  on  their  predecessors,  until  the  Newcastle 
factory  became  the  largest  and  most  famous  in  the  world.  As 
railways  increased,  it  sent  engines  to  all  the  countries  of  Europe, 
and  to  the  United  States,  and  it  manufactured  about  a  thousand 
locomotives.  A  writer  in  October,  1850,  said,  while  speaking  of 
the  achievements  of  railway  enterprise,  especially  under  the  au- 
spices of  Mr.  Stephenson,  that  we  then  had  about  5,000  miles  of 
railway,  in  the  construction  of  which  250,000,000  cubic  yards,  or 
not  less  than  350,000,000  tons  of  earth  and  rock  had,  in  tunnel, 
embankment,  and  cutting,  been  moved. 

On  the  completion  of  the  London  and  Birmingham,  the 
Stephensons  undertook  the  formation  of  the  Birmingham  and 
Derby,  North  Midland,  York  and  North  Midland,  Manchester 
and  Leeds,  Northern  and  Eastern  Railways,  and  for  ten  years 
were  incessantly  engaged  upon  the  surveys,  plans,  parliamentary 
battles,  and  construction  of  the  vast  network  of  lines  stretching 
in  all  directions  throughout  the  kingdom.  During  this  period, 
Robert  Stephenson,  as  engineer-in-chief,  executed  the  great  iron 
cross  of  roads  which,  on  the  one  hand,  unite  London  with  Ber- 
wick, and  on  the  other,  Yarmouth  with  Holyhead,  making,  with 
the  lines  in  connection  with  them,  not  fewer  than  1,800  miles  of 
the  iron  highways  of  the  country.  They  also  planned  the 
construction  of  an  extensive  system  of  railways  in  Belgium, 
extending  on  the  one  hand  from  Ostend  to  Liege,  and  on  the 
other,  from  Antwerp  through  Brussels,  to  be  connected  through 
Mons  with  Valenciennes,  altogether  347  miles  of  railway. 

In    the   year    1846    Robert    Stephenson   visited    Norway   to 


ROBERT    STEPHENSON.  3  I 

examine  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  a  railway  between 
Christiania  and  the  Myosen  Lake  ;  and  he  had  honours  con- 
ferred upon  him,  in  acknowledgment  of  his  able  services,  by  the 
King  of  Norway  and  Sweden,  as  previously  he  had  received 
distinctions  from  the  King  of  Belgium. 

"It  was  but  as  yesterday,"  said  Robert  Stephenson  in  1850, 
"  that  he  was  engaged  as  an  assistant  in  tracing  the  line  of  the 
Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway.  Since  that  period,  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester,  the  London  and  Birmingham,  and 
a  hundred  other  great  works,  had  sprung  into  vigorous  existence. 
So  suddenly  had  they  been  accomplished,  that  it  appeared  to 
him  like  the  realization  of  fabled  powers,  or  the  magician's 
wand.  Hills  had  been  cut  down,  and  valleys  had  been  filled 
up  ;  and  where  this  simple  expedient  was  inapplicable,  high  and 
magnificent  viaducts  had  been  erected  ;  and  where  mountains 
intervened,  tunnels  of  unexampled  magnitude  had  been  un- 
hesitatingly undertaken.  Works  had  been  scattered  over  the 
face  of  our  country,  bearing  testimony  to  the  indomitable  enter- 
prise of  the  nation,  and  the  unrivalled  skill  of  its  artists.  In 
referring  thus  to  the  railway  works,  he  must  refer  also  to  the 
improvement  of  the  locomotive  engine.  This  was  as  remarkable 
as  the  other  works  were  gigantic.  They  were,  in  fact,  necessary, 
to  each  other.  The  locomotive  engine,  independent  of  the 
railway,  would  be  useless.  They  had  gone  on  together,  and 
they  now  realized  all  the  expectations  that  were  entertained  of 
them." 

"  Healthy-bodied  and  healthy-minded,"  said  a  writer  in  the 
Westminster  and  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  "apt  in  emergencies, 
and  yet  of  slow,  and  generally  of  sound  judgment,  Robert 
Stephenson  may  be  regarded  as  the  type  and  pattern  of  the 
onward-moving  English  race,  practical,  scientific,  energetic,  and, 
in  the  hour  of  trial,  heroic.  Born  almost  in  the  coal-mine,  of 
the  racy  old  blood  of  the  north,  with  a  father  strong  in  mother- 
wit,  stern  of  purpose,  untiring  in  patience,  careful  of  his  small 
resources,  keenly  conscious  of  the  bounded  sphere  his  want  of 
early  education  had  kept  him  in  till  a  later  period  of  life,  and 
determined  to  pare  off  from  himself  all  luxuries,  all  but  the 
merest  necessaries,  in  order  that  his  after-coming  should  start 
fair  in  life  with  that  knowledge  he  himself  held  above  all  price 
■ — born  thus,   Robert   Stephenson    was   emphatically   well-born. 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

With  natural  talents,  ;^ihh1  education,  a  healthy  frame,  the 
rising  prestige  of  his  father's  name,  little  money,  and  a  Large 
demand  for  original  work  in  a  working  and  energetic  old  world, 
he  went  forth  to  the  New  World,  and  in  the  mines  of  South 
America  and  their  environs  added  new  manners  and  customs  to 
his  varied  stock  of  knowledge.  More  than  all  this,  the  genial 
spirit  that  ever  looked  kindly  on  his  fellow-creature,  with  the 
intellect  that  could  generally  winnow  the  false  from  the  true, 
marked  him  out  for  a  leader  of  men.  Not  to  his  mere 
mechanical  skill  does  he  owe  his  success  in  life.  That  might 
have  been  thwarted  in  five  hundred  ways  by  interested  rivals  ; 
but  men  wish  not  to  thwart  those  whom  they  love  ;  and  pro- 
bably no  chief  of  an  army  was  ever  more  beloved  by  his  soldiers 
than  Robert  Stephenson  has  been  by  the  noble  army  of  physical 
workers,  who  under  his  guidance  have  wrought  at  labours  of 
profit, — made  labours  of  love  by  his  earnest  purpose  and 
strength  of  brotherhood." 


TRENT   liRIDGE,    NOTTINGHAM. 


CHAPTER   II. 


Change  of  Public  Feeling  towards  Railways. — Wordsworth's  Indignation. — 
Alarm  of  Vested  Interests. — Colonel  Sibthorpe. — Opposition  of  North- 
ampton, Oxford,  and  Eton. — Hatred  "  even  unto  Death." — Prophecies  of 
Disaster  Falsified. — Progress  of  Railway  Enterprise. — Select  Committee 
of  House  of  Commons. — Excellent  Dividends. — Unwelcome  Truths. — 
Railway  Mania. — Extraordinary  Excitement. — Gambling  and  Suicide. — 
"Stags." — George  Hudson. — Remarkable  Career. — The  Railway  King. 
— Decline  and  Fall. — Deposit  of  Plans  at  Board  of  Trade. — November 
30th,  1845. — Sharp  Practice. — Statistics  of  Railways. — Cost  of  Railway 
Mania. — Disastrous  Issues. — Confidence  Returning. 

URING  the  events  that  witnessed  the 
successful  establishment  of  the  railway 
and  the  locomotive,  the  indifference  or 
contempt  with  which  both  had  been  re- 
garded came  gradually  to  be  exchanged 
for  other  sentiments.  Surprise,  gratifi- 
cation, admiration,  and  hostility  were 
warmly  felt  and  expressed,  according  to 
;!  the  point  of  view  from  which  the  great 
innovation  was  regarded.  Perhaps  no  feeling 
was  so  strong  as  that  of  those  who  feared  that 
their  vested  interests  or  privileges  were  likely 
to  be  imperilled ;  and  those  who  had  these 
alarms  did  not  fail  assiduously  to  impart  them  to  others.  A 
rumour  that  it  was  proposed  to  bring  such  a  thing  as  a  rail- 
road within  a  dozen  miles  of  a  particular  neighbourhood,  was 
sufficient  to  elicit  adverse  petitions  to  Parliament,  and  public 
subscriptions  were  opened  to  give  effect  to  the  opposition. 
Newspaper  editors  and  pamphleteers  ridiculed  the  delusiveness 
of  the  particular  project.  Householders  were  told  that  their 
homes  would  be  hourly  in  danger  of  being  burned  to  the 
ground,   and  farmers  were  assured  that  their  hens  would  not 

The  initial  letter  represents  the  mouth  of  a  tunnel  on  the  Lledyr  Vale 
line,  North  Wales. 

33  D 


34  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

lay  nor  their  cows  graze,  and  that  game  would  fill  dead  to 
the  ground  if  they  attempted  to  fly  over  the  poisoned  breath 
exhaled  by  the  engines.  A  poet  laureate,  when  he  heard  of 
a  proposal  to  bring  a  line  from  Kendal  to  Windermere,  in- 
dignantly demanded — 

••  [s  there  no  nook  of  English  ground  secure 

From  rash  assault  ?     Schemes  of  retirement  sown 

In  youth,  and  'mid  the  busy  world  kept  pure 

As  when  their  earliest  flowers  of  hope  were  blown. 

Must  perish  ;  how  can  they  this  blight  endure? 

And  must  he,  too,  his  old  delights  disown, 

Who  scorns  a  false,  utilitarian  lure 

'Mid  his  paternal  fields  at  random  thrown  ? 

Baffle  the  threat,  bright  scene,  from  Orrest-head, 

Given  to  the  pausing  traveller's  rapturous  glance  ! 

Plead  for  thy  peace,  thou  beautiful  romance 

Of  nature  ;  and  if  human  hearts  be  dead, 

Speak,  passing  winds  ;  ye  torrents,  with  your  strong 

And  constant  voice,  protest  against  the  wrong  ! " 

Hundreds  of  innkeepers  and  thousands  of  horses  would,  it 
was  said,  have  nothing  to  do.  Labour  for  the  poor  would  be 
lessened,  and  rates  for  the  poor  would  be  increased.  Canals 
would  be  destroyed  ;  those  who  lived  by  them  would  become 
beggars  ;  and  houses  would  be  crushed  by  falling  embankments. 
The  27,000  miles  of  turnpike-roads  in  Great  Britain,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  other  public  and  cross  roads  of  the  country, 
would,  it  was  averred,  be  made  useless.  Politicians  declared 
that  the  railway  system  was  "  a  monopoly  the  most  secure,  the 
most  lasting,  the  most  injurious  that  can  be  conceived  to  the 
public  good  ;  "  and  that  directors  were  "induced  by  no  motive 
to  action  but  their  own  selfishness,  swayed  by  every  gust  of 
prejudice  and  passion,  and  too  often  as  profoundly  ignorant  of 
even  their  own  real  interest,  as  they  are  exclusively  devoted  to 
its  advancement."  Medical  men  asserted  that  the  gloom  and 
damp  of  tunnels,  and  the  deafening  peal,  the  clanking  chains, 
and  the  dismal  glare  of  the  locomotives  would  be  disastrous 
alike  to  body  and  mind.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  persons 
would  be  ruined  for  the  benefit  of  a  few.  An  eminent  parlia- 
mentary lawyer  affirmed  that  it  would  be  an  impossibility  to 
start  a  locomotive  in  a  gale  of  wind,  "  either  by  poking  the  fire, 
or  keeping  up  the  pressure  of  steam  till  the  boiler  is  ready  to 
burst."     A    well-known    engineer    deprecated    "  the    ridiculous 


OPPOSITION    OF    NORTHAMPTON,    OXFORD,    AND    ETON.       35 

expectations,  or  rather  professions,  of  the  enthusiastic  specu- 
lator that  we  shall  see  engines  travelling  at  the  rate  of  twelve, 
sixteen,  eighteen,  or  twenty  miles  an  hour.  Nothing  could  do 
more  harm  towards  their  general  adoption  and  improvement 
than  the  promulgation  of  such  nonsense."  "  I  hate  these 
infernal  railways,"  said  the  energetic  Colonel  Sibthorpe,  "  as  I 
hate  the  devil." 

Nor  did  this  opposition  exhaust  itself  in  words  ;  it  expressed 
itself  in  active  hostility  to  the  various  schemes  projected.  The 
London  and  Birmingham  line  was  compelled  to  change  its 
intended  route  through  Northampton,  and  to  keep  at  a  respectful 
distance ;  lest,  said  some  of  the  worthies  of  that  shoe-making 
town,  the  wool  of  the  sheep  should  be  injured  by  the  smoke  of 
the  locomotives  (though  they  burned  coke)  ;  and  therefore — 
philanthropic  souls  ! — they  required  that  the  purity  of  their 
fleeces  should  be  preserved  unsullied  from  the  plutonic  cloud,  at 
the  cost  of  the  farmers  of  Blisworth  and  its  neighbourhood. 
One  consequence  of  this  opposition  was  that  the  line  had  to 
be  carried  through  the  famous  Kilsby  Tunnel  at  an  additional 
expense  of  .£300,000.  It  was  declared  of  the  London  and 
Birmingham  Railway,  that  it  would  be  "  a  drug  on  the  country  ;" 
that  "  its  bridges  and  culverts  would  be  antiquarian  ruins  ;  "  that 
"  it  would  not  take  tolls  sufficient  to  keep  it  in  repair  ;  "  that 
"  the  directors  were  making  ducks  and  drakes  of  their  money  ;  " 
that  agriculture  would  be  stopped  ;  that  springs  would  be  dried 
up,  and  meadows  become  sterile.  "  Like  an  earthquake,  it 
would  create  chasms  and  upheave  mountains  ; "  and  it  was 
added  that  "the  railway  promoter  was  like  an  evil  Providence, 
unrighteously  attempting  that  which  Nature  was  too  kind  to 
effect." 

Nor  was  such  hostility  confined  to  Northampton.  Those 
seats  of  learning,  Oxford  and  Eton,  would  not  permit  the  Great 
Western  bill  to  pass  without  the  insertion  of  special  clauses  to 
prohibit  the  formation  of  any  branch  to  Oxford,  or  of  a  station 
at  Slough  ;  while  it  was  declared  by  the  authorities  of  the 
school,  that  anybody  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  Eton  boys 
would  know  that  they  could  not  be  kept  from  the  railway  if  it 
were  allowed  to  be  constructed.  When  the  directors  subse- 
quently attempted  to  infringe  the  conditions  with  which  they 
had   been  bound,  by  only  stopping  to  take  up  and  set  down 


3  01  R    [RON    ROADS. 

passengers,    proceedings    were    commenced    against    them   in 
Chancery,  and  they  were  interdicted  from  even  making  a  pause. 

The  hatred  of  railways,  even  to  a  late  period,  was  cherished 
by  some  "even  unto  death."  A  curious  illustration  of  this  was 
shown  by  a  will  proved  in  [868  at  Carlisle.  The  testator,  a 
yeoman  of  Abbey  Cowper,  entertained  a  great  objection  to  the 
construction  of  the  Carlisle  and  Silloth  Hay  Railway,  which 
passed  through  his  property,  and  in  order  to  show  to  the  last  his 
disapprobation  of  the  undertaking  and  its  promoters,  he  be- 
queathed one  farthing  to  each  of  nine  persons  who  took  an 
active  part  in  promoting  it,  and  £7$o  to  a  land  surveyor  who 
valued  his  land  for  him  when  the  Company  took  it.  The  bulk 
of  the  property  was  left  to  a  distant  relative,  hampered,  however, 
with  the  conditions  that  he  "shall  not  at  any  time  travel  in  or 
upon  the  Carlisle  and  Silloth  Bay  Railway  ;  "  and,  further,  that 
in  case  three  local  promoters  of  the  line — whom  he  named — or 
any  of  them,  or  any  of  the  sons  of  one  of  them,  should  call  at 
Abbey  Cowper  on  business,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  the  legatee 
"  shall  not  receive  them  into  his  house  at  Abbey  Cowper  afore- 
said, nor  entertain  them  with  meat,  drink,  or  otherwise." 

But  prejudice,  vested  interests,  abuse  and  poetry,  could  not 
avert  the  advance  of  railways.  The  prophecies  of  disaster  to 
landlords  and  farmers  were  alike  unfulfilled  :  farmers  could  buy 
their  coals,  lime,  and  manure  with  less  money,  and  could  find 
readier  access  to  the  best  markets  for  their  produce.  Cows  still 
gave  milk,  sheep  fed  and  fattened,  and  at  length  even  skittish 
horses  ceased  to  shy  at  the  passing  trains.  "The  smoke  of  the 
engines  did  not  obscure  the  sky,  nor  were  farm-yards  burnt  up 
by  the  fire  thrown  from  the  locomotives."  The  farming  classes 
found  that  their  interests  were  promoted  by  the  extension  of 
railways  ;  and  landlords  discovered  that  they  could  get  higher 
rents  for  estates  situated  near  a  line.  Even  the  proprietors  of 
the  canals  were  astounded  to  see  that  in  the  face  of  railway 
competition,  their  own  traffic  receipts  continued  to  increase ;  and 
that  they  fully  shared  in  the  expansion  of  trade  and  commerce 
which  had  been  promoted  by  the  extension  of  railways.  Horse- 
flesh, too,  increased  in  value  as  railways  spread;  and  the  coaches 
running  to  and  from  the  new  stations  gave  employment  to  a 
greater  number  of  horses  than  under  the  old  stage-coach  system. 
"Those  who  had  prophesied  the  decay  of  the  metropolis,  and  the 


PROGRESS    OF    RAILWAY    ENTERPRISE.  ^ 

ruin  of  the  suburban  cabbage  growers,  in  consequence  of  the 
approach  of  railways  to  London,  were  disappointed  ;  for,  while 
the  new  roads  let  citizens  out  of  London,  they  also  let  country- 
people  in.  Their  action,  in  this  respect,  was  centripetal  as  well 
as  centrifugal.  Tens  of  thousands  who  had  never  seen  the 
metropolis  could  now  visit  it  expeditiously  and  cheaply  ;  and 
Londoners  who  had  never  visited  the  country,  or  but  rarely, 
were  enabled,  at  little  cost  of  time  or  money,  to  see  green  fields 
and  clear  blue  skies,  far  from  the  smoke  and  bustle  of  town. 
The  food  of  the  metropolis  became  rapidly  improved,  especially 
in  the  supply  of  wholesome  meat  and  vegetables.  And  then  the 
price  of  coals — an  article  which,  in  this  country,  is  as  indispen- 
sable as  daily  food  to  all  classes — was  greatly  reduced.  What 
a  blessing  to  the  metropolitan  poor  is  described  in  this  single 
fact !  " 

The  press,  too,  aided  the  cause  of  progress,  and  hastened  to 
make  known  facts  illustrative  of  the  triumphs  of  the  means  of 
locomotion.  Thus,  so  early  as  1838,  the  proprietors  of  a  Scottish 
periodical  announced  that,  before  their  next  number  was  pub- 
lished, in  consequence  of  the  sending  of  the  mails  to  Warrington 
by  the  railway,  the  people  of  Edinburgh  would  receive  their 
letters  and  papers  an  entire  day  sooner  than  during  the  time  of 
the  late  war,  namely,  in  thirty-one  instead  of  fifty-five  hours  ; 
and  a  return  by  post  between  London  and  Edinburgh,  which 
twenty  years  before  occupied  a  week,  would  then  be  accom- 
plished in  three  days  and  a  half ;  and  the  Raihvay  Magazine 
mentioned,  as  a  prodigy  of  expedition,  that  a  gentleman  had 
lately  gone  from  Manchester  to  Liverpool  in  the  morning,  and 
purchased  a  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  cotton,  which  he  imme- 
diately took  back  with  him  to  Manchester.  He  there  sold  the 
lot,  returned  to  Liverpool,  purchased  a  second  lot,  and  delivered 
it  the  same  evening. 

The  report  of  the  Board  of  Trade  stated  that,  in  the  year  1843 
no  fewer  than  24,000,000  of  passengers  had  travelled,  the  average 
journey  of  each  being  fifteen  miles. 

The  lines  sanctioned  by  Parliament  during  the  year  1844 
were  brought  forward  partly  on  account  of  their  intrinsic  merits, 
and  partly  as  measures  of  self-defence,  adopted  by  established 
Companies  to  exclude  rivals.  So  energetically  were  these  steps 
taken,  and  so  enterprising  was  the  spirit  of  those  connected  with 

424118 


;8 


oik    [RON    ROADS. 


lines,  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  Midland  Railway  Company 
upon  this  subject,  the  proprietors  voted  two  millions  and  a  half 
of  money  to  be  applied,  at  the  discretion  of  the  directors,  to  the 
formation  of  lines  of  which  no  definite  plans  were  then  decided 
on. 

Another  class  of  projects  consisted  of  branches  or  junctions, 
formed  as  connecting  links  between  existing  lines,  but  the  pre- 
course  of  which  seriously  affected  the  question  as  to  which 
main  line  would  attract  the  largest  amount  of  traffic  from  the 
intermediate  districts.  The  new  undertakings  of  various  kinds 
brought  before  the  public  during  the  year  1844,  numbered  no 
fewer  than  a  hundred  and  fifty. 

Early  in  the  Session  of  1844^  Select  Committe  of  the  House 
of  Commons  was  appointed  to  consider  the  Standing  Orders 
relating  to  railways,  and  also  to  examine  the  whole  subject  of 
railway  legislation.  That  Committee  recommended  several 
modifications  of  the  existing  orders,  which  were  adopted.  By 
these  a  reduction  was  made  in  the  deposit  required  by  Parliament 
before  introducing  a  railway  bill,  to  one-twentieth  of  the  amount 
of  capital,  instead  of  one-tenth,  which  had  been  demanded  under 
the  regulations  of  1837.  The  Committee  also  recommended  a 
new  method  of  investigating  the  merits  of  railway  bills,  by  refer- 
ring them  to  a  Select  Committee  consisting  of  members  whose 
constituents  had  no  local  interest  in  the  measure,  and  who  were 
themselves  in  no  way  personally  involved  in  the  bill  referred  to 
them. 

The  results  of  the  labours  of  the  Railway  Committee  were 
brought  before  the  House  in  several  subsequent  reports,  upon 
which  a  bill  was  founded,  which  required  that  one  train  should 
pass  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  every  trunk,  branch,  or  junc- 
tion line,  once  at  least  each  way  on  every  week-day ;  that  the 
time  at  which  these  trains  should  start  should  be  fixed  by  the 
Lords  of  the  Committee  of  Privy  Council;  that  each  train  should 
travel  at  an  average  rate  of  speed  of  not  less  than  twelve  miles 
an  hour,  including  stoppages  ;  that  it  should  take  up  and  set 
down  passengers  at  every  passenger  station  on  the  line  ;  that 
the  carriages  should  be  protected  from  the  weather,  and  provided 
with  seats ;  that  the  fare  should  not  exceed  a  penny  a  mile  ; 
that  half  a  hundred  weight  of  luggage  shall  be  allowed  to  each 
passenger,  any  excess  being  charged  at  a  regulated  rate.    It  was 


EXTRAORDINARY    EXCITEMENT.  39 

further  enjoined,  that  children  of  three  years  old  shall  be  con- 
veyed without  charge,  and  that  from  that  age  up  to  twelve,  the 
rate  should  be  one-half  the  amount  of  an  adult  passenger. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  the  railway  history  of  the  year  1845 
was  the  number  of  amalgamations  made  between  individual 
lines,  and  the  arrangements  of  the  principal  companies  to  lease 
the  minor  lines  connected  with  their  own  undertakings.  But 
there  were  a  large  number  of  cases  which,  after  an  agreement  for 
such  an  union  of  interests  had  been  made  by  the  directors,  and 
sanctioned  by  a  public  meeting  of  proprietors,  were  "  repudiated" 
at  subsequent  meetings  in  consequence  of  a  rise  in  the  market 
value  of  the  stock,  or  of  the  prospect  of  obtaining  more  favour- 
able terms  with  another  company. 

But  we  have  drawn  near  to  a  great  epoch,  not  only  in  the 
history  of  the  railway,  but  of  the  monetary  world.  Up  to  the 
year  1843,  and  during  part  of  1844,  railways  may  be  regarded 
as  honestly  working  their  way  through  good  and  evil  report 
into  the  public  appreciation  of  their  value,  not  only  socially  and 
generally,  but  as  a  means  for  the  investment  of  capital.  The 
security  and  profit  they  offered  were  so  great  that  there  was  a 
rapid  flow  of  capital  in  the  new  direction.  The  dividends  paid 
by  the  London  and  Birmingham,  by  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester, and  by  the  York  and  North  Midland  Companies  were 
at  the  rate  of  10  per  cent,  per  annum,  while  the  Grand  Junction 
was  paying  11,  and  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  15  per  cent. 
The  temptation  of  such  dividends  could  not  be  resisted.  Enter- 
prise outran  prudence,  and  railways  became  for  the  time  popular 
beyond  every  other  kind  of  investment.  There  had  been  a  brief 
mania  for  new  lines  in  1836,  but  it  had  not  reached  fever-heat ; 
and  the  reaction,  with  the  consequent  losses,  had  not  induced 
caution.  Money  was  abundant.  The  Bank  rate  of  discount  was 
2\  per  cent.  Consols  were  above  par,  and  everything  seemed 
to  promise  the  continuance  of  a  golden  age.  This  surplusage  of 
capital  and  the  growing  'manufacturing  wealth  of  the  country 
proved  the  occasion  for  the  outbreak  of  one  of  those  periodical 
manias  which  appear,  and  (like  the  South  Sea  Bubble)  leave  their 
black  mark  behind.  Unemployed  engineers  and  attorneys,  with 
the  tribe  of  promoters,  jobbers,  and  speculators  were  not  slow  to 
perceive  the  advantages  they  might  derive.  Exaggerated  ac- 
counts  were   spread   of  the  vast  wealth    to   be    easily  gained. 


-JO  OUR    IRON     ROADS. 

Popular  cupidity  was  inflamed,  and  railway  Investment  became 
a  Fashion  and  a  frenzy.  To  doubt  the  profits  was  branded  as 
ignorance,  and  to  deny  the  success  was  madness.  From  week 
to  week  during  the  winter  of  1844  the  delusion  spread. 

Meanwhile  the  Report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  Joint 
Stock  Companies,  in  1S44,  announced  many  unwelcome  truths. 
It  stated  that  when  a  company  was  to  be  formed,  the  prospectus 
was  usually  first  issued,  sometimes  without  the  names  of  direc- 
tors, in  the  expectation  that  parties  would  form  themselves  into 
a  direction  for  its  support  ;  and  advertisements  were  issued  of 
the  new  project.  As  soon  as  the  scheme  attracted  attention, 
applications  were  made,  in  the  hope  that  the  shares  would  come 
out  at  a  premium,  however  small  ;  and  if  that  was  secured,  every 
species  of  influence  was  employed  to  obtain  an  allotment  which 
could  be  sold.  Mr.  Duncan,  M.P.,  stated  that  frequently  the 
shares  were  not  attended  to  at  all,  for  the  applications  of  persons 
were  not  made  with  a  view  to  investment,  but  for  the  immediate 
premium.  "  The  reason,"  he  said,  "  why  these  letters  can  be 
dealt  in,  is  because  the  company's  bankers,  not  knowing  one 
from  another,  take  money  from  everybody  who  brings  a  letter 
of  appropriation,  and  they  give  a  receipt.  This  receipt  is  taken 
to  the  company's  office  and  exchanged  for  a  scrip  certificate  to 
bearer,  and  then  the  title  of  the  buyer  of  the  letter  is  complete. 
If  there  be  much  risk  about  the  company,  or  no  great  soundness, 
or  if  it  be  ill  supported  by  the  directory,  a  second  call  can  never 
be  obtained.  The  consequence  is,  that  after  from  six  to  twelve 
months'  duration,  the  company  is  dissolved,  and  dies  a  natural 
death,  and  the  deposit  is  found  to  be  eaten  up  by  expenses." 

Such  were  the  facilities  at  the  command  of  those  who  em- 
barked in  what  came  to  be  known  as  the  Railway  Mania,  and 
every  event  was  made  to  contribute  to  the  excitement.  In 
January,  1845,  sixteen  new  companies  were  registered  ;  in  Feb- 
ruary and  March  this  number  was  more  than  doubled,  and  in 
April  fifty-two  additional  companies  were  formed.  Popular 
enthusiasm  was  hastening  forwards  in  an  unjustifiable  and 
insane  career. 

Amidst  a  great  number  of  bond  fide  undertakings  appeared  a 
multitude  of  bubble  projects,  concocted  by  those  who  cared  only 
to  prey  on  the  honesty  or  credulity  of  others.  Out  of  a  true  spirit 
of  legitimate  enterprise  arose  a  mania,   in  the  midst  of  which 


THE    RAILWAY    MANIA.  4 1 

many  a  needy  rogue  was  transmuted  into  what  society  calls 
"  a  gentleman."  One  chief  object  was  to  get  possession  of  the 
deposit  money,  and  to  spend  it  in  preliminary  expenses  (i.e. 
their  own),  and  in  lawyers'  bills.  The  capital  required  was 
small.  A  few  knaves  engaged  an  office,  bought  a  map,  struck 
out  a  railway  in  what  appeared  to  be  a  suitable  direction,  gave 
it  a  plausible  title,  and  with  a  sheet  of  foolscap  and  a  "  Court 
Guide  "  made  a  prospectus,  on  which  they  placed  the  names  of 
a  few  noble  lords,  right  honourables,  ex-M.P.s,  and  merchants, 
to  which  an  engineer,  banker,  and  lawyer  were  added,  and  the 
whole  was  "  served  up,"  with  imaginary  advantages,  and  with 
the  assurance  of  at  least  ten  per  cent,  dividend.  The  excitement 
of  the  times  prevented  much  chance  of  the  detection  of  the 
fraud,  and  the  inexperienced  who  wished  to  speculate  were  taken 
in.  Shares  were  advertised  at  £2  or  £2  \os.  for  the  first  instal- 
ment, only  a  certain  number  being  allotted,  that  they  might 
bring  a  full  price,  while  "  stags "  were  actively  engaged  in  in- 
quiring for  shares  which  they  never  intended  to  purchase,  and 
only  asked  for  to  give  them  a  fraudulent  value  in  the  market ; 
or  perhaps  they  bought  a  few  with  the  deposit-money  which 
subscribers  had  paid,  in  order  to  produce  the  same  result.  As 
soon  as  the  premium  was  reached  the  price  was  forced  upwards, 
and  then  the  shares  were  placed  as  fast  as  possible  upon  the 
market.  The  profits  thus  realized  were,  in  many  instances, 
enormous  ;  cabs  were  set  up,  "  tigers "  were  hired,  and  good 
coats  and  clean  shirts  began  to  be  worn  by  men  who  had  been 
strangers  to  these  luxuries  for  many  a  day ! 

The  successes  of  both  honest  men  and  of  knaves  in  share- 
speculating  encouraged  large  numbers  of  both  classes  to  embark 
in  the  enterprise,  and  the  mania  proportionately  increased.  The 
Manchester  Guardian  reported  that  during  one  week  eighty-nine 
new  schemes  had  been  announced  in  three  newspapers,  the 
capital  required  for  which  was  estimated  at  more  than  eighty-four 
millions  ;  while  in  the  space  of  a  month  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  railway  projects  were  advertised  in  the  same  journals, 
having  an  aggregate  capital  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-two 
millions  sterling. 

"  Old  men  and  young,  the  famish'd  and  the  full, 
The  rich  and  poor,  widow,  and  wife,  and  maid, 
Master  and  servant— all,  with  one  intent, 


42  01  R    [RON    ROADS. 

Rushed  on  the  paper  scrip  ;  their  eager  eyes 
Flashing  .1  fierce  unconquerable  greed— 
Their  lu>t  palms  itching    all  their  being  fill'd 
With  one  desire." 

Lord  Clanricarde  mentioned  in  the  House  of  Lords  that  a  clerk 
named  Guernsey,  in  a  broker's  office,  with  twelve  shillings  a  week 
.  and  the  son  of  a  charwoman,  had  his  name  down  as  a 
subscriber  for  shares  in  the  London  and  York  line  for  £52,000. 
Bland  country  vicars  became  "bears,"  curates  were  "stags," 
and  old  maiden  ladies  became  "  bulls,"  on  the  Stock  Exchange. 
Servants  wrote  for  shares  in  their  master's  names  ;  and  there 
is  a  story  told  of  a  butler  at  the  West-end  giving  notice  to  his 
mistress  to  quit,  as  he  had  realized  several  thousand  pounds  by 
shares.  On  the  lady  asking  him  how  this  was,  "  Why,  ma'am," 
he  said,  "  I  applies  for  the  shares,  and  gives  a  reference  here  ; 
and,  as  I  opens  the  door  myself,  and  answers  the  reference,  I 
always  gives  myself  the  wery  highest  character  for  property  and 
all  that,  and  so  I  gets  the  shares  and  sells  them."  And  thus  we 
have  the  living  prototype  of  Jeamcs  of  Buckley  Square,  renowned 
in  song  and  story. 

A  voluminous  return,  subsequently  made  in  conformity  with 
an  order  of  the  House  of  Commons,  shows  the  general  excite- 
ment in  these  speculations.  It  includes  the  names  of  all  who 
subscribed  for  less  sums  than  £2,000  ;  and  among  them  may  be 
recognised  many  of  the  leading  nobility,  the  largest  manufactur- 
ing firms,  and  individuals  well  known  from  their  connection  with 
various  departments  of  science,  literature,  and  art.  The  juxta- 
position of  the  professions  or  engagements  of  some  is  very 
amusing.  Side  by  side  are  "  peers  and  printers,  vicars  and  vice- 
admirals,  spinsters  and  half-pays,  M.P.s  and  special  pleaders, 
professors  and  cotton-spinners,  gentlemen's  cooks  and  Q.C.s, 
attorneys'  clerks  and  college  scouts,  writers  at  Lloyd's,  relieving 
officers  and  excisemen,  barristers  and  butchers,  Catholic  priests 
and  coachmen,  editors  and  engineers,  dairymen  and  dyers, 
braziers,  bankers,  beer-sellers,  and  butlers,  domestic  servants, 
footmen,  and  mail-guards  ;  with  a  multitude  of  other  callings 
unrecorded  in  the  Book  of  Trades." 

"  Every  man  of  the  present  day,"  said  Cruikshank  in  his  Table 
Book,  "  is  a  holder  of  shares  in  a  railway ;  that  is,  he  has  got 
some  pieces  of  paper  called  scrip,  entitling  him  to  a  certain  pro- 


RAILWAY    BUBBLES.  43 

portionate  part  of  a  blue,  red,  or  yellow  line  drawn  across  a  map, 
and  designated  a  railway.  If  the  coloured  scratch  runs  south  to 
north,  it  is  generally  called  a  Trunk  Line  ;  if  it  '  turns  about 
and  wheels  about '  in  all  directions,  leading  to  nowhere  on  its 
own  account,  but  interfering  with  every  railway  that  does,  ten 
to  one  but  it  is  a  Grand  Junction  ;  and  if  it  lies  at  full  length 
along  the  shore,  it  is  a  Coast  Line.  Trunk  lines  are  generally 
the  best,  because  the  word  trunk  naturally  connects  itself  in  the 
mind  of  the  public  with  the  idea  of  luggage,  and  a  good  deal 
of  traffic  is  consequently  relied  upon.  Grand  Junctions  are  good 
speculations,  as  troublesome  customers,  likely  to  be  bought  off 
by  larger  concerns,  which  would  consider  them  a  nuisance  ;  and 
as  street  nuisances  generally  expect  a  consideration  for  moving 
on,  a  Grand  Junction  may  ask  a  good  price  for  taking  itself  off 
from  an  old-established  company." 

The  localities  of  railway  enterprise  were  curious.  From 
Moorgate  Street  issued  nearly  ninety  prospectuses  of  railways, 
the  capital  required  for  which  amounted  to  as  many  millions 
sterling.  In  Gresham  Street  twenty  were  planned,  requiring  for 
their  construction  the  sum  of  more  than  seventeen  millions,  and 
eight  of  them  having  originated  in  one  house.  Well  might 
Punch  say,  "  As  many  as  seventeen  thousand  newspapers  have 
been  found  in  the  General  Post  Office  with  their  covers  burst. 
The  reason  of  the  newspapers  bursting  is  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  they  contain  so  many  railway  bubbles." 

The  "  manufacture  "  of  the  managers  and  officers  of  companies 
was  in  many  cases  on  an  equally  wholesale  system.  Taking  the 
list  of  the  members  forming  the  provisional  direction  of  twenty- 
three  companies,  one  man  was  discovered  who  belonged  to  them 
all  ;  two,  each  of  whom  figured  on  nineteen  companies  ;  three 
who  had  given  their  names  to  seventeen  companies  ;  fourteen 
who  belonged  to  fourteen  companies  ;  twenty-two  to  ten ; 
twenty-three  to  eight  ;  and  twenty-nine  to  seven.  These 
twenty-three  provisional  committees  divided  among  themselves 
352,800  shares,  at  the  rate  of  2*,8oo  a-piece. 

The  Irish  railways  furnished  even  a  more  ample  list  of  plural- 
ist directors  ;  and  it  is  asserted  that  there  was  no  difficulty  in 
pointing  out  several  who  held  office  in  no  fewer  than  thirty 
railway  directions.  The  same  parties  even  appeared  as  the 
promoters  of    rival   lines  ;    and    individuals  were    the    avowed 


.}  \  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

patrons  oi  three  competing  companies  at  the  same  time.    Specific 
instances  could  easily  be  cited. 

The  names  of  gentlemen  wholly  unconnected  with  railways, 
and  who  would  have  utterly  repudiated  association  with  the 
men  who  advocated  them,  were  unhesitatingly  employed  for  the 
purpose  of  lending  a  supposititious  countenance  to  bubble  com- 
panies. One  line  was  declared  to  enjoy  the  patronage  of  four 
gentlemen  who  had  been  dead  for  several  months  ;  and  ten 
others  had  no  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  the  scheme  till  they 
saw  it  paraded  before  the  public,  avowedly  under  their  own 
sanction.  In  another  case,  the  three  leading  projectors  of  a 
very  costly  railway  were  notoriously  "  living  by  their  wits,"  and 
could  not  have  raised  a  hundred  pounds  among  them  except  by 
fraud.  The  course  usually  adopted  when  gentlemen  protested 
against  the  unwarranted  use  of  their  names,  was  to  assure  them 
that  it  was  quite  a  misunderstanding  ;  but  after  many  apologies, 
its  use  was  continued  till  public  exposure  was  threatened,  or 
the  object  was  secured. 

Affairs  went  on  in  this  manner  for  some  time,  all  men  know- 
ing that  a  crash  must  come.  "  The  prospect  becomes  more 
serious,"  said  a  writer,  "  when  it  is  discovered  in  what  feeble 
hands  great  masses  of  this  speculation  rest ;  in  what  manifold 
ways  the  mischief  has  descended  through  all  classes  of  society  ; 
to  how  many  persons  a  reverse  will  be  utter  ruin,  not  to  them- 
selves only,  but  to  helpless  numbers  whom  they  have  deceived, 
with  whose  funds  they  have  been  gaming,  or  to  whom  they  owe 
debts  that  can  neither  be  paid  nor  spared.  We  tremble  to  think 
how  much  more  of  the  like  vice  and  folly,  now  concealed  under 
this  surface  of  bustle  and  feverish  excitement,  may  be  at  this 
moment  struggling  in  the  grasp  of  the  same  evils,  and  preparing 
other  lamentable  scenes  of  failure,  shame,  and  madness.  It  is  a 
vice  which  we  fear  is  becoming  an  utter  plague  in  the  land — a 
pestilence  destructive  of  things  infinitely  more  precious  than 
even  the  fortunes  or  maintenances  which  it  rashly  hazards. 
Every  day  brings  us  some  new  instance  of  its  hateful  effects 
upon  private  happiness  and  public  character.  Now  we  are  told 
of  shameful  disclosures  affecting  the  honour  of  men  in  office, — 
persons  whom  it  was  our  English  boast,  for  the  last  half  century 
at  least,  to  proclaim  to  the  world  as  above  the  suspicion  of  any 
foul  handling  of  lucre.     Now  we  are  called  to  deplore  the  utter 


"  STAGS.  45 

ruin  of  a  household,  dashed  down  from  decent  competency  into 
beggary  and  disgrace,  in  the  frantic  pursuit  of  sudden  wealth. 
The  next  moment  we  hear  of  a  pious  defaulter  for  hundreds  of 
thousands  ;  and,  turning  from  him  in  disgust,  we  stumble  on 
the  body  of  a  suicide  !  " 

The  sinews  of  war,  once  obtained,  were  quickly  put  into  re- 
quisition to  further  the  objects  of  the  projectors  of  the  line.  It 
was  on  the  deposits  which  thus  came  into  their  hands  that 
directors,  without  money  themselves,  counted  to  carry  on  the 
management.  The  company,  once  started,  could  prosecute  its 
operations  on  a  large  scale.  "  Confidence,  generosity,  cash,  were 
sure  to  command  success.  Crack  engineers  were  engaged  at 
large  salaries,  and  received  carte  blanche  for  their  surveys  and 
surveying  parties.  Advertising  agents  were  directed  to  be  active 
and  liberal  ;  they  boasted  to  editors  and  proprietors  of  news- 
papers of  their  instructions.  The  newspapers  puffed,  and 
charged  like  heroes ;  the  directors  and  secretaries  bragged  to 
the  newspaper  writers  ;  surveyors  composed  epics  on  the  capa- 
bilities of  the  lines  ;  and  shareholders  listened  to  the  lay,  with 
the  vague,  swelling,  dreamy  delight  of  opium-eaters  under  the 
influence  of  their  drug.  All  concerned  assumed  that  the  nomi- 
nal capitals  of  all  the  projected  companies  would  be  actually 
forthcoming ;  all  counted  upon  the  share  in  the  plunder  which 
they  had  in  imagination  allotted  to  themselves,  being  as  sure  as 
if  they  had  already  held  it  in  gold." 

The  "  stags,"  who  performed  so  important  a  part  in  the 
Railway  Mania,  should  not  go  unnoticed.  They  were  an  unique 
race,  though  there  were  several  grades  of  this  remarkable  calling, 
each  with  its  appropriate  designation.  A  regular  thoroughbred 
stag  was  perhaps  some  forty  years  old,  or  upwards,  with  a  face 
wearing  a  peculiarly  sinister  expression,  tainted  with  colours 
suggestive  of  strong  drinks.  His  apparel  was  worthy  of  his 
vocation,  but  varied  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
or  the  occasion.  Sometimes  he  disported  -a  faded  suit  of  black 
— then  he  appeared  in  drab  unmentionables  and  gaiters  ;  but 
there  was  almost  invariably  a  tint  about  his  garments,  which  is 
only  to  be  expressed  by  the  word — seedy.  Some  individuals  of 
the  species  had  an  appearance  akin  to  that  of  those  "  sporting 
gents  "  who  are  to  be  found  near  the  betting  places  on  the 
course,  and  they  all  had  a  taste  for  sporting.     They  indulged   in 


-}6  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

small  transactions  of  this  kind, and  did  not  eschew  skittles;  and 
if  a  stag  had  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  he  was  generally  fumbling 
a  greasy  halfpenny,  which  he  called  into  frequent  requisition  in 

order  to  decide,  by  tossing  up,  any  disputed  point  in  reference 
to  which  his  veracity  might  be  called  in  question.  This,  how- 
ever, was  in  his  easier  moods.  A  writer  who  sketched  this 
interesting  class,  thus  described  the  stag  when  professionally 
fed  : — "  When  sneaking  into  an  office  as  a  slate  quarry 
proprietor,  or  great  railway  capitalist,  he  has  a  subdued  air,  and 
the  clerk  in  his  teens,  and  first  experience  of  railway  business, 
listens  to  his  inquiries  with  becoming  deference,  and  ushers  him 
into  the  presence  of  the  secretary,  or  sees  him  carefully  lay  up 
the  letter  of  application  in  his  enormous  pocket-book,  to  which 
his  multifarious  memoranda  are  consigned,  and  which  contains 
a  list  of  all  the  applications  he  has  under  hand,  entered 
systematically,  with  the  several  names  and  addresses  made  use 
of.  The  clerk  little  thinks  that  the  bulk  in  his  coat  pocket 
consists  of  several  enormous  bundles  of  prospectuses,  greasy 
outside,  and  bound  up  with  red  tape.  It  is  needless  to  say,  that 
the  stag  has  long  since  been  in  the  position  of  having  no 
character  to  boast  of,  having  gone  through  all  the  several  stages 
of  whitewashing,  remand,  and  imprisonment  in  Whitccross 
Street,  with  perhaps  some  experience  of  the  criminal  juris- 
prudence of  his  country.  He  has  a  knowledge  of  business,  for 
he  has  failed  in  it ;  and  he  is  disinclined  to  begin  again,  as  he  is 
an  uncertificated  bankrupt.  He  hates  work,  and  prefers  misery. 
Where  he  lives  no  one  knows.  His  letters  are  generally  ad- 
dressed to  the  Old  Kent  Road  ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  he 
have  any  residence  at  all.  His  mornings  begin  by  carefully 
examining  all  the  daily  papers  at  a  pot-house  or  cheap  coffee- 
house, where  he  makes  copious  memoranda  of  all  the  places  to 
be  called  at  for  prospectuses  and  forms  of  application.  He  then 
gets  his  letters,  and  if  he  has  the  good  luck  to  get  any  shares 
allotted,  he  proceeds  to  sell  the  latter  among  his  brethren  ;  and 
glad  is  he  if  he  can  take  a  few  shillings  home.  Besides  looking 
after  prospectuses,  he  occasionally  varies  his  pursuits  by  signing 
deeds,  to  make  up  the  parliamentary  subscription  list.  This  he 
does  for  the  consideration  of,  perhaps,  five  shillings  per  name, — 
going  in,  it  may  be,  with  a  pair  of  spectacles  on,  and  signing 
the  deed,  and  then  returning  without  the  spectacles,  and  signing 


GEORGE    HUDSON.  47 

in  some  other  capacity.  A  well-known  hotel  and  tavern-keeper 
in  Covent  Garden  is  reputed  to  contract  occasionally  for  supply- 
ing these  vagabonds  with  such  things,  and  with  the  carrying 
out  schemes  for  plundering  the  small  tradesmen,  and  other 
unfortunate  individuals  having  money,  who  get  dealings  with 
them."     The  stag  passed  the  evening,  if  lucky,  in  the  pot-house. 

Our  history  at  this  period  would  be  incomplete  were  not 
some  allusion  made  to  the  remarkable  but  changeful  fortunes  of 
one  whose  name  is  indissolubly  associated  with  this  era  of  our 
railway  system.  George  Hudson  was  born  in  1 800,  served  his 
apprenticeship  in  the  ancient  city  of  York,  and  subsequently 
carried  on  business  there  as  a  linendraper,  and  became  a  man  of 
considerable  property.  "The  happiest  part  of  my  life,"  he  said, 
many  years  afterwards,  "was  when  I  stood  behind  the  counter 
and  used  the  yard  measure  in  my  own  shop.  My  ruin  was 
having  a  fortune  left  me.  I  had  one  of  the  snuggest  businesses 
in  York,  and  turned  over  my  thirty  thousand  a  year,  when  a  rela- 
tion died  and  left  me  a  goodish  fortune.  It  was  the  very  worst 
thing  which  ever  happened  to  me.  It  led  me  into  railways  and 
to  all  my  misfortunes  since."  The  results  that  had  attended  the 
opening  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  country  at  large  ;  and  while  various 
schemes  of  railways  were  proposed  for  different  parts  of  the 
country,  the  people  of  York  also  determined  to  have  their  own 
railway.  A  line  between  York,  Leeds,  and  London  was  pro- 
posed ;  Mr.  Hudson  was  appointed  one  of  the  provisional 
committee  ;  and,  on  the  passing  of  the  bill  into  law,  he  was 
made  the  chairman  of  the  board.  His  efforts  in  this  capacity 
were  so  satisfactory,  that  the  cost  of  the  land  he  procured  for 
the  railway  averaged  only  £1,750  a  mile,  while  that  of  the 
North  Midland  had  amounted  to  upwards  of  £5,000.  "  Hud- 
son's line,"  as  the  people  called  it,  was  opened  on  the  29th  of 
May,  1839,  and  on  the  1st  of  July  of  the  following  year  the 
linendraper  of  York  had  the  great  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  first 
locomotive  speed  on  its  way  from  the  old  archiepiscopal  city, 
his  native  place,  to  the  metropolis. 

These  successes  were  only  an  incentive  to  fresh  efforts.  To 
avoid  rivalry  between  his  own  and  a  neighbouring  line,  he 
proposed  that  the  latter  should  be  leased  to  himself  and  friends 
for  thirty-one  years ;  the  plan  was  approved  ;  the  result,  in  a 


48  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

pecuniary  sense,  w.is  gratifying  ;  and  other  great  schemes  were 
undertaken  by  him,  his  most  determined  opponents  shrinking 

before  his  enterprise  and  influence.  The  shareholders  of  the 
North  Midland,  for  instance,  were  involved  in  difficulty.  Mr. 
Hudson  appeared  before  them,  and  in  a  remarkable  speech 
contended  that  their  expenses  might  be  reduced  nearly  one-half, 
enforced  his  arguments  with  facts  and  figures,  and  offered  to 
guarantee  double  the  then  dividend  if  his  scheme  of  amendment 
was  adopted.  He  was  made  chairman  of  a  committee  of  share- 
holders, the  directors  resigned,  and  Mr.  Hudson  was  appointed 
instead.  His  reforms  were  vigorously  carried  out,  the  efficiency 
of  the  line  was  increased,  the  cost  halved,  and  the  shares 
doubled  in  value.  Other  great  plans  were  successfully  under- 
taken —  embarrassed  lines  were  relieved  —  weak  ones  were 
strengthened — rivals  were  subdued.  Ever  active,  vigorous,  and 
energetic,  his  capacity  for  business  was  singular  ;  and  it  may 
without  dispute  be  asserted,  that  up  to  a  particular  period  of  his 
history  his  efforts  were  highly  advantageous  to  the  railways 
with  which  he  was  connected.  He  found  himself  chairman  of 
600  miles  of  railway,  extending  from  Rugby  to  Newcastle. 
"  His  name  became  an  authority  on  railway  speculation,  and 
the  confidence  reposed  in  him  was  unbounded.  For  a  time  the 
entire  railway  system  of  the  north  of  England  seemed  under 
his  control.  What  herculean  energy  was  in  the  man  may  be 
gathered  from  a  couple  of  days'  work.  Under  Mr.  Hudson's 
direction,  on  the  2nd  May,  1846,  the  shareholders  of  the  Midland 
Company  gave  their  approval  to  twenty-six  bills,  which  were 
immediately  introduced  into  Parliament.  On  Monday  following, 
at  ten  o'clock,  the  York  and  North  Midland  sanctioned  six  bills, 
and  affirmed  various  deeds  and  agreements  affecting  the  Man- 
chester and  Leeds  and  Hull  and  Selby  companies.  Fifteen 
minutes  later  he  induced  the  Newcastle  and  Darlington  Com- 
pany to  approve  of  seven  bills  and  accompanying  agreements  ; 
and  at  half-past  ten  took  his  seat  as  a  controlling  power  at  the 
board  of  the  Newcastle  and  Berwick.  During  these  two  days 
he  obtained  approval  of  forty  bills,  involving  the  expenditure  of 
about  ,£10,000,000."  He  was  looked  upon  with  feelings  of 
admiration  and  wonder,  as  one  at  whose  magic  touch  everything 
turned  into  gold. 

Many    pictures    might    be    drawn    of    the    strangely    varied 


THE    RAILWAY    KING.  49 

career  of  the  "  Railway  King."  One  has  been  sketched  by 
an  eye-witness  :  "  The  place  was  the  drawing-room  of  a  well- 
known  noble  patron  of  the  fine  arts,  the  occasion  was  a  semi- 
public  conversazione  connected  with  national  objects,  at  which 
representative  men — '  men  who  had  done  something  ' — were 
present  by  the  hundred.  England's  greatest  authors,  sculptors, 
painters,  inventors,  philanthropists,  statesmen,  physicians, 
engineers,  captains,  jostled  each  other  in  the  crowded  rooms. 
Amid  the  constellation  of  celebrities  there  were  two  men  round 
whom  the  crowds  circled,  both  receiving  the  deference  of  the 
great  and  noble.  One  was  the  late  Prince  Consort,  the  other 
was  George  Hudson.  They  looked  rival  monarchs,  each  with 
his  obsequious  courtiers  round  him,  and  divided  pretty  equally 
the  honours  of  the  evening.  Those  who  were  not  able  to  come 
within  speaking  distance  of  these  great  men  waited  patiently, 
and  as  near  to  the  charmed  circles  as  they  could.  Suddenly 
there  was  a  movement,  and  a  gentleman  was  seen  to  pass  from 
the  Prince  Consort's  followers  and  to  make  his  way  to  the  little 
court  which  hemmed  in  the  Railway  King.  It  was  like  a  pleni- 
potentiary carrying  a  message  between  neighbouring  potentates. 
'  The  Prince  has  asked  to  be  introduced  to  Mr.  Hudson.'  " 

After  a  while  the  enthusiasm  cooled,  and  the  tables  were 
turned.  Mr.  Hudson's  connection  with  the  Eastern  Counties 
Railway,  and  the  truth  that  ultimately  came  to  light,  that 
dividends  had  been  paid  out  of  capital  ;  the  method  in  which 
he  had  conducted  the  business  of  some  other  companies  ;  and 
the  fact  that  many  sustained  fearful  losses  by  the  fall  in  the 
value  of  their  property,  produced  a  revulsion  in  the  public  mind 
in  reference  to  their  hero,  Probably  much  of  the  invective 
poured  upon  him  came  from  those  of  whose  purity  there  was 
little  to  boast.  The  fox  that  loses  his  tail  is  persecuted  by  all 
the  foxes  ;  the  rook  that  is  maimed  is  cawed  out  of  the  rookery. 
Mr.  Hudson  may  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  the  period  in  which 
he  acted  so  prominently, — as  an  illustration  of  the  spirit  of  that 
epoch  in  the  history  of  manias.  He  had  been  held  up  to 
adulation  because  he  had  accumulated  great  wealth — his  highest 
achievement,  in  the  view  of  thousands,  was  the  fact  that  he  had 
made  ,£100,000  in  one  day — and  he  was  deified  because  he 
enabled  others  to  be  successful  too. 

"  The  truth  is,"  said  a  writer  of  that  time,  "  Mr.  Hudson  is 

E 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

neither  better  nor  worse  than  the  morality  of  1S45.  lie  rose 
to  wealth  and  importance  at  an  immoral  period  ;  he  was  the 
creature  ol'  an  immoral  system  ;  he  was  wafted  into  fortune 
noon  the  wave  oi  a  popular  mania;  he  was  elevated  into  the 
itorship  of  railway  speculation  in  an  unwholesome  ferment 
of  popular  cupidity,  pervading  all  ranks  and  conditions  of  men  ; 
and  whatever  may  be  the  hue  of  the  error  he  committed,  it  is 
rather  too  much  to  expect  of  him  that  he  should  be  purer  than 
his  time  or  his  associates.  The  commercial  code  of  1845  was, 
as  far  as  railways  were  concerned,  framed  upon  anything  but 
moral  principles.  The  lust  of  gain  blinded  the  eyes  of  men 
who,  before  that  period,  could  see  clearly  enough  the  difference 
between  right  and  wrong,  between  trading  and  gambling,  and 
between  legitimate  and  illegitimate  speculation.  Men  who 
would  have  scorned  to  do  a  dishonest  act  towards  any  other 
real  tangible  living  man,  did  not  scruple  to  do  acts  towards  that 
great  abstraction,  the  public,  which  no  morality  could  justify." 

In  his  old  age,  it  was  rumoured  among  some  of  the  former 
friends  of  George  Hudson,  that  he  was  in  poverty  ;  it  was  said 
that  he  frequently  went  hungry  to  bed ;  whereupon  a  fund  was 
raised  sufficient  to  purchase  him  an  annuity  of  £600  a  year — a 
kindness  and  help  for  which  he  was  deeply  grateful.  In  his 
later  days  he  would  freely  chat  over  the  events,  great  and  small, 
of  former  times.  "  The  speeches  he  made  when  at  the  height 
of  his  prosperity  ;  the  quiet  grave  in  the  little  Yorkshire  church- 
yard which  he  bought  for  himself  long  ago,  and  which  he  went 
down  to  visit  from  time  to  time  ;  the  social  fun  he  had  in  former 
days  with  '  old  George  Stephenson,  the  best  of  fellows  and  the 
best  of  friends ; '  his  civic  triumphs  as  Lord  Mayor  of  York,  and 
the  quaint  piece  of  plate  which  he  insisted  that  holders  of  that 
high  office  are  required  to  use  while  at  the  Mansion  House  ;  his 
dealings  with  his  lady  customers  when  he  kept  a  shop  ;  his 
visits  to  the  nobility  ;  his  victories  at  railway  boards  ;  the  way 
he  was  run  after  by  the  great  world  of  London,  and  the  zest 
with  which  he  enjoyed  the  eclat  and  the  fun  of  it  all ;  the 
respect  with  which  he  was  listened  to  when  speaking  in  the 
House  of  Commons  ;  the  opinions  he  had  enforced  in  various 
great  commercial  enterprises,  and  how  others  were  profiting  by 
them,  were  wont  to  be  quoted  and  expatiated  on  by  him  with 
a  hearty  interest.     He  was  fond,  too,  of  telling  the  origin  of  his 


THE  3OTH  OF  NOVEMBER,  1845.  51 

title  of  Railway  King.  '  Sydney  Smith,  sir,  the  Rev.  Sydney 
Smith,  the  great  wit,  first  called  me  the  Railway  King  ;  and 
I  remember  very  well  that  he  made  a  very  pretty  speech  about 
it,  saying,  that  while  some  monarchs  had  won  their  title  to 
fame  by  bloodshed  and  by  the  misery  they  inflicted  on  their 
fellow  creatures,  I  had  come  to  my  throne  by  my  own  peaceful 
exertions,  and  by  a  course  of  probity  and  enterprise.'  " 

But  we  are  approaching  another  epoch  in  the  history  of 
railways.  Parliament  had  required  that  plans  of  proposed  rail- 
ways should  be  deposited  at  the  offices  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
on  or  before  Sunday  night,  the  30th  of  November,  1845,  and 
extraordinary  efforts  were  necessary  on  the  part  of  numerous 
railways  to  have  their  documents  completed  for  that  occasion  ; 
while  the  supply  of  labour  in  every  department  being  greatly  ex- 
ceeded by  the  demand,  its  value  proportionately  increased  in  all 
directions.  Innumerable  surveyors  and  levellers  were  required, 
and  in  many  instances  they  made  from  six  to  fifteen  guineas  a-day ; 
while  numbers  of  persons  were  employed  who  were  acquainted 
with  only  the  rudiments  of  the  art,  and  who,  by  their  blunders, 
subsequently  occasioned  even  fatal  inconvenience  to  the  enter- 
prises in  which  they  were  concerned.  The  extravagant  pay- 
ment that  was  offered,  also  induced  great  numbers  to  leave 
situations  they  occupied  in  order  to  learn  the  new  business  ; 
while  professors,  lecturers,  and  teachers  announced  classes, 
lectures,  and  private  instruction,  which  with  almost  magical 
celerity  would  convert  all  persons  of  ordinary  powers  into 
practical  men  earning  enormous  payments.  Still  the  supply 
was  not  equal  to  the  wants  of  the  case,  surveyors  and  levellers 
became  "  worth  their  weight  in  gold,"  and  countless  amateurs  pre- 
sented themselves.  A  peddling  stationer,  who  long  itinerated  in 
Northumberland  and  Durham,  earned  "  five  guineas  a  day  and 
his  expenses  "  on  a  southern  railroad  ;  and  the  Lancaster  Guar- 
dian stated  that  a  fat  neighbour,  long  unemployed,  obtained  an 
engagement  of  three  guineas.  "  I  could  have  had  rive,"  said 
he,  "  but  it  would  have  been  in  a  country  where  the  gradients 
were  severe,  and  too  trying  for  my  wind  ;  "  and  he  preferred 
three  guineas  and  a  level  line.  No  fewer  than  eighty  surveyors 
arrived  in  Lancaster  in  one  day  for  the  York  and  Lancaster 
line  only,  and  they  were  followed  by  another  "  batch  "  a  few 
days  afterwards.     During  the  month  of  November  scarcely  a 


52  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

copperplate  could  be  obtained,  all  the  large  houses  having 
received  as  many  orders  as  they  could  complete ;  and  not 
(infrequently  the  money  was  paid  in  advance,  to  secure  their 
execution.  During  the  last  week,  some  of  the  most  eminent 
engravers  did  not  consider  it  beneath  their  professional  dignity 
to  aid  in  the  work.  Lithographic  and  zincographic  draughts- 
men were  collected  from  all  the  large  towns  in  England,  and 
many  from  France  and  Germany,  who  made  their  own  terms 
with  their  employers.  Prices  rose  with  the  demand,  and  at 
last  almost  any  sum  was  paid  to  those  who  would  undertake 
to  execute  the  work. 

During  the  last  few  days  of  November,  engravers  and  printers 
laboured  night  and  day  ;  but  in  many  instances,  only  the  out- 
lines of  the  plans  were  engraved ;  and  mere  tracings  were 
deposited  with  the  plans,  the  figures  being  filled  in  by  hand. 
Most  of  the  engineers  had  from  twenty  to  a  hundred  assistants 
thus  engaged  ;  and  as  the  work  approached  completion,  many 
had  not  been  in  bed  for  a  week. 

On  the  29th  and  30th  of  November,  the  work  of  depositing 
the  plans  remained  to  be  accomplished.  By  a  strange  over- 
sight the  Sabbath  had  been  made  the  last  day  on  which  the 
documents  could  be  deposited  at  the  offices  of  the  Board  ;  and 
the  excitement  and  bustle  were  in  entire  disaccord  with  the 
proprieties  of  the  occasion.  The  majority  of  the  papers  had 
to  be  transmitted  from  the  provinces.  The  opponents  of  the 
lines  were  also  on  the  alert,  and  a  variety  of  tricks  were  re- 
sorted to  to  frustrate  the  designs  of  the  projectors.  Some  of  the 
companies  on  whose  lines  express  trains  had  been  ordered 
for  the  conveyance  of  the  plans,  and  who  felt  that  their  own 
interests  were  in  danger  from  the  proposed  lines,  interposed 
almost  every  conceivable  obstacle,  and  one  of  them  ultimately 
refused  to  convey  the  required  documents  to  London.  The 
friends  of  the  new  rival,  however,  were  not  to  be  out-generalled, 
and  they  resorted,  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  object,  to 
an  original  ruse.  On  receiving  a  peremptory  denial  to  their 
demand  for  the  means  of  transport,  the  promoters  of  the  com- 
peting line  hired  an  undertaker  s  hearse,  and  having  placed  the 
plans,  sections,  and  clerks  inside,  they  conveyed  it  to  the 
station,  and  it  was  unhesitatingly  forwarded  with  its  contents 
to  the  metropolis.     Six  special  trains  had  been  ordered  on  the 


SHARP    PRACTICE.  53 

Great  Western  line  for  nearly  the  same  hour,  for  each  of  which, 
it  is  said,  ^"80  were  paid. 

Various  other  illustrations  of  "  sharp  practice  "  were  furnished 
on  this  occasion.  Horses  had  been  engaged  at  one  of  the 
principal  hotels  by  the  promoters  of  the  Dudley,  Neadely,  and 
Trowbridge  line,  to  convey  their  papers  to  Stafford.  The  cattle 
had  been  kept  in  the  stable  during  four  days,  in  order  that 
they  might  be  thoroughly  ready  for  their  journey  ;  but  on 
being  "  turned  out  "  at  the  required  time,  they  did  not  go  at  a 
greater  rate  than  four  miles  an  hour.  The  attorney  in  charge 
failed  by  request,  demand,  and  intimidation,  to  produce  any 
effect  on  the  postboys,  and  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
had  received  a  handsome  consideration  from  the  opponents  of 
the  line  ;  so,  finding  that  exceptional  means  must  be  resorted 
to  if  he  expected  to  arrive  at  his  destination  within  the  required 
period,  he  leaped  from  the  carriage,  detached  the  traces,  and 
thrashed  the  postboys  till  they  roared  for  mercy.  He  then 
resumed  his  seat,  and  the  remainder  of  the  stage  was  performed 
at  the  speed  of  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  Nor  were  these  solitary 
instances  of  the  determination  required,  and  of  the  fertility  of 
resource  exhibited,  on  the  part  of  the  friends  of  the  proposed 
lines,  in  the  fulfilment  of  their  important  commissions. 

In  the  year  1844,  the  number  of  projects,  in  respect  of  which 
plans  were  lodged  with  the  Board  of  Trade,  had  been  248  ;  the 
number  in  1845  was  815.  The  projectors  of  most  of  the 
Scottish  lines,  with  characteristic  prudence,  lodged  their  plans 
on  the  Saturday.  The  Irish  projectors,  and  the  old  established 
companies  seeking  powers  to  construct  branches,  were  among 
the  earliest,  but  upwards  of  six  hundred  plans  remained  to  be 
deposited  on  the  Sabbath.  The  excitement  was  extraordinary  ; 
and  as  the  time  rolled  away,  it  increased  to  a  painful  intensity 
till  the  last  hour  of  the  Sabbath  arrived.  A  large  establish- 
ment of  clerks  had  been  in  attendance  to  go  through  the 
necessary  formalities,  and  the  arrangement  proceeded  very  well 
till  eleven  o'clock,  when  the  delivery  increased  so  rapidly  that 
the  officials  were  unable  to  keep  pace  with  the  arrivals. 
Vehicles,  however,  of  all  sorts  and  sizes  continued  to  dash  up, 
and  in  breathless  haste  to  discharge  their  contents  of  documents 
and  projectors.  The  entrance  hall  was  crowded,  and  as  the 
allotted  period   was  gliding  away,    the  expression  of  anxiety 


54  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

on  the  countenances  of  those  assembled  indicated  their  appre- 
hension that,  after  all  their  efforts,  they  should  be  unable  to 
complete  the  required  arrangements  within  the  time  that  re- 
mained. Eager  inquiries  were  made,  and  speculations  offered 
on  the  probabilities  of  those  who  arrived  with  their  plans  before 
the  hour  had  elapsed  being  allowed  to  complete  the  business 
afterwards  ;  and  their  countenances  brightened  when  they  were 
assured  that  this  privilege  would  be  granted.  As  the  clock 
struck  twelve,  the  doors  of  the  office  were  about  to  be  closed 
when  a  gentleman  with  the  plans  of  one  of  the  Surrey  railways 
arrived,  and  with  the  greatest  difficulty  succeeded  in  obtaining 
admission. 

Despite  every  effort,  however,  some  were  unsuccessful.  "  The 
witching  hour  of  night,  when  churchyards  yawn  and  graves 
stand  tenantless,"  never  seemed  half  so  terrible  to  the  rustic 
as  it  did  to  the  unfortunate  wights  who,  hastening  to  the  offices 
of  the  Board  of  Trade,  failed  to  reach  it  when  "  the  iron  tongue 
of  midnight  "  smote  upon  their  ear,  and  told  them  that  the 
30th  of  November,  1845,  had  passed  away  for  ever.  A  lull 
of  a  few  minutes  now  occurred  in  the  hall  of  the  Board  ;  but 
just  before  the  expiration  of  the  first  quarter  of  an  hour,  a 
post-chaise  with  reeking  horses  drove  up  in  hot  haste  to  the 
entrance.  Three  gentlemen  immediately  alighted,  and  rushed 
down  the  passage  leading  to  the  office  door,  each  bearing  a 
plan  of  huge  dimensions.  On  reaching  it,  and  finding  it  closed, 
their  countenances  fell ;  but  one  of  them,  more  valorous  than 
the  rest,  and  prompted  by  the  by-standers,  gave  a  loud  pull 
at  the  bell.  It  was  answered  by  Inspector  Otway,  who  in- 
formed the  ringer  that  it  was  too  late,  and  that  his  plans  could 
not  be  received.  The  agents  did  not  wait  for  the  conclusion 
of  the  unpleasant  communication,  but,  taking  advantage  of  the 
open  door,  threw  in  the  papers,  which  broke  the  passage  lamp 
in  their  fall.  They  were,  however,  soon  tossed  back  into  the 
street,  and  again  into  the  office  ;  and  this  "  was  kept  up  for 
nearly  half  an  hour,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  crowd." 
The  projectors,  however,  were  unsuccessful,  and  discomfited, 
were  obliged  to  retire. 

The  statistics  of  railways  at  this  time  show  the  wholesale  way 
in  which  great  schemes  had  been  undertaken  without  any  idea 
of  their  cost,  or  of  the  resources  from  which  they  were  to  be 


THE    RAILWAY    MANIA.  55 

carried  out.  We  find  that  in  November,  1845,  the  enormous 
number  of  1,428  lines  were  either  made,  or  authorised  to  be 
made,  or  announced  to  the  public,  and  registered.  The  vastness 
of  these  enterprises  will  be  seen  by  comparison  with  the  lines 
which  had  been  at  that  time  completed,  or  were  then  in  pro- 
gress. Including  the  session  of  1845,  rather  more  than  four 
hundred  Railway  Acts  had  been  passed,  relating  to  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  lines,  some  of  which  had  not  been  completed. 
Of  these  nearly  a  hundred  new  lines  were  authorised  during  the 
preceding  session,  three  times  as  many  as  in  any  previous  ses- 
sion. Only  forty-seven  lines  were,  between  1823  and  the  end  of 
1844,  actually  completed.  Passing  next  to  the  cost  of  these 
railways,  the  aggregate  sum  which  Parliament  had  empowered 
Companies  to  raise,  whether  as  capital  or  by  loan,  was 
,£154,716,937,  including  the  earlier  and  ruder  descriptions  of 
railways  constructed  for  the  carriage  of  coals  and  ore,  from  1801 
to  1825.  It  also  includes  the  relinquished  lines.  The  forty- 
seven  lines  completed  from  1823  to  the  end  of  1844,  cost 
^70,680,877.  The  number  of  railways  then  in  progress  was 
118,  their  aggregate  mileage  3,543,  and  their  estimated  cost  was 
^67,359,325.  By  adding,  therefore,  to  the  actual  cost  of  all  the 
completed  lines  the  estimated  cost  of  all  lines  then  in  progress, 
we  arrive  at  the  aggregate  capital  of  the  railway  undertakings 
of  the  country  as  it  then  stood,  amounting  to  ;£i  38,040,202.  Of 
the  projected  lines  there  were  1,428,  with  an  estimated  capital  of 
^701,243,208,  and  a  deposit  of  ,£49,592,816.  On  one  scheme 
,£40,000,000  was  to  be  expended. 

The  cost  of  the  Railway  Mania  was  enormous.  Worthless 
and  fraudulent  as  were  many  schemes,  they  involved  as  much 
preliminary  expense  as  if  they  had  been  good.  Offices,  agents, 
lawyers,  engineers  of  every  class,  advertising  and  meetings  to 
puff,  were  not  to  be  obtained  at  any  reasonable  outlay.  It  is 
computed,  on  high  authority,  that  on  the  proposed  capital  at 
least  one  per  cent,  was  expended  for  the  above-mentioned  pur- 
poses. "  We  will  answer  for  it,"  says  a  competent  writer,  "  that 
during  the  two  or  three  months  immediately  preceding  the  late 
salutary  check,  as  much  as  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  week 
were  spent  in  railroad  advertisements  alone."  This  statement 
was  made  on  November  8,  1845,  and  the  advertising  still  con- 
tinued. 


56  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

But  a  change  new  "came  o'er  the  spirit  of  the  dream"  of 
railway  enterprise.  Thousands  had  bought  stock  in  the  hope 
of  realizing  profit  by  the  speculation,  but,  having  no  intention  of 
permanent  investment  therein,  were  anxious  to  back  out  of  the 
concerns  with  which  they  were  identified.  Projectors  of  bubble 
Companies,  too,  were  obliged  to  meet  their  shareholders,  and, 
in  the  most  gentlemanly  terms,  to  intimate  their  deliberate  and 
conscientious  conviction,  that  though  some  eighty  or  a  hundred 
thousand  pounds  had  been  expended,  yet  that,  on  the  whole,  it 
would  scarcely  be  expedient  to  proceed  with  the  line.  Holders 
of  shares,  having  discovered  the  manner  and  extent  to  which 
the}-  had  been  duped,  uttered  threats  of  exposure  and  of  the 
terrors  of  the  law,  and  were  then  rewarded  for  their  trouble  by 
the  discovery  that  the  projectors  were  not  worth  punishing  ;  or 
before  legal  proceedings  had  commenced  saw  their  acquaint- 
ances comfortably  reading  the  morning  newspaper  on  board 
a  Boulogne  or  Ostend  steam-packet,  whither  they  were  going 
with  their  ill-gotten  plunder.  Railway  speculations  were  found 
to  be  alike  in  this,  that — "  a  hook's  the  end  of  many  a  line." 

To  sell  scrip  connected  with  new  lines,  even  at  any  sacrifice, 
was  now  almost  impossible ;  and  the  only  relief  which  great 
numbers  of  holders  looked  for  was,  that  the  bills  would  be 
thrown  out  by  Parliament,  and  that  some  unappropriated  funds 
would  remain.  This  hope  was  cherished  with  respect  even  to 
some  lines  which,  a  few  months  before,  were  regarded  as  most 
promising  ;  and  it  was  said  by  competent  authorities  that  prob- 
ably there  was  not  at  that  time  a  single  new  railway  undertak- 
ing on  which  the  majority  of  the  shareholders  would  not  have 
voted  for  its  abandonment.  The  most  doubtful  schemes  were 
even  regarded  as  the  best  for  holders,  inasmuch  as  the  Parlia- 
mentary Committee  would  strangle  them  in  the  birth. 

Pay-day  came  at  last,  and,  as  every  thinking  man  had  seen 
was  inevitable,  there  was  disappointment  and  misery  for  thou- 
sands. Well  was  it  said,  in  imitation  of  the  well-known  words 
of  the  poets  : — 

"  Oh  !  many  a  stag,  late  blithe  and  brave, 
Forlorn  'mounts  the  ocean  wave  ;'* 

*  "  Say,  mounts  he  the  ocean  wave,  banish'd  forlorn, 

Like  a  limb  from  his  country  cast  bleeding  and  torn  ?" 

Campbell's  Lochiel. 


"BREAKING    UP.  57 

And  many  a  ' letter'  has  been  torn,  t 
And  countless  scrip  to  trunks  be  borne  ; 
And  many  an  antler'd  head  lies  low, 
Which  whilom  made  a  glorious  show  ! 
And  many  a  fast  coach  now  '  crawls  slow '  ! " 

The  process  of  "  breaking  up  "  manifested  itself  in  various 
forms,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  or  the  tem- 
perament of  the  individuals  concerned.  "  Internal  dissensions," 
said  a  writer  in  Tail's  Magazine,  "  are  breaking  out  among 
directors  and  their  coadjutors,  hurrying  them  before  mayors 
and  bailies,  preparatory  to  more  regular  campaigns  in  the  courts 
of  law."  Newspapers  sent  in  their  bills  for  advertising,  and 
pressed  for  payment,  and  boards  audited  the  bills,  called  for 
vouchers,  and  quarrelled  with  the  charges.  Surveyors  were 
clamorous  for  wages,  and  secretaries  for  overdue  salaries. 
Parties  to  whom  scrip  was  allotted  refused  to  pay  deposits  for 
what  they  now  regarded  as  an  unsuccessful  concern  ;  boards,  to 
accelerate  the  payment  of  deposits,  reduced  the  amount  of  their 
calls  ;  and  impatient  holders,  who  were  precipitate  in  paying  up, 
asked  to  have  the  excess  refunded, — out  of  an  empty  treasury. 
Tart  remarks  and  bitter  rejoinders  grew  into  decided  acts. 
"  One  angry  man  goes  with  quiet  concentrated  malice,  at  white 
heat,  to  consult  his  lawyer  ;  another  rushes,  roaring  like  a  boy 
that  has  been  soundly  thrashed,  into  a  mayor's  court  to  tell  his 
'  pitiful  story.'  The  newspapers,  as  usual,  blow  the  coals,  for 
every  '  excitement '  promotes  sale.  The  public  mutters,  '  Try 
the  responsibilities  of  directors  in  a  law  court ; '  and  deeply- 
staked  directors  respond  to  the  hint  by  advertising  a  Defensive 
Association.  The  genius  of  Westminster  Hall  laughs,  crows, 
and  claps  its  wings  ;  nay,  it  did  so  months  ago.  In  July,  the 
Law  Magazine  coolly  discussed  the  various  points  likely  to  arise 
when  this  crisis  came  :  the  hoodie  crows  croaked  their  consulta- 
tions anent  picking  bones,  in  the  ears  of  their  unheeding 
victims." 


t  "  And  many  a  banner  shall  be  torn, 
And  many  a  knight  to  earth  be  borne  ; 
And  many  a  sheaf  of  arrows  spent, 
Ere  Scotland's  king  shall  pass  the  Trent." 

Scott's  Marmion. 


58  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

\  parody  which  appeared  about  this  time,  described  the  posi- 
tion o[  affairs  with  great  accuracy  :  * 


["here  was  .1  sound  that  ceased  not  day  or  night, 

Of  speculation.     London  gathered  then 
Unwonted  crowds,  and,  moved  by  promise  bright, 

To  Cape!  Court  rushed  women,  boys,  and  men, 

All  seeking  railway  shares  and  scrip  ;  and  when 
The  market  rose,  how  many  a  lad  could  tell, 

With  joyous  glance,  and  eyes  that  spake  again, 
'T  was  e'en  more  lucrative  than  marrying  well  ; — 
When,  hark  !  that  warning  voice  strikes  like  a  rising  knell. 


"  Nay,  it  is  nothing,  empty  as  the  wind, 

But  a  '  bear'  whisper  down  Throgmorton  Street; 

Wild  enterprise  shall  still  be  unconfined  ; 

No  rest  for  us,  when  rising  premiums  greet 
The  morn,  to  pour  their  treasures  at  our  feet ; 

When,  hark  !  that  solemn  sound  is  heard  once  more, 
The  gathering  'bears'  its  echoes  yet  repeat — 

'T  is  but  too  true,  is  now  the  general  roar, 

The  Bank  has  raised  her  rate,  as  she  has  done  before. 

"And  then  and  there  were  hurryings  to  and  fro, 

And  anxious  thoughts,  and  signs  of  sad  distress, 
Faces  all  pale,  that  but  an  hour  ago 

Smiled  at  the  thoughts  of  their  own  craftiness. 

And  there  were  sudden  partings,  such  as  press 
The  coin  from  hungry  pockets — mutual  sighs 

Of  brokers  and  their  clients.     Who  can  guess 
How  many  a  stag  already  panting  flies, 
When  upon  times  so  bright  such  awful  panics  rise?" 

Time  rolled  on,  and  exercised  its  healing  powers.  The  first 
railway  panic  subsided.  The  apprehensions  of  many  were  found 
to  be  unreasonable  ;  and  though  fraud  had  characterized  rail- 
way speculation,  there  was  still  much  substantial  good.  Railway 
authorities  gave  the  best  account  of  the  Companies  with  which 
they  were  severally  connected,  confidence  was  gradually  re- 
stored, and  railway  works  began  to  be  prosecuted  with  vigour. 
Trunk  lines  guaranteed  interest  to  the  shareholders  of  branches 


*  "  There  was  a  sound  of  revelry  by  night." 

Childe  Harold. 


BALANCE    SHEETS.  59 

and  extensions  which  were  feared  as  rivals ;  they  were  accepted 
as  feeders,  for  a  time  they  proved  to  be  suckers.  People  won- 
dered, but  they  did  not  distrust;  shares  continued  at  a  premium; 
satisfactory  dividends  were  declared ;  and  the  railway  world 
went  on  in  fancied  security. 

But  before  long  it  was  found  that,  though  large  sums  in  the 
form  of  dividends  were  divided  among  shareholders,  calls  were 
frequently  threefold  as  great.  These  at  last  created  a  suspicion 
that  all  was  not  right,  vague  impressions  arose,  which  were  in 
some  cases  proved  to  be  correct,  that  the  glittering  dividends 
were  paid  out  of  what  ought  to  have  been  regarded  as  capital, 
and  that  the  expenses  of  railway  management  were  too  great 
to  allow  of  even  moderate  dividends,  without  a  change  of 
system. 

The  result  was  inevitable — shares  sank  in  an  extraordinary 
degree,  and  everything  seemed  to  be  going  from  bad  to  worse. 
Where  was  the  remedy  for  the  evil  ?  "  Confine  the  total 
amount  of  calls,"  said  a  writer  in  one  of  the  railway  journals, 
"during  the  whole  of  the  next  year,  1849,  to  ^"6,000,000  ;  that 
sum  will  be  ample  to  finish  lines  nearly  completed,  and  to  open 
them  for  traffic.  Reduce  the  rate  of  interest  on  loans  to  four 
per  cent."  Besides  this,  a  publication  of  the  accounts  of  the 
Companies  was  indispensable.  The  "  balance-sheet  of  a  rail- 
way Company,"  said  the  Times,  "has  now  no  more  effect  than 
a  sheet  of  waste  paper  ;  and  as  it  would  be  perfectly  easy  to 
give  accounts  that  would  make  everything  clear,  and  these 
accounts  are  not  given,  it  is  naturally  inferred  that  the  market 
would  not  be  benefited  by  the  prospect  they  would  indicate  ; 
and  hence,  that,  although  the  end  cannot  be  known,  there  is  a 
certainty,  at  all  events,  that  it  has  not  yet  been  reached.  If 
there  is  a  single  Company  that  is  considered  by  its  Directors 
to  have  fallen  too  low  in  the  market,  they  can  set  the  matter 
right.  There  are  plenty  of  shrewd  people  at  this  moment, 
notwithstanding  the  hardness  of  the  times,  waiting  with  money 
in  their  pockets  to  find  investments.  Give  them  a  statement 
such  as  they  would  require,  and  such  as  any  city  accountant, 
with  the  materials  at  his  command,  would  prepare  in  a  form 
that  the  simplest  tradesman  might  understand  it,  and  forth- 
with they  will  bid  within  a  fraction  of  the  true  value  of  the 
shares." 


6o 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 


rhe  Companies  were  at  length  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  these  considerations,  several  of  them  were  led  to  publish  their 
accounts,  which  showed  their  real  condition  to  be  in  some  re- 
spects better  than  had  been  believed  ;  and  by  the  promises  to 
limit  their  calls  for  the  future,  and  their  announcements  on 
other  matters,  they  succeeded  in  allaying  the  popular  fears, 
stock  rose  in  the  market,  and  confidence  began  to  be  restored. 


13ARNSLEY   VIADUCT. 


CHAPTER   III. 


New  Railway  Project. — The  Prospectus. — Advertisement. — Deposit 
Money.— Flying  Levels. — The  Course  of  a  Line. — Opposition  to  Survey. 
— Mr.  Gooch.— A  Clergyman  Outwitted. — The  Breadalbane  People  — 
"  The  Battle  of  Saxby  Bridge." — Experience  of  Surveyors.— Mr.  Shar- 
land  Snowed  Up. — Deposit  of  Notices. — Fighting  for  the  Act. —Theory 
and  Practice  of  Parliamentary  Committees. — "  The  Railway  Session." — 
"  The  Minting  Age."— The  Hon.  John  Talbot  and  Mr.  Charles  Austin. 
— Scenes  in  Railway  Committee  Rooms. — Amusing  Displays  of  Foren- 
sic Genius. — The  Defence  and  the  Attack.— Witnesses. — Professional 
Reputations. — Sir  Edmund  Beckett. — Cheap  Amusement. — Buying  oft 
Opposition. — Enormous  Prices  for  Land. — A  Curious  Bill. —  Compensa- 
tion.— A  Pleasing  Exception.— Buying  an  Editor. — Mr.  Venables,  Q.C., 
on  Compensation. — Decisions  of  Parliamentary  Committees. — The  Pre- 
amble Proved. — Cost  of  Parliamentary  Contests. — Cost  of  Railways. 

HE  circumstances  under  which  rail- 
way enterprises  are  now  under- 
taken are  essentially  different 
from  those  in  which,  in  former 
days,  some  of  them  came  into 
being.  For  many  a  year  their 
origin  was,  as  we  have  seen,  more 
or  less  speculative.  "Project 
money,"  was  perhaps  paid  for 
the  idea.  Directors  of  supposed 
business  habits,  with  possibly 
"  a  lord "  or  two  for  ornamental 
purposes,  were  selected  by  the  projectors  of  the  scheme,  and 
a  secretary,  an  engineer,  a  banker,  and  a  solicitor,  were  chosen 
chiefly  under  the  influence  of  private  considerations.  A  pro- 
spectus was  then  privately  circulated,  and  was  inserted  in  the 
principal  daily  and  local  newspapers,  in  which  an  enlightened 
and  a  discriminating  public  was  informed  of  the  important  project 
which  had  been  devised.     In  due  time  a  newspaper  reaches  the 


The  initial  letter  represents  George  Stephenson's  birthplace. 


62  OUR    IRON     ROADS. 

breakfast-table  of  the  happy  owner  of  .1  little  uninvested  capital, 
who  unfolds  the  packet,  still  us  damp  as  the  sheets  of  a  German 
bed.  1 1  Is  eye  glances  1  iver  subjects  dramatical,  political,  poetical, 
and  paragraphical, — now  he  alights  on  this  piece,  and  then  he 
flutters  off  to  that  ;  and  after  running  up  one  column  and  down 
another,  like  an  aide-de-camp  on  a  battle-field,  disregarding  the 
accomplishments  of  nursemaids,  or  the  number  of  housemaids 
who  want  situations  "where  a  footman  is  kept;"  wondering, 
for  an  instant,  how  a  gentleman,  no  more  than  fifty,  who 
possesses,  according  to  his  own  candid  confession,  "  all  the 
virtues  out  of  heaven,"  and  .£500  a-year  to  boot,  should  be 
reduced  to  the  unpleasant  necessity  of  advertising  for  a  wife  ; 
and  meditating  for  an  instant  on  a  variety  of  other  equally 
momentous  problems,  the  prospectus  of  "  the  Grand  Diddlesex 
Junction,"  of  which  he  has  already  heard,  attracts  his  attention. 
Therein  he  reads  that  a  "direct,  cheap,  and  convenient  railroad  " 
is  to  be  constructed  through  a  populous  and  wealthy  district, 
situated  in  a  county  or  in  counties  whose  manufacturing,  mining, 
agricultural,  trading,  or  commercial  resources  are  minutely  and 
vividly  delineated.  The  document  expatiates  on  the  incon- 
veniences which  are  at  present  caused  by  the  inadequacy  of  the 
means  of  communication ;  and  the  assurance  is  given  to  all  in 
whose  neighbourhood  the  line  will  pass,  that  it  will  be  a  boon 
to  trade,  and  will  revive  or  augment  all  its  commercial  interests. 
The  cost  of  the  required  land  is  either  "  moderate,"  or  a  com- 
paratively "  trifling "  item  ;  the  whole  line,  with  necessary 
appendages,  can  be  completed  at  an  expense  of  so  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  sterling  ;  and  the  annual  return  on  the 
traffic  arising  from  passengers  and  goods  will  yield,  at  moderate 
rates  of  tonnage,  satisfactory  dividends.  The  date  is  added  at 
which  the  Act  of  Parliament  will  be  applied  for  in  order  to 
incorporate  the  subscribers  as  a  Company,  with  all  usual  and 
necessary  powers  for  carrying  out  the  proposed  scheme,  and  for 
the  proper  conduct  and  regulation  of  its  affairs.  The  time  and 
place  at  which  the  annual  general  meeting  will  be  held  ;  the 
number  and  value  of  the  shares  to  be  raised  ;  the  bank  into 
which  the  money  is  to  be  paid  ;  and  an  invitation  to  all  persons 
who  wish  to  take  shares,  to  apply  to  the  chairman  of  the 
Provisional  Committee,  usually  follow  this  part  of  the  statement ; 
the  assurance  being  added,  that  the  present  defective  nature  and 


THE    ROUTE    OF    THE    LINE.  63 

the  expense  of  the  means  of  communication  between  districts 
so  important,  which  "  have  been  so  often  and  loudly  complained 
of,"  render  unnecessary  any  apology  for  the  present  under- 
taking. 

The  logic  and  eloquence  of  the  prospectus  overcome  the 
reader,  and  before  his  last  cup  of  now  luke-warm  coffee  is 
swallowed,  he  resolves  to  write,  without  delay,  to  the  Provisional 
Committee  of  the  "  Grand  Diddlesex  Junction,"  and  to  request, 
in  accordance  with  the  prescribed  "  form  of  application  "  which 
is  subjoined  to  the  prospectus,  that  there  may  be  "  appor- 
tioned "  to  him  "  shares  in  the  above  proposed  railway ; "  and  he 
engages  to  pay  "the  deposit  of  £2  \os.  per  share  upon  such 
allotment,"  and  to  sign  its  subscription  contract  required  by 
Parliament,  and  also  the  subscribers'  agreement. 

With  the  deposit  money  thus  obtained  from  subscribers, 
preparations  are  commenced  for  gaining  the  sanction  of  the 
Legislature  to  the  proposed  Company.  The  route  of  the  line 
has  to  be  definitely  determined,  and  the  plans  and  sections 
for  the  Parliamentary  Committee  to  be  prepared.  In  doing  all 
this  the  considerations  that  have  to  be  regarded  are  numerous, 
complicated,  and  weighty.  The  relative  importance  of  various 
towns  and  villages  which  lie  in  the  direction  of  the  railway,  and 
the  traffic  which  may  be  expected  ;  the  character  and  resources 
of  the  district,  whether  agricultural,  commercial,  or  manufac- 
turing ;  the  number  and  nature  of  the  population,  and  other 
statistical  intelligence,  must  be  collected  from  the  best  sources, 
and  prepared  in  legal  form.  Take  the  map.  There  are  the 
termini,  and  there  are  the  intermediate  towns.  And  what  about 
these  "intermediates?"  Nothing,  some  reply.  Select  your 
termini,  they  say,  and  run  your  line  between  them  as  straight 
as  you  can.  It  is  not  even  necessary  that  there  should  be  a 
single  house  upon  the  route.  Open  the  line,  and  as  people  flock 
to  the  banks  of  that  first  great  highway,  a  river,  so  they  will 
flock  (we  are  assured)  to  your  railway ;  and  in  due  time,  the 
direct  line,  in  which  there  is  no  original  error  to  correct,  will 
pass  through  a  large  and  rich  population  which  it  has  itself 
attracted  or  created  ;  will  have  feeders  by  branches  to  all  the 
towns  that  stood  out  of  its  route  when  projected  ;  and  there  will 
be  no  more  notion  of  a  competing  line  to  it,  than  there  would 
have  been  in  former  days  to  the  Appian  Way.     Such  were  the 


64  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

opinions  boldly  avowed  as  to  the  principle  on  which  a  decision 
should  be  made  ^i  the  route  of  the  line.  But  that  was  at  a  time 
when  railways  were  few  and  far  between. 

It  is  said  that  when  the  Emperor  Nicholas  of  Russia  was 
asked  to  give  his  decision  respecting  the  construction  of  a  railway 
between  St  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  he  indignantly  threw  aside 
the  plans  submitted  to  him,  exhibiting  lines  more  or  less  curved, 
and  asking  for  a  fresh  map,  laid  his  sword  from  the  new  to  the 
old  capital  of  Holy  Russia,  and  drawing  a  straight  line  between 
the  two  points,  he  tossed  the  map  over  to  the  astonished 
engineer,  "  Voila  votre  chemin  de  fer."  But  this  is  not  at  any 
rate  the  conventional  method  ;  with  the  Ordnance  map  in  his 
hand,  and  the  mountain  barometer  in  his  pocket,  with  which 
to  take  "  flying  levels,"  the  engineer — "  monarch  of  all  the 
surveys  " — has  to  visit  the  districts  through  which  the  line  may 
pass,  and  perhaps  make  a  selection  from  three  or  four  eligible 
routes,  each  of  which  may  be  liable  to  a  variety  of  modifications 
as  discretion  may  dictate  ;  while  the  magnitude  of  the  question 
at  stake  gives  an  importance  to  his  decisions  which  few  can 
appreciate  if  they  have  not  felt  the  weight  of  similar  responsi- 
bility. The  acquaintance  with  the  features  of  the  country  which 
is  requisite  may  be  illustrated  by  the  fact,  that  when  Mr.  R. 
Stephenson  was  determining  the  route  of  the  London  and 
Birmingham  Railway,  he  is  said  to  have  walked  over  the  inter- 
vening districts  no  fewer  than  twenty  times.  Meanwhile,  trial- 
shafts  and  borings  are  made  by  the  assistants  of  the  engineer, 
which  reveal  the  geological  formation  of  the  various  strata, 
and  which  may  present  important  facts  which  will  have  to  be 
regarded. 

The  difficulties  which  arise  in  planning  the  course  of  a  railway 
are  sometimes  great.  A  few  years  ago  an  engineer  of  eminence 
was  sent  by  the  Grand  Junction  Railway  Company  to  ascertain 
the  best  route  for  a  line  from  Lancaster  among  the  valleys  of 
the  North  of  England.  On  returning,  he  declared  that,  though 
he  had  been  able  to  see  his  way  as  far  as  a  certain  place  in 
Westmoreland,  no  man  living  could  construct  a  railway  farther 
in  that  direction,  and  that  the  project  must  be  abandoned.  In 
less,  however,  than  two  years,  a  country  surveyor  produced 
plans  of  a  line  which,  without  a  tunnel,  or  any  other  work 
of  special  difficulty,  except  a  long  climb  up  and   over  the  hill 


SURVEYING    AND    LEVELLING. 


6; 


of  Shap,  runs  to  Carlisle  and  on  to  Scotland  by  the  western 
side  of  the  island. 

Having  completed  his  observations,  and  collected  the  infor- 
mation of  his  assistants,  the  engineer  sums  up  the  evidence,  and 
marks  out  the  route  which  the  line  shall  take  ;  and  few  are  the 
instances  in  which  the  decisions  thus  arrived  at  have  been  open 
to  subsequent  impeachment.  Rivers  and  streams  are  crossed 
as  near  their  sources  as  possible  ;  hills  and  valleys  are  skirted  ; 
towns  and  places  where  land  is  expensive  are  cautiously  ap- 
proached ;  pleasure  grounds  and  gentlemen's  seats  are  avoided  ; 
and  a  general  estimate  is  made  for  setting  off  the  amount  of 
cuttings  or  embankments  as  nearly  as  possible  against  one 
another. 


A    LEVELLING   PARTY. 


The  route  of  the  line  must  now  be  surveyed  and  levelled  with 
the  utmost  precision.  Surveying  may  be  described  as  the  art 
of  determining  the  form  and  dimensions  of  tracts  of  ground, 
with  any  objects  that  may  exist  thereupon.  A  representation 
on  paper  is  made  of  all  these  objects,  and  also  a  delineation  of 
the  slopes  of  the  hills,  as  the  whole  would  appear  if  projected  on 
a  horizontal  plane.  The  ground  has  also  to  be  levelled  in  order 
that  it  may  be  ascertained  how  much  higher  or  lower  is  any 
given  point  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  from  any  other.  The 
engineer  is  thus  able  to  adopt  measures  for  reducing  the  whole 
of  the  new  line  to  a  level,  or  to  such  gradients  as  may  be 
deemed  most  expedient  to  adopt. 

F 


66  OUR    [RON    koads. 

The  wmk  o(  surveying  and  levelling  for  railways  has  often 
been  attended  with  no  small  difficulty,  apart  from  the  natural 
obstacles  to  be  encountered.  The  annoyance  felt  by  the  owners 
of  pleasure  grounds  at  the  invasion,  or  even  the  immediate 
proximity,  o\  railways,  has  occasioned  many  serious  quarrels 
between  the  surveyors  and  the  agents  of  the  proprietors.  The 
opposition  thus  raised,  however,  seldom  caused  any  ultimate 
inconvenience  to  the  projectors,  who  contrived,  by  some  means 
or  other,  to  accomplish  their  design. 

This  hostility  was  shown  at  the  commencement  of  railway 
enterprise,  as  the  following  evidence,  given  before  the  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1825,  will 
indicate.  The  questioner  was  Serjeant  Spankie,  and  the  respon- 
dent George  Stephenson  : — 

"  You  were  asked  about  the  quality  of  the  soil  through  which 
you  were  to  bore  in  order  to  ascertain  the  strata,  and  you  were 
rather  taunted  because  you  had  not  ascertained  the  precise 
strata  ;  had  you  any  opportunity  of  boring  ?  "  "  I  had  none  ; 
I  was  threatened  to  be  driven  off  the  ground,  and  severely  used 
if  I  were  found  upon  the  ground."  "  You  were  quite  right,  then, 
not  to  attempt  to  bore  ? "  "  Of  course,  I  durst  not  attempt  to 
bore  after  those  threats."  "  Were  you  exposed  to  any  incon- 
venience in  taking  your  surveys  in  consequence  of  those  inter- 
ruptions ? "  "  We  were."  "  On  whose  property  ?  "  "  On  my 
Lord  Sefton's,  Lord  Derby's,  and  particularly  Mr.  Bradshaw's 
part."  "  I  believe  you  came  near  the  coping  of  some  of  the 
canals  ? "  "  I  believe  I  was  threatened  to  be  ducked  in  the  pond 
if  I  proceeded  ;  and,  of  course,  we  had  a  great  deal  of  the  survey 
to  make  by  stealth,  at  the  time  when  the  persons  were  at  dinner  ; 
we  could  not  get  it  by  night,  for  we  were  watched  day  and 
night,  and  guns  were  discharged  over  the  grounds  belonging  to 
Captain  Bradshaw,  to  prevent  us ;  I  can  state  further,  I  was 
twice  turned  off  the  ground  myself  by  his  men  ;  and  they  said, 
if  I  did  not  go  instantly  they  would  take  me  up,  and  carry  me 
off  to  Worsley."  Here  the  Committee  inquired  :  "  Had  you  ever 
asked  leave  ?  "  "  I  did,  of  all  the  gentlemen  to  whom  I  have 
alluded  ;  at  least,  if  I  did  not  ask  leave  of  all  myself,  I  did 
of  my  Lord  Derby ;  but  I  did  not  of  Lord  Sefton,  but  the 
Committee  had — at  least  I  was  so  informed ;  and  I  last  year 
asked  leave  of  Mr.  Bradshaw's  tenants  to  pass  there,  and  they 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    SURVEYING.  6j 

denied  me ;  they  stated  that  damage  had  been  done,  and  I  said 
if  they  would  tell  what  it  was,  I  would  pay  them,  and  they  said 
it  was  two  pounds,  and  I  paid  it,  though  I  do  not  believe  it 
amounted  to  one  shilling."  "  Do  you  suppose  it  a  likely  thing 
to  obtain  leave  from  any  gentleman  to  survey  his  land,  when 
he  knew  that  your  men  had  gone  upon  his  land  to  take  levels 
without  his  leave,  and  he  himself  found  them  going  through 
the  corn,  and  through  the  gardens  of  his  tenants,  and  trampling 
down  the  strawberry  beds,  which  they  were  cultivating  for  the 
Liverpool  market  ?  "  "  I  have  found  it  sometimes  very  difficult 
to  get  through  places  of  that  kind." 

In  some  cases  large  bodies  of  navvies  were  collected  for  the 
defence  of  the  surveyors  ;  and  being  liberally  provided  with 
liquor,  and  paid  well  for  the  task,  they  intimidated  the  rightful 
owners,  who  were  obliged  to  be  satisfied  with  warrants  of  com- 
mittal and  charges  of  assault.  The  navvies  were  the  more 
willing  to  engage  in  such  undertakings,  because  the  project,  if 
carried  out,  afforded  them  the  prospect  of  increased  labour. 
Great  difficulties  were  encountered  in  making  the  surveys  for  the 
London  and  Birmingham  Railway  ;  and  though  it  is  probable 
that  in  every  case  as  little  injury  as  possible  was  done,  because 
it  was  the  interest  of  those  concerned  to  conciliate  the  landed 
proprietors,  yet  in  several  instances  the  opposition  was  very 
decided,  and  even  violent.  In  one  case  no  skill  nor  ingenuity 
could,  for  a  considerable  time,  evade  the  watchfulness  and 
resolution  of  the  lords  of  the  soil,  and  the  survey  had  to  be 
made  at  night,  by  the  aid  of  dark  lanterns.  On  another  occa- 
sion, when  Mr.  Gooch  was  taking  levels  through  some  of  the 
large  tracts  of  grazing  land  a  few  miles  to  the  west  of  London, 
two  brothers,  by  whom  the  land  was  occupied,  came  to  him 
in  great  anger,  and  insisted  on  his  immediately  leaving  the 
property.  He  contrived  to  learn  from  them  that  the  adjoining 
field  was  not  theirs,  and  therefore  remonstrating  only  briefly 
with  them,  he  walked  quietly  through  a  gap  in  the  hedge  into 
the  next  field,  and  planted  his  level  on  the  highest  ground  he 
could  find — his  assistant  remaining  at  the  last  level  station, 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  yards  distant,  apparently  quite 
unconscious  of  what  was  taking  place,  although  one  of  the 
brothers  was  hastening  towards  him,  for  the  purpose  of  sending 
him  away.     Had  the  assistant  moved  his  staff  before  Mr.  Gooch 


68  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

had  taken  the  sight  at  it  through  the  telescope  of  his  level,  all 
his  previous  work  would  have  been  lost,  and  the  survey  would 
have  had  to  be  completed  by  some  other  means,  or  not  at  all. 
The  moment  Mr.  Gooch  began  looking  through  the  telescope 
at  the  staff  held  by  his  assistant,  the  farmer  nearest  him,  spread- 
>ut  the  skirts  of  his  coat,  tried  to  place  himself  between  the 
staff  and  the  telescope,  to  intercept  the  view,  and  at  the  same 
time  shouted  violently  to  his  comrade,  desiring  him  to  make 
haste  and  knock  down  the  staff.  But  before  this  could  be  done, 
the  observation  was  completed. 

In  another  instance  a  clergyman  offered  such  decided  oppo- 
sition to  the  intruders,  that  the  expedient  was  resorted  to  of 
surveying  his  property  during  the  time  he  was  engaged  in  his 
public  duties  on  the  Sabbath.  A  strong  force  of  surveyors  were 
in  readiness  to  commence  operations  by  entering  the  grounds  on 
one  side,  at  the  time  that  they  saw  him  fairly  off  on  the  other  ; 
and,  by  an  organised  arrangement,  each  completed  his  task  just 
as  the  reverend  gentleman  ended  his  sermon. 

In  the  surveying  of  the  land  for  a  railway  at  Glenfallach,  a 
serious  affray  took  place  between  the  Breadalbane  people  and 
the  agents  of  the  projectors.  The  first  survey  of  the  line  had 
been  completed  ;  but  it  was  found  necessary  that  an  engineer 
should  be  sent  to  re-examine  a  small  portion  near  Crainlarich. 
Some  days  elapsed  after  the  original  parties  had  retired,  and  as 
the  new  comer  had  only  one  attendant  with  him,  he  at  first 
attracted  little  attention.  But  at  length  the  hated  theodolite 
was  recognised,  and  the  miners  of  Clifton  were  summoned  to 
the  defence  of  the  land  from  the  assaults  of  the  railway  intruders. 
It  was  said  that  the  surveyor  drew  a  sheath  knife  ;  but  whether 
in  his  own  defence,  or  for  the  purpose  of  removing  the  screen 
of  plaids  interposed  between  him  and  the  measuring-rod,  was 
doubtful ;  but  the  survey  being  almost  completed,  the  conflict 
ended. 

Another  disturbance  took  place  near  the  village  of  Appleton, 
eight  miles  from  York,  between  some  "  watchers  "  and  a  railway 
surveyor  and  his  assistant,  who  had  been  employed  by  the 
Cambridge  and  Lincoln  Company.  It  appears  that  the  party 
attempted  to  enter  a  field  of  Sir  W.  Milner,  Bart,  but  their 
progress  was  opposed,  and  a  serious  struggle  ensued,  the  sur- 
veyors making  a  determined  attack  on  the  men  who  obstructed 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    SURVEYING.  69 

them.  The  servants  of  the  baronet,  however,  obtained  a  re- 
inforcement, and  the  aggressors  were  taken  in  custody  to  York. 
On  the  following  day  the  defendants  were  brought  to  the  Castle, 
and  charged  with  committed  assaults,  one  man  being  danger- 
ously wounded  in  the  head,  and  two  others  being  severely 
injured.  After  much  mutual  recrimination,  the  magistrates 
bound  the  surveyor  and  his  assistants  over  to  keep  the  peace 
for  six  months  ;  and  as  their  work  was  nearly  completed,  they 
cheerfully  complied  with  the  requirement. 

One  of  the  most  determined  struggles  of  this  kind  took  place 
on  the  estate  of  Lord  Harborough.  That  nobleman  gave  notice 
to  the  friends  of  the  Peterborough  and  Nottingham  Junction 
Railway  that  he  should  not  permit  their  surveyors  to  enter  his 
land.  In  the  maintenance  of  this  resolution  a  struggle  ensued 
at  Saxby,  near  Stapleford  Park.  The  contest  began  by  one  of 
his  lordship's  men  standing  before  the  surveyor,  and  preventing 
his  carrying  the  chain  forwards,  on  which  the  latter  drew  a 
pistol  and  threatened  to  shoot  him.  Undaunted,  the  keeper 
replied,  "  Shoot  away  !  "  and  a  slight  scuffle  ensued,  in  which 
the  pistol  was,  fortunately,  not  discharged.  This  event  was 
called  "the  Battle  of  Saxby  Bridge,"  as  one  of  the  surveyors 
subsequently  remarked  to  us,  "  and  we  were  lodged  in  Leicester 
jail  as  '  first-class  misdemeanants.'  "  An  effort,  also,  was  made 
to  survey  the  park  from  the  towing-path  of  the  Oakham  Canal, 
which  was  considered  to  be  a  public  road,  whereupon  a  number 
of  Lord  Harborough's  people  obstructed  the  surveyors,  seized 
their  instruments,  and  put  the  parties  themselves  in  a  cart,  to  take 
them  before  a  magistrate.  His  worship,  however,  being  from 
home,  it  is  said  that  his  lordship's  steward  ordered  them  to  be 
turned  out  of  the  cart,  and  while  this  was  being  done,  some  of  the 
surveying  instruments  were  broken.  The  solicitor  of  the  Company 
subsequently  saw  the  steward,  and  declared  his  proceedings 
were  unjustifiable,  but  intimated  that,  if  no  further  obstruction 
were  offered,  legal  measures  would  not  be  resorted  to. 

The  experiences  of  surveyors,  even  when  not  opposed  by 
violence,  have  sometimes  been  unpleasant.  Such  was  the  case 
in  1869,  on  the  part  of  one  who  attended  to  the  survey  for  a 
new  line  to  reach  the  Cleveland  iron  district  in  Yorkshire.  "  For 
some  weeks,"  said  a  local  writer,  "strangers  have  been  about 
the  Cleveland   Hills,  their  object  being  to  get  a  road  through 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

t he  hills  to  the  plain  of  Cleveland.  Of  course  this  work  has 
been  done  'on  the  quiet  '  as  much  as  possible,  but,  nevertheless, 
the  errand  has  oozed  out  Dispersed  into  parties  this  week,  one 
gentleman  (name  unknown,  but  hat  bearing  the  initials  'W.L.L.') 
had  a  dreadful  night  of  it  on  Tuesday,  showing  that  railway 
prospecting,  without  a  guide,  in  the  wild  moorlands  of  North 
Yorkshire,  is  no  joke.  Starting  for  a  'push  on'  from  the 
Grosmont  Junction  towards  Scarborough,  this  gentleman,  in  a 
dense  fog,  found  night  come  on,  in  which  he  became  bewildered, 
and  eventually  rode  or  slid  down  a  clayey  slopemcnt  into  the 
Black  Beck.  Here  he  lost  horse  and  hat,  and  had  himself  great 
difficulty  in  regaining  terra  firmer.  Once  there,  nothing  re- 
mained but  a  night  on  the  moor,  and  there  he  stopped  till 
daylight  ensued,  and  a  kindly  shepherd  housed  and  warmed 
him  in  a  moor-hut.  Having  recovered,  the  'prospector'  was 
taken  to  a  railway  station,  and  left  for  London." 

When  Mr.  Sharland  was  engaged  in  staking  out  the  centre 
line  of  the  then  intended  Settle  and  Carlisle  line  of  the  Midland 
Company,  and  had  taken  up  his  quarters  at  a  little  inn  on  Blea 
Moor,  a  bare  and  bleak  hill  1,250  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  miles  away  from  any  village,  he  was  literally  snowed  up. 
For  three  weeks  it  snowed  continuously.  The  tops  of  the  walls 
round  the  house  were  hidden.  The  snow  lay  eighteen  inches 
above  the  lintel  of  the  front  door, — a  door  six  feet  high.  Of 
course  all  communication  with  the  surrounding  country  was 
suspended  ;  and  the  engineer  and  his  half-dozen  men,  and  the 
landlord  and  his  family,  had  to  live  on  the  eggs  and  bacon 
in  the  house.  In  another  week  their  stock  would  have  been 
exhausted  ;  and  it  was  only  by  making  a  tunnel,  engineer- like, 
through  the  snow  to  the  road  they  could  even  get  water  from 
the  horse  trough  to  drink.* 

The  surveys  for  the  projected  line  being  at  length  completed, 
it  is  required  that  copies  of  the  document  be  deposited  with  the 
clerks  of  the  peace  of  the  counties  through  which  the  line  is 
intended  to  pass,  and  also  with  the  parochial  and  other  author- 
ities ;  and  every  landholder  receives  a  section  showing  the  depth 
of  cutting  or  embankment  across  his  estate. 


*  "The  Midland  Railway:  Its  Rise  and  Progress.*'     By  Frederick   S. 
Williams. 


"  THE    RAILWAY    SESSION."  7  I 

These  and  other  preliminaries  being  settled,  the  duty  of 
"  fighting  for  the  Act,"  as  it  is  termed,  commences.  If  this  is 
obtained,  the  petition  is  transmuted  into  an  Act  of  Parliament, 
and  by  it  the  subscribers  are  authorized  to  incorporate  a  Com- 
pany for  executing  the  proposed  design  and  are  provided  with 
the  powers  requisite  for  their  work. 

The  theory  and  the  practice  of  Parliamentary  Committees  on 
Railway  Bills  have  during  late  years  undergone  considerable 
modifications.  At  one  period  the  Committee  was  open  to  the 
visit  and  the  vote  of  the  members  of  the  boroughs  and  the 
counties  through  which  and  adjoining  which  the  projected  line 
was  to  pass  ;  and  sometimes  a  "  whip  "  was  applied  to  secure 
the  passing  or  the  rejection  of  a  Bill  or  of  a  clause.  Since  the 
year  1844,  however,  members  who  have  been  in  any  way  con- 
nected with  the  particular  line  have  been  excluded  from  taking 
any  direct  share  in  the  decision  on  the  matter.  But  the  most 
memorable  period  in  the  history  of  Parliamentary  Committees 
on  Railways  was  after  the  great  Railway  Mania.  The  excite- 
ment of  what  was  emphatically  called  the  "  Railway  Session  " 
was  unexampled.  Cabs  rushed  in  and  out  of  Palace  Yard  in 
fearful  haste  ;  clerks  and  witnesses  in  their  hurry  tumbled  over 
one  another  ;  while  the  avenues  were  thronged  with  anxious 
groups  of  engineers,  surveyors,  and  shareholders,  waiting  for  the 
meeting  of  the  committees.  Lobbies  and  ante-rooms  were 
besieged  by  crowds  of  railway  projectors,  parliamentary  agents, 
and  others  connected  with  the  great  work  of  the  day ;  and  the 
approaches  to  the  committee-rooms  were  every  now  and  then 
blocked  up  by  sturdy  porters  and  messengers,  struggling  under 
the  weight  of  maps,  plans,  and  sections.  The  old  cloisters  of 
the  Westminster  Palace  rung  with  cabalistic  sounds  of  "  datum 
level,"  "  gradient,"  "  goods  traffic,"  "  loop-line,"  and  other  foreign 
technicalities. 

Counsel  learned  in  the  law  hurried  from  their  chambers  to  the 
committee-room,  in  obedience  to  the  golden  voice  that  invited 
them  ;  and  those  who  divided  the  spoil  of  the  railway  Companies 
had  good  reason  to  remember  that  "  minting  age."  The  desire 
of  the  promoters  of  railways  to  retain  particular  counsel  in  their 
several  cases  was — in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  times — a 
mania  ;  and  though,  doubtless,  the  gentlemen  so  courted  had 
created  the  demand  for  their  services  by  the  ability  they  had 


;2  01  R    [RON    R<  IADS. 

previously  displayed  In  that  particular  line  of  practice,  and 
though  the  handsome  fees  with  which  their  labours  were  re- 
warded, would,  under  ordinal)-  circumstances,  have  secured  their 
best  exertions  on  behalf  of  the  undertaking,  yet,  as  they  had  not 
the  power  i^f  ubiquity,  their  efforts  were  necessarily  limited. 
Often  they  had  to  rush  from  one  committee-room  to  another 
before  they  had  said  half  they  wished  in  advocacy  of  the  views 
of  their  clients:  and  thus  they  spent  the  hours  from  eleven  to 
four  almost  in  a  state  of  bewilderment — the  only  idea  that  pre- 
sented itself  clearly  before  them  being  that,  for  all  this  bustle  and 
work,  they  were  perhaps  receiving  fees  to  the  amount  of  £200  or 
£jOO  a-day.  It  is  affirmed  that  practice  before  Committees  of 
the  House  of  Commons  has,  in  many  cases,  produced  three  times 
larger  incomes  than  ever  have  been  acquired  in  the  regular  pur- 
suit of  the  profession.  Among  others,  Mr.  Cockburn  was  very 
successful.  Mr.  Charles  Austin,  also,  got  into  practice  at  the 
Parliamentary  bar  when  that  profession  "  was  in  its  palmiest 
condition,  and  his  marvellous  gifts  as  an  advocate  gave  him  a 
position  there,  the  like  of  which  was  never  attained  by  any  other 
man  in  any  branch  of  its  profession.  His  income  in  the  year 
1847 — the  great  railway  year — was  something  fabulous.  His  re- 
putation was  so  great  that  he  received  many  briefs  merely  in 
order  to  prevent  his  appearance  on  the  other  side  ;  and  this,  no 
doubt,  is  the  origin  of  the  story  (mythical  or  not)  of  his  being  out 
riding  in  Hyde  Park  on  one  of  the  busiest  days  of  the  session. 
'  What  in  the  world  are  you  doing  here,  Austin  ? '  was  the  inquiry. 
'  I  am  doing  equal  justice  to  all  my  clients.' "  He  is  said  to  have 
made,  for  four  years,  an  average  of  ^40,000  a-year.  The  Hon. 
John  Talbot  is  known  to  have  received  more  than  £12,000 
a-year :  and  juniors,  who  never  obtained  £200  a-year  at  West- 
minster Hall,  made  £3,000  or  £4,000  per  annum  before  com- 
mittees during  those  three  years. 

While  counsel  thus  performed  such  valuable  services  in  the 
cause  of  railways,  there  was  another  class  scarcely  less  import- 
ant— the  witnesses.  Hundreds  and  thousands  of  these  were  in 
request.  There  were  plenty  of  people  to  be  had,  who,  having 
nothing  else  in  the  world  to  do,  for  an  adequate  consideration 
could  express  a  very  decided,  and  of  course  competent,  opinion 
in  reference  to  a  new  line,  or  on  the  resources  of  a  town  in 
their  neighbourhood.     Many,  doubtless,  were  honest  and  sincere 


DISPLAYS    OF    FORENSIC    GENIUS.  73 

enough  ;  but  numbers  did  the  whole  thing  as  a  matter  of  busi- 
ness. 

Amusing  displays  of  the  forensic  genius  of  the  counsel  and 
of  the  engineers,  pitted  against  each  other,  were  made  on  these 
occasions.  The  counsel  who  appears  on  behalf  of  the  line  extols 
its  virtues  to  the  skies  ;  while  at  the  same  time  he  declares  that 
in  an  engineering  point  of  view  he  cannot  conceive  that  any 
difficulty  can  possibly  arise.  If  a  mountain,  or  a  range  of 
mountains  stands  in  the  way,  he  penetrates  its  depths  with  the 
utmost  facility ;  and  gives  so  eloquent  a  description  of  the 
ease  with  which  the  work  can  be  accomplished,  that  the  Com- 
mittee almost  begin  to  think  that  tunnel-making  is  an  elegant 
recreation,  or  that  it  is  as  easy  to  hammer  and  blast  a  route 
through  whinstone  coeval  with  the  creation,  as  to  thrust  a  red- 
hot  poker  through  a  keg  of  Irish  butter.  If  a  broad  river 
opposes  the  course  of  the  new  line,  it  can  quickly  be  spanned 
by  a  bridge ;  if  a  valley  intervenes,  a  viaduct  can  be  thrown 
across  which  shall  be  as  inexpensive  as  it  is  durable  ;  if  a  series 
of  gradients  are  indispensable,  such  as  have  never  before  been 
attempted,  he  has  already  provided  against  any  evil  arising 
therefrom,  and  has,  indeed,  rendered  them  a  positive  benefit  ; 
for  they  are  so  planned,  that  the  impetus  gained  in  the  descent 
of  the  one  incline  shall  be  more  than  sufficient — whichever  way 
the  train  may  be  going — to  enable  it  to  ascend  the  other.  In 
short,  there  never  was  a  line  having  a  greater  accumulation  of 
positive  advantages,  and  a  greater  absence  of  everything  to  dis- 
courage those  connected  with  it. 

The  opposing  counsel  rises.  He  has  the  utmost  confidence  in 
the  ability  of  his  learned  friend,  but  he  has  on  this  occasion  the 
misfortune  to  differ  from  him.  The  engineers  have  examined 
the  proposed  line  with  the  greatest  care,  and  they  have  shown 
that  the  route  which  his  friend  has  selected  is,  on  the  whole,  the 
most  judicious  that  could  have  been  chosen,  this  only  proves 
how  wrong  it  is  to  attempt  the  formation  of  a  line  at  all,  since 
the  best  is,  in  effect,  impossible.  The  engineering  difficulties 
are  extreme  ;  and  though  the  abilities  of  his  learned  friend  in 
the  advocacy  of  the  scheme  are  distinguished,  yet  the  cost  that 
would  be  incurred,  if  it  were  attempted  to  be  carried  out,  would 
be  ruinous  to  the  shareholders,  and  the  works,  if  completed, 
most  hazardous  to  the  public.     How  is  it  possible,  he  asks  with 


74  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

confidence,  to  tunnel  through  miles  of  quicksands  and  basaltic 
rock,  which  have  been  obviously  arranged  by  Nature  in  such 
strata  as  to  prevent  any  such  undertaking  ?  What  engineering 
skill  shall  be  competent  to  can')-  an  embankment  over  marshes, 
in  comparison  with  which 

— "  The  great  Serbonian  bog, 
Twixt  Damiata  and  Mount  Casius  old, 
Where  armies  whole  have  sunk," 

sinks  into  insignificance?  How  can  the  piers  of  a  viaduct  be 
properly  supported  on  a  quagmire,  or  a  cutting  be  made  through 
a  mass  of  floating  mud  ?  And  all  this  is  proposed  to  be  under- 
taken in  order  to  unite  two  towns  which  have  not  two  interests 
or  commodities  in  common,  except  one  everlasting  feud,  which 
may  be  traced  from  son  to  sire  back  to  the  time  of  the  Wars  of 
the  Roses  !  On  the  whole,  therefore,  he  has  been  driven  to  the 
deliberate  and  conscientious  conviction, — though  upon  personal 
grounds  he  should  have  greatly  preferred  that  it  had  been  other- 
wise,— that  a  more  dangerous,  impracticable,  and  worthless  line 
has  never  been  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  Parliament. 

In  the  same  temper  the  evidence  and  the  witnesses  are  dealt 
with.  An  atrabilarious  lawyer,  whose  keen  eyes  twinkle  as  he 
thinks  he  has  found  a  point  which  will  be  fatal  to  his  opponent, 
endeavours,  "  with  the  voice  of  an  exasperated  cockatoo,"  to 
make  the  opposing  engineer  contradict  himself;  but  that  gentle- 
man is  not  to  be  confused.  He  is  the  hero  of  a  hundred  com- 
mittees ;  he  replies  with  an  amiable  tranquillity  not  surpassed 
by  that  which  characterized  the  illustrious  Sam  Weller ;  and  he 
sometimes  returns  his  answers  with  equally  damaging  effect. 
If,  perchance,  he  should  be  close  pressed,  he  occasionally  avails 
himself  of  one  safe  retreat,  and  escapes  into  a  thicket  of  algebra, 
from  which  he  shoots  forth  a  furious  volley  of  arguments  and 
terms  about  the  reduction  of  the  horizon,  the  curvature  of  the 
surface  of  the  triangle  in  relation  to  the  ellipticity  of  the  earth  ; 
about  azimuths  and  longitudes,  sines  and  cosines,  logarithms  and 
chord  angles,  optical  squares,  box-sextants,  zenith  distances, 
equatorial  axes,  and  terrestrial  arcs,  into  which  neither  counsel 
nor  members  care  or  dare  to  follow  him  ;  and  fortified  with  the 
mysteries  of  his  craft,  he  can  defy  the  universe. 

During  that  memorable  "  Railway  Session,"  many  an  odd 
scene  occurred  within  the  walls  of  committee  rooms.     The  scrip 


DISPLAYS    OF    FORENSIC    GENIUS.  75 

of  a  particular  company  is  running  up  or  down,  according  to 
the  eloquence  of  the  learned  counsel  or  the  want  of  it  on  either 
side.  Business  is  proceeding  listlessly  ;  one  or  two  members  are 
asleep  ;  others  are  chatting  or  comparing  the  horticultural  speci- 
mens in  their  respective  button-holes,  while  a  junior  counsel  is 
examining  some  witness  who  demonstrates  that  the  line  may 
cross  a  particular  turnpike  without  disturbing  the  equanimity  of 
mind  of  one  thistle-browsing  donkey,  or  of  one  nervous  gosling. 
Immediately  on  his  conclusion,  a  "leader"  on  the  other  side  has 
elbowed  his  way  through  the  crowd,  and,  to  the  horror  of  the 
junior,  starts  up  and  formally  announces  that  he  has  a  proposi- 
tion to  make  which  must  settle  the  whole  question,  and  which  is 
at  the  same  time  so  advantageous  to  all  parties  that  no  objec- 
tion can  possibly  be  urged  by  the  other  side.  The  committee 
discard  the  flowers  and  other  minor  considerations,  and  listen 
with  attention  to  the  proposal ;  before  it  is  concluded,  the 
affrighted  junior  has  dispatched  half  a  dozen  attorney's  clerks 
for  his  leader ;  and  in  reply  to  the  query  of  the  chairman  as  to 
what  he  is  prepared  to  say  in  answer  to  the  unanswerable 
suggestion,  he  begs  permission  to  wait  a  few  moments. 

One  of  the  messengers  has  at  length  found  the  principal  in 
the  middle  of  a  speech  in  reference  to  another  line  on  the  merits 
of  which  he  is  descanting.  He  has,  perhaps,  just  stated  that  he 
shall  now  proceed  to  demonstate  the  necessity  of  the  line  of 
which  he  is  the  advocate  when  a  mysterious  whisper  reaches  his 
ear;  and,  without  the  alteration  of  his  countenance,  he  adds, 
'  But  the  case  is  so  clear  that  it  would  be  altogether  a  work  of 
supererogation  to  proceed  with  it ;  and  I  shall  therefore  leave 
the  witnesses  in  the  hands  of  my  learned  friend,  Mr.  So-and-so, 
and  beg  permission  of  the  committee  to  withdraw  for  a  few 
minutes.  Away  he  goes  ;  arrives  just  in  time  to  save  his  junior 
from  going  into  a  fit  of  apoplexy  ;  and  having  received  from  him 
certain  instructions,  he  pours  forth  a  torrent  of  declamation 
against  the  aforesaid  unanswerable  proposition,  till  his  presence 
is  required  elsewhere. 

Of  one  class  of  speeches,  a  description,  not  excessively  over- 
coloured,  was  given  by  a  writer  in  Blackwood's  Magazine,  in 
1845  :  "I  swear  to  you,  Bogle,"  he  says,  "that  no  later  than  a 
week  ago,  I  listened  to  such  a  picture  of  Glasgow  and  the  Clyde 
from  the  lips  of  a  gentleman  eminent  alike  in  law  and  letters,  as 


~  i  l  iUR    [RON    roads. 

would  have  thrown  a  diorama  of  Damascus  into  the  shade.  I  [e 
had  it  all,  sir,  -from  the  orchards  of  Clydesdale  to  the  banks  of 
Bothwell  ;  the  pastoral  slopes  of  Ruglen,  and  the  emerald  soli- 
tudes of  the  Green.  The  river  flowed  down  towards  the  sea  in 
translucent  waves  of  crystal.  From  the  parapets  of  the  bridge 
you  watched  the  salmon  cleaving  their  way  upwards  in  vivid 
lines  of  light.  Never  did  Phcebus  beam  upon  a  lovelier  object 
than  the  fair  suburb  of  the  Gorbals,  as  seen  from  the  Broomic- 
law,  reposing  upon  its  shadow  in  perfect  stillness.  Then  came 
the  forest  of  masts,  the  activity  of  the  dockyards,  and 

'  The  impress  of  shipwrights,  whose  hard  toil 
Uoth  scarce  divide  the  Sunday  from  the  week.' 

Farther  down,  the  villas  of  the  merchant-princes  burst  upon 
your  view,  each  of  them  a  perfect  Sirmio  ;  then  Port  Glasgow, 
half  spanned  by  the  arch  of  a  dissolving  rainbow  ;  Dumbarton 
grand  and  solemn,  as  became  the  death-place  of  the  Bruce ;  Ben 
Lomond,  with  its  hoary  head  swathed  in  impenetrable  clouds  ; 
and  lo  !  the  ocean  and  the  isles.  Not  a  Glasgow  man  in  the 
committee-room  but  yearned  with  love  and  admiration  towards 
the  gifted  speaker,  who  certainly  did  make  out  a  case  for  the 
Queen  of  the  West,  such  as  no  matter-of-fact  person  could 
possibly  have  believed.  And  all  this  was  done  by  merely  sub- 
stituting a  Claude  Lorraine  glass  for  our  ordinary  dingy  atmo- 
sphere. The  outline  was  most  correct  and  graphic  ;  but  the  secret 
lay  in  the  handling  and  distribution  of  the  colours.  I  shall  not 
wonder  if  the  whole  committee,  clerk  included,  come  down  this 
autumn  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  that  terrestrial  paradise." 

The  reputation  acquired  by  some  Parliamentary  counsel  is  of 
decided  though  not  entirely  flattering  character.  One  of  the 
most  eminent  of  these  is  Sir  B.  Denison,  O.C.  "  His  learned 
friend,"  said  Mr.  Mereweather  on  one  occasion  of  Mr.  Denison, 
"  in  private  life  was  as  amiable  as  anybody  could  desire,  but 
before  these  tribunals  he  seemed  to  forget  all  that  gentle  manner, 
and  there  could  be  no  two  more  distinct  persons  than  Mr.  Deni- 
son, his  private  friend,  and  Mr.  Denison,  his  public  opponent." 
He  was  therefore  satisfied  that  in  private  his  learned  friend  would 
regret  having,  by  a  careless  expression,  trampled  upon  the  dead 
genius  of  a  great  man  like  Mr.  Brunei." 

Sir  Edward  Watkin,  speaking  before  a  meeting  about  a  Bill 


SIR    B.    DENISON,    Q.C.  77 

in  which  he  was  interested,  said  :  "Well,  then,  we  had  one  of 
those  mild  and  gentlemanly  attacks  with  which  Mr.  Denison, 
Q.C,  honours  us  at  different  periods,  whenever  we  do  anything 
that  he  does  not  approve  of.  He  particularly  fell  foul  of  me, 
which  he  was  quite  welcome  to  do,  for  it  might  amuse  him,  and 
did  not  hurt  me.  He  spoke  of  my  '  long-cherished  design  of 
fixing  my  claws  in  the  Great  Northern.'  Well,  now,  while  I 
have  always  been  ready,  as  you  know,  that  this  railway  should 
enter  into  a  closer  alliance  with  the  Great  Northern,  I  have  never 
on  any  single  occasion  been  the  originator  of  the  numerous 
'  nibbles  '  which  the  Great  Northern  has  made  at  this  property. 
The  Great  Northern  look  at  us  with  that  mild  and  anxious 
benevolence  which  distinguishes  those  who  wish  to  enjoy  a  treat, 
but  have  not  the  moral  courage  to  pay  the  proper  price  for  it. 
But  we  were  told  by  Mr.  Denison  that  we  not  merely  came  for 
the  Coal  Bill,  but  to  stick  our  claws  into  the  Great  Northern. 
And  Mr.  Denison  being  particularly  severe  upon  me,  seemed  to 
consider  that  I  was  the  prime  conspirator  in  all  these  matters. 
Now,  I  must  say  that  my  personal  relations  with  the  Great 
Northern,  I  think,  ought  to  have  protected  me  from  any  attack, 
from  either  Mr.  Denison  or  anybody  else  connected  with  the 
Great  Northern.  They  surely  have  not  forgotten  that  it  was 
from  a  nice  sense  of  what  was  due  to  you  and  due  to  the  Great 
Northern  that,  holding  a  very  profitable  appointment  at  that 
time  under  your  service,  I  resigned  it  because  I  believed,  first  of 
all,  that  the  agreement  made  with  the  Midland  was  contrary  to 
your  interests  ;  and,  secondly,  because  I  believed  it  was  contrary 
to  good  faith  with  the  Great  Northern.  And  such  was  the 
opinion  of  the  chairman  of  the  Great  Northern  upon  that  matter, 
for  I  remember  going  to  King's  Cross  to  deliver  up  my  ivory 
pass,  and  being  requested  by  the  chairman  to  receive  that  pass 
back  from  his  hands,  disconnected  as  I  was  then  from  every 
English  railway,  with  a  request  that  I  would  keep  it  for  life,  in 
testimony  of  the  chairman's  high  opinion  of  the  conduct  I  had 
always  pursued  towards  the  company  over  which  he  presided. 
Therefore,  anybody  attacking  me  on  the  part  of  the  Great 
Northern  reminds  me  very  much  of  the  old  story  of  the  turtle 
and  the  scorpion.  Fleeing  from  a  burning  wood,  the  scorpion 
managed  to  persuade  a  good-natured  turtle  to  take  him  upon 
his  back  and  swim  with  him  across  a  lake  and  land  him  on  the 


T^  OUR    ikon    ROADS, 

other  side  in  a  haven  of  safety.  But  the  poor  unfortunate  turtle, 
as  he  was  going  across,  had  a  very  uncomfortable  time  of  it,  for 
the  scorpion  poked  his  sting  between  the  scales  of  the  friend  who 
was  doing  him  this  service.  On  questioning  the  reptile,  when 
they  got  to  the  other  side,  as  to  what  he  meant  by  such  conduct, 
the  scorpion  replied,  '  I  did  not  mean  to  injure  you  at  all  ;  I 
assure  you  I  have  no  malice  against  you  ;  I  am  extremely  grate- 
ful for  what  you  have  done  for  me,  but  it  is  my  nature!  Well, 
gentlemen,  I  suppose  it  is  Mr.  Denison's  nature,  and  there  we 
will  leave  him." 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Denison  was  once  asked  why  a  man  of  his 
high  position  and  great  wealth  troubled  himself  to  continue  the 
toils  of  his  profession.  "  Well,"  he  replied,  "  the  doctor  says  I 
ought,  for  the  good  of  my  health,  to  take  a  great  deal  of  amuse- 
ment ;  and  this  is  the  cheapest  way  in  which  I  can  get  it." 
And  certainly  its  cheapness  can  be  guaranteed,  since,  instead  of 
costing  him  anything,  it  is  said  to  have  brought  him  in  busy 
sessions  £20,000  to  £30,000  a  year. 

While  the  arguments  and  evidence  have  thus  been  advanced 
within  the  committee-rooms,  great  efforts  have  been  made  "  out 
of  doors"  by  the  friends  of  the  Bill.  If  possible,  the  land- 
owners have  been  induced  to  concur  in  the  scheme,  and  to 
signify  their  assent  thereto.  Merchants,  manufacturers,  and 
tradesmen  have  been  brought  from  the  towns  through  which  the 
intended  line  will  pass,  to  express  their  opinion  in  its  favour. 
Objectors  to  the  railroad  are  conciliated,  and  opposition  even 
"  bought  off."  When  landowners  have  been  asked  by  the 
company  if  they  approved  the  general  design  of  the  proposed 
railway,  they  have  given  their  answer  in  the  negative,  although 
they  have  privately  avowed  their  anxiety  that  the  railway  should 
be  made  ;  and  they  have  admitted  that  their  sole  object  in 
opposing  the  line  was  to  obtain  from  the  company  a  larger  sum 
of  money  for  their  land. 

The  grounds  of  the  opposition  made  were  various.  "The 
Trent  Valley  Railway,  when  proposed  in  1836,  was  thrown  out," 
said  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  "  in  consequence  of  a  barn,  of  the 
value  of  about  £10,  which  was  shown  upon  the  general  plan,  not 
having  been  exhibited  upon  an  enlarged  sheet.  In  1840,  the 
line  again  went  before  Parliament.  It  was  opposed  by  the  Grand 
Junction  Railway  Company,  and  no  less  than  four  hundred  and 


COMPENSATION.  79 

fifty  allegations  were  made  against  it.  A  sub-committee  was 
engaged  twenty-two  days  in  considering  these  objections.  They 
ultimately  reported  that  four  or  five  of  the  allegations  were 
proved,  but  the  Standing  Orders'  Committee,  nevertheless,  al- 
lowed the  bill  to  be  proceeded  with.  Upon  the  second  reading, 
it  was  supported  by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  had  a  large  majority  in 
its  favour.  It  then  went  into  committee.  The  committee  took 
sixty-three  days  to  consider  it,  and  ultimately  Parliament  was 
prorogued  before  the  report  could  be  made.  Such  were  the 
delays  and  consequent  expenses  which  the  forms  of  the  House 
occasioned,  that  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  ultimate  cost  of 
constructing  the  whole  line  was  very  much  more  than  the  amount 
expended  in  obtaining  permission  from  Parliament  to  make  it."1 

One  noble  lord  had  an  estate  near  a  proposed  line  of  railway, 
and  on  this  estate  a  beautiful  mansion.  Naturally  averse  to  the 
desecration  of  his  home  and  its  neighbourhood,  he  gave  his  most 
uncompromising  opposition  to  the  Bill,  and  found,  in  the  com- 
mittees of  both  Houses,  sympathizing  listeners.  Little  did  it 
aid  the  projectors  that  they  urged  that  the  line  did  not  pass 
within  six  miles  of  that  princely  domain  ;  that  the  high  road 
was  much  closer  to  his  dwelling ;  and  that,  as  the  spot  nearest 
the  house  would  be  passed  by  means  of  a  tunnel,  no  unsightliness 
would  arise.  But  no  arguments  affected  the  decision  of  the 
proprietor,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  appeal  to  other  con- 
siderations. His  opposition  was  ultimately  bought  off  by  a 
promise  of  ^200,000,  to  be  paid  when  the  railway  reached  his 
neighbourhood.  Time  wore  on,  funds  became  scarce,  and  the 
company  decided  that  it  would  be  best  to  stop  short  at  a  par- 
ticular portion  of  their  line,  long  before  they  reached  the  estate 
of  the  noble  lord.  Accordingly,  in  a  second  bill  they  sought  to 
be  released  by  Parliament  from  the  obligation  of  constructing 
that  portion  of  the  line  which  had  been  so  obnoxious.  What 
was  their  surprise  at  finding  this  very  man  their  chief  opponent, 
and  that  fresh  means  had  now  to  be  adopted  of  silencing  his 
objections  ! 

Other  instances  may  be  given.  A  line  had  to  be  brought  near 
the  property  of  a  certain  member  of  Parliament.  It  threatened 
no  injury  to  the  estate,  either  by  affecting  its  appearance  or  its 

1  Address  to  the  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers. 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

worth  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  afforded  him  a  cheap  and  expeditious 
means  of  communication  with  the  metropolis.  But  the  pro- 
prietor,  being  a  legislator,  had  power  at  head-quarters,  and  by 
his  influence  he  nearly  turned  the  line  of  railway  aside  ;  and  this 

deviation  would  have  cost  the  projectors  the  sum  of  .£60,000. 
Now  it  so  happened  that  the  house  of  this  honourable  member, 
who  had  insisted  on  such  costly  deference  to  his  views,  was 
afflicted  with  the  dry  rot,  and  threatened  every  hour  to  fall  upon 
his  head.  To  pull  down  and  rebuild  it  would  require  the  sum 
of  £30,000.  The  idea  of  a  compromise,  beneficial  to  both 
parties,  suggested  itself.  If  the  railway  company  rebuilt  the 
house,  or  paid  £30,000  to  the  owner  of  the  estate,  and  were 
allowed  to  pursue  their  original  line,  it  was  clear  that  they 
would  be  ^30,000  the  richer,  as  the  enforced  deviation  would 
cost  .£60,000  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  owner  of  the  estate 
would  obtain  a  secure  house,  or  receive  ^30,000  in  money. 
The  proposed  bargain  was  struck,  and  ,£30,000  was  paid  by 
the  company.  "  How  can  you  live  in  that  house,"  said  some 
friend  to  him  afterwards,  "  with  the  railroad  coming  so  near  ? " 
"  Had  it  not  done  so,"  was  the  reply,  "  I  could  not  have  lived 
in  it  at  all."  * 

Sums  of  money  ranging  from  £5,000  to  ,£120,000  were  given 
ostensibly  for  strips  of  land,  but  really  to  purchase  consent.  In 
one  neighbourhood  it  was  found  expedient  to  buy  off  opposition 
at  a  price  which,  under  the  ordinary  calculation  of  railway 
profits,  would  oblige  the  company  to  raise  £15,000  per  annum 
of  additional  tolls.  In  another  case  a  nobleman  demanded 
.£30,000  as  the  price  of  coming  across  an  angle  of  his  estate, 
to  which  the  Company  agreed  ;  but  finding  afterwards  that  the 
line  could  be  more  conveniently  made  by  slightly  changing  the 
route,  they  proposed  to  do  so  ;  whereupon  the  nobleman,  re- 
luctant to  lose  the  .£30,000,  threatened  them  with  such  powerful 
opposition  that  it  was  judged  prudent  to  pay  the  money, 
although  not  a  foot  of  the  land  was  touched.  In  another  case, 
a  man  who  had  demanded  four  bridges  to  connect  his  property, 
found,  after  the  signing  of  the  agreement,  that  half  the  money 
they  would  cost  would  be  more  serviceable  to  him ;  and  he 
proposed  this  as  a  compromise,  which  the  directors  accepted, 


Fraser's  Magazbie. 


RUNNING    UP    A    BILL.  8 1 

paying  him  the  money  in  addition  to  what  he  had  received  for 
the  land.  An  account  once  sent  in  to  the  Eastern  Counties 
Company  may  serve  as  a  humble  specimen  of  the  demands  of 
some  tenants.     We  quote  it  verbatim  : — 

1838     To  Hy  Finch  £     s. 

May     A  Bridge  laid  across  River  for  Parth  over  four  Meddows  of 

grass — the  crops  of  grass  very  much  beated  abought  with  Men 

and  Dogs — I  have  found  five  large  dogs  with  as  many  Men  in 

the  crops  at  a  time— almost  afrade  of  being  put  into  the  river  by 

them 20     o 

When  the  hay  on  the  cock  sadley  puled  about  and  spoiled — have 
found  3  Men  at  a  time  laying  in  the  hay  cocks — the  hay  sadley 
dameged        ...........     10     o 

A  horse  drove  into  the  river — cast — and  so  much  drowned  as  never 

Stood  any  more 1 5     o 

4 — 5  and  6  Cows  at  a  time  milked,  drove  from  their  lodging  and 

sadley  disturbed 52     o 

Removing  post  and  rail  fence  across  the  third  Meddow — earring  away 

and  laying  up         ..........       3     o 

Loss  of  growing  5  cwt.  Cattle  Cabbage  Seed  at  3^.  lb.  .         .     84     o 

Loss  of  2  Acers  for  parths  4  years .     40     o 

Profit  of  the  2  acers  4  years         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .     16    o 

Trafick  of  timber  Carriages,  Horses,  Carts  &c,  over  the  4  meddows       5     o 

Repearing  Gates,  locks  and  fences  the  4  years 4     4 

Sloping  up  hedges  to  ceap  cattle  from  straying  the  4  years  .  .84 
Garden  fence  broken,  robed  and  plundered  the  4  years  .  .  .20 
Manewer  as  mendment  on  the  2  Acers,  Land  in  Spring  of  183S— 40 

load  ioj- 20    o 


&79  3 
The  case  went  into  court,  occupied  ten  hours,  and  the  jury 
eventually  gave  a  verdict  for  £49. 

On  one  occasion,  a  trial  occurred  in  which  an  eminent  land- 
valuer  was  put  into  the  witness-box  to  swell  the  amount  of 
damages,  and  he  proceeded  to  expatiate  on  the  injury  committed 
by  railroads  in  general,  and  especially  by  the  one  in  question,  in 
cutting  up  the  properties  they  invaded.  When  he  had  finished 
the  delivery  of  his  evidence,  the  counsel  for  the  Company  put 
a  newspaper  into  his  hand,  and  asked  him  whether  he  had  not 
inserted  a  certain  advertisement  therein.  The  fact  could  not  be 
denied,  and  the  advertisement  proved  to  be  a  declaration  by  the 
land-valuer  himself,  that  the  approach  of  the  railway  would 
prove  exceedingly  beneficial  to  some  property  in  its  immediate 
vicinity,  then  on  sale. 

G 


82  OUR    ikon    ROADS. 

An  illustration  of  the  difference  between  the  exorbitant 
demands  made  by  parties  for  compensation,  and  the  real  value 
o(  the  property,  may  be  mentioned.  The  first  claim  made  by 
the  directors  of  the  Glasgow  Lunatic  Asylum  on  the  Edinburgh 
and  Glasgow  Railway  is  stated  to  have  been  no  less  than  £44,000. 
Before  the  trial  came  on,  this  sum  was  reduced  to  .£10,000;  the 
amount  awarded  by  the  jury  was  £873.  In  another  case  only 
one-fiftieth  of  the  amount  demanded  by  the  owner  of  land  was, 
by  arbitration,  finally  awarded. 

The  opposition  thus  made,  whether  feigned  or  real,  it  was 
always  advisable  to  remove  ;  and  sums  of  £35,000,  £40,000, 
£50,000,  £100,000,  and  £120,000  have  thus  been  paid.  An 
honourable  member  is  said  to  have  received  £30,000  to  withdraw 
his  opposition  to  a  Bill  before  the  House ;  and  "not  far  off  the 
celebrated  year  1845,  a  lady  of  title,  so  gossips  talk,  asked  a 
certain  nobleman  to  support  a  certain  Bill,  stating  that,  if  he  did, 
she  had  the  authority  of  the  secretary  of  a  great  company  to 
inform  him  that  fifty  shares  in  a  certain  railway,  then  at  a 
considerable  premium,  would  be  at  his  disposal.  This,  of  course, 
is  no  bribery  ;  but  we  wonder  whether  it  explains  the  reason  of 
some  people  having  so  many  friends  in  Parliament."  *  Excep- 
tions there  have  been  to  this  spirit.  It  was  of  such  that  Sir 
Robert  Peel  spoke,  when,  on  turning  the  first  sod  of  the  Trent 
Valley  line,  he  said  to  its  directors  :  "  I  assure  them  that  there 
are  many  persons  in  this  neighbourhood  who  have  not  scrupled 
to  sacrifice  private  feeling  and  comfort,  by  consenting  to  their 
land  being  appropriated  to  the  Trent  Valley  Railway.  They 
have  given  that  consent  from  a  conviction  that  this  undertaking 
was  one  conducive  to  the  public  benefit,  and  that  considerations 
of  private  interest  should  not  obstruct  the  great  one  of  the 
public  good." 

One  pleasing  circumstance,  highly  honourable  to  the  gentle- 
man concerned,  must  not  be  omitted.  The  late  Mr.  Labouchere 
had  made  an  agreement  with  the  Eastern  Counties  Company 
for  a  passage  through  his  estate,  near  Chelmsford,  for  the  price 
of  £35,000  :  his  son  and  successor,  the  Right  Honourable  Henry 
Labouchere,  finding  that  the  property  was  not  deteriorated  to 
the  anticipated  extent,  voluntarily  returned  £15,000.    The  Duke 

*  Herapath's  Journal. 


BUYING    OFF    OPPOSITION.  83 

of  Bedford,  also,  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  returned 
,£150,000  paid  for  land  taken  by  a  railway,  on  the  ground  that 
his  estate  was  benefited,  and  that  no  compensation  was  due. 

The  cost  of  purchasing  land,  and  for  compensation,  has  been 
stated  by  Mr.  Laing,  in  a  paper  appended  to  the  evidence  given 
by  him  before  a  select  Parliamentary  committee  on  railways,  as 
follows  : — 

Newcastle  and  Carlisle  Railway        .         .         .  £2,200  per  mile. 

Grand  Junction 3,000        ,, 

South  Western  ......        4,000        „ 

Manchester  and  Leeds      .         .         .         .         .        6,150        „ 

London  and  Birmingham,  and  Great  Western  .        6,300        „ 

while,  on  three  other  lines,  the  expenditure  has  averaged 
£"14,000  per  mile.  "There  can  be  no  doubt,"  says  Mr.  Noble, 
"  that,  in  every  instance,  the  price  claimed  and  paid,  either  by 
agreement  or  under  award,  has  been  largely  in  excess  of  the 
actual  value  of  the  property  sold,  notably  so  in  the  case  of 
railways  ;  although  it  is  impossible  for  a  railway  to  be  con- 
structed through  an  estate  without  largely  increasing  its  value, 
enormous  claims  have  been  made,  and  allowed,  as  compensation 
for  imaginary  injuries."  Mr.  Laing  estimated  that  the  waste  of 
capital  incurred  in  this  country,  under  the  head  of  land  and 
compensation,  amounted  to  more  than  two  millions  and  a  half 
sterling, — a  sum  immensely  augmented  since. 

The  practice  of  buying  off  opposition  has  not  been  confined 
to  the  proprietors  of  land.  We  learn  from  one  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary reports,  that  in  a  certain  district,  a  pen  and  ink  warfare 
between  two  rival  companies  ran  so  high,  and  was,  at  least  on 
one  side,  rewarded  with  such  success,  that  the  friends  of  the 
older  of  the  projected  lines  thought  it  expedient  to  enter  into 
treaty  with  their  literary  opponent,  and  its  editor  soon  retired 
on  a  fortune.  It  is  also  asserted  that  in  a  midland  county,  the 
facts  and  arguments  of  an  editor  were  wielded  with  such  vigour, 
that  the  opposing  company  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  extra- 
ordinary means  on  the  occasion.  Bribes  were  offered,  but 
refused  ;  an  opposition  paper  was  started,  but  its  conductors 
quailed  before  the  energy  of  their  opponent ;  every  scheme  that 
ingenuity  could  devise,  and  money  carry  out,  was  attempted, 
but  they  successively  and  utterly  failed.  At  length  a  director 
hit    on   a   Machiavelian  plan — he   was   introduced    to    the  pro- 


S4  01  R    IK(>\    R(  IADS. 

prietor  o\  the  journal,  whom  he  cautiously  informed  that  he 
wished  to  risk  a  few  thousands  in  newspaper  property,  and 
actually  induced  his  unconscious  victim  to  sell  the  property, 
unknown  to  the  editor.  When  the  bargain  was  concluded,  the 
plot  was  discovered  J  but  it  was  then  too  late,  and  the  wily 
director  took  possession  of  the  copyright  of  the  paper  and  the 
printing-office,  on  behalf  of  the  Company.  The  services  of  the 
editor,  however,  were  not  to  be  bought :  he  refused  to  barter 
away  his  independence,  and  he  retired,  taking  with  him  the 
respect  of  friends  and  foes. 

In  speaking  of  the  subject  of  compensation  generally,  Mr. 
Venables,  O.C.,  in  1873,  remarked  :  "  I  remember  hearing  an 
agent  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  give  evidence  that  the  duke 
could  ride  on  his  land  twenty-four  miles  straight  on  end.  How 
could  a  railway  be  made  in  such  a  country  if  it  does  not  go 
through  his  estate  ?  The  park  of  Clumber  alone  consists  of 
upwards  of  4,000  acres,  which  is  something  of  a  protection  to 
the  house.  I  remember  perfectly  well  when  there  was  a  ball 
at  Clumber  in  the  dead  of  winter,  a  great  many  of  the  visitors 
left  somewhere  about  four  or  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
they  drove  about  in  the  park  till  daylight  at  eight  o'clock,  not 
being  able  to  find  their  way  out  of  it.  That  park  alone  is  a 
tolerable  protection  to  the  privacy  of  the  house.  When  people 
are  on  a  very  great  scale,  it  is  just  like  a  very  stout  man  not 
being  able  to  get  through  a  hole  as  well  as  a  slimmer  man — 
a  very  big  duke  cannot  get  about  the  country  without  being 
interfered  with  by  those  who  must  necessarily  claim  the  right 
to  cross  his  territory. 

"  Then  our  opponents  give  in  detail  the  cases  of  severance  of 
the  duke  and  his  tenants.  There  is  no  doubt  they  will  all  be 
fully  compensated.  There  are  farmers  some  of  whose  farms  we 
traverse,  and  how  can  an  estate  of  enormous  magnitude — 34,000 
acres — expect  that  there  shall  be  no  railway  across  it.  And  if 
railways  come  across  they  will  cut  up  the  fields  ;  and  when  rail- 
ways do  so,  it  always  happens  that  the  fields  are  cut  off  from 
the  farm-house  at  exactly  the  very  part  of  the  farm  that  it  is 
particularly  important  they  should  not  be  cut  off.  But,  in  fact, 
they  will  not  be  cut  off,  for  there  will  be  all  sorts  of  crossings  and 
hridges  and  accommodation  works  of  some  kind  ;  and  every 
one  knows  that  though  railways  look  so  shocking  before  they 


PARLIAMENTARY    COMMITTEES.  85 

are  made,  when  they  are  made  people  get  exceedingly  well  used 
to  them.  The  people  will  have  their  money,  and  with  their 
money  they  will  be  very  happy,  and  will  no  longer  think  about 
any  grievance  connected  with  the  railway." 

At  length  the  arguments  and  witnesses  before  the  Parlia- 
mentary Committees,  in  reference  to  the  proposed  line,  are  con- 
cluded ;  and,  after  due  deliberation,  a  decision  has  to  be  made. 
It  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  that  this  should  always  be  in 
accordance  with  wisdom  ;  it  is  indisputable  that  in  some  instances 
grievous  and  irreparable  errors  have  been  committed.  In  the 
case  of  the  Brighton  line,  of  the  three  brought  before  the  Com- 
mittee, it  is  declared  that  the  worst,  and  the  shortest  by  only  a 
trifling  distance,  was  selected.  One  route  was  proposed,  which, 
passing  through  a  natural  gap  in  the  hills,  avoided  the  necessity 
of  tunnelling,  and  the  outlay  and  inconvenience  consequent 
thereon. 

The  decision  of  a  Committee  is  at  last  about  to  be  announced, 
and  on  more  than  one  occasion  we  have  been  present  at  the 
critical  moment.  One  day  we  were  only  just  in  time.  We  had 
been  busy  all  the  morning,  and  were  now  seated  in  one  of  the 
voluptuous  chairs  in  the  magnificent  "  Reading-Room "  of  the 
"  Midland  Grand  "  at  St.  Pancras,  rewarding  our  industry  by  a 
leisurely  scanning  of-  the  papers,  when,  as  the  clock  in  the  tower 
solemnly  boomed  forth  the  half-hour  past  three,  we  remembered 
that  that  was  about  the  time  at  which  a  certain  Commons  Com- 
mittee were  expected  to  pronounce  its  decision  on  a  railway 
measure  which  the  Midland  Company  had  projected.  We 
dropped  our  paper  with  so  much  more  precipitancy  than  de- 
corum that  an  old  gentleman  looked  up  with  astonishment,  and 
gazed  at  us  over  his  spectacles  as  if  he  had  a  vague  impression 
that  we  had  suddenly  gone  out  of  our  mind  ;  and,  hieing  our 
way  over  the  rich  and  noiseless  carpets  of  the  corridor  and  stair- 
case, were  soon  in  eager  colloquy  with  a  hansom  cabman. 

"  Palace  Yard  in  fifteen  minutes  !  "  we  exclaimed. 

"  Can't  do  it,"  he  replied.  "  'Taint  worth  while  ;  break  the 
knees  of  a  thirty-pound  horse,  and  get  summoned  for  furious ! 
'Taint  worth  it,  for  half  a  crown,"  he  added  in  a  deprecatory 
and  persuasive  tone. 

"  Well,  then,  as  quick  as  you  can." 

The  three-quarters  was  struck  by  Big  Ben  as  we  rounded   the 


01  R    1K>  >\    ROADS. 

curve  from  Trafalgar  Square  into  Parliament  Street,  and  in  about 
four  minutes  more  we  walked  briskly  up  beneath  the  majestic 
roof  of  Westminster  Hall,  and  then  <m  through  the  corridors  and 

lobbies  to  the  Commons  Committee-rooms.  Here  we  found 
a  throng  o(  eager  railway  agents,  eminent  railway  officials,  and 
be-wigged  and  be-robed  counsel,  learned  in  railway  law,  pass- 
ing in  and  out  of  the  Committee-rooms  like  bees  clustering 
around  a  row  of  hives.  Earnest  deliberations  were  going  on  in 
subdued  voices,  for  unexpected  contingencies  had  at  the  last 
moment  to  be  provided  for  ;  new  complications  of  railway  diplo- 
macy had  to  be  adjusted  ;  a  new  departure  had  to  be  arranged, 
or  a  concession  agreed  upon  ;  and  there  was  an  anxious  look 
upon  many  a  face  which  the  light  chat  or  occasional  raillery  of 
friend  or  foe  could  scarcely  conceal.  And  no  wonder :  for  on 
the  skill  or  resource,  or  want  of  it,  of  the  next  few  days,  or  even 
hours,  the  destiny  of  a  trade  or  a  town,  and  the  fate  of  perhaps 
a  million  of  money  would  be  determined. 

We  were  just  in  time,  and  only  just.  The  case  had  ended  ; 
the  Committee-room  had  been  cleared,  and  as  we  entered  the 
decision  was  about  to  be  pronounced.  For  a  moment  there  was 
a  pause,  and  we  had  time  to  glance  around.  The  noble  apart- 
ment was  crowded  by  an  eager  throng.  The  windows,  with 
their  stone  mullions,  looked  out  on  the  quiet  river,  and  across  to 
the  opposite  shore  to  the  stately  piles  of  St.  Thomas's  Hospital. 
The  walls  of  the  room,  from  ceiling  to  floor,  were  occupied  by 
gigantic  maps,  whereon  sundry  railway  lines  were  marked  upon 
them  in  various  colours.  Across  the  middle  of  the  room  was  a 
"bar,"  immediately  within  which  another  "bar"  had  just  taken 
their  seats  ;  to  their  right  and  left  were  directors  and  officials 
connected  with  the  case  ;  in  front  were  the  chair  and  table  of  the 
shorthand  writer,  who  sat  pencil  in  hand;  and  also  the  chair 
and  table  recently  occupied  by  the  witnesses  ;  while  beyond,  and 
of  course  facing  the  counsel,  were  the  five  members  of  Parlia- 
ment upon  whose  decision,  so  far  as  one  estate  of  the  realm  was 
concerned,  rested  the  fate  of  the  Bill.  They  are  seated,  as  is 
their  wont,  covered.  A  question  is  asked  by  the  chairman  con- 
cerning the  bearing  of  a  certain  clause  ;  a  learned  counsel,  in 
a  sharp,  rapid,  conversational  way,  replies  ;  and  a  sentence  by 
way  of  rejoinder  is  uttered  by  a  portly  counsel  on  the  other  side. 
"  Who  are  they  ? "  we  whispered  to  a  lawyer's  clerk  who  stood 


THE    PREAMBLE    PROVED. 


87 


beside  us  in  the  throng.  "  That's  Ursa  Major,"  he  answered, 
pointing  covertly  to  the  former  speaker  ;  "  splendid  man,  dread- 
fully clever,  but  a  bear."  "  And  who  is  the  other  counsel  ?  " 
"  Oh,  that's  the  Busy  Bee,"  he  continued  ;  and  so  we  came  to 
learn  that,  even  within  the  arena  of  law  and  in  the  High  Court 
of  Parliament  itself,  pleasantries  abound. 

The  critical  moment  has  come.  Every  sound  is  hushed  ;  and 
all  eyes  are  turned  towards  the  chairman,  as  pausing  for  a  mo- 
ment, as  if  to  add  to  the  suspense,  he  slowly  says  :  "I  am  directed 


PARLIAMENTARY    COMMITTEE-RUOM. 


to  state  that  the  Committee  are  of  opinion  that  the  preamble  of 
the  Bill  is  proved,  and  to  report  to  the  House  accordingly." 

The  Committee  rise,  and  immediately  the  throng  breaks  up. 
It  is  a  Midland  Bill,  and  Midland  people  are  strongly  repre- 
sented. The  chairman,  Mr.  Ellis,  comes  from  his  seat  within 
the  bar,  looking  as  courteous  and  as  resolute  as  ever.  Mr. 
Allport,  whose  tall  figure  might  a  moment  before  have  been 
seen  bending  eagerly  forward  as  he  awaited  the  fate  of  his 
policy,  walks  out  into  the  corridor  with  a  sunny  smile  on  his 
face  ;  while  his  then  chief  secretary,  who  follows  him,  playfully 
parries  the  thrust  which  some  humorous  competitor  has  levelled 


88 


0!  R    [RON    Ku. Mis. 


at  him.  Counsel,  agents,  and  officials  hustle  one  another  in 
their  flight  down  the  staircase,  and  as  we  cross  the  lobby  and 
hear  t lie  great  clock  bell  sound  four,  we  learn  that  "  Mr.  Speaker 
is  at  prayers." 

C>n  the  occasion  of  the  decision  being  given  on  the  London 
and  York— eventually  the  Great  Northern  Railway,  which  was 
fought  through  the  Committees  of  both  Houses  with  special 
perseverance  ami  acrimony,  the  moment  that  it  was  pronounced 
there  were  shouts  from  stentorian  lungs  of  "Bravo!  hurra!" 
accompanied  by  the  stamping  of  feet  and  umbrellas,  and  then 
a  general  fight  for  the  door,  at  which  a  fearful  struggle  took 
place.  The  confusion  was  complete,  and  after  repeated  demands 
for  "  Order,"  which  were  utterly  ineffectual,  the  chairman  could 
only  give  expression  to  his  indignation  by  declaring  that  the 
conduct  of  those  present  was  "  exceedingly  indecent." 

The  announcement  thus  made  has  sometimes  been  rendered 
useful  to  parties  interested.  One  darts  away,  perhaps  by 
special  means  he  has  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  succeeds 
in  selling  or  buying  on  'Change  a  lot  of  shares,  during  the  five 
minutes  that  intervene  before  the  arrival  of  the  intelligence  ; 
and  is  thus  enabled,  at  the  expense  of  others,  to  save  himself 
from  the  loss  he  would  otherwise  have  incurred,  or  to  make  a 
handsome  profit  on  the  strength  of  his  early  information. 

Of  the  labour,  intellectual  and  physical,  to  which  honourable 
members  were  exposed  in  the  interminable  discussions  of  the 
"  Railway  Session,"  the  reader  will  already  have  some  idea. 
Flesh  and  blood  might  well  revolt  at  the  task.  How  would  it  be 
possible  for  them  to  enter  with  vigour  on  the  great  public 
questions  of  the  day  !  It  has  been  remarked,  that  if,  after  three 
days'  patient  hearing  of  the  witnesses  and  lawyers  on  some  of 
these  conflicting  interests,  a  Committee-man  had  one  tangible 
idea  floating  in  his  head,  he  must  have  been  either  an  Alcibi- 
ades  or  a  Bavius — a  heaven-born  genius,  or  the  incarnation  of  a 
fool! 

The  sanction  of  the  Legislature  thus  obtained  empowers 
the  Company  to  take  possession  of  a  width  of  land  for  the 
line,  inclusive  of  that  needed  for  giving  the  necessary  inclina- 
tions to  the  sides  of  cuttings  or  embankments.  The  require- 
ments of  the  Government  on  railways'  are  enforced  under 
the  supervision  of  a  department  of  the  Board  of  Trade.     No 


COST    OF    PARLIAMENTARY    PROCEEDINGS.  89 

new  line  can  be  opened  without  the  previous  inspection,  and 
certificate  of  approval,  of  the  Inspector,  who  is,  however,  not 
responsible  for  the  capability  of  the  works  to  fulfil  the  duty  to 
be  required  of  them.  All  accidents  must  be  reported  to  this 
department  of  the  Board  of  Trade  within  forty-eight  hours 
of  their  occurrence. 

The  dimensions  to  which  Railway  Acts  sometimes  extended 
were  enormous.  Subsequently,  however,  a  Railway  Clauses 
Consolidation  Act  was  passed,  with  a  view  to  the  diminution  of 
these  difficulties,  and  of  the  expense  consequent  thereon. 

The  expenditure  incurred  in  procuring  legislative  authority  to 
construct  railways  has  been,  in  many  cases,  scarcely  credible. 
While  the  parliamentary,  surveying,  and  engineering  costs  of 
the  Kendal  and  Windermere  Company  amounted  to  little  more 
than  two  per  cent,  on  the  total  outlay  of  the  railway,  we  are 
assured  that  the  parliamentary  costs  of  the — 

Brighton  Railway  averaged     .     .     .     ,£4,806  per  mile. 
Manchester  and  Birmingham       .     .         5,190       „ 
Blackwall 14,414       „ 

The  Brighton  line  had  to  contend  with  three  or  four  other  Com- 
panies during  two  successive  sessions,  and  when  its  Bill  was 
before  the  Committee,  the  expense  of  counsel  and  witnesses  was 
stated  at  £  1,000  daily,  extending  over  fifty  days.  The  London 
and  Birmingham  line  escaped  much  of  this  cost  by  coming 
earlier  into  the  field  ;  but  the  parliamentary  and  surveyors'  ex- 
penses even  then  amounted  to  £72,000, — a  reproach  on  a 
system  of  legislation  that  permits  impediments  to  be  thrown  in 
the  way  of  works  of  great  public  use.  It  is  also  affirmed  that 
"  the  solicitor's  bill  of  the  South-Eastern  Railway  contained  ten 
thousand  folios,  occupied  twelve  months  in  taxation  before  the 
Master,  and  amounted  to  £240,000."  One  Company  had  to 
fight  so  hard  for  their  Bill,  that  they  found,  when  at  length  they 
reached  the  last  stage — that  of  receiving  the  Royal  assent — that 
their  preliminary  undertakings  had  cost  nearly  half  a  million  of 
money, — a  sum  which  had  been  expended  in  merely  acquiring 
the  privilege  of  making  a  railway,  and  the  interest  of  which  has 
now  to  be  paid  by  the  passengers  and  goods  that  travel  thereon. 
Of  the  cost  of  projects  which  were  ultimately  unsuccessful,  a 
single  illustration  may  be  given.     In  the  celebrated  battle  of  the 


90 


OUR     IKON     ROADS. 


Stone  and  Rugby  Railway,  the  inquiry  continued  during  sixty- 
six  sitting-days,  from  February  to  August,  1839,  and,  having 
been  renewed  in  the  following  year,  the  Bill  was  finally  defeated 
at  an  expense  to  its  promoters  of  £  1 46,000.  The  capriciousness 
^(  Parliamentary  tribunals  may  be  shown  by  the  following 
facts  : — Six  Rills  rejected  by  the  Commons  in  1844  were  passed 
in  the  following  year  on  precisely  the  same  evidence.  Of 
eighteen  Bills  rejected  in  1845,  seven  were  passed  unaltered  in 
[846.  Oi  six  Hills  thrown  out  by  Committees  of  the  House  of 
Lords  in  1845,  four  were  adopted  by  other  Committees  in  1846. 
Much  as  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  costs  so  enormous  have 
been  incurred  in  the  construction  of  railways,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that,  in  many  instances,  the  Companies  are  less  to  be 
blamed  than  pitied,  as  the  victims  of  systematic  and  determined 
extortion.  In  favourable  situations,  English  lines  have  been 
made  at  the  rate  of  £10,000  per  mile.  One  of  these,  the  North- 
ampton and  Peterborough  branch,  about  forty-seven  miles  in 
length,  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of  £429,409  ;  and  the  York 
and  Scarborough,  forty-two  miles,  was  made  at  an  average  of 
£6,000  per  mile.  Some  single  lines  have  cost,  for  land  and 
everything,  not  more  than  £5,000  a  mile,  the  undertakings 
being  promoted  by  land  proprietors  whose  interest  was  in 
economy.  Of  cheap  Scotch  lines,  the  Peebles  branch  of  the 
North  British  is  an  illustration. 


VIADUCT    NEAR    MANSFIELD. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


Commencement  of  a  Railway. — Turning  First  Sod. — The  Ceremony. — 
Bedford  and  Bletchley  Line. — Difficulties  in  the  Construction  of  Rail- 
ways.— Gradients. — Theoretical  and  Practical  Considerations. — Undu- 
lating and  Level  Lines. — The  Desborough  Bank. — Special  Precautions. — 
The  High  Peak  Railway. — The  Lickey  Incline. — Spragging  and  Skid- 
ding.— The  Righi  Incline. — The  Fell  Line  over  Mont  Cenis. — Working 
of  this  Line. —  Curves. — The  Great  Horse- shoe  Curve. — Commencement 
of  Works. — Making  Cuttings. — Making  the  Running. — Angle  of  Repose. 
— Illustrations. — Retaining  Walls. — Ditches  and  Drains.— The  Great 
Enemy  of  Cuttings. — The  Road-bed. — Crest  Ditches  and  Spade  Drains. 
Embankments. — The  Haslingden  Cutting. — Three  Remarkable  Cut- 
tings.— Vicissitudes. — A  Terrible  Storm.  —  Slips. — Chemical  Combina- 
tion of  Soils. —  Precautions. — Covering  the  Slopes  of  Cuttings. 

N  the  actual  commencement  of  a  great 
undertaking  special  interest  is  usually- 
taken,  and  time-honoured  customs  are 
observed.  So  with  a  new  railway.  The 
noble  and  the  peasant,  the  philosopher 
and  the  schoolboy,  the  poet  and  the 
ploughman,  consider  "the  turning  of  the 
first  sod  "  of  a  new  line  an  occasion  of 
moment.  And  though  some  may  have 
capacity  or  inclination  to  look  only  to 
the  benefits  which  may,  perhaps,  accrue 
to  themselves  from  the  undertaking,  others 
will  think  of  social,  commercial,  and  na- 
tional interests  that  are  involved,  and 
rejoice  in  an  era  in  which  science  and 
art  have  lent  such  aids  to  the  pros- 
perity and  happiness  of  man. 

On  such  an  occasion,  there  is  usually  an  assemblage  of  the 
people  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  of  navvies  "  in  their  best." 
A  marquee,  for  the  accommodation  of  the   Directors  and  the 

The  initial  letter  depicts  Olive  Mount  Cutting. 
9' 


u:  OUR    tRON    ROADS. 

visitors  specially  invited,  is  provided  ;  and  at  tin-  appointed  time 
appear  the  leading  gentry  of  the  county  and  neighbourhood,  in 
their  carriages,  on  horseback,  or  on  foot.  A  procession  has 
sometimes  been  formed  accompanied  by  a  hand  of  music  ;  and 
tlie  company  then  form  into  a  circle  round  the  spot  where 
the  fust  sod  is  to  he  dug.  The  chairman,  of  course,  delivers  an 
eloquent  address,  consisting  of  popularized  selections  of  the 
prospectus  which  had  been  issued  ;  and  he  informs  his  enlight- 
ened auditory  of  the  benefits  that  the  line  will  confer  on  the 
neighbourhood;  and  perhaps  intimates, — as  did  Mr.  D.  Salomons, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Reading,  Guildford,  and  Reigate 
line, — that  it  may  attract  around  it  a  population  large  enough 
to  claim  the  privilege  of  representation  in  the  Commons'  House 
of  Parliament. 

The  assistant-engineer  then  presents  to  the  chairman  a  hand- 
some spade  of  polished  mahogany,  with  a  silver  blade  ;  and  a 
wheelbarrow,  of  similar  materials  and  elegant  design,  is  brought 
upon  the  scene.  The  spade  is  struck  into  the  ground  and  the 
barrow  filled,  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  assembly.  The  contents 
are  trundled  along  a  plank,  and  then  emptied.  Other  gentlemen 
go  through  a  similar  process  ;  the  company  then  proceed  to  do 
honour  to  the  occasion  in  the  true  John  Bull  style,  of  "  having 
something  to  eat,"  and  move  off  to  the  marquee  erected  on  the 
grounds,  where  a  dejeftner  has  been  duly  prepared.  The  navi- 
gators who  are  present,  and  who  are  to  aid  in  carrying  out  the 
work  thus  auspiciously  commenced,  retire  to  a  similar  scene  of 
operations,  where  roast  beef  and  plum  pudding  are  plentifully 
provided. 

The  commencement  of  the  Bedford  and  Bletchley  line  was 
an  exception  to  the  ordinary  proceedings  on  such  occasions, 
the  ceremony  being  performed  by  Her  Grace  the  Duchess  of 
Bedford.  The  duke  had  engaged  to  preside,  but  was  suddenly 
summoned  to  the  metropolis  on  public  business  ;  and,  to  avoid 
disappointment,  the  duchess,  assisted  by  Lord  Alford,  consented 
to  officiate.  Her  grace  was  accompanied  to  the  ground  by  the 
railway  directors,  and  other  officials,  and  by  many  members 
of  the  principal  families  in  the  county.  A  salute  of  cannon  and 
a  band  of  music  greeted  her  arrival  ;  and  the  Chairman  of  the 
Company  having  made  a  few  preliminary  observations,  handed 
her  grace  the  spade,  and   requested    her  to  do  honour  to  the 


COMMENCEMENT    OF    A    RAILWAY.  93 

proceedings  by  commencing  the  works.  Acknowledging  the 
compliment,  she  pressed  the  spade  into  the  earth  ;  and  Lord 
Alford,  having  addressed  the  company,  threw  off  his  great  coat 
and  hat,  and,  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  bystanders,  filled  the 
barrow.  The  barrow  was  of  beautifully-grained  oak  from  the 
Woburn  estate,  and  was  richly  ornamented  with  silver.  His 
lordship  then  wheeled  the  barrow  along  the  platform,  and  led 
the  way  to  the  marquee  which  had  been  erected.  After  several 
toasts  had  been  drunk,  the  duchess  entered  her  carriage  amid 
the  cheers  of  the  people  and  the  report  of  cannon,  taking  with 
her,  at  the  request  of  the  contractors,  the  barrow  and  spade  with 
which  the  work  had  been  performed. 

It  is  now  necessary  for  the  engineer  to  complete  his  plans, 
if  he  has  not  already  done  so,  for  the  intended  railway.  The 
various  works  are  perhaps  indicated  by  the  accompanying  dia- 
gram.     The   gradients    must    accordingly  be   determined   with 


reference  to  the  amount  of  the  earth-works  ;  for,  if  the  line  were 
constructed  at  too  low  an  average  level,  there  would  be  a  super- 
abundance of  material,  from  the  cuttings  being  disproportion- 
ately deep  and  extensive  ;  while,  if  it  were  so  carried  too  high, 
a  large  amount  of  soil  would  have  to  be  conveyed,  at  great  cost, 
from  various  places  off  the  line  to  construct  the  embankments. 
The  chief  object,  therefore,  is  to  have  just  enough  earth-work  to 
remove  from  the  cuttings  to  form  the  embankments  ;  and  just 
enough  embankment  to  use  up  the  material  from  the  cuttings. 

The  execution  of  the  works  is  seldom  in  the  hands  of  the 
actual  executive  of  the  company.  Railway  directors  are  usually 
connected  with  city  life,  perhaps  unacquainted  with  the  details 
of  the  matters  over  which  they  have  the  supreme  authority  ;  and 
are  really  capable  of  conducting  only  the  general  administration 
of  the  company.  Contracting  for  railway  making  has  thus 
become  a  great  business  ;  and  experienced  and  wealthy  men 
will  undertake  the  completion  of  the  entire  works  of  a  long  line. 
Meanwhile  the  chief  engineer  has  appointed  his  own   staff  of 


94  l  >1  R    tRON    ROADS. 

agents  to  superintend  the  work  as  performed  by  the  contractors. 
Over  each  portion  of  from  thirty  to  fifty  miles  a  "  Resident"  is 
aided  by  inspectors  of  the  earth-works,  masonry,  mining,  and 

of  permanent  way,  each  with  a  special  district  under  his  obser- 
vation, the  chief  contractors  perhaps  sub-let  the  different  works 
to  sub-contractors,  giving  the  earth-works  to  one,  the  masonry 
to  another,  and  the  ballasting  to  a  third  ;  and  sometimes  the 
sub-contractors  again  let  out  lesser  portions  to  those  who  may  be 
called  sub-sub-contractors.  The  last  make  their  arrangements 
with  various  individuals  for  what  are  designated  "little  jobs,"  in 
which  are  included  the  cartage  of  bricks,  rails,  or  sleepers,  for 
given  distances,  and  for  the  hire  or  feed  of  horses. 

A  chief  characteristic  of  a  railway  is  the  uniformity  of  surface 
secured  by  its  construction.  The  increased  power  of  locomo- 
tives has,  indeed,  of  late,  permitted  a  much  nearer  approach  to 
the  natural  form  of  the  earth  in  the  formation  of  lines  than  was 
before  admissible  ;  and  vast  cost  in  construction  has  been  thus 
avoided.  But  every  economy  in  construction  may  mean  costli- 
ness in  working.  It  may  seem,  indeed,  at  first  sight  that  a 
small  elevation  is  of  little  moment.  A  rise  of  a  foot  in  three 
or  four  hundred  does  not  seem  difficult  to  be  reached  ;  but  one 
in  a  hundred  does  not  only  mean  one  inch  in  a  hundred,  but 
one  mile  in  a  hundred  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  traveller,  in  running 
on  such  a  gradient  a  distance  less  than  that  between  London  and 
Birmingham,  would  reach  a  perpendicular  elevation  of  a  mile. 

It  used  to  be  said  that  to  mount  a  gradient  of  I  in  300 
required  a  tractive  force  nearly  twice  as  great  as  was  sufficient 
to  move  the  same  load  at  an  equal  speed  along  a  level  line  ; 
and  it  was  affirmed  that  to  ascend  an  elevation  of  thirty  feet 
demanded  as  great  a  power  as  would  suffice  to  propel  an  equal 
weight  along  a  mile  of  level  railway.  These  computations  have, 
however,  undergone  important  modification  through  the  enor- 
mous improvements  made  in  the  power  of  locomotives  ;  and 
engineers  have  been  able  to  conduct  lines  through  districts, 
which  a  few  years  since  were  declared  to  be  impassable.  So 
important  were  these  advances  that,  even  as  early  as  1845,  the 
Report  of  the  Board  of  Trade  said,  that  "  such  gradients  as  were 
before  thought  objectionable  are  now  adopted  every  day  as  a 
matter  of  course  ;  and  as  the  capabilities  of  the  locomotive  have 
been   enlarged,  gradients   of  a  class  which  would  have  been,  a 


GRADIENTS.  95 

few  years  ago,  altogether  impracticable,  have  come  into  general 
use." 

The  ascents  made  by  means  of  a  gradual  inclination  are 
sometimes  considerable,  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  what 
is  lost  in  the  upward  journey  is,  in  a  great  measure,  gained  in  the 
descent  by  trains  coming  from  the  opposite  quarter,  it  must  not 
be  regarded  as  altogether  a  loss  of  power.  Many  of  our  readers 
who  have  travelled  from  London  on  the  Birmingham  line,  would 
be  surprised  to  be  informed,  when  they  reached  Tring,  which  is 
thirty-two  miles  from  London,  that  they  have  ascended  a  perpen- 
dicular height  of  about  three  hundred  and  thirty  feet  since  they 
left  Euston  Square,  and  that  they  are  four  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Yet  many  minor  inclines  have 
been  ascended  and  descended  on  that  journey. 

Gradients  constantly  vary,  and  vary  considerably  as  we  may 
see  by  the  finger-boards  placed  on  the  lines  for  the  guidance 
of  the  engine-driver,  that  tell  us  now  that  we  are  ascending  at 
the  rate  of  one  in  296,  and  then  again  we  are  descending  at  one 
in  a  100.  Thus  some  parts  of  the  inclined  plane  between  Euston 
and  Camden  stations  rise  at  the  rate  of  one  in  sixty-six  and 
one  in  seventy-five ;  that  by  which  the  Manchester  and  Leeds 
Railway  is  connected  with  the  Victoria  Station,  at  Manchester, 
descends  at  the  ratio  of  one  in  fifty-nine  for  about  1000  yards, 
and  one  in  forty-nine  for  640  yards  ;  and  that  by  which  the  line 
from  Edinburgh  is  conducted  into  Glasgow,  has  a  slope  of  one 
in  forty-two,  for  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter.  Though, 
with  heavy  trains  and  "greasy"  weather,  an  additional  engine 
may  be  required,  locomotives  are  exclusively  employed.  The 
Lickey  incline,  on  the  Birmingham  and  Gloucester  line,  has  a 
gradient  of  one  in  thirty-seven  and  a-half,  for  a  length  of  more 
than  two  miles. 

It  was  long  contended  that  the  only  proper  principle  upon 
which  to  lay  out  a  railway  was,  to  secure  as  near  an  approxima- 
tion as  possible  to  a  level  surface  ;  for  though  it  involved  a 
larger  original  outlay,  it  afforded  the  best  means  of  satisfactorily 
working  them  when  completed.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  main- 
tained that  lines  formed  on  a  series  of  undulations  are  equally 
advantageous  with  those  that  are  perfectly  level,  because  the 
impetus  acquired  in  descending  would  be  equivalent  to  thai  lost 
in  mounting  the  inclines.     The  "  undulating  theory,"  as  it  may 


96  OUR     IKON    ROADS. 

be  styled,  would,  according  to  some,  work  well  if  applied  in  the 
form  o(  a  series  of  severe  gradients,  varying  from  thirty  to  forty 
a  mile  ;  and  the  North  Union  Railway,  from  Parkside  to 
Preston,  has  been  cited  in  illustration,  five  miles  of  which  out 
o\  twenty-two  have  gradients  of  one  in  a  hundred,  yet  it  is  worked 
at  less  expense  than  some  more  uniform  lines. 

The  London  and  Birmingham  Railway  may  be  regarded  as 
an  illustration  of  the  uniform  system.  It  was  constructed  on 
the  principle  of  obtaining  the  most  perfect  level  for  the  purpose 
of  economic  working,  the  amount  of  original  outlay  being  a 
secondary  consideration.  The  ordinary  gradient  never  exceeds 
one  in  three  hundred  and  thirty,  with  the  exception  of  the  Eus- 
ton  and  Camden  incline,  which  was  intended  to  be  worked,  and 
for  some  years  was  worked,  by  stationary  engines. 

When  a  railway  has  to  be  carried  over  a  considerable  elevation, 
the  question  has  arisen  whether  the  rise  and  fall  should  be  dis- 
tributed, or  whether  the  gradients  should  be  concentrated  in  a 
few  steep  planes.  The  latter  course  was  adopted  on  the  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester  Railway.  The  main  line  has  no  slope 
exceeding  one  in  eight  hundred  and  forty-nine,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  inclined  planes,  each  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in 
length,  near  Rainhill,  where  the  ascent  is  one  in  eighty-nine  and 
one  in  ninety-six,  and  where  passing  trains  used  to  have  the  aid 
of  an  auxiliary  engine.  Similar  means  are  adopted  to  overcome 
the  Euston  incline,  on  reaching  the  summit  of  which,  at  Camden 
the  pilot  engine  is  detached. 

When  the  South  Western  Line  was  undertaken,  this  subject 
had  a  thorough  investigation,  The  project  for  this  line  was 
opposed  in  Parliament  by  the  Great  Western  Railway  Company, 
and  one  of  the  grounds  of  opposition  involved  the  question  of 
gradients.  The  Great  Western  line  was  laid  out  so  as  to  be 
almost  a  dead  level  over  nearly  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles, 
the  only  important  inclination  being  arranged  within  a  very 
short  space,  by  means  of  two  gradients,  one  of  which  is  a  very 
steep  ascent.  The  London  and  South  Western  Railway,  on 
the  other  hand,  has  long  steep  gradients,  and  enormous  earth- 
works, though  it  has  none  of  the  gigantic  viaducts,  bridges,  or 
tunnels  to  be  found  on  some  lines.  Lichfield  is  the  summit 
level,  being  nearly  four  hundred  feet  above  the  termini  at  Lon- 
don and    Southampton.     One  of  the  gradients    extends  from 


FLAT    AND    UNDULATING    GRADIENTS.  97 

Lichfield  tunnel,  fifty-four  miles  from  London,  for  a  distance  of 
seventeen  miles,  and  is  one  in  two  hundred  and  fifty.  It  was 
indeed  stated  by  the  first  engineer,  who  laid  out  the  line,  in  his 
Report  to  the  Parliamentary  Committee,  that  the  aggregate  of 
the  earthworks  between  London  and  Southampton  would  be 
sixteen  million  cubic  yards — a  mass  sufficient  to  form  a  pyramid 
having  a  base  of  150,000  square  yards,  and  a  thousand  feet  in 
height.  The  length  and  steepness  of  the  gradient  was  principally 
occasioned  by  the  extraordinary  height  of  the  ridge  of  country 
which  runs  east  and  west  through  Hampshire  near  the  middle 
of  the  line,  and  which  it  was  necessary  to  cross. 

The  line  was  laid  out  so  as  to  undulate  with  a  series  of  gra- 
dients, the  prevailing  one  being  at  the  rate  of  one  in  two  hundred 
and  fifty,  or  about  twenty  feet  a  mile.  It  was  on  the  propriety 
of  this  arrangement  that  a  contest  took  place  before  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Lords  ;  and  Dr.  Lardner  was  employed 
by  the  London  and  South  Western  Company  to  ascertain — so 
far  as  could  be  done  by  theory  and  experiment — what  would  be 
the  probable  effects  of  such  an  undulating  line  on  the  moving 
power. 

It  was  argued  by  the  friends  of  the  fiat  gradients  of  the  Great 
Western,  that  such  a  line  as  the  projected  South  Western  would 
be  worked  under  disadvantages  so  enormous,  owing  to  the 
resistance  of  the  gradients,  that  it  would  be  wiser  to  select  an- 
other, if  circuitous  course,  but  thereby  securing  a  nearly  level 
line.  A  portion  of  the  Great  Western  itself  could  form  part  of 
such  a  circuitous  route  ;  and  thus  the  theory  expounded  and  the 
interests  of  the  opposing  Company  were  made  to  coincide.  Dr. 
Lardner,  in  reply,  contended  that  upon  the  undulating  line  there 
would  be  a  compensating  power  in  descending  the  slopes,  which 
would  to  a  great  extent  balance  the  disadvantages  in  ascending 
them  ;  that  in  a  journey  backwards  and  forwards  on  such  a  line, 
the  expenditure  of  power  would  not  be  materially  greater  than 
upon  a  dead  level ;  that  the  average  speed  would  not  be  much 
less,  although  in  the  course  of  the  complete  journey  it  would  be 
much  more  variable ;  that  on  the  ascending  gradients  the  engine 
would  have  to  overcome  a  greater  resistance,  to  expend  more 
power,  and  to  move  more  slowly,  but  that  this  loss  would  be  to 
a  great  extent  made  up  in  the  descending  gradients,  where  the 
resistance    would    be    less   considerable  and    the    speed   higher. 

11 


uS  OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

This  theory— for  experience  had  no1  then  established  it — was 
fiercely  attacked  and  ridiculed  ;  but  it  prevailed  :  the  Bill  for  the 
South  Western  Company  was  obtained,  the  line  was  constructed, 
and  it  has  been  worked  with  great  success. 

Some  years  ago  we  were  travelling  by  the  8.40  Midland  train 
from  Nottingham  to  London.  After  passing  Market  Harborough 
and  approaching  Desborough,  the  speed  of  the  train  slackened. 
"  We  are  going  very  slowly,"  remarked  one  of  the  company. 
"  What  can  be  the  reason  ?  "  said  another.  "  The  signals  must 
be  against  us,"  said  a  third.  "  No,  that  isn't  the  cause,"  wc 
interposed.  "  We're  going  slowly  because  of  the  Crimean  war  !" 
Our  friends  laughed  at  the  seeming  paradox  ;  but  it  was  true. 
When  the  Leicester  and  Bedford  line  was  projected  the  country 
was  at  the  height  of  the  Russian  war.  Money  was  dear,  men 
were  difficult  to  get,  and  the  Midland  shareholders  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  provide  more  than  a  million  of  money  with  which 
to  construct  a  line  sixty  miles  long.  "  Now,  Charles  Liddell 
and  John  Crossley,"  said  old  John  Ellis  (and  John  Crossley  told 
us  this  story),  "  there  are  ^900,000  to  make  your  line  with.  If 
it  can't  be  done  for  that,  it  can't  be  done  at  all.  So  you  must 
put  all  your  fine  notions  into  your  pockets  and  go  and  do  it  for 
,£15,000  a  mile.  And  then  there  is  the  rolling  stock  to  find." 
"  It  took,"  Mr.  Crossley  said,  "  a  great  deal  of  scraping  to  get  it 
done  ;  and  the  Desborough  bank  had  to  be  left  as  it  is  to-day, 
rising  fifty  feet  a  mile  for  four  miles,  and  falling  fifty  feet  a  mile 
for  four  miles  more,  and  all  because  of  the  hardness  of  the  war- 
times and  the  shortness  of  money  and  of  men  when  the  line  was 
made."  Nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  trains  every  day  toil 
slowly  up  one  slope  or  the  other  of  that  incline ;  and  all 
the  loss  and  cost  incurred  are  part  of  the  penalties  still  paid, 
and  for  long  years  will  have  to  be  paid,  for  one  of  the  many 
needless  and  heedless  wars  in  which  England  has  been  engaged. 
To  avoid  the  daily  delay  and  expense  of  this  bank  was  one  of 
the  reasons  why  the  Midland  Company  have  opened  their  new 
route  to  London  via  Kettering,  and  to  avoid  another  similar 
bank — made  at  the  same  time  as  that  at  Desborough,  between 
Irchester  and  Sharnbrook — have  recently  constructed  a  devia- 
tion line  on  a  better  level  and  through  a  tunnel  somewhat 
farther  east.  It  re-unites  with  the  old  line  near  Sharnbrook 
station. 


THE    HIGH    PEAK    RAILWAY.  99 

The  heavy  inclines  on  one  railway  in  England  have  for  many 
years  been  worked  by  a  curious  combination  of  locomotive  and 
stationaiy  engines.  The  High  Peak  Railway  in  Derbyshire  was 
at  one  time  one  of  the  great  thoroughfares  of  England.  Travel- 
lers and  merchandise  came  on  to  it  from  the  Manchester  district 
down  to  the  Cromford  Canal,  and  thence  by  the  various  naviga- 
tions of  the  Erewash  valley  and  the  Soar  to  Leicester  and  the 
South.  But  these  arrangements  have  been  superseded,  and  a 
friend  of  the  writer  recently  told  his  experiences  in  one  of  the 
last  journeys  taken  by  passengers  on  the  High  Peak  Railway. 

"It  was  in  August,  1877,"  he  said,  "and  thinking  I  should 
like  to  see  the  country  through  which  it  passed,  I  went  to  Stone- 
house,  generally  called  'Stonnis,'  just  by  the  Black  Rocks,  where 
the  railway  crosses  the  Wirksworth  Road,  and  inquired  of  a 
man  in  the  office  for  the  train.  '  Do  you  mean  the  "  fly  "  ? '  was 
the  reply.  'Yes.'  But  the  official  not  knowing  whether  the  'fly' 
had  passed  or  not,  went  out  to  inquire,  and  brought  back  word 
that  it  had  gone,  but  that  if  I  followed  it  up  the  line,  I  might 
catch  it  at  the  siding  ;  and  if  not,  I  should  be  sure  to  overtake 
it  at  '  Middleton  Run.'  I  accordingly  gave  chase,  and  at  length 
caught  sight  of  it  being  drawn  up  the  incline  by  a  rope  and  a 
stationary  engine.  A  man  at  the  bottom  inquired  if  I  wished  to 
catch  the  '  fly,'  and  added,  '  I  will  stop  it  for  you  at  the  top,' 
which  he  did  by  a  signal.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead  I  joined  it. 
My  fellow-travellers  were  then  a  young  woman  and  a  child,  and 
the  vehicle  in  which  we  sat  was  like  an  old  omnibus.  The  guard 
stood  in  the  middle  and  worked  the  brake  through  a  hole  in  the 
floor.  A  locomotive  now  drew  us  three  or  four  miles  to  the  foot 
of  another  incline,  up  which  we  were  drawn  by  a  rope.  When 
reaching  the  summit  the  guard  remarked  :  '  We  may  have  to 
wait  at  the  top.'  '  How  long  ? '  I  inquired.  '  Oh,  it  may  be 
five  minutes,'  he  replied,  '  or  a  few  hours.  It  all  depends  upon 
when  the  engine  comes  to  take  us  on.  Yesterday,'  he  added, 
'  it  did  not  come  at  all.'  To  while  away  the  time  I  walked 
along  the  line,  and  my  fellow-passengers  went  mushrooming. 
In  about  three  hours  an  engine  came  from  Whaley  Bridge  to 
fetch  us,  and  after  the  driver,  fireman,  and  guard  had  refreshed 
themselves  at  a  little  public-house  not  far  away,  and  had  freely 
commented  on  their  'horse,'  they  went  back  along  the  line, 
brought  up  the  '  fly,'  and  having  refreshed  themselves  again,  we 


OUR   IRON    ROADS. 

started.     At  our  part  of  the  journey  a  flock  of  sheep  were  quietly 

feeding  or  resting  on  the  line.  'Just  sec  them,'  said  the  guard 
as  we  approached,  'jump  the  walls  ;'  and  they  did  it  like  dogs. 
We  reached  Park  Gates,  about  a  mile  from   Buxton,  at  seven 

o'clock,  after  a  journey  of  about  twenty  miles,  in  six  hours.  Not 
long  after  my  journey,  a  traveller  on  this  line  was  killed,  and 
the  Company  decided  to  close  it  against  passenger  traffic.  The 
I  [igh  Peak  may  be  seen  as  it  joins  the  Midland  Railway  on  the 
western  side  of  the  line  in  a  wood  a  little  north  of  Whatstand- 
well  station.     Its  summit  level  is  1,254  feet  above  the  sea." 

The  existence  of  steep  inclines  involves  the  adoption  of 
special  precautions.  Before  the  descent  begins,  care  must  be 
taken  by  the  driver  to  have  his  engine  well  under  command  ; 
and  additional  brake  vans  may  have  to  be  attached  to  the  trains. 
The  Lickey  Incline,  on  the  Birmingham  and  Bristol  section  of 
the  Midland  Railway  is  one  of  the  steepest  on  a  through  main 
line,  and  its  successful  administration  for  so  many  years  reflects 
the  greatest  credit  on  the  gentleman  under  whose  charge  it  has 
long  been.  It  is  not  simply  that  the  gradient  is  steep,  but  that 
the  condition  of  the  rails  and  the  power  of  the  brakes  to  act 
upon  them  may,  in  a  few  minutes  be  changed.  A  fall  of  snow 
or  a  shower  of  rain  has  so  altered  the  "  bite  "  of  the  wheels  that, 
whereas  the  control  was  complete,  the  wheels  now  glide  over 
the  glass-like  surface  almost  or  entirely  uncontrolled  ;  and,  in 
years  gone  by,  a  heavy  mineral  train  has  been  known,  with 
all  its  brakes  on,  and  its  wheels  "spragged,"  to  sweep  unhindered 
down  the  incline  through  the  Bromsgrove  station,  and  to  run 
a  mile  and  more  away  along  the  flat  line  at  the  foot  before  its 
course  could  be  arrested.  At  night,  too,  the  sight  has  sometimes 
been  strange.  The  wheels  being  "spragged,"  and  not  turning, 
of  course  the  particular  part  that  pressed  on  the  rail  became 
hotter  and  hotter,  so  hot  as  to  throw  off  fibres  and  flakes  of 
molten  metal  twisted  into  all  conceivable  forms,  and  every 
wheel  sent  out  a  blaze  of  heat  and  light  so  as  almost  to  make 
the  train  appear  to  be  on  fire.  "  I  have  seen,"  said  a  gentleman 
to  the  writer,  "  tons  of  bits  of  metal,  that  have  thus  been  burned 
off  the  old  iron  tires,  lying  on  the  ballast  of  the  Lickey  Incline." 
Still,  despite  these  difficulties,  Mr.  Stalvies,  the  Midland  engi- 
neer at  Bromsgrove,  has  carried  on  the  traffic,  not  only  with- 
out accident,  but  in  so  orderly  a  manner  that  the  main  local  and 


RIGHI    AND    MONT    CENIS    INCLINES.  IOI 

mineral  trains  pass  up  and  down  with  perfect  regularity  and 
success.  We  may  add  that  the  wheels  are  now  never,  as 
formerly,  allowed  to  "skid."  It  is  found  that  to  allow  them 
to  move  slowly  round  is  to  secure  a  firmer  bite  upon  the  rail 
than  if  they  were  at  rest.  The  spirit  in  which  Mr.  Stalvies  has 
discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  may  be  illustrated  by  a  remark 
he  once  made  to  a  friend  :  "  I  believe,"  he  said,  "  if  an  accident 
did  happen  at  the  Lickey,  it  would  kill  me."  Pilot  engines 
have,  of  course,  to  be  used  to  assist  the  trains  in  ascending  the 
Lickey,  but  the  heaviest  trains  are  the  mineral  that  descend  it 
in  going  to  the  west. 

The  steepest  and  highest  incline  on  any  railway  in  Europe 
is  that  which  ascends  the  Righi  Mountains  near  Lucerne,  in 
Switzerland.  It  is  designed  to  convey  passengers  to  the  top 
of  the  mountain,  from  which  there  is  a  view  so  celebrated  as  to 
attract  large  numbers  of  visitors.  Hitherto  the  only  means 
of  ascent  had  been  by  walking,  or  by  horses,  or  by  chaises  a 
porteurs.  A  few  years  ago  M.  Riggenbach,  the  superintendent 
of  the  railway  workshops  at  Olten,  proposed  to  make  a  railway 
to  the  summit.  On  account  of  the  height,  4,500  feet,  an 
unusually  steep  gradient,  about  one  in  four,  was  necessary. 
The  necessary  concessions  were  obtained  from  the  Cantonal 
Governments,  and  the  railway  was  commenced  in  1869.  It  was 
delayed  during  the  war  of  1870,  by  the  non-delivery  of  some 
rails  ordered  in  France,  but  it  was  opened  in  1871.  The  line 
commenced  at  Vitznau,  on  the  Lake  of  Lucerne,  and  is  about 
four  miles  long.  The  rolling-stock  at  present  consists  of  three 
locomotives, — they  have  upright  boilers,  and  their  driving  axles 
are  furnished  with  cog-wheels,  which  secure  them  a  firm  hold  or 
grip  on  a  cogged  rail  ;  three  large  passenger  carriages,  with 
accommodation  for  54  persons  each ;  and  two  smaller  ones 
having  thirty  seats  each. 

Another  line  with  extraordinary  inclines  was  the  mountain 
railway  of  Mr.  Fell.  He  actually  succeeded  in  carrying  it,  and 
working  it,  over  Mont  Cenis  itself,  by  methods  he  had  pre- 
viously tested  on  the  High  Peak  Railway  in  Derbyshire.  Its 
chief  characteristic  was  the  centre  rail.  The  two  outer  rails 
were  of  the  ordinary  flat  bottom  section,  without  chairs,  spiked 
down  upon  transverse  wood  sleepers,  and  they  carried  the 
weight  of  the  engine.     The  "centre-rail"  was  double-headed, 


102  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

laid  on  its  side  instead  of  its  edge,  supported  by  and  bolted  to 
wrought-iron  "saddle  chairs,"  fastened  to  a  longitudinal  sleeper 
resting  upon  the  transverse  sleepers.  The  upper  edge  of  the 
"centre-rail  "  was  nine  inches  above  the  surface  of  the  side  rails, 
and  its  two  "heads"  stood  out  clear  of  the  chairs,  ready  to 
receive  the  lateral  pressure  of  the  four  friction  wheels  of  the 
engine.  The  "centre  rail"  was  laid  only  on  the  steep  inclines, 
its  ends  being;  tapered  off  to  blunt  points,  so  that  the  friction 
wheels  might  enter  upon  and  leave  it  gradually.  The  locomotive 
was  a  complicated  machine,  and  contained  about  as  many 
working  parts  as  two  ordinary  engines. 

The  practical  working  of  the  line,  however,  at  first  was 
hindered  by  many  discouraging  facts.  "I  regret  to  inform  you," 
wrote  a  correspondent  of  the  Times,  in  the  autumn  of  1868, 
"  that  the  Mont  Cenis  Railway  Company  has  come  to  consider- 
able grief,  and  that  the  communications  between  France  and 
Italy  are  in  a  very  disturbed  and  uncertain  state.  We  hear  of 
one  train  having  been  stuck  for  eight  or  nine  hours  in  the  snow, 
frozen  to  its  place.  In  short,  the  concern  seems  to  have  com- 
pletely broken  down,  the  disaster  being  apparently  mainly  due 
to  want  of  sufficient  locomotive  power,  but  accelerated  by  the 
unusually  early  and  very  heavy  fall  of  snow.  The  locomotives 
furnished  to  the  Mont  Cenis  Company  were  not  of  the  best 
description,  and  they  have  failed  to  do  the  work  allotted  to  them. 
It  is  a  fact  that  an  engine  which  has  performed  a  return  journey 
across  the  mountain  almost  invariably  needs  more  or  less  repairs 
on  getting  back  to  St.  Michel,  where  there  is  a  lack  of  means  to 
repair  it.  Fresh  pieces  have  to  be  got  from  a  distance,  and 
much  delay  ensues.  The  wear  and  tear  is  great  in  locomotives 
constructed  on  the  Fell  system.  It  was  naturally  sought  to 
show  the  utmost  possible  advantage  in  speed  over  the  old  mode 
of  crossing  the  mountain,  and  five  and  a  quarter  hours  were 
fixed  as  the  time  for  performing  a  journey  which  due  consider- 
ation for  the  engines  ought  to  have  extended  to  seven  hours. 
It  was  something  like  making  a  steady  roadster  do  a  racer's 
work.  The  animal,  overstrained,  knocked  up."  Subsequently, 
however,  a  telegram  announced  that  Lord  Mayo,  en  route  to 
India,  had  made  the  passage  across  Mont  Cenis  in  four  hours 
by  the  Fell  Railway,  and  the  line  continued  for  several  years 
in  successful  operation. 


RAILWAY    CURVES.  IO3 

The  degree  of  curvature  that  may  be  given  to  a  railway,  in 
order  that,  if  necessary,  it  may  thread  its  course  among  hills, 
valleys,  parks,  and  lakes  that  lie  in  its  route,  is  a  matter  of 
importance.  When  railways  were  first  projected,  great  appre- 
hensions were  entertained,  not  only  of  the  resistance  which 
might  be  produced  by  curves,  but  of  the  danger  of  passing  over 
them  at  any  considerable  speed ;  and  standing  orders  were 
adopted  in  Parliament,  which  required  that  all  curves  having 
a  less  radius  than  a  mile  should  be  the  subject  of  special  inquiry. 
In  the  course  of  investigations  made  by  Dr.  Lardner,  in  1838, 
he  ascertained  that  the  effect  of  curves  in  producing  resistance 
was  infinitely  less  than  had  been  supposed.  Curves,  having 
a  radius  of  three-quarters,  or  even  half  a  mile,  did  not  pro- 
duce the  slightest  increase  of  resistance  at  any  speed  which  the 
trains  attained. 

In  the  construction  of  curves  upon  railways,  the  outer  rail 
is  placed  at  a  somewhat  higher  elevation  than  the  inner ;  the 
effect  of  which  is  to  make  the  carriage  lean  slightly  inwards,  so 
that  its  weight  has  a  tendency  to  resist  the  centrifugal  force 
attending  the  curvilinear  motion.  An  animal  when  moving  in 
a  circle  spontaneously  assumes  such  a  position  ;  and  the  leaning 
inwards  will  depend  on  the  velocity  of  the  motion  and  the 
smallness  of  the  circle  ;  and  similarly,  the  elevation  of  the  outer 
rail  must  depend  upon  the  radius  of  the  curve  and  the  velocity 
of  trains  that  will  pass  over  it.  Experience  has,  in  some 
instances,  led  to  the  adoption  of  curves  of  smaller  dimensions 
than  those  formerly  allowed.  On  the  Newcastle  and  Carlisle 
line  there  is  a  succession  of  curves,  the  radii  of  which  are  very 
small  ;  and  though  some  of  these  are  found  on  steep  inclines, 
the  line  is  worked  with  economy  and  safety.  On  the  Manchester 
and  Leeds  Railway  are  two  curves,  each  of  220  yards  radius, 
distant  from  any  station,  and  there  is  one  in  a  gradient  of  one 
in  eighty-two,  over  which  the  trains  have  run  with  security  and 
speed  for  several  years.  On  the  other  hand,  some  curves  have 
been  found  so  inconvenient  that  their  radii  have  been  altered. 
Thus,  on  the  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  line,  at  Charleston,  the 
radii  of  several  have  been  increased  from  660  to  2,000  feet ;  and 
on  the  Midland  line  at  Shipley,  near  Bradford,  the  radius  of  the 
curve  by  the  removal  of  a  hill  of  rock  will  be  greatly  improved. 

Some  of  the   most  remarkable  curves  are  on  the  American 


ro4 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


linos.  This  is  not  surprising  considering  the  bold  outline  of 
many  districts  of  the  country  through  which  some  of  these 
railways  are  carried.     One  of  them  is  known  as  the  "  Chiques 


CHIQUES   ROCK   CURVE. 


Rock  Curve."  Hence  the  road  is  cramped  for  space  between 
the  hills  and  the  river.  From  the  summit  of  the  Rock  a  lovely 
landscape  may  be  surveyed. 


THE    HORSE-SHOE    CURVE. 


IO  = 


106  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  curves  in  the  world  is  that  at 
Kittanning  Point,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  two  hundred 
and  forty-two  miles  from  Philadelphia.  The  curve  is  reached 
shortly  alter  Leaving  Altoona  station,  from  which  there  is  a 
rise  for  many  miles  of  over  ninety  feet  to  the  mile.  The  gorge 
continually  deepens  as  the  train  ascends,  until  the  tops  of  the 
tallest  trees  are  far  below,  and  the  few  houses  visible  seem  lost 
in  an  impenetrable  chasm.  Soon  the  valley,  which  the  road  has 
followed  for  six  miles,  separates  into  two  chasms  neither  of 
which  could  be  made  available  for  further  progress.  But 
engineering  science  and  skill  proved  equal  to  the  task.  By  the 
grand  llorsc-shoc  Curve  represented  in  our  engraving,  the  road 
crosses  both  ravines  on  a  high  embankment,  cuts  away  the 
point  of  the  mountain  dividing  them,  sweeps  around  the  stupen- 
dous western  wall,  and  leads  away  to  a  more  tractable  pass. 
The  sides  of  the  curve  are  parallel  with  each  other,  thus  giving 
trains  travelling  the  same  way  the  appearance  of  moving  in 
entirely  different  directions.  Reaching  the  new  pass,  the  road 
continues  its  steady  ascent  through  the  very  heart  of  the  great 
dividing  range  of  a  continent. 

The  route  of  the  railway  being  now  determined,  the  devia- 
tions, if  any,  permitted  by  Parliament  being  arranged,  the  work 
let  to  the  contractors-in-chief,  and  underlet  to  subordinates,  the 
undertaking  commences  at  the  part  where  there  is  most  to  be 
done.  The  reason  of  this  is  that  the  line  has  to  be  completed 
throughout  as  nearly  as  possible  simultaneously.  Those  portions 
that  lie  between  heavy  cuttings  and  embankments  are  levelled, 
and  rails  laid  down,  so  that  the  material  from  the  one  may  be 
used  to  form  the  other.  A  few  scores  of  navvies  may  now  be 
seen  on  the  face  of  the  hill  through  which  the  cutting  is  to 
pass;  the  hill  is  laid  open,  and  a  "gullet"  excavated.  This 
term  is  applied  to  a  cutting  made  just  large  enough  to  receive 
a  row  of  the  wagons  that  are  to  bear  away  the  earth ;  and  into 
the  gullet  the  tramway  is  run.  The  wagons  can  now  be  brought 
close  alongside  the  material  to  be  moved,  and  several  men  being 
set  to  work  at  each,  the  soil  is  flung  into  them  with  ease  and 
celerity.  Meanwhile,  as  the  stuff  is  removed  the  gullet  is 
opened  farther  and  farther  into  the  hill,  while  earth  is  showered 
into  the  wagons  from  all  sides.  When  these  are  filled,  they  are 
secured  together  in  a  train,  and,  if  the  inclination  of  the  ground 


CUTTINGS. 


I07 


permits  it,  they  run  down  by  their  own  velocity,  being  regulated 
by  a  breakman,  who  stands  on  the  last  wagon,  and  who  applies 
his  feet  to  a  lever  when  he  wishes  the  trucks  to  be  stopped. 
His  duty,  however,  is  anything  but  pleasant,  for,  what  with  the 
roughness  of  the  roads,  and  the  action  of  the  springless  vehicle 
on  which  he  rides,  the  shaking  he  receives  in  his  journey  seems 
sufficient  to  reduce  every  joint  in  his  body  to  a  most  unsatis- 
factory condition  of  laxity.  On  reaching  his  journey's  end  he 
consigns  the  laden  trucks  to  the  embankment  men,  and  assists 
in  driving  the  horses  which  are  to  draw  the  empty  trucks  back. 


^JifmJff^S: 


MAKING  A   CUTTING. 


In  the  interim  a  fresh  supply  of  empty  wagons  has  been 
brought  into  the  cutting,  and  the  men  are  now  filling  these  as 
they  did  the  others.  When  a  large  number  of  navvies  are 
employed,  the  trains  of  wagons  are  very  numerous,  but  care  is 
usually  taken  that  the  limited  room  they  are  obliged  to  occupy 
shall  not  occasion  one  to  hinder  another. 

Other  considerations  have  also  to  be  regarded.  In  the 
formation  of  cuttings,  springs  are  frequently  tapped  which  dis- 


U  8  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

charge  large  quantities  of  water,  and  which  must,  be  conveyed 
away  by  hhmiis  <.>(  drains.  Sometimes,  too,  if  rainy  weather 
conies  on,  large  quantities  of  water  unexpectedly  pour  from 
the  sides  of  cuttings,  and  this  has  to  be  turned  into  temporary 
channels  till  permanent  drains  arc  constructed.  The  excava- 
tors are  usually  paid  according  to  the  number  of  loads  filled, 
though  prices  arc  necessarily  conditioned  on  the  nature  of  the 
soil. 

When  the  stuff  has  been  removed,  and  the  gullet  can  lay  a 
reasonable  claim  to  the  appellation  of  a  cutting,  the  rails  are 
moved  so  as  to  bring  the  wagons  immediately  alongside  the 
wall  of  earth  on  either  hand,  and  thus  two  trains  may  be  filled 
at  the  same  time.  Meanwhile  barrows  laden  with  earth  are 
trundled  from  all  directions  and  the  contents  overturned  into 
the  trucks.  Runs,  as  they  are  called,  are  also  made,  by  laying 
planks  up  the  sides  of  the  cutting,  on  which  barrows  may  be 
wheeled.  The  running  is  performed  by  strong  men,  round  the 
waist  of  each  of  whom  is  a  belt,  and  fastened  to  it  is  a  rope 
running  up  the  side  of  the  cutting,  turning  on  a  wheel  at  the 
top,  and  at  its  end  is  a  horse.  The  barrow  being  laden,  a  signal 
is  given,  the  driver  leads  the  horse  quickly  out  a  given  dis- 
tance into  the  field,  and  the  barrow  and  man  are  drawn  up  the 
acclivity  ;  the  contents  of  the  barrow  are  emptied,  the  horse 
being  led  back  the  rope  is  slackened,  and  the  man  runs  down 
the  plank  again,  drawing  the  empty  barrow  after  him. 

This  practice  of  running,  though  common,  is  dangerous,  for 
the  man  rather  hangs  to  than  supports  the  barrow,  and  it  at 
once  becomes  unmanageable  if  there  is  any  irregularity  in  the 
motion  of  the  horse.  If  the  barrow  man  finds  himself  unable 
to  control  it,  he  tries,  by  a  sudden  jerk,  to  raise  himself  erect  ; 
then  throwing  the  barrow  over  one  side  of  the  board  or  "  run," 
he  swings  himself  round  and  runs  down  to  the  bottom.  Should 
both  fall  on  the  same  side,  there  is  risk  of  the  barrow  with  its 
contents  falling  on  him  before  he  can  escape.  Although  there 
were  from  thirty  to  forty  horse-runs  in  the  Tring  cutting,  which 
was  made  in  this  way,  and  they  were  constantly  working  during 
many  months,  and  nearly  all  the  labourers  were  thrown  down 
the  slopes  several  times  ;  yet  from  continual  practice,  and  sure- 
footedness,  only  one  fatal  accident  occurred.  A  moving  plat- 
form was  invented   by  the  engineer  to  supersede  the  necessity 


CUTTINGS. 


IO9 


of  thus  perilling  life  and  limb,  but  the  men,  considering  it 
designed  to  diminish  their  labour  and  wages,  broke  it.  The 
accompanying  cut  gives  a  vivid  delineation  of  the  process  ;  and 
when  we  see  the  angle  at  which  the  ascending  stages  are  laid, 
it  will  be  imagined  that  it  is  not  an  easy  thing  for  the  workmen 
to  maintain  their  "  centre  of  gravity  within  the  base." 

If  in  the  formation  of  a  cutting  more  earth  is  excavated  from 
it  than  is  required  for  the  neighbouring  embankments,  it   be- 


MAKING   THE   RUNNING. 


comes  necessary  to  lay  the  surplus  materials  on  a  piece  of  land 
adjoining  the  line;  this  is  called  "putting  it  to  spoil."  Where, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  is  an  excess  of  embanking  or  deficiency 
of  excavation,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  make  a  cutting  out 
of  other  land  ;  this  is  designated  "  side  cutting."  In  both  cases 
the  expense  of  forming  the  road  is  increased.  Cases  some- 
times occur  where  the  distance  between  the  cutting  and  the 
embankment  is  such,  that  the  expense  of  conveying  the  earth 
from  one  part  of  the  line  to  the  other  is  greater  than  the   cost 


110  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

of  making  .1  side  cutting  from  which  to  form  the  embankment ; 
and  it  may  be  better  to  deposit  the  earth  from  the  cutting 
which  ought  to  have  formed  the  embankment  upon  waste 
ground  alongside,  or  of  "  putting  it  to  spoil."  These  are  con- 
siderations which  are  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  engineer. 
The  cutting  being  at  length  reduced  to  something  like  its 
intended  proportions,  the  brick  and  timber  work  required  for 
drainage  and  other  purposes  is  made. 

The  importance  of  avoiding  the  trouble,  danger,  and  cost  of 
accidents  from  slips  in  cuttings  is  obvious  ;  and  much  patient 
attention  has  been  given  to  the  subject.  The  degree  of  the 
inclination  required  by  the  sides  of  cuttings  or  embankments 
depends  on  the  nature  of  the  strata  of  which  they  are  composed. 
The  soils  intersected,  include  peat,  clay,  and  mud,  are  sometimes 
stratified  with  seams  of  clay,  shale,  sand,  and  shells,  often  of 
considerable  dip,  and  with  an  extreme  tendency  to  slip.  When 
saturated  with  water,  the  soil  swells,  and  can  move  laterally 
only  towards  the  unresisting  opening  of  the  cutting.  "Drying 
again,  this  ground  cracks ;  the  fissures  rapidly  fill  with  dust  or 
sand  washed  or  blown  in,  another  saturation  thus  produces 
another  swell,  with  a  further  movement,  until  a  fall  or  slip 
occurs.  When  the  ground  is  usually  full  of  water,  certain  clays 
or  marl  will  become  so  soapy  or  greasy  as  almost  to  destroy 
the  friction  between  the  strata,  which,  in  inclined  seams,  is  all 
that  holds  the  upper  soils  in  place.  In  some,  the  soil  may  so 
far  dissolve  as  to  run  over  in  a  semi-fluid  state,  thus  under- 
mining solid  earth  above." 

All  materials,  however,  have  a  certain  position  at  which  they 
will  rest,  which  is  denominated  the  angle  of  repose,  but  this  is 
affected  not  only  by  the  character  of  the  material  themselves, 
but  by  the  influence  that  weather  has  on  those  materials.  If 
the  strata  vary  the  slope  would  have  to  be  flatter  than  in  homo- 
geneous earth.  Alternate  strata  of  clay  and  sand  are  especially 
treacherous ;  separate  strata  will  not  absorb  water  and  swell 
equally ;  and  a  comparatively  impervious  stratum  like  clay 
will  hold  all  the  water  that  comes  to  it.  This  will  swell  and 
move  forward  towards  the  face  of  the  slope,  the  movement 
being  on  the  surface  of  the  next  stratum  which  is  like  a  smooth 
lubricated  floor.  The  action  is  of  course  more  decisive  if  the 
strata    are    inclined.       In    the    strata   through    which    railway 


CUTTINGS.  I  I  I 

cuttings  are  made,  and  from  which  embankments  are  often 
formed,  the  slopes  of  the  sides  are  usually  about  a  foot  and  a 
half  horizontal  to  one  foot  vertical,  and  from  this  they  vary  from 
three  or  four  feet  horizontal  to  one  vertical.  Chalk  has  usually- 
great  stability.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  town  of  Dover,  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  which  lies  beneath  a  high  range  of  chalk 
cliffs,  and  yet  has  long  been  perfectly  secure.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  sometimes  very  insecure.  In  the  well-known  Merst- 
ham  cutting,  on  the  Brighton  line,  which  passes  through  strati- 
fied chalk  the  sides  of  which  are  nearly  perpendicular,  there  is 
a  falling  of  pieces  which  sometimes  renders  the  attendance  of 
watchers  by  night  and  day  indispensable.  This  is  especially 
the  case  in  frosty  weather,  when  the  jutting  pieces  begin  to  give 
way,  and  after  a  while  many  of  them  come  tumbling  down. 
Their  rattling  and  crumbling,  however,  give  notice  to  the  work- 
men, and  thus  they  are  enabled  to  provide  against  accident  to 
passing  trains. 

When  cuttings  are  formed  through  rocky  strata,  no  consider- 
able inclination  is  required,  as  in  the  case  of  the  stone  cutting 
on  the  London  and  Birmingham  line  between  the  Wolverton 
and  Blisworth  stations.  The  Olive  Mount  cutting,  on  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  is  in  some  parts  more  than 
a  hundred  feet  deep.  It  is  indeed  a  narrow  ravine  cut  for 
nearly  two  miles  through  the  solid  rock,  and  480,000  cubic 
yards  of  stone  were  removed  in  its  excavation.*"  In  such 
instances  tunnelling  would  generally  be  less  expensive,  but  in 
this  case  the  material  was  required  for  the  formation  of  an 
embankment  in  the  vicinity.  So  small  is  the  sacrifice  of  land, 
and  the  amount  of  superfluous  material  necessary  to  be  removed 
when  there  is  no  angle  of  repose,  that  cuttings  through  clay, 
gravel,  or  other  loose  substances  are  nearly  as  expensive  as 
those  made  in  rock. 

Other  materials  require  different  degrees  of  inclination  to 
give  them  the  desired  stability.  Thus  the  London  clay  has 
been  made  to  stand  at  one  to  one,  and  has  slipped  at  one  to 
three,  its  firmness  depending  greatly  on  its  dryness  when  cut 
through,  or,  in  the  case  of  embankments,  when  it  is  tipped. 
If  it  contains  much  water,  it  is  peculiarly  difficult  to  manage  ; 

*  See  page  91. 


I  1  2 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


and  in  the  cutting  which  extends  for  some  distance  between  the 
Euston  and  Camden  stations,  the  clay  is  only  retained  in  its 
position  by  walls  seven  bricks  in  thickness  at  the  foundation, 

and  three  at  the  top  ;  they  are  twenty  feet  in  height  They 
are  also  curved  inwards  to  give  them  additional  security.  The 
walls  by  themselves,  however,  were  insufficient  to  sustain  the 
pressure  ;  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  support  them  by  no 
fewer  than  forty-four  massive  iron  beams,  which  stretch  across 
over  head,  and  provide  a  counterpoising  lateral  pressure.  A 
similar  arrangement  had  to  be  made  when  the  Midland  line 


RETAINING    WALLS,    HAVERSTOCK    HILL    STATION. 


was  carried  by  Haverstock  Hill  station.  With  steep  slopes 
the  bottom  is  often  supported  by  a  low  retaining  wall  or 
revetment  of  stone  or  earth. 

Another  illustration  of  the  difficulties  which  have  occurred 
in  working  the  London  clay  may  also  be  mentioned.  In  the 
formation  of  a  cutting  on  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway 
at  Highgate,  near  what  is  called  the  Archway  Road,  a  gullet 
had  been  formed  and  a  temporary  tramway  laid  down.  Ex- 
cessive wetness  set  in,  but  the  works  were  continued  with 
persevering  energy,  when  one  morning  the  treacherous  material 


CONSTRUCTION    OF    CUTTINGS.  113 

gave  way,  the  gullet  was  filled  up,  the  labour  of  weeks,  estimated 
at  ;£8oo,  was  destroyed  by  an  accident  which  could  not  have 
been  anticipated. 

Sometimes  the  work  is  made  secure  with  comparative  ease. 
Thus,  in  all  the  excavations  on  the  Newcastle  and  Carlisle 
line,  through  a  district  sixty-two  miles  in  length,  the  slopes 
are  made  at  one  and  a  half  to  one,  and  they  have  stood  well. 
The  sand  cuttings  through  the  Corvan  Hills,  on  that  line,  are 
1 10  feet  deep,  and  it  is  interspersed  with  thin  layers  of  clay, 
yet  it  has  remained  firm  with  a  slope  of  one  and  a  half  to  one. 
Cuttings  on  the  Birmingham  and  Gloucester  line  fifty  feet  deep 
in  pure  gravel,  have  stood  well  at  one  to  one,  and  on  the  same 
line  is  a  cutting  eighty-six  feet  deep,  with  a  spoil  bank  on 
the  top  of  twenty-four  feet,  making  a  total  depth  of  no  feet 
in  gravel  and  sand,  which  has  stood  at  one  and  a  half  to  one. 

In  the  construction  of  cuttings,  retaining  walls  are  sometimes 
built  to  save  excavation.  They  are  calculated  to  resist  the 
pressure  of  the  earth  behind  them,  estimating  that  pressure  as 
"  equal  to  the  weight  of  a  prism  of  earth  slipping  upon  the  face 
of  the  natural  slope  due  to  the  character  of  the  soil."  But  if 
water  collects  behind  the  wall  and  saturates  the  earth,  then  the 
pressure  equals  the  weight  of  the  column  of  semi-fluid  resting 
against  the  wall.  The  plan  has  sometimes  been  adopted  of 
building  buttresses  opposite  each  other  along  the  faces  of  a 
perpendicular  cutting.  These  buttresses  may  easily  be  kept 
apart,  by  a  reversed  arch  below  the  track  and  by  a  brick  beam 
overhead,  the  beam  being  arched  both  on  its  upper  and  under 
sides.  The  intermediate  faces  of  the  cutting  are  supported  by 
concave  retaining  walls. 

In  cuttings  the  track  has,  more  or  less,  a  slope  towards  each 
end,  both  to  reduce  the  quantity  of  excavation  and  to  keep  the 
side-ditches  clear.  Where  the  incline  is  steep,  the  side-ditches 
are  sometimes  lined  with  stone,  in  order  to  save  excavation  and 
to  prevent  the  ditch  from  wasting.  Such  a  ditch  would  be  per- 
haps thirty-three  inches  deep,  eighteen  inches  open  at  the  top, 
paved  with  three-inch  flagging  stone  at  the  bottom,  and  lined 
with  walls  of  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  in  thickness.  "  On  the 
London  and  North  Western  line  cross  underground  drains  of 
circular  and  perforated  tiles  are  used  to  a  considerable  extent, 
placed  well  below  the  ballast.     In  some  of  the  deep  chalk  cut- 

1 


114  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

tings  some  of  the  side  drains  arc  of  large  bricks,  running  the 
whole  length  underground,  with  cesspools,  or  eyes,  at  convenient 
distances  to  take  off  the  surface  water.  Semicircular  half-brick 
open  drains  arc  used  for  the  sides  of  some  of  the  cuttings."  In 
very  wet  cuttings,  covered  drains  are  made  under  the  centre  of 
the  road-bed  ;  some  arc  oval,  three  feet  in  vertical  diameter,  and 
two  feet  wide,  the  bottom  being  from  four  to  five  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  ballast.  But  with  all  the  care  taken  to  remove 
underlying  water,  accidents  from  this  cause  will  occur,  although 
perhaps  rarely.  In  dealing  with  drainage  upon  such  a  vast  scale 
as  is  involved  in  railway  works,  a  knowledge  of  geology  is  very 
useful.  Every  geologist  knows  the  strata  that  probably  underlie 
each  other,  and  where  there  is  water.  In  cuttings  where  the 
land  is  in  transverse  section,  ditches  are  made  on  both  sides  at 
the  top,  called  "  crest  ditches,"  which  discharge  themselves  at  the 
end  of  the  cutting,  if  it  is  not  too  long,  or  they  fall  down  its 
sides,  and  the  water  has  to  be  carried  off  by  drains  that  have 
some  fall  also. 

The  great  enemy  of  cuttings,  whether  in  making  or  maintain- 
ing them,  is  water.     If  it  runs  over  the  surface  of  earthworks,  it 
dissolves  and  washes  it  away,  soaks  the  road-bed  of  the  line, 
and  chokes  the  ditches.     One  curious  and  serious  effect  of  this 
is,  that  no  matter  how  high  the  mass  of  matter  that  is  in  con- 
tact with  the  water,  and  whether  it  be  loam,  sand,  or  clay,  the 
water  will  rise  by  absorption  to  the  top.     The  road-bed  also 
becomes  saturated,  the  ballast  sinks,  the  sleepers,  when  a  train 
passes,  deflect  deeply,  and  in  doing  so,  oppose  a  heavy  grade  to  the 
wheels,  and  enormously  increase  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  road. 
In  wet  weather  mud  oozes  from  beneath  the  sleepers,  and  in  dry 
seasons  this  is  dissipated  in  clouds  of  dust.     Clay  soils,  soaked 
with  water,  will,  on  the  return  of  dry  weather,  shrink  and  crack 
in  every  direction  ;  and  whatever  may  thus  disturb  the  road-bed 
disturbs  the  sleepers,  the  fastenings  are  strained,  the  chairs  are 
broken,  the  metals  are  rusted,  and  the  road  is  rotted.     "  In  an 
economical  view,"  says  one  authority,  "  the  damage  occasioned 
by  water  is  far  greater  than  the  utmost  cost  of  its  removal." 
"Wherever  water  is  known,  or  suspected  to  exist,"  remarked 
Robert  Stephenson,  "  its  immediate  source  should  be  traced,  and 
every  possible  means  adopted  for  diverting  it  from  the  slopes 
and  adjacent  surfaces."     All  running  water  must  be  cut  off  from 


CONSTRUCTION    OF    CUTTINGS.  I  I  5 

any  point  that  comes  within  three  feet  below  the  rails.  "  No 
excellence  of  ballast  can  keep  a  road-bed  dry  except  the  surface 
is  fully  three  feet  above  the  reach  of  water." 

To  this  end  the  ditches  on  the  side  of  cuttings  must  be 
straight  and  clean,  with  an  inclination  that  prevents  their  con- 
taining stagnant  water,  and  with  free  outlets  to  neighbouring 
watercourses. 

The  surface  of  the  slope  may  be  intersected  by  numerous 
shallow  "  spade  drains  "  as  they  are  called,  running  either  straight 
down  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  or  diagonally  each  way,  so  as 
to  form  a  continual  outline  like  the  letter  W  on  the  face  of  the 
work. 

Numerous  illustrations  of  the  difficulties  attending  the  making 
of  cuttings  might  be  given.  In  the  formation  of  a  cutting  on 
one  of  the  railways  in  the  north  of  England,  it  was  estimated 
that  about  50,000  cubic  yards  of  earth  would  have  to  be 
removed.  The  computation  was  unexpectedly  found  to  be 
fallacious.  The  soft  earth  was  supported  by  a  seam  of  shale, 
and  no  sooner  was  it  severed  than  a  mass  of  earth  slipped  down 
into  the  railway,  which  required  the  removal  of  no  less  than 
500,000  cubic  yards  of  material. 

The  Haslingden  cutting,  on  the  East  Lancashire  line,  was 
probably  one  of  the  most  difficult  works  of  the  kind  ever  under- 
taken. Nearly  half  a  million  yards  of  peat,  gravel,  and  sand 
were  removed  from  it,  and  it  had  to  be  cut  through  a  bog-hole, 
the  material  of  which,  being  saturated  with  water,  sometimes 
came  in  faster  than  it  could  be  taken  out  The  peat  was  twenty 
feet  or  more  in  thickness ;  and  for  three  months,  during  the 
summer  of  1848,  all  the  earth  that  two  locomotives  and  their 
trains  could  bring  was  carried  away  to  form  an  embankment 
without  obtaining  a  foundation.  The  difficulty  was  at  length 
overcome  by  the  company's  engineer,  Mr.  Perring,  who  sunk 
large  masses  of  stone  at  the  required  points,  and  these,  forcing 
away  the  peat,  provided  a  solid  bed  over  which  the  line  could  be 
carried. 

The  three  great  cuttings  on  the  London  and  Birmingham  line 
are  at  Denbigh  Hall,  Roade,  and  Blisworth.  The  last  passes 
through  limestone  and  clay,  and  upwards  of  1,000,000  cubic 
yards  of  earth  had  to  be  removed  in  its  formation,  about  a  third 
of  which  was  limestone,  nearly  as  hard  as  flint.     Beneath  the 


u6 


Ol'K     IRON     ROADS. 


rock  was  the  clay,  and  under  that  were  beds  of  loose  shale 
so  soaked  with  water  that  for  a  year  and  a  half  they  resisted 
all  efforts  to  pump  them  dry.  To  hold  the  sides  of  the  cutting 
in  their  place,  strong  retaining  walls  had  to  be  erected,  behind 
which  drains  were  built  through  which  the  water  might  escape. 
More  than  800  stonemasons,  miners,  labourers,  and  boys  were 
at  work  at  this  spot,  directed  by  experienced  engineers,  and 
aided  by  horse  and  steam-power,  with  "all  appliances  and 
means  to  boot  ; "  twenty-five  barrels  of  gunpowder  were  con- 
sumed  weekly,   or  3,000  in  all,   in  blasting.     The  cost  of  the 


■-V-- 


BIRKETT   CUTTING. 


work   was   about   a   quarter  of  a   million  of   pounds   sterling. 
This  cutting  has  lately  been  doubled  in  width. 

The  largest  cutting  on  the  London  and  Birmingham  line 
is  at  Tring.  It  passes  through  the  fiintless  chalk  ridge  of 
Ivinghoe  for  nearly  two  miles  and  a  half,  and  is  crossed  by 
three  bridges  of  three  arches,  besides  a  smaller  bridge.  Its 
average  depth  is  forty  feet ;  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  it  is  fifty- 
seven  feet  deep ;  1,500,000  cubic  yards  of  chalk  were  removed 
in  its  excavation  by  horse  runs,  and  they  form  an  embankment 
to  the  north  six  miles  long  and  thirty  feet  high,  besides  vast 
"  spoil  banks  "  of  superfluous  material. 


BIRKETT    CUTTING. 


117 


Roade  cutting  is  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  and  in  some  places 
sixty-five  feet  deep,  cut  through  clay  and  hard  rock.  Constant 
pumping  was  necessary.  The  contractors  gave  the  work  up, 
and  the  company  had  to  take  it  in  hand.  Steam-engines  were 
set  to  pump,  locomotives  to  draw,  and  800  men  and  boys  to 
dig,  wheel,  and  blast,  and  3,000  barrels  of  gunpowder  were  used. 

Two  other  cuttings  are  deserving  of  special  notice.  The  one 
is  the  Birkett  cutting,  a  little  south  of  Birkett  tunnel,  about 
two  miles  and  a  half  south  of  Kirkby  Stephen  on  the  Settle 
and  Carlisle  line.     It  is  of  rock,  and  has  been  made  through 


BARON    WOOD   CUTTING. 


what  is  known  as  the  Great  Pennine  Fault.  It  passes  through 
shale,  mountain  limestone,  magnesian  limestone,  grit,  slate,  iron, 
coal,  and  lead  ore  in  thin  bands,  all  within  a  hundred  yards. 
"  The  most  curious  combination,"  remarked  Mr.  Crossley,  "  I 
have  ever  seen."  In  the  same  side  of  the  hill  the  strata  rise 
up  from  a  horizontal  position  till  they  are  not  far  from  per- 
pendicular. 

The  other  is  on  the  same  railway  somewhat  south  of 
Armathwaite.  The  line  runs  through  a  long  ancient  forest,  called 
Baron  or  Barren  Wood,  in  some  places  thickly  timbered  with 
oak  and  ash,  fir  and  beech  ;  and  in  others  covered  with  brush- 


i  i  s 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 


I  .mi I  bracken.  A  heavy  cutting  then  runs  through  the 
wood  for  a  distance  o(  nearly  a  mile  ;  the  hill  slopes  150  feet  to 
the  water's  edge.  Here,  among  beautiful  views,  arc  the  re- 
markable reeks  that  raise,  for  perhaps  100  feet,  their  "shattered 
and  fretted  summits,"  and  form  the  entrance  to  what  is  known 
as  Samson's  Cave.  The  water  washes  their  base.  The  view 
is  depicted  in  our  engraving  as  seen  from  the  other  side  of  the 
beautiful  river  Eden.  The  rocks  of  Samson's  Cave  are  in 
front. 

The  vicissitudes  that  arise  in  the  prosecution  of  railway  work 
are  sometimes  very  serious.     Before  us  lies  a  letter  of  a  young 


DOVE   HOLES   CUTTING. 


engineer,  named  Sharland,  to  whose  memory  we  have  elsewhere 
paid  a  tribute,  in  which  he  describes  an  accident  that  occurred 
when  making  the  cutting  at  the  north  end  of  the  Blea  Moor 
tunnel  on  the  Settle  and  Carlisle  line.  "We  have  had,"  he 
says,  "a  terrible  storm.  A  waterspout  burst  over  our  tunnel. 
The  men  were  all  at  work  as  usual,  when  without  two  minutes' 
warning  a  sheet  of  water  came  tearing  down  the  tunnel  hill  like 
an  immense  wave,  five  feet  in  height.  Down  it  came,  right 
into  a  cutting  where  fortunately  there  were  only  seven  men 
at  work  ;  but  before  the  poor  fellows  could  run  ten  yards  it  was 
on   them,  and  two  of  them  were  drowned   immediately ;  also 


DOVE    HOLES    CUTTING. 


119 


a  horse,  which  was  in  the  act  of  drawing  a  wagon  towards  the 
tip,  was  overtaken,  and  in  less  than  twenty  minutes,  both  horse 
and  wagon  were  buried  under  some  hundred  tons  of  debris  from 
the  mountain  side.  You  never  saw  a  more  perfect  wreck  than 
now  appears  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Dent :  seven  road  bridges 
are  washed  away  bodily,  and  what  was  formerly  the  public  road 
is  now  the  bed  of  the  river.  One  solid  block  of  marble  10  ft. 
X4'  6"  x  1'  8"  was  washed  fifty-four  yards  down  stream;  this 
gives  some  idea  of  the  force  of  the  torrent ;  stone  walls,  trees, 
etc.,  are  washed  away,  and  as  I  have  said  before,  the  wreck  is 
most  complete  on  all  sides.     The  greatest  wonder  to  me  is  that 


DOVE  HOLES  CUTTING  CLEARED. 


there  was  not  a  greater  loss  of  life.  A  rain-gauge  in  Dent 
Valley  showed  that  there  had  been  2\  inches  of  rain  in  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour." 

Of  course  the  deeper  a  cutting  is  carried  the  costlier  it 
becomes,  until  a  point  is  reached  at  which  it  is  cheaper  to  run 
underground.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Dove  Holes  tunnel,  near 
Buxton,  on  the  Midland,  the  cutting  was  72  or  73  feet,  a  depth 
at  which  the  cost  of  cutting  or  of  tunnelling  would  about 
balance  one  another.  Here,  in  the  summer  flood  rain  of  1872, 
the  cutting  slipped  in,  and  presented  the  appearance  depicted 
on  the  previous  page  ;  when,  eventually,  it  was  cleared  out, 
the  engineers  decided  to  arch  over  part  of  the  cutting,  as  in- 
dicated on  the  second  engraving,  which  we  transfer  to  these 


1  20 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


pages    from    bur   history  of  "the   Rise  and   Progress"  of  the 
Midland   Railway. 

Other  considerations  may  also  affect  the  choice  between 
cuttings  and  tunnels.  Thus,  as  Mr.  Barlow,  the  enginccr-in- 
chief  o\  the  Midland  Company  informed  us,  in  the  formation 
of  the  Rowsley  and  Buxton  Extension  northwards  towards 
Manchester,  he  in  some  instances  substituted  tunnels  for  cuttings, 


WOODHOUSE   TOWER   AND   CUTTING,    ON    THE   CALEDONIAN    RAILWAY. 

the  line  being  also  moved  a  little  nearer  to  the  rocks  in  order 
to  prevent  the  embankments  running  into  the  channel  of  the 
river  and  displacing  the  current.  Difficulty  would  also  have 
been  found  in  securing  space  whereon  to  deposit  the  material 
from  a  cutting.  These  alterations  received  the  sanction  of  the 
Board  of  Trade. 

The  difficulties  connected  with  cuttings  do  not  end  when  the 


WALLS    OF    CUTTINGS.  I  2  I 

works  are  completed.  In  many  instances  their  sides  have  stood 
securely  for  weeks,  or  months,  or  even  years  after  they  were 
finished,  and  have  then  loosened  and  fallen.  Sometimes  these 
misfortunes  arise  from  the  unexpected  accumulation  of  water 
behind  the  earthwork,  sometimes  from  the  disturbed  drainage 
of  adjoining  lands,  and  sometimes  from  chemical  action.  The 
chemical  combinations  that  are  thus  created  are  very  curious 
and  embarrassing  to  the  railway  engineer.  The  walls  of  tunnels, 
for  instance,  on  the  Midland  Railway,  both  at  Miller's  Dale  and 
on  the  Settle  and  Carlisle,  stood  perfectly  for  years,  and  it  was 
thought  they  would  continue  to  stand  of  themselves  :  they  had 
then,  at  great  inconvenience  and  expense — for  the  traffic  must 
be  carried  on — to  be  lined  with  brick.  So  with  the  sides  of 
cuttings.  An  unintelligent  observer  sees  that  a  slip  has  taken 
place  upon  a  railway,  and  thinks  that  the  engineer  is  at  fault — 
that  he  ought  to  have  made  the  slope  greater.  But  with  some 
materials  no  sloping  of  the  side  of  a  cutting  will  arrest  the  active 
chemical  process  that,  under  some  conditions  of  weather  and 
time,  will  be  developed.  Thus,  for  instance,  with  the  Ampthill 
cutting  on  the  Bedford  and  London  line  of  the  Midland.  "You 
may  lay  that  stuff  on  its  back,"  remarked  Mr.  Crossley  the 
engineer  to  us,  "  but  it  will  kick  up  its  heels.  I  will  show  you 
some  nearer  London,"  he  added,  "  which  lies  nearly  on  the  flat, 
but  it  is  always  boiling  up  and  turning  over." 

In  the  winter  of  1841  and  1842,  landslips  took  place  in  the 
New  Cross  cutting  of  the  Croydon  line.  The  cutting  is  in  some 
parts  eighty  feet  deep,  and  in  the  autumn  about  50,000  cubic 
yards  of  earth  suddenly  gave  way,  immediately  after  the  passing 
of  a  train,  from  the  western  slope,  and  covered  both  lines  of  rails 
to  a  depth  of  nearly  twelve  feet  and  for  a  length  of  360  feet. 
Other  slips  subsequently  occurred  near  the  same  spot,  and 
upwards  of  250,000  cubic  yards  of  earth  had  to  be  removed. 
The  works  were  carried  on  day  and  night  without  intermission, 
but  it  required  three  months  before  the  trains  could  run  as 
before. 

Similarly,  in  the  autumn  of  1876,  a  landslip  took  place  on 
the  North  British  Railway  line,  near  Dunfermline.  About  8,000 
tons  of  sand  and  rock  gave  way  at  a  cutting  about  forty  feet 
deep,  and  covered  the  line  for  some  forty  yards  to  a  depth  of 
fifteen  feet.     A  special  cattle  train  ran  into  the  heap,  fourteen 


1 2  J 


OUR    [RON    roads. 


•ns  wore  smashed,  and  the  engine  was  thrown  across  the 
Opposite  line  of  rails.     The  line  was  not  cleared  for  five  days. 

Wherever  possible  the  slopes  of  cuttings  and  embankments 
are  covered  with  a  layer  of  soil,  procured  from  the  base  of  the 

embankments  or  from  the  top  of  the  cuttings  when  they  arc 
commenced  ;  this  is  spread  about  six  inches  in  thickness,  or  as 
thick  as  the  amount  of  soil  will  allow.  The  soil  should  be  laid 
on  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  excavation  is  made,  or  the 
embankment  is  consolidated,  and  it  should  be  either  sown  with 
grass  or  clover,  or  both,  in  order  to  have  a  turf  upon  it  before 
the  slopes  are  affected  by  the  weather.  By  attending  to  these 
matters,  slopes  will  stand  when  otherwise  they  would  crumble. 


A    WELSH    RAILWAY   STATION. 


CHAPTER    V. 


Levelling  of  the  Round  Down  Cliff. — Blasting  on  the  Londonderry  and 
Coleraine  Railway  Embankments. — Making  an  Embankment. — The 
Tip. — Disappearance  of  an  Embankment. — Embankments  on  Marshes. 
— Chat  Moss. — Embankments  Chained  with  Iron  Cables. — Hanwell 
Embankment. — Intake  Embankment. — Embankments  on  Loch  Foyle. 
— A  Baked  Embankment. — Earthworks  of  Railways. — Comparison  of 
Labour  of  Ancients  and  Moderns.— Market  Gardens  on  Railway  Banks. 
— Navigators  and  their  Characteristics. — Cunning  of  Navvies. — Com- 
parison of  English  and  Foreign  Navvies. — Nicknames  of  Navvies. — 
Courage  and  Recklessness  of  Navvies. — Management  of  Navvies. 

N  the  ever-varying  exigencies  that  arise 
in  the  formation  of  a  railway,  abundant 
opportunities  are  afforded  for  testing 
the  skill  and  experience  of  the  en- 
gineer. An  illustration  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  South  Eastern  line,  is 
worthy  of  special  consideration.  To- 
wards the  west,  in  the  direction  of 
Folkestone,  the  line  of  sea-face  is  ter- 
minated by  Abbot's  Cliff,  and  to  the 
east,  adjoining  Dover,  by  the  well- 
known  Shakespeare's  Cliff.*  These 
hills  are  separated  from  the  "  Heights "  by  a  narrow  valley, 
from  which  they  slope  upwards  by  gentle  courses  to  their  es- 
carpment, which  has  a  majestic  perpendicular  front,  about  five 
miles  in  extent,  looking  to  the  ocean,  and  of  an  average 
height  of  350  feet.  This  front  is  varied  by  occasional  bold 
projections,  which  divide  the  beach  at  their  base  into  cor- 
responding spaces.  One  of  these  protruding  rocks  was  the 
Round  Down  Cliff:  it  rose  375  feet  above  the  sea,  and  was  the 
highest  point  of  the  chalk  cliffs  between  Folkestone  to  Dover. 
How  then,  was  the    railway  to  be   carried    in    a   direct   line  to 


*   Vide   Frontispiece.       The   initial   letter    represents    the    viaduct   and 
tunnel  near  Penmaenmawr. 


[24 


OUR     IKON     ROM's. 


Shakespeare's  Cliff  To  tunnel  was  impossible,  if  such  a  word  is 
found  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  engineer  of  the  present  day  ;  to 
dig  it  down  would  have  occasioned  a  delay  of  twelve  months, 
and  an  expense  of  .£10,000.  Although  the  obstacle  to  be  re- 
moved was  nothing  less  than  a  mass  of  chalk  rock,  300  feet  in 
length,  of  still  greater  height,  and  averaging  70  feet  in  thick- 
ness, the  engineer  of  the  line,  Mr.  William  Cubitt,  devised  a  new 


ABBOTS   CLIFF. 


method  of  accomplishing   the    desired  work.      It   was   by   the 
explosion,  by  galvanism,  of  19,000  pounds  of  gunpowder. 

At  the  time  appointed,  a  number  of  distinguished  visitors 
reached  the  Downs,  and  joined  the  directors  and  the  scientific 
corps  at  a  commodious  pavilion  erected  near  the  edge  of  the 
cliff,  at  a  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  point 
of  explosion.  "When  the  arrangements  were  completed,  and  the 
spectators  assembled,  curiosity  was  at  its  height,  and  the  most 


LEVELLING    THE    ROUND    DOWN    CLIFF.  1 25 

strange  and  fearful  speculations  were  entertained  by  the  people 
assembled  as  to  the  possible  contingencies  which   might  arise. 
'  What/  said    Professor   Sedgwick,  '  what  if  there    should   be   a 
concealed  fissure — a  blinded  chasm — in  the  cliff  behind  us  ?     A 
smart  vibration  might  throw  it  open.'     '  What  then  ? '   inquired 
a  ghastly  querist.     '  We  shall  be  swallowed  up  ! '  muttered  one 
in  response  ;    while   another   sighed,  '  We   shall  be   swallowed 
down  !  '      Still  the  fascination  was  irresistible,  and  though  many 
were  uneasy,  and  wished  to  be  gone,  no  one  withdrew.     After 
a  long  suspense  of  half  an  hour  the  discharge  of  half  a  dozen 
blasts  on  the  face  of  Abbot's  Cliff  occasioned  a  great  sensation. 
When  two  o'clock  arrived,  the  time  appointed  for  the  explosion, 
the  interest  which  pervaded  the  multitude  became  most  intense. 
The  'choughs   and   crows  that  winged    the  midway  air'  were 
distinctly  heard  amidst  the  profound  calm  that  prevailed.     The 
signal  which  announced  it  to  be  fifteen  minutes  before  firing 
having  been  given,  all  the  other  flags  were  hoisted.     The  air 
was  still,  the  sea  was  calm,  and  the  murmuring  surges  gently 
laved  the  cliff's  huge  base.     A  quarter  of  an  hour  now  passed, 
and  a  shell  with  a  lighted  fusee  was  thrown  over  the  cliff,  from 
which  it  bounded  to  the  beach,  where  it  burst  with  an  astound- 
ing report,  followed  by  echoes  from  the  hills,  which  had  the 
effect  of  sharp   fusillades   of  musketry.       The    flags  were   then 
hauled    down,   and   at   length   the  'one  minute   before   firing' 
arrived. 

"  The  excitement  of  the  people  was  now  painfully  intense, 
while  their  courage  was  put  to  its  severest  test.  '  Now  !  now  ! ' 
shouted  the  eager  multitude,  and  a  dull,  muffled,  booming  sound 
was  heard,  accompanied  for  a  moment  by  a  heavy  jolting  move- 
ment of  the  earth,  which  caused  the  knees  to  smite.  The  wires 
had  been  fired.  In  an  instant  the  bottom  of  the  cliff  appeared 
to  dissolve,  and  to  form  by  its  melting  elements  a  hurried 
sea-borne  stream.  The  superincumbent  mass,  to  the  extent  of 
about  five  hundred  feet,  was  then  observed  to  separate  from  the 
main  land,  and  as  the  dissolution  of  its  base  was  accomplished 
it  gradually  sank  to  the  beach.  In  two  minutes  its  dispersion 
was  complete.  The  huge  volleys  of  ejected  chalk,  as  they 
swelled  the  lava-like  stream,  appeared  to  roll  inwards  upon 
themselves,  crushing  their  integral  blocks,  and  then  to  return  to 
the  surface  in  smaller  and  coalescing  forms.     The  mass  seemed 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

the  influence  of  an  unseen,  but  uncontrollable 

.  no  roaring  explosion,   no  bursting  out  of 

'.   what    is   very   remarkable,   not   a   single   wreath  of 

the   mighty  agent  had  done  its   work  under  an 

int  of  pressure  which   almost   matched    its   energies:   the 

•    strained   in  their   intensity  till  all  smoke 

A  million  tons  (if  weight  and  a  million  tons  of 

held  them  in  check.     When  the  turf  at  the  top  of  the 

was  1. lunched  to  the  level  of  the  beach,  the  stream  of  debris 

led  a  distance  of  1,200  feet,  and  covered  a  space  of  more 

than  fifteen  acres  ! " 

The  moment  the  headlong  course  of  the  chalk  had  ceased, 

and  the  hopes  of  the  spectators  were  realized,  a  simultaneous 

"Three  cheers   for    the  engineer!"  and  William 

ras  honoured   with   a  hearty  huzza  from  the  lips  of  a 

An    era    in   the    history   of   engineering    had 

:.d    a   precedent  had   been   established,    the    results    of 

which   none  could    anticipate.     It  had  been  demonstrated  that 

the  most   powerful  and  mysterious  agency  in  nature  was  under 

utable  regulations,  and  in  no  small  degree  under  the  con- 

ience.     The  congratulations  thus  re-echoed  were  borne 

:   of  the   battery  house,  and  at  once  dissipated  the 

ns  of  the  operators  ;  for  so  slight  was  the  noise  and 

the  shock   that  the  impression  made   on  their  minds  was  that 

the  experiment  had   failed,  for  their  situation   prevented   their 

witnessing  the  result.     The  ruins  of  the  Round  Down  Cliff  may 

be  observed  stretching  towards  the  sea  at  the  mouth  of  the 

Shakespeare  tunnel.     "  Nothing,"  says  Sir  John  Herschel,  "  can 

in  a  more  signal  light  the  exactness  of  calculation  which 

could  enable  the  eminent  engineer  by  whom  the  whole  arrange- 

ments  are  understood  to  have  been  made,  so  completely  to  task 

utmost  every  pound  of  power  employed  as  to  exhaust  its 

whole  effort  in  useful  work — leaving  no  superfluous  power  to  be 

in    the    production    of  useless    uproar   or    mischievous 

n,  and   thus   saving  at  a  blow  not  less  than  £7,000  to 

the  railway  company." 

A  similar  blasting,  on  a  small  scale,  was  made  on  the  Lon- 

•:rry  and   Coleraine   line.     It  having  been  found  necessary 

irry    on    the    works,    it  was    determined  to    throw    a   hill 

into   the   sea,    through  which  a  tunnel    had  been   commenced, 


EMBANKMENTS. 


127 


This  took  place  in  June,  1846.  A  heading  or  gallery  was 
formed  in  the  rock  from  the  side  of  the  cliff,  fifty  feet  in 
length,  at  the  end  of  which  a  shaft  was  sunk,  for  twenty-two 
feet,  to  the  level  of  the  railway,  and  again  another  gallery  was 
made  at  the  bottom,  running  at  right  angles  to  the  first,  and 
farther  into  the  rock.  At  the  end  of  this  was  placed  2,400 
pounds  of  powder,  the  earth  was  well  filled  in,  and  the  wires  for 


MAKING   THE   WOLVERTON    EMBANKMENT. 


the  passage  of  the  electric  fluid  carefully  arranged.  The  smaller 
charge  of  600  pounds  was  then  placed  higher  up  in  the  rock. 
On  the  explosion  being  made,  the  bottom  of  the  mass  heaved 
outwards  for  a  moment,  trembling  with  the  force  exerted  on  it, 
and  then,  cracking  into  a  thousand  fissures,  rolled  into  the 
sea.  The  amount  of  material  removed  was  upwards  of  30,000 
tons. 

When  the  level  of  a  railway  has  to  be  raised,  it  is  usually 


01  K    [RON    R(  >ADS. 

an  embankment    The  material,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
lined  from  a  neighbouring  cutting; — the  engineer 
in  la  railway,  having  arranged  that  the  cmbank- 

ttings  shall  in  amount  about  equal  one  another, 
which    the   stuff  is  conveyed   to  the  em- 
:  is  called  "  the  lead."     The  first  thing  in  the  formation 
n  embankment  is  the  shaving  off  to  the  thickness  of  six 
inches  of  the   turfs,   if  any,   at  the  base   of  the  intended  line, 
they   are   put    aside    for   sodding   down    the   slopes   of   the 
.  when  finished.     By  these  means  also  a  good  bottom,  free 
matter,    is    obtained.      All    stumps,    brush,  or 
other  obstructions,  which,  by  their  disturbance  of  the  integrity 
of  the  bank,  or  by  their  decay,   might   cause   sinking  or  slips, 
are    then    removed.       The  culverts    being  laid    in    cement   are 
ample  time  to  set  before  the  filling  commences.     The 
material  of  which   the  embankment  is  made  is  conveyed  along 
the    lead  by   different    means.     If  possible,  the  loaded  wagons 
run    down    the    tram  road,    by  their   own    gravity,    to    the  em- 
bankment.     In    some    instances,    each  load  has  to   be    drawn 
,  the    lead    by   horses,   in  other  cases  by    engines,  which 
are   themselves   coin  eyed   to   the  scene  of  operations   on   what 
arc  called  "  drugs."     To  take  so  weighty  an  affair  as  a  locomo- 
;   a  common   road,  is  not  a  trifling   matter,   especially 
if    the    distance    it    has    to    travel    be    considerable,    and    hills 
intervene.     Then   may  the  old  turnpike-road    be  seen   invaded 
by  a  team  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  contractor's  horses,  each  pair 
under  the  guidance  of  an  appointed  driver  ;  while  the  gleaming 
brass-work,  the  black  funnel,  and  the  metal  ribs  of  the  engine, 
form  a  striking  contrast  to  the  rural  simplicity  and  tranquillity 
that  stretch  around. 

In  the  formation  of  an  embankment,  it  is  of  much  import- 
ance that  it  should  be  constructed  with  great  firmness,  and 
with  due  consideration  of  the  nature  of  the  material  of  which 
■  omposcd,  and  of  the  probable  weight  which  it  is  designed 
to  support.  To  this  end  the  embankment  will  be  made  at  first 
to  the  full  intended  width,  for  material  subsequently  added  does 
not  readily  unite  with  the  original  mass.  If  additions  become 
y  the  side  of  the  bank  is,  perhaps,  "stepped."  An 
embankment  is  sometimes  commenced  from  two  directions, 
which  at  last   unite  in   the   middle.     A   train   of  wagons  being 


THE    "TIP. 


129 


brought  on  to  the  part  of  the  embankment  already  finished, 
preparations  are  made  to  empty  them.  A  tramroad  has 
already  been  formed  to  the  end  of  the  bank,  and  at  its  extreme 
verge  a  stout  piece  of  timber  is  secured  to  prevent  the  wagons 
when  their  contents  are  discharged,  from  being  precipitated 
over  it.  One  of  the  trucks  is  then  detached  from  the  train, 
and  being  brought  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  end  of 
the  embankment,  the  horse  that  draws  it  is  made  to  trot  and 
then  to  gallop,  so  as  to  give  the  required  impetus  to  his  load 
The  uninitiated  observer  fancies  that  both  horse  and  driver 
must  be  killed,  or  hurled  over  the  embankment ;  but  when 
they  have  approached  very  near  to  the  edge,  the  driver  loosens 


the  horse  from  the  wagon,  gives  him  a  signal  which  he  has 
been  taught  to  obey,  both  leap  aside  with  the  greatest  celerity, 
and  the  wagon  alone  rushes  on  till  it  is  suddenly  stopped  at 
the  end  of  the  embankment  by  the  piece  of  timber,  and  the 
shock  makes  the  hinder  part  tip  up  and  discharge  the  load. 
The  horse  is  immediately  brought  up  again  and  hooked  on, 
the  truck  rights  itself,  and  is  drawn  away  to  form  part  of 
the  empty  train  which  will  soon  return  to  the  cutting.  If  the 
works  of  the  railway  are  proceeding  with  moderate  rapidity, 
two  lines  of  rails,  and  two  or  three  sets  of  wagons,  horses, 
and  men,  are  simultaneously  at  work.  Care  is  of  course 
necessary   that   the   elevation    of  the   embankment   be  rightly 

K 


oi'K    [RON    ROADS. 


this  is  ensured  by  the  erection  of  posts  at  intervals 
line,  fitted  with  cross  pieces  that  indicate  the  height 

When  the  general  outline  of  the  embankment  has  thus  been 
given,  it  is  trimmed  SO  as  to  have  the  required  uniformity  of 
trance,  and  the  necessary  material  is  conveyed  to  the  spot, 
in  little  three-wheeled  carts,  the  contents  of  which  are  tipped 
.  and  then  spread  with  the  spade. 
The  face  of  a  slope,  according  to  the  analogy  of  nature,  is 
strongest  when  curved  so  as  to  be  flattest  at  the  base,  where 
the  pressure  is  greatest,  and  to  counteract  the  effect  of  time 
and  of  weather  in  gradually  washing  down  the  slopes.  In 
districts  where  stone  is  abundant,  embankments  and  excava- 
tions are  extensively  faced  with  it.  Embankments  must  also 
be  made  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  vibration  caused  by 
the  passage  of  fast  trains.  This  has  been  detected  in  some 
at  one  and  a  half  mile  distance.  At  the  astronomical 
observatories,  the  disturbance  has  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  from 
the  passing  train  sensibly  affected  the  instruments.  "  The 
blows  of  a  pile  engine,  in  driving  piles  in  some  kinds  of  ground, 
are  sufficient  to  unsettle  the  foundations  of  contiguous  buildings. 
This  was  the  case  at  Lincoln,  on  the  Great  Northern  line, 
where  the  station  was  supported  by  iron  screw-piles  in  order 
to  avoid  this  danger."  Vibration  may  be  an  important  cause 
of  the  failure  of  earthworks  many  years  after  the  opening  of  a 
railway. 

How  unexpected  difficulties  arise  in  the  prosecution  of  great 
engineering  works,  may  be  illustrated  in  the  case  of  em- 
bankments. On  one  occasion  an  embankment  was  observed, 
without  any  apparent  cause,  gradually  to  sink,  and  the  adjoin- 
ing fields  to  rise  ;  the  mass  having  penetrated  some  less  solid 
stratum  below,  and  by  expanding  at  its  base  had  elevated, 
without  otherwise  disturbing,  the  adjoining  surface.  The 
Hanwcll  embankment  on  the  Great  Western  line,  fifty-four  feet 
once  broke  through  the  covering  of  a  clay  stratum 
beneath.  The  swollen  ground  "  forced  up  on  one  side  of 
the  embankment  extended  for  400  feet,  with  a  width  of 
ty  feet,  a  height  of  nearly  ten  feet,  and  had  been  removed 
horizontally  for  about  fifteen  feet.  Had  this  embankment 
been  made  originally  with  flatter  slopes,  the  extension  of  base, 


EMBANKMENTS.  131 

by  distributing  the  weight  over  a  greater  area,  would  have 
saved  the  failure.  As  it  was,  this  extensive  work  actually- 
absorbed  more  material  in  its  repair  than  in  its  original  con- 
struction." It  is  also  asserted  that  an  embankment  on  a 
railway  in  North  America  suddenly  disappeared  from  view, 
and  sank  in  sixty  feet  of  water.  The  cause  was  ascribed  to  the 
fact  that  an  extensive  lake  had,  in  the  course  of  ages,  been 
covered  with  various  deposits,  which  at  length  formed  a  soil 
of  sufficient  stability  to  withstand  the  operations  of  agriculture  ;. 
but  being  oppressed  by  the  weight  of  so  extraordinary  a  con- 
trivance as  a  railway  embankment,  it  declined  to  be  thus 
burdened,  and  deposited  its  load  beneath  its  waters. 

The  embankment  of  the  Great  Eastern  line  which  crosses 
Stratford  Marshes  has  a  peculiarity  worthy  of  notice.  In  order 
to  facilitate  its  construction,  by  enabling  the  workmen  to  tip 
more  wagons  than  usual  in  a  given  time,  Mr.  Braithwaite 
constructed  a  kind  of  scaffolding  or  stage  in  advance  of  the 
end  of  the  embankment ;  and  by  leaving  some  of  the  timber 
framework  of  the  scaffolding  in  the  earth  of  the  embankment, 
it  is  so  bound  together  as  to  enable  it  to  more  effectually 
withstand  the  action  of  the  heavy  floods  to  which  the  valley 
of  the  Lea  is  subject,  than  if  it  had  been  constructed  in  the. 
ordinary  way. 

Other  curious  difficulties  have  arisen  in  the  formation  of 
embankments  across  marshy  districts.  Thus  it  was  found  with 
one  at  Ashton,  that  the  materials  disappeared  as  fast  as  they 
were  deposited,  owing  to  the  unsound  state  of  the  valley  at  the 
base ;  the  surface  outside  the  railway  actually  burst,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  enormous  pressure ;  and  a  culvert  near  the  spot 
was  destroyed.  The  power  of  a  culvert  to  sustain  an  embank- 
ment fifty  feet  high  may  be  supposed  to  be  great ;  but  its  con- 
struction upon  a  soft  foundation  is  a  task  on  which  no  engineer, 
however  cautious  and  skilful,  can  calculate  upon  with  certainty. 

A  similar  difficulty  occurred  in  the  case  of  a  portion  of  the 
Newcastle  and  Darlington  line,  which  crosses  a  spot  called 
Morden  Carr,  about  eight  miles  north  of  Darlington.  The  soil 
consists  of  peat,  and  is  of  great  depth,  being  probably  the 
remains  of  a  primaeval  forest ;  while,  from  its  low  position,  com- 
pared with  the  surrounding  hilly  country,  it  has  in  winter  the 
appearance  of  an  immense  lake.     At  such  times  the  line  has 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

.  and  sometimes  to  such  a  depth   as   almost 

h  the  engine  fires.     On  one  occasion,  a  portion,  to 

f  between  fifty  and  sixty  yards,  gave  way,  and  it 

transfer  the  passengers  and  luggage  across  the 

ther  trains.      Meanwhile,  a  great  number  of  workmen 

d   to  repair  the  injury,  but  incessant  rain  reduced 

md   to  such  a  state,  that  as   ballast  was  laid  upon  the 

part,    the   additional    weight   only   caused    a   further 

sinking,  and  rendered  the  attempt  abortive.     Under  these  cir- 

I    temporary    way    had    to    be    constructed,   which 

led  the  marshes,  .uul  united  the  sound  portions  of  the  line, 

and  with  great   difficulty  the   line  was  restored  to  a  condition 

ife  working. 

of  the  most  important  of  the  lines  carried  across  a  morass 
the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line.    Chat  Moss  was  nothing 
than  a  huge  bog,  of  soft  or  flowing  moss,  covered  with 
-mosses,  stretching  over  an  area  of  twelve  square 
miles,   from    twenty  to   forty  feet    in   depth,  and   estimated   to 
.in  at   least   sixty  million   tons  of  vegetable   matter,   held 
up  by  a  saucer-shaped    stratum  of  clay  and  sand,  and  of  so 
pulpy  a  nature  that  cattle  could  not  walk  on  it,  and  in  many 
a   piece  of  iron  sank  into  it  by  its  own  weight.     It  will 
ily  be  imagined  that  to  traverse  this  place  with  an  embank- 
ment and  a  secure  road,  was  no  small  undertaking ;  and  when 
the   railway   was   under    discussion,  an   eminent    opposing    en- 
gineer declared  "  that  no  man  in  his  senses  would   attempt  a 
railway  over  Chat  Moss ; "  and  he  affirmed  that  it  would  cost 
not  less  than  £227,000. 

In  order  to  deprive  the  moss  of  some  of  its  water,  its  drainage 
commenced  ;  but,  in  many  instances,  the  drains  filled  up 
almost  as  quickly  as  they  were  dug.  A  pathway  between  the 
drains  was  laid  of  ling  or  heather  on  which  a  man  could  safely 
walk  ;  light  iron  rails  were  placed  on  sleepers,  along  which  a 
little  wagon  could  be  pushed  by  boys ;  and  then  followed  a  thin 
layv_r  of  gravel,  and  sleepers,  chairs,  and  rails. 

Greater  difficulty  still  was  found  at  one  part  where,  as  the 
materials  were  deposited,  the  whole  mass  gradually  sank  ;  and 
when  the  embankment  was  finished,  although  the  actual  level 
of  the  railway  was  only  four  or  five  feet  above  the  original 
surface,  the  quantity  of  earth  deposited  would  have  made,  on 


CHAT    MOSS.  133 

ordinary  ground,  an  embankment  twenty-four  or  twenty-five 
feet  high.  With  such  materials,  therefore,  as  clay  and  gravel,  it 
would  have  been  impracticable  to  form  an  embankment  over 
Chat  Moss,  for  the  quantity  required  and  the  expense  involved, 
would  have  been  enormous.  But  George  Stephenson  here  made 
a  layer  of  dry  moss,  of  considerable  tenacity ;  and  upon  this- 
he  placed,  transversely,  hurdles  nine  feet  long  and  four  broad, 
wickered  with  heather,  and  where  the  moss  was  soft,  two  were 
used.  The  bank,  however,  had  "  scarcely  been  raised  three  or 
four  feet  in  height  when  the  stuff  broke  the  heathery  surface  of 
the  bog  and  sank  overhead.  More  moss  was  brought  up  and 
emptied  in  with  no  better  result ;  and  for  many  weeks  the  fill- 
ing was  continued  without  any  embankment  having  been  made. 
Sometimes  the  visible  work  done  was  less  than  it  had  appeared 
a  fortnight  or  a  month  before."  The  resident  engineer  himself 
was  greatly  disheartened,  and  his  directors  had  seriously  to  dis- 
cuss the  question  whether  the  work  should  not  be  abandoned. 

But  George  Stephenson's  one  word  was — persevere.  "  There  is 
no  help  for  it,"  he  said.  "  The  stuff  emptied  in  is  doing  its  work 
out  of  sight,  and  if  you  will  but  have  patience  it  will  soon  begin 
to  show."  "  And  so,"  remarks  Dr.  Smiles,  "  the  filling  went  on  ; 
several  hundreds  of  men  and  boys  were  employed  to  skim  the 
moss  all  round  for  many  thousand  yards  by  means  of  sharp 
spades,  called  by  the  turf  cutters  '  tommy-spades ' ;  and  the 
dried  cakes  of  turf  were  afterwards  used  to  form  the  embank- 
ment, until  at  length  as  the  stuff  sank  and  rested  upon  the 
bottom,  the  bank  gradually  rose  above  the  surface,  and  slowly 
advanced  onwards,  declining  in  height  and  consequently  in 
weight,  until  it  became  joined  to  the  floating  road  already  laid 
upon  the  moss.  In  the  course  of  forming  the  embankment,  the 
pressure  of  the  bog  turf  tipped  out  the  wagons  caused  a  copious 
stream  of  bog-water  to  flow  from  the  end  of  it,  in  colour  re- 
sembling Barclay's  double  stout ;  and  when  completed,  the  bank 
looked  like  a  long  ridge  of  tightly-pressed  tobacco-leaf."  Nearly 
700,000  cubic  yards  of  raw  moss  eventually  formed  only  about 
half  that  amount  of  solid  embankment.  Strange  to  say,  the  road 
across  Chat  Moss  proved  to  be  not  only  one  of  the  best  portions 
of  the  railway,  but  also  one  of  the  cheapest.  Its  cost  had  been 
estimated  by  Mr.  Giles  at  £270,000,  but  it  amounted  to  only 
about  one-tenth  of  that  sum.     The  example  thus  set  has  been 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

•  llowed  elsewhere,  and  the  South   Devon  line,  for 
the  "hoc  unfathomable  swamp  of  Cockwood. 
me  of  the  embankment  work  of  the  Great  Western  railway 
usly  constructed.      It  Is  near  the  Swindon  junction,  at 
■    th      ,iv.a  range  ^(  Wiltshire  Downs.     The 
uld  not  stay  to  cart  the  earth  from  the  cuttings  to 
the  places  where  it  was  required  for  embanking ;  so  where  they 
I  thousands  of  tons  of  clay  they  purchased  land  to  cast 
n  out  ^(  their  way,  and  where  they  required  an  embank- 
ment they  purchased  a  hill,  and  bodily  removed  it  to  fill  up  the 
They  could  not  stay  for  the  seasons,  for  proper  weather 
to  work  in,  and   in  consequence  of  this  their  clay  embankment 
thrown  up  wet  and   saturated,  swelled  out,  bulged  at  the  sides, 
and  could    not  be  made  stable,  till  at  last  they  drove  rows  of 
piles  on  each  side,  and  chained  them  together  with  chain-cables, 
and  so  confined  the  slippery  soil.     They  drove  these  piles,  tall 
beech  trees,  twenty   feet   into  the  earth,  and  at  this  day  every 
train    passes   over    tons    of    chain-cables    hidden    beneath    the 
t."* 
The    biggest    bank    on    the   Great   Western    Railway   is    at 
HanwelL      It  is  about  seventy  feet  high,  and  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  long,   through  clay  chalk,  and,    as    we  were  expressively 
informed  by  the  authorities,  "all  sorts  of  other  things." 

Another  embankment,  on  the  Settle  and  Carlisle  line  of  the 
Midland  Company,  was  most  difficult  to  make.  It  is  the  Intake 
embankment,  and  is  a  little  south  of  Kirkby  Stephen.  It  is 
about  one  hundred  feet  high,  and  the  tipping  actually  proceeded 
e  months  without  the  embankment  advancing  a  yard. 
The  tip  rails  during  the  whole  of  that  period  were  unmoved, 
while  the  masses  of  slurry,  as  indicated  in  the  engraving,  rolled 
one  another  in  mighty  convolutions,  persisting  in  going 
anywhere  and  everywhere  except  where  they  were  wanted. 

A  remarkable  embankment  has  been  raised  on  the  London- 
derry and  Coleraine  Railway.  It  not  only  serves  the  ordinary 
purpose  of  such  a  work,  but  reclaims  22,000  acres  from  the  sea, 
at  Lough  Foyle.  This  is  a  large  lough  on  the  northern  coast 
of  Ireland,  covering  an  area  of  about  60,000  acres,  in  which  the 
tide  did  not  usually  rise  more  than  six  feet,  while  at  low  water 

*  Fraser's  Magazine. 


EMBANKMENTS. 


■5 


a  great  part  of  it  was  perfectly  dry, — a  rich  alluvial  deposit.  Of 
the  reclaimed  land,  12,000  acres  were  set  apart  to  cover  the 
expenditure  of  the  railway,  and  were  inclosed  and  sold. 

Difficulties  have  sometimes  arisen  in  the  construction  of  rail- 
way works  against  which  no  precautions  could  have  been  made. 
The  Wolverhampton  embankment  had  been  nearly  completed, 
when  it  was  observed  to  display  certain  unaccountable  volcanic 
indications.  It  first  began  to  smoke,  then  became  exceedingly 
hot,  and  a  slow  smouldering  flame  might  at  night  be  seen  to 
rise  from  it.  The  people  in  the  neighbourhood  were  filled  with 
alarm :  by  some  it  was  confidently  affirmed  that  the  embank- 


INTAKE   EMBANKMENT. 


ment  would  certainly  blow  up  ;  and  a  lady  reminded  her  friends 
of  the  opinion  she  had  uniformly  expressed  during  the  progress 
of  the  railway,  that  "  the  devil  was  at  the  bottom  of  it !  "  The 
embankment  for  some  time  carried  on  this  freak  of  spontaneous 
combustion,  and  having  burned  the  sleepers,  at  last  exhausted 
itself.  It  was  found  that  the  phenomenon  had  been  occasioned 
by  a  large  quantity  of  sulphuret  of  iron,  or  pyrites,  contained  in 
the  earth. 

The  earthworks  of  a  railway,  as  the  cuttings,  levellings,  and 
embankments  are  denominated,  are  frequently  enormous.  In 
lines  that  traverse  comparatively  level  districts  they  are  unim- 


R     [RON    ROADS. 

•  int ;  but  in  others  they  are  great  and  costly.    According  to 

nate  laid  before  the  Parliamentary  Committee  by  the 

of  the  South  Western  Railway,  it  was  computed  that 

amount  of  earthwork  on  the  earlier  lines  of  that 

would  be  about  1 6,000,000  cubic  yards,  an  average  of 

O  cubic  yards  a  mile.     Almost  every  portion  of  the  Lon- 

and  Birmingham  line  consisted  of  embankments  or  cuttings  ; 

the  original  section  the  latter  were  estimated  at  about 

md  the  embankments  at  more  than  10,000,000  cubic 

yards      On   the    Settle   and   Carlisle    railway    of  the    Midland 

Company,  a  farmer  declared  to  us   that  "there  wasn't  a  level 

of  ground  on  the  whole  line  big  enough  to  build  a  house 

Mr.  Lecount  made  some  interesting  calculations,  illustrative 
•  t  the  labour  involved  in  the  formation  of  the  earthworks  of  the 
Ion  and  Birmingham  Railway.  He  declared  that  it  was 
the  greatest  public  work  ever  executed.  "  If  we  estimate  its 
importance,"  he  said,  "  by  the  labour  alone  which  has  been  ex- 
pended on  it,  perhaps  the  great  Chinese  wall  might  compete 
with  it  ;  but  when  we  consider  the  great  outlay  of  capital  which 
it  has  required,  the  great  and  varied  talents  which  have  been  in 
a  constant  state  of  requisition  during  the  whole  of  its  progress, 
together  with  the  unprecedented  engineering  difficulties,  which 
we  are  happy  to  say  are  now  overcome,  the  gigantic  work  of  the 
Chinese  sinks  wholly  into  the  shade." 

He  then  proceeded  to  institute  a  comparison  between  the 
railway  and  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Egypt.  "  After  making  the 
necessary  allowances  for  the  foundations,  galleries,  etc.,  and 
reducing  the  whole  to  one  uniform  denomination,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  labour  expended  on  the  Great  Pyramid  was 
equivalent  to  lifting  15,733,000,000  cubic  feet  of  stone  one  foot 
high.  This  labour  was  performed,  according  to  Diodorus 
Siculus,  by  300,000  men  ;  according  to  Herodotus,  by  100,000 
men  ;  and  it  required  for  its  execution  twenty  years.  If  we 
reduce  in  the  same  manner  to  one  common  denomination  the 
-  expended  in  constructing  the  London  and  Birmingham 
Railway,  the  result  is  25,000,000,000  cubic  feet  of  material  (re- 
duced to  the  same  weight  as  that  used  in  constructing  the 
Pyramid)  lifted  one  foot  high,  or  more  than  9,000,000,000  cubic 
feet  more  than  were  lifted  one  foot  high  in  the  construction  of 


PLANTING    THE    SLOPES    OF    EMBANKMENTS.  1 37 

the  Pyramid ;  yet  this  immense  undertaking  has  been  per- 
formed by  about  20,000  men  in  less  than  five  years." 

It  has  been  proposed  that  the  sloping  sides  of  a  railway 
embankment,  well  sunned  and  sheltered,  might  be  used  for  pur- 
poses of  cultivation.  "  There  are  miles  of  embankment,"  we  are 
assured,  especially  in  the  south  and  west  of  England,  where 
vines  would  flourish  and  grapes  ripen,  while  ordinary  wall  fruit, 
supported  on  trellises,  would  be  in  a  capital  situation.  Green 
figs,  too,  the  cultivation  of  which  is  neglected,  could  not  have  a 
better  place  for  growing  than  on  the  side  of  a  sunny  embank- 
ment. 

"I  had  the  pleasure,"  writes  a  correspondent  of  the  Gardener's 
Magazine,  "  of  seeing  perhaps  half  an  acre  of  strawberries  the 
other  day  on  a  railway  embankment.  They  were  planted 
thickly  and  broadcast,  the  whole  ground  being  covered  with 
them,  and  they  were  loaded  with  bloom.  Perhaps  this  is  the 
best  way  of  growing  strawberries  on  railway  embankments,  as 
the  whole  ground  is  thus  covered  with  them  ;  and  the  fierce 
sunshine,  though  intensified  by  the  slope  of  the  ground,  cannot 
burn  the  roots." 

Another  advantage  of  planting  the  slopes  of  embankments 
with  trees  is  found  in  the  fact  that  their  roots,  at  least  of  those 
which  do  not  penetrate  with  a  straight  tap  root,  bind  together 
the  surface  soil,  which  they  permeate  and  interlace.  In  Scotland, 
where  there  is  a  steep  slope,  more  especially  if  it  consist  of  what 
is  called  "travelled"  earth,  it  is  closely  planted  to  guard  it 
against  landslips.  It  has,  we  presume,  been  somewhat  playfully 
added,  that  if  embankments  were  covered  with  trees,  a  train 
might  indeed  leave  the  rails,  but  we  should  read  no  more  of  their 
being  "  precipitated  to  the  bottom  of  a  lofty  embankment."  It 
might  be  possible  for  a  railway  carriage  to  get  "up  a  tree," 
but  it  would  be  difficult  for  it  to  get  "  down  a  hole." 

In  Belgium  a  plan  has  been  adopted  of  thus  turning  railway 
fences  to  advantage.  They  consist  of  wooden  posts  4.4  feet 
high,  connected  by  four  lines  of  wires,  across  which  four  long 
thin  sticks  are  tied  obliquely.  In  front  of  and  between  each 
post  are  planted  cordon  apples  and  pears,  which  are  trained 
along  the  oblique  sticks.  "  The  trees,"  says  a  writer,  "  appeared 
healthy,  and  likely  to  be  very  productive." 

Having  thus  considered  some  of  the  earthworks  of  a  railway, 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

I  •  the  special  race  of  men  of  whose  labours  they 
me. 

The  word  "  n.iwie "  is  an  abridgment  of  "navigator,"  a 
of  men  fust  employed  in  the  construction  of  the  canals 
that  immediately  preceded  the  railway  era.  Many  were 
"bankers"  from  the  lowlands  of  Lincolnshire  and  Cambridge- 
shire, where  they  had  made  the  banks  and  cut  the  canals  by 
which  waste  lands  were  recovered  from  marsh  and  sea.  The 
ffered  by  railway  contractors  drew  great  numbers  of 
other  men  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  especially  from  the  hills 
incashire  and  Yorkshire,  and  they  had  the  boldest  charac- 
f  the  Anglo-Saxon  stock.  Their  great  strength,  their 
knowledge  <>f  embanking,  boring  and  well  sinking,  and  their 
familiarity  with  the  nature  of  clays  and  rocks,  gave  them  special 
qualifications  for  making  railway  earthworks. 

The  nawie  of  the  period  wandered  from  one  place  to  another, 
lie  usually  "  wore  a  white  felt  hat  with  the  brim  turned  up,  a 
velveteen  or  jean  square-tailed  coat,  a  scarlet  plush  waistcoat 
with  little  black  spots,  and  a  bright-coloured  kerchief  round  his 
herculean  neck,  when,  as  often  happened,  it  was  not  left  entirely 
bare.  His  corduroy  breeches  were  retained  in  position  by  a 
leathern  strap  round  the  waist,  and  were  tied  and  buttoned  at 
the  knee,  displaying  beneath  a  solid  calf  and  foot  encased  in 
strong  high-laced  boots.  Joining  together  in  a  'butty  gang,' 
some  ten  or  twelve  of  these  men  would  take  a  contract  to  cut 
out  and  remove  so  much  'dirt' — as  they  denominated  earth- 
cutting — fixing  their  price  according  to  the  character  of  the 
'stuff,'  and  the  distance  to  which  it  had  to  be  wheeled  and 
tipped.  The  contract  taken,  every  man  put  himself  to  his 
mettle :  if  any  were  found  skulking,  or  not  putting  forth  his  full 
working  power,  he  was  ejected  from  the  gang."  Their  powers 
of  endurance  and  their  consumption  of  flesh  food  were  alike 
enormous.  They  seemed  to  disregard  danger,  and  they  were  as 
reckless  of  their  earnings  as  of  their  lives.  Pay  day  was  usually 
once  a  fortnight,  when  a  large  amount  of  their  earnings  was 
squandered  in  dissipation.  A  sum  equal  to  £1,000  a  mile  on 
all  the  railways  of  England,  has,  it  is  said,  thus  been  wasted. 
Ignorant  and  violent  as  some  of  them  were,  they  were  open- 
handed  to  their  comrades,  and  would  share  their  last  penny  with 
their   friends   who   were   in   distress.     They  also   often   had  a 


NAVVIES.  139 

shrewdness,  and  even   a  cunning,  which  got  many  a  one  into 
a  scrape  and  many  another  out. 

An  illustration  of  their  keenness  is  given  by  Sir  Francis  Head. 
During  the  construction  of  the  London  and  Birmingham  line  a 
landlady  at  Hillmorton,  near  Rugby,  of  a  "  very  sharp  practice, 
which  she  had  imbibed  in  dealings  for  many  years  with  canal 
boatmen,  was  constantly  remarking  aloud  that  no  navvie  should 
ever  '  do '  her ;  and  although  the  railway  was  in  her  immediate 
neighbourhood,  and  although  the  navvies  were  her  principal 
customers,  she  took  pleasure  on  every  opportunity  in  repeating 
the  invidious  remark. 

"  It  had,  however,  one  fine  morning  scarcely  left  her  large, 
full-blown,  rosy  lips,  when  a  fine-looking  young  fellow,  walking 
up  to  her,  carrying  in  both  hands  a  huge  stone  bottle,  commonly 
called  '  a  grey  neck,'  briefly  asked  her  for  *  half  a  gallon  of  gin ' ; 
which  was  no  sooner  measured  and  poured  in  than  the  money 
was  rudely  demanded  before  it  could  be  taken  away. 

"  On  the  navvie  declining  to  pay  the  exorbitant  price  asked, 
the  landlady,  with  a  face  like  a  peony,  angrily  told  him  he  must 
either  pay  for  the  gin  or  instantly  return  it. 

"  He  silently  chose  the  latter  ;  and  accordingly,  while  the 
eyes  of  his  antagonist  were  wrathfully  fixed  upon  his,  he  returned 
into  her  measure  the  half-gallon,  and  then  quietly  walked  off;  but 
having  previously  put  into  his  grey-neck  half  a  gallon  of  water, 
each  party  eventually  found  themselves  in  possession  of  half  a 
gallon  of  gin  and  water  ;  and,  however  either  may  have  enjoyed 
the  mixture,  it  is  historically  recorded  in  all  Hillmorton  that 
the  landlady  was  never  again  heard  unnecessarily  to  boast  that 
no  navvie  could  '  do  '  her." 

The  methods  in  which  railway  excavation  work  was  executed 
on  the  Continent  as  compared  with  England,  would  have  excited 
the  scorn  of  the  navvie.  "  Hereabouts,"  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Pisa,  wrote  William  Chambers  in  1862,  "signs  of  railway  con- 
struction are  apparent.  The  digging  is  effected  by  a  sort  of 
adze,  and  the  loosened  material  is  deliberately  lifted  by  a  long- 
shanked  scoop  and  carried  away  in  small  baskets  on  the  heads 
of  women  and  girls.  A  sorrowful  spectacle,  these  bands  of 
bare-footed  female  navvies,  each  in  turn  casting  her  modicum 
of  earth  to  swell  the  slowly  accumulating  heaps," — a  service  for 
which  she  was  paid  a  few  pence  a  day.     Ordinarily,  in  con- 


I  >l  R    [Rl  »N    R(  I  IDS. 

,vays  the  hollows  are  filled  from  the  heights,  "but 

ia  made  to  depend  on  itself;  the  material  for 

the  i        rations  is  piled  mountains  high,  along  the  sides  of  the 

by  that  dreary  baskel  carrying  process;  and,  to  form  the 

inkment  of    the   adjoining   fields  are    mercilessly 

if  several  feet  of  their  soil — the  waste  of  land,  the  toil, 

and  the  stupidity  of  the  whole  thing  being  absolutely  pitiable." 

The  contrast  between  the  characteristics  of  the  early  makers 
of  tin.'  French  railways,  and  the  English  navigator,  may  also  be 
trated  :  In  excavating  a  portion  of  the  first  tunnel  east 
"f  Rouen  towards  Paris,  a  French  miner  dressed  in  his  blouse, 
and  an  English  nawie  in  his  white  smock  jacket,  were 
suddenly  buried  alive  together  by  the  falling  in  of  the  earth 
behind  them.  Notwithstanding  the  violent  commotion  which 
the  intelligence  of  the  accident  excited  above  ground,  Mr. 
Meek,  the  English  engineer  who  was  constructing  the  work, 
after  having  quietly  measured  the  distance  from  the  shaft  to  the 
sunken  ground,  satisfied  himself  that  if  the  men,  at  the  moment 
of  the  accident,  were  at  the  head  of  "the  drift  "  at  which  they 
working,  the)'  would  be  safe. 

ordingly,  getting  together  as  many  French  and  English 
labourers  as  lie  could  collect,  he  instantly  commenced  sinking 
a  shaft,  which  was  accomplished  to  the  depth  of  fifty  feet  in  the 
extraordinary  short  space  of  eleven  hours,  and  the  men  were 
thus  brought  up  to  the  surface  alive. 

The  Frenchman,  on  reaching  the  top,  suddenly  rushing 
ids,  hugged  and  embraced  on  both  cheeks  his  friends  and 
acquaintances,  many  of  whom  had  assembled,  and  then,  almost 
instantly  overpowered  by  conflicting  feelings, — by  the  recollec- 
f  the  endless  time  he  had  been  imprisoned,  and  by  the 
joy  of  his  release, — he  sat  down  on  a  log  of  timber,  and  putting 
both  his  hands  before  his  face,  he  began  to  cry  aloud  most 
bitterly. 

The  English  nawie  sat  himself  down  on  the  very  same 
piece  of  timber — took  his  pit-cap  off  his  head — slowly  wiped 
with  it  the  perspiration  from  his  hair  and  face — and  then,  look- 
ing for  some  seconds  into  the  hole  or  shaft  close  beside  him, 
through  which  he  had  been  lifted,  as  if  he  were  calculating  the 
number  of  cubic  yards  that  had  been  excavated,  quite  coolly, 
in  broad   Lancashire  dialect,  said  to  the  crowd  of  French  and 


NAVVIES.  H 1 

English  who  were  staring  at  him  as  children  and  nursery-maids 
in  our  London  Zoological  Gardens  stand  gazing  half  terrified  at 
the  white  bear  :  "  Yaw've  bean  an  infernal  short  toime  abaaowt 
it!" 

One  of  the  most  curious  characteristics  of  navvies  is  their  use 
of  nicknames.  It  is  said  that  a  gentleman  was  once  inquiring 
for  the  house  of  one  Richard  Millwood,  or  some  such  name,  in  a 
village,  and  just  as  the  young  woman  who  piloted  him  was 
about  to  give  up  the  search  in  despair,  she  exclaimed,  "  Hang 
it  !  thou  means  my  feyther !  why  doosn't  thee  ax  for  Old 
Blackbird  ?  "  The  names  of  navvies  are  very  suddenly  given, 
and  are  almost  immovable.  "  I  have  known  a  simple  fellow  all 
at  once  styled  '  Rush,'  after  the  notorious  murderer,  for  no 
conceivable  reason  whatever,  and  by  that  name  was  he  almost 
exclusively  known  afterwards.  A  gentleman— an  engineer- 
once  walked  through  his  engine-shed,  and  saw  three  men  by  the 
furnace,  apparently  asleep.  He  hurried  towards  them  to  see 
who  they  were,  but  that  mysterious  telegraph  which  is  always 
at  work  when  the  master  is  about,  warned  the  men,  and  they 
ran  off  too  quickly  for  him  to  get  a  sight  of  their  faces.  '  Who 
were  those  ? '  he  demanded  of  a  man  who  was  near  the  spot. 
Of  course  the  man  interrogated  declared  at  first  he  did  not 
know,  but  finding  his  superior  very  much  in  earnest,  he  admitted 
that  he  knew  them  ;  that  they  were  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
Cat's  Meat,  and  Mary  Anne;  and,  preposterous  as  it  may 
sound,  he  knew  them  by  no  other  names.  The  nose  of  the  first, 
the  previous  profession  of  the  second,  and  the  effeminate  voice 
of  the  third,  gained  these  attractive  titles.  So,  one  known  as 
Gorger  was  so  called  because  he  had  been  seen  to  eat  a  whole 
shoulder  of  mutton  ;  Hedgehog  had  a  whimsical  resemblance  to 
his  namesake  ;  while,  through  singing  a  favourite  negro  melody, 
Uncle  Ned  had  lived  and  was  killed,  known  to  very  few  by  any 
other  name." 

Of  their  extreme  recklessness,  as  regards  life  or  limb,  numer- 
ous illustrations  have  been  mentioned  to  the  writer  by  engineers 
and  contractors  under  whom  they  have  served.  In  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Kilsby  tunnel,  two  or  three  were  killed  in  trying  to 
jump  one  after  another  across  the  mouth  of  the  shafts,  in  a 
game  of  "  Follow  my  Leader."  When  the  Blisworth  cutting 
was  in  course  of  excavation,  and  the  material  from  thence  was 


14-  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

taken  to  the  Wolvertoil  embankment,  the  men  were  accustomed 
to  ride  down  on  the  tip-wagons  to  their  dinners,  and  in  doing 
this  the  wagons  not  unfrequently  ran  off  the  rails,  and  their 
contents,  of  workmen  and  stone,  were  precipitated  in  a  hetero- 
geneous mass  upon  the  ground.  On  one  of  these  occasions, 
a  few  days  after  a  fatal  accident  under  similar  circumstances 
had  taken  place,  some  wagons  were  thrown  off  the  rails,  and 
several  men  buried  beneath  the  limestone.  One  stalwart  fellow 
scrambled  out  from  the  heap,  and  feeling  his  arm,  said  to  a 
more  fortunate  comrade,  "  It's  broke,  I  maun  go  home ; "  and, 
after  waiting  to  ascertain  the  fate  of  his  fellow-sufferers,  he 
strode  off  to  his  dwelling,  six  miles  distant,  supporting  the 
broken  limb  with  the  sound  one.  A  fine,  handsome  boy,  who 
by  the  same  accident  had  his  foot  crushed  into  a  shapeless  mass 
of  flesh  and  bone,  gave  vent  to  his  feelings  by  crying.  A  rough- 
looking  ganger  who  stood  by,  took  the  pipe  from  his  lips,  and 
in  a  blunt,  advisory  way,  said  :  "  Crying  'ill  do  thee  no  good, 
lad ; "  and  then,  as  if  acquainted  with  the  mysteries  of  the 
scalpel,  added,  "  thou'dst  better  have  it  cut  off  above  the  knee." 

Their  coolness  and  daring  was  also  extreme.  A  workman 
employed  on  the  Scottish  Central  Railway  had  lighted  the 
fusees  connected  with  some  charges  of  gunpowder  by  which  a 
blast  was  to  be  effected,  and  having  given  the  signal  to  be 
drawn  up,  the  rope  slipped,  and  the  poor  fellow  was  suspended 
but  a  few  feet  above  the  spot  where  the  explosion  was  about  to 
take  place.  His  presence  of  mind,  however,  did  not  forsake 
him.  He  called  out  that  he  might  be  lowered  again,  and  then 
approaching  the  burning  fusees,  he  extinguished  them  one  after 
another,  and  his  life  was  saved.  They  had  burned  within  half 
an  inch  of  the  powder  ! 

It  may  be  easily  conceived  that  the  management  of  large 
bodies  of  such  men  was  no  easy  task  to  those  on  whom  it 
devolved.  Yet  it  has  been  found  that  a  little  tact  and  wit 
would  ordinarily  suffice,  if  judiciously  employed,  in  guiding  and 
subduing  them,  when  any  attempt  at  force  would  have  been 
fatal  either  to  the  one  party  or  the  other.  A  bold  demeanour, 
a  few  words  of  advice  well  applied,  associated  with  a  kind 
interest  in  them,  almost  invariably  commanded  their  respect" 
and  obedience.     A  few  illustrations  may  be  mentioned. 

On  one  occasion  the  resident  engineer,  Mr.  Shedlock,  after- 


NAVVIES.  I  4  3 

wards  the  Rev.  Jno.  Shedlock,  M.A.,  of  Paris,  on  one  portion 
of  the  Great  Western  Railway  was  engaged  in  some  professional 
duties  on  the  Saturday  afternoon,  when  a  messenger  arrived  at 
his  house  in  breathless  haste,  and  said  that  the  men  had  been 
greatly  enraged  about  some  matter  relating  to  their  pay,  and 
that  they  had  left  their  work,  and  were  coming  down  en  masse. 
"  Bring  a  horse,"  said  the  engineer  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  he 
galloped  up  to  the  scene  of  action,  and  met  the  whole  gang,  to 
the  number  of  about  three  hundred,  crossing  the  field  with  their 
tools  on  their  shoulders.  They  were  evidently  extremely  angry, 
and  manifested  their  rage  by  the  most  terrible  oaths  and  threats. 
Decisive  measures  were  requisite.  The  engineer  rode  into  the 
midst  of  them,  and  throwing  the  reins  on  the  neck  of  his  horse, 
exclaimed,  in  a  voice  which  all  could  hear  :  "  What  are  you 
doing  here  ?  What  is  the  use  of  your  coming  to  complain  to 
me  ?  You  know  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  your  pay  ;  *  I  have 
only  to  see  you  do  your  work  well.  You  know  I  am  always 
your  friend  if  you  are  in  the  right ;  but  you  are  not  now,  so  go 
back  and  mind  your  work.  And  mark,"  he  added,  "  if  there  is 
any  row,  or  one  drop  of  blood  spilt,  I  shall  know  that  you,  and 
you  [singling  out  two  or  three  of  them]  are  the  ringleaders  !  " 
The  men  knew  their  master,  and  turned  back  to  the  line  ;  yet 
it  was  only  such  a  decisive  course  that  kept  that  mass  of  men 
from  enacting  one  of  those  scenes  of  drunkenness,  violence,  and 
debauchery  which  made  them,  in  many  cases,  a  terror  to  the 
neighbourhood.  When  once  excited  by  liquor  it  was  useless  to 
attempt  to  restrain  them  ;  the  engineer  never  stopped  then 
to  parley  with  them,  but  as  he  passed  along  the  roads  on 
horseback,  where  the  men  might  be  standing  in  the  way,  an 
authoritative  "Whar  off!"  was  the  only  remark  made  as  the 
horseman  rode  past. 

Among  those  of  the  navvies  who  worked  together  for  any 
length  of  time,  there  was  much  of  what  may  be  called  a  coarse 
kind  of  fine  feeling.  Accidents  occurring  to  their  companions 
sometimes  produced  strong  manifestations  of  sympathy.  On  one 
occasion,  Mr.  Shedlock  was  standing  near  the  edge  of  a  deep 
gravel  cutting,  on  the  side  of  which  some  men  were  working. 
Suddenly  a  great  mass  of  soil  gave  way  at  the  top  of  the  cut- 

*  This  was  the  contractor's  business. 


144  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

ting,  beginning  within  a  few  inches  of  the  feet  of  the  engineer, 
who  escaped  ;  but  one  of  them  was  crushed  beneath  the  weight, 
another  was  Hung  into  one  of  the  trucks,  and  a  third  was  hurled 
completely  over  them  with  great  violence.  So  heavy  was  the 
mass  of  earth  by  which  the  first  was  killed,  that  a  case-knife  he 
had  in  his  pocket  was  snapped  in  two.  The  accident  occurred 
in  a  beautiful  summer  evening,  and  the  men  might,  and  would, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  have  worked  several  hours  longer, 
but  so  strong  was  their  sympathy  with  their  late  companion  that 
they  refused  to  do  so  ;  the  night  fires  which  had  been  kindled 
were  extinguished,  and  they  all  went  away  with  sad  and  heavy 
hearts  to  their  habitations. 

That  the  men  not  only  knew  how  to  value  a  competent  and 
kind  master,  but  also  to  cherish  a  grateful  feeling  towards  him, 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  when,  during  the  formation 
of  the  Great  Western  Railway,  a  number  of  navvies  broke  open 
a  Roman  urn  they  had  found,  one  of  them  seized  with  his  huge 
grip  a  handful  of  some  sixty  silver  coins,  for  which  the  men 
were  scrambling,  and  said,  "  These  are  for  Mr.  Shedlock,"  to 
whom  they  were  handed  over. 

Mr.  Chadwick  has  stated  that  the  contracts  for  the  execution 
of  railway  works  were  often  undertaken  at  prices  which  the 
engineer,  if  he  was  a  competent  man,  knew  could  not  pay  the 
contractors.  "  I  have  been  informed,"  said  he,  of  one  piece  of 
work  undertaken  by  a  few  contractors,  who  will  lose  by  the 
work  itself,  but  who  will  make  upwards  of  £7,000  by  the  truck* 
of  beer  and  inferior  provisions  to  the  workmen.  Here  the 
interests  of  the  contractors  in  the  sale  of  beer  were  greater 
than  in  the  good  execution  of  the  work,  and  men  under  their 
arrangements  were  often  at  work  in  a  state  of  intoxication." 

The  life  and  habits  of  the  navvies  in  lonely  places,  during  the 
period  of  railway  construction,  have  been  very  low.  Mr.  Robert- 
son has  stated  that  he  was  a  witness  of  the  condition  of  the  men 
engaged  in  the  formation  of  a  large  tunnel  on  the  Sheffield, 
Ashton-under-Lyne,  and  Manchester  Railway.  There  was  no 
town  or  village  in  which  the  labourers  could  reside,  and  rude 
hovels  were  erected  for  their  "  accommodation  "  near  the  mouth 


*  Sold  under  what  is  called  the  "truck"  system,  at  a  "tally"  or  beer  and 
provision  shop  owned  by  the  contractor  or  his  "  sub." 


NAVVIES.  145 

of  the  shafts  that  penetrated  the  surface  of  the  bleak  moor,  and 
at  the  two  ends  of  the  works.  The  huts  were  mostly  composed 
of  stones  without  mortar,  and  the  roof  was  of  thatch  or  flags, 
built  by  a  workman  who  lodged  a  number  of  other  labourers. 
As  many  as  fourteen  or  fifteen  men  were  in  one  hut  that  con- 
tained only  two  apartments.  Some  of  the  rooms  were  white- 
washed and  cleanly  ;  others  were  filthy  hovels  ;  and  here  from 
ten  to  fifteen  hundred  men  were  crowded  together,  for  a  period 
of  six  years. 

In  some  cases  the  conduct  of  the  men  led  to  open  rioting.  On 
one  occasion  a  conflict  took  place  at  Gorebridge,  near  Dalkeith, 
in  which  a  policeman  was  killed  by  some  Irish  labourers.  By 
way  of  retaliation,  a  thousand  Scotchmen  and  Englishmen 
assembled,  and  after  driving  the  "  islanders "  from  the  line, 
proceeded  to  burn  down  their  turf  and  wooden  huts,  and  the 
tumult  was  only  quelled  by  the  interference  of  a  large  body  of 
police,  aided  by  dragoons.  When  the  pay-days  of  the  English 
and  Irish  labourers  engaged  on  the  Lancaster  and  Carlisle  line 
took  place,  it  was  several  times  found  necessary  to  keep  a  regi- 
ment of  infantry  and  a  troop  of  yeomanry  cavalry  in  readiness 
to  prevent  dangerous  and  perhaps  fatal  riots. 

It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  there  were,  on  the  other  hand,  some 
excellent  exceptions.  In  a  report  made  to  the  magistrates  of 
Bangor  by  the  police  authorities,  it  was  stated  that  eight  or  ten 
collegians,  who  for  some  weeks  had  been  residing  in  the  town, 
had  been  more  riotous  and  disorderly  than  all  the  six  or  seven 
hundred  labourers  employed  within  Bangor  parish  in  making 
the  Chester  and  Holyhead  railroad. 

A  touching  incident  was  told  us  by  Mr.  Bayliss,  the  railway  con- 
tractor. Just  to  the  north,  he  said,  of  Bugsworth  station,  on  the 
Ambergate  and  Manchester  line,  is  a  tunnel,  and  the  men  were 
making  it.  One  day  some  of  the  directors  and  chief  officers  of 
the  Midland  Company  went  into  the  northern  end  to  inspect 
the  progress  of  the  work.  Having  done  so  they  left  ;  and  they 
had  scarcely  done  so  when  the  end  of  the  tunnel  fell  in  with  a 
crash.  Having  expressed  their  pleasure  at  their  narrow  escape, 
they  were  alarmed  at  the  condition  of  those  who  were  buried 
alive  within.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  To  dig  the  whole  of  the 
tunnel  entrance  out  again  was  in  the  time,  and  with  the  nature 
of  the  soil  impossible,  and  the  engineers  resolved  at  once  to  sink 

L 


146  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

a  short  shaft  from  above  through  which  the  prisoners  might  be 
brought  ;  and,  after  some  three  and  twenty  hours  of  most 
strenuous  work  by  relays,  the  men  were  reached.  They  were 
found  to  be  lying,  exhausted  from  want  of  air,  upon  the  floor, 
and  their  candles  were  flickering"  in  their  sockets  ;  but  they  were 
saved.  It  was  then  learned  that,  when  the  tunnel  end  fell  in, 
one  o(  the  men  had  exclaimed  to  the  others  :  "  Well,  chaps,  we 
shall  never  get  out  alive,  so  we  may  as  well  go  on  with  'our 
bit '  while  we  can."  And  they  went  on  till  they  could  go  on  no 
longer. 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  with  a  vivid  picture  of  the  life 
of  a  colony  of  navvies,  admirably  sketched,  we  believe,  by  a 
writer  of  renown.* 

"  After  the  late  rains  the  sun  rises  in  unclouded  splendour, 
kindling  into  smiles  the  sullen  dark  green  of  the  fells,  and  mak- 
ing rainbows  of  the  mists  that  still  linger  around  the  summits 
of  Inglcborough  and  Whernside,  and  wreathe  themselves  among 
the  crags  of  Penyghent.  The  becks  and  gills  which  plunge 
impetuously  down  the  steep  mountain  sides  are  so  many  rills  of 
silver ;  and  as  the  sun  falls  upon  the  smoke  that  is  lazily  drifting 
upward  from  the  chimneys  of  Batty  Wife-hole,  even  that  dismal 
abiding-place  of  navvies  looks  almost  picturesque  in  the  dis- 
tance. I  am  just  in  time  to  miss  Mr.  Ashwell,  the  contractor, 
who,  I  am  told,  has  gone  '  up  the  line ' ;  and  I  set  out  to  follow 
him.  'The  line'  is  a  temporary  way  which  winds  deviously 
across  the  hollow,  already  partly  spanned  by  the  huge  skeleton 
viaduct. 

"  I  scramble  along  somehow,  through  knee-deep  bogs,  on  to 
piers  whose  foundations  are  just  level  with  the  surface,  past 
batches  of  stone-hewers  hammering  away  industriously  at  great 
blocks  of  blue  stone  for  the  piers  of  the  viaduct ;  then  I  find 
myself  among  these,  and  in  the  labyrinthine  scaffolding  that 
encircles  them — looking  up  at  trucks  and  engines  traversing 
tramroads  at  a  dizzy  height,  at  derricks  and  blocks  and  pulleys, 
at  noisy  little  fixed  engines,  and  at  silent,  busy  masons.  From 
the  hollow  below  the  viaduct  I  make  my  way  somehow  on  to 
the  embankment  leading  to  it,  and  pick  my  road  through  the 
deep  mire  on  its  surface,  now  balancing  myself  on  the  rails  that 

*  Daily  News,  Oct.  29th,  1872. 


NAVVIES.  147 

run  along  it,  now  making  a  stepping-stone  of  a  sleeper,  now 
plunging  mid-leg  into  half-liquid  mud.  I  find  that  the  great 
tunnel  is  a  mile  and  more  from  the  end  of  the  viaduct,  and  that 
the  interval  is  composed  partly  of  cutting  through  the  wild 
high-lying  moorland  morass,  with  the  deep  gully  of  a  stream  on 
the  left.  I  step  aside  to  let  engines  pass  with  trains  of  trucks 
attached,  full  of  earth  or  stones,  the  latter  going  on  toward 
the  viaduct,  the  former,  waste  as  it  is,  being  shot  away  down 
into  the  gully. 

"  As  I  arrive  at  the  beginning  of  a  deep  cutting,  and  pause 
in  hesitation  whether  to  go  on  or  to  turn  back,  there  overtakes  me 
the  clergyman  of  the  navvies,  a  wiry  elderly  gentleman  with  a 
long  white  beard.  It  would  do  a  fashionable  curate  a  world  of 
good  to  undertake  this  worthy  man's  work  for  a  few  months  in 
the  winter  season,  traversing  these  miry  cuttings,  and  plunging 
through  the  bogs  and  the  marshes  on  visitation  duties  to  the 
outlying  navvie  settlements.  His  headquarters  are  in  Batty 
Wife-hole,  his  church  being  the  school-room,  and  last  Sunday 
evening,  as  he  tells  with  something  like  pride,  he  had  a  congre- 
gation of  ninety.  He  is  one  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Man- 
chester City  Mission,  and  was  detailed  to  this  work  on  the  appli- 
cation of  the  Midland  Railway  Company.  Rough  as  the  place  is 
now,  it  must  have  been  much  rougher  when  he  first  came,  some 
fifteen  months  ago.  Drinking  and  fighting  were  all  but  uni- 
versal ;  now  they  are  of  considerably  less  common  occurrence. 
Still,  in  such  work  there  is  little  encouragement  to  a  clergyman, 
and  his  influence  must  be  of  a  passive  rather  than  of  an  active 
kind.  Every  one  we  passed  greeted  him  civilly,  some  of  the 
lads  even  with  affectionate  respect,  and  the  old  gentleman's  face 
glowed  again  with  pleasure  when  a  gigantic  navvie,  whom  he 
did  not  know,  having  sheepishly  saluted  him,  said,  in  answer  to 
a  question,  that  he  remembered  him  some  years  ago  on  some 
works  in  another  part  of  the  country.  The  'parson,'  as  most 
called  him,  was  plodding  his  muddy  way  up  through  Jericho, 
past  the  barracks  '  up  tunnel,'  and  so  to  Denthead  at  the  opening 
into  the  further  valley,  to  uplift  the  '  school  money,'  and  bring 
it  back  to  the  treasury.  Mr.  Ashwell  has  organized  a  school 
system  along  his  contract.  At  Batty  Wife-hole  there  is  a  school- 
master, and  at  Jericho  and  Sebastopol  schoolmistresses.  A 
nominal  school  fee  is  charged,  and  he  sustains  the  rest  of  the 
expense. 


[48  OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

"We  again  miss  Mr.  Ashwell  by  a  hair's-breadth,  but  meet 
Frank  Moodie,  his  henchman,  a  stalwart  Northumbrian,  with  a 
fine  homely  breadth  of  North-country  accent,  and  a  profound 
pride  in  his  navvies.  Frank  has  the  portion  of  line  between 
Sebastopol  and  Denthead,  the  heaviest  work  in  the  whole  sec- 
tion. Hither  come  all  the  best  men,  where  the  work  is  all 
piecework,  and  best  paid  because  it  is  the  most  severe.  There 
has  been  a  slip  in  a  cutting,  and  twenty-five  men  are  clearing 
out  the  slipped  ground,  working  by  the  yard.  As  they  toil  they 
are  the  embodiment  of  physical  force  in  its  fullest  development 
of  concentrated  energy.  No  man  stops  to  lean  for  breath  on 
the  head  of  that  pickaxe  he  wields  so  strenuously  ;  the  heave  of 
the  shovels  is  like  clock-work.  The  navvies,  bare-throated,  their 
massive  torsos  covered  but  by  the  shirt,  their  strong,  lissom  loins 
lightly  girt,  and  the  muscles  showing  out  on  their  shapely  legs 
through  the  tight,  short  breeches,  and  the  ribbed  stockings  that 
surmount  the  ankle-jacks,  are  the  perfection  of  animal  vigour. 
Finer  men  I  never  saw,  and  never  hope  to  see.  Man  for  man, 
they  would  fling  our  Guardsmen  over  their  shoulders  ;  they  have 
all  the  height  and  breadth  of  the  best  picked  men  in  a  Prussian 
Grenadier  regiment  of  the  Guards  Corps,  without  their  clumsi- 
ness. For  there  is  no  heaviness  in  the  muscular  strength  of 
these  navvies  ;  they  sway  to  their  work  with  as  much  supple- 
ness as  a  coal-porter  sways  under  his  load  in  unison  with  the 
vibration  of  the  plank.  Their  countenances  are  manly  and  in- 
genuous, and  as  I  look  on  them  I  can  realize  what  an  influence 
for  good  it  is  possible  for  such  an  one  as  the  authoress  of  '  Eng- 
lish Hearts  and  English  Hands,'  to  exercise  over  the  stalwart, 
gentle-hearted,  giant  navvie.  The  stiff,  greasy,  blue-black  clay 
melts  away  bit  by  bit  from  before  their  indomitable,  energetic 
onslaught,  each  man  working  as  if  he  wrought  for  his  life.  A 
'  waster'  among  such  men  would  stand  ignominiously  confessed 
before  the  morning's  work  were  half  done. 

"  Five  and  twenty  more  equally  fine  men  are  labouring  on 
the  face  of  a  harder  and  deeper  cutting  a  little  farther  on. 
Seven  of  them  abreast  are  plying  their  picks  with  a  persistent 
zeal  that  speaks  of  piecework  in  every  stroke — others  are  wheel- 
ing mighty  barrow-loads  over  a  narrow  bridge,  and  tipping 
them  down  into  a  hollow.  Moodie  explains  with  pride  that 
these  two  gangs  are  composed  of  the  best  men  on  the  working. 


NAVVIES.  I49 

No  ganger  is  needed  over  them  ;  indeed,  they  would  not  brook 
supervision. 

"'The  way  the  country  has  come  to  think  now,' explains 
Moodie,  '  good  men  wonna  stand  to  be  ordered  about ' — only- 
he  uses  a  stronger  expression.  '  They  wonna  have  a  foreman 
cursing  and  bullying  about  among  them.'  And  piecework 
saves  the  contractor  the  expense  of  supervision.  All  that  is 
needed  is  to  see  that  the  levels  are  right,  and  to  have  an  engi- 
neer to  measure  the  work  done  every  fortnight,  against  the  pay- 
day settlement.  They  allot  their  duties  among  themselves,  and 
'  the  best  man '  among  them  is  the  man  who  can  do  the  most 
work,  and  a  skulker  could  not  live  among  them  for  an  hour. 
They  are  all  Englishmen.  I  ask  whether  there  are  no  Irish 
among  them  ?  '  Irish  ! '  is  the  reply.  '  They'd  take  up  an 
Irishman  by  the  back  of  the  neck  and  throw  him  over  the  bank 
into  the  river.'  These  men  heap  fuel  lustily  into  the  furnace  of 
their  vital  energy.  Many  of  them  eat  eighteen  pounds  of  beef 
in  the  week.  Beef  is  their  fare.  Mutton  they  reckon  of  little 
account,  and  bacon  is  only  used  to  fill  up  the  interstices.  As 
we  look  at  them,  the  '  tommy-truck  '  makes  its  appearance  be- 
hind an  engine.  It  is  a  peak-roofed  structure,  like  the  cabins 
shepherds  sleep  in  on  the  Downs,  and  it  is  full  to  the  eaves  of 
great  sides  of  beef  that  have  been  sent  up  from  Settle.  A  firm 
in  Batty  Wife-hole  supply  nearly  the  whole  of  the  edibles  to  the 
navvie  communities  along  this  section,  sending  carts  daily  or 
bi-weekly  across  the  moors  to  the  different  villages.  There  is 
no  truck  direct  and  hardly  any  inferential  truck.  I  make  no 
doubt  any  other  tradesman,  if  he  found  it  worth  his  while, 
might  oppose  the  Batty  Wife-hole  '  tommy-shop.' 

"  Bidding  adieu  to  Jericho,  after  an  outside  inspection  of  a 
chaotic  heap  of  stones,  which  I  am  profoundly  surprised  to  find 
is  hollow,  and  contains  indeed  what,  for  want  of  a  better  name, 
must  be  called  a  public-house,  we  return  to  the  cutting,  which  is 
now  nearing  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  which  as  yet  has  not 
been  excavated  at  this  point  within  some  thirty  or  forty  feet  of 
the  intended  level.  Within  a  couple  of  chains  of  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel  we  come  upon  a  shaft,  down  in  the  depths  of  which 
twenty-five  Cornish  and  Devonshire  miners  are  excavating  to 
right  and  to  left  of  them  along  the  level  intended  for  the  per- 
manent way.     They  are  working  in  blue-stone  rock,  hard  as  the 


15O  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

nether  millstone, — not  a  spoonful,  to  use  the  phrase  of  my  com- 
panion, comes  out  without  powder.  We  hear  the  clink  of  their 
drills,  and  every  now  and  then  the  dulled  report  of  a  blast. 
Tub  after  tub  comes  to  the  surface  laden  with  jagged  fragments 
of  the  stone.  There  is  still  the  tunnel  to  be  visited,  where  over 
some  500  men  are  steadily  burrowing  through  the  heart  of  the 
rocky  Blea  Moor,  and  where  alone  Irishmen  labour  alongside  of 
Englishmen.  But  time  does  not  serve  for  the  present,  and  I 
should  prefer  to  be  accompanied  in  a  visit  to  a  work  of  so  great 
magnitude  by  Mr.  Ashwell  himself. 

u  I  came  up  on  foot,  but  Moodie  undertakes  that  I  shall  be 
sent  back  on  wheels.  When  a  man  in  authority  here  desires  to 
ride,  he  calls,  not  for  his  carriage,  but  for  his  engine.  If  he  had 
guests,  and  chose,  in  imitation  of  the  lavish  gentleman  with  the 
curricles,  to  order  more  engines,  I  have  no  doubt  that  his  behests 
would  be  fulfilled.  'Your  engine  waits,' says  Moodie,  and  we 
ascend.  We  stand  with  our  feet  on  a  narrow  ledge,  and  clutching 
with  our  hands  a  bar  on  either  side  of  the  boiler  of  the  puff- 
ing, screeching,  impetuous,  and  yet  docile  little  '  Curlew,'  and 
having  had  fastened  on  behind  a  few  trucks  containing  stones,  we 
move  on.  I  need  not  say  that  the  temporary  rails  laid  down  for 
service  during  the  construction  of  a  railroad,  differ  totally  from 
an  orthodox  permanent  way.  You  must  lay  your  account  with 
bumps,  jerks,  miscellaneous  and  incomprehensible  wobbling,  and 
a  seemingly  tipsified  character  of  things  in  general.  You  go,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  down  declines  that  would  make  the  hair  on  the 
head  of  a  Government  Inspector  stand  on  end,  and  labour  up 
inclines  that  would  wind  a  foot  passenger.  Presently  there  is  a 
shout,  and  the  engine  halts — the  last  truck  has  lumbered  off  the 
rails.  There  is  a  rush  of  all  surrounding  hands,  and  it  is  prised 
and  purchased  back  in  an  incredibly  short  time.  We  make 
progress,  but  at  the  top  of  an  incline  over  against  Sebastopol 
the  engine  itself  quits  the  rails,  and  I  quit  it,  preferring  to  per- 
form the  rest  of  my  journey  on  foot.  Paying  another  passing 
visit  to  Sebastopol,  I  find  in  the  rear  of  it  an  outlying  suburb  of 
excellent  detached  huts  standing  upon  a  dry  gravelly  soil.  This 
suburb  bears,  I  find,  the  high-sounding  title  of  '  Belgravia,'  and 
is  probably  the  fashionable  quarter  of  the  settlement. 

"  Returning  through  Batty  Wife-hole,  I  encounter  a  gigantic 
nawie  in  a  huge  moleskin  monkey-jacket,  with  a  round  bundle 


NAVVIES. 


151 


on  his  back,  and  a  great  deal  more  inside  him  than  was  good 
for  him.  He  was  about  to  quit  this  happy  valley.  He  had 
begun  drinking  on  Saturday,  and  had  sedulously  pursued  that 
walk  of  life  ever  since,  having  drunk  all  his  wages,  a  Whitney 
pea-jacket  with  mother-o'-pearl  buttons,  six  flannel  shirts,  two 
white  linen  ditto,  sundry  pairs  of  stockings,  a  pair  of  boots,  and 
a  silver  watch,  with  a  gilt  chain.  Now  he  was  going  to  try  his 
luck  elsewhere,  with  the  meagre  remnant  of  his  kit  contained  in 
the  little  bundle  on  his  shoulder.  He  insisted  on  treating  me, 
and  we  tumbled  over  each  other  into  one  of  the  dogholes  which 
do  duty  in  Batty  Wife-hole  for  tap-rooms.  About  half  through 
the  second  pot,  the  tone  of  his  conversation  suddenly  altered, 
and  he  developed  the  keenest  anxiety  to  engage  me  in  a 
pugilistic  encounter,  ultimately  substituting  for  that  aspiration 
a  burning  zeal  to  '  kick  my  head  off.'  The  landlady  came  and 
addressed  him  in  accents  of  gentle  chiding,  which  he  took  so 
much  to  heart  that  he  began  to  weep,  accused  me  of  being  his 
brother,  and  having  departed  from  his  first  impulse  to  kiss  me 
in  recognition  of  the  relationship,  ultimately  went  to  sleep  with 
his  head  on  his  bundle." 


WILLERSLEY    CUTTING.— A   WINTER    SKETCH. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Tunnels. —  Shape  of  Tunnels. — Shafts. — The  Horse-Gin. — Timbering. — 
Driftways. — Air  Shafts  in  Kilsby  Tunnel. — "Cut  and  Cover"  Tunnels. 
—  Cost  of  Tunnels. — Vicissitudes  of  Tunnel  Making. — Drainage  of 
Tunnels. —  Lining  of  Tunnels. — Making  of  Tunnels. — Box  Tunnel. — 
Woodhead  Tunnel.—  Kilsby  Tunnel. — The  Deepest  Tunnel  in  England. 
— The  Longest  Tunnel  in  England. — The  Metropolitan  Railway.— A 
Tunnel  Carried  Under  a  Tunnel. — Construction  of  the  Underground 
Railway. — Moorfields  Chapel  Underpinned.  — Potholes. — Tunnel  Under 
the  Thames. — Tunnel  Under  the  Severn. — Lost  in  a  Tunnel. — Length 
of  Tunnels. — The  Channel  Tunnel. — Mont  Cenis  Tunnel. — St.  Gothard 
Tunnel. — Spruce  Creek  Tunnel. — Shugborough  Tunnel. 


N  the  construction  of  a  railway 
of  considerable  length  it  is  often 
found  that  tunnels  are  necessary. 
When  the  depth  of  the  excavation, 
for  some  distance,  is  more  than 
60  feet,  it  is  usually  economical 
to  tunnel,  unless  the  material 
happens  to  be  required  for  some 
neighbouring  embankment.  Cost 
is  the  chief  test  in  this  matter  ; 
for,  in  the  advanced  state  of  engineering,  a  tunnel  may  be  made 
of  almost  any  length,  and  through  almost  any  substance,  from 
granite  to  quicksand. 

One  of  the  most  important  considerations  in  the  formation  of 
a  tunnel  is  its  size  and  shape.  Its  width  on  the  narrow  gauge 
should  be  about  30  feet ;  and  in  depth  it  must  extend  5  or  6 
feet  below  the  intended  line  of  the  rails,  so  that  space  may  be 
allowed  for  the  inverted  arch,  the  ballasting,  and  the  drainage. 
Where,  however,  the  excavation  is  carried  through  rock  suffi- 
ciently hard  to  form  the  bottom  and  side  walls,  25  to  26  feet  in 
width,  and  about  26  feet  in  height  are  sufficient.  The  brick- 
work, from  the  invert  upwards,  is  oval,  whereby  greater  resist- 
ance to  side  pressure  is  obtained  than  if  the  side  walls  were 


TUNNELLING. 


153 


■ 


perpendicular.     The  shape  of  the  tunnel  will  also  be  determined 

by  the  nature  of  the  ground 
through  which  it  has  to 
pass.  In  a  wet  quicksand 
approaching  the  nature  of 
a  fluid,  the  form  will  ap- 
proximate to  that  of  a 
circle. 

When  a  tunnel  is  about 
to  be  commenced,  the  cut- 
tings that  approach  the 
opposite  ends  are  carried 
on  towards  the  points  where 
the  boring  is  to  begin  ;  and 
the  men  are  set  to  work  at 
the  tunnel  itself.  Short 
tunnels  are  excavated  from 
the  ends  only  ;  but  when  they  are  of  considerable  length, 
vertical  shafts  are  sunk  from  the  hill  top  down  to  the  required 


INTERIOR   OF   A   TUNNEL. 


THE    HORSE-GIN. 


level.      This  was  formerly  done  with  the  aid  of  the  horse-gin, 
now  replaced  by  thejsteam-engine ;  and,  by  the  material  raised, 


154  OUR    IKON    KOAI'S. 

the  engineer  and  the  contractor  learn  the  nature  of  the  strata 
through  which  they  have  to  pass.  The  shafts  arc  usually  some 
9  feet  in  diameter,  including  the  brickwork  lining  laid  in  cement 
9  inches  in  thickness.  The  ends  of  the  bricks  are  towards  the 
shaft.  The  brickwork  of  the  sides  is  built  in  sections  as  the 
workmen  descend  ;  and  when  the  shaft  is  carried  to  its  full  depth 
the  lining,  as  it  is  called,  is  complete.  When  the  shaft  is  finished 
the  men  proceed  to  execute  the  lateral  excavations  by  first  form- 
ing a  drift  way  along  the  level  of  the  upper  part  of  the  future 
tunnel,  and  this  is  sometimes  continued  through  its  entire  length. 
It  also  has  the  advantage  of  showing  the  character  and  position 
of  the  strata,  and  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome.  A  driftway  is 
occasionally  made  before  the  contract  for  the  tunnelling  is  let. 

The  manner  in  which  the  brickwork  is  laid  is  of  great  im- 
portance. In  a  quicksand  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  make 
the  lining  twenty-seven  inches  thick  in  the  sides  and  top,  and 
eighteen  inches  in  the  invert,  Roman  cement  being  used.  This, 
however,  is  not  the  greatest  strength  frequently  required.  Each 
brick  should  be  well  bedded  with  a  wooden  mallet ;  and,  when 
the  curvature  of  the  tunnel  requires  it,  the  bricks  may  be 
moulded  of  a  taper  form.  In  the  arch  they  are  laid  in  concentric 
rings,  half  a  brick  thick,  taking  care  that  the  additional  number 
of  bricks  requisite  for  each  additional  ring  is  inserted. 

Where  the  material  tunnelled  will  stand  without  timbering — 

as  in  the  case  of  rock  and  chalk — the  operation  of  tunnelling  is 

of  the   simplest  character.     The  only  thing  against  which  it   is 

especially   necessary  to  guard,  is  the   first  displacement  of  the 

strata ;  and  this  can  generally  be  prevented  with  only  slight 

timbering,  judiciously  placed.     But  if  this  be  not  watched  and 

provided  against  in  time,  a  slip  of  rock  will  perhaps  take  place 

and  bring  with  it   enough  to  leave  a  great   cavern,  which  has 

to  be  filled  up  solidly  in  order  to  prevent  future  accident.     The 

diagram  shows  the  manner  in  which  such  tim- 

y^"  -  bering    is    arranged  :  and  it   is  similar  to  that 

/%A  \i/\    >.  used  in  the  Abbot's  Cliff  tunnel  made  through 

jff         I  the  lower  chalk  between  Folkestone  and  Dover. 

\  V%    The  sides  are  first  excavated,  a  pillar  being  left 

v  '  *     -'$     in   the   middle,   which  serves   as  a  prop,   from 

temporary  props  whjch  to  support  the  roof,  and  also  to  carry  the 

IN   A  TUNNEL.  vv  '  * 

centres  used  in  turning  the  arch. 


KILSBY    TUNNEL.  155 

The  arrangements  made  by  which  the  several  portions  of  a 
tunnel  shall  at  last  meet  together,  are  such  that  the  result  is 
usually  attained  with  surprising  accuracy.  This  was  tested  on 
the  Leicester  and  Swannington  Railway  in  the  following  manner  : 
Before  the  visit  of  the  directors  on  the  completion  of  the  work, 
twenty-five  candles  were  fixed  at  intervals  along  one  side  of  the 
tunnel,  at  a  distance  of  two  inches  and  a  half  from  the  wall ;  and 
when  they  were  lighted  it  was  found  that  their  relative  position 
did  not  vary  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from  the  required  line.  In  the 
Bletchingly  tunnel  also,  with  eight  shafts,  it  was  only  a  single 
inch  from  a  perfectly  straight  line.  In  a  length  of  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  feet  between  two  shafts  of  the  Box  tunnel,  which 
has  an  incline  of  one  in  a  hundred,  the  junction  of  the  two  work- 
ings was  perfectly  effected  as  regards  the  level,  and  did  not  de- 
viate more  than  an  inch  and  a  quarter  at  the  sides.  The  drift- 
ways of  the  principal  tunnel  of  the  Sheffield  and  Manchester 
Railway — which  goes  for  three  miles  through  rock  formation, 
and  is  at  one  part  more  than  six  hundred  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  hill — were  also  effected  with  great  exactness.  Five  shafts 
were  opened,  from  which  the  work  was  carried  on  ;  and  while 
these  were  in  progress,  driftways  were  made  from  each  face  of 
the  mountain,  extending  to  nearly  a  thousand  yards  at  the 
eastern  side,  and  a  hundred  and  eighty  yards  from  the  next 
shaft.  When  these  were  completed,  the  levels  were  tested,  and 
found  to  have  varied  less  than  an  inch,  and  the  range  was  within 
two  inches  of  being  geometrically  true.  Though  the  difficulty 
is  greatly  augmented  in  the  formation  of  curved  tunnels,  yet 
extraordinary  accuracy  is  attained  ;  and  thus  in  those  on  the 
Glasgow  and  Greenock  Railway  at  Bishopton,  the  deviation 
nowhere  exceeded  two  inches. 

To  prevent  the  accumulation  of  foul  air  in  the  workings  ot 
tunnels,  and  to  assist  in  dispelling  the  otherwise  impenetrable 
gloom,  small  air  or  light  shafts  of  three  or  four  feet  in  diameter 
are  sometimes  sunk  by  the  contractors.  They  are  formed  in  a 
similar  manner  to  the  working  shafts,  the  masonry  at  the  lower 
ends  resting  on  a  cast-iron  ring  secured  in  the  roof  of  the  tunnel. 
They  are  built,  at  the  upper  ends,  about  ten  feet  above  the  sur- 
face, and  are  coped  with  stone. 

In  the  Kilsby  tunnel,  more  than  a  mile  and  a  third  in  length, 
there   are   two   large    air-shafts,  besides    smaller   ones.      Their 


1  5  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

appearance  is  curious.  The  visitor  has  perhaps  walked  from  one 
end  vi~  the  tunnel  to  the  shaft,  and  when  he  reaches  it,  he  hears 
a  deep  thunder  muttering  in  the  distance,  and  some  advancing 
body  is  seen  to  darken  the  little  horizon  of  the  tunnel  mouth, 
while  the  bright  gleam  of  fire  and  the  noise  tell  that  it  is  a  train. 
On  it  comes, — the  hollow  walls  flinging  forward  the  sound,  and 
condensing  it  into  harsh  murmur.  He  stands  back  in  the 
recess  of  the  shaft,  where  he  can  see  the  thundering  mass  as  it 
approaches,  emerge  for  a  moment  in  the  daylight  of  that  spot, 


SHAFT   IN    KILSBY   TUNNEL. 


and  then  quickly  disappear  in  the  gloom  of  the  opposite  direction, 
with  its  red  tail-lamps  burning  a  sickly  defiance  to  all  behind. 

Overhead,  a  novel  spectacle  is  witnessed.  The  long  shaft 
towers  far  aloft,  its  dark  sides  sweating  with  the  moisture  from 
the  hill  which  has  forced  its  way  between  the  bricks  ;  while 
far  up  the  fleecy  clouds  pass  over  the  face  of  the  sky,  or,  inter- 
vening between  the  observer  and  the  sun,  send  their  long 
shadows  down  into  the  hollow  cavern  where  he  stands.  These 
shafts  seem  as  oases  of  light  in  the  long  and  dreary  pilgrimage 
of  the  dark  tunnel. 


TUNNELS.  157 

When  a  tunnel  has  been  completed,  it  is  usual  for  several  of 
the  shafts  to  be  closed,  a  few  being  sufficient  for  ventilation. 
At  Bletchingly  tunnel  all  but  one  were  left  open,  and  at  Salt- 
wood  five  were  preserved  ;  the  others  were  closed  from  just 
above  the  arch  of  the  tunnel,  and  filled  up  with  earth  to  the 
surface.  The  brickwork  of  the  shafts  is  usually  carried  some 
height  above  the  level  of  the  ground,  and  is  covered  with  a 
flat  or  domed  iron  grating,  to  prevent  anything  falling  down, 
through  carelessness  or  mischief. 

In  carrying  a  tunnel  through  a  hill,  considerable  expense  has 
sometimes  been  saved  by  making  horizontal  galleries  from  the 
side  of  the  tunnel  to  the  face  of  the  hill,  and  then  by  removing 
the  excavated  earth  through  them.  The  double  tunnel  through 
Shakespeare's  Cliff,  near  Dover,  on  the  South  Eastern  Railway, 
was  constructed  in  this  manner.  Seven  vertical  shafts  from  the 
top  of  the  hill  were  first  sunk  to  the  level  of  the  line,  and  seven 
horizontal  galleries  were  run  from  the  face  of  the  cliff  to  the 
"verticals."  The  two  tunnels  were  then  excavated  parallel  to 
the  sea,  from  which  they  are  distant  four  or  five  hundred  feet.  A 
road  was  previously  formed  along  the  front  of  the  cliff  to  afford 
means  of  access  for  the  workmen.  The  galleries  were  each 
about  six  feet  wide,  and  seven  high ;  and  the  excavated  chalk 
was  conveyed  along  them  in  small  tram-wagons,  and  tipped  into 
the  ocean.  During  the  construction  of  the  tunnel,  the  public 
were  courteously  permitted  to  visit  the  scene  of  operations,  and 
the  spectacle  was  impressive.  On  entering  the  bore,  a  lantern 
was  furnished  to  the  visitor,  and  he  ventured  as  far  within  as 
his  courage,  or  his  lack  of  it,  allowed.  A  slight  glimmering 
of  daylight  tempted  some  onwards,  but  the  darkness  seemed 
only  to  be  rendered  "  more  visible  "  by  the  lantern.  On  reach- 
ing the  first  shaft  daylight  was  enjoyed,  though  it  came  down 
an  aperture  nearly  equal  in  height  to  the  Monument  of  London. 
Seven  times  through  the  tunnel  did  the  sun's  beams  thus  break 
on  the  gloom  of  the  long  cavern  ;  and  then  the  visitors  whose 
perseverance  was  not  exhausted,  might  see  the  extensive  pre- 
parations that  were  then  being  made  for  continuing  the  line 
along  the  base  of  the  cliffs  near  the  sea-shore  to  Folkestone. 

It  is  here  worthy  of  remark  that  all  tunnels  are  not  bored. 
Some  are  made  on  what  is  called  the  "cut  and  cover"  principle 
— by  first  making  a  cutting,  and  having  this  afterwards  arched 


I5<S  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

over  and  filled  in.  These  are  sometimes  denominated  open 
tunnels,  an  example  of  them  may  be  found  at  Kensal  Green, 
Haddon  Hall,  the  Archway  tunnel  near  Leicester,  and  under 
Camden  Square,  London.  They  are  usually  made  where  it  is 
desired  to  avoid  the  permanent  severance  of  valuable  lands, 
or  to  conceal  the  line  from  observation.  When  formed,  the 
sides  of  the  cutting  are  made  nearly  vertical,  and  are  kept  in 
their  place  by  timbers  till  the  brick-work  is  finished. 

The  cost  of  tunnels  varies  greatly.  Those  made  for  the  old 
canals  were  less  than  £4.  per  lineal  yard  ;  and  for  railways  of 
the  ordinary  dimensions,  they  vary  from  £20  per  yard  in  sand- 
stone rock — when  it  does  not  require  a  lining — up  to  ^100  and 
£\6o  per  yard  in  loose  ground,  such  as  a  quicksand,  which  may 
render  it  necessary  to  have  brickwork  lining  of  great  thickness. 
The  Kilsby  tunnel  cost  about  £125  per  yard.  If  they  are  freely 
worked,  rocky  strata  are  usually  the  cheapest  for  tunnelling,  as 
gunpowder  may  be  used,  and  masonry  may  be  unnecessary.  In 
the  blastings  at  Bishopton,  on  the  Glasgow,  Paisley,  and 
Greenock  Railway,  314  tons  of  gunpowder  were  employed  in  a 
length  of  2,300  yards  in  whinstone,  some  veins  of  which  were 
so  difficult  to  work,  that  the  rate  of  progress  at  each  face  of 
the  excavation  varied  from  three  feet  six  inches  to  six  inches 
only  a  day. 

Tunnelling  in  clay  is  often  expensive  and  difficult.  When 
tough  it  is  difficult  to  work ;  blasting  is  of  no  avail,  and  spades 
and  pickaxes  are  almost  useless.  Lecount  states  that  hatchets 
may  be  employed  to  advantage,  but  that  cross-cut  saws  best 
answer  the  purpose.  The  difficulties  which  the  working  of  this 
material  presents  were  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  Primrose  Hill 
tunnel,  which  is  in  the  London  clay.  The  engineers  adopted 
the  precaution  of  excavating  only  nine  feet  in  advance  of  the 
brickwork,  and  supporting  the  clay  by  very  strong  timbering 
till  the  arching  was  completed.  The  mobility  and  pressure  of 
the  moist  clay,  however,  was  such  as  actually  to  squeeze  the 
mortar  out  of  the  joints,  and  to  bring  the  inner  edges  of  the 
bricks  in  contact.  The  result  was,  that  the  bricks  were,  by 
degrees,  ground  to  dust,  and  the  dimensions  of  the  tunnel  were 
insensibly  but  irresistibly  contracted.  The  only  remedy  was 
the  use  of  very  hard  bricks  laid  in  Roman  cement,  which  set 
before  the  pressure  became  great  enough  to  force  them  into 


TUNNELLING.  159 

contact,  and  enabled  the  whole  surface  to  resist  the  pressure. 
The  thickness  of  the  brickwork  was  increased  almost  through- 
out to  twenty-seven  inches. 

Danger  arises  in  the  making  of  tunnels  from  slips.  In  the 
construction  of  the  Fareham  tunnel  on  the  Gosport  branch, 
a  fall  of  the  earth  carried  away  about  forty  yards  in  length  of 
the  brick  arching,  though  it  was  three  feet  thick.  In  tunnels 
made  through  chalk,  it  is  necessary  to  act  with  great  caution, 
as  it  sometimes  contains  large  holes  filled  with  gravel,  which, 
on  being  opened  pours  like  water  upon  the  unsuspecting  miner. 
Thus  in  the  Watford  tunnel,  which  passes  through  the  upper 
chalk  formation,  covered  with  a  thick  irregular  bed  of  gravel, 
such  breakings-in  occasioned  great  inconvenience  and  one 
serious  accident.  In  the  chalk  were  fissures,  sometimes  a 
hundred  feet  in  depth,  filled  with  gravel,  which  when  worked 
into,  "  rushed  down  with  such  violence  as  to  plough  the  sides 
of  the  tunnel  as  if  bullets  had  been  shot  against  it."  Such  a 
fall  took  place  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  working  shafts,  over- 
whelmed ten  men,  and  led  to  the  construction  of  the  large 
ventilating  shaft  near  the  centre  of  the  tunnel. 

The  vicissitudes  with  which  engineers  have  to  deal  in  tunnel 
making  are  varied,  unexpected  and  interesting.  "  When  you 
gentlemen  have  an  easy  job  and  all  your  own  way,"  we  remarked 
to  the  Midland  "Resident"  at  Kirkby  Stephen,  on  the  Settle 
and  Carlisle,  "you  are  rather  dull,  but  when  you  get  into  a  mess 
and  have  to  get  out  of  it,  you  are  delightful.  What  is  the 
greatest  mess  you  ever  were  in  on  this  railway  ?  "  "  Well,"  he 
replied,  after  a  pause,  "the  greatest  mess  I  ever  was  in  was 
when  we  were  making  Birkett  tunnel.  The  rock  was  so  hard 
and  firm  that  we  thought  it  would  stand  without  lining ;  but 
suddenly  the  roof  in  one  place  came  down  and  made  a  hole 
sixty  feet  high."  "  Sixty  feet  high,"  we  said  contemplatively, 
"  how  high  is  that  ash  tree  by  the  pond  ?  "  "  About  thirty,"  he 
answered,  "  the  hole  in  the  roof  of  the  tunnel  was  about  twice 
as  big  as  that  ash  tree.  And  we  had  to  fill  it  up."  "  Fill  it 
up !  "  we  exclaimed.  "  It  is  easy  to  fill  up  a  hole  that  is  down 
in  the  ground,  but  how  could  you  fill  one  that  is  up  in  a 
mountain  over  your  head  ? "  "  We  put  timbers — sleepers  and 
what  not — across  from  rock  to  rock,  beginning  at  the  highest 
part  of  the  hole  and  working  downwards,  so  that  no  more  rock 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

should  fall  ;  then  we  arched  the  roof  round  ;  bedded  the  top 
of  the  arch  with  debris  of  all  sorts,  so  that  if  anything  fell  it 
should  not  injure  it.  We  left  nothing  overhead  but  a  hole  in 
the  crown  of  the  arch  big  enough  for  the  last  workman  to  crawl 
through  ;  and  then  we  filled  that  up  also." 

In  making  tunnels  the  drainage  must  be  good.  A  drain  with 
the  joints  slightly  open,  so  as  to  admit  the  water  from  the 
ballasting,  is  laid  along  the  centre  of  the  road,  and  the  water 
that  percolates  through  the  brickwork  is  conducted  into  it  by 
the  various  contrivances  that  have  been  adopted  to  prevent  the 
inroads  of  water  into  tunnels.  At  the  Cheviot  tunnel  near 
Wakefield,  it  has  been  necessary  to  line  the  roof  with  sheet 
lead  ;  and  in  the  Beechwood  tunnel  of  the  London  and  Birming- 
ham line,  an  interior  lining  of  brickwork  nine  inches  thick  has 
been  made,  behind  which  is  a  system  of  drainage. 

The  firmness  of  the  native  material,  has,  in  some  instances, 
allowed  lining  to  tunnels  to  be  dispensed  with.  This  is  the  case 
with  the  Penmaenbach  tunnel  on  the  Chester  and  Holyhead 
line.  The  excavation  is  through  basaltic  rock,  and  has  upright 
sides  and  a  semicircular  top.  The  Bangor  tunnel  was  also  at 
first  considered  to  be  sufficiently  solid,  but  having  subsequently 
shown  signs  of  instability,  Mr.  Stephenson  ordered  it  to  be  lined 
with  brick.  So  matured  has  been  the  experience  of  engineers 
in  the  work  of  tunnel  making,  that  in  the  formation  of  the 
Caledonian  Railway,  the  tunnel  under  the  hill  to  the  north 
of  Glasgow  was  safely  conducted  over  the  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow  Railway  and  under  the  Monkland  canal,  and  within 
a  few  feet  of  both.  Several  years  after  the  opening  of  the 
Midland  lines  to  Manchester,  and  also  to  Carlisle,  it  was  found 
necessary  to  line  the  stone  tunnels  with  brickwork.  It  was  a 
very  troublesome  task,  having  to  be  carried  on  while  the  full 
service  of  trains  was  running. 

To  gain  an  adequate  idea  of  the  peculiarities  of  tunnel 
making,  the  scene  should  be  visited  ;  and  it  will  then  be  found 
that  operations  are  going  on  in  what  may  be  called  the  bowels 
of  mountains  full  of  striking  interest.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
shaft  will  be  seen  the  ponderous  engine  and  pumping-gear,  and 
an  immense  mound  of  rock  or  earth-spoil,  from  the  tunnelling 
below.  Here  are  also  temporary  buildings  for  the  use  of  the 
contractors  and  their  men,  and  other  indications  of  the  magni- 


BOX    TUNNEL.  l6l 

tude  of  the  undertaking.  Permission  having  been  duly  obtained 
of  the  authorities,  and  the  assistance  of  a  guide  secured,  the 
visitor  takes  a  candle  stuck  in  a  lump  of  clay,  and  prepares  for 
his  subterranean  journey.  Having  deposited  himself  in  a  tub, 
and  overcome  the  giddiness  which  the  descent  may  induce,  he 
observes  the  lining  of  the  shaft,  and  the  straining  of  the  pumps 
essaying  to  lift  the  volume  of  water  continually  pouring  down 
from  the  crevices  and  fissures  of  the  earth  or  rock.  This  creates 
a  sort  of  Scotch  mist,  sufficient  to  wet  a  "  Southern  man  "  to  the 
skin  ;  but,  what  is  remarkable,  it  does  not  extinguish  the  fragile 
candles,  which  burn  with  singular  brilliancy.  Having  descended 
to  the  level  of  the  tunnel  itself,  this  may  be  explored  in  either 
direction.  The  scene  presented  fills  the  stranger  with  wonder 
and  awe.  A  great  number  of  men  are  at  work,  dimly  lighted 
by  innumerable  "  dips,"  stuck  in  all  directions.  Some  men  are 
at  the  driftways  ;  others  are  picking  the  earth  from  the  sides, 
others,  with  barrows,  are  wheeling  the  stuff  out  of  the  way  of  the 
miners  ;  while  ever  and  anon  the  blasting  of  the  rock  with  gun- 
powder or  dynamite,  the  crash  of  the  solid  material  riven  in  pieces, 
the  fall  of  the  masses,  and  the  reverberation  echoing  through 
the  gloomy  caverns,  are  sufficient  to  fill  those  unused  to  such 
scenes  with  awe  or  alarm,  and  to  leave  an  impression  not  easily- 
effaced.  Nor  should  the  undertaking  be  recommended  to  those 
who  are  not  prepared  to  encounter  some  risks,  and  who  have 
not  a  strong  inclination  for  the  adventurous. 

On  one  occasion  some  of  the  directors  of  the  Great  Western 
Railway  were  inspecting  the  works  at  the  Box  tunnel,  and 
several  of  them  resolved  to  descend  a  shaft  with  Mr.  Brunei 
and  one  or  two  other  engineers,  who  mentioned  the  incident  to 
the  writer.  Accordingly  all  but  one  ensconced  themselves  in 
the  tub  provided  for  that  purpose, — he  declined  to  accompany 
them.  His  friends  rallied  him  for  his  want  of  courage,  and  one 
slyly  suggested — "  Did  your  wife  forbid  you  before  you  started  ? " 
A  quiet  nod  in  response  intimated  that  the  right  nail  had  been 
struck,  and  the  revelation  was  received  with  a  merry  laugh. 
But  as  the  pilgrims  found  themselves  slipping  about  a  greasy, 
muddy  tub,  jolting  and  shaking  as  the  horses  stopped — by 
whose  aid  they  were  lowered, — and  how  at  length  they  were 
suspended  some  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the  bottom,  till 
the  blastings  that  had  been  prepared  roared  and  reverberated 

M 


1 62  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

through  the  "long-drawn  caverns,"  more  than  one  of  the  party 
who  had  laughed  before,  wished  that  they  had  received  a  similat 
prohibition  to  that  of  their  friend  above,  and  that  they  had 
manifested  an  equal  amount  of  marital  docility. 

The  Box  tunnel,  between  Chippenham  and  Bath,  was  long 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  railway  works.  It  is 
some  3,200  yards  in  length,  and  part  of  it  is  400  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  hill  through  which  it  passes.  Thirteen  shafts 
were  required  in  its  construction  for  the  work  and  for  ventila- 
tion ;  the  material  excavated  amounted  to  414,000  cubic  yards, 
and  the  brickwork  and  masonry  was  more  than  54)000  yards. 
The  number  of  bricks  used  was  30,000,000  ;  a  ton  of  gunpowder 
and  a  ton  of  candles  were  consumed  every  week  for  two  years 
and  a  half  in  blasting  and  lighting,  and  1,100  men  and  250  horses 
were  constantly  employed.  For  a  considerable  distance  the 
tunnel  passes  through  freestone  rock,  from  the  fissures  of  which 
water  flowed  so  freely  that,  in  November,  1837,  the  steam-engine 
used  to  pump  it  out  proved  insufficient,  one  division  of  the 
tunnel  was  filled,  the  water  rose  fifty-six  feet  high  in  the  shaft, 
and  it  was  found  necessary  to  suspend  operations  till  the 
following  midsummer,  when  a  second  engine  of  fifty-horse 
power  was  brought  to  the  assistance  of  its  brother  leviathan, 
and  the  works  were  cleared.  Another  irruption  took  place,  and 
the  water  was  then  pumped  out  at  the  rate  of  thirty-two  thou- 
sand hogsheads  a  day. 

The  Summit  tunnel  of  the  Manchester,  Sheffield,  and  Lincoln- 
shire railway,  although,  in  capacity,  one  of  the  smallest,  is  one 
of  the-  longest  tunnels  in  England.  It  is  more  than  three 
miles  in  length.  It  is  near  the  point  where  Cheshire,  Yorkshire, 
and  Derbyshire  unite, — one  end  is  near  the  village  of  Wood- 
head,  in  Cheshire,  and  the  other  in  Yorkshire,  and  it  passes 
under  a  bleak  hilly  moor,  covered  chiefly  with  dark  heath  and 
bog,  barren  and  dreary  in  the  extreme.  The  tunnel  was  formed 
by  the  aid  of  five  vertical  shafts  sunk  from  the  surface  of  the 
moor,  averaging  nearly  600  feet  in  depth.  Around  these  and 
the  two  ends  were  clustered  the  huts  that  served  as  the  tem- 
porary homes  of  the  workmen — a  sort  of  scattered  encampment 
between  two  and  three  miles  long.  The  tunnel  was  about  six 
years  in  progress,  and  during  that  time  the  number  of  men 
employed   underwent    considerable    fluctuations  :    at   one   time 


KILSBY    TUNNEL.  I  6 


J 


there  were  as  many  as  1,500.  As  the  tunnel  passes  chiefly 
through  sandstone  and  millstone  grit,  the  enormous  quantity 
of  3,485  barrels,  or  upwards  of  157  tons  of  gunpowder,  were 
employed  in  blasting  ;  and  nearly  8,000,000  tons  of  water  had 
to  be  pumped  out  during  the  progress  of  the  work.  Most  of 
the  excavated  rock  had  to  be  hoisted  by  steam  engines  a 
height  of  about  600  feet  to  the  top  of  the  shaft. 

The  Kilsby  tunnel,  through  the  Kilsby  ridge  and  south  ot 
Rugby,  was  another  of  the  earliest  and  most  difficult  tunnelling 
works.  The  hill  had  been  tested  by  trial  shafts  ;  was  found  to 
consist  of  oolite  shale  ;  and  was  let  as  such  to  the  contractor. 
But  between  the  shafts,  under  a  bed  of  clay  forty  feet  thick,  lay 
a  quicksand,  and  when  the  men  pierced  it  a  deluge  of  water 
burst  down  upon  them  through  which  they  had  to  struggle  and 
swim  for  their  lives.  Steam  engines  of  160  horse-power  had  to 
be  erected  ;  eventually  they  pumped  it  out  at  the  rate  of  1,800 
gallons  a  minute  for  eight  months,  a  quantity  estimated  to  be 
equal  to  the  Thames  at  high  water  between  London  and  Wool- 
wich ;  and  157  tons  of  gunpowder  had  been  consumed  in 
blasting  before  the  tunnel  was  finished.  The  number  of  bricks 
required  for  that  tunnel  -alone  was  36,000,000 — enough  to  make 
a  footpath  a  yard  wide  from  London  to  Aberdeen.  Meanwhile 
the  expense  rose,  from  the  original  estimate  of  £99,000  to  an 
actual  outlay  of  £100  a  lineal  yard  forwards,  or  a  total  sum  of 
nearly  £300,000.  The  contractor  was  so  overwhelmed  by  the 
difficulties  of  the  work  that  he  took  to  his  bed  ;  and,  though 
released  by  the  company  from  his  obligations,  he  died. 

The  deepest  tunnel  in  England  is  that  which  passes  through 
the  range  of  hills  between  Great  Malvern  and  Herefordshire. 
It  is  600  feet  from  floor  to  surface,  and  is  1,560  yards  in  length ; 
it  is  wide  enough  for  only  a  single  pair  of  rails.  The  geological 
strata  through  which  it  runs  are  163  yards  of  marl,  700  yards  of 
syenite,  and  nearly  700  of  limestone.  The  marl  beds  at  the 
entrance  are  overlaid  by  a  considerable  thickness  of  debris  from 
the  chain  of  the  Malverns,  and  above  this  is  a  strong,  tenacious 
clay,  containing  bones  and  teeth  of  the  rhinoceros  and  mam- 
moth. In  another  tunnel  in  the  same  district  are  remarkable 
geological  formations.  It  is  not  far  from  Ledbury  station,  and 
is  1,660  yards  long.  "Nowhere  in  the  world,"  says  Symonds, 
"  is  there  exhibited  such  a  view  of  the  passage  rocks  between 


:64  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

the   Silurian  and    Old   Red   systems  as   at   the  entrance  to  this 
tunnel.     The  fossils  are  abundant." 

The  longest  tunnel  in  England  is  on  the  London  and  North 
Western.  It  passes  through  a  range  of  hills — bearing  the  name 
ol  Stand  Edge — separating  Marsden  on  the  Yorkshire  side  and 
Diggle  on  the  Lancashire  side.  It  has  three  tunnels  running 
through  it — one  belonging  to  a  canal,  and  the  other  two  for  the 
purposes  of  the  railway.  The  first  was  completed  in  1818;  its 
length  being  three  miles  and  171  yards.  The  first  of  the  two 
railway  tunnels  was  completed  in  November,  1848  ;  and  its  cost 
was  .£200,000.  The  new  tunnel  was  commenced  in  1868,  and 
was  completed  in  1870.  Its  length  is  5,435  yards,  one  yard  less 
than  its  twin  tunnel.  The  height  of  the  tunnel  inside  the  brick- 
work is  twenty  feet,  and  the  width  fifteen  feet.  The  bricks  used 
were  nearly  17,000,000,  the  weight  of  them  was  68,000  tons  ; 
6,000  tons  of  coal,  170,000  pounds  of  powder,  100,000  pounds  of 
candles,  6,000  gallons  of  oil,  and  vast  quantities  of  timber  were 
consumed.  For  the  conveyance  of  the  material  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  tunnels  twenty-five  boats  and  four  steam- 
boats were  constantly  plying,  and  an  immense  expense  had  to 
be  incurred  in  erecting  huts,  providing  business  offices,  and 
putting  down  plant  for  economising  labour. 

But  perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  of  all  tunnels  is  the 
Metropolitan  or  Underground  Railway.  When  it  was  first 
proposed,  the  idea  of  a  railway  for  human  beings  to  travel  along 
under  the  streets  and  among  the  sewers  was  regarded  with 
amusement  if  not  contempt.  The  omnibus  and  cab  interests,  as 
represented  by  their  drivers,  forgetting  what  their  predecessors 
the  stage  coachmen  had  done  under  similar  circumstances,  were 
eminently  facetious  on  the  various  aspects  of  the  subject,  and 
many  jokes,  good  and  bad,  were  made  thereon. 

Railway  work  in  the  open  has  difficulties  enough,  but  the 
bed  of  a  London  thoroughfare  has  been  compared  to  the 
human  body — full  of  veins  and  arteries  which  it  is  death  to 
cut.  No  sooner  is  the  ground  opened  than  these  channels 
of  gas  and  water,  of  sewers  and  telegraphs  are  seen  "  as  close 
together  as  the  pipes  of  a  church  organ."  The  engineers  of 
the  Metropolitan  Railway  had,  to  begin  with,  to  remove  these 
old  channels  to  the  sides  of  the  roadway,  and  then  to  cut 
their  way  between,  "  with  the  delicacy  of  a  surgical  operation." 


MAKING    THE    METROPOLITAN. 


16: 


Near  King's  Cross  a  special  difficulty  presented  itself  in  the 
form  of  the  old  Fleet  Ditch — a  stream  of  sewage  flowing  from 
50,000  houses  from  Highgate  to  the  Thames.  This  "  black 
Styx  of  London "  often  in  stormy  weather  rises  six  feet  in 
an  hour,  and  its  force  is  particularly  felt  at  King's  Cross,  which 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  Highgate  slope.  When  the  Metro- 
politan line  was  afterwards  enlarged  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  Midland  and  Great  Northern  lines,  the  Fleet  sewer 
was  carried  along  a  huge  boiler-like  tube  without  the  spilling 


DIVERTING   THE    FLEET   SEWER. 


of  "  one  drop  of  Christian  "  sewage  ;  but  the  Metropolitan  in 
its  earlier  experiences  was  not  so  fortunate. 

The  work  of  constructing  this  remarkable  railway  eventually 
became,  as  it  must  be  allowed,  somewhat  wearisome  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  New  Road.  A  few  wooden  houses  on  wheels 
first  made  their  appearance,  and  planted  themselves  by  the 
gutter  ;  then  came  some  wagons  loaded  with  timber,  and 
accompanied    by   sundry  gravel- coloured   men   with    picks  and 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

shovels.  A  day  or  two  afterwards  a  few  hundred  yards  of  road- 
way wore  enclosed,  the  ordinary  traffic  being,  of  course,  driven 
into  the  side  streets  ;  then  followed  troops  of  navvies,  horses, 
and  engines  arrived,  who  soon  disappeared  within  the  enclosure 
and  down  the  shafts.  The  exact  operations  could  be  but  dimly 
seen  or  heard  from  the  street  by  the  curious  observer  who  gazed 
between  the  tall  boards  that  shut  him  out ;  but  paterfamilias, 
irom  his  house  hard  by,  could  look  down  on  an  infinite  chaos 
of  timber,  shaft  holes,  ascending  and  descending  chains  and 
'iron  buckets  which  brought  rubbish  from  below  to  be  carted 
away  ;  or  perhaps  one  morning  he  found  workmen  had  been 
kindly  shoring  up  his  family  abode  with  huge  timbers  to  make 
it  safer.  "  A  wret  week  comes,  and  the  gravel  in  his  front 
garden  turns  to  clay  ;  the  tradespeople  tread  it  backwards  and 
forwards  to  and  from  the  street  door  ;  he  can  hardly  get  out  to 
business  or  home  to  supper  without  slipping,  and  he  strongly 
objects  to  a  temporary  way  of  wet  planks,  erected  for  his  use 
and  the  use  of  the  passers-by,  over  a  yawning  cavern  under- 
neath the  pavement."  Meanwhile  Mr.  Jay,  the  contractor,  was 
pushing  on  with  the  works  as  fast  as  he  could,  but  he  was  a 
busy  gentleman  who  was  also  building  government  fortifications 
at  Portland,  and  a  railroad  in  Wales,  besides  other  undertakings 
elsewhere  ;  but  at  last,  after  much  labour  and  many  vicissi- 
tudes, even  the  Underground  Railway  was  completed. 

When  the  extension  of  the  Metropolitan  was  made  to  Aldgate, 
some  special  difficulties  occurred  at  one  spot.  It  was  thus 
described  by  Sir  E.  W.  Watkin  in  1875  :  "I  will  give  you,"  he 
said,  "only  one  illustration  of  the  cost  and  time  occupied  by 
some  of  these  works.  It  was  in  carrying  the  line  under  the 
Roman  Catholic  chapel  in  Moorfields.  By  an  Act  of  Parliament, 
with  which  the  present  board  had  nothing  to  do,  there  was  a 
series  of  clauses  under  which  we  were  bound  to  maintain  the 
structure  of  this  Catholic  chapel  exactly  as  it  stood  ;  we  were 
not  to  be  permitted  to  pull  it  down,  but  up  it  must  remain, 
under  all  possible  circumstances  which  might  arise  in  the  con- 
struction of  our  works.  The  chapel  had  been  built  upon  Moor- 
fields when  it  was  a  moor,  with  the  usual  amount  of  bog,  and 
had  been  constructed  on  piles,  and  in  process  of  time  these  piles 
got  of  less  service  in  their  position.  Some  few  years  ago  the 
architect  put  upon  the  roof  a  tremendously  heavy  concrete  roof, 


THE    METROPOLITAN.  1 67 

which   made   the  building  top-heavy ;    and,  having  no  secure 
foundation,  we  had  to  under-pin  the  whole  of  the  chapel  some 
thirty  feet  deep  down  to  the  London  clay  before  we  could  con- 
struct an  inch  of  the  railway.     In  doing  that  to  a  large  structure 
it  got   cracked    in  various    places,  and   two  or   three   valuable 
fresco  pictures  were  damaged.     In  addition  to  that,  every  effort 
was  made  by  the  good  people  to  get  as  good  a  church,  at  your 
expense,  out  of  that  transaction   as  possible.     I  don't  exactly 
blame  them,  but  I  am  able  to  say  that  the  worthy  gentlemen 
and  ladies  worshipping  there  have  a  brand  new   edifice  at  the 
entire  cost  of  the  Metropolitan  Railway,  and   I   hope  you  will 
be  well  prayed  for,  for,  I  assure  you,  you  deserve  it.     We  paid 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Gilbert,  for  the  reinstatement  of  the  interior  of  the 
chapel,  .£4,000  ;  the   engineer's   estimate  of  the  cost  of  under- 
pinning the  works  is  £8,000;  we  have  had  to  provide  for  this 
congregation   in   the  interim  a  temporary  church  at   a   cost  of 
£1,023  ;    we  have  had  to  pay  to   the   arbitrator   .£540   for  his 
services  ;   100  guineas  to  the  solicitor  ;  and  there  is  a  claim  made 
by  the  architect  for  £900  for  his  charges,  which  we  have  not  yet 
disbursed.     Altogether  we  have  to  spend   £14,500   for  dealing 
with  one  structure  only  in  the  completion  of  this  short  piece  of 
railway  of  about  600  or  700  yards  between  Moorgate  Street  and 
Bishopgate  Street  stations.     I  won't  say  anything  about  another 
cost  in   reference   to   Finsbury  chapel,  for,  in   comparison,  it  is 
moderate,  about  £1,000." 

But  if  the  Metropolitan  tunnel  line  under  the  streets  of 
London  is  a  striking,  though  familiar,  fact ;  more  remarkable 
still  is  it  to  find  a  tunnel  under  a  tunnel  under  the  streets  of 
London.  Yet  so  it  is.  When  the  traveller  by  the  Midland 
Railway  arrives  at  Kentish  Town  and  proceeds  to  Moorgate 
Street,  he  passes  under  two  railways  at  St.  Pancras — one  above 
the  other — and  soon  finds  himself  at  the  King's  Cross  station,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Metropolitan  line.  The  train  again  starts, 
runs  for  a  few  minutes,  and  emerging  from  a  tunnel,  the  traveller 
is  now  on  the  south  side  of  the  Metropolitan  ;  in  that  short 
distance  he  has  passed  under  the  Underground.  Our  engraving 
on  the  next  page  indicates  the  arrangements.  It  shows  the 
double  line  of  the  Midland,  which  extends  from  Camden  Town 
station,  and  the  single  line  tunnels  of  the  Great  Northern, 
about  half  a  mile  long,  that  come  from  the  King's  Cross  ter- 


i6S 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


minus.  Between  the  Midland  and  the  Great  Northern  lines  are 
several  cross  tunnels — "  a  perfect  rabbit  warren  of  them,"  as  an 
engineer  remarked  to  us — but  they  are  little  used.  The  Midland, 
the  Great  Northerly  and  the  Dover  and  Chatham  trains  run  from 


1AL0ERSCA7E  s 

ST«TION 


THE  UNDERGROUND  UNDER  THE  UNDERGROUND  LINE. 


the  King's  Cross  (Metropolitan)  station,  parallel  with  the  original 
Metropolitan  line  proper  for  a  distance  of  about  1,000  yards; 
they  then  descend  by  an  incline  of  I  in  ioo  until  they  have  passed 
through  a  tunnel  under  the  Metropolitan,  and  then  they  rise  by 


TUNNEL    UNDER    THE    SEVERN.  I 69 

a  steep  slope  230  yards  long  of  I  in  40  *  up  to  Farringdon  station  ; 
or,  rather,  three  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Farringdon  station  of 
the  Metropolitan  proper.  The  difference  between  the  rails  of 
the  two  lines  at  the  bottom  of  the  dip  is  sixteen  feet  and  a  few 
inches. 

Under  the  Smithfield  Market,  too,  there  is  a  most  intricate 
arrangement  of  tunnel  works.  Here,  in  pitch  darkness,  except 
for  the  light  of  the  lamps,  are  three  main  lines  and  three  goods 
stations  on  each  side  of  the  line  ;  and  all  with  curves,  points, 
cranes,  signals,  and  sidings. 

Another  railway  tunnel  in  the  metropolis  is  of  special  interest. 
It  belongs  to  the  East  London  Railway.  In  the  early  part  of 
this  century  complaints  were  made  of  the  want  of  means  of 
communication  between  the  north-eastern  and  south-eastern 
parts  of  the  metropolis;  and,  to  diminish  this  inconvenience,  it 
was  determined  to  make  a  tunnel  under  the  Thames,  from 
Rotherhithe  to  Wapping.  The  tunnel  was  begun  ;  more  than 
nine  hundred  feet  were  completed,  and  only  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  remained  to  be  bored,  when,  meeting  with  quicksands, 
the  engineer  gave  up  the  work  in  despair.  The  experience, 
however,  that  had  been  acquired  enabled  Mr.  Brunei  to  over- 
come the  final  difficulties  ;  and  in  1843,  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
^"470,000,  the  Thames  tunnel  was  finished.  For  thirty  years  it 
was  visited  as  a  curiosity  ;  but  commercially  it  was  a  failure. 
At  length  it  was  proposed  that  a  railway — the  East  London — 
should  be  carried  through  it,  and  that,  thereby,  a  connection 
should  be  established  between  the  Great  Eastern  system  and 
the  South  London  lines  near  New  Cross,  and  after  enormous 
difficulties  the  work  was  done. 

The  construction  of  a  railway  tunnel  under  the  Severn  was 
sanctioned  by  Parliament  in  1872.  When  Mr.  Brunei  carried 
the  Great  Western  Railway  system  to  Bristol,  he  proposed  to 
connect  it  with  that  in  South  Wales  by  means  of  a  steam  ferry 
of  such  dimensions,  and  with  such  approaches,  that  loaded  rail- 
way trucks  could  be  run  on  board  a  boat  and  conveyed  across 
the  river  without  delay.  Mr.  Brunei  died  before  his  plans  could 
be  carried  out.  Subsequently  it  became  evident  that  the 
original  scheme  was  untenable  ;  that  passenger  traffic  only  could 

*  At  one  spot  it  is  1  in  39. 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

be  provided  for  by  ferry  ;  that  heavy  goods,  if  carried  at  all, 
must  go  by  a  bridge  or  a  tunnel.  Bridges  over  the  channel  have 
been  provided  ;  and  it  has  been  ascertained  that  the  conditions 
are  favourable  for  a  tunnel.  The  bottom  of  the  river  consists  of 
a  well-known  series  of  rocks,  in  great  part  horizontal,  and 
practically  homogeneous.  But  the  magnitude  of  the  work  and 
of  the  cost  long  prevented  its  being  undertaken.  In  the  year 
1864,  plans  for  the  tunnel  were  deposited,  and  other  preliminary 
steps  were  taken  to  obtain  an  Act,  but  want  of  funds  stopped 
the  way,  and  the  Bill  fell  through.  A  second  and  similar 
attempt  was  made  in  1870,  with  a  like  result.  Two  years  later 
the  necessary  powers  were  granted  to  the  Great  Western  Com- 
pany. 

In  the  first  instance  a  "heading"  has  been  driven  throughout, 
a  long  and  toilsome  seven  years'  task,  during  which  Mr.  C. 
Richardson  earned  for  himself  the  name  of  "  the  Father  of  the 
Severn  Tunnel."  The  width  of  the  stream  where  the  crossing 
takes  place  is  rather  more  than  two  miles  and  a  quarter.  It  is  in- 
tended that  the  tunnel  shall  be  quite  level  beneath  the  "  Shoots," 
a  length  of  about  twelve  chains.  The  gradient  of  approach 
from  the  Welsh  side  will  be  one  in  ninety  feet,  and  from  the 
English  side  one  in  a  hundred  feet.  The  length  of  the  tunnel, 
including  approaches,  is  four  miles  and  a  half.  The  length  of 
the  contract  for  tunnel  and  open  cuttings  is  seven  miles  and 
five  furlongs.  The  tunnel  under  the  river  will  be  perfectly 
straight,  and  the  curve  in  the  approaches  will  be  simple.  The 
whole  of  the  tunnel  will  be  lined  with  brickwork,  varying  from 
twenty-seven  inches  to  three  feet  in  thickness.  Some  200,000 
bricks  per  week  are  being  made  out  of  clay  shale  extracted 
from  the  shafts,  and  many  of  the  hard  blue  Staffordshire 
"  clinkers  "  are  also  used.  About  60,000,000  will  be  required, 
and  all  are  to  be  laid  in  Portland  cement.  The  roof  is  semi- 
circular. The  side  walls  are  segmental,  the  invert  also,  and 
both  of  twenty-one  feet  six  inches  radius.  The  dimensions  of 
the  tunnel  are  :  extreme  width  inside,  twenty-six  feet ;  extreme 
height  inside,  twenty-four  feet  six  inches  ;  height  of  roof  above 
the  rails,  twenty  feet.  The  line  will  be  double,  and  manholes 
will  be  inserted  every  twenty-two  yards.* 

*  The  Railway  News. 


LOST    IN    A    TUNNEL.  I  J I 

On  Oct.  6th,  1879,  a  serious  difficulty  was  encountered.  "  In 
a  part  of  the  approach  to  the  tunnel,"  says  Dr.  Yeats,  "  400 
yards  from  the  river's  edge  on  the  Monmouthshire  side,  a  small 
subterranean  watercourse  had  to  be  crossed.  The  discharge, 
fully  5,000  gallons  per  minute,  could  not  be  controlled  by  the 
force  at  hand  ;  and  in  about  twenty-eight  hours  the  labour  of 
seven  years  was  seemingly  lost.  The  shaft  and  the  whole  of 
the  excavation  under  the  Severn  were  flooded,  as  far  as  ad- 
vanced, and  progress  was  stopped  from  Oct.,  1879,  to  Feb., 
1 88 1.  But,  though  disappointed,  the  directors  of  the  Great 
Western  Railway  Company  were  not  disheartened.  The  rush 
of  water  was  from  the  open  country ;  probably  a  part  of  the 
concealed  drainage  of  Wentwood  Forest,  and  might  be  diverted 
in  its  course.  Sir  John  Hawkshaw  was  consulted,  and  induced 
to  take  up  the  matter.  Two  brick  dams  of  great  thickness  and 
strength  were  built  across  the  heading  down  which  the  water 
had  flowed,  so  shutting  off  further  approach  to  the  shafts  and 
the  works  under  the  Severn.  Pumping  engines  of  enormous 
power  were  applied  ;  the  outthrow  was  soon  greater  than  the 
infall ;  gradually  the  shafts  and  the  works  under  the  Severn 
were  cleared,  and  excavating  could  be  resumed.  It  was  while 
clearing  these  last,  that  Fleuss's  diving  apparatus  was  employed. 
Provided  withal,  the  contractor's  chief  diver,  Mr.  Lambert,  de- 
scended the  Sudbrook  shaft,  carrying  a  crowbar,  etc.,  and  made 
his  way  alone  along  the  flooded  heading  and  the  floating  timber 
until  he  reached  a  door  that  required  closing.  It  was  more 
than  1,000  feet  distant,  and  could  not  be  moved  on  its  hinges 
without  great  exertion,  and  without  first  tearing  up  the  tub- 
tramway  on  the  floor.  But  he  accomplished  the  task,  coolly 
and  courageously,  to  the  admiration  of  all  who  were  aware  of 
the  difficulties,  and  who  knew  how  much  depended  on  his 
success  or  failure." 

If  to  walk  through  an  ordinary  tunnel  without  proper  pre- 
cautions is  dangerous,  we  are  not  surprised  at  the  painful 
experiences  of  one  who,  in  November,  1876,  was  lost  in  the 
Underground  Railway.  Halfway  through  the  tunnel  that  ex- 
tends from  King's  Cross  to  Gower  Street  station  is  a  signal  box. 
About  nine  o'clock  one  night  the  signalman  observed  the  form 
of  an  old  man  tottering  towards  him.  He  was  wet  to  the  skin 
with  water  that  had  run  down  the  walls  of  the  tunnel,  against 


l  7-  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

which  he  had  squeezed  himself  to  escape  the  passing  trains. 
The  King's  Cross  inspector  was  sent  for,  and  Jones,  for  that  was 
his  name,  was  taken  to  the  station,  and  thence  to  St.  Pancras 
workhouse,  to  which  he  belonged.  He  had,  it  appears,  obtained 
Special  leave  to  visit  some  friends  at  Irongate  Wharf,  and  had 
booked  from  King's  Cross  and  back.  On  the  return  journey  a 
gentleman  in  the  compartment  appeared  to  take  an  interest  in 
him,  and  just  after  they  had  passed  Gowcr  Street  station  asked 
where  he  was  going.  On  saying  that  he  was  going  to  St.  Pan- 
cras workhouse,  the  gentleman  said,  "  Oh,  you  ought  to  have 
got  out  at  Gower  Street  ;  it  is  much  nearer."  On  reaching  the 
King's  Cross  station  and  getting  out,  the  old  man  asked  the 
gentleman  which  was  the  way  to  Gower  Street,  and  the  latter, 
pointing  the  way  of  the  tunnel  through  which  the  train  had  just 
come,  said  "That  way."  Jones  went  in  that  direction,  and  find- 
ing there  was  an  incline  leading  under  the  arch,  went  down  it, 
and  though  he  found  it  getting  darker  and  darker,  yet  seeing 
what  he  thought  were  lights  in  the  distance,  he  proceeded,  as  he 
knew  there  were  railway  arches  in  the  Pancras  Road.  As  he 
went  on,  finding  there  were  trains  running  backwards  and  for- 
wards, he  became  bewildered  ;  but,  for  safety,  he  crouched  close 
to  the  wall  of  the  tunnel,  and  frequently  had  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty in  escaping,  as  he  felt  that  many  of  the  trains  touched  him  as 
they  rushed  by.  He  believes  there  must  have  been  as  many  as 
two  hundred  trains  pass  and  re-pass  him  during  the  time  he  was 
in  the  tunnel ;  but  in  this,  of  course,  he  was  mistaken.  Feeling 
that  his  end  was  certain,  he  prayed  and  sang  to  allay  his  fears. 
At  the  intervals  when  there  was  no  train  coming,  he  kept  grop- 
ing his  way  along,  and  when  he  saw  one  advancing  he  screwed 
himself  up  as  close  as  possible  to  the  wall.  He  did  not  know 
where  he  was  going,  but  presently  he  saw  a  man  with  a  lantern, 
and  he  felt  his  deliverance  was  at  hand.  He  hastened  towards 
the  man  with  all  the  speed  his  exhausted  state  allowed,  and, 
fortunately,  at  the  same  time,  the  man  saw  him.  He  was 
perfectly  sober,  and  could  not  account  for  getting  into  the 
tunnel  except  that  he  took  it  for  a  railway  arch  leading  to 
Gower  Street. 

The  ventilation  of  tunnels  is  becoming  a  matter  of  practical 
moment,  and  various  schemes  have  been  devised  to  supply  pure 
air  instead  of  foul  in,  for  instance,  the  tunnels  under  the  Alps 


LENGTH    OF    ENGLISH    TUNNELS. 


/5 


and  under  London.  The  means  hitherto  proposed  have  gener- 
ally been  mechanical ;  Dr.  Neale  has  urged  that  others  should  be 
adopted  that  are  chemical.  The  human  lung  absorbs  oxygen 
and  gives  off  carbonic  acid  gas ;  let  us,  it  has  been  said,  create  a 
chemical  "  lung "  which  would  reverse  that  process  and  purify 
the  air.  The  principal  deleterious  gases  in  railway  tunnels  are 
carbonic  acid,  sulphurous  gases,  and  carbonic  oxide.  Into  a  flask 
filled  with  this  mixture  Dr.  Neale  poured  a  small  quantity  of 
solution  of  caustic  soda,  and  after  shaking  the  flask  briskly  for  a 
few  seconds  the  offensive  smell  was  found  to  have  disappeared. 
"  Into  the  same  flask  a  current  of  carbonic  acid  gas  was  next 
passed,  so  that  a  lighted  taper  introduced  into  the  flask  was  at 
once  extinguished.  After  a  few  shakings  a  lighted  taper  was 
again  introduced,  and  burnt  with  a  bright,  steady  flame,  showing 
that  the  soda  had  taken  up  the  acid."  It  is  suggested  that  loco- 
motive engines  might  be  supplied  with  a  tank  containing  a  strong 
solution  of  caustic  soda  or  lime,  through  which  the  smoke  would 
be  made  to  pass  before  being  discharged  into  the  outer  air,  and 
that  by  this  means  the  carbonic  acid  gas  and  the  sulphur  would 
be  eliminated.  Each  train  might  also  be  furnished  with  a  truck 
open  at  both  ends,  fitted  with  trays  or  other  contrivances  for 
holding  solutions  of  lime  or  soda.  As  the  train  advanced,  air 
would  rush  through  the  trays,  and  be  robbed  of  its  carbonic  acid 
and  sulphur.  Of  the  practicability  of  the  scheme  the  Lancet 
says  it  is  as  happy  as  it  is  ingenious,  and  at  once  simple  and 
cheap. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  tunnels  in  England 
yards  in  length  : — 


Box,  near  Bath     . 

Sapperton,  near  Swindon 

Clayton 

Merstham     . 

Balcombe 

Rotherfield   . 


(Great  Western) 

(ditto)     . 

(London  and  Brighton) 

(ditto)     . 

.      (ditto)     . 

(ditto)     . 


Sevenoaks,  near  Folkestone        (South  Eastern) 
Abbot's  Cliff,  near  Dover     .         .       (ditto)     . 
Shakespeare  Cliff         .         .         .       (ditto)     . 
Shepherd's  Well,  near  Dover  (London,  Chatham,  and 

Dover) 

Sydenham  Hill     .         .         .         .      (ditto)     . 

Ramsgate (ditto) 

Stand  Edge  .        .  (London  and  North  Western) 


over  1,000 

YARDS. 

3,203 

2,200 
2,252 

1,830 

i,i33 
1,020 

3,45i 
i,933 
i,342 

2,376 
2,200 
1,630 

5,435 


174 


Ol'R    IRON    ROADS. 


YARDS 

Honiton 

(London  and  South  Western) 

1,881 

Midford 

.      (ditto)      . 

1,813 

Guildford 

(ditto)     . 

1,045 

Summit,  neat 

Rochdale 

(Lancashire  and  Yorkshire) 

2,968 

Lough,  near 

3ol 

on 

.      (ditto)     . 

2,018 

Woolley,  near  Wakefiel 

d       .         .      (ditto)     . 

1,685 

Dove  Holes 

. 

(Midland) 

3,000 

Blea  Moor    . 

.      (ditto)     . 

2,600 

Clay  Cross 

.      (ditto)     . 

1,826 

Belsize  . 

.      (ditto)     . 

1,800 

Haddon 

.     (ditto)      . 

1,210 

Elstree  . 

.     (ditto)     . 

1,100 

l>ramhope,  n< 

:ar 

Leeds 

.     (North  Eastern)     . 

3,670 

Having  now  referred  to  the  tunnels  in  England,  we  might 
describe  that  which  it  is  proposed  shall  lead  out  of  it — under 
the  Straits  of  Dover  to  the  Continent  itself.  We  might  dwell 
upon  many  geological,  practical,  commercial,  and  even  military 
considerations  concerning  the  Channel  tunnel,  that  have  lately 
occupied  a  large  share  of  public  attention  ;  but  as  the  under- 
taking is  at  present  in  abeyance,  we  may  content  ourselves  with 
only  a  brief  reference  to  the  subject.  The  circular  entrance 
shaft  to  the  experimental  tunnel  is  sunk  in  the  chalk  cliff  at 
the  foot  of  the  "  Shakespeare  Cliff,"  between  Folkestone  and 
Dover,  is  about  150  feet  in  depth,  and  is  boarded  round.  The 
descending  apparatus  is  a  rope  and  a  cage  capable  of  holding 
four  or  five  persons,  worked  by  a  steam  engine.  At  the  bottom 
is  a  square  chamber  in  the  grey  chalk,  the  sides  of  which  are 
protected  by  heavy  beams,  and  in  front  is  the  experimental 
boring,  a  low-roofed  circular  tunnel  about  seven  feet  in  diameter, 
on  the  floor  of  which  is  a  double  line  of  tram-rails.  This 
tunnel  is  admirably  ventilated  on  the  pumping  system  ;  and 
on  visiting  days  is  lighted  with  Swann's  electric  lamps.  The 
stratum  through  which  the  experimental  borings  have  been  made 
is  the  lower  grey  chalk,  looks  like  "  Fuller's  earth,"  nearly  half 
clay  and  the  other  half  chalk.  "  This  material,  while  perfectly 
water-tight,  is  not  harder  than  tolerably  hard  cheese,  and  the 
steam-driven  boring  knives  work  in  it  like  cheese-tasters  in  an 
uncut  Stilton.  The  stuff  taken  out  is  not  '  waste,'  but  material 
easily  converted  into  cement  to  line  the  walls  of  the  tunnel  when 
completed  to  its  full  diameter  of  fourteen  feet,  and  the  nature  of 


MONT    CENIS    TUNNEL.  175 

the  working  renders  it  impossible  and  unnecessary  to  employ  a 
large  amount  of  physical  labour."  The  excavation  was  carried 
on  at  the  rate  of  ioo  yards  a-week,  or  three  miles  a-year. 
Simultaneous  borings  from  the  French  side  at  the  same  rate 
would  give  six  miles  a-year,  or  a  tunnel  underneath  the  Channel 
in  three  years  and  a  half.  A  great  bed  of  grey  chalk  stretches 
in  an  irregular  curve  from  England  to  France,  starting  from  the 
foot  of  the  Shakespeare  Cliff,  and  reaching  to  a  point  on  the 
French  coast  a  little  to  the  east  of  Cape  Grisnez. 

We  may  now  avail  ourselves  of  existing  agencies  for  crossing 
over  the  "silver  streak  of  sea,"  and  notice  some  railway  tunnels 
on  the  continent  of  Europe  and  elsewhere. 

The  first  tunnel  that  pierced  the  Alps  was  the  Mont  Cenis. 
When  it  was  proposed,  where  was  the  engineer  who  did  not 
smile  at  the  notion  of  cutting  through  a  mountain  nearly  3,000 
metres  in  height,  and  more  than  12,000  in  thickness?  Where, 
it  was  asked,  can  you  get  air  for  workmen,  2,000  metres  under 
earth  ?  Half  a  century  would  not  suffice  for  the  task.  Objec- 
tions were  plentiful,  but  the  dream  has  become  a  reality  after 
only  thirteen  years'  labour.  The  tunnel  was  begun  at  the  end 
of  1857,  and  was  finished  in  1871. 

Here  the  question  may  naturally  arise  :  How  can  a  tunnel, 
if  commenced  simultaneously  at  the  sides  of  a  range  of  moun- 
tains, be  made  to  meet  in  the  middle?  It  is  obvious  that  to 
avoid  mistake  on  so  vital  a  matter  most  careful  scientific 
methods  have  to  be  adopted.  In  the  first  instance  the  centre 
line  beneath  which  the  tunnel  will  run,  has,  by  the  aid  of  a 
trigonometrical  survey  of  the  district  to  be  fixed  above  ground. 
In  the  Mont  Cenis  work  observatories  were  erected,  at  some 
distance  from  the  entrance  of  the  future  tunnel,  and  marks 
were  placed  along  the  line — the  accuracy  of  which  was  verified 
astronomically. 

"  The  transit  instrument  set  up  on  Mont  Cenis  was  first 
directed  on  the  mark  opposite  to  it  on  the  mountains,  and 
shining  like  a  bright  star  ;  its  telescope  was  then  tilted  down- 
wards until  the  flame  of  a  lamp  set  up  in  the  tunnel  itself 
was  accurately  bisected  by  the  cross  hairs.  This  operation 
is  repeated  three  more  times,  the  instrument  being  re-levelled 
on  each  occasion,  until  the  mean  of  the  four  observations  formed 
what  is  called  a  '  series.'     A  second  '  series  '  is  then  made  by  an 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

Independent  observer,  and  should  the  mean  of  the  two  agree 
to  within  a  small  fraction  of  an  inch,  the  point  denoted  by  the 
flame  is  correctly  fixed,  and  a  fresh  one  is  sought  for;  but  if 
there  is  much  discrepancy  in  the  observations,  further  'series' 
are  made  until  the  mean  of  all  the  various  positions  of  the  lamp 
warrants  the  adoption  of  the  point  as  a  station."  Such  was  the 
accuracy  of  the  methods  adopted,  first  for  determining  the  axis 
of  the  tunnel  laid  out  above  ground  ;  and,  secondly,  for  trans- 
ferring this  axis  underground,  that  the  two  tunnels  pierced 
from  opposite  sides  of  the  Alps,  duly  met. 

The  agencies  by  which  the  actual  excavation  of  the  tunnel 
was  accomplished  were  remarkable  in  many  respects,  and  espe- 
cially with  regard  to  perforating  machines,  and  the  power 
employed  to  bring  them  into  operation.  The  use  of  steam 
would  have  caused  smoke  and  vapour,  which  would  have 
been  intolerable  in  a  long  closed  gallery.  The  power  of  moun- 
tain torrents  was  therefore  brought  into  service  ;  and,  by  means 
of  water-wheels,  air  was  compressed  into  tubes  which  drove  the 
perforating  engines  that  pierced  into  the  rock  the  holes  neces- 
sary for  blasting,  and  it  also,  after  the  explosion,  cleared  the 
foul  atmosphere  away.  The  compressing  engines  were  outside 
the  tunnel,  the  air  from  them  being  driven  along  flexible  pipes  ; 
and  the  perforating  engine  with  its  nine  or  ten  perforators  itself 
rested  upon  a  tramway,  so  that  it  could  be  moved  forwards  or 
backwards  as  required.  The  perforators  were  similar  in  appear- 
ance to  large  gun  barrels,  and  out  of  each  of  them  a  boreing  bar, 
or  jumper, — by  the  admission  behind  it  of  a  blast  of  compressed 
air, — was  rapidly  shot  at  the  rock ;  the  return  stroke  being  made 
by  similar  means.  At  the  end  of  about  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  each  perforator  had  pierced  a  hole  from  two  feet  to  two 
feet  six  inches  in  depth  into  the  hard  calcareous  and  crystallized 
schist  traversed  by  quartz.  Another  ten  holes  were  then  com- 
menced ;  and  so  on  till  about  eighty  had  been  made.  The  per- 
forating machine  was  now  drawn  backwards  on  its  truck,  and 
sheltered  behind  two  massive  doors.  Miners  then  advanced, 
charged  the  holes,  adjusted  the  matches,  lit  them,  retired  behind 
folding  doors  which  were  at  once  closed,  and  the  explosion  fol- 
lowed. Air  was  injected,  and  gangs  of  men  proceeded  to  clear 
the  debris  into  little  wagons  that  ran  on  a  tram  line  beside  the 
main   tramway.      These   three   operations   occupied  altogether 


THE    ST.   GOTHARD    LINE. 


177 


from  ten  to  fourteen  hours,  and  it  is  easy  with  these  data  to 
calculate  the  rate  at  which  the  work  advanced. 

The  St.  Gothard  tunnel  is  another  of  the  most  remarkable 
works  of  engineering  science.  The  line  itself  is  carried  4,000 
feet  above  the  sea,  along  what  was  an  entirely  unlevel  route, 
up  steep  gradients,  and  along  sharp  curves,  exposed  to  the 
dangers  of  snow  and  avalanche,  and  then  through  a  tunnel  nine 
miles  and  a  quarter  long,  under  a  mountain  range  that  rises 
above  to  the  height  of  8,000  to  1 1,000  feet. 

No  route  in  the  world,  we  are  assured,  in  the  early  summer,  is 
more  picturesque  than  that  over  which  the  cumbrous  diligence 


ST.    GOTHARD   TUNNEL. 


daily  carried  its  freight  of  tourists  from  the  lovely  shores  of 
Lake  Lucerne  to  the  still  lovelier  banks  of  Maggiore.  "  But 
when  winter  comes,  and  the  snowdrifts  accumulate  in  mighty 
and  impassable  masses,  communication  between  the  Switzers 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  St.  Gothard  and  the  whole  populations 
of  the  neighbour  States  is  practically  cut  off,"  The  St.  Gothard 
tunnel  and  the  line  of  which  it  forms  a  part  supplies  a  remedy 
for  these  evils,  and  links  together  the  railway  system  ending  at 
Lucerne  with  that  which  runs  to  the  Italian  lakes  from  Milan. 

N 


1  ;S  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

ft  begins  at  Gocschcnen,  burrows  through  the  mountain  to 
Airolo,  and  descends  with  ease  towards  the  pleasant  lakes  and 
valleys  of  Northern  Italy.  The  scenery,  wherever  a  glimpse  can 
be  obtained  of  it,  is  of  the  most  magnificent  description.  But 
the  admiration  excited  by  the  works  of  nature  is,  perhaps,  not 
greater  than  that  aroused  by  the  engineering  marvels  with 
which  the  St.  Gothard  line  is  studded  from  beginning  to  end. 
"  It  not  only  has  the  longest  tunnel  in  the  world,  but  twenty- 
four  miles,  or  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  whole  line,  consists  of 
tunnels.  Many  of  these  have  had  to  be  constructed  in  spiral 
or  corkscrew  fashion,  whereby,  while  making  the  necessarily 
rapid  ascent  from  the  valleys  to  a  higher  elevation,  the  line  is 
perfectly  protected  against  the  avalanches  which  are  frequent 
at  those  spots."  There  are  also  the  lofty  viaducts,  the  bridges, 
the  sheltering  galleries,  and  other  works,  all  of  themselves 
sufficient  to  make  the  St.  Gothard  line  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able achievements  of  modern  engineering.  The  time  occupied 
in  passing  through  the  great  St.  Gothard  tunnel  is  about  forty 
minutes. 

We  may  here  quote  the  words  of  one  who  regards  this  latest 
achievement  of  the  engineers  not  without  misgiving.  "  At  last," 
he  says,  "  the  great  sub-Alpine  tunnel  is  complete.  Every- 
body, of  course,  deserves  to  be  congratulated  upon  this  mighty 
engineering  achievement,  which  casts  into  the  shade  all  the 
other  tunnelling  works  the  world  has  yet  seen  accomplished. 
People,  too,  who  are  always  in  a  hurry  to  get  to  the  end  of  their 
journey  will  rejoice  to  think  that  instead  of  spending  twelve 
hours  in  toiling  up  the  bleak  northern  slope  of  the  mountain 
and  descending  the  smiling  valley  on  the  other  side,  the  passage 
of  the  St.  Gothard  may  now  be  made  in  just  forty  minutes.  To 
save  eleven  hours  and  twenty  minutes  in  a  journey  of  this  kind 
is  no  doubt  something  worth  achieving.  And  yet  those  who 
know  what  it  was  to  cross  the  St.  Gothard  before  ever  a  work- 
man had  struck  his  pickaxe  into  the  side  of  the  mountain  at 
Goeschinen,  and  when  the  awful  splendour  of  the  Devil's  Bridge 
and  the  rich  loveliness  of  the  Ticino  valley  were  free  from  the 
remotest  suspicion  of  such  intrusion,  must  think  sadly  of  the 
sorry  substitute  that  is  now  offered  for  the  glorious  climb  by 
carriage  or  diligence,  or  still  better  on  foot,  that  they  have 
enjoyed   in  former  days.     Forty  minutes  in  a  tunnel,  against 


THE    ST.  GOTHARD    LINE.  179 

twelve  hours  on  the  open  mountain-side  !  "  With  fine  weather 
and  summer  seasons  guaranteed  all  the  year  round,  we  shall 
heartily  agree  with  the  graphic  writer  whose  words  we  have 
quoted. 

The  practical  results  of  the  opening  of  the  line  are  of  the 
greatest  interest,  not  only  commercially  but  politically.  When 
first  projected  it  was  regarded  with  jealousy  and  opposition  in 
Switzerland,  and  with  something  more  than  coldness  by  France  ; 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  new  chapters  in  European  history 
entered  upon  in  the  years  1870  and  1871,  it  is  morally  certain 
that  it  would  never  have  been  carried  out.  The  Mont  Cenis 
tunnel  was  opened  in  September,  1871  ;  the  St.  Gothard  tunnel 
was  commenced  in  October,  1872.  "  The  Unification  both  of 
Italy  and  of  Germany  must  be  associated  with  the  inception  and 
the  conclusion  of  the  work."  The  St.  Gothard  tunnel  must  be 
regarded  not  only  as  a  triumph  of  engineering  skill,  but  as  a 
monument  of  the  political  progress  of  nations.  Its  object, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  official  programme,  is  "  to  promote 
intercourse  between  Switzerland,  Germany,  and  Italy  ;  to  in- 
vigorate the  maritime  and  commercial  power  of  Italy ;  to  give 
new  life  to  the  old  commercial  highway  of  the  Rhine  ;  and  to 
reduce  the  distance  between  Germany  and  the  Mediterranean 
coasts."  The  new  St.  Gothard  route  will  establish  the  same 
relations  between  Germany  and  Genoa  as  the  Semmering  and 
Brenner  Railway  have  established  between  Germany  on  the  one 
hand  and  Venice  and  Trieste  on  the  other.  At  the  same  time, 
"  there  is  no  reason  why  France  should  not  participate  in  many 
of  its  benefits.  Eastern  France  is  prolific  in  manufactures  and 
industries."  The  St.  Gothard  tunnel  will  afford  a  more  direct 
road  for  their  exportation  to  other  parts  of  the  Continent  than 
any  before  existing ;  while  for  passenger  traffic,  the  St.  Gothard 
route  will  be  shorter  for  travellers  from  the  French  and  English 
capitals  to  Northern  and  Southern  Italy  than  the  Mont  Cenis 
route  or  the  Brenner. 

The  Spruce  Creek  tunnel  is  remarkable  for  the  singular 
picturesqueness  of  its  approaches  at  either  end.  It  is  named 
after  the  river  and  village  near  its  eastern  end.  It  is  on  the 
Pennsylvanian  Railroad,  215  miles  from  Philadelphia. 

The  entrances  to  tunnels  are  various  in  style,  they  should  be 
consistent  as  entrances  to  works  of  solidity,  solitariness,   and 


i8o 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


THE    ST.  GOTHARD    LINE. 


181 


gloom.  Some  are  thrown  into  relief  by  well  wooded  hills  that 
rise  behind  them.  Red  Hill  tunnel,  as  seen  from  near  Trent 
junction,  and  Shugborough  tunnel,  on  the  Trent  Valley  line, 
may  be  cited  as  examples.  The  north  face  of  the  latter  has  a 
noble  archway,  deeply  moulded,  flanked  by  square  towers,  and 
is  surmounted  by  a  battlemented  parapet. 


SHUGBOROUGH   TUNNEL. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Viaducts. — Construction  of  Viaducts. — Arten  Gill  Viaduct. — Smardale 
Viaduct — Materials  for  Construction  of  Viaducts. — Stone  and  Timber 
Viaducts. — Alderbottom  Viaduct. —  Sankey  Viaduct. — Tarentine  Via- 
duct.—Dutton  Viaduct. — Dryfe  Sands  Viaduct. — Avon  Viaduct. — 
Dinting  Viaduct. — Congleton  Viaduct. — Foord  Viaduct.— Ouse  Viaduct. 
— Llangollen  Viaduct.— Skelton  Viaduct. — Bugsworth  Viaduct. —  Ribble- 
head  Viaduct. — Dent  Head  Viaduct. — New  Holland  Ferry. — Vicenza 
and  Venice  Railway. — Conewago  Viaduct. — Trenton  Viaduct. — Bridges. 
—Skew  Bridges. — Winkwell  Skew  Bridge. — Rugby  Road  Bridge. — 
Maidenhead  Bridge. — Drawbridge  over  the  Arun. — Floating  Bridge  on 
the  Forth. — High  Level  Bridge  at  Newcastle. — Royal  Border  Bridge. — 
Runcorn  Bridge.— Conway  Tubular  Bridge. — Chepstow  Bridge. — Sinking 
the  Cylinders. — Britannia  Tubular  Bridge. — Severn  Bridge. — Saltash 
Bridge.— Charing  Cross  Bridge. — Battersea  Bridge. — Forth  Bridge. — 
Elevated  Railways. — Suspension  Bridge  over  Niagara  River. — Cone- 
maugh  Bridge.— Level  Crossings. 

HE  viaduct  is  an  important  ele- 
ment in  railway  construction.  In 
passing,  for  instance,  through  a 
town  it  is  desirable  to  avoid  in- 
terference with  the  traffic  of  the 
streets  it  may  be  necessary  to  in- 
tersect ;  and  though  this  is  some- 
times effected  by  a  tunnel,  as  at 
Liverpool  ;  or  by  an  open  cutting 
connected  by  short  tunnels,  and 
traversed  by  bridges,  as  is  the  case  near  the  Euston  station,  or 
by  an  embankment,  as  at  Manchester,  Birmingham,  and  many 
other  places,  yet  it  is  frequently  accomplished  by  means  of  a 
viaduct,  or  by  embankments  in  which  short  viaducts  are  formed. 
The  lines  from  the  City  to  Blackwall,  and  from  London  Bridge 
to  Greenwich,  may  indeed  be  styled  viaduct  lines  ;  and  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  South  Western  Railway  from  near  Nine  Elms 
to  Waterloo  is  constructed  as  a  viaduct  for  the  entire  distance 
of  about  two  miles.     By  these  means  a  great  saving  of  land  also 


VIADUCTS. 


183 


is  effected,  it  being  necessary  to  purchase  only  a  little  more  than 
the  actual  width  of  the  line,  and  the  spaces  between  the  arches 
may  be  used  by  the  Company  or  let. 

The  appearance  of  stone  viaducts  when  in  course  of  construc- 
tion is  striking.  A  timber  stage,  called  a  "  gantry,"  is  constructed 
on  each  side  of  the  work,  sufficiently  wide  to  allow  of  the  piers 
and  abutments  being  built  between.  A  jenny,  or  crane,  is  then 
placed  on  a  movable  platform  extending  from  one  stage  to  the 
other.  The  materials  are  wound  up  either  by  hand  or  steam 
power,  and  are  then  moved  slowly  along  till  they  can  be  lowered 
to  the   exact   position   they  are  to  occupy.      As   soon  as  the 


ARTEN   GILL  VIADUCT   IN   COURSE  OF   CONSTRUCTION. 


masonry  is  built  up  to  the  level  of  the  gantry,  a  fresh  lift  of 
timber  is  put  on,  the  crane  is  raised  to  the  new  height,  and  so 
the  work  is  continued  to  another  stage.  By  these  means  stones 
of  great  size  can  be  used. 

The  engravings  of  Arten  Gill  viaduct,  in  the  Vale  of  Dent, 
and  of  Smardale  viaduct,  near  Kirkby  Stephen,  present  a  vivid 
idea  of  such  works  in  course  of  construction.  Arten  Gill  viaduct 
is  660  feet  long,  of  eleven  arches,  each  of  45  feet  span,  and  the 
rails  are  1 1 7  feet  above  the  water. 

In  the  erection  of  Smardale  viaduct  more  than   60,000  "tons 


i*4 


OTR    IRON"    ROADS. 


of  stone  were  used.  It  is  the  highest  viaduct  on  the  Midland 
system,  being  130  feet  from  the  stream  to  the  rails,  and  its  length 
is  710  feet. 

Viaducts  are  of  great  value  in  traversing  rivers  or  deep  valleys. 
A  an  illustration  of  the  contingencies  which  have  to  be  dealt 
with  in  the  construction  of  such  works,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  a  viaduct  having  on  one  occasion  been  planned  across  a 
wide  and  deep  valley  on  a  series  of  lofty  arches,  it  was  found  in 
the  execution  of  the  work,  that  the  precise  spot  on  which  it  was 


SMARDALE  VIADUCT   IN   COURSE  OF   CONSTRUCTION. 


intended  to  rear  one  of  the  central  piers  came  exactly  over  the 
mouth  of  an  ancient  coal  pit. 

In  the  building  of  viaducts,  stone,  brick,  iron  and  wood  are 
employed,  separately  or  together  ;  the  local  materials  being  pre- 
ferred. In  the  earlier  railways  timber  was  frequently  resorted 
to,  the  beams  being  trussed  with  iron  ;  and  the  expense  of 
coffer-damming  in  crossing  water  was  avoided.  One  of  these 
structures  was  built  on  the  Derby  and  Birmingham  line,  which 
crosses  the  Thame  and  Trent  rivers,  its  length  being  more  than 


VIADUCTS. 


IS 


twelve  hundred  feet,  and  its  mean  height  thirty-three  feet ;  but 
its  cost  per  cubic  yard  was  little  less  than  that  of  many  stone 
structures.  On  the  North  Union  line  a  timber  viaduct  of  great 
length  was  erected  ;  and  on  some  of  the  Scotch  railways  the 
system  of  trussed-beam  viaducts  was  applied  to  very  large  spans. 
Another  timber  viaduct,  which  combined  great  lightness  of 
appearance,  economy  of  materials,  and  smallness  of  cost,  com- 
pared with  that  of  an  embankment  or  brickwork  arcade,  con- 
nected the  Bricklayer's  Arms  Station  with  the  main  line  of  the 
Brighton  and  the  South  Eastern  Railways.  The  wood  was  pre- 
viously submitted  to  an  anti-dry-rot  process,  by  which  it  was 
protected  from  vegetable  decomposition,  and  from  liability  to 
take  fire  from  the  burning  coals  of  passing  engines. 


THE   TARENTIN   VIADUCT. 


When  the  South  Eastern  Railway  was  constructed,  it  was 
decided  to  erect  a  timber  viaduct  to  carry  the  line  between  the 
Shakspeare  tunnel  and  the  Arch  Cliff  Fort  at  Dover,  the  piles 
being  driven  into  the  rock.  A  light  open  framework  supported 
an  elevated  platform,  on  which  the  rails  were  laid,  while  the  sea 
beats  on  the  "  unnumbered  idle  pebbles  "  that  lie  below.  A  sea- 
wall, it  was  believed,  would  have  been  washed  away.  (Vide 
Frontispiece.) 

Timber  has  frequently  been  employed  with  stone  in  the  forma- 
tion of  viaducts.  One  of  the  largest  works  of  this  kind  is  known 
as  Green's  laminated  bridge,  on  the  Newcastle  and  North  Shields 


[86 


Ol'K    IRON    ROADS. 


Railway.  The  piers  are  of  stone,  and  there  arc  five  arches  of  a 
hundred  and  twenty-six  feet  span,  besides  two  others  of  smaller 
dimensions  ;  altogether  more  than  a  thousand  feet  in  length. 
Its  cost  is  stated  at  ;£ 24,000  ;  it  is  estimated  that  £7,000 
more  would  have  sufficed  to  have  built  it  entirely  of  stone. 
Another  stone  and  timber  viaduct  was  built  on  the  Paris  and 
Rouen  line,  at  Bezons.     The  stone  piers  were  raised  on  artificial 


THE  VIADUCT  AS    IT  WAS  (MIDLAND   RAILWAY).      NIPHANY,    NEAR   SKIPTON. 


THE  VIADUCT  AS   IT   IS  (MIDLAND   RAILWAY).      NIPHANY,    NEAR  SKIPTON. 

foundations,  brought  up  to  the  level  of  the  water  by  means  of 
concrete  inclosed  within  a  sheeting  of  oak  piles,  driven  as  closely 
together  as  possible,  and  secured  by  iron  straps  and  bolts. 

In  many  instances  the  original  timber  structures  have  been 
superseded  by  stone.  An  excellent  illustration  of  this  is  de- 
picted in  the  accompanying  woodcuts,  and  they  indicate  the  pro- 


VIADUCTS.  187 

gress  of  railway  construction  and  its  actual  improvement  under 
the  name  of  repair  of  railway  plant.  The  one  represents  the 
timber  viaduct  that  formerly  crossed  the  valley  of  the  river 
Aire,  on  the  Midland  line  near  Skipton  ;  the  other  depicts  its 
stone  and  iron  viaduct  that  has  superseded  it. 

There  is  another  timber  and  stone  viaduct  on  the  East  Lan- 
cashire line,  where  it  crosses  the  River  Irwell  at  Alderbottom. 
It  consists  of  bays  or  openings,  composed  of  timber  framing 
resting  on  stone  piers.  The  bridge  carrying  the  old  line  of  rail- 
way is  nearly  adjoining  it,  but  at  a  lower  elevation  ;  the  new 
route  being  selected  because  increased  power  of  locomotives 
allowed  the  use  of  steeper  gradients  than  were  at  first  ad- 
missible. 

The  Sankey  viaduct  is  also  a  "composite"  building;  its  ten 
arches  are  supported  on  about  two  hundred  piles,  varying  from 
thirty  to  forty  feet  in  length.  It  crosses  the  Sankey  Valley,  at 
the  bottom  of  which  runs  a  canal ;  and  is  made  of  brick,  with 
stone  facings. 

The  Dutton  viaduct,  across  the  vale  of  Dutton  and  the  river 
Weaver,  on  the  Grand  Junction,  is  considered  the  best  piece  of 
masonry  on  that  line,  and  is  perhaps  the  finest  of  George 
Stephenson's  viaducts.  It  consists  of  twenty  red  sandstone 
arches  of  60  feet  span  and  60  feet  high,  and  it  is  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  long.  The  foundations  of  the  piers  stand  on 
piles  driven  20  feet  deep.  An  extensive  view  is  obtained  from 
it ;  and  the  traveller  looks  down  also  on  the  vessels  that  are  pur- 
suing their  way  along  the  intricacies  of  the  Weaver  navigation. 

The  Dryfe  Sands  viaduct,  on  the  Caledonian  line,  is  a  good 
illustration  of  plainness  of  style  combined  with  strength  and 
beauty. 

In  the  formation  of  viaducts  brick  is  often  used.  At  Stock- 
port is  a  structure  of  this  kind,  consisting  of  twenty-six  semi- 
circular arches  :  its  extreme  length  is  nearly  1800  feet ;  its  mean 
height,  90  feet.  The  Dane  Valley  viaduct,  on  the  North 
Staffordshire  line,  is  built  almost  entirely  of  brick.  The  Midland 
Railway  viaduct  across  the  valley  of  the  Avon,  near  Rugby,  is 
of  the  same  material.  It  has  eleven  semi-elliptical  arches,  each 
of  fifty  feet  span.  It  is  thought  by  some  to  have  an  excess  of 
masonry  in  the  haunches  of  the  arches,  and  that  the  span  of  the 
openings  is  out  of  proportion  to  their  height.     The  Congleton 


lSS 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


viaduct,  on  the  North  Staffordshire  line,  is  also  of  brick.  It  has 
ten  arches  of  fifty  feet  span,  and  two  central  ones,  which  are 
among  the  highest  in  the  kingdom.  The  rails  are  114  feet 
above  the  bed  of  the  river. 

The  form  and  construction  of  viaducts  depend  on  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  case  and  the  preferences  of  the  engineer.  The 
Dinting  viaduct,  on  the  Sheffield  and  Manchester  line,  has  seven 


DRYFE   SANDS   VIADUCT. 


stone  and  five  timber  arches,  the  latter  being  of  125  feet  span, 
and  more  than  120  feet  high.  On  the  same  line  is  the  Etherton 
viaduct,  of  stone  and  iron.  The  foundations  of  the  piers  and 
abutments  were  laid  on  the  solid  rock,  and  200,000  cubic  feet  of 
millstone  grit  were  employed  in  its  erection.  More  than  30,000 
cubic  feet  of  timber,  which  by  a  chemical  process  had  previously 


VIADUCTS. 


189 


been  rendered  impervious  to  dry  rot  and  the  attacks  of  insects, 
were  used.     The  iron  employed  amounted  to  more  than  eighty 


i  go 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


tons.     The  Ogwen  viaduct,  on  the  Chester  and  Holyhead  Rail- 
w  ay,  is  also  well  deserving  of  notice. 

A  viaduct  characterized  by  great  lightness  and  loftiness  crosses 
the  valley  of  the  Foord  near  Folkestone.  It  consists  of  nineteen 
arches,  some  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  yet  the  piers  are  not  more 
than  six  feet  in  breadth,  or  one-fifth  of  that  of  the  arches.  A 
remarkable  skew  viaduct  of  thirty-one  arches  crosses  the  Ogdcn 
stream  and  valley.  It  traverses  the  chasm  between  the  rocky 
sides  of  the  river,  close  to  which,  in  the  works,  was  a  quicksand 


CONGLETON    VIADUCT. 


fifty  feet  deep.  Into  this  for  a  considerable  time  the  contractors 
threw  earth,  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  hundred  cubic  yards  a  day, 
without  any  satisfactory  result. 

One  of  the  largest  viaducts  in  the  country  traverses  the  Ouse 
valley  and  river,  on  the  London  and  Brighton  line.  It  consists 
of  thirty-seven  arches,  the  rails,  at  the  highest  part,  being  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water.  Its  length,  including 
the  abutments  is  1,437  feet- 

One  of  the  most  stupendous  efforts  of  skill  and  art  to  which 
railways  have  given  rise  is  the  viaduct  across  the  valley  of  the 


BUGSW0RTI1    VIADUCTS. 


I9I 


Dee,  near  Chirk,  in  the  Vale  of  Llangollen  (see  Vignette).  It  is 
upwards  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  river,  and  is  sup- 
ported by  nineteen  arches  of  ninety  feet  span,  and  its  length  is 
nearly  a  third  of  a  mile.  The  boldness  of  its  style  and  the 
chasteness  of  its  finish  are  exceedingly  effective.  Such  architec- 
ture imparts  grace  and  beauty  to  the  structure,  without  impairing 
its  strength.  It  has  an  inclination  from  end  to  end  of  ten  feet, 
and  connects  that  part  of  the  Shrewsbury  and  Chester  Railway 
between  Rhos-y-Medre  and  Chirk.  Viewed  from  beneath,  the 
vast  structure  presents  a  noble  appearance. 

The  Skelton  viaduct,  which  carries  the  Doncaster  and  Hull 


BUGSWORTH   VIADUCTS,    NEAR    MANCHESTER. 


line  of  the  North  Eastern  over  the  Ouse  is  one  of  the  greatest 
engineering  achievements  of  the  day.  Not  only  did  the  founda- 
tions present  extraordinary  difficulties,  but  the  superstucture  has 
some  remarkable  features.  The  comparatively  low  level  of  the 
new  line  required  an  opening  bridge,  and  the  moveable  portion 
so  provided  for  the  accommodation  of  the  river  traffic  is  the 
longest  of  any  work  of  the  kind  in  England.  At  the  point  of 
crossing  the  Ouse  it  is  about  800  feet  wide,  and  the  moveable 
part  of  the  over-channel  bridge  is  not  less  than  232  feet.  This 
part  crosses  the  river  where  it  is  deepest  ;  it  turns  on  a  stupend- 
ous mid-river  pier,  and  is  opened  and  closed  by  hydraulic  power. 


[92  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

Complete  signals  have  boon  provided  to  guard  against  the  possi- 
bility of  accident  to  trains  while  the  bridge  is  open  for  the 
passage  of  ships.  The  entire  structure  is  carried  by  seven  spans 
of  solid  fish-backed  girders,  resting  upon  massive  iron  piers, 
forced  to  a  great  depth  into  the  river  bed  through  various  layers 
oi'  silt,  peat,  and  clay.  The  structure  is  one  of  imposing  appear- 
ance, and  is  a  great  triumph  of  engineering  skill.  The  line  is 
double. 

The  engraving  of  Bugsworth  viaducts  represents  the  old  stone 
one  to  the  right,  which,  with  sixteen  acres  of  land,  slipped,  and 


RIBBLEHEAD   VIADUCT,    BLEA    MOOR. 

the  new  one  of  timber  which  had  to  be  erected  in  its  stead,  and 
is  still  in  use. 

One  of  the  finest  viaducts,  and  also  one  of  the  most  impressive 
views  near  a  viaduct  that  can  be  obtained  in  this  country,  is  that 
known  as  Ribblehead  viaduct,  on  the  Settle  and  Carlisle  line 
of  the  Midland  Company.  It  stands  on  the  watershed  of  the 
Ribble,  and  consists  of  twenty-four  arches,  the  loftiest,  from  the 
bottom  of  the  foundation  to  the  level  of  the  rails,  being  no  less 
than  165  feet.  Behind  it,  and  apparently  lying  directly  athwart 
the  course  of  the  line,  is  the  mighty  range  of  Whernside,  nearly 


VIADUCTS. 


193 


2,500  feet  high  ;  and  to  avoid  it,  the  railway  bears  to  the  right, 
and^'before  long  enters  Blea  Moor  tunnel. 

Another  of  the  loftiest  viaducts  on  the  Midland  line  is  that 
at  Dent  Head,  a  little  to  the  north  of  Blea  Moor  tunnel.     It  is 


r-fS^fe== 


'^^i^^m^m 


DENT   HEAD   VIADUCT. 


near  the  magnificent  Dent  Valley.  This  viaduct  is  200  yards 
long,  of  ten  semicircular  arches,  rising  100  feet  above  the  public 
road,  and  also  over  a  little  mountain  torrent  that  falls  into  the 
Dent,  which  runs  hard  by. 


NEW    HOLLAND    FERRY. 


The  New  Holland  ferry,  represented  in  the  engraving,  may 
be  regarded  as  a  viaduct-pier.     It  extends   1,500  feet  into  the 

O 


194 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


I  lumber,  and  along  it  the  trains  pass  till  they  approach  the 
Steamboats  which  arc  to  convey  the  passengers  and  goods 
across  the  river.  Instead  of  stumbling  over  wet  stones,  slipping 
along  greasy  landing  places,  and  getting  in  and  out  of  boats, 
the  trans-shipment  is  easily  and  securely  effected. 

Among  continental  railways,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
viaducts  is  that  on  the  Vicenza  and  Venice  line.  It  crosses  the 
Laguna  Veneta,  and  required  much  engineering  skill  to  com- 
plete.    The  base  is  of  the  stone  of  Istria,  secured  together  with 


VICENZA  AND  VENICE  VIADUCT. 


Roman  cement  ;  the  upper  parts  are  of  brick.  The  bridge 
consists  of  222  arches,  and  is  12,000  feet  in  length.  A  thousand 
men  were  employed  on  the  work,  and  they  were  engaged  during 
four  years.  Thus  is  Venice — the  ocean  city — chained  to  the 
mainland.  No  future  Rogers  will  be  able  to  describe  the 
approach  to  it  as  he  did  : — 

"  There  is  a  glorious  city  in  the  sea. 
The  sea  is  in  the  broad  and  narrow  streets, 
Ebbing  and  flowing,  and  the  salt  sea-weed 
Clings  to  the  marble  of  the  palaces. 
No  track  of  men,  no  footsteps  to  and  fro 
Lead  to  her  gates.     The  path  lies  o'er  the  sea 


CONEWAGO    VIADUCT. 


195 


Invisible  ;  and  from  the  land  we  went 
As  to  a  floating  city— steering  in 
And  gliding  up  her  streets,  as  in  a  dream, 
So  smoothly,  silently— by  many  a  dome, 
Mosque-like,  and  many  a  stately  portico, 
The  statues  ranged  along  the  azure  sky  ; 
By  many  a  pile  in  more  than  Eastern-pride 
Of  old  the  residence  of  merchant  kings." 


K. 


CONEWAGO   VIADUCT. 

Two  more  interesting 
examples  of  this  kind  of 
work  may  be  referred  to. 
One  is  the  Conewago 
viaduct  on  the  Pennsylvania  railway,  of  which  we  give  an 
illustration  ;  and  the  other  is  the  viaduct  at  Trenton,  on  the 
Delaware  River. 

Bridges  are  an  important  class  of  railway  works.    The  number 


196 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


of  those  erected  over  or  under  local  roads,  and  for  field  com- 
munications, on  English  railways  alone,  is  surprising.  Some- 
times "cattle  arches"  are  also  constructed,  under  which  farmers 
may  drive  their  flocks  and  herds,  instead  of  running  the  risk  of 


attempting  to  take  them  across  a  cutting  or  embankment. 
There  are  no  fewer  than  63  bridges  under  or  over  the  railway 
on  the  30  miles  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester.  There  are 
160  bridges  over  and   1 10  under  the  London  and  Birmingham 


BRIDGES.  197 

line  ;  on  the  Dover  line  there  are  141  ;  and  between  London 
and  Gosport,  on  the  South  Western  line,  there  are  188  ;  making 
a  total  of  nearly  600  bridges  on  287  miles  of  railway.  Between 
Brentford  and  Colchester,  on  the  Great  Eastern  line,  a  distance 
of  34  miles,  are  no  fewer  than  64  bridges  and  viaducts,  and  37 
culverts  and  drains,  besides  18  level  crossings. 

The  foundations  of  large  bridges  are  frequently  laid  by  means 
of  cofferdams,  which  consist  of  inclosures  made  by  "  piling  " 
round  the  space  that  is  to  be  occupied  by  the  pier,  so  as  to  render 
it  watertight.  The  water  is  then  pumped  out,  and  the  pier  is 
built  inside  up  to  the  required  height  ;  or  an  iron  cylinder  is 
driven  down  within  the  piles,  and  inside  the  cylinder  the  pier 
is  erected.* 

In  many  cases  railways  cross  roads  or  canals  in  an  oblique 
direction.  If  a  common  square  bridge  were  here  employed  the 
road  intersected  by  the  railway  would  have  to  be  diverted 
(fig.  1),  so  as  to  cross  at  right  angles  ;  or  the  arch  would  have 
its  top  and  its  abutments  needlessly  extended  (fig.  2).     To  avoid 


Fig.  1.  Fig.  2. 

these  evils  a  skew  bridge  (fig.  3)  is  built.  Of  this  there  is  a 
good  example  in  the  Winkwell  bridge,  and  there  are  multitudes 
besides. 

The  larger  bridges  on  our  railways  usually  cross  rivers  or 
canals ;  small  ones  are  over  common  roads.  They  are  some- 
times ornate  erections.  One  of  the  best  of  the  early  ones  is  near 
Rugby,  and  is  an  adaptation  of  the  castellated  style.  As  seen 
from  one  side,  some  of  the  arches  of  the  great  Midland  viaduct 
appear  in  the  distance.  Bridges  with  iron  girders  are  now 
frequently  preferred,  as  in  the  case  of  several  which  cross  the 
streets  of  the  metropolis. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  structures  of  the  kind  in  the 
country  is  the  bridge  which  carries  the  Great  Western  line  over 

*  The  process  is  minutely  described  in  "  The  Midland  Railway,  its  Rise 
and  Progress." 


i98 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


the  Thames  at  Maidenhead.  It  is  composed  of  a  central  pier 
and  two  main  arches,  flanked  at  either  end  by  four  openings, 
for  the  passage  of  the  flood  water.  The  main  arches  arc 
elliptical,  130  feet  span,  and  24  feet  rise.     The  land  arches  are 


m  .imm.  1 ,  im,,,.^,*.;. 


WINKWELL   SKEW   BRIDGE. 


semicircles  of  28  feet  diameter.  The  central  pier  stands  in  the 
middle  of  the  river.  The  foundations  of  the  bridge  rest  on  a 
hard  pebble  conglomerate,  overlying  chalk,  and  covered  up  by 


RUGBY    ROAD    BRIDGE. 


loose  gravel  and  alluvial  mud.  The  body  of  the  work  is  exe- 
cuted in  brick ;  the  cornice,  cap-stones,  and  coping  are  from 
the  quarries  of  Bramley  Whitehurst,  near  Leeds.  The  bridge 
has  this  peculiarity — it  consists  of  two   arches  only,  probably 


BRIDGES. 


199 


the  largest  and  flattest,  in  proportion  to  their  span,  that  have 
been  executed  in  brick.  Its  structure  was  minutely  criticised 
at  the  time,  and  many  doubts  were  expressed  as  to  its  stability. 
It  was  constructed  with  only  two  arches  because  in  the  middle 
of  the  river  was  a  shoal  which  provided  a  good  foundation,  and 
because  it  was  important  to  keep  the  deep  water  free  for  the 
navigation.  It  was  also  necessary  to  preserve  the  gradients  of 
the  railway  uniform,  and  this  depended  upon  the  height  of  the 
arches. 

A  bridge  on  the  South  Coast  Railway  is  worthy  of  special 
notice.  It  is  over  the  Arun,  near  Arundel,  and  was  the  first 
of  its  kind.     The  Company  was  bound  to  provide  a  clear  water- 


MAIDENHKAD   BRIDGE. 


way  of  sixty  feet  for  the  passage  of  shipping,  and  this  had 
to  be  accomplished  by  a  contrivance  called  a  telescope  bridge. 
The  rails,  for  a  length  of  144  feet,  are  laid  upon  a  massive 
timber  platform,  strengthened  with  iron,  and  trussed  with  rods, 
extending  from  its  extremities  to  the  top  of  a  strong  frame- 
work of  timber,  and  rising  thirty-four  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  roadway  in  the  middle  of  the  platform.  The  framework 
is  ornamented  so  as  to  appear  like  an  arch.  Under  this 
central  framework  and  under  one-half  of  the  platform  are 
eighteen  wheels,  upon  which  the  whole  structure  can  be 
moved  backwards  and  forwards,  so  as  either  to  be  clear  of  the 
river,  or  to  project  its  unsupported  half  across  it,  and  so  to  form 
a  bridge  for  the  passage  of  the  trains.     Two  men  and  a  boy 


2  GO 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


arc  able  to  open  the  bridge  in  about  five  minutes,  the  work 
being  done  by  means  of  toothed  wheels  and  racks,  moved  by 
winches. 

A  steam  bridge,  or  floating  railway,  crosses  the  Forth  between 
Granton  and  Burntisland.  The  difficulties  that  had  to  be  over- 
come to  obtain  the  necessary  communication  were  considerable ; 
for  as  the  tide  rises  about  twenty  feet,  a  vessel  on  a  level  with 
the  quay  at  high  water  would  be  a  long  way  below  it  at  low 
water.  Accordingly  alongside  the  piers  at  Granton  and  Burnt- 
island an  incline  of  masonry  was  built,  upon  which  were  laid 
two  lines  of  rails  ;  on  the  incline  was  placed  a  moveable  platform 
resting   on  sixteen  wheels.      Four  girders    span    the    distance 


DRAWBRIDGE    OVER   THE   ARUN. 


between  the  platform  and  the  vessel  ;  and  these  are  elevated 
or  depressed  by  means  of  a  winch  on  each  side  of  a  staging, 
eighteen  feet  high,  erected  across  the  platform. 

The  high-level  bridge  over  the  deep  ravine  through  which 
the  Tyne  flows  between  Newcastle  and  Gateshead,  is  a  very 
remarkable  structure.  It  forms  the  junction  between  the  York 
and  Newcastle  and  the  Newcastle  and  Berwick  Railways.  It 
was  proposed  by  Mr.  Hudson,  and  designed  by  Mr.  Robert 
Stephenson. 

The  first  difficulty  in  building  it  was  to  secure  good  founda- 
tions for  the  piers.  The  piles  to  be  driven  were  so  large  that 
Nasmyth's    Titanic    steam-hammer  had    to    be    used    to    drive 


FLOATING    RAILWAY    ACROSS    THE    FORTH.  201 


m 


them.      By   the   common   pile  a  comparatively  small  mass  of 
iron    fell  with  great  velocity  for  a    considerable  height— "the 


20; 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


velocity  being  in  excess  and  the  mass  deficient,  and  calculated, 
like  the  momentum  of  a  cannon  ball,  rather  for  destructive 
than  impulsive  action.  In  the  case  of  the  steam  pile-driver, 
on  the  contrary,  the  whole  weight  of  a  bearing  mass  is  delivered 
rapidly  upon  a  driving-block  of  several  tons  weight  placed 
directly  over  the  head  of  the  pile,  the  weight  never  ceasing, 
and  the  blows  being  repeated  at  the  rate  of  a  blow  a  second, 
until  the  pile  is  driven  home.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the 
rapid  strokes  of  the  steam  hammer  evolved  so  much  heat  that 
on  many  occasions  the  pile  head  burst  into  flame."  The  first 
pile  was  driven  to  a  depth  of  32  feet  in  four  minutes  ;  and  as 
soon  as  one  was  placed,  the  traveller,  hovering  overhead,  pre- 
sented another,  and  down  it  went,  like  a  pin  into  a  pincushion. 


THE   HIGH-LEVEL   BRIDGE   AT   NEWCASTLE. 


When  the  piles  had  been  driven  and  the  cofferdams  completed 
the  water  was  pumped  out.  But  though  powerful  engines  were 
employed,  it  forced  itself  through  the  bed  of  quicksand  as  fast 
as  it  was  removed.  Every  effort  -was  made  for  months  to  over- 
come it,  but  without  success  ;  until,  at  last,  cement  concrete 
was  put  in,  which  set,  a  foundation  was  made,  and  the  piers 
were  securely  built. 

There  are  two  roadways,  one  level  with  the  Castle-garth, 
for  carriages  and  foot-passengers,  and  the  other  22  feet  above  it. 
The  carriage-road  is  1,380  feet  in  length.  The  bridge  is  112^ 
feet  from  high-water  line  to  the  top  of  the  parapet,  and  the 
roadway  is  80  feet  above  the  water.     Six  arches,  each  of  125 


ROYAL    BORDER    BRIDGE. 


20' 


feet  span,  form  the  bridge, — the  piers  upon  which  they  rest 
being  of  masonry,  and  the  arches,  pillars,  braces,  and  transverse 
girders  of  iron.  The  bridge-piers  are  nearly  50  feet  by  16  in 
thickness;  and  in  height  are  131  feet  from  the  foundation, 
having  an  opening  in  the  centre  through  each.  The  land  arches 
of  the  bridge  diminish  in  altitude  corresponding  with  the  steep 
bank  of  the  river  basin. 

The  roadway  for  vehicles  beneath  the  line  forms  one  of  the 
most  striking  peculiarities  of  the  work.  This  roadway  is  sus- 
pended from  the  great  arches  which  carry  the  line.     The  pillars 


ROYAL   BORDER    BRIDGE. 


which  carry  the  road  add  greatly  to  the  picturesque  effect ;  and 
the  multiplicity  of  column-ribs,  transverse  and  vertical  braces, 
produces  a  combination  of  beautiful  lines  seldom  seen. 

Two  bridges  cross  the  river  Tweed  at  Berwick :  one  of  fifteen 
arches,  built  in  the  reigns  of  James  I.  and  Charles  I.,  at  a  cost 
of  .£15,000,  occupying  twenty-four  years  in  the  building,  and 
paid  out  of  the  national  resources ;  the  other,  the  Royal  Border 
bridge,  built  by  the  railway  company.  It  stretches  from 
Castle  Hill  to  Tweedmouth,  at  a  height  of  26  feet,  and  cost 
£120,000.     It  is  667  yards  long,    and   was  finished  in  a  little 


204 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


over  three  years.  The  foundations  of  the  piers  were  laid  on 
bearing-piles,  each  capable  of  carrying  70  tons.  The  whole  is 
built  of  ashlar,  with  a  "hearting"  of  rubble,  except  the  river 
parts  of  the  arches,  which  are  constructed  with  bricks  laid  in 
cement 

Another  viaduct  is  that  at  Runcorn.  The  vast  estuary  of  the 
Mersey,  as  it  bends  south  and  eastward  and  separates  the 
counties  of  Cheshire  and  Lancashire,  long  rendered  it  impossible 
to  secure  direct  communication  between  Crewe  and  Chester 
and    Liverpool  ;    and  the   traveller  was    compelled    to   take   a 


E3E| 


circuitous  route,  first  north  and  then  west,  or  to  leave  his 
train  and  cross  the  river  by  steamboat  from  Birkenhead.  At 
length,  to  quote  the  "  Tourist  Guide  "  of  Messrs.  Morton  &  Co., 
for  whose  cheap  and  beautiful  productions  innumerable  readers 
are  greatly  indebted,  "  the  London  and  North- Western  Com- 
pany resolved  to  overcome  every  obstacle  and  to  carry  their 
main  line  right  over  the  Mersey,  and  at  such  an  elevation  as 
not  to  interrupt  the  busy  navigation  of  the  river.  Runcorn 
viaduct  consists  of  thirty-three  arches  :  one  of  20  feet  span, 
twenty-nine  of  40  feet  span,  and  three  of  61  feet."  The  central 
part  of  the  bridge  that  stretches  over  the  navigable  channel 


CONWAY    TUBULAR    BRIDGE.  205 

rests  on  four  massive  castellated  piers,  300  feet  apart,  that 
sink  into  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  carry  the  girders  80  feet 
above  the  water.  "  Ten  other  arches  form  the  west  bank 
viaduct ;  this  leads  to  an  embankment  ;  and  the  line  is  now 
continued  upon  the  Ditton  viaduct  of  forty-nine  arches.  The 
appearance  of  the  Viaduct,  as  it  carries  the  passenger  over  the 
river,  is  very  striking.  A  footway  on  each  side  of  the  viaduct 
supersedes  the  old  and  tedious  ferry." 

The  Conway  tubular  bridge,  in  North  Wales,  has  deservedly 
attracted  much  attention.  Passengers  accustomed  to  travelling 
by  the  magnificent  service  of  the  London  and  North  Western 
may  remember  with  interest  how  people  used  sometimes  to 
fare  at  this  spot :  "  On  Christmas  Day,  1806,"  says  the  Annual 


BRIDGE  OVER  THE  AVON,  NEAR  BATH. 

Register,  "  owing  to  a  heavy  swell  in  the  river  Conway,  the  boat 
conveying  the  Irish  mail,  with  eight  passengers,  the  coachman, 
guard,  and  a  youth  about  fifteen  years  of  age  (in  all  fifteen 
in  number,  including  the  boatman),  was  upset,  and  only  two 
persons  saved." 

The  present  bridge  is  in  effect  a  rectangular  tunnel,  or  hollow 
square  box,  the  sides  of  which  carry  the  load.  The  Conway 
end  of  the  tube  is  immovable,  being  fixed  on  the  pier,  and 
made  to  rest  on  two  beds  of  creosoted  timber,  with  intermediate 
cast-iron  bed-plates ;  but  the  Chester  end  is  free,  so  that  it 
may  expand  by  heat  and  contract  by  cold.  Here  the  tube 
rests  on  cast-iron  rollers,  which  give  play,  so  as  to  allow  twelve 
inches  of  motion.     The  whole  mass  weighs  1,140  tons. 

A   tubular   bridge  has  been  constructed    over   the  Wye,   at 


200  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

I  hepstow,  on  the  South  Wales  Railway,  to  which  allusion  must 
be  made.  It  consists  of  four  spans,  three  of  about  a  hundred 
feet  each,  and  one  of  290  feet,  extending  altogether  from  bank 
to  bank  for  610  feet.  The  chief  span  is  a  modification  of  the 
suspension  principle,  the  great  length  of  the  girders  requiring 
more  support  than  that  afforded  by  the  piers  alone  at  each 
extremity.  Mr.  Brunei  accordingly  contrived  that  this  should 
be  given  by  means  of  a  tube  309  feet  in  length,  and  nine  in 
diameter,  which,  having  been  raised  to  the  summit  of  piers 
erected  on  the  east  bank,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  river,  is 
strengthened  by  massive  chains  secured  to  the  girders.  These 
girders  are  fifty  feet  above  high-water  mark  at  spring  tides, 
which  here  rise  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet,  being  more  than  any 
other  river  in  the  kingdom. 

In  sinking  the  cylinders  to  form  the  piers  of  the  bridge,  the 
workmen  had  first  to  pass  through  twenty-nine  feet  of  blue  clay 
and  sand,  below  which  they  met  with  a   thin   bed   of  peat  con- 
taining timber,  some  solid  oak,  hazel  nuts,  and  other  similar 
substances.     They  next  came  to  several  feet  of  fine  blue  gravel, 
and  then  they  reached  a  bed  of  boulders,  upon  which  the  cylin- 
ders were  originally  intended  to  rest.     After  this  was  a  bed   of 
red  marl,  beneath  which  there  was  solid  rock,  like  millstone  grit, 
and  into  this  the  cylinders  were  sunk.     The  mode  in  which  this 
part   of  the  work  was   performed   was  curious.     The  cylinders 
were  placed  on  planks  to  prevent  their  cutting  into  the  soft  mud. 
One  by  one  cylinders  were  added  until  they  had  reached  the  top 
of  the  stage  (about  forty  feet  in  height)  which  had  been  erected 
for  the  purpose  of  sinking  them.     The  weight  of  the  column 
now  cut  through  the  planks,  and  the  cylinder  sank  about  six 
feet  into  the  mud.     Two  or  three  men  then  descended  into  it, 
and  as  they  removed  the  contents,  the  cylinder  continued  to  sink, 
and  as  it  descended  fresh  cylinders  were  added  at  the  top.     This 
process  continued,  without  interruption,  till   a  depth  of  about 
seventeen  feet  was  attained,  and  then  a  spring  was  tapped,  and 
without  a  moment's  notice  the  water  broke  in  from  below  in 
such  force  as  to  require  the  constant  action  of  two  thirteen-inch 
pumps  worked  by  an  engine.     A  remarkable  fact  attending  this 
occurrence  was,  that  the  spring-water   invariably   rose  in  the 
cylinder  exactly  at  that  height  to  which  the  tube  was  standing 
in  the  river  at  the  moment.     That  it  was  not  an  irruption  from 


jj,  1     jl 

BRITANNIA    TUBULAR    BRIDGE. 


207 


re!  w* 


the  Wye  was  considered  to  be  beyond  dispute,  inasmuch  as  the 
river  at  this  point,  from  the  action  of   the   tide,  was  always 


20S  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

heavily  tainted  with  mud,  while  the  water  which  rushed  into  the 
cylinder  from  below  was  of  exceeding  purity,  and  did  not  con- 
tain a  particle  of  salt. 

The  problem  with  which  Robert  Stephenson  had  to  deal  in 
the  construction  of  the  Britannia  bridge  over  the  Menai  Straits 
was,  How  is  it  possible  to  hang  a  hollow  iron  tunnel  across  an 
arm  of  the  ocean,  capable  of  supporting  the  heaviest  burdens 
that  trains  could  impose,  and  of  bidding  defiance  to  the  storms 
which  eddy  and  whirl  along  the  straits  ?  A  long  series  of 
laborious  and  costly  experiments  had  now  to  be  made.  Cylin- 
drical tubes  were  found  to  fail  by  collapsing  at  the  top,  and  they 
were  inferior  in  strength  to  those  of  an  elliptical  form.  Rect- 
angular tubes  wrcre  next  put  to  the  test,  and  they  had  so 
decidedly  the  advantage  in  strength,  that  only  the  precise  form 
and  dimensions  remained  to  be  determined.  A  model  was 
accordingly  constructed  of  one  sixth  of  the  proposed  Britannia 
bridge,  and  the  final  experiments  having  terminated  most 
satisfactorily,  arrangements  were  made  for  the  erection  of 
the  colossal  structure  itself. 

The  Britannia  bridge  is  supported  on  three  piers  ;  two  on 
the  Carnarvon  and  Anglesea  shores,  and  one  on  a  rock  in  the 
centre  of  the  straits.  The  "  Britannia  tower  "  rose  gradually  and 
majestically  from  the  surface  of  the  water  to  the  height  of  230 
feet ;  the  piles  of  masonry  on  land  are  each  more  than  160  feet. 
The  tower  was  constructed  of  nearly  150,000  cubic  feet  of 
Anglesea  marble  for  the  exterior,  and  nearly  150,000  feet  of 
sandstone  for  the  interior,  strengthened  by  nearly  400  tons  of 
cast-iron  beams  and  girders,  and  having  a  total  weight  of  up- 
wards of  20,000  tons.  It  was  originally  intended  that  the  pier 
should  be  crowned  with  a  colossal  figure  of  Science  ;  but  the 
depreciation  of  railway  property  induced  the  directors  to  aban- 
don the  design.  The  land  abutments  on  each  side  of  the  strait 
are  terminated  by  two  couchant  lions  of  Egyptian  character, 
each  weighing  eighty  tons.  No  fewer  than  8,000  cubic  feet  of 
limestone  were  required  for  the  four. 

While  the  piers  and  abutments  were  thus  rising,  the  construc- 
tion of  the  tubes  was  prosecuted  with  vigour.  A  timber  plat- 
form was  erected  along  the  side  of  the  water,  behind  which  were 
the  workshops  of  the  artizans,  covering  three  acres  and  a  half 
of  ground.     On   this   platform  the  boiler-plates  were  fitted  one 


BRITANNIA    TUBULAR    BRIDGE.  209 

to  another,  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  adopted  in  iron  ship- 
building. The  plates  varied  in  their  size  according  to  the  part 
of  the  tubes  for  which  they  were  intended,  being  from  six  to 
twelve  feet  in  length,  about  two  in  width,  and  from  one-half  to 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  They  had,  as  usual,  been 
forged  with  the  greatest  accuracy,  each  being  made  to  pass 
between  two  enormous  iron  rollers,  worked  by  steam,  which 
squeezed  down  into  perfect  uniformity  that  variety  of  irregular- 
ities to  which  the  workmen  have  given  the  term  of  buckles.  The 
plates  were  then  removed  to  a  punching-machine,  by  which  the 
rivet-holes  were  made.  The  lever  by  v/hich  this  was  done  had 
a  pressure  of  from  sixty  to  eighty  tons  ;  and  the  iron  plates 
were  perforated  by  the  steel  bolt  with  apparently  as  much  facil- 
ity as  a  child  would  push  his  thumb  through  a  piece  of  blotting- 
paper.  The  rivets  employed  in  securing  the  plates  together 
were  no  fewer  than  two  millions  in  number,  and  in  the  forma- 
tion 126  miles  of  iron  rod  were  used,  weighing  about  900  tons. 
As  the  bolts  were  heated,  a  lad  snatched  one  up  with  a  pair 
of  pincers,  and  flung  it  to  another  boy  inside  the  tube,  who 
picked  it  up,  and  ran  with  it  to  the  "  holder-up."  By  an  enor- 
mous hammer  he  forced  it  into  the  rivet  hole  till  its  end  pro- 
truded the  other  side,  where  a  couple  of  stalwart  workmen  soon 
moulded  it  into  a  head,  and  the  bolt  became  a  rivet.  This, 
gradually  cooling,  bound  the  plates  of  iron  together.  Practice 
gave  such  facility  to  the  work,  that  a  set  drove  230  rivets  a  day. 
About  eighteen  were  required  to  a  yard. 

The  spectacle  presented  during  the  progress  of  the  works  was 
novel  and  impressive.  Ship-loads  of  iron  were  continually 
arriving  from  Liverpool,  of  marble  from  Penmon,  of  red  sand- 
stone from  Runcorn,  and  forests  of  timber  from  a  variety  of 
ports,  and  all  were  discharging  their  cargoes  at  the  wharves  and 
platforms.  Wagons  and  carts  were  incessantly  travelling  in  all 
directions,  on  tramways  and  common  roads  ;  vast  clouds  of  dark 
smoke  issued  from  innumerable  chimneys  ;  steam-engines  con- 
stantly poured  forth  volumes  of  steam  high  into  the  air  ;  and 
the  whirring  of  machinery,  the  explosion  of  gunpowder,  the 
thunder-like  clang  of  the  blacksmiths'  hammers  at  the  forges, 
and  the  reverberation  from  the  riveters  along  the  tubes,  formed 
an  extraordinary  chaos  of  sights  and  sounds. 

The  masonry  of  the  piers  and   abutments  being  at  length 

P 


2IO  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

sufficiently  advanced  towards  completion,  and  one  of  the  tubes 
being  finished,  arrangements  for  "the  floating"  were  made — an 
operation  which  attracted  an  immense  concourse  of  visitors 
from  all  parts  of  Europe,  and  even  from  the  United  States. 

Meanwhile  the  platform  which  supported  the  tube  to  be  first 
removed  was  partly  cut  away  at  each  end,  and  a  dock  excavated 
sufficiently  large  to  contain  four  pontoons.  While  the  tube  was 
unfinished  these  vessels  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  water,  waiting 
till  their  gigantic  energies  were  required  to  bear  away  the  un- 
wieldy burden.  The  combined  power  of  floatage  of  the  vessels 
amounted  to  no  less  than  3,200  tons  ;  the  weight  of  the  tube, 
with  its  apparatus,  was  1,800.  On  the  day  appointed  for  the 
floating,  the  valves  in  the  pontoons,  which  had  previously  ad- 
mitted the  water,  were  closed,  and  as  the  tide  rose,  the  vessels 
rose  upon  it,  and  lifted  the  tube  off  the  platform  on  which  it 
had  been  constructed.  The  capstans  on  the  Anglesea  and  Car- 
narvon shores  and  at  the  Britannia  pier  were  prepared  ;  cables, 
six  inches  in  diameter  and  a  league  in  length,  were  arranged  in 
their  required  positions,  or  fastened  to  the  steamers  which  were  to 
have  the  towing  of  the  tremendous  freight ;  a  hundred  seamen, 
under  Captain  Claxton,  manned  the  vessels  ;  nine  hundred  men 
assumed  their  several  posts,  and  the  vast  and  complicated  arrange- 
ments were  complete.  The  land  attachments  were  severed  ; 
the  capstans  were  manned  ;  and  then,  at  the  signal  of  a  flag 
on  the  Anglesea  side,  and  a  shrill  strain  from  the  trumpet  of 
Captain  Claxton  on  the  top  of  the  tube,  "to  pipe  all  hands,"  a 
cheer  arose  from  the  seamen,  who,  aided  by  the  steam  tugs,  told 
upon  the  screws  and  tackle,  and  upon  the  hitherto  motionless 
monster;  and  without  injury  or  jar,  it  slowly  glided  away,  amid 
thunders  of  increasing  applause,  like  a  mountain  moving  on  the 
waves,  to  the  foot  of  the  towers  on  which  it  was  ultimately  to 
rest. 

So  complete  were  the  arrangements,  and  so  efficient  their 
execution,  that,  despite  the  power  of  the  tide  and  the  shortness 
of  the  time  in  which  the  work  had  to  be  completed,  the  mass 
was  deposited  exactly  in  its  intended  position,  leaving  a  clear 
space  of  only  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch.  The  valves  of 
the  pontoons  were  now  partially  opened,  and  as  the  vessels 
sank,  the  ends  of  the  tubes  slowly  descended  to  the  temporary 
resting-places  prepared  for  their  support. 


BRITANNIA    TUBULAR    BRIDGE.  2  I  I 

The  next  process  in  these  extraordinary  operations  was  to 
elevate  the  tube  to  its  position  at  the  summit  of  the  piers, — a 
work  to  be  performed  by  means  of  Bramah's  press.  The  press 
was  securely  fitted  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Britannia  tower,  at 
a  height  of  about  40  feet  above  the  level  to  which  the  tube  was 
to  be  raised.  At  the  top  of  the  piston  of  the  press  was  a  hori- 
zontal iron  beam,  from  the  ends  of  which  hung  two  enormous 
iron  chains,  of  the  weight  of  a  hundred  tons,  and  by  these  the 
tube  was  to  be  lifted  to  the  place  of  its  destination. 

The  preparatory  arrangements  having  been  completed,  and 
two  forty-horse  power  steam-engines  set  to  work,  a  lifting  force 
was  gained  of  no  less  than  2,622  tons  ;  and  then  the  great  piston 
began  slowly  to  emerge  from  the  cylinder,  till,  in  about  thirty 
minutes,  the  bridge  was  lifted  six  feet  into  the  air.  The  tackle 
was  then  secured  by  "clams"  at  the  foot  of  the  press;  the 
weight  was  removed  from  the  piston,  till,  descending  by  its  own 
gravity  to  the  point  from  which  it  started,  the  lifting  operation 
could  be  repeated  ;  and  thus  the  whole  was  gradually  elevated 
to  the  summit,  the  final  lift  of  the  first  tube  being  made  on  the 
13th  of  October,  1849. 

The  Britannia  bridge,  which  has  been  described  as  an  iron 
tube  hung  across  an  arm  of  the  sea,  was  opened  on  the  5th  of 
March,  1850,  by  the  passage  of  three  powerful  engines,  decorated 
with  the  flags  of  all  nations,  and  conveying  the  distinguished 
engineer,  with  other  gentlemen  of  eminence.  The  train  started 
from  Bangor  station  ;  and,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
that  memorable  day,  swept  over  the  threshold  of  the  stupendous 
fabric,  and  was  soon  lost  amid  the  darkness  within.  On  reach- 
ing the  centre  of  each  of  the  great  spans,  the  locomotives,  weigh- 
ing ninety  tons,  were  stopped,  and  rested  with  all  their  weight 
on  the  floor  of  the  tube,  without  occasioning  the  slightest  undue 
deflection.  It  required  next  to  be  ascertained  how  far  the 
vast  corridor  was  capable  of  sustaining  the  equilibrium  of  forces  ; 
and  the  result  was  such  as  to  prove  beyond  doubt  the  accuracy 
of  the  theoretical  conclusions  at  which  Mr.  Stephenson  and  his 
staff  of  engineers  had  arrived.  The  second  experimental  train 
that  went  through  consisted  of  twenty-four  heavily-laden  wagons, 
filled  with  blocks  of  Brymbo  coal,  of  an  aggregate  weight  of 
three  hundred  tons.  This  was  drawn  through  the  tubes  with 
deliberate  speed.     During  the  passage,  a  breathless  silence  pre- 


2  I  2  oik    [RON    ROADS. 

vailed  ;  1  ut  when  it  emerged  at  the  opposite  end,  loud  acclama- 
tions arose,  and  the  report  of  pieces  of  ordnance  smote  on  the 
The  examinations  were  thus  continued  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  every  test  served  only  to  demonstrate  the  stability  of 
the  fabric.  A  train  of  two  hundred  tons  weight  was  next  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  Carnarvonshire  tube,  and  remained  there 
for  two  hours.  It  was  found  to  occasion  a  deflection  of  only 
four-tenths  of  an  inch — a  curvature  not  greater  than  would  be 
caused  by  half  an  hour's  sunshine,  whereas  it  is  confidently  esti- 
mated that  the  entire  structure  might  be  deflected  to  the  extent 
of  thirteen  inches,  without  danger.  Another  testing-train  was 
subsequently  formed,  comprising  three  engines,  two  hundred 
tons  of  coal,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  railway  carriages,  contain- 
ing between  six  and  seven  hundred  passengers.  The  tube  was 
traversed  by  these  at  a  speed  of  thirty-five  miles  an  hour. 

The  arrangements  made  for  maintaining  continuity  in  the 
entire  length  of  the  tube  were  also  perfectly  successful  ;  the 
strain  on  any  one  part  was  distributed  over  the  whole ;  and 
thus,  as  the  engines  entered  the  small  land-tubes  at  either  end, 
the  motion  due  to  their  progressive  weight  was  detected  in  every 
tube,  even  at  the  distance  of  1,560  feet.  According  to  the  esti- 
mate of  the  engineers,  the  bridge  is  capable  of  supporting  a 
series  of  locomotives  following  one  another  along  its  whole 
length ;  it  was  said  that  a  line-of-battle  ship  might  be  suspended 
from  it  without  danger. 

The  appearance  of  the  bridge  is  imposing.  In  the  far  distance 
is  the  undulating  landscape,  varied  by  the  rich  tints  of  the  wood- 
land, and  backed  by  rising  hills  ;  while  the  sun,  approaching  the 
verge  of  day, — 

"  Wearied  with  sultry  toil,  declines  and  falls 
Into  the  mellow  eve  ;  the  west  puts  on 
Her  gorgeous  beauties — palaces  and  halls 
And  towers,  all  carved  of  the  unstable  cloud." 

Stretching  far  away  to  the  east  and  west,  and  glittering  beneath 
the  sun's  rays,  are  the  Irish  Sea  and  St.  George's  Channel,  con- 
nected by  the  Menai  Straits  ;  while  the  steam-vessel  and  the 
deeply-laden  merchantman  wend  their  way  below.  Towards 
the  Irish  Sea  is  the  slender  fabric  of  the  suspension  bridge, 
over  which  some  seemingly  lilliputian  vehicle  and  horses  are 
passing.     The  small  islands  and  rock  which  impede  the  flow  of 


SEVERN    BRIDGE.  2  1 .3 

the  water  along  the  straits  serve  to  add  interest  to  the  scene. 
To  the  northward  is  the  Anglesea  column,  erected  by  the  in- 
habitants of  the  neighbourhood  in  commemoration  of  the  gallant 
Marquis,  who  led  the  British  cavalry  at  Waterloo ;  while  about 
a  hundred  yards  distant  may  be  seen  a  humble  but  touching 
monument,  built  by  the  workmen  of  the  Britannia  tower,  as  a 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  some  of  their  comrades  who  lost  their 
lives  during  the  construction  of  the  bridge.  On  the  south  the 
view  is  bounded,  at  the  distance  of  forty  miles,  by  a  range  of 
mountains,  the  loftiest  of  which  is  Snowdon.  Between  the  base 
of  these  hills  and  the  straits,  the  little  wooden  town  was  built 
which  served  for  the  accommodation  of  the  artificers  and  work- 
men. And  now,  as  we  are  gazing  upon  this  scene  of  mingled 
wonder  and  beauty,  the  deep-toned  reverberation  of  a  train 
rushing  along  the  iron  corridor  of  the  bridge,  falls  upon  the 
ear ;  and  thus  Science  and  Nature  are  mingled  in  harmonious 
contrast,  and  receive  the  grateful  homage  of  every  thoughtful 
observer. 

The  Severn-bridge  Railway  supplies  a  want  that  had  long 
been  felt,  of  direct  communication  across  the  lower  part  of  the 
Severn,  and  avoids  the  long  detour  by  way  of  Gloucester.  It  is 
five  miles  in  length.  Since  the  destruction  of  the  bridge  over 
the  Firth  of  Tay  it  is  the  longest  in  the  kingdom.  Its  length  is' 
a  little  over  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  and  it  consists  of  21  spans, 
two  of  which,  crossing  the  channel  of  the  river,  are  each  327  feet 
in  length.  The  girders  are  made  on  the  bowstring  principle, 
and  rest  upon  iron  cylinders  sunk  deep  into  the  rock  in  the  bed 
of  the  river,  and  filled  with  concrete.  Considerable  difficulties 
were  met  with  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  the  erection  of 
the  bridge  is  regarded  as  a  triumph  of  engineering  skill.  Twelve 
of  the  cylinders  were  sunk  in  sand  averaging  about  28  feet  in 
depth.  Driving  piles  for  the  staging  was  found  to  be  impractic- 
able, and  Mr.  Brunlees'  plan  was  adopted,  namely,  forcing  a 
jet  of  water  through  a  pipe  to  the  feet  of  the  piles,  thus  scouring 
away  the  sand  as  the  piles  descended.  In  deep  water  the 
cylinders  were  kept  dry  by  the  use  of  compressed  air.  Those  in 
the  channel  of  the  river  were  the  most  difficult  to  erect.  The 
water  varied  in  depth  from  30  feet  to  70  feet ;  at  spring  tides  the 
water  rose  30  feet  in  a  little  over  two  hours,  and  the  current  ran  at 
the  rate  of  ten  knots  an  hour.     The  sandbanks  in  the  river  and 


2  14  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

the  strength  of  the  current  induced  the  engineers  not  to  attempt 
to  build  the  girders  on  shore,  and  then  to  float  them  to  the 
site  and  to  hoist  them  into  position. 

The  Saltash  bridge  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the 
world.  The  noble  Tamar  river,  as  its  waters  approach  the  little 
village  of  Saltash,  narrows,  and  soon  afterwards  widens  out  into 
as  fine  a  sheet  of  water  as  any  of  its  kind  in  the  kingdom,  its 
distant  banks  decked  with  cottages  and  fringed  with  undulating 
woodlands  down  to  the  water's  edge.  Across  this  narrow  part 
of  the  channel  the  viaduct  hangs  high  in  air.  It  consists  of 
19  spans,  seventeen  of  which  are  wider  than  the  widest  arches 
of  Westminster  bridge,  and  two,  resting  on  a  single  cast-iron 
pier  of  four  columns  in  the  centre  of  the  river,  span  the  whole 
stream,  a  longer  distance  than  the  breadth  of  the  Thames  at 
Westminster.  The  structure  from  end  to  end  is  2,240  feet — 
nearly  half  a  mile  in  length. 

"  The  greatest  width  is  only  30  feet  at  basement,  its  height 
from  foundation  to  summit  no  less  than  260  feet,  or  50  feet  higher 
than  the  summit  of  the  Monument.  The  Britannia  bridge,  in 
size,  purpose,  and  engineering  importance,  seems  to  offer  the 
best  comparison  with  that  at  Saltash,  but  the  Britannia  tube  is 
smaller,  and  cost  nearly  four  times  the  price  of  the  Saltash 
viaduct,  though  its  engineers  had  natural  facilities  not  possessed 
by  Mr.  Brunei  for  his  Cornish  bridge.  The  Menai  tube  is  a 
suspension  bridge,  and  the  main  tower  had  a  ready-made  founda- 
tion in  the  Britannia  rock,  from  which  the  whole  structure  now 
derives  its  name.  To  cross  the  Tamar  with  one  unsupported 
span  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length  was  of  course  impos- 
sible, and  Mr.  Brunei  had  not  only  to  make  his  pier  in  the 
centre  of  the  river,  but,  having  no  place  to  which  to  secure  the 
tension  chains  on  which  the  roadway  hung,  had  also  to  contrive 
to  make  them  in  a  manner  self-supporting."  For  this  the  sus- 
pension chains  hang  down  from  the  piers  in  a  segment  of  a  circle, 
and  are  bolted  to  the  roadway,  while  above  the  roadway,  so  as 
to  form  the  other  segment  of  the  circle,  are  two  monster  tubes 
of  arched  wrought  iron,  connected  with  the  ends  of  the  chains, 
which  precisely  answer  the  purpose  of  metal  bows. 

On  the  great  main  pier,  in  the  centre  of  the  river,  all  the 
strain  and  pressure  come,  and  nothing  short  of  the  solid  rock 
would  suffice  for  its  foundation.     "  To  reach  this,  however,  was  a 


SALTASH    BRIDGE.  2  I  5 

matter  of  no  ordinary  difficulty,  as  some  70  feet  of  water,  with 
20  feet  of  mud  and  concrete  gravel,  lay  between  Mr.  Brunei  and 
the  stone  on  which  he  wished  to  build.  An  immense  wrought 
iron  cylinder,  37  feet  in  diameter,  100  feet  high,  and  weighing 
300  tons,  was  made  and  sunk  exactly  in  the  spot  where  the 
masonry  was  to  rise.  From  this  the  water  was  pumped  out 
and  air  forced  in ;  the  men  descended,  and,  working  as  in  a 
huge  diving-bell  at  the  bottom  of  the  river,  cleared  away  the 
mud  and  gravel  till  the  rock  was  reached.  Steam  air-pumps 
were  necessary  to  keep  the  men  supplied,  and,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  they  worked  at  a  pressure  of  upwards  of  381b.  to  the 
inch.  At  first  this  affected  them  severely  ;  many  were  seized 
with  cramps,  faintness,  and  insensibility,  and  one  died.  But 
after  a  time  forty  labourers  could  remain  at  work  with  little 
inconvenience.  All,  however,  were  glad  when  the  solid  column 
of  granite  built  inside  the  cylinder  rose  at  last  above  the 
water's  edge." 

On  this  pile  of  stone,  springing  many  feet  below  the  river's 
bed,  the  iron  columns  for  the  centre  pier  were  raised.  Until 
these  ponderous  masses  were  cast,  metal  columns  of  such 
gigantic  dimensions  were  never  dreamt  of.  There  are  four  of 
them,  octagon  in  shape,  10  feet  in  diameter,  and  100  feet  high. 
The  weight  of  these  columns  is  about  150  tons  each.  The 
metal  is  two  inches  thick,  and  each  column  is  stayed  and  sup- 
ported inside  with  massive  ribs.  "  When  all  the  pieces  of  the 
four  columns  had  been  cast,  each  was  planed  down  and  fitted 
together  with  the  neatness  of  joiner's  work.  Thus  finished,  all 
were  sent  off  piecemeal  to  the  centre  pier,  though  not  erected, 
as  they  could  only  be  built  up  under  the  centre  spans  as  the 
latter  were  gradually  lifted  to  their  places  by  hydraulic  pressure 
in  one  gigantic  piece  weighing  some  1,200  tons.  These  were 
put  together  at  the  river's  bank,  were  floated  out  to  their  place, 
and  then  raised  in  one  mass."  The  chains  are  similar  in  prin- 
ciple to  those  of  an  ordinary  suspension  bridge,  except  that, 
instead  of  being  made  with  links  of  seven  bars,  each  link  consists 
of  fourteen  bars  of  iron,  an  inch  thick  and  six  inches  wide.  The 
pressure  on  the  centre  pier  foundation  is  upwards  of  eight  tons  to 
the  foot,  or  double  the  pressure  of  the  whole  mass  of  the  Victoria 
tower  on  the  basement.  Six  inches  have  been  allowed  for  ex- 
pansion and  contraction  to  each  tube,  but  the  greatest  difference 


2  1  6  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

yet  observed  between  the  hottest  and  the  coldest  day  has  only 
made  a  difference  of  two  inches  in  the  length  of  the  bridge. 
"  The  fame  of  Saltash  and  its  magnificent  viaduct  is  likely  to  be 
still  more  widely  known  than  even  the  colossal  work  which  spans 
the  Straits  of  Menai." 

Among  the  most  remarkable  railway  bridges  are  those  that 
traverse  the  Thames.  The  Charing  Cross  bridge  consists  of  nine 
spans — six  of  154  feet,  and  three  of  100  feet.  The  level  of  the 
rails  is  3  r  feet  above  high-water  mark,  and  the  river  here  is 
1,350  feet  wide.  The  superstructure  rests  upon  cylinders  sunk 
through  mud  and  gravel  into  the  London  clay  to  depths  of  50, 
60,  and  in  one  instance  of  more  than  70  feet  below  high- 
water  mark.  They  are  filled  with  Portland  cement,  concrete,  or 
brickwork.  To  test  the  strength  of  the  foundations,  the  two 
cylinders  in  the  pier  nearest  to  the  Surrey  side,  after  being  com- 
pleted up  to  the  level  of  high  water,  and  filled  with  concrete  and 
brickwork,  were  each  weighted  with  700  tons — an  amount  equal 
to  the  greatest  burden  they  could  have  to  sustain,  supposing  the 
four  lines  of  rails  on  the  bridge  were  loaded  with  locomotives. 
This  weight  thus  applied  caused  the  cylinders  to  sink  perma- 
nently four  inches.  To  bring  the  other  cylinders  to  a  bearing, 
so  as  to  prevent  any  subsequent  settlement,  each  was  weighted 
with  450  tons,  whereupon  they  each  sank  permanently  about 
three  inches.  The  pairs  of  cylinders  forming  a  pier  are  con- 
nected transversely  by  a  wrought-iron  box  girder,  4  feet  deep  ; 
it  also  serves  as  a  cross-girder  for  supporting  the  roadway.  If 
the  four  lines  of  way  on  the  bridge  were  to  be  loaded  with  loco- 
motives, the  pressure  on  the  base  of  the  cylinders  would  amount 
to  eight  tons  a  square  foot. 

The  roadway  platform  over  the  150  feet  openings  consists  of 
four-inch  planking  spiked  to  longitudinal  timbers,  15  inches  by 
15,  placed  underneath  the  rails  and  bolted  to  the  cross -girders. 
The  footpath  platforms  are  of  planking,  6  inches  thick. 

The  first  cylinder  of  this  bridge  was  pitched  June  6th,  i860, 
and  its  construction  occupied  three  years.  Nearly  5,000  tons  of 
wrought  iron,  and  nearly  2,000  tons  of  cast  iron,  were  required. 
The  result  has  been  a  remarkable  concentration  of  strength  in 
the  piers  and  the  girders  within  the  smallest  compass.  "  The 
cylinders,"  says  the  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Institution  of 
Civil  Engineers   "  obtained,  for  the  column  of  brickwork  built 


FORTH    RAILWAY    BRIDGE.  2  17 

inside  them  afterwards,  a  foundation  as  solid  as  rock  itself,  and 
one  not  likely  to  be  disturbed  by  any  changes  which  may  occur 
in  the  bed  of  the  river  by  the  scour  caused  by  the  Thames  em- 
bankment, the  scour  being  a  source  of  evil  which  has  hitherto 
proved  fatal  to  the  foundations  of  nearly  all  our  metropolitan 
bridges.  Again,  with  the  superstructure,  although  the  space  is 
moderate — 154  feet — yet  the  quantity  of  metal  required  in  each 
of  these  girders  amounts  to  200  tons,  and  the  skilful  way  it  has 
been  massed  together  to  afford  the  requisite  strength,  and  yet 
give  little  indication  of  it  in  its  light  and  almost  elegant  appear- 
ance, is  certainly  unsurpassed." 

The  railway  bridge  over  the  Thames  at  Battersea  is  the  widest 
railway  bridge  in  the  world,  being  132  feet  wide,  as  well  as  more 
than  900  long.  It  consists  of  four  river  spans  of  175  feet  in  the 
clear,  and  two  land  spans  of  65  feet  and  70  feet  respectively.  It 
forms  the  key  to  the  intricate  network  of  high  level  lines  at 
Battersea,  and  it  provides  ten  separate  means  of  access  to  the 
Victoria  Station.  In  the  tests  applied,  equal  to  the  weight  of 
the  rails  fully  occupied  by  engines,  the  greatest  settlement  in 
any  place  was  less  than  an  inch. 

The  Forth  railway  bridge  will  be  a  remarkable  structure. 
Hitherto  the  largest  railway  bridge  in  this  country  is  the 
Britannia,  with  a  span  of  465  feet.  The  Forth  bridge  has  a  span 
of  1,700  feet,  a  ratio  of  1  to  3-65.  Now,  as  it  is  calculated  that 
the  average  stature  of  a  new-born  infant  is  19/34  inches,  whilst 
the  average  height  of  the  Guardsmen  sent  out  to  Egypt  has  been 
officially  given  at  5  feet  io|  inches,  these  figures  also  have  a  ratio 
of  1  to  3-65.  Hence,  to  appreciate  the  size  of  the  Forth  bridge, 
we  have  merely  to  suggest  the  following  simple  rule  of  three 
sum  : — As  a  Grenadier  Guardsman  is  to  a  new-born  infant,  so  is 
the  Forth  bridge  to  the  largest  railway  bridge  yet  built  in  this 
country.  Bridges  a  few  feet  wider  in  span  than  the  Britannia 
have  been  built  elsewhere,  but  they  are  baby  bridges  after  all. 

At  the  point  where  this  bridge  is  to  be  built,  the  Firth  of 
Forth  is  divided  by  the  island  of  Inchgarvie  into  two  unequal 
channels,  but  the  depth  of  water  in  each  is  such  that  a  smaller 
span  than  1,700  feet  could  not  be  economically  adopted  for  either 
channel.  North  of  Inchgarvie  the  maximum  depth  of  water  is 
218  feet,  and  south  of  the  same  197  feet.  In  the  former  channel 
the  bottom  is  of  hard  trap  rock,  and  in  the  latter  partly  of  rock 


2  I  8  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

and  partly  of  extremely  stiffboulder  clay.  It  is  not  the  treach- 
erous character  of  the  bed  of  the  Forth,  therefore,  but  the  depth 
<.A~  water  which  precludes  the  construction  of  intermediate  piers. 
Pneumatic  apparatus,  say  the  authorities,  is  inapplicable  to  such 
depths  as  200  feet,  and  no  responsible  engineer  would  care  to 
found  the  piers  of  an  important  structure  upon  a  bottom  which 
he  had  no  means  of  examining  by  diving  apparatus  or  other- 
wise. Hence  it  was  resolved  to  erect,  as  the  Act  passed  this 
year,  1882,  expresses  it:  "a  continuous  girder  bridge,  having 
two  spans  of  1,700  feet,  two  of  675  feet,  fourteen  of  168  feet,  and 
six  of  50  feet,  and  giving  a  clear  headway  for  navigation  purposes 
of  150  feet  above  high-water  spring  tides." 

When  the  proposal  was  submitted  for  the  consideration  of 
Parliament,  a  model  of  the  central  portion  was  exhibited,  on 
a  scale  of  40  feet  to  the  inch,  showing  the  two  main  spans  in  their 
entirety,  and  half  of  each  of  the  two  side  or  subsidiary  spans, 
leaving  the  shore  ends  out  of  view.  These  two  main  spans  are 
1,750  feet  in  length,  with  a  headway  of  150  feet.  The  two  side 
spans  have  the  same  height  of  headway,  but  are  only  650  feet  in 
length.  The  breadth  of  the  bridge  itself  is  about  25  feet,  but  it 
appears  narrow  in  contrast  with  its  length.  The  central  pier 
rests  upon  a  small  island  named  Inchgarvie,  and  is  formed  ot 
four  columns,  350  feet  in  height,  laid  together  laterally,  with  lattice 
work  in  the  form  of  a  St.  Andrew's  cross.  These  pillars  rise 
200  feet  above  the  level  of  the  roadway,  just  as  in  Brunei's  bridge, 
at  Charing  Cross,  the  old  red  brick  towers  used  to  rise  above  the 
footway.  Similarly  bands  descend  from  the  height  on  either 
side  in  a  graceful  slope  towards  the  roadway,  where  they  meet 
two  corresponding  curves  springing  from  the  bottom  of  the  pier, 
the  point  of  their  meeting  being  about  600  feet  from  the  centre  of 
that  portion  of  the  railway  which  lies  within  the  pier.  "  As  a 
similar  system  of  lattice  work,  both  from  above  and  from  beneath, 
springs  from  the  piers  on  either  side  of  this  central  pier,  a  space 
of  500  feet  in  the  centre  is  left  clear  of  the  cantilered  system  of 
support  above  described.  This  interval  is  spanned  by  a  bridge 
like  Sir  John  Hawkshaw's  bridge  at  Charing  Cross,  the  support 
being  entirely  from  above."  This  500  feet  is  the  free  space  in  the 
centre  of  each  span  which  will  be  available  for  high-masted 
vessels.  The  framework  is  knit  together  within  by  a  combina- 
tion of  transverse  girders,  and  it  is  upon  these  that  the  roadway 


FORTH    RAILWAY    BRIDGE.  2  19 

is  so  carried  at  a  height  of  150  feet  above  high-water  mark.  The 
bridge,  which  is  to  be  throughout  constructed  of  steel,  is  to  carry 
a  double  line  of  rails,  will  be  exactly  one  mile  in  length,  and  is 
calculated  to  bear  a  strain  up  to  the  full  requirement  of  the 
Board  of  Trade.  The  principle  of  construction  resorted  to  is 
that  of  continuous  girders  placed  on  canting  levers  and  resting 
upon  a  central  lever. 

In  some  interesting  particulars   mentioned  by  Mr.  B.  Baker, 
one  of  the  engineers,  to  the  British  Association  at  Southampton, 
he  says  it  would  probably  be  conceded  by  every  one  that  a  girder 
bridge  would  prove  stiffer  than  a  suspension  bridge  ;  in  the  case 
of  the  Forth  bridge,   it   will  also  be  cheaper.     In  a  long  span 
bridge  the  weight  of  the  structure  itself  constitutes  the   chiet 
portion  of  the  load,  whilst  the  pressure  of  the  wind  is  at  least  as 
important  an  element  as  the  rolling  load  itself,  to  carry  which  is 
the  sole  useful  mission  of  the  bridge.     In  a  properly  designed 
continuous  girder  for  a  long  span  bridge  the  mass  of  metal  will 
be  concentrated  near  the  piers,  where  it  will  act  with  the  smallest 
leverage   and   produce   the    least   bending   movement.      In   an 
ordinary  suspension  bridge,  with  stiffening  girder  vertically  to 
provide    for    the    rolling   load,   and   horizontally  to   meet  wind 
stresses,  the  mass  of  metal  will  be  somewhat  greater  towards  the 
centre  of  the  bridge  than  at  the  piers,  and  consequently  for  a 
given  mass  the  movement  will  be  much  less  in  the  continuous 
girder  than  in  the  suspension  bridge.     Thus  the  Forth  bridge 
superstructure  weighs  but  two  tons  per  foot  run  at  the  centre  of 
the  1,700  feet  span,  and  thirteen  and  a  half  tons  per  foot  run  at 
the  piers  ;  whilst  in  a  suspension  bridge,  as  already  stated,  the 
weight    of   superstructure  per  lineal  foot   would   be    somewhat 
greater  at   the  centre  than   at   the   piers.      This  consideration, 
coupled  with  the  facts  that  suspension  links  are  more  costly  than 
girder   work,   that   a   suspension   bridge  requires   a  very  costly 
anchorage,  and  that  the  contingencies  and  risks  during  erection 
in  a  stormy  estuary  are  very  great,  explains  why,  in  such  a  case 
as   the   Forth  bridge,   well-designed  continuous   girders  form  a 
cheaper,  as  well  as  a  far  stiffer,  structure  than  a  suspension  bridge 
with  stiffening  girder. 

Mr.  Baker  tells  us  that  the  width  for  the  superstructure  was 
determined  after  very  careful  consideration.  Since  the  fall  of  the 
Tay  bridge,  engineers  generally,  and   the   Board  of   Trade  in 


2  20  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

particular,  h;ive  vividly  realized  the  fact  that  the  severest  wrench 
to  which  a  railway  viaduct  is  subject  arises,  not  from  the  vertical 
stress  due  to  the  loading  of  both  lines  of  rails  with  locomotives 
throughout,  but  to  the  diagonal  stress,  due  to  the  combined 
action  of  the  ordinary  rolling  load  and  a  violent  hurricane.  In 
the  case  of  the  Forth  bridge  this  stress  would  act  at  an  angle  of 
about  45  degrees,  so  that,  were  it  not  for  the  dead  weight  of  the 
structure,  the  required  strength  would  be  the  same  horizontally 
as  vertically,  and  the  economical  width  would  be  the  same  as 
the  economical  depth.  Although  the  dead  weight  modifies  this 
conclusion,  it  was  obvious  that  the  bridge  should  be  a  continuous 
girder  of  varying  depth  on  plan  as  well  as  on  elevation,  and 
investigation  showed  the  economical  width  of  superstructure  to 
be  about  32  feet  at  the  centre  and  132  feet  at  the  piers. 

It  was  open  to  consideration  whether  the  wind  stresses  should 
be  resisted  by  bracing  together  both  the  top  and  bottom  mem- 
bers of  the  girder,  or  the  bottom  members  alone.  The  author, 
however,  never  had  any  doubt  that,  as  stresses  must  sooner  or 
later  be  brought  down  to  the  masonry  piers,  they  had  better  be 
brought  down  at  once  by  the  shortest  route  along  the  bottom 
members  only.  The  top  members  are  therefore  spaced  at  the 
distance  of  from  33  feet  to  27  feet  apart,  centre  to  centre,  and  are 
unconnected  by  wind  bracing.  Each  of  the  main  vertical  and 
diagonal  struts  consists  of  a  pair  of  tubes  spread  out  at  the  base 
like  a  bridge  pier,  and  the  wind  stresses  on  the  bracing  between 
the  tubes  are  much  reduced  thereby.  In  like  manner  are  the 
wind  stresses  on  the  bracing  of  the  bottom  member  reduced  by 
the  spreading  out  of  the  legs  of  the  cantilevers,  and  the  general 
stresses  on  the  web  members  by  the  tapering  depth  from  the 
piers  towards  the  ends  of  the  cantilevers. 

Mr.  Baker  tells  us  that,  though  the  works  will  be  on  an 
unusually  large  scale,  no  special  difficulty  will  arise  with 
respect  to  the  foundations.  The  island  of  Inchgarvie  is  of  trap 
rock,  and  the  central  pier  at  that  spot  will  consist  of  four 
cylindrical  masses  of  concrete  and  rubble-work  faced  with 
granite,  and  having  a  diameter  of  45  feet  at  the  top  and  70  feet 
at  the  bottom.  The  height  above  water  will  be  18  feet,  and 
the  depth  below  the  same  will  vary  from  24  feet  to  70  feet. 
After  the  sloping  face  of  the  rock  foundations  has  been  cut  into 
steps,  wrought-iron   caissons  will  be  floated    out,  lowered   into 


FORTH    RAILWAY    BRIDGE.  2  2  I 

place,  and  filled  with  concrete,  lowered  through  the  water  in 
hopper-bottomed  skips.  Oueensferry  pier  will  be  founded  on 
boulder  clay.  Open-topped  cylindrical  caissons,  70  feet  dia- 
meter, with  an  external  and  internal  skin  7  feet  6  inches  apart, 
will  be  floated  out  and  lowered  into  place.  The  piers  will  be 
carried  down  at  least  10  feet  into  the  boulder  clay,  which  will 
give  depths  ranging  from  6S  feet  to  88  feet  below  high  water, 
and  18  feet  less  at  low  water  in  the  respective  cylinders.  The 
weight  of  one  of  the  cylindrical  piers  at  Queensferry  will  be 
1 6,ooo  tons,  and  the  combined  vertical  pressure  on  the  top  of 
the  pier  from  the  dead  weight  of  superstructure,  rolling  load, 
and  wind  pressure  will  be  8,000  tons  ;  so  the  load  on  the  clay 
will  average  about  6  tons  per  square  foot  over  the  area  of  the 
foundation. 

The  total  length  of  the  great  continuous  girder  will  be  5.33° 
feet,  or  say  a  mile,  and  of  the  viaduct  approaches  2,754  feet,  or 
rather  over  half  a  mile.  The  piers  will  be  of  rubble  masonry, 
faced  with  granite,  and  the  superstructure  of  iron  lattice  girders. 
There  will  be  a  strong  parapet  and  wind  screen  to  protect  the 
trains. 

About  42,000  tons  of  steel  will  be  used  in  the  superstructure 
of  the  main  spans,  and  3,000  tons  of  wrought  iron  in  that  of  the 
viaduct  approach.  The  total  quantity  of  masonry  in  the  piers 
and  foundations  will  be  about  125,000  cubic  yards,  and  the 
estimated  cost  of  the  entire  work,  upon  the  basis  of  the  prices  at 
which  the  original  suspension  bridge  was  contracted  for,  is  about 
_£  1,500,000.  Dr.  Siemens  has  said — "The  Firth  of  Forth  is 
about  to  be  spanned  by  a  bridge  exceeding  in  grandeur  any- 
thing as  yet  attempted  by  the  engineer." 

Before  closing  this  chapter  we  may  refer  to  what  in  some 
sense  may  be  regarded  as  a  continuous  viaduct — the  proposed 
"  overhead  "  railway  at  Liverpool.  Railways  of  this  sort  have  for 
some  time  been  in  operation  in  New  York.  The  first  experi- 
ment was  tried  in  1867,  with  half  a  mile  of  line,  what  was  called 
the  "  One-legged  "  line,  from  its  being  carried  on  a  single  row 
of  central  columns  placed  between  the  kerb  of  the  footway  and 
roadway,  and  supported  from  the  columns  on  radiating  wrought- 
iron  brackets.  This  was  first  worked  by  a  fixed  engine  and 
cable.  It  was,  however,  a  failure.  A  new  Company,  under  the 
title  of  the   New  York  Elevated   Railway  Company,  purchased 


222  OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

the  interest  of  the  original  promoters  for  a  small  sum,  and 
extended  the  line  a  distance  of  about  five  miles,  working  by 
small  locomotives.  "The  Gilbert  Elevated  Railway,  which  was 
planned  to  administer  the  greater  part  of  the  elevated  railway 
system  of  New  York,  was  incorporated  June  17,  1872.  Though 
obviously  the  offspring  of  the  original  Greenwich  Street  line,  its 
first  conception  by  Dr.  Gilbert,  its  promoter,  embodied  much 
originality  in  construction,  mainly  in  the  employment  of  a 
double  row  of  supporting  columns  tied  together  by  cross  girders, 
.1  high  longitudinal  suspending  girder  for  carrying  the  line,  and 
elegant  arched  girders  from  column  to  column  over  the  line 
tying  the  whole  structure  together  at  intervals  of  4  feet  to  50 
feet." 

The  foundations  are  composed  of  from  4  feet  to  5  feet  °f 
brickwork  ;  into  it  iron  sockets  4  feet  long  are  built,  and  into 
these  the  supporting  columns  are  dropped,  and  the  intervening 
space  rammed  tight  with  iron  shavings  and  turnings,  which  rust 
into  a  cohesive  cement-like  mass.  The  minimum  clear  height 
of  the  structure,  says  Mr.  George  Maw,  is  14  feet  and  of  the 
rail  level  20  feet  ;  but  as  the  line  does  not  follow  the  smaller 
undulations  of  the  streets,  the  rail  level  is  occasionally  raised 
30  feet  above  the  roadway.  The  longitudinal  wrought-iron 
girders,  lightly  constructed  of  angle  and  "T  "  iron  about  3!  feet 
deep,  and  extending  from  column  to  column,  directly  support 
the  permanent  way,  which  consists  of  "  ties  "  or  sleepers  6  inches 
deep  and  7  inches  wide,  upon  which  the  rail,  weighing  56  lb.  to 
the  yard,  is  fixed  to  the  standard  gauge  of  4  feet  8h  inches.  The 
stations  at  intervals  of  about  half  a  mile  at  the  intersections  of 
all  the  main  avenues  and  streets,  are  approached  by  easy  flights 
of  stairs  at  each  end  of  the  platforms,  which  are  140  feet  in  length, 
covered  with  corrugated  iron,  and  provided  with  waiting-rooms 
and  ticket  offices.  The  motor  cars,  in  the  centre  of  which  are 
placed  the  boiler  and  engine,  weigh  about  30,000  lbs.  each,  and 
cost  about  ;£  1,000;  they  are  enclosed  all  round  and  provided 
with  plate-glass  windows  at  sides  and  ends.  All  the  four  wheels 
of  the  car  are  coupled  together  and  directly  connected  with  the 
engine  power.  The  streets  and  avenues  in  New  York  being 
mostly  at  right  angles,  the  curves  in  the  railway  in  passing  from 
one  to  the  other  are  necessarily  sudden,  but  they  are  accom- 
plished with  a  radius  of  90  feet  and   103  feet  for  the  inner  and 


ELEVATED    RAILWAYS. 


22 


outer  lines  respectively.  The  position  of  the  columns  at  these 
points  has  to  be  varied  and  modified  to  suit  the  widths  of  the 
intersecting  streets,  but  no  difficulty  is  found  in  so  placing  them 
as  to  interfere  but  little  with  the  traffic.  The  speed  of  train  is 
thirty  miles  an  hour ;  but  with  stops  at  stations  the  average 
train  speed  of  travelling  is  not  above  fifteen  miles  an  hour. 

A  similar  work  in  England  has  been  approved  by  Parliament. 
The  Liverpool  docks  stretch  along  the  frontage  of  the  river 
Mersey,  from  north  to  south,  for  seven  miles,  and  the  intended 
railway  will  run  parallel  with  the  docks,  on  a  high  level  above 


ELEVATED   RAILWAY,    NEW   YORK. 


the  ground.  The  line  will  commence  near  the  northern  boun- 
dary of  the  Mersey  Dock  Board's  Liverpool  estate,  in  the 
adjoining  borough  of  Bootle,  and  terminate  at  the  Herculaneum 
Dock,  in  Toxteth  Park.  There  will  be  stations  at  different 
points  close  to  the  line  of  docks.  The  line  will  be  carried 
chiefly  on  piers  and  columns  at  an  elevation  of  from  15  to  20 
feet  above  the  roadway,  and  will  pass  over  several  thoroughfares 
leading  from  the  interior  of  the  city  to  the  river.  The  Dock 
Board  has  agreed  to  erect  twelve  bridges  at  different  points,  the 
spans  of  which  are  to  be  50  feet  and  60  feet  in  width.    The  railway 


224  0UR    IRoN    ROADS. 

will,  at  several  points,  cross  over  the  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire, 
and  the  London  and  North  Western  lines.  The  railway,  which 
is  to  be  a  double  line  throughout,  will  cost  ,£650,000  for 
construction  only,  no  purchase  of  land  or  compensation  being 
required.  The  fares  to  be  charged  arc  threepence  a  mile  for 
first-class  passengers,  twopence  a  mile  for  second-class,  and  a 
penny  a  mile  for  third-class.  Passengers  only  are  to  be  carried. 
The  line  is  to  be  leased  and  worked  by  the  London  and  North 
Western,  or  the  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  Company. 

The  Great  International  Railway  suspension  bridge  over  the 
Niagara  river  was  erected  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  the  New 
York  Central  and  the  Great  Western  and  Canada  Railways, 
and  the  cost  was  contributed  in  equal  proportions  by  the  two 
companies.  By  its  means  an  unbroken  communication  is 
maintained  between  New  York  and  Boston  and  the  western 
part  of  Canada  without  change  of  carriage.  It  cost  400,000 
dollars,  and  was  opened  on  the  8th  of  March,  1855.  The  plan 
adopted  in  the  construction  of  this  bridge  differs  from  that 
usually  followed  in  England.  Instead  of  flat  wrought-iron 
plate  links,  connected  together  by  pins  passing  through  their 
extremities,  a  simple  wire  cable  is  employed,  or  rather  iron  wire 
cables,  each  10  inches  in  diameter  and  composed  of  3,640  separate 
wires.  These  cables  are  capable  of  carrying  a  weight  of  12,000 
tons,  while  the  actual  load  never  exceeds  1,000  tons.  The  wire 
ropes  are  securely  anchored  in  the  solid  rock,  30  feet  below  the 
surface,  and  they  pass  over  the  summits  of  four  solid  stone 
towers  80  feet  in  height.  Besides  the  wire  cables,  there  are 
624  suspending  rods,  of  a  carrying  strength  of  18,720  tons  ; 
these  support  the  roadway  at  different  parts,  and  are  connected 
with  the  roadway  above.  The  space  between  the  towers  is  800 
feet,  and  the  "railway  track,"  as  it  is  called  in  America,  is  250 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  river.  Absolute  rigidity  is  not 
secured,  which  cannot  be  attained  in  suspension  bridges,  but  the 
Niagara  Railway  suspension  bridge  is  sufficiently  rigid  to  allow 
of  laden  trains  to  pass  over  it  at  a  speed  of  five  miles  an  hour. 

A  picturesque  railway  bridge  on  the  Pennsylvania  line  is  that 
at  Conemaugh,  over  a  river  of  the  same  name. 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  the  subject,  a  word  must  be  said 
in  reference  to  level-crossing  stations.  It  frequently  occurs  in 
the  construction  of  railways  that  they  have  to  intersect  existing 


LEVEL    CROSSINGS. 


22 


roads,  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  cross  except  at  the  same 
level.  Sometimes  by  a  modification  of  the  gradient  of  the  line 
or  of  the  road,  the  one  may  be  taken  over  or  under  the  other, 
but  where  railroads  traverse  great  extents  of  level  country,  as  in 


CONEMAUGH    BRIDGE. 

Lincolnshire  and  Cambridge,  it  would  be  impossible  to  take  the 
one  class  of  roads  above  the  other  except  by  a  constant  series  of 
embankments,  along  which  either  the  line  or  the  road  must  pass. 
To  overcome  these  difficulties,  level  crossings  are  provided,  and 

Q 


26 


OUR    IKON    ROM  is. 


attendants  are  put  in  charge  of  the  gates.  Such  gates  arc  of 
several  kinds  and  sizes;  sometimes  four  are  employed;  and 
sometimes  it  is  considered  that  two  large  ones  are  sufficient. 
The  sketch  represents  a  pair  of  such  as  are  commonly  used  on 
the  Great  Northern  Railway.  They  are  massive,  strengthened 
with  iron,  and  hung  on  stout  timbers  deeply  imbedded  in  the 
earth.  They  are  twenty-six  feet  and  a  half  in  length,  and  cost 
about  £$o.  There  are  small  wickets  for  foot-passengers.  In  the 
middle  of  each  gate  is  a  large  round  board,  painted  red,  by 
means  of  which  an  approaching  train  may  see  the  gates  closed 
across  the  line.     At  night  a  red  licdit  is  substituted. 


LEVEL  CROSSINGS. 


In  some  instances  safety  gates  for  level-crossings  have  been 
adopted.  They  can  be  opened  by  the  movement  of  a  hand- 
lever,  connected  with  distance  signals,  and  also  with  signals  at 
the  crossing.  By  throwing  the  lever  over,  danger  signals  are 
raised,  and  the  gates  are  unlocked  and  closed  across  the  railway: 
the  reverse  operation  frees  the  line  and  again  locks  the  gates 
upon  the  highroad.  As  it  is  impossible  for  the  gates  to  be 
opened  without  the  signals  being  simultaneously  raised,  and  as 
the  latter  cannot  be  released  until  the  gates  are  again  closed 
and  locked,  safety  is  ensured.  One  man  can  work  both  the 
signals  and  gates. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Temporary  and  Permanent  Way. — Broad  and  Narrow  Gauge. — Break  of 
Gauge. — "  Clever  but  Theoretical." — Broad  Gauge  Changed  to  Narrow. 
— Formation  of  the  Line. — The  Road  Laid. — Rigidness  or  Elasticity  of 
Roads. — Ballast. — Burnt  Clay. — Stone  Sleepers. — Wooden  Sleepers. — 
Creosoting  Sleepers. — Longitudinal  Sleepers. — Chairs. — Keys. — Rails. — 
Controversies.— Smoothness  of  Track. — Rails  Kept  Warm. — Fish  Plates. 
— Cast-iron  Rails. — Wrought-iron  Rails. — Steel  Rails. — "  Creeping  "  of 
Rails. — Repair  of  Permanent  Way. — Plate-layers. — Duties  of  Plate- 
layers.— Enemies  of  the  Permanent  Way. — Water  Troughs  on  Perma- 
nent Way. — Opening  of  a  Line. — Opening  of  London  and  Bedford 
Line. 

AVING  described  the  chief  works  in 
the  construction  of  a  railway,  the  per- 
manent way,  as  it  is  called,  comes 
under  consideration.  The  term  is,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  applied  to  that  por- 
tion of  a  line  that  is  the  least  perma- 
nent of  the  whole,  and  it  requires 
continual  repairs  and  replacement  to 
maintain  it  in  proper  condition.  The 
word,  however,  is  employed  in  contra- 
distinction from  the  temporary  way 
laid  down  for  the  use  of  the  contractor  in  the  construction  of 
the  line. 

Here  at  the  outset  we  may  deal  with  the  question  of  gauge. 
This  subject  has  involved  a  large  expenditure  of  time,  discussion, 
and  money.  The  original  width  of  the  coal  tramroads  in  the 
North  of  England,  which  virtually  determined  the  British  gauge, 
was  not  fixed  on  any  scientific  theory  ;  it  was  adopted  simply 
because  of  its  practical  convenience,  five  feet  being  the  customary 
width  of  the  gates  through  which  the  "way-leaves"  led.  When 
the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line  was  projected,  Mr.  George 
Stephenson,  the  engineer,  saw  no  reason  to  depart  from  the 

Initial  letter  represents  Conway  Castle  and  part  of  its  Tubular  and  Sus- 
pension Bridges. 

227 


2  28  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

gauge  generally  established,  and  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
Railway  was  laid  down  with  the  gauge  of  four  feet  eight  inches 
and  a  half.  The  branch  lines  were  necessarily  constructed  in 
the  same  way,  since  the  engines  and  carriages  would  otherwise 
have  been  unable  to  pass  from  one  to  the  other  ;  and  when  the 
great  main  lines  were  planned  to  lead  southwards  to  the  metro- 
polis, uniformity  of  gauge  was  indispensable. 

Some  engineers  were  of  opinion  that  the  narrowness  of  the 
gauge  thus  selected  involved  a  crowding  of  the  machinery  of 
the  engines  that  was  inconvenient  both  to  the  builder  and  the 
cleaner  ;  and  regret  was  expressed  that  the  gauge  had  not  been 
fixed  a  few  inches  wider.  Further  experience,  however,  showed 
that  these  difficulties  might  be  surmounted,  and  the  requisite 
means  for  the  prevention  of  the  evils  referred  to  were,  to  a  great 
extent,  provided. 

The  question  was  under  discussion  when  a  great  change  took 
place.  Mr.  Brunei,  who  had  been  appointed  the  engineer  of 
the  Great  Western  Railway,  suggested  that  a  gauge  of  seven 
feet  would  be  preferable.  The  proposal  was  startling.  When 
laid  before  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  the  engineer  of  the  London 
and  Birmingham  line,  he  reported  unfavourably  upon  it,  and  a 
divergence  of  opinion  arose  between  the  two  Boards,  which 
eventually  led  them  to  abandon  the  idea  which  had  till  then  been 
entertained  of  having  a  common  metropolitan  terminus  for  the 
two  lines. 

An  elaborate  exposition  of  his  views  upon  the  subject  was 
made  by  Mr.  Brunei,  in  several  reports  he  addressed  to  the 
Directors.  He  admitted  that  in  a  continuous  line  of  traffic  a 
departure  from  the  established  gauge  would  occasion  inconven- 
ience, and  that  in  the  case  of  the  Great  Western  Railway  it 
would  almost  amount  to  a  prohibition  of  communication  with 
another  line  running  north  from  London.  But  he  considered 
that  as  the  new  line  was  to  be  carried  through  a  district  in  which 
no  railways  existed,  it  could  have  no  connection  with  any  other 
of  the  main  lines,  and  that  as  the  branches  would  complete  the 
communication  with  the  districts  through  which  the  line  would 
pass,  the  Great  Western  system  would  be  independent  of  other 
railways  for  its  traffic.  He  even  maintained  that  the  want  of 
connection  with  other  railways  would  be  advantageous,  inasmuch 
as  it  would  be  a  means  of  securing  a  monopoly  of  railway  com- 


BROAD  AND  NARROW  GAUGE.  2  29 

munication  in  the  West  of  England  and  South  Wales  in  the 
hands  of  the  Great  Western  Company.  The  Directors  were 
satisfied,  and  Parliament  was  induced  to  sanction  the  rescinding 
of  a  Standing  Order  which  had  prescribed  the  narrow  gauge  for 
general  adoption. 

Other  gauges  were  adopted  for  some  other  lines.  Mr. 
Braithwaite  first  chose  five  feet  for  the  Eastern  Counties  and 
Blackwall  lines,  and  five  feet  six  was  used  in  Scotland.  The  Ulster 
Company  made  twenty-five  miles  of  the  railway  from  Belfast  to 
Dublin  on  the  six  feet  two  inches  scale  ;  while  the  Drogheda 
Company,  which  set  out  from  Dublin  to  meet  the  Ulster  line, 
adopted  a  gauge  of  five  feet  two  inches.  When  the  discrepancy 
was  complained  of  by  the  Directors  of  the  Ulster  line,  they  were 
answered  by  the  Irish  Board  of  Works,  that  though  it  looked  a 
little  awkward,  and  although  the  two  ends  were  completed,  there 
was  so  little  chance  of  the  intervening  part  ever  being  finished, 
that  therefore  no  harm  was  likely  to  be  done.  The  subject, 
however,  was  referred  to  General  Pasley :  he  consulted  the  lead- 
ing authorities,  and  finally  adopted  five  feet  three  inches  as  the 
national  gauge  for  Ireland,  being  the  mean  of  all  their  opinions. 

Into  the  theoretical  advantages  of  the  two  systems  we  need 
not  enter  :  practical  considerations  were  predominant.  "  The 
traffic  of  the  West  of  England,"  said  Mr.  Sidney  at  the  time, 
"  requires  not  huge,  unwieldy  carriages  and  trucks,  but  handy 
wagons,  which  may,  without  inordinate  trouble  or  expense,  be 
run  into  small  road-stations  and  sidings,  to  which  a  farmer  may 
send  his  couple  of  fat  oxen,  or  his  score  of  sheep,  or  his  load  of 
corn,  in  conjunction  with  one  or  two  more  neighbours."  But 
of  such  traffic  there  was  little  on  the  Great  Western  Railway, 
though  it  traversed  rich  agricultural  districts,  because,  he  re- 
marked, "  the  whole  machinery  is  on  too  vast,  costly,  and 
magnificent  a  scale." 

The  difference  in  the  original  outlay  between  the  broad  and 
narrow  gauge  railways  was  of  great  importance.  Two  lines 
of  rails  of  the  broad  gauge  were  fourteen  feet  wide,  and  two  of 
the  narrow-gauge  are  nine  feet  five  inches  wide,  the  difference 
being  within  an  inch  of  another  track  of  narrow-gauge  railway. 
Mr.  Brunei  also  made  his  tunnels  six  feet  wider  than  those  on 
the  narrow  gauge  ;  but  of  this,  only  four  feet  seven  inches  could 
strictly  be  chargeable  to  the  gauge.     The  increased  cost  of  land 


2JO  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

—three-quarters  of  an  acre  per  mile — was  an  item  of  moment. 
The  line  was  carried  through  towns  and  buildings,  and  where  the 
works  were  of  magnitude,  the  difference  of  four  feet  seven  inches 
in  width  to  every  embankment,  viaduct,  and  bridge  above 
ground,  and  every  cutting  and  tunnel  below,  involved  an  outlay 
of  considerable  importance,  and  demanded  a  proportionate  return 
in  the  shape  of  interest  on  the  capital  expended.  In  short,  it  is 
estimated  that  where  a  narrow-gauge  line  would  require  £6,000 
per  mile,  £7,000  would  be  necessary  for  the  broad  ;  and  where 
the  works  cost,  as  on  the  Manchester  and  Leeds  Railway,  more 
than  £40,000  a  mile,  the  broad  gauge  would  per  se  require  an 
augmented  expenditure  of  from  £6,000  to  £8,000  per  mile. 

The  practical  evils  resulting  from  the  break  of  gauge  formed 
the  chief  consideration  that  determined   the  issue.     The  incon- 
venience to  passengers  was  great,  and  the  difficulties  as  respects 
the  goods  traffic  were  greater.     The  removal  involved   loss,  pil- 
ferage, detention,  besides  a  money  tax,  estimated  at  from   is.  6d. 
to  2s.  6d.  per  ton.     At  Gloucester  it  occupied  about  an  hour  to 
remove  the  contents  of  a  wagon,  full  of  miscellaneous  merchan- 
dise, from  one  gauge  to  another.     An  ordinary  train  might  con- 
tain "loose  commodities,  such  as  bricks,  slates,  lime  or  limestone, 
and   chalk,   flags,  clay,  manure,  salt,  coal  or  coke,   timber  and 
deals,  dye-woods,  iron,  iron-ore,  lead  and  metals,  cast-iron  pots, 
grates  and  ovens,  grindstones,  brimstone,  bones  and  hoofs,  bark, 
hides  and  sealskins,  oil-cake,  potatoes,   onions,  and  other  vege- 
tables ;    cheese,  chairs,  and   furniture  ;    hardware,   earthenware, 
dry  salteries,  groceries,  provisions,  cotton  wool,  oils,  wines,  spirits, 
and  other  liquids  ;  manufactured  goods,  fish  and  eggs,  ripe  fruit, 
etc.     Now  let  us  contemplate  the  loss  by  damage  done  to  the 
goods  on  this  line  alone,  by  reason  of  the  break  of  gauge  caus- 
ing the  removal  of  every  article.     In  the  hurry  the  bricks  are 
miscounted,  the  slates  chipped  at  the  edges,  the  cheeses  cracked, 
the  ripe   fruit  and  vegetables  crushed  and  spoiled  ;  the  chairs, 
furniture,  and  oil-cakes,  cast-iron  pots,  grates,  and  ovens,  all  more 
or  less  broken  ;  the  coals   turned   into  slack,  the  salt  short  of 
weight,  sundry  bottles  of  wine  deficient,  and  the  fish  too  late  for 
market.     Whereas,  if  there  had  not  been  any  interruption   of 
gauge,  the  whole  train  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  at  its 
destination  long  before  the  transfer  of  the  last  article,  and  with- 
out any  damage  or  delay."     It  was  estimated  that  the  expense 


CHANGING    THE    GAUGE.  23  l 

of  each  interchange  of  traffic  was  equivalent  to  the  cost  of  its 
conveyance  over  one  hundred  miles  of  railway.  No  wonder  that 
a  Royal  Commission  declared  its  opinion  that  "  the  continued 
existence  of  the  double  gauge  is  a  national  evil." 

The  experiment  of  the  great  engineer — "  clever,  but  theoreti- 
cal," as  he  has  been  called — came  to  a  costly  conclusion.  In 
1846  it  had  been  enacted  that  all  the  railways  in  Great  Britain, 
except  the  Great  Western,  should  henceforth  be  of  the  gauge  of 
four  feet  eight  and  a  half,  and  in  Ireland  of  five  feet  three.  In 
1867  there  were  1,456  miles  of  the  broad  gauge  existing,  and 
there  were  twenty-six  places  where  the  two  gauges  met,  and 
where  a  transfer  of  traffic  had  to  take  place.  A  mixed  or  double 
gauge  had  been  introduced  in  various  directions,  but  at  length 
it  was  resolved  that  the  broad  gauge  should  be  altered  to  the 
narrow,  in,  at  first,  some  portions,  and  then  on  the  remainder  of 
the  Great  Western  system.  The  undertaking  had  to  be  carried 
out  in  a  comprehensive  and  also  an  energetic  manner,  so  as  to 
lay  as  brief  an  arrest  as  possible  on  the  through  traffic  of  the 
respective  lines.  The  plan  adopted  between  Gloucester  and 
Hereford  in  1869  has  been  described  by  an  observer  whose 
narrative  we  abridge. 

The  work  was  commenced  first  by  mixing  the  gauges  in  the 
extensive  Gloucester  station-yard — a  matter  of  peculiar  difficulty, 
that  station  being  a  single  platform  one  ;  secondly,  by  mixing 
the  gauges  from  Gloucester  to  Grange  Court,  where  the  Gloucester 
and  Hereford  Railway  branches  off.  This  having  been  com- 
pleted, the  Gloucester  and  Hereford  was  closed  for  a  fortnight 
between  Grange  Court  and  Hereford,  passengers  being  conveyed 
by  ten  first-class  coaches  put  on  the  road.  A  force  of  450  men 
was  selected  from  the  gangs  regularly  at  work  on  the  Hereford 
division  of  the  Great  Western  Railway,  and  they  were  to  lodge 
during  the  execution  of  the  work  in  a  broad-gauge  train  of  40 
covered  wagons,  carefully  whitewashed,  and  supplied  with  an 
abundance  of  clean  straw  and  new  sacks  ;  the  staff  occupying  a 
first-class  carriage  for  the  night.  "  At  four  o'clock  on  Sunday 
morning  the  sleeping  train  was  in  motion,  and  an  engineer  had 
gone  ahead  setting  up  a  flag-pole  at  the  end  of  each  gang's 
length  of  work  for  the  day.  The  train  stopped  at  each  flag- 
pole, and  a  ganger  and  gang  of  22  men,  furnished  with  a  day's 
provisions,  jumped  out  with  all  the  necessary  tools,  also  a  cask 


o- 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


o\  water,  'devil,'  iron  crock,  and  fuel.  This  process  was  con- 
tinued throughout  the  whole  length  of  line  450  men  could  be 
spread  over,  Soon  a  line  of  smoke  was  to  be  seen  ascending, 
,\nA  the  work  of  getting  breakfast  was  actively  going  on.  The 
men  brought  their  own  food — a  week's  supply — as  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  should  the  work  extend  beyond  that  time  through 
bad  weather  or  any  unforeseen  circumstance,  they  were  to  be 
allowed  to  stop  for  a  day  to  get  fresh  supplies.  Cocoa  seemed 
the  favourite  beverage,  the  food  various — cold  bacon,  meat,  or 
bread  and  cheese."  The  men  were  not  long  over  breakfast,  and 
soon  the  work  of  narrowing  was  going  on.  The  first  night's  halt 
was  called  at  Fawley.  It  now  became  evident  that  Ross  would 
be  reached  on  Tuesday,  and  bills  were  issued  announcing  the 
commencement  of  traffic  by  rail  between  Hereford  and  Ross  on 
Wednesday.  Ross  was  actually  reached  on  Tuesday,  and  the 
sleeping  train  was  put  into  a  loop  line  at  that  station  for  the 
night.  "  By  Thursday  night  the  whole  work  was  accomplished, 
and  the  narrow-gauge  trains,  worked  by  the  proper  platforms, 
at  Grange  Court  Junction,  taking  throughout  the  proper  lines 
for  Gloucester."  In  five  days  the  whole  line,  22  miles  long,  was 
commenced  and  finished. 

Great  astonishment  has  recently  been  occasioned  by  an  an- 
nouncement that  American  engineers  had  changed  the  gauge 
of  200  miles  of  American  railway  in  12  hours.  Bearing  in  mind 
that  this  involved  only  moving  a  nailed-down  rail  two  or  three 
inches,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  narrowing  of  the  Gloucester  and 
Hereford  Railway  as  above  described  in  five  days  was  a  much 
more  surprising  engineering  feat.  Of  the  conduct  of  the  450 
men  employed  it  would  be  difficult  to  speak  too  highly  during 
these  five  days  of  incessant  toil.  Not  a  single  instance  of 
disobedience,  intoxication,  or  display  of  bad  temper  occurred  ; 
on  every  side  the  engineers  directing  the  work  met  with  most 
cheerful  obedience. 

We  now  come  to  the  subject  of  the  formation  of  the  line  itself. 
No  excellence  of  superstructure  can  compensate  for  insufficient 
earthworks.  For  double  lines  of  the  ordinary  gauge  the  forma- 
tion width  on  embankments  is  from  30  to  36  feet ;  in  cuttings 
it  varies  from  26  to  30  feet.  Between  the  two  lines  is  the  "six 
foot,"  as  it  is  called,  and  for  it  there  should  be  6  feet  to  6  feet 
6  inches  allowed,  and  7  feet  to  8  feet  6  inches  for  the  sides. 


BALLAST.  233 

The  width  of  the  side  spaces  in  cuttings  leaves  room  for  a  shelf 
between  the  edge  of  the  ballast  and  the  ditch,  so  that  any  wash 
from  the  surface  of  the  road-bed  is  prevented  from  passing  into 
and  choking  the  ditches  ;  a  similar  level  space  is  usually  left 
between  the  outside  of  the  ditch  and  the  foot  of  the  slope  itself, 
to  catch  the  wash  from  the  upper  surfaces. 

When  the  earthwork  has  been  formed,  the  drainage  completed, 
and  the  shrinking  allowed  for,  the  ballast,  or  at  least  part  of  it, 
has  to  be  laid.  Its  uses  are  various  :  it  distributes  the  weight 
of  the  load  from  the  sleepers  on  to  the  larger  bearing  surface  of 
the  road  ;  it  helps  to  fix  the  sleepers  in  their  places  ;  it  drains 
away  the  surface  water  ;  and,  being  in  its  own  nature  inter- 
mediate between  the  rigidity  of  rock  and  the  softness  of  common 
earth,  it  gives  a  certain  uniform  elasticity  to  the  road.  It  may 
seem  strange  to  speak  of  a  line  of  railway  as  elastic,  and  it  may 
be  thought  that  the  more  rigid  foundation  a  road  of  iron  can 
rest  on,  the  better.  In  America  the  problem  of  deflection  and 
looseness  of  rail-joints,  versus  anvil-like  rigidity  of  joint-fasten- 
ings, has  been  the  basis  of  permanent-way  discussion  ever  since 
improvement  began.  But  this  arose  from  the  peculiar  nature  of 
the  climate,  where,  at  a  particular  time  of  the  year,  hardened 
roads  prevail.  "  Elasticity  is  defined  to  be  a  compromise  between 
smoothness  and  hardness — that  is,  the  construction  may  ensure 
a  regular  and  even  movement,  and  yet  there  may  be  something 
not  perfectly  unyielding — that  is,  not  harsh  like  a  pavement ; 
for  it  is  obvious  that  although  timber  may  be  perfectly  solid  and 
hard,  yet  with  a  great  pressure,  like  the  weight  of  a  railway 
train,  there  may  be  a  certain  degree  of  '  give '  which  avoids  that 
grating,  crashing  sensation  which  is  inseparable  from  a  stone- 
based  way."  When  the  Manchester  and  Leeds  line  was  made, 
the  bottom  of  a  rock  cutting  was  dressed  to  a  surface,  and  the 
rails  were  spiked  directly  to  it.  But  a  few  weeks  experience 
was  sufficient  to  show  that  such  rigidity  was  undesirable  ;  the 
rails  were  taken  up,  and  the  line  was  relaid  in  the  usual  way. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  if  there  is  not  an  absolute  break  in 
the  line  of  rails,  a  train  may  proceed  safely  upon  a  very 
undulating  and  shaky  surface  ;  although,  of  course,  this  is  not 
advisable.  Firmness,  without  rigidity,  is  wanted  in  a  railway 
road-bed,  and  this  is  best  secured  by  ballast. 

The  materials  that  are  used  for  ballasting  a  line  are  various, 


234  OUR    IR()N    ROADS. 

the  engineer  being  in  part  dependent  on  the  resources  of  the 
country  through  which  he  has  to  pass.    Very  hard  materials  give 
rigidity  to  the  road,  and  cause  it  to  "batter  out."     On  the  other 
hand,  sand  hardly  deserves  the  name  of  ballast.     It  is  not  firm 
under  pressure  ;  it  will  not  drain  well  ;  it  rapidly  washes  out  ;  by 
being  blown  about  by  the  trains,  it  gets  into  the  bearings  of  the 
machinery  ;  by  lying  on  the  tread  of  the  rail  it  greatly  increases 
resistance,  and  thereby  adds  to  the  consumption  of  fuel  and  oil ; 
it  also  injures  the  upholstery  of  the  carriages,  and  is  a  nuisance 
to  the  passengers.     It  cannot  be  depended  on  for  a  smooth 
track,  least  of  all  in  winter.     Gravel  dredged   from  some   river 
bottom  like  that  of  the  Trent,  and  broken  stone  are  the  best, 
especially  where  the  gravel  has  a  mixture  of  clean  sand  ;  but 
burned  clay,  cinder,  shells,  broken  bricks  and  culm  or  small  coal 
are  all  employed.     Stone,  when  broken  for  ballast,  should  not 
exceed  2\  inches  in  any  diameter.     Limestone  rock  is  durable, 
but  is  of  so  binding  a  character  as  to  pack  too  readily  when 
used  as  ballast.     Gneiss  rock  answers  well  for  ballast,  and  breaks 
easily.     On  the  Great  Eastern,  broken  sandstone,  though  soft, 
gives  an   easy  road.     Slate  rock  is  the  poorest   kind  of  stone 
ballast,  being  rapidly  decomposed  in  wet  weather.    "  Hard  stone 
ballast  should  never  be  used  in  cuttings.     Gravel,  if  too  fine,  will 
not  drain  well  ;  if  too  coarse  it  will  not  pack  sufficiently  to  pre- 
vent the  sleepers  from  sinking  into  it.     It  must  be  carefully 
selected   also  as  to  its  quality.     If  from  the  sea-shore,  it  will 
hardly  bind  at  all ;  if  mixed  with  loam,  it  will  never  drain  well." 
If  it  has  a  natural  mixture  of  clean  sand,  it  will  be  best  quality. 
Burned  clay  is  often  used  for  ballast,  especially  on  the  lines 
near  the  metropolis  that  run  over  the  London  clay  field.     In 
burning  it  a  wood  fire  is  first  lighted  ;  on  this  some  bituminous 
coal  is  placed,  and  when  this  is  well  kindled,  a  thin  layer  of  clay 
is  put  round  and  on  it.     "  Clay  and  coal  are  then  placed  alter- 
nately— the  clay  in  lumps,  never  so  thickly  as  to  choke  the  fire. 
In  this  way,  a  bank  or  kiln  of  clay,  up  to  any  size,  may  be  made 
up  and  burned.     On  the  Great  Northern,  these  banks  are  laid 
up,  about  200  feet  long,  60  feet  wide,  and  20  feet  high."     Care 
must  be  taken   that  it   is   burned   uniformly.     If  vitrified,  it  is 
best ;  if  under-burned,  it  will  dissolve  in  wet  weather.     A  ton  of 
coal  will  burn  20  or  25  yards  of  clay,  and  with  coal  at  16s.  a  ton 
the  ballast  will  cost  about  is.  ~$d.  a  yard. 


SLEEPERS.  235 

Twelve  inches  of  ballast  are  usually  laid  before  the  sleepers 
are  placed.  These  are  then  placed  at  their  proper  levels  and 
distances,  and  when  bedded  as  firmly  as  possible,  more  ballast 
is  deposited  around  and  upon  them.  If  broken  stone  is  used, 
the  larger  pieces  are  spread  at  the  bottom,  and  they  will  so 
wedge  into  each  other  as  not  to  be  likely  to  come  to  the 
surface.  With  gravel,  the  coarser  is  laid  at  the  bottom.  In 
spreading  the  ballast,  provision  is  made  for  the  escape  of  water 
from  its  surface.  If  this  is  done  well,  it  may  be  safely  said 
that  "  the  best  railways  in  the  world — those  which  do  the  most 
business  at  the  least  cost — are  the  best  ballasted." 

We  have  thus  dealt  with  some  parts  of  what  is  called  "  the 
permanent  way."  But,  as  we  have  seen  and  shall  further  see, 
all  its  conditions  contradict  its  idea  of  permanence.  The  foun- 
dations of  a  permanent  building  are  placed  at  a  depth  which 
insures  uniform  support  at  all  seasons,  and,  convulsions  of  nature 
excepted,  for  centuries  ;  as,  for  instance,  with  cathedral  towers, 
which  have  not  moved  in  a  thousand  years  as  much  as  an 
ordinary  rail-joint  deflects  at  the  passage  of  a  train.  A  railway 
is  on  the  top  of  the  ground,  and  is  at  the  mercy  of  frost  and 
thaw,  of  rain  and  sun,  of  cold  and  heat.  Each  change  of  the 
weather  alters  its  resistance,  strength,  and  support.  And  all 
this  is  unavoidable. 

We  now  come  to  the  question  of  sleepers.  Originally  it  was 
supposed  that  nothing  less  solid  and  durable  than  blocks  of 
stone  could  carry  the  iron  rails  and  could  stand  the  hard  work 
to  which  the  permanent  way  would  be  subjected.  These  blocks 
were  two  feet  square  and  a  foot  thick.  On  the  London  and 
Greenwich   Railway,  and  on  several  other  of  the  early  railways, 

granite  was  used.     On  the  London        [~.~\  I"."-)   [ — n   1 

and   Birmingham  line  no  fewer  than    "    |    b  j   |   £    |    |    ^  j    |  ^ 
152,000  tons  weight  of  stone  blocks 
were  laid  as  sleepers,  costing  about 

.£180,000.     This  expense  was  divi-       I   ^  I  j"  m   !   rZH_L_a-i_ 
sible  into  three  nearly  equal  parts  :        L__J   I — ! — I    I — _j   L__| 
one-third    for   the    stone,    one-third    for   the    freight    from    the 
quarries  to  the  Thames,  and  the  remainder  for  delivery  on  the 
different  parts  of  the  works. 

The  setting  of  the  sleepers  on  which  the  rails  rest  is  a  matter 
of  great  importance  :  upon  it  depends  the  permanent  stability 


01  R    [RON     ROADS. 

of  the  road.  The  old  method  was,  after  having  spread  the 
bottom  o\  the  excavation,  or  the  top  of  the  embankment,  with 
a  layer  of  ashes,  small  stones,  or  gravel,  to  place  the  blocks 
upon  this,  with  the  chairs  and  rails  attached  to  them  ;  workmen 
with  narrow  shovels  pushed  the  ashes  or  sand  underneath  the 
blocks,  and  at  the  same  time  beat  upon  the  upper  side  of  the 
Mock  with  heavy  mallets,  till  the  rails  were  at  the  proper  level. 
But  by  such  a  method,  only  a  very  imperfect  solidity  could  be 
given  to  the  foundation,  and  when  the  trains  ran  upon  the  rails 
the  blocks  sank,  and  workmen  were  required  to  push  more  ashes 
or  sand  underneath  to  restore  them  to  their  proper  level,  until 
the  scats  of  the  blocks  became  sufficiently  firm  to  resist  the 
weight  of  the  passing  vehicles. 

When  George  Stephenson  was  laying  down  the  Liverpool 
and  Manchester  line,  he  compressed  and  consolidated  the  foun- 
dation so  that  the  weight  of  the  trains  could  not  make  the 
blocks  yield.  This  was  done  by  the  impact  of  the  blocks 
themselves,  which  were  successively  lifted  up,  and  allowed  to 
fall  upon  the  seat  on  which  they  were  intended  permanently  to 
rest.  The  block  was  dropped  from  such  a  height  that  the  effect 
was  greater  than  the  direct  weight  or  pressure  of  the  passing 
trains. 

For  the  success  of  this  plan,  it  was  necessary  that  the  material 
on  which  the  coating  was  laid  should  be  firm  and  solid  ;  for  the 
least  subsiding  of  the  foundation  would  render  all  the  work 
useless.  Hence,  though  it  succeeded  upon  well  drained  and 
consolidated  works,  yet  in  clay,  and  other  yielding  soils,  other 
means  had  to  be  resorted  to.     In  some  cases  the  blocks  were 

laid  diagonally,  instead  of  vertically, 
^  {  I?  ^ {  T  ^  as  seen  m  ^ie  accompanying  dia- 
gram, which  was  thought  to  have 
the  effect  of  steadying  the  rails  ; 
/~\  /\  while  it  gave  to  the  workmen  access 
v  u/\i!j  /  to  the  four  sides,  to  set  them  right 
if  they  became  displaced.  The 
difficulties,  however,  which  attended  the  use  of  stone  blocks 
at  length  led  to  the  substitution  of  wooden  sleepers  ;  and  piles 
of  stone  blocks  might  for  years  be  seen  at  roadside  stations  on 
the  London  and  Birmingham  line,  whence  they  were  sold  for 
about  eighteen-pence  apiece  ;  or  they  may  to-day  be  found  on 


CREOSOTING  SLEEPERS. 


237 


railway  platforms  doing  duty  as  paving  kerbstones,  the  holes 
pierced  in  them  for  the  pins,  and  the  square  hollows  cut  for  the 
chairs,  plainly  indicating  the  use  to  which  they  were  formerly 
devoted. 

Wooden    sleepers     are    now    almost 
universally  employed.     They  serve  not  ~ 
only   as    a    support    for    the    chair   and 
rails,  but  as  ties  for  keeping  the  line  in 

gauge.     The  material  first  selected  was 

larch,  this  being  considered  the  most 
durable  wood  for  the  purpose,  next  to 
oak.  The  trunk  of  the  tree  was  split  in  two,  and  placed  with 
the  convex  side  downwards.  Timber  of  larger  size  is  now  em- 
ployed for  sleepers.  They  are  in  general  9  feet  long,  10  inches 
wide,  and  5  thick.  These  dimensions  help  to  give  a  large  bear- 
ing surface  on  the  ballast,  and  their  length  especially  tends  to 
maintain  the  steadiness  of  the  track,  and  to  prevent  rolling. 
Deal  is  usually  employed,  because,  although  it  is  not  so  close 
or  hard  as  some  other  woods,  still  when  properly  prepared  is 
very  durable,  owing  probably  to  the  resin  with  which  it  is  im- 
pregnated. In  America  that  kind  of  pine  known  as  "  Hem- 
lock," or  "  Hemlock  Spruce,"  has  been  found  the  best,  although 
white  oak,  chestnut,  and  all  sorts  of  wood  are  used.  Sleepers 
must  always  be  straight,  and  of  an  uniform  size ;  otherwise  the 
running  would  be  "  poor,"  as  it  is  called. 

For  some  years  past  railway  sleepers  have  been  subjected 
to  chemical  treatment,  which  enables  them  better  to  resist 
moisture  and  consequent  decay.  The  Midland  Railway  thus 
deals  with  all  its  sleepers  at  some  works  established  for  the 
purpose  at  Beeston  Sidings,  near  Nottingham.  Probably  few 
travellers  who  have  passed  this  spot  have  failed  to  notice  the 
enormous  stacks  of  sleepers  piled  here.  In  each  stack  there 
are  from  1,200  to  1,700;  and,  as  there  are  some  150  stacks, 
the  number  of  sleepers  on  the  ground  will  be  over  200,000. 
They  are  all  Memel  timber  or  deal,  and  they  are  all  "  in  the 
white  "  ;  though,  before  they  leave  these  sidings,  they  will  be  as 
black  as  if  they  had  been  dipped  in  ink.  They  will,  in  fact,  not 
only  be  placed  in  creosote,  but  creosote  will  be  soaked  into 
them — a  process  which  will  make  them  comparatively  imper- 
vious to  moisture  and  to  decay.     By  means  of  steam  pumps  the 


238  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

air  is  fust  sucked  out  of  the  sleepers,  and  then  creosote  is  forced 
into  them. 

We  enter  a  little  house.     It  contains  an  engine  of  10  horse- 
power, the  force   of  which  can  be  made  to  work  first  one  and 
then   the  other  of  two  pumps.     The  one  is  a  "vacuum"  pump, 
the  other  a  "pressure"   pump.     Just  outside  the  engine-room, 
placed  a  few  yards  apart,  are  two  large  iron  cylinders,  in  form 
like  the  boilers  of  a  locomotive,  only  much  larger,  being  54  feet 
in  length  and  of  nearly  6  feet  diameter.      A  great  iron  door 
opens  at  one  end  of  each,  and  looking  within  we  see  two  lines  of 
rails  3  feet  apart  running  along  the  bottom  from  the  furthest 
end  towards  the  door,  and  there  they  are  connected  with  a  line 
of  railway  of  the  same  gauge  that  leads  up  the  yard  to  the  stacks 
of  sleepers.     Along  these  rails,  drawn  by  a  horse,  come  some 
"  lorries  "  or  "  trams  "  with  little  low  wheels,  just  high  enough  to 
clear  the  rails,  and  each  tram  loaded  with  nearly  50  sleepers,  piled 
in  such  a  form  that  the  tram  and  its  load  just  fits  the  shape  of 
the  cylinder.     One  after  another  several  trams  are  brought  to 
the  mouth  of  the  cylinder,  and  then  are  pushed  along  the  line  of 
rails  inside.     Including  some  30,  previously  laid  upon  the  floor 
to  fill  up  interstices,  there  are  now  some  300  sleepers  in  all  to 
be  treated.     The  door  of  the  cylinder  is  closed  ;  the  engine-man 
starts  his  vacuum  engine,  which  will  suck  the  air    out  of  the 
cylinder,  and  he  will  continue  this  process  till  there  is  a  vacuum 
equal  to  16  pounds  on  the  square  inch.     When  this  has  been 
done,  he   opens   a   cock   which  communicates  with  a  tank  of 
creosote  underneath,  and  thereupon  the  cylinder  sucks  up  the 
creosote,  so  that,  in  about  ten  minutes,  the  cylinder  of  sleepers 
which,  a  few  minutes  before,  was,  so  far  as  possible,  a  vacuum, 
has  filled  itself  with  creosote.     But  with  this  the  engine-man  is 
not   content.      He  now  gets   his  pressure  pump  to   work,  and 
forces  creosote  into  the  cylinder,  and  into  the  timber  contained 
therein.     The  cylinder  was,  as  we  have  already  said,  full  ;  but 
the  pump  continues  to  force  the  fluid  in  until  the  pressure  is  as 
high  as  1 10  pounds  on  the  square  inch,  and  no  less  than  750 
gallons    of  the    creosote    have    been   forced   not    only   into  the 
cylinder  but  into  the  sleepers.    This  being  accomplished,  a  valve 
is  opened,  and  the  surplus  creosote — that   is,  all  that  has  not 
soaked  into  the  wood— is  allowed  to  run  out.     The  door  of  the 
cylinder  is  then  opened ;   and  the  trollies,  with  their  loads  of 


CREOSOTING  SLEEPERS.  239 

sleepers,  are  drawn  out.  The  whole  process  has  occupied  about 
two  hours.  Telegraph  poles  varying  from  22  to  54  feet  in 
length,  are  similarly  treated. 

What  creosote  is  may  perhaps  be  known  to  some  through  the 
painful  lessons  taught  by  the  dentist  in  the  treatment  of  teeth, 
when  a  single  drop  has  a  palpable  effect.  The  treatment  at 
Beeston  Sidings  is  not,  however,  by  drops,  but  by  gallons, 
averaging  from  perhaps  ij  to  2\  gallons  each  sleeper,  the  best 
close-grained  timber  taking  the  least,  and  the  open-grained 
"  woolly  "  wood  taking  the  most.  The  work  is  best  done  in  dry 
weather.  If  the  sleepers  to  be  operated  upon  are  very  wet  or 
are  frozen  hard,  the  results  are  only  partially  successful ;  ordin- 
arily the  timber  is  soaked  "  to  the  heart "  with  the  creosote. 
The  sleeper  when  well  done  should  continue  sound  for  21  years. 
All  the  sleepers  now  and  henceforth  laid  upon  the  Midland 
system  have  to  come  to  Beeston  Sidings  for  treatment.  The 
creosote  is  brought  in  iron  tanks  built  for  the  purpose  from 
various  chemical  and  gas  works,  each  tank  containing  some 
2,000  gallons.  Ten  or  a  dozen  of  these  may  be  standing  on  a 
siding  ready  to  deliver  up  their  contents.  The  part  of  Beeston 
Sidings  occupied  by  the  creosote  works,  sleeper  stacks,  and  so 
forth,  is  nearly  a  third  of  a  mile  in  length. 

The  distance  the  sleepers  are  laid  from  one  another  depends 
upon  the  weight  of  the  rails.  On  the  South  Western  line  they 
were  originally  laid  5  feet  apart,  and  there  were  portions  long 
remaining  where  the  distance  was  4  feet,  giving  i§-  square  feet 
of  bearing  per  running  foot.  The  usual  distance  at  which  they 
are  now  laid  is  3  feet  from  centre  to  centre.  This  gives  2\ 
square  feet  of  bearing  surface  for  each  running  foot  of  road.  The 
lines  of  heavier  traffic,  as  the  Midland  and  North  Western,  have  a 
distance  of  2  feet  6  inches  to  2  feet  9  inches  between  the  centres 
of  sleepers,  giving  in  the  first  case  3  square  feet,  and  in  the 
second,  273  square  feet  of  bearing  per  running  foot.  It  has  been 
remarked  that,  with  a  comparatively  wide  distance  between 
sleepers,  the  ballast  is  more  likely  to  be  well  packed  than  where 
they  are  close  together. 

The  rails  are  secured  to  the  sleepers  by  means  of  chairs. 
Chairs  were  formerly  fixed  to  the  stone  blocks  by  wooden  pegs  ; 
they  are  now  held  to  the  wooden  sleepers  by  wooden  trenails 
and  iron  spikes.     The  Midland  Company  use  two  of  wood  and 


24O  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

two  of  iron  for  each  chair;  the  wood  giving  the  tighter  grasp 
in  holding  the  road  to  gauge,  and  the  iron  giving  permanent 
strength  and  security.  So  firmly  do  the  trenails  hold,  that,  once 
inserted,  they  cannot  be  drawn  out  again  ;  if  it  is  necessary 
to  release  them,  they  must  be  cut  off  with  a  plug  cutter. 
Chairs  are  of  cast  iron,  the  size  and 
shape  of  the  cavity  corresponding  with  the 
form  and  dimensions  of  the  rail  ;  and 
railway  chaik.  though  depending  for  their  exact  shape  on 
the  opinion  of  the  engineer,  their  usual  appearance  is  very 
similar.  The  first  rails  on  the  London  and  Birmingham  line 
required  a  considerable  elevation  of  the  chair,  which  involved 
the  danger  of  its  being  wrung  from  the  block — an  effect  likely 
to  follow  in  exact  proportion  to  its  height.  The  block  was  also 
more  loosened  in  the  ground  by  a  high  chair,  and  the  cost  of 
the  continual  repair  thus  arising,  amounted  at  one  time  to  half 
the  wages  expended  in  maintaining  the  way  in  general.  The 
weight  of  the  best  chairs  is  40  pounds  each. 

When  the  rail  is  laid  in  the  chair,  it  is  secured  in  its  position 
by  a  wooden  key.  A  key  is  a  small  piece  of  thoroughly 
seasoned  oak,  that  fits  into  the  cavity  left  between  one  side 
of  the  rail  and  one  side  of  the  chair.  In  order  to  give  to  the 
whole  greater  firmness,  the  key-wood  is  steamed,  and  then 
subjected  to  a  pressure  from  a  hydraulic  machine.  Its  dimen- 
sions are  thereby  considerably  reduced ;  and  the  key  being 
retained  in  a  drying-house  till  required,  it  is  easily  forced  into 
the  chair  when  necessary,  while  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  weather,  make  it  expand  so  as  to  hold  the  rail  with 
0>  great  tenacity.     So  great  has  been  the  expan- 

h$.\       sive    power   of   keys,  that    they  have,   in   a  few 
'" .. .  v^\  instances,  been  known  to  burst  asunder  the  iron 
chair,  j^ey,  and  chajrs  jn  which  they  were  secured. 

RAIL.  ' 

On  some  of  the  earlier  lines  the  wooden  keys  were  found  not 
to  last  more  than  about  five  years  ;  and  as  they  cost  from  £8 
to  .£10  per  thousand, — and  upwards  of  seven  thousand  were  used 
in  a  mile  of  railway  with  double  track  and  sleepers  of  three  feet 
apart, — the  expense  of  renewal  became  an  important  item.  To 
provide  something  more  permanent,  Mr.  W.  H.  Barlow  invented 
a  kind  of  hollow  or  tubular  key  of  wrought  iron,  which  was 
made  to  press  equally  against  the  chair  and  the  rail. 


LONGITUDINAL    AND    CROSS    SLEEPERS.  24 1 

On  the  Great  Western  Railway  a  peculiar  plan  was  for  a  long 
while  adopted  in  laying  down  the  sleepers  and  rails.  The  rails 
were  bridge-shaped,  with  wide  flanges  or 
wings,  and  were  secured  to  continuous  bear- 
ings of  wood,  instead  of  across  the  usual  - 
transverse  sleepers.  It  was  considered  that  less  noise,  greater 
steadiness  of  motion,  and  diminished  wear  and  tear,  resulted. 
The  longitudinal  sleepers  were  of  American  pine,  and  were 
connected  by  transverse  pieces. 

At  first  the  longitudinal  sleepers  were  kept  in  their  position 
by  a  novel  contrivance.  Piles  of  great  size  and  length  were 
driven  into  the  road,  and  the  transverse  timbers  were  bolted  to 
them.  The  piles  were  also  regarded  as  holding  the  road  firmly 
down.  The  timber  used  in  a  mile  of  this  road  was  about  420 
loads  of  pine,  and  40  loads  of  hard-wood  ;  six  tons  of  iron  bolts 
and  30,000  wood  screws  were  also  required.  The  cost  of  the 
first  portion,  extending  from  London  to  Maidenhead,  including 
laying,  ballasting,  sidings,  driving,  and  all  such  work,  amounted 
to  £9,200  per  mile. 

Experience,  however,  proved  that  the  piles,  instead  of  afford- 
ing support  to  the  road,  prevented  it  from  settling  into  its 
natural  bed,  and  the  cross  timbers  had  to  be  detached,  and  the 
road  left  to  consolidate  itself  in  the  usual  way,  by  the  weights 
passing  over  it. 

Various  disadvantages  were  connected  with  the  use  of  the 
longitudinal  system.  The  bridge  rail  used  with'it  was  deficient 
in  vertical  stiffness  ;  and,  as  the  timber  could  not  make  up  for 
this  want,  the  line  sprang  on  the  passage  of  a  train.  If  the  rail 
"  gave,"  the  timber  of  the  sleeper  must  give  too,  and  crush  at 
the  same  time  ;  and  cross-pieces  of  hard  board  had  to  be  inter- 
posed between  the  rail  and  the  sill,  so  as  to  secure  a  continuous 
floor  for  the  rail.  It  was  also  thought  that  the  bite  of  the 
engine-wheels  on  the  rails  of  the  longitudinal  timbers  was  not 
so  great  as  on  the  cross  sleepers.  On  making  a  trial  one  frosty 
morning,  Mr.  Gray  found  that  the  engine  slipped  so  much  on  a 
level  piece  of  ground  that  the  train  could  scarcely  ascend  an 
incline  of  16  feet  a  mile  ;  but  on  reaching  an  incline  laid  with 
cross-sleepers,  the  "engine  went  up  like  an  arrow."  The  slipping 
re-commenced  on  reaching  another  portion  of  the  road  laid  with 
longitudinal  timbers,  and  again  ceased  at  the  cross-laid  road. 

R 


-}  -  01  R    [RON    ROADS. 

An  important  advantage  secured  by  the  cross  sleeper  road  is 
that  it  gives  a  wider  base  of  support  to  a  passing  train.  The 
longitudinal  road  is  only  between  five  and  six  feet  wide,  where- 
as the  cross  sleepers  are  nine  feet  in  length.  The  general  results 
of  experience  have  led  to  the  longitudinal  system  being  gradu- 
ally abandoned,  even  on  the  Great  Western,  and  the  line  is 
replaced,  where  required,  by  the  cross-sleeper  road.  Eventually 
the  same  plan  will  be  extended  over  the  whole  of  that  system. 
The  rail  now  used  by  the  Great  Western  is  of  steel,  double- 
headed,  eighty  pounds  weight  to  the  yard.  The  alteration  of 
the  gauge  of  the  Great  Western  has  practically  involved  the 
alteration  of  almost  everything  else.  It  is  said  that  "at  the 
present  day  there  is  not  left  upon  the  line  a  single  construction 
— either  engine,  carriage,  wagon,  wheel,  or  spring — as  origin- 
ally designed." 

We  may  add  that  on  the  questions  touching  the  details  of  the 
permanent  way,  there  has  been,  and  is,  the  keenest  controversy 
among  practical  men.  The  differences  have  been  as  lively  as 
between  opinions  on  ecclesiastical  questions.  A  gentleman  in 
authority  playfully  remarked  to  us  the  other  day :  "Yes,  on  this 
subject  we  quarrel  splendidly.  We  are  quite  ready  to  burn  one 
another  at  the  stake  in  our  disputes  about  the  permanent 
way." 

The  earthwork  being  made  firm  by  its  own  ample  width  and 
by  good  drainage,  "  the  ballast  being  deep,  clean,  and  moder- 
ately binding,  and  the  sleepers  resting  uniformly  over  a  broad 
surface,  we  have  a  strong  and  permanent  foundation,  on  which, 
if  the  rails  are  well  fastened,  the  whole  must  inevitably  lie 
smoothly  and  quietly.  It  is  by  permanent  smoothness  in  a 
track  that  we  avoid  constant  crushing  and  churning  of  the 
ballast ;  avoid  crushing  and  rotting  the  sleepers  ;  avoid  break- 
ing the  chairs  or  other  joint  fastenings  ;  avoid  crushing  and 
breaking  rails  ;  and  that  we  also  avoid  the  great  increase  of 
resistance  and  the  largely  increased  wear  and  tear  of  machinery 
always  accompanying  a  bad  track." 

How  little  was  known  and  how  much  had  to  be  learned  with 
regard  to  rails  may  be  shown  by  a  single  fact.  At  one  time 
considerable  anxiety  was  cherished  as  to  the  effect  that  frosty 
weather  might  produce  in  glazing  the  rails  with  ice.  To  avert 
this  evil,  the  idea   was   seriously  proposed,  and    in    1831    was 


RAILS    AND    PLATES. 


24; 


protected  by  patent,  of  making  the  rails  hollow,  and,  during  the 
winter,  filling  them  with  hot  water  ! 

The  weight  and  form  of  the  rails  employed  on  railroads  have 
necessarily  been  a  subject  of  in- 
creasing interest.  How  great  the 
progress  that  has  been  made  is 
seen  by  the  fact  that  the  Stockton 
and  Darlington  line  was  "  laid  with 
rails  of  cast  iron  joined  at  every 
four  feet,"  and  that  the  traveller 
found  in  passing  over  them  "  the  jerks  and  jolts  were  frequent, 
audible,  and  sensible,  resembling  exactly  the  clicking  of  a  mill- 
hopper." 

With  regard  to  the  shape  of  a  rail,  it  should  be  such  that  the 
pressure  of  the  passing  wheel  is  as  perpendicular  downwards 
as  possible  ;  for,  if  directed  sideways,  there  is  not  only  a  loss  of 
power,  but  a  tendency  to  throw  the  rails  out  of  gauge  and  to 
throw  the  trains  off  the  road. 

An  increase  in  the  weight  of  the  rails  inevitably  followed  the 
increase  of  the  weights  they  have  had  to  carry.  The  rails  first 
employed  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line  weighed  only 
thirty-five  pounds  a  yard.  But  in  the  report  of  the  directors, 
in  1834,  it  was  stated  that  at  particular  parts  of  the  road  the 
rails  were  too  weak  for  the  heavy  engines,  and  the  speed  at 
which  they  moved  ;  and  from  the  breakages  that  had  taken 
place,  the  directors  were  of  opinion  that  it  was  necessary  to 
substitute  rails  weighing  sixty  pounds  to  the  yard — a  change 
which  for  a  while  was  found  perfectly  satisfactory. 

One  of  the  most  simple  and  effective  improvements  with 
regard  to  rails  was  the  introduction  of  the  fish-plate.  It  joins 
together  the  two  ends  of  two  rails. 
The  word  "  fish  "  is  probably  em- 
ployed here  in  the  nautical  sense. 
When  a  mast  has  been  shot  through 
or  sprung,  it  is  common  to  lay  a 
piece  of  timber  on  each  side  of  it, 
and  to  tie  a  rope  firmly  round  ; 
and  this,  in  sailors'  phraseology,  is 
to  "  fish  "  the  mast.  So  with  the  rails.  A  strong  short  plate  of 
iron  is  placed  on  each  side  the  two  ends  of  the  two  rails,  and 


B^f^BI 


WW 


FISH-PLATES. 


244  0UR    IRON    ROADS. 

Four  bolts  are  passed  through  boles  prepared  for  them  in  the 
plates  and  the  rails.  These  bolts  have  a  bead  at  one  end,  and  a 
nut  is  screwed  on  at  the  other,  and  the  effect  is  that  the  two  rails 
are  now  practically  one,  and  that  the  line  of  rails  from  end  to 
end  is  as  one  rail.  Allowance  has  to  be  made  for  expansion 
under  the  beat  of  a  summer  sun,  and  contraction  from  frost. 

At  length  the  question  of  the  use  of  wrought  iron,  and  then 
of  steel  rails,  rose  into  importance.  It  was  seen  that  the  enor- 
mous weights  and  high  velocities  which  our  railways  had  to 
sustain,  the  crushing  effects  of  heavy  mineral  and  merchandise 
trains,  and  also  of  monster  locomotive  expresses  which  weighed 
fifty  or  sixty  tons,  necessitated  renewals  of  road  of  far  greater 
strength  than  formerly  sufficed.  Deflection,  lamination,  split- 
ting, and  transverse  fractures  of  rails  were  of  frequent  occur- 
rence ;  and  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  the  gauge  of  the  line 
not  only  increased,  but  created  much  of  the  oscillating  motion 
which  is  so  unpleasant  to  the  traveller,  and  so  destructive  to 
the  rolling  stock.  Not  only  were  the  rails  worn  and  torn  ;  they 
were  literally  ground  by  the  application  of  the  ponderous  breaks 
required  to  check  the  trains  on  approaching  stations,  in  de- 
scending inclines,  and  whenever  needed.  Hence,  more  than 
thirty  years  ago,  Mr.  Peter  Barlow  proposed  the  use  of  a  cast- 
iron  road,  and  he  laid  down  sixty-two  miles  of  it  on  the 
South  Eastern  Railway  ;  and  his  brother,  Mr.  W.  H.  Barlow, 
recommended  the  adoption  of  self-supporting  broad-flanged 
wrought-iron  rails.  This  method  at  the  time  was  regarded  as 
superior  to  every  other;  greater  evenness  of  the  joints  diminish- 
ing the  wear  and  tear  of  the  rolling  stock.  A 
section  of  these  rails,  showing  also  the  way  in 
which  they  were  laid,  is  shown  in  the  diagrams. 
The  demand  now  arose  for  steel  rails.  Some  of  these  were 
laid  down  in  1862  at  Rugby,  Stafford,  and  Crewe  stations,  and 

they  wore  well.  In  May  of 
that  year  some  steel  rails 
were  placed  at  Camden,  par- 
:  allel  with  the  best  descrip- 
tions of  iron  rails  ;  and  so  severe  was  the  test  that  the  latter 
soon  gave  way,  while  the  former  continue  to  show  little  appear- 
ance of  wear.  "  We  have  found,"  said  the  chairman  of  the 
London  and   North  Western,  "  the  steel  rails  wearing  actually 


MAINTENANCE    OF    PERMANENT    WAY.  245 

as  long  as  thirty  iron  ones."     Steel  rails,  made  by  the  Bessemer 
process,  have  now  almost  everywhere  superseded  iron  ones. 

A  curious  fact  with  regard  to  rails  has  lately  been  observed. 
It  is  called  the  "  creeping  "  of  rails.  It  is  said  that  on  lines 
running  north  and  south,  the  western  rail  "  creeps "  and  wears 
out  faster  than  the  eastern  rail ;  and  the  explanation  is  given  in 
the  motion  of  the  earth  as  it  turns  from  the  west  towards  the 
east.  Everything  that  has  free  motion  is  dragged  after  the 
whirling  globe  ;  every  wind  that  blows  and  every  tide  that  moves 
feels  the  influence,  and  the  train  going  north  or  south  is  pulled 
over,  and  presses  the  one  rail  more  heavily  than  the  other.  It 
ought,  says  the  Scientific  American,  to  be  the  stronger. 

It  is  not  enough  that  a  railway  should  be  made  in  all  respects 
perfectly  good,  but  it  must  also  be  kept  good,  and  known  to  be 
kept  good.  Hundreds  of  miles  of  artificial  roadway,  carried 
through  deep  valleys  and  over  mountain  heights,  spanning  swift 
mountain  streams  and  broad  flooding  rivers,  and  piercing  ranges 
of  hills,  resting  on  the  shifting  sands  of  estuaries  and  oceans,  and 
exposed  to  all  the  changes  of  night  and  day,  of  summer  and 
winter,  of  rain  and  storm,  of  snow  and  drought,  cannot  but  lay 
the  so-called  "  permanent  way  "  open  to  numerous  and  strange 
contingencies  which  must  vitally  concern  the  comfort,  and  even 
the  safety,  of  everything  that  passes  over  it.  The  road  may  be 
slowly  undermined  by  springs,  or  suddenly  washed  away  by 
floods  ;  the  piers  of  bridges  may  be  loosened  or  disturbed  ;  the 
roofs  of  tunnels  may  cave  in  ;  or,  if  nothing  worse,  culverts 
and  drains  may  get  choked  ;  the  sleepers  may  be  rotting ;  the 
keys  may  be  loosened  from  the  chairs  ;  the  road  may  become 
unsteady ;  and  the  carriages  may  move  restlessly  and  uncom- 
fortably forwards. 

To  avoid  all  this,  or  to  repair  any  damage  as  it  occurs,  the 
permanent  way  of  every  line  is  divided  into  portions — according 
to  the  nature  of  the  works — of  from  seventeen  to  thirty  miles  ;  is 
placed  under  the  charge  of  an  "  overlooker,"  and  is  subdivided 
into  "lengths,"  over  each  of  which  is  a  foreman  and  a  gang  of 
men.  The  duty  of  the  foreman  is  to  visit  his  portion  of  the  line 
every  morning  before  the  first  train  passes,  to  see  that  the  keys 
which  hold  the  rails  in  the  chairs  are  driven  home  ;  that  the  rails 
are  properly  in  gauge  ;  and  carefully  to  inspect  the  line,  the 
fences,  and  the  works.     The  rules  are  thus  expressed  :  "  Each 


246  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

foreman  or  ganger  must  walkover  his  length  of  line  every  morn- 
ing and  (.veiling  on  week-days,  and,  where  passenger  trains  are 
run,  once  on  Sundays,  and  tighten  up  all  keys  and  other  fasten- 
ings that  may  be  loose  ;  and  he  must  examine  the  line,  level, 
and  gauge  of  the  road,  and  the  state  of  the  joints,  marking,  and, 
if  necessary,  repairing  such  as  are  defective.  Each  foreman  or 
ganger  is  required,  in  the  event  of  a  flood,  to  examine  carefully 
the  action  of  the  water  through  the  culverts  and  bridges  on 
his  length  of  line  ;  and  should  he  see  any  cause  to  apprehend 
danger  to  the  works,  he  must  immediately  exhibit  the  proper 
signals  for  the  trains  to  proceed  cautiously,  or  to  stop,  as  neces- 
sity may  require,  and  inform  the  inspector  thereof;  and  until 
the  inspector  arrives,  he  must  take  all  the  precautionary  measures 
necessary  for  securing  the  stability  of  the  line.'* 

In  case  of  serious  repair  being  required,  and  one  set  of  men 
being  unable  speedily  to  complete  the  work,  a  "  relaying  party," 
or  the  "break-down  gang,"  is  summoned. 

All  this  work  has,  if  possible,  to  be  done  without  impeding  the 
traffic,  and  so  skilfully  is  this  arranged  that  many  miles  of  rails 
can  be  relaid  in  a  very  short  space  of  time,  and  without  public 
inconvenience.  This  is  often  extremely  difficult,  since  it  is  the 
roads  that  are  most  used  that  most  need  repair.  "  On  the 
Nottingham  and  Lincoln  line,"  recently  remarked  a  Midland 
Railway  inspector,  "  we  have  lifted  a  mile  of  road  in  a  day  ;  but 
what  are  you  to  do  with  a  line  over  which  a  train  passes  every 
quarter  of  an  hour  ?  "  In  all  such  cases,  however,  every  precau- 
tion is  adopted.  "  While  the  men  are  engaged  in  this  work  they 
are  protected  by  the  red  flag,  and  attended  by  an  official  who 
informs  them  of  the  approach  of  a  train,  when,  if  any  piece  of 
rail  has  been  taken  up,  it  is  immediately  laid  down  again,  and 
temporarily  secured  in  its  place  for  the  train  to  pass  over."  In 
like  manner  the  driver  of  the  engine  is  warned  before  he  starts 
on  his  journey,  and,  if  necessary,  by  fog-signals,  of  the  proximity 
of  the  workmen,  and  he  slackens  speed  before  he  reaches  the 
spot.  The  men  stand  clear  of  the  rails,  and  on  the  outside  of 
the  line,  and  the  train  passes  on  its  way,  probably  without  any 
of  the  passengers  being  aware  of  what  had  been  going  on,  or  of 
the  break  that  had  happened  in  the  line  but  a  few  minutes 
before. 

Among    the    minor  enemies  of  the  permanent  way  are  the 


FEED    TROUGHS    FOR    ENGINES. 


247 


mouse,  the  mole,  and  the  toad— the  foes,  as  Virgil  told  us 
eighteen  centuries  ago,  of  the  threshing  floor  ;  and  to  prevent 
the  burrowing  up  of  the  ballast,  and  the  choking  of  drains,  men 
are  employed  in  some  districts,  who  emblazon  over  their  cot- 
tage doors  the  important  title  of  "  Ratcatcher  to  the  London 
and  North  Western  Railway." 

One  special  addition  has  been  made  by  the  London  and 
North  Western  Railway  to  the  furniture  of  its  permanent  way, 
by  means  of  which,  at  certain  points,  the  engines  are  able  to  feed 
themselves  while  at  full  speed.  The  plan  is  as  follows  :  "  An 
open  trough,  about  440  feet  long, 
is  laid  longitudinally  between 
the  rails.  Into  this  trough,  which 
is  filled  with  water,  a  dip-pipe 
or  scoop  attached  to  the  bottom 
of  the  tender  of  the  running 
train  is  lowered  ;  and,  at  a  speed 
of  fifty  miles  an  hour,  as  much 
as  1,070  gallons  of  water  are 
scooped  up  in  the  course  of  a 
few  minutes.  The  first  of  such 
troughs  was  laid  down  between  picking  up  water  from  feed  trough. 

Chester  and  Holyhead,  to  enable  the  express  mail  to  run  the 
distance  of  84!  miles  in  two  hours  and  five  minutes  without 
stopping ;  and  similar  troughs  have  since  been  laid  down  at 
Bushey,  near  London,  at  Castlethorpe,  near  Wolverton,  and  at 
Parkside,  near  Liverpool.  At  these  four  troughs  about  130,000 
gallons  of  water  are  scooped  up  daily." 

A  railway  being  completed,  and  about  to  be  devoted  to  public 
use,  is  opened.  How  this  is  sometimes  done  we  are  able  to  tell 
from  our  own  experience. 

"  All  right,  sir,"  said  the  engine-driver,  as  his  eye  rested  on  a 
brief  official  order  we  had  handed  to  him,  and  which  bore  a 
signature  which  has  talismanic  powers  with  all  Midland  Railway 
people.  "  All  right,  sir  ;  we  shall  be  off  directly."  The  train, 
spic  and  span  new — the  lot  worth  perhaps  .£5,000 — was  stand- 
ing one  Monday  morning  on  the  new  rails  by  the  new  platform, 
under  the  new  glass  and  iron  shed  of  the  recently  enlarged 
station  at  Bedford,  and  was  about  to  take  its  first  run  to  London  ; 
in  fact,  to  open  the  line  for  passenger  traffic.     Being  afflicted 


E3 


'IS 


OUR     IRON    ROADS. 


with  what  Mr.  Cobden  would  have  called  "a  craze  "  for  railways, 
we  had  been  seized  with  a  passion  somewhat  akin  to  that  which 
animated  the  breasts  of  those  little  boys  who,  on  the  opening  of 
the  new  Westminster  Bridge, ran  a  neck-and-ncck  race  that  they 
might  achieve  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  to  cross,  and  we 
had  resolved  to  be  the  first  of  that  great  army  of  the  British 
public  who  would  pass  and  repass  upon  this  new  railway 
between  the  Midlands  and  the  metropolis.  The  authorities, 
with  we  suppose  an  amiable  consideration  for  the  eccentricities 
of  literary  men,  gave  the  requisite  consent ;  and  so  we  mounted 
the  engine  with  a  sense  of  satisfaction  that  by  our  very  position 
on  the  train  we  should  be  the  first  unofficials  by  the  first  train 
that  ever  went  by  the  new  route  from  Bedford  to  London. 


'^•SSvUi-^ 


The  superintendent  of  the  company,  Mr.  Needham,  and  Mr. 
Vaughan,  from  the  locomotive  department,  had  joined  us.  The 
time  was  up.  The  driver's  hand  was  on  the  lever,  and  the  signal 
to  start  had  just  been  given,  when  the  stout  lady — the  inevitable 
stout  lady  who  generally  appears  on  railway  platforms  at  the 
last  moment — hove  in  sight.  The  fireman  growled,  the  guard 
shouted,  we  were  all  delayed  ;  but  eventually,  perhaps  somewhat 
hurriedly,  the  lady  was  stowed  away  somewhere — nobody  cared 
where — and  the  train  was  off. 

We  crossed  the  sluggish  Ouse  near  the  great  engineering 
establishment  of  Messrs.  Howard  ;  went  by  a  bridge  over  the 
London  and  North  Western  line  from  Bletchley   to  Bedford  ; 


OPENING    A    RAILWAY 


249 


saw  on  our  left  the  historic  village  of  Elstow,  the  birthplace  of 
"the  immortal  tinker";  and  were  soon  on  the  long  straight 
bank  that  leads  to  Ampthill  tunnel  and  station.  At  Ampthill 
all  the  little  world  of  curiosity  or  of  idleness  has  gathered  to 
be  spectators  of  our  triumph.  The  driver  looks  at  his  watch  ; 
the  fireman  at  the  time-table ;  and  it  is  announced  that 
though  we  left  Bedford  two  minutes  late  (it  was  the  stout 
lady  who  detained  us),  we  are  now  in  time.  "  Ah,"  says  the 
driver  with  a  knowing  smile,  "  I'd  sooner  pick  up  one  minute 
than  drop  two."  The  passengers  are  in  ;  Mr.  Needham  reports 
progress  ;   and    again   we  start.     Soon  we   are   running  on    the 


yg(J&       T*tr 


^£8jB?5 


% 


WSm  \Wn  *rf  yj^zZ 


summit  of  another  long  embankment,  from  which  we  can  see 
the  line  far  before  us,  and  the  country  far  around  us.  Occasion- 
ally a  group  of  platelayers  part  to  the  right  and  left  for  us  to 
pass  ;  the  village  girls  pause  upon  the  country  road,  and  shade 
their  bright  faces  from  the  sun  as  they  gaze  upon  the  first  train 
that  has  ever  run  that  way  ;  the  old  farmer  rests  his  arms  upon 
the  top  of  his  homestead  gate,  and  thinks  perhaps  how  things 
have  changed  since  he  "  wur  a  boy  "  ;  the  larks  fly  off  with  long 
and  quivering  wing  ;  and  now  and  then  a  partridge  rises  and 
whirrs  away.     A  short  cutting,  and  we  are  at  the  pretty  village 


OUR    [RON    K('\I'S. 


of  Harlington.     "\    rj    good  time,"  remarks  our  friend  of  the 

i  department  ;  "three  minutes  to  spare." 

\\  c  have  scarcely  left   Harlington  when  right  and  left  we  see 

the  long  line  of  breezy  chalk   hills  which  tell   us  we  are  ap- 

hing  "the  backbone  of  England."     The  Great  Northern 

I  .it   Hitchen,  the  North  Western  at  Tri ng ;  but  there  is 

a  dip  in  the  range  before  us, and  we  seem,  as  we  run  round  ahill 

artificially  scarped  and  terraced,  called  Wanlud's  Bank,  as  if  we 

should    slip  between    them.       But    though  the  engineers   have 

doubtless   done   their   best,   they   have  had  to   make   two  deep 


ST..   ALBANS. 


cuttings  in  the  chalk,  a  lesser  and  a  larger,  to  let  us  through  ; 
and  at  the  southern  end  of  the  latter  we  see  the  signals  and 
buildings  of  Leagrave.  We  now  cross  the  ancient  Icknield 
Way,  which  Roman  soldiers  built,  and  which  Roman  feet  have 
trodden.  We  see  on  the  right  the  Great  Northern  branch  from 
Uunstablc  and  Luton  to  Hatfield,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we 
•  v  the  suburban  villas  that  climb  the  hills  that  rise  around 
the  thriving  town  of  Luton.  Here  a  large  number  of  people 
have  come  to  bid  us  welcome,  and  to  hail  our  departure. 

We  are  just  starting,  when  some  one  rushes  up  to  the  engine- 
driver  and  exclaims  :  "There  goes  the  Great  Northern  train,  and 


OPENING    A    RAILWAY.  25 1 

they  say  they'll  be  in  London  first."  We  looked,  and  certainly 
the  Great  Northern  train  was  in  full  cry.  Our  driver  smiled  as 
he  turned  on  the  steam,  evidently  not  much  affected  by  the 
challenge  ;  but  our  less  responsible  stoker  pulls  back  the  fiery 
jaws  of  the  furnace,  and  on  to  the  seething  sea  of  flame  he  flings 
fresh  coals  with  undissembled  satisfaction.  Not  far  from  us  for 
a  considerable  distance  runs  the  single  line  of  the  Great 
Northern  branch  ;  there  we  could  observe  its  train  hotly  pur- 
suing its  onward  course,  and  then  we  lost  sight  of  it,  and  at 
length  reached  St.  Albans. 

We  are  descending  a  long  incline  of  1  in  176  ;  and,  though 
the  steam  is  only  half  on,  and  the  lever  is  sometimes  at  "  SHUT," 
we  go  faster  than  before.  At  Radlett  we  pause,  partly  to  take 
in  water — "  Just  a  sup,"  says  the  driver,  "  to  make  sure,"  though 
there  is  plenty  in  the  tender  ;  we  meet  the  first  down  passenger 
train,  and  then  Elstree  station  is  before  us.  We  enter  Elstree 
tunnel,  1,060  yards  in  length,  and  soon  after  are  under  the  green 
glass  roof  of  the  Mill  Hill  station.  Here  the  fireman  wiles  away 
the  momentary  delay  by  opening  wide  the  furnace  door, 
inserting  therein  a  long  iron  hoe,  and  raking  to  and  fro  the 
seething  mass  of  white-hot  coals  and  red  eddying  flames.  He 
then  moistens  his  arid  clay  from  a  tin  can  which  he  has  kept 
warm  upon  a  little  shelf  near  the  fire — a  vessel  to  which  he  and 
the  driver  have  frequently  repaired  during  the  journey  up,  and 
the  ownership  of  which  seems  to  be  held  in  a  sort  of  joint  stock 
coffee  company  (limited). 

Fifteen  minutes  more,  and  we  are  in  Belsize  tunnel,  and  over- 
head spreads  the  ancient  demesne  of  Belsize.  Haverstock  Hill 
and  Kentish  Town  stations  come  next,  and  at  last  we  pause  for 
a  moment  to  change  our  engine  for  one  that  consumes  most  of 
its  own  smoke  and  steam,  and  is  intended  for  special  use  on  the 
Metropolitan.  At  Moorgate  Street  we  say  good-bye  to  our 
companions  in  travel.  "  If  the  historian  of  the  future,"  we  tell 
them,  "asks  you  who  opened  the  London  and  Bedford  Railway, 
mind  you  tell  them  the  truth.  It  was  not  you,  gentlemen,  you 
are  only  the  officers  of  the  Midland  Company.  We  represent 
the  great  British  public.  We  pay  for  everything.  There  are 
lots  of  the  great  British  public  in  those  carriages  behind  ;  but 
we  are  first,  and  we  opened  the  line  from  Bedford  to  London." 
And  so,  with  cheery  words,  we  parted. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

i  Terminus.— "A  Certain  Field." — Preamble  of  the  Act. —  Station 
and  Staff.  —  Huston.— St.  Pancras.— Lost  Luggage  Office. — Variety  of 
-  Lost. — The  ll.it  Slulf.  Curiosities  of  Lost  Luggage. — The 
1  >(  parting  Train.  —  Passengers.  —  Intermediate  Stations.  —  Woburn. 
—  A  Lonely  Station. — The  Station  Master  and  the  Keeper. — York 
Station.  —  Names  of  Stations. — Station  Notices. — A  Passing  Train. — 
Strange  Movements  of  Engines. — A  Group  on  the  Platform. — Arrival 
of  Train  and  Departure.  —  Maintaining  the  British  Constitution. — 
Refreshment  Rooms.  —  Wolverton.  —  Swindon.  —  Rugby  Junction. — 
Good  Digestion.  —  Wagon  Loading  Gauge. —  Strange  Visitors  at 
Stations. — Points. — Crossings  and  Sidings. — A  Railway  Siding. — Toton 
Sidings.— Ingenuity  of  Inventors. — Home  Signals. — Distant  Signals. — 
Junction  Signals.— A  Country  Signal  Box. — A  Station  Signal  Box. — 
Interlocking  Signals. — Cannon  Street  Station. —  Cannon  Street  Inter- 
locking Signals. — Cannon  Street  Signal  Platform. — Messrs.  Saxby 
and  Parmer's  Instruments. — Seeing  Through  a  Brick  Bridge. — Block 
System.  —  Block  System  on  Metropolitan  Line.  —  Cost  of  Block 
Signal  Machines. — The  Lamp  Room. — Fogmen. — Fog  Signalling. — 
Fog  Signals. — Construction  of  Railway  Signals. — Railway  Telegraphy. 


ERE  you  are,  sir  !  "  is  the  somewhat  self- 

*U  contradictory  declaration   of  the  London 

■  Vjfcft:'     —i~mV  ';$  ~     carjman>  who,   at  his  stand,  by  a  preter- 

*-  %  fiJr^    natural  quickness  and  accuracy  of  intuition, 

divines    that   we    need    his   services.     He 

■J<**fcci,  snatches  away  the  piece  of  sacking  that 

is   supposed   to   retain   the   caloric   in  the 

loins  of  his  horse,  goes  through  a  series  of  evolutions  in  order 

to  bring  his  cab  alongside  the  kerb-stone,  a  process  which  could 

not  be  adequately  described  without  the  aid  of  diagrams,  and 

which   'die   uninitiated    might  consider  was   for  the  purpose  of 

driving  the  horse  in  at  the  open  door  of  the  vehicle,  instead  of 

putting  the  passenger  there.       "  Paddington  terminus  "    is    our 

only  remark,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  are  at  our  destination. 

Railway   stations    are   of   all    sorts    and    sizes,    from    the    little 


STATIONS.  253 

summer-house  of  one  private  station  on  the  Brecon  and  Swan- 
sea line,  to  the  stately  proportions,  vast  (and  yet,  generally, 
insufficient)  area,  and  enormously  costly  structures  of  the  metro- 
politan termini. 

Paddington  station  is  one  of  the  earliest  of  these.  Paddington 
itself  is  described  by  Mistress  Priscilla  Wakefield,  in  18 14,  as 
"a  village  situated  on  the  Edgeware  Road,  about  a  mile  from 
London."  In  1801,  when  the  Grand  Junction  Canal  was  opened, 
and  the  first  barge,  full  of  passengers,  arrived  from  Uxbridge 
at  the  Paddington  basin,  bells  were  rung,  flags  were  hung,  and 
cannon  were  fired.  But  Charles  Knight  mentions  that  even  so 
recently  as  at  that  time  "  only  one  stage  coach  ran  from  the 
then  suburban  village  of  Paddington  to  the  city,  and  it  was 
never  filled,"  and  that,  to  beguile  the  travellers  at  the  several 
resting  places  on  their  journey,  "  Miles's  Boy  "  told  tales  and 
played  on  the  fiddle.  How  great  the  change  from  all  this, 
when,  in  1853,  William  Robins,  the  historian  of  Paddington, 
wrote  that -"a  city  of  palaces  has  sprung  up  in  twenty  years," 
and  that  "  a  road  of  iron  with  steeds  of  steam  "  was  in  use. 

For,  meanwhile,  important  events  had  occurred.  Among  these 
an  Act  of  Parliament  had  passed,  the  preamble  of  which  is 
worth  reading  :  "  Whereas  the  making  of  a  railway  from  Bristol, 
to  join  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway  near  London,  and 
also  branches  to  Trowbridge  and  Bradford,  in  the  county  of 
Wilts,  would  be  of  great  public  advantage,  not  only  by  opening 
an  additional  certain  and  expeditious  communication  between 
the  cities  and  towns  aforesaid,  but  also  by  improving  the  exist- 
ing communication  between  the  metropolis  and  the  western 
districts  of  England,  the  south  of  Ireland  and  Wales,  and 
whence,  etc."  * 

But  the  junction  with  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway, 
which  was  proposed  "  in  a  certain  field  lying  between  the  Pad- 
dington Canal  and  the  turnpike-road  leading  from  London  to 
Harrow  on  the  western  side  of  the  General  Cemetery,"  was 
never  made.  The  directors  of  the  London  and  Birmingham 
did  not  see  their  way  to  unite  in  a  joint  station  for  the  two 
lines,    and    so    each    Company    took    an    independent    course, 

*  Act  of  Incorporation  of  Great  Western  Railway,  5  and  6  William  IV., 
c.  14,  section  107. 


I  t\  R    [RON     ROADS. 

and  as  one  result  the  two  termini  at  Paddington  and  at  Euston 
w  ere  erected. 

The  original  cost  of  the  Paddington  passenger  terminus  was 
;  but  for  many  years  the  accommodation  provided 
was  only  "  make  shift."  Not  till  1 854  was  the  present  terminus 
built  The  style  is  a  mixture  of  Italian  and  Arabesque ;  it 
stands  in  an  area  of  seventy  acres  ;  it  has  an  extreme  length  of 
nearly  s  1  >  feet  ;  and  it  is  spanned  by  three  semi-elliptical  roofs 
and  three  transepts.  Between  the  end  of  the  passenger  station 
and  the  West  London  junction — a  distance  of  about  a  mile  and 
a-half — there  are  twelve  miles  of  running  lines  and  thirty-eight 
miles  of  sidings.  A  staff  of  more  than  3,000  officers  and  men 
itioned  at  Paddington,  including  the  chiefs  of  the  service. 
Nearly  300  trains  pass  in  or  out  of  the  station  every  day,  and 
about  1 1,000,000  of  passengers  use  it  every  year. 

We  might  describe  other  metropolitan  stations:  that  at  Euston 
Square,  with  its  Grecian  propyleum  and  stately  vestibule  ;  and 
the  Midland  at  St.  Pancras,  with  its  gigantic  roof. of  two  and 
a  half  acres  of  glass,  240  feet  across,  rising  100  feet  above  the 
rail  level  ;  a  station  in  the  construction  of  which  60,000,000  of 
bricks,  9,000  tons  of  iron,  and  80,000  cubic  feet  of  dressed  stone 
were  employed.  There  is  the  enlarged  station  of  the  London 
and  South  Western  Company  at  Waterloo ;  and  the  new 
Liverpool  Street  terminus  of  the  Great  Eastern,  that  covers 
ten  acres  of  ground,  and  has  an  extreme  length  of  2,000  feet. 
There  are  also  the  stations  at  the  provincial  cities  of  the  great 
railway  companies,  where  enormous  outlay  has  been  incurred. 
At  Manchester,  for  instance,  the  London  and  North  Western 
Company  has  spent  £2,000,000,  at  Liverpool  probably  £4,000,000, 
and  at  Birmingham  £1,500,000,  and  yet  further  enlargement  has 
become  necessary. 

Among  the  various  departments  of  a  principal  station,  there  is 
one  which  has  special  interest  for  the  curious — the  Lost  Luggage 
Office.  "  Gentlemen  who  will  look  out  of  the  windows  of  railway 
carriages  to  see  '  what's  the  matter,'  and  get  their  hats  knocked 
off  and  left  behind  at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles  an  hour  ;  young 
ladies  who  will  have  the  windows  open  and  allow  their  parasols 
to  go  ballooning  down  the  line  ;  dandies  who  won't  look  after 
their  own  luggage,  but  leave  it  to  'those  fellows,  the  porters,  you 
know,'  and  so  lose  it  ;  wives  who  will  terminate  their  journeys 


LOST    LUGGAGE    OFFICE.  255 

at  the  terminus  in  their  husbands'  arms,"  regardless  of  the 
treasures  and  the  trifles  they  brought  with  them  ;  commercial 
travellers  who  forget  their  samples  ;  in  short,  everybody  who 
misses,  or  forgets,  or  leaves  behind,  or  loses  anything  on  a  rail- 
way, has  to  have  it  taken  care  of  for  him  in  what  may  be  called 
the  "  waif  and  stray  "  department  of  a  railway  company. 

The  variety  of  articles  thus  left  in  the  temporary  or  per- 
manent possession  of  the  railway  authorities  is  surprising. 
There  is  the  satchel  of  a  young  lady — a  young  lady,  we  pre- 
sume, of  the  period.  She  had  been  accustomed,  it  appears,  to 
travel  by  herself  to  the  south  of  France  and  Italy,  and  her 
friends  sometimes  wondered  at  her  courage  :  the  contents  of 
her  satchel,  perhaps,  explained  the  problem.  They  consisted 
of  some  biscuits,  a  bunch  of  keys,  some  Eau  de  Cologne,  and  a 
loaded  revolver.  Not  long  ago,  chancing  to  wait  in  the  clerks' 
offices  of  the  general  manager's  department  of  a  great  railway 
company,  we  overheard  a  letter  read  that  told  the  sorrows  of 
a  lady  whose  pork  pie  had,  on  a  journey,  been  lost.  Perhaps 
some  sisterly  hand  had  raised  the  crust  to  its  perilous  height, 
had  filled  it  with  the  savoury  contents,  and  had  adorned  the 
superstructure.  She  suffered  keenly  a  double  wrong:  her  larder 
had  been  robbed  and  her  love  had  been  wounded  ;  and  her 
righteous  indignation  found  adequate  expression.  What  right 
had  the  railway  company  to  lose  her  pie,  and  to  rend  the 
bonds  of  family  affection  ?  No  right  at  all.  And  though  the 
general  manager  might  have  even  more  momentous  affairs  to 
determine,  the  errant  pie  was  searched  for  and  was  brought 
back  from  its  wanderings,  and  we  hope  ample  compensation 
was  made  for  its  staleness,  to  say  nothing  of  "consequential 
damages." 

Other  articles  in  the  Lost  Luggage  Office  tell  a  tale  of  the 
idiosyncrasies  and  eccentricities  of  their  owners.  A  shawl,  a 
handkerchief,  or  an  umbrella  may  easily  be  left  behind  ;  but 
how  is  it  that  one  gentleman  has  forgotten  a  pair  of  leather 
hunting  breeches,  another  his  bootjack,  one  soldier  his  kit, 
another  his  regimental  coat,  a  Scotchman  his  bagpipes  ?  Had 
the  owner  of  "a  very  superior  astronomical  telescope,  in 
mahogany  case  complete  "  abandoned  the  study  of  the  heavens  ? 
How  many  children  must  have  had  a  defective  toilet  when  so 
many  pinafores,  frocks,   bibs,  and  petticoats  were  left  behind, 


OUR    [RON    roads. 

toilets,  too,  seem  to  have  suffered,  since  pairs  of  stockings, 
and  odd  ones,  skirts  and  stays  in  abundance  have  been  lost,  and 
unasked  for.     What  a  strange  conglomeration  of  other  articles 

have  at  other  times  been  unclaimed  :  "  feather  beds  and  casks  of 
cement,  galvanized  iron  coppers  and  childrens*  chairs,  registered 
Stoves  and  oil  paintings,  Spurs  and  crutches,  spades  and  pomade, 
and  cradles,  perambulators  and  trousers,  enough  in  their 
variety  to  furnish  a  house  and  to  fill  a  shop."  Some  years  ago, 
an  announcement  was  made  in  the  papers  that  at  Swindon 
station  "  a  pair  of  bright  bay  carriage  horses,  about  sixteen 
hands  high,  with  black  switch  tails  and  manes,"  had  been  left 
by  some  one  of  the  name  of  Hibbert  ;  and  that  unless  they 
were  claimed  and  expenses  paid  on  or  before  the  I2th  day  of 
May  following,  the  horses  "would  be  sold  to  pay  expenses." 
And  when  the  day  came  they  were  sold. 

"  But  for  strangeness  of  variety,"  said  Sir  Francis  Head,  years 
ago,  when  he  had  visited  a  Lost  Luggage  Office,  "  commend 
me  to  the  hat-shelf,  for  nothing  can  exceed  the  heterogenous 
jumble  of  rank,  station,  character,  and  indicative  morality  which 
that  conglomeration  suggests.  Here  a  dissipated-looking  four- 
and-nine  leans  its  battered  side  against  the  prim  shovel  of 
a  church  dignitary  ;  there  a  highly  polished  Parisian  upper- 
crust  is  smashed  under  the  weight  of  a  carter's  slouch.  On  one 
side  the  torn  brim  of  a  broad  straw  strays  into  the  open  crown 
of  a  brand  new  beaver.  Some  bear  the  crushing  marks  of  the 
wheels  of  a  luggage  train,  or  the  impression  of  the  moistened 
clay  of  an  embankment  ;  others  are  neat,  trimly  brushed,  and 
show  how  carefully  they  have  been  hung  up  in  the  first-class 
carriage,  while  the  owner  inducted  his  caput  into  an  elegant 
templar,  or  fascinating  foraging  cap,  and  how  he  carelessly  left 
it  behind.  Boys'  and  mens',  quakers'  and  soldiers',  carters'  and 
lords',  clergymen's  and  sporting  men's,  are  all  ranged  side  by 
side,  or  thrown  together  higgledy-piggledy,  hurly-burly,  topsy- 
turvy, in  a  confused  conglomeration.  There  are  first-class  hats, 
consisting  of  sporting,  clerical,  military,  and  best  beavers ; 
second-class,  all  neat  and  well-brushed;  and  third-class,  com- 
posed of  carters',  carpenters',  valets',  and  haymakers'." 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  observations  of  Sir  Francis 
Head,  affairs  have  altered  since  his  day.  "  Perhaps,"  as  our 
attendant  sceptically  remarked,   "  the  hats  he  saw  were  in  his 


PASSENGERS.  257 

imagination.  We've  only  very  common-place  things  here,"  he 
remarked ;  "  umbrellas,  sticks,  wrappers,  and  such  sort  of  things. 
Whatever  is  found  in  the  carriages  at  Euston,  and  whatever  the 
other  stations  can't  find  an  owner  for,  they  are  all  sent  up  here. 
Everything  we  have  is  entered  in  this  register.  This  column 
tells  the  '  date  when  found,'  the  next  '  where  found,'  '  station 
no.'  (which  means  the  number  of  articles  sent  here  from  that 
station),  '  depot  no.'  (that  is,  the  number  of  articles  received  in 
this  depot,  which  is  5,376  this  year.  Last  year  we  had  18,000). 
They're  all  common-place  things,"  he  said,  passing  his  finger 
down  the  columns.  "  Here  is  a  white  cashmere  muffler,  a  small 
roll  of  letters,  specs  in  case,  leather  purse  containing  two  postage 
stamps,  2d.,  and  a  first-class  ticket  from  Chester  to  Dublin,  a 
string  of  beads  used  by  Roman  Catholics.  Do  we  ever  have 
anything  strange  ?  "  he  continued.  "  Once  I  had.  I  opened  a 
square  box  sent  from  Preston,  lifted  up  some  straw,  and  found  a 
dead  child.  When  I  touched  it,  it  sent  a  cold  thrill  through  me. 
It  was  naked — a  little  child  with  golden  curls.  Yes,  we  sent  to 
the  coroner.  The  mother  had  poisoned  it  with  laudanum  ; 
mother  was  found  out  and  convicted." 

But  matters  concerning  lost  luggage  are  not  confined  to 
a  particular  station,  or  even  to  a  particular  company.  The 
lost  article  may  have  passed  on  to  one,  or  even  on  to  several 
"  foreign  "  lines,  may  have  to  be  searched  for  far  and  wide,  and 
the  assistance  of  the  Clearing  House  may  have  to  be  invoked. 
The  number  of  articles  here  reported  upon  as  missing  are  about 
1,000  a  day.  "Statisticians,"  says  a  pleasant  writer,  "anxious 
to  analyse  the  varieties  of  human  blundering,  will  be  interested 
to  know  that  the  most  fertile  cause  of  the  miscarriage  of  lug- 
gage is  that  which  brought  Lady  Audley  to  grief  in  Miss 
Braddon's  famous  story.  It  is  the  habit  of  leaving  old  labels 
on  trunks  and  portmanteaus.  Terrible  mistakes  are  brought 
about  by  this  practice,  such  as  that  which  took  a  Cabinet 
Minister's  luggage  to  Belfast,  while  he  landed  at  Killarney.  Mr. 
Childers  recovered  his  property  through  the  Clearing  House, 
but  it  is  often  difficult  to  track  a  brown  leather  portmanteau, 
especially  if  it  have  neither  conspicuous  mark  nor  initials.  Both 
of  the  latter,  however,  are  made,  for  the  moment,  useless  by  an 
old  label  which  misleads  the  porters  at  an  important  junction. 
Judicious  travellers  not  only  have  their  initials  and  some  device 

S 


Ot  R    IRON    ROADS. 

I  01  white  painted  on  their  trunks,  but  are  very  particular 
wash  off  old  labels.  Those  who  have  not  yet  com- 
menced that  sensible  practice  should  begin  .it  once." 

••I  don't  know  how  it  is,"  recently  remarked  a  London  station- 
master,  "but  there  is  comparatively  little  luggage  lost  now-a- 
days,  or  if  it  is  lost,  it  is  usually  soon  recovered.  I  suppose  that 
it  is  because  passengers  are  more  intelligent  or  more  careful 
than  they  used  to  be."  "Or,  perhaps,"  we  replied,  "it  is  because 
railway  companies  take  better  care  of  luggage,  and  put  it  in 
vans  or  lockers  for  its  special  destination  ;  instead  of,  as 
formerly,  piling  it  up  on  the  roofs  of  carriages,  covering  it  over 
with  tarpaulin,  and  letting  it  take  its  chance  of  being  sorted 
right"  But  whether  it  is  to  be  put  to  the  credit  of  the  public 
or  of  the  company,  the  reassuring  fact  remains. 

But  let  us  now  go  down  to  the  platform  of  the  terminus,  and 
see  what  always  has  some  degree  of  interest — a  departing  train. 
It  is  filling;  let  us  glance  at  the  passengers  who  are  seated.  The 
fust-class  carriage  has  a  characteristic  assortment  of  inmates. 
The  middle  seats  are  occupied  by  two  stout  gentlemen,  one  of 
whom  is  nearly  hidden  behind  a  copy  of  a  morning  paper  he  is 
reading.  Their  travelling  companions  are  a  young  member  of 
an  old  family  in  the  north,  a  lady  and  her  daughter.  The 
second-class  or  third-class  passengers  are  of  a  somewhat  different 
genus.  One,  a  commercial  traveller,  puts  on  a  red  cap  while 
the  train  is  alongside  the  platform,  and  will  be  nearly  asleep 
before  he  is  out  of  the  yard,  for  he  is  an  old  stager,  and  econo- 
mises his  strength.  The  young  people  here  are  more  com- 
municative, and  sometimes  facetious.  They  will  perhaps  joke 
about  the  engine  ;  say  that  they  prefer  having  their  backs  to  the 
"  horses"  ;  or  talk  about  a  "  feed  of  coke  "  ;  and  when  the  engine 
whistles,  will  exclaim  pathetically,  "  Poor  creature  ! "  These 
puns,  mild  as  they  are,  are  laughed  at  by  the  good-tempered 
passengers  as  if  they  had  never  been  heard  before.  Others  of 
the  travellers,  having  a  turn  of  mind  for  the  agreeably  tragic, 
will  talk  about  some  dreadful  railway  accident,  or  tell  of  the 
disaster  to  the  mail  train  which  left  York  for  London  on  the 
night  of  the  31st  of  February  last,  and  has  never  since  been 
heard  of.  These  allusions,  of  course,  produce  a  gratifying  effect 
on  the  mind  of  the  anxious  lady,  who  is  always  to  be  found  in 
one  of  the  carriages  of  every  train.     She  was  recently  in  distress 


STATIONS. 


259 


about  her  box,  and  afraid  that  if  left  for  a  moment  unguarded 
on  the  platform,  it  might  be  pocketed  by  some  one,  though  it 
weighs  a  good  half-hundredweight ;  and  now  it  is  a  source  of 
solicitude  to  her  because  it  cannot  be  put  under  the  seat. 
Finally  it  is  put  in  a  remote  van,  where  the  lady  would  like  to 
go  too. 

The  train  is  about  to  start.  The  "  five  minutes "  bell  has 
rung ;  the  last  places  are  occupied  ;  friends  prepare  for  their 
adieus  ;  and  the  last  parcels  are  hastily  deposited  in  the  train. 
The  guards  take  their  places  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  the 
train,  and — if  it  is  a  long  one — at  the  middle.  The  station- 
master  sees  that  all  the  passengers  are  accommodated,  and  that 


,r^'Wilp^ 


WOBURN    STATION. 


the  luggage  is  deposited,  before  he  gives  the  signal  to  start. 
The  engine-driver  stands  with  his  hand  upon  the  "regulator," 
and  the  fireman  leans  over  and  watches  for  the  final  order. 
The  whistle  shrieks  ;  the  train  is  in  motion  ;  and  with  increas- 
ing speed  it  rolls  away,  and  is  soon  out  of  sight. 

Intermediate  stations  are  of  all  sorts  and  sizes,  and  their 
accommodation  and  architectural  pretensions  also  vary.  Some- 
times they  are  handsome  or  heavy,  sometimes  neat  or  pretty, 


OUR    IRON    KRAI'S. 


and  sometimes  the  characteristics  or  materials  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood have  determined  their  structure  and  style.  The 
Woburn  station,  on  the  Bletchley  and    Bedford  line,  was  one 

»<t  tin-  earliest  that  might  he  called  picturesque. 

••  Yes,  this  station  is  lonely,  as  you  say,  very,"  remarked  a 
station-master  to  us  in  a  beautiful  but  solitary  valley,  in  a  moun- 
tain district.  "  It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  get  anything  even 
to  eat  or  drink.  The  farmers  kill  their  own  sheep  and  divide  it 
among  them,  and  I  have  sometimes  to  ask  one  of  the  guards  to 


YORK    STATION. 


bring  me  something  all  the  way  from ;  and  I  perhaps  give 

them  a  rabbit  in  return  for  their  trouble."  "  A  rabbit !  "  we 
exclaimed  ;  "  how  do  you  get  rabbits  ?  "  "  Oh,  we  often  get 
them,  and  game  too,"  he  replied.  "The  dook  preserves  the  game 
on  both  sides  of  the  line  ;  but  it  gets  caught  by  passing  trains, 
and  birds  fly  against  the  telegraph  wires  and  lame  themselves. 
We  sometimes  find  wounded  or  dead  birds  on  the  line."  "And 
do  the  keepers  consent  to  your  having  them  ?"  we  asked.  "Well, 
he  returned,  "  I  did  have  a  little  bother  with  one  of  them  some 
time  ago.     I  had  been  down  to  the  distant  signal,  and  found  a 


AN    INTERMEDIATE    STATION.  26 1 

hare  on  the  line,  and  was  carrying  it  home,  when  I  saw  the  keeper 
over  the  hedge.  '  You've  no  business  with  that  there  hare,'  he 
shouted  to  me;  '  it 's  the  dook's.'  '  Then,'  I  said,  '  if  it 's  the 
dook's,  the  dook  had  better  come  and  fetch  it.'  He  threatened 
me  a  bit,  but  he  didn't  come  on  to  the  line  for  it.  I  paid  him 
out  for  his  interference ;  for  a  few  days  afterwards  I  saw  him 
coming  along  the  line  out  at  the  southern  end  of  the  tunnel. 
'  You're  on  trespass,'  I  called.  '  You  can't  come  this  way.'  And 
I  made  him  go  all  the  way  back  again,  out  at  the  other  end  of 
the  long  tunnel.  Since  then  we  have  been  on  better  terms.  I 
let  him  cross  the  line  over  a  fence  when  he  wants,  and  he  lets 
me  have  what  game  I  find  without  his  interference.  We  live 
and  let  live,  and  we  had  need." 

Of  intermediate  stations,  one  of  the  latest  and  the  handsomest 
is  that  of  the  North  Eastern  Company  at  York.  It  is  near  the 
city  walls.  Here,  having  completed  the  first  portion  of  its  jour- 
ney of  189  miles  in  three  hours  and  fifty-five  minutes,  the 
"  Scotchman  "  stops  for  half  an  hour  to  dine. 

The  work  of  intermediate  stations  has  characteristics  of  its 
own,  and  they  are,  by  one  at  all  interested  in  railways,  worth 
noticing.  It  is  pleasant  to  watch  the  different  trains  come  sweep- 
ing up  to  the  platform,  or  rushing  through  the  station  with  a 
rrh-oar  that  makes  the  ground  tremble  beneath  their  iron  tread. 

"First  the  shrill  whistle,  then  the  distant  roar 
The  ascending  cloud  of  steam,  the  gleaming  brass, 
The  mighty  moving  arm  ;  and  on  amain 
The  mass  comes  thundering  like  an  avalanche  o'er 
The  quaking  earth  ;  a  thousand  faces  pass — 
A  moment,  and  are  gone,  like  whirlwind  sprites, 
Scarce  seen  ;  so  much  the  roaring  speed  benights 
All  sense  and  recognition  for  a  while  ; 
A  little  space,  a  minute,  and  a  mile. 
Then  look  again,  how  swift  it  journeys  on  ; 
Away,  away,  along  the  horizon 
Like  drifted  cloud,  to  its  determined  place ; 
Power,  speed,  and  distance  melting  into  space." 

Now  come  long  luggage  trains,  pursuing  their  heavy  way  with  a 
business-like  stolidity  of  demeanour  perfectly  compatible  with 
their  great  weight  and  respectability  ;  and  then  short  dapper 
trains  emerge  from  some  out-of-the-way  part  of  the  estab- 
lishment, and   take   a  spurt   up  or  down  the  line,  as   if  to  try 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

their  wind  and  limbs.  Occasionally  a  mysterious  looking  engine 
will  make  it^  appearance,  squealing,  hissing,  and  roaring — now 
enveloping  itself  in  a  cloud  of  steam,  and  then  rattling  away  as 
if  ashamed  of  itself;  now  advancing  a  few  yards,  as  if  pawing 
the  ground  and  wanting  to  start  somewhere  in  great  haste  ; 
n«nv  hacking  again  under  the  curbing  hand  of  the  driver,  who 
tins  its  hot  breath  and  life  ;  then,  with  a  succession  of 
curious  putt's  and  pantings,  running  backwards  down  the  course, 
or  turning  into  a  siding,  evidently  with  something  very  distress- 
ing upon  its  mind  ;  and  at  last  finishing  its  evolutions  by  splut- 
tering and  dashing  out  of  sight,  as  if  in  search  of  something 
which  it  had  dropped  on  the  road,  or  as  if  madly  intent  upon 
suicide. 

Some  travellers  are  dropping  in  at  this  intermediate  station, 
for  a  train  is  nearly  due.  They  beguile  the  interval  by  strolling 
up  and  down  the  platform,  perhaps  pausing  now  and  then  to 
study  an  advertisement  on  the  wall,  possibly  the  map,  as  An- 
thony Trollope  says,  "of  some  new  Eden — some  Eden  in  which 
an  irregular  pond  and  a  church  are  surrounded  by  a  multiplicity 
of  regular  villas  and  shrubs — till  the  student  feels  that  no  con- 
siderations, even  of  health  or  economy,  could  induce  him  to 
live  there."  Glance  round  at  that  group  of  travellers.  There 
is  a  country-woman,  with  a  bandbox  slung  on  her  arm  by  an 
ancient  looking  silk  handkerchief  of  gaudy  colours.  A  porter 
is  wheeling  her  luggage  to  the  point  where  the  break-van  will 
stand  when  the  train  arrives  ;  and,  seated  on  a  hamper,  is  her 
grandson,  a  chubby-faced  baby,  who  stares  fixedly  at  everybody 
and  everything,  and  who  kicks  his  approbation  of  the  scene,  so 
far  as  the  marvellous  swaddling  of  shawls  in  which  he  is  en- 
veloped will  admit.  There  is  also  a  stout,  business  looking, 
middle-aged  gentleman,  who  has  driven  up  with  a  well-bred 
horse.  He  is  the  squire  of  a  neighbouring  village,  a  rural  poten- 
tate, who  is  going  to  a  large  town,  where,  instead  of  being 
regarded  with  reverence,  he  will  be  nobody.  A  few  trades- 
people, a  papa  and  his  two  boys  whom  he  is  taking  to  school, 
a  governess  going  home  for  a  holiday,  and  some  farmers  and 
cattle-jobbers,  complete  the  picture. 

But  the  train  is  in  sight.  It  has  just  passed  the  curve,  and  in 
the  extreme  distance  a  white  line  of  cloud  appears  to  rise  from 
the  ground,  and  gradually  passes  away  into  the  atmosphere. 


AN    INTERMEDIATE    STATION.  26 


J 


Soon  a  light  murmur  falls  upon  the  ear  ;  the  murmur  gradually 
becomes  louder  ;  the  cloud  rises  to  a  more  fleecy  whiteness,  or, 
as  it  is  tossed  aside  by  the  wind,  reveals  part  of  the  train. 
The  steam  is  shut  off,  and  the  train,  with  slackened  speed,  ap- 
proaches the  platform.  The  doors  are  opened  for  those  who 
are  coming  out  or  getting  in  ;  the  baby  is  handed  to  a  kind- 
hearted  gentleman,  who  proffers  his  services  as  an  extempore 
nursemaid  ;  the  seats  are  taken  ;  and  very  soon  all  is  ready 
again  for  the  start. 

Meanwhile,  the  engine  has  to  take  in  a  supply  of  water  ;  and 
accordingly  the  fireman  mounts  the  tender,  pulls  round  the 
funnel  of  the  water-crane,  and,  directing  it  over  the  tender,  turns 
on  the  water  and  obtains  the  necessary  allowance.  The  engine- 
driver  is  also  performing  a  series  of  gymnastic  evolutions  under 
and  around  the  locomotive,  using  what  looks  like  an  oil  teapot 
with  a  long  spout,  pouring  the  lubricating  fluid  into  secret  joints 
and  out-of-the-way  holes  ;  and  then,  mounting  his  engine  in  a 
free-and-easy  style,  he  stands  ready  for  his  journey. 

While  these  processes  are  going  on,  one  of  the  men  passes 
along  the  line  of  carriages,  in  order  to  supply  the  axles  of  the 
wheels  with  the  well-known  yellow  grease.  This  is  composed 
of  tallow,  palm-oil,  soda,  and  water — the  proportions  of  the 
combination  varying  with  the  season  of  the  year. 

The  train  starts.  The  platforms  are  soon  deserted,  and  in  the 
contrast  of  the  recent  bustle  with  the  present  solitude  we  think 
of  Campbell's  "  Last  Man."  From  the  station-yard  "  the  arri- 
vals "  are  also  disappearing.  The  old  omnibus  is  just  off.  The 
little  baker  is  briskly  trudging  along  the  turnpike  ;  the  horse- 
dealer,  who  lives  near  the  Blue  Lion,  is  talking  confidentially 
with  a  neighbour  about  a  certain  party  who  has  been  bidding 
for  the  bay  mare ;  and  the  large-bodied  one-horse  fly,  with  its 
corpulent  rat-tailed  steed,  which  trotted  so  briskly  to  the  station 
for  its  master,  who  was  expected  but  has  not  arrived,  now  lags 
homeward  with  the  peculiar  slowness  of  gait  characteristic  of  a 
disappointed  vehicle. 

Some  of  the  names  of  railway  stations  are  odd,  but  more  so 
in  America  than  in  England.  Stinking  Wells  is  the  cheerful 
title  of  a  station  upon  a  new  railway  in  Nevada  ;  and,  it  is  said, 
that  the  brakemen  take  pleasure  in  shouting  it  out  "  distinkly." 
And  it  is  necessary  to  be  distinct,  especially  in  some  parts  of 


I  H  R    [RON    ROADS. 

Anywhere,  and  especially  in  those  wide  latitudes, 

.1  mistake  in  a  name  may  lead  to  inconvenience.     Thus,  we  are 

old  lady  was  going  from  Brookfield  to  Stamford,  and 

at  in  the  train  for  the  first  and  last  time  in  her  life. 

During  the  ride  the   train    was  thrown  down  an  embankment. 

Crawling  from  beneath  the  </</>; v'jt  unhurt,  she  spied  a  man  sitting 

down,  but  with  his  legs  held  down  by  some  heavy  timber.     '  Is 

this  Stamford?'  she  anxiously  inquired.     'No,  madam,'  was  the 

.  'this   is  a  catastrophe.'     'Oh!'  she  cried,  'then  I  hadn't 

oughter  got  o\Y  here.'  " 

The  walls  oi  stations  are  often  occupied  by  official  instruc- 
tions tor  travellers,  but  sometimes  they  arc  more  useful  than 
interesting.  Railway  companies  are  required  to  set  forth  the 
fins  to  and  from  all  stations  to  which  tickets  may  be  taken. 
These  are  generally  sufficiently  explicit,  but  we  have  known 
them  to  be  elevated  so  greatly  that  no  one,  unless  he  was  very 
long  sighted  or  eight  feet  high,  could  read  them.  The  following 
notice  errs  in  another  respect.  It  is  quoted  from  the  North 
Wales  Chronicle,  in  1875,  and  is  a  copy  of  a  notice  put  over 
a  booking  office  at  a  station  on  a  Welsh  railway  : — "  List  of 
booking. — You  passengers  must  be  careful.  For  have  them 
level  money  for  ticket  and  to  apply  at  once  for  asking  tickets 
when  will  booking  window  open.  No  tickets  to  have  after 
departure  of  the  train." 

At  many  intermediate  stations,  as  well  as  termini,  there  is  a 
department  of  great  importance  devoted  to  the  proper  mainte- 
nance of  the  British  constitution.  It  has  been  said  by  those 
who  have  studied  the  noble  character  of  John  Bull,  that  the 
only  certain  way  in  which  to  keep  him  in  perfectly  good  humour 
is  to  keep  him  quite  full.  This  operation  is  delicately  denomin- 
ated "taking  refreshment  ;"  and  our  railway  managers,  having 
observed  that  nature  thus  abhors  a  vacuum,  and  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  plenum  is,  in  England,  generally  accepted,  have 
taken  care  to  promote  the  good  temper  of  their  travellers  by  the 
establishment  of  those  most  characteristic  railway  institutions — 
"  refreshment  rooms." 

In  the  earlier  days  of  railway  enterprise,  when  it  was  con- 
sidered to  be  a  serious  matter  to  undertake  u  journey  as  far  as 
from  London  to  Birmingham,  the  refreshment  room  at  Wolverton 
achieved  renown.     Who,   then,   had  not  talked  about  Wolver- 


THE    REFRESHMENT    ROOM.  265 

ton's  hot  coffee,  with  the  five  minutes  allowed  for  its  consump- 
tion, and  the  various  contrivances  necessary  for  drinking  it 
within  the  time  ?  Who  had  not  laughed  at  the  way  in  which, 
when  he  asked  for  milk  with  which  to  cool  the  scalding  beverage, 
the  amiable  attendant  remorselessly  filled  up  his  cup  with  boiling 
milk  ?  Who  had  not  heard  of  the  visit  of  Sir  Francis  Head, 
who  described  the  row  of  youthful  handmaidens,  who  stood 
behind  bright  silver  urns,  silver  coffee-pots,  silver  teapots,  piles 
of  sandwiches,  heaps  of  buns  and  pies  and  cakes  ;  and  who, 
though  they  had  only  seven  right  hands,  with  but  very  little 
fingers  at  the  end  of  each,  managed,  with  such  slender  assistance, 
in  the  short  space  of  a  few  minutes,  to  extend  those  hands  and 
withdraw  them  so  often,  sometimes  to  give  a  cup  of  tea,  some- 
times to  receive  half  a  crown,  then  to  give  an  old  gentleman 
a  plate  of  soup,  then  to  drop  another  lump  of  sugar  into  his 
nephew's  coffee  cup,  and  then  to  receive  change  out  of  sixpence 
for  four  "  ladies'  fingers "  ?  The  wonderful  consumption  at 
Wolverton  of  all  things  eatable  and  drinkable  was  also  recorded, 
including  45,000  bottles  of  stout — sometimes  for  extra  stout 
consumers, — 56,000  queen  cakes,  and  182,000  Banbury  cakes, 
and  85  pigs  and  piglings  who,  having  been  tenderly  treated 
from  their  infancy,  "  were  impartially  promoted,  by  seniority, 
one  after  another,  into  an  indefinite  number  of  pork  pies."  It 
has  indeed  been  whispered  that  the  lively  narrative  of  the 
baronet  was  perused  with  special  interest  by  the  potentates  of 
the  London  and  North  Western  Company  at  Euston  Square, 
and  that  the  rent  of  the  tenant  at  Wolverton  was,  at  the  earliest 
moment,  considerably  augmented.  We  have  no  doubt,  however, 
that  the  rumour  is  a  slander,  and  that  personages  so  august  as 
railway  directors  would  be  incapable  of  availing  themselves  of 
what  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  literary  indiscretion  ! 

But  perhaps  one  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  ancnt  such 
establishments  is  that  the  rent  paid  by  the  tenant  of  the  Swindon 
refreshment  rooms  to  the  Great  Western  Railway  Company 
is  just  one  penny  a  year.  The  place  was  built  by  the  original 
tenant  when  the  company  was  short  of  money,  and  these  were 
the  terms  agreed  upon.  All  trains  are  required  to  stop  here  ten 
minutes.  Fortune  after  fortune  has  been  made  by  the  suc- 
cessive owners. 

The  writer  of  "  Mugby  Junction"  was  good  enough  to  inform 


OUR    ikon'    ROADS. 

us  that  it  was  to  the  extirpation  of  the  tyranny  under  which 
the  British  traveller  had  groaned  at  the  railway  refreshment 
loom  that  that  publication  was  especially  devoted.  "The 
pork  and  veal  pics,  with  their  bumps  of  delusive  promise,  and 
their  little  cubes  of  gristle  and  b;ul  fat ;  the  scalding  infusion 
satirically  called  tea  ;  the  stale  bath  buns,  with  their  veneering  of 
furniture  polish  ;  the  sawdust)-  sandwiches,  so  frequently  and  so 
energetically  condemned," — all  these  were  as  the  outcome  of 
the  critic's  irony  effectually  doomed.  How  the  management  of 
refreshment  rooms  came  about  in  former  days  he  also  tells  us. 
The  last  time,  he  says,  we  were  behind  the  scenes  at  a  railway 
refreshment  bar,  we  were  initiated  into  the  story  of  the  sorrows 
of  the  broken-down  coachman  of  an  esteemed  friend.  More 
than  seventy  years  of  age,  rheumatic,  and  past  work,  interest 
was  obtained  with  certain  railway  directors,  and  when,  eventually, 
the  post  of  purveyor  of  the  station  was  charitably  secured  for 
"  old  Robert,"  there  was  sincere  rejoicing.  "  None  of  us  ever 
thought  of  his  fitness  for  the  post.  Neither  I  nor  my  fellow 
townsmen  thought  of  the  railway  station  as  a  place  at  which 
eating  and  drinking  was  a  possibility  for  ourselves,  or  of  the 
ordinary  travellers  who  passed  through  and  lunched  or  dined 
there.  But  the  kindly  face  and  venerable  figure  of  old  Robert 
were  local  institutions ;  and  if,  by  selling  muddy  beer,  fiery 
sherry,  and  stale  buns  to  strangers,  his  last  days  could  be  made 
easy,  who  would  be  churlish  enough  to  cavil  at  his  appointment." 
Vet  charity  to  old  Robert  meant  cruelty  to  the  public,  and  the 
results  were  painful  to  many  and  unsatisfactory  to  all.  So  it 
must  be  confessed  by  all  who  are  not  endowed  with  digestive 
powers  like  those  of  a  solicitor  from  St.  Neots  with  whom  we 
once  travelled.  During  a  pause  of  the  train  at  Leicester  station, 
he  alighted,  and  brought  back  into  the  carriage  a  "hunch"  of 
pork  pie,  and  a  small  flask  of  sherry.  "  Can  you  digest  that  ?  " 
sceptically  inquired  a  fellow  traveller.  "  Digest  it !  "  was  the 
reply.  "  Do  you  think,  sir,  that  I  allow  my  stomach  to  dictate 
to  me  what  I  think  proper  to  put  into  it  ?  " 

Among  the  minor  appurtenances  of  a  railway  station  is  the 
wagon  loading  gauge.  It  is  employed  to  prevent  trucks  being 
loaded  so  high  as  to  touch  the  arch  of  a  bridge  or  of  a  tunnel 
under  which  it  may  have  to  run.  It  consists  simply  of  a  frame, 
with  a  bell  attached   to   it :  if  the  loaded  wagon  passes  freely 


BIRDS    AND    BEASTS    AT    STATIONS.  267 

underneath  without  touching  the  bell,   it  will   run  safely  under 
any  arch  or  through  any  tunnel  on  the  line. 

Other  visitors  besides  travellers  sometimes  visit  railway 
stations.  Not  long  ago  a  wagon  of  coals  had  been  standing  in 
the  station  at  Kirkby  Moorside,  and  in  the  wagon  a  wagtail 
had  built  her  nest,  in  which  again  a  cuckoo  laid  an  egg.  The 
wagtail  brought  off  her  strange  brood,  and  the  cuckoo — a  fine 
bird — came  into  the  possession  of  one  of  the  company's  officials. 
The  fact  that  a  wagon  of  coals  would  remain  at  the  station  long 
enough  for  a  bird  to  build  and  hatch  therein  showed  the  dulness 
of  trade  in  the  district. 


WATER    CRANE. 


We  may  here  mention  that  a  writer  in  a  German  engineering 
journal  contrasts  the  behaviour  of  different  animals  towards  rail- 
ways and  steam  machinery.  The  ox  stands  composedly  on  the 
rails  without  having  any  idea  of  the  danger  that  threatens  him  ; 
dogs  run  among  the  wheels  of  a  departing  train  without  suffering 
any  injury  ;  and  birds  seem  to  have  a  peculiar  delight  in  the 
steam  engine.  Larks  will  build  their  nests  and  rear  their  young 
under  the  switches  of  a  railway  over  which  heavy  trains  are  con- 
stantly rolling,  and  swallows  make  their  homes  in  engine  houses. 
A  fox-terrier  named  Pincher,  at  Hawkesbury  station,  on  the 
Coventry  and  Nuneaton  Railway,  for  a  long  time  distinguished 
himself  by  ringing  the  bell  on  the  approach  of  stopping  trains, 
much  to  the  passengers'  amusement.  One  day,  after  performing 
this  feat,  he  ran  from  the  signal-box  on  to  the  line,  and  was  cut 
to  pieces. 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 


POIN  I  S        AS   THEY    WERE. 


At  all  stations,  intermediate  or  terminal,  ample  arrangements 
have  to   be   made   SO   that    trains,  whether   passenger  or   goods, 

may  stand,  or  run, 
or  cross  over.  The 
old  way  in  which 
crossing  was  effected 
was  homely  enough, 
and  such  "  points  " 
were  used 
indicated 


as  are 
in  the 
engraving.  These 
have  long  since 
been  superseded  by 
"  points  "  proper,  of  excellent  construction,  temper,  and  efficiency; 
and  crossings  and  sidings  are  now  sometimes  multiplied  into 
extraordinary  number  and  intricacy.  The  first  principle  to  be 
observed  is  to  have,  on  the  main  lines,  no  "  facing  points,"  except 
at  junctions.  If  a  train  has  to  be  moved  from  a 
down  to  an  up  line,  it  must  not  be  done  directly. 
Let  a  be  the  down,  and  b  the  up  rails.  If  it  is 
necessary  for  an  engine  or  for  carriages  to  be 
removed  from  the  one  set  of  rails  to  the  other, 
it  must  be  done  by  the  following  means  :  The 
engine  must  be  brought  along  the  down  rails  till 
it  has  passed  the  points  at  e ;  the  points  must 
then  be  altered,  and  the  engine  being  reversed, 
it  will  pass  by  the  crossing  on  to  the  up  rails 
b, — the  wheels  passing  the  points  provided 
for  this  purpose.  This  process  has  only  to  be 
reversed,  in  order  to  take  an  engine  from  the 
up  to  the  down  line.  Only  in  the  case  of 
branch  lines  diverging  directly  from  a  main 
line  it  is  necessary  to  have  what  are  called  "  facing  points,"  like 
that  at  g,  which  run  to  and  past  d.  There  should  also  be  others 
provided  about/  But  at  all  facing  points  accidents  are  possible, 
and  they  can  be  averted  only  by  special  signalling  arrange- 
ments. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  goods'  stations  the  sidings  are 
frequently  extensive  ;  at  some  places,  where  the  whole  work  is 
the  sorting  and  remarshalling  of  goods  or  mineral  trains,  it  is  not 


CROSSING     AND 
SIDING. 


TOTON    SIDINGS.  269 

too  much  to  say  that  the  whole  station  is  sidings.  On  the 
Midland  Railway,  for  instance,  Chaddesden  sidings,  near  Derby, 
and  Toton  sidings,  near  Trent,  are  wholly  devoted  to  these 
uses,  and  there  are  similar  establishments  on  other  lines.  Let 
us  visit  one  of  these  sidings. 

The  traveller  who,  on  a  wintry  or  foggy  night,  flashes  along  in 
an  express  train  through  the  railway  sidings  at  Toton  on  the 
Erewash  Valley  line  may  well  regard  the  scene  as  one  of  be- 
wildering confusion.  As  he  sees  the  clouds  of  fire-lit  steam, 
the  glancing  lights,  the  white,  green,  and  red  signals,  the  moving 
forms  of  engines,  trains,  and  men  ;  and  as  he  overhears,  per- 
chance, the  bumpings  of  trucks,  the  shouts  of  men,  and  the 
squeal  of  whistles  from  locomotives  and  from  shunters,  he  may 
well  consider  it  a  spot  from  which  he  ought  to  be  thankful  to 
be  quickly  and  safely  extricated.  Happily,  cosmos  reigns  amidst 
this  seeming  chaos  ;  and  the  multifarious  and  apparently  be- 
wildering transactions  are  carried  on  with  order,  precision,  and 
security. 

"  Yours  are  the  model  railway  sidings  !  "  we  playfully  re- 
marked to  the  administrator  of  this  little  province  of  the 
Midland  Railway  Company's  widespread  dominions.  "  Well," 
he  replied,  "  they  do  say  we  manage  pretty  well.  We  had  a 
gentleman  here  from  a  great  southern  railway  company  for  a 
week,  who  made  drawings  of  everything.  We  have  had  an 
engineer  from  the  United  States,  another  from  Russia,  several 
others  from  various  parts  of  the  world  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  we 
get  safely  through  a  deal  of  business.  Yes,"  he  continued,  "  the 
place  has  developed  wonderfully  ;  twenty  years  ago  it  was  nearly 
all  fields.  There  was  just  the  up  and  down  passenger  line,  one 
siding,  and  a  weighing  machine,  over  which  a  mineral  train  could 
be  passed,  and  the  wagons  could  one  by  one  he  weighed,  so  that 
we  might  check  the  '  declarations  '  of  weight  handed  in  by  the 
colliery  people.  As  the  mineral  business  increased,  fresh  sidings 
were  added,  and  a  night  as  well  as  a  day  staff  of  men  was 
provided." 

The  characteristic  excellence  of  these  sidings  is  that  safety  is 
secured  for  the  main  line  traffic  by  keeping  all  the  business  of 
the  reception,  sorting,  and  marshalling  of  the  empty  coal  trains 
and  trucks  on  one  side  (for  these  are  coal  sidings),  and  the  recep- 
tion, sorting,  and  marshalling  of  the  loaded  trains  and  trucks  on 


01  R     1K"N    ROADS. 

the  other  side  "We  never,"  said  the  superintendent,  "' foul ' 
the  main  line.  An  empty  train  arrives  from  the  south  by  the 
down  line.      The   train    is   broken   up   and   deposited   into 

or  all  iA'  five  '  reception  '  lines,  two  of  which  are  for  wagons 

collieries  on  the  Erewash  Valley  district ;  the  third  is  for 

ins    belonging  to   the  collieries  between   Masborough  and 

anion  ;    the   fourth   for  wagons  for  collieries  between  Clay 

-  ami    Masborough;  ami  the  fifth  for  those  on  the  South 

Yorkshire  system.     The  wagons  put  into  the  Erewash  reception 

line  are  drawn  by  a  shunting  engine  out  at  the  opposite  end  from 

that  at    which  they  were  put   in,  and  after  being  'chalked'  with 

the  number  ^A'  the  line  to  which  the  horsemen  are  now  to  take 

them,  they  arc  drawn  to  the  sorting  sidings,  of  which  there  are 

seventeen,  according  to  the  particular  collieries  for  which  the 

trucks  are  destined.     They  are  then  marshalled  in  what  is  called 

'  station  order.'     The  guard  of  the  train  will  have  only  to  unhook 

the  trucks  at  the  particular  station,  to  give  them  a  'kick  '  back 

into  the  siding,  and  then  to  resume  his  journey." 

We  now  go  over  and  see  the  working  of  the  loaded  trucks  and 
trains  on  the  other  side  of  the  line.  These  arrive  on  the  "  up  " 
goods  line  entirely  clear  of  the  passenger.  In  fact  they  left 
the  passenger  line  at  Ilkeston  junction,  4^  miles  north  of  Toton 
sidings.  They  run  on  the  up  goods  line  to  Toton,  and  are 
delivered  on  to  one  of  nine  "  reception,"  or,  as  they  are  called, 
"bank"  lines.  "Why  we  call  them  'bank'  lines,"  said  the 
superintendent,  "  I  can't  say.  It  is  a  common  name  for  such 
sidings  at  Chaddesden  and  elsewhere,  as  well  as  here.  These 
'  bank  '  sidings  are  the  source  from  whence  we  draw  the  traffic 
with  which  to  make  up  our  trains  ;  so,  perhaps,  that  is  the  reason 
for  the  name."  When  the  engine  has  brought  its  loaded  train  so 
far,  it  is  detached,  it  picks  up  its  break,  crosses  the  main  line  (the 
only  time  it  touches  the  main  line  at  Toton)  on  to  the  down 
goods  line,  then  goes  with  a  load  of  empties  back  to  the  place 
from  which  it  has  brought  its  loaded  train,  or  to  some  other 
point  to  fetch  another  train  of  coal.  Meanwhile  the  full  train 
it  left  at  the  bank  is  composed  of  wagons  for  three  or  more 
different  destinations,  some  for  the  Midland,  others  for  the  Great 
Kastern,  Great  Northern,  Great  Western,  and  South  Western. 
A  "  chalker  "  met  the  train  as  it  came  slowly  in,  read  the  "des- 
tination label  "  on  each  wagon,  and  chalked  upon  the  truck  the 


TOTON    SIDINGS.  27  I 

particular  shunting  line  to  which  it  should  go  ;  a  shunting 
engine,  guided  by  a  signal  from  the  foreman  at  the  centre  of  the 
sidings,  now  pushes  the  train  forwards,  and  then  horses  draw  the 
wagons  into  their  various  sorting  sidings.  Of  these  there  are 
sixteen,  and  they  hold  in  all  something  like  seven  hundred 
wagons,  each  siding  containing  wagons  intended  for  a  separate 
district. 

At  night  the  same  work  is  carried  on  by  a  duplicate  staff. 
The  whole  place  is  lit  up  with  gas.  The  amount  of  business 
done  at  Toton  day  and  night  is  enormous,  but  it  varies  with  the 
season.  In  a  summer  month  18,000  wagons  will  be  received  and 
despatched  ;  in  winter  as  many  as  six  and  twenty  thousand. 
The  staff  required  also  depends  on  the  season  and  the  work.  In 
summer  perhaps  thirty  or  forty  shunting  horses  would  suffice, 
but  in  a  severe  winter  the  grease  in  the  axle  box  will  freeze 
hard,  the  wheels  instead  of  turning  round  will  skid  along  the 
rails,  and  two  or  three  horses  will  be  required  to  move  a  wagon. 

"  Your  horses  here,"  we  remarked,  "  have  to  be  as  intelligent 
as  men  seem  to  be  in  some  places."  "Yes,"  replied  the  superin- 
tendent, "  it  is  very  interesting  to  see  their  sagacity,  and  to  watch 
them  picking  their  way  among  the  moving  wagons,  especially  at 
night.  After  being  suddenly  unhooked  from  a  wagon  they  will 
be  perfectly  still  where  there  is  only  just  room  for  them  to  stand 
between  two  lines  of  rails,  while  a  squealing  engine  and  a  shunt 
of  wagons  passes  perhaps  on  each  side  of  them." 

"  But  how,"  we  inquire,  "  with  such  a  fluctuating  traffic  and 
amid  such  a  multitude  of  trains  arriving  from  all  sorts  of  col- 
lieries, do  you  manage  to  get  them  away  in  so  orderly  and  rapid 
a  manner  ? "  "  Well,  the  traffic  comes  in  here  from  all  the 
collieries  on  the  Midland  lying  between  Stanton  Gate  and  as  far 
north  as  Normanton  in  Yorkshire.  It  comes  at  stated  times, 
but  in  constantly  varying  quantities.  We  cannot  tell  how  much 
we  shall  receive  on  any  one  day  from  any  one  colliery.  But  in 
order  to  ensure  its  prompt  despatch  we  arrange,  on  '  spec,'  for 
a  proper  supply  of  engine  power,  being  guided,  however,  by  long 
experience.  When  we  have  not  a  loaded  wagon  in  the  sidings, 
we  order  perhaps  ten  or  a  dozen  engines  several  hours  ahead  to 
be  ready  at  certain  times  ;  and,  meanwhile,  the  wagons  they  are 
to  take  accumulate.  We  never  send  an  engine  away  south 
without  a  full  train.     Our  busiest  time  is  between  four  o'clock 


OUR    [RON   ROADS. 

and  nine  in  the  evening  ;  and,  in  winter,  until  midnight  At  the 
sorting  sidings  at  the  south  end  six  or  seven  engines  may  be 
seen  .it  a  time  attached  to,  or  waiting  to  be  attached  to,  six  or 
seven  loaded  trains  ;  and  these,  when  ready,  will  be  following  one 
another  out  and  away.  In  an  hour  five  or  six  loaded  trains  will 
thus  go,  perhaps  thirty  in  five  hours.  We  have  sorted  and  sent 
away  north  ami  south  one  hundred  and  twenty  trains  in  a  day." 

"  But  how,"  we  ask,  "  do  you  manage  all  this  intricate  work 
in  foggy  weather?"  "  We  have  for  our  sidings,"  he  replied, 
a  system  of  our  own.  Instead  of  shouting,  we  whistle.  Thus  : 
when  we  want  a  driver  to  push  his  train  back,  a  long  whistle  is 
given  by  the  man  at  the  tail  of  the  train  ;  the  second  man,  at 
it  the  middle  of  the  train,  repeats  the  whistle  ;  and  the  third 
man,  who  is  generally  in  sight  of  the  driver,  again  repeats  it,  and 
gives  a  hand  signal.  If  the  driver  is  wanted  to  stop  his 
train,  the  first  man — who  stands  in  sight  of  the  shunting  signal 
— gives  three  short  sharp  whistles  ;  the  next  man  repeats  them  ; 
and  the  third  man  repeats  them,  and  gives  the  hand  signal  to 
the  driver.  Usually  all  this  is  done  by  shouting  ;  we  do  it  by 
whistling." 

"  You  said  just  now  that  you  did  your  business  here  with  de- 
spatch and  safety.  It  used  to  be  said  you  had  a  great  many 
accidents.  Sir  Beckett  Denison,  in  one  of  his  kind  speeches, 
called  Toton  sidings  the  Midland  Company's  'slaughter  house' 
— didn't  he  ?  "  "  Yes,  I  believe  he  did,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  but  it 
isn't  correct.  The  safety  of  the  shunting  here  has  been  increased 
by  the  men  using  a  long  pole  of  iron  or  wood  for  uncoupling  the 
wagons  instead  of  getting  between  them.  We  have  not  had  a 
fatal  accident  for  a  considerable  time,  not  a  man  even  seriously 
injured  in  shunting  for  two  or  three  years."  "  How  long  are  the 
sidings?"  we  inquired.  "From  south  to  north  a  distance  of 
about  two  miles.  Where  they  are  thickest  it  is  for  about  a  mile 
and  a  quarter." 

Perhaps  our  reader,  when  he  passes  by  day  or  night  through 
Toton  sidings,  or  some  similar  spot  on  some  other  company's 
lines,  may  cherish  some  thankfulness  for  the  pains  that  are 
taken  to  ensure  his  safety  and  comfort. 

Having  thus  dealt  with  the  subject  of  stations  and  sidings, 
we  may  refer  to  the  signalling  arrangements  necessary  for  their 
protection. 


SIGNALS.  273 

In  doing  so  we  may  make  the  somewhat  paradoxical  asser- 
tion, that  one  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  improvement  in  the 
mechanical  details  of  railways,  is  the  preternatural  and  abnormal 
genius  of  English  inventors.  Every  few  weeks  or  days  some 
correspondent  writes  to  a  railway  manager  or  engineer,  to  assure 
him  in  the  strictest  confidence,  and  with  the  utmost  prolixity, 
that  the  writer  has  made  an  astounding  discovery,  or  has  devised 
some  wonderful  apparatus,  which  is  certain  to  revolutionize  that 
particular  department  of  the  railway  world.  Two  inventions  were 
recently  recommended  for  the  adoption  of  the  Midland  Railway 
Company.  One  inventor  stated  that  the  worst  injuries  received 
by  passengers  in  collisions  were  caused  by  the  hardness  of  the 
wood  and  iron  of  which  the  carriages  were  built ;  and  he  accord- 
ingly urged  that  for  the  future  carriages  should  be  built  of  leather 
or  other  soft  and  elastic  materials,  so  that  passengers  should 
be  only  squeezed  and  not  cut.  Another  proposed  to  guarantee 
against  one  train  ever  running  into  another.  To  do  this  he 
wished  a  pair  of  rails  to  be  fixed  at  and  up  the  end  of  every 
train,  so  that  if  a  train  overtook  it,  it  would  run  tip  and  on  to, 
but  never  into,  the  preceding  one.  Each  inventor  sent  most 
elaborate  drawings  and  estimates  of  the  proposed  project.  Our 
railway  authorities  are  ever  and  anon  bored  with  a  multitude  of 
schemes  from  crack-brained  theorists  on  the  high  road  to  the 
lunatic  asylum,  and  eagerly  supported  by  hungry  patentees, 
until  we  sometimes  fancy  that  the  dreams  of  railway  people  must 
be  haunted  with  ludicrous  nightmares  of  railway  mechanism  in 
chaotic  confusion  and  conflict,  electric  and  hydraulic  machines 
of  every  sort  and  size  engaged  in  murderous  internecine  battle. 
And  then,  at  last,  when  all  faith  in  inventors  has  fled,  some  day 
somebody  shows  that  he  has  really  made  a  valuable  discovery  ; 
and  eventually,  after  months  of  inquiry,  experiments,  and  im- 
provements, it  is  adopted. 

There  is  no  subject  in  which  railway  managers  feel  so  deep 
an  interest  as  the  safety  of  their  trains.  Enormous  sums  of 
money  are  devoted  to  this  end,  and  one  result  has  been  that  the 
signalling  arrangements  that  were  at  one  time  deemed  sufficient, 
have  long  since  been  superseded  by  methods  ingenious,  elabo- 
rate, and  costly,  to  some  of  which  we  have  now  to  refer. 

The  very  simplest  kind  of  railway  signalling  of  which  we 
have  heard  was  mentioned  to  us  the  other  day  by  one  who  is 

T 


01  R    IRON    ROADS. 


now  an  inspector  of  permanent  way  on  the  Midland  Railway 
,"  he  said,   "1    was   on   duty   at   Whitwood 
[unction  on  the  North-Eastern,  between  Castleford  and  Nor- 
now    a  great  junction  and  signalling  station;   but  all 


m*r- 


ia  jft 


.  _J       .."•'...    .  ■.i-,-i-J^_e=K 


HOME  SIGNAL. 


my  signalling  apparatus  by  day  consisted  of  a  board  which  I 

had  to  turn  to  let  either  the  Leeds  or  the  Normanton  train  go 

and,  at  night,  I  had  simply  a  bonfire  of  coals  burning, 

which,  by  the  light  it  gave,  told  the  driver  of  an  approaching 


SIGNALS.  275 

train  whereabout  on  the  line  he  was.  It  wasn't  really  a  signal 
at  all,  but  simply  a  fire.  There  was  no  back  signal  of  any 
kind." 

For  several  years  the  only  signal  on  the  Stockton  and  Hartle- 
pool was  a  candle  placed  in  a  window  of  the  station,  its  presence 
indicating  to  the  driver  that  he  was  to  stop,  and  its  absence 
that  he  might  go  on.  On  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  and  the 
Newcastle  and  Carlisle  lines  there  were  no  signals,  and  there 
were  none  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway  when  it 
was  opened.  "It  was  not  until  the  year  1834  that  the  first 
attempt  towards  establishing  signals  was  made  on  the  Liverpool 
and  Manchester,  in  the  simple  expedient  of  fixing  an  ordinary 
lamp  to  the  top  of  a  post  approachable  by  a  ladder.  The  signal 
showing  a  red  or  white  light,  was  for  night  use  only.  Four 
years  later,  in  1838,  Sir  John  Hawkshaw  devoted  his  attention 
to  signalling,  designing  some  new  disc  signals,  and  through  his 
influence  they  were  introduced  on  several  lines." 

Similarly  elsewhere.  "  I  was  firing,"  a  Midland  locomotive 
superintendent  at  Rugby  remarked,  "in  '41  on  the  Liverpool 
and  Manchester  line.  The  only  signal  used  at  the  stations 
was  a  flag  that  was  run  up  and  down  a  mast  by  a  rope  through 
a  pulley.  When  the  wind  happened  to  blow  in  the  right 
direction,  we  saw  it  well  ;  but  frequently  it  hung  straight  down 
the  pole,  and  we  had  to  get  very  near  before  we  could  see 
it  at  all.  This  was  the  only  signal  they  had.  There  was  no 
distant  signal."  Arrangements  so  elementary  as  these  could 
not  suffice,  and,  in  the  earliest  days  of  railways,  coloured  objects 
were  used — a  white  signal,  whether  by  flag,  board,  or  light,  sig- 
nifying safety,  green  meant  that  "caution  "  should  be  exercised, 
while  red  was  the  sign  of  "danger."  A  station  signal  was  pro- 
vided for  both  the  up  and  the  down  line,  one  at  each  end  of  the 
station,  and  of  the  kind  represented  in  the  engraving.  On  a 
train  stopping,  or  travelling  slowly  through  an  intermediate 
station,  the  signal  which  was  painted  red  on  one  side  was  shown 
for  five  minutes  in  the  direction  from  which  the  train  had  come, 
so  as  to  stop  any  following  train  ;  the  green  signal,  on  the 
shorter  post,  was  then  turned  on  for  five  minutes,  to  complete 
the  ten  minutes'  precautionary  signal.  Exception  was  made 
on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line,  where  the  red  signal 
was  shown  for  three  minutes,  and  the  green  for  five  ;  and  also 


OUR    IK(»\    ROADS. 


when  an  express  train  or  a  special  engine  had  passed,  the  green 
.  only  was  >h.n\n  for  five  minutes.  As  the  lamps  and  the 
boards  were  connected  together,  the  lamp  had  only  to  be  lighted 
at  night  or  in  a  fog,  and  then  the  arrangement  was  complete. 
When  the  vane  was  presented  edgewise  to  the  driver  of  an 
approaching  train,  as  seen  in  the  engraving,  it  showed  that  all 
wa^  right 

Besides  these  there  were  auxiliary  signals  at  most  of  the 
principal  stations,  worked  by  means  of  wires,  which  permitted 
their  being  regulated  at  almost  any  distance  from  the  signal 
box.  These  auxiliaries  were  especially  valuable  in  thick 
weather  ;  for,  as  they  were  placed  several  hundred  yards 
from  the  station,  the  drivers  of  engines  could  obey  them 
when   it  would   be    impossible    to  see  the   station  signals  with 

distinctness.  They  were  con- 
structed with  only  the  green 
or  "  caution,"  and  the  "  all 
right  "  signals  :  the  former  in- 
timating that  the  red  signal 
was  turned  on  at  the  station. 
In  the  engraving  of  the  home 
signal,  the  reader  may  observe 
the  lever  by  which  the  auxiliary 
signal  was  worked. 

Where  junction  lines  unite, 
or  lines  cross  one  another  at 
the  same  level,  a  more  com- 
plete system  of  signalling  had 
to  be  adopted.  A  junction  or 
double-signal  station  had  two 
masts,  near  the  tops  of  which 
were  arms  and  lamps.  When 
the  arm,  which  is  painted  red, 
and  is  always  on  the  left  of  the 
engine-driver,  is  at  right  angles 
to  the  mast,  it  signifies  danger  ; 
if  it  be  at  an  angle  of  forty- 
five  degrees,  caution  must  be  observed  ;  and  if  the  arm  be  par- 
allel with  the  post,  it  is  all  right. 

These  arrangements  still   in    part  exist,  but  they  have  been 


AIXII.IAkY   Ok    DISTANT   SIGNAL. 


SIGNALS. 


277 


enormously  and  scientifically  developed.  In  former  times  a 
station-master,  or  porter,  put  signals  at  safety  or  danger,  as  the 
case  might  be,  while  some  one  else  worked  the  points.  Or  it 
might  be  that  the  pointsman  ran  from  his  point  to  the  signal 
lever,  or  back  again.  Or  it  might  be,  and  too  often  it  was  the 
case,  that  the  signals  were  v<  .  properly  worked  at  all  ;  "the 
pointsman,  perhaps,  was  fully  ccupied  in  pulling  the  one  lever, 
and  could  not  get  at  the  other ;  or  the  signalman  might  vainly 


JUNCTION    SIGNALS. 

trust  to  the  pointsman  doing  his  duty  and  give  the  signal  of 
safety  when  danger  was  imminent.  Points  and  signals  might 
thus  be,  and  too  often  were,  in  direct  contradiction,  and  the 
driver,  relying  on  the  safety  which  the  lowered  arm  or  the 
white  light  falsely  bespoke,  rushed  confidently  on  his  headlong 
way,  to  wake — if  he  ever  woke  at  all — amid  the  crash  of 
shattered  carriages  and  the  shrieks  and  groans  of  the  wounded 
and  the  dying."     Now  what  with  home  and  starting  signals  ; 


OUR    [RON    Roads. 

distance,  or,  as  they  are  called,  distant  signals,  sometimes  at 
enormous  distances  ;  speaking  instruments  ;  repeating  signals  ; 
intermediate  repeaters  ;  light  indicators  with  which,  in  effect, 
the  signalmen  can  sec  along  curved  cuttings,  and  through  brick 

walls  ;  with  fog  signals — 10,000  of  which  are  exploded  by  a 
single  Company  in  less  than  one  foggy  month — and  with  an 
ic  system  which  anticipates  and  follows  the  movements  of 
every  train  in  every  part  of  its  career,  we  have  a  completeness 
of  control  which  surpasses  anything  originally  contemplated. 

Signal-houses  are  of  various  sorts  and  sizes,  but  in  some  re- 
spects they  are  essentially  different  from  what  they  used  to  be. 
Instead  of  the  cottage  formerly  provided  merely  for  the  shelter 
of  the  signalman,  and  from  which  he  went  out  to  change  his 
signal  or  to  pull  his  lever,  the  levers  and  the  machinery  that 
works  them  are,  like  himself,  under  cover.  Some  signal-boxes 
stand  on  viaducts  that  look  down  upon  the  crowded  suburbs 
of  great  towns  ;  some  are  in  deep,  dull  cuttings  ;  from  some  we 
see  far  away  over  cultivated  cornfields,  pleasant  hamlets,  and 
woods  ;  while  others  are  in  cold,  high  mountain  districts  like 
the  Ais-Gill  box,  on  the  Settle  and  Carlisle  line  of  the  Mid- 
land Company,  1,200  feet  above  the  sea.  We  enter  one  by 
permission  of  the  authorities.  It  is  on  a  bank  in  a  beautiful 
ravine  in  Derbyshire.  The  hills  are  covered  with  trees,  in 
which  the  light  spring  green  of  the  young  wood  contrasts  with 
the  deep  umbrageous  foliage  of  the  pines.  Ivy  and  ferns  grow 
over  or  around  the  limestone  rocks.  Rooks  settle  on  the 
ballast.  Jackdaws  whirl  high  overhead.  The  Wye  brawls 
along  the  hollow,  where  one  lonely  fisherman  is  casting  his 
line.  Up  and  down  the  valley  are  signals,  sidings,  lines,  junc- 
tions, and  a  tunnel  mouth.  The  box  itself  is  a  picture  of  neat- 
ness. The  floor  is  cleanly  washed  ;  the  signal  flags  are  folded 
together  in  the  corner  ;  the  twelve  levers  are  as  bright  as  steel 
can  be  ;  the  various  telegraph  instruments  are  by  turns  silent 
and  anon  noisily  doing  their  work  ;  the  petroleum  lamp  can 
at  any  moment  be  lighted  ;  the  Company's  books,  with  their 
broad  yellow  leaves  on  which  the  signalman  makes  his  entries 
of  everything  that  happens,  lie  open  on  the  desk ;  sundry 
notices  and  instructions  hang  upon  the  walls  ;  the  row  of  twelve 
signal  lamps  for  the  semaphores  are  in  their  places  ;  and,  even 
in  that  lonely  spot,  scarcely  a  minute  passes  without  there  being 


IN    A    SIGNAL-BOX.  279 

some  work  to  be  quickly  and  accurately  done  or  some  record  to 
be  entered. 

In  important  intermediate  stations  like  that,  for  instance,  at 
Nottingham,  having  several  junctions  and  sidings,  platforms 
and  cross-over  roads,  all  need  special  protection  from  signals. 
Here,  in  addition  to  the  signal-boxes  outside  the  station,  there 
is  a  central  or  station  signal-box  that  communicates  with  and 
controls  the  rest.  A  train  is  coming,  we  will  say,  from  London. 
The  driver  has  been  allowed  to  pass  the  last  station  before 
reaching  Nottingham,  at  Edwalton,  and  is  approaching  the 
distant  signal  of  the  Trent  Bridge  signal-box.  We  will  suppose, 
however,  that  another  train  has  been  detained  at  the  station 
platform  to  which  the  driver  of  the  London  train  has  usually 
come  ;  and  the  station  signalman  will  not  only  have  his  signal 
against  the  train,  but  will  have  wired  to  the  London  Road 
signal-box  :  "  Train  in  platform."  Accordingly  the  London 
Road  signalman  will  keep  his  distance  signal  "  against "  the 
train,  allowing  it,  however,  to  come  slowly  on  until  it  arrives 
at  his  Home  Signal.  On  reaching  it  the  signalman  will 
wire  to  the  station  signal-box,  "  Train  waiting " ;  and  there- 
upon the  station  signalman  will  allow  the  driver  to  approach  at 
"  caution."  As  he  does  so  he  will  find,  by  the  signals,  to  which 
platform  he  may  come,  and  he  will  also  know  that  as  are 
the  signals  so  are  the  points,  and  so  is  the  road  ;  signals  and 
points  being  in  their  action  "  locked  "  together.  We  may  add 
that,  within  the  station  itself,  the  "  cross-over  roads "  are  also 
protected  by  signals  called  "discs,"  which  act  simultaneously 
with  the  respective  points,  showing  whether  these  by-paths  are 
clear  or  "  foul,"  and  that  all  are  under  the  direct  control  of  the 
station  signal-box. 

A  pleasant  writer  in  the  Daily  Nezvs  once  cheerily  described 
his  experiences  "  in  a  signal-box."  "  I  have  been  trying,"  he 
says,  "  to  qualify  myself  for  a  signalman.  One  never  knows 
what  may  happen  ;  as  an  old  fellow  said  to  me  the  other  day, 
'  A  guinea  a-weck  ain't  to  be  picked  up  under  every  lamp-post,' 
and  I  know  that  signalmen  rarely  or  never  make  less  than  that, 
and  may  attain  to  as  much  as  thirty  shillings.  I  have  heard 
indeed  of  as  much  as  thirty-four  shillings  falling  to  the  lot  of 
some  lucky  dogs,  where  the  chances  of  distinction  before  a 
coroner's  jury  are  exceptionally  great  ;  but  I  have  no  personal 


OUR    [RON    koads. 

knowledge  of  such  cases,  and  for  the  present  my  ambition  does 
beyond  a  thirty-shilling  box,  and  the  annual  bonus 
which  most  or  all  of  the  companies  give  for  a  'clean  book' 
throughout  the  year— a  book,  that  is  to  say,  showing  no  fault- 
finding by  superiors  <-n\  account  of  errors  or  neglect." 

He  accordingly  visited  several  boxes.  In  one  he  felt  pretty 
confident  that  a  week's  practice  would  enable  him  to  do  the 
work  without  necessitating  his  appearance  before  the  coroner 
more  frequently  than  about  once  a  month.  In  another  his 
heart  went  into  his  boots,  more  particularly  when,  after  inspect- 
i  formidable  array  of  scientific  instruments,  he  was  invited 
to  try  his  hand  at  a  lever,  and  found  he  could  only  get  the 
■king  thing  over  after  a  determined  struggle,  which  left  him 
in  a  state  of  collapse.  "  I  have  no  doubt,"  he  playfully  adds, 
"  that  the  rogues  picked  out  Number  Thirty-two  because  they 
knew  it  to  be  an  exceptionally  stiff  one,  and  knew  that  it  wanted 
oiling  ;  and  I  am  pretty  sure  that  they  were  as  merry  as  old 
Father  Christmas  behind  my  back  while  the  struggle  was  going 
on."  He  thus  found  that  the  work  of  signalling  demanded 
very  considerable  muscular  wear  and  tear ;  and  that  in  some  of 
the  boxes  brain  and  body  must  be  pretty  much  on  the  work 
incessantly. 

He  entered  another  box,  where  there  were  gongs  and  bells  of 
various  sorts  and  sizes  which  rarely  were  silent  for  many  seconds 
together,  and  which  kept  the  operator  incessantly  on  the  move 
answering  their  demands  or  heaving  to  and  fro  some  of  those 
thirty  or  forty  levers  apparently  in  the  most  promiscuous  and 
haphazard  fashion.  "  My  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend,  who  is 
steeped  to  the  lips  in  signalling  lore,  and  has  at  his  tongue's  end 
a  language  in  which  '  back-locking,'  '  slotters,'  and  '  replungers  ' 
are  important  factors,  dives  at  once  into  the  midst  of  things, 
and  I  of  course  look  as  wise  and  acute  as  I  know  how.  The 
fact  that  a  man  feels  himself  to  be  a  fool  is,  I  hold,  no  good 
reason  why  he  should  look  one  if  he  can  help  it ;  and  I  assumed 
my  most  sapient  aspect.  I  hope  I  impressed  the  signalman 
as  I  intended,  but  I  do  not  much  think  I  did.  It  took,  I  am 
afraid  he  thought,  a  deal  of  explanation  to  get  a  very  simple 
idea  into  my  head,  but  it  began  at  length  to  dawn  upon  me  that 
all  this  complication  was  more  apparent  than  real,  and  that  this 
intricate  piece  of  mechanism,  a  large  signal-box,  was  after  all 


INTERLOCKING    SIGNALS.  25  1 

only  the  combination  of  several  small  ones  of  the  simple 
character  already  described." 

In  the  modern  interlocking  of  signals  the  principle  aimed 
at  is,  so  far  as  possible,  to  supersede  the  man  by  the  machine, 
to  make  him  merely  the  motive  power  of  the  machine,  and  to 
render  the  machine  as  nearly  as  possible  automatic.  If  the 
safety  of  the  trains  were  dependent  on  the  signalman,  and  he 
were  dependent  on  his  memory  or  his  discretion,  the  conduct  of 
the  traffic  of  some  lines,  where,  for  instance,  fifty  trains  an  hour 
pass  the  signal-boxes,  would  be  impossible.  "And  when  you 
have  an  accident  here,"  the  inquiry  was  put  to  a  signalman, 
"  how  do  you  expect  to  be  able  to  manage  it  ? "  "  Upon  my 
word,"  he  replied,  "  I  don't  know.  I  never  in  my  life  saw  such 
mechanism  until  I  came  here ;  and  if  I  tried  to  run  two  trains 
into  one  another  I  couldn't  do  it."  How  completely  the  inter- 
locking is  arranged  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  in  some 
instances,  in  order  to  pass  a  train  from  one  point  of  a  station  to 
another,  some  fourteen  movements  or  more  of  levers  are  re- 
quired. "  Supposing  in  some  freak  of  folly  I  attempted  to 
lower  that  distance  signal  for  a  second  train  before  I  had  duly 
passed  a  first,  and  given  '  Line  clear  '  to  the  man  in  the  rear  box 
— I  should  find  my  lever  locked  fast,  and  the  distance  signal 
unaffected  by  my  foolish  attempt  to  lower  it.  It  is  in  fact  under 
the  control  of  the  man  in  the  next  box  as  well  as  myself,  and 
we  must  both  be  of  one  mind  before  it  can  be  '  taken  off.'  The 
mechanism  of  the  thing  was  explained  to  me  by  an  officer  of 
the  Company,  who  held  up  two  fingers  perpendicularly  and  put 
another  horizontally  across  the  top  of  them.  That  top  one,  he 
said,  is  the  signal  arm,  and  it  is  kept  up  by  two  bars  underneath. 
One  bar  is  connected  with  a  lever  in  this  box,  and  the  other 
with  a  lever  in  that,  and  both  must  be  moved  before  the  signal 
arm  will  fall.  It  takes  two  careless  or  foolish  men,  therefore,  to 
let  one  train  run  into  another  on  either  side  of  this  station,  one 
man  being  actually  at  the  station,  and  the  other  at  the  next 
signal-box  along  the  line." 

Besides  the  signal  levers  there  are  those  that  act  upon  the 
points,  and  it  may  be  thought  that  a  very  little  carelessness  or 
want  of  skill  would  enable  a  pointsman  to  shunt  one  train  with 
one  lever,  while  he  arranged  his  signals  so  as  to  let  another  train 
smash  into  it.     But  here  again  the  mechanism  absolutely  pro- 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


C  \MMOl\l     STRFfT 


— I 


.: 


?ciaf 

k  A  ITINC    i-'flov 
OPriOl      H03K3T* 


Vf 


V 


hibits  such  conduct.  It  is  not  only 
that  the  book  of  instructions  forbids 
it,  but  the  levers  refuse  to  be  parties 
to  it.  The  points  and  the  signals 
arc  interlocked  in  such  a  manner, 
that  until  the  signal  arms  all  stand 
at  danger,  and  therefore  forbid  any 
train  to  approach,  the  lever  which 
works  the  points  is  a  fixture  which 
cannot  be  moved.  Trains  may  run 
away,  signal  gear  may  be  out  of 
order,  engine-drivers  may  not  see 
the  warning  or  may  disregard  it,  or 
breaks  may  refuse  to  act  ;  but  the 
signal-box  is,  as  nearly  as  human 
skill  can  make  it,  practically  infal- 
lible. 

The  most  remarkable  illustration 
of  the  interlocking  system  is  sup- 
plied at  the  Cannon  Street  terminus 
in  London.  Here  the  difficulties  to 
be  dealt  with,  in  the  highest  degree 
complicated,  have  been  overcome  by 
the  skill  of  Messrs.  Saxby  &  Farmer. 
Four  main  lines  and  one  engine 
line,  with  five  pairs  of  rails,  cross 
towards  the  station  from  the  bridge 
over  the  Thames,  bringing  with  them 
trains  that  have  converged  from  the 
stations  at  London  Bridge  and 
Charing  Cross.  Between  and  among 
the  five  pairs  of  straight  lines  several 
curved  crossing  lines  meander,  touch- 
ing one  pair  of  rails,  cutting  across 
another  pair,  and  effecting  junctions 
each  with  all,  so  that  trains  can  run 
from  any  one  line  to  any  other. 
The  five  principal  lines,  as  they 
approach  the  station,  spread  out, 
eight  going  to  the  eight  platforms; 


CANNON    STREET    STATION    SIGNALS.  28 


o 


and  the  ninth  is  for  the  accommodation  of  locomotives.  The 
operations  which  the  points  and  signals  have  to  conduct  may  be 
understood  from  the  fact  that  at  the  most  crowded  time  of  the 
day  eighteen  trains  arrive  and  eighteen  depart  within  the  hour  ; 
and  for  every  arrival  and  departure  there  are  required  two 
movements  of  locomotives;  and  that  108  operations  of  shifting 
points  and  signals  have  to  be  performed  every  hour,  or,  on  the 
average,  one  in  every  thirty-three  seconds. 

How,  we  may  inquire,  is  all  this  done  ?  And  we  will  answer 
the  question  with  the  aid  of  an  excellent  description  from  The 
Engineer. 

About  fifty  yards  in  front  of  the  Cannon  Street  station,  a 
platform  spans  all  the  lines,  high  enough  to  clear  the  chimneys 
of  the  locomotives.  "  On  this  platform  stands  a  glass  house 
surmounted  by  four  tall  poles,  from  either  side  of  which  pro- 
ject semaphore  arms  to  the  number  of  twenty-four.  These  arms 
generally  remain  in  their  horizontal  attitude  to  signify  danger, 
and  are  only  occasionally  lowered,  and  that  but  for  a  few  seconds, 
to  signify  that  the  passage  is  clear.  They  command  the  lines 
and  sidings  on  the  bridge  and  in  the  station,  and  every  driver  of 
a  locomotive  arriving,  departing,  or  changing  line,  has  to  keep 
his  eye  steadily  upon  some  of  them,  stopping  without  fail  when 
their  warning  blocks  his  way,  and  moving  without  fear  when 
they  promise  safety."  He  easily  distinguishes  which  of  the 
signals  belong  to  the  line  he  occupies.  If,  then,  the  engine- 
driver  does  his  duty,  and  if  the  signals  properly  point  it  out,  no 
accident  can  happen. 

Climb  by  an  iron  ladder  to  the  signal  platform,  and  enter  the 
glass  house.  It  is  about  50  feet  long  and  a  few  wide.  Half  the 
width  is  occupied  by  a  row  of  strong  iron  levers  standing  nearly 
upright  from  the  floor,  and  placed  at  equal  distances  along  the 
apartment ;  the  rest  of  the  width  forms  a  gangway  from  end  to 
end  in  which  two  stalwart  men  can  work,  whose  time  is  entirely 
occupied  in  looking  through  the  glass  sides  of  their  cell,  and  in 
pulling  this  way  or  pushing  that  way  some  of  the  levers  which 
are  arranged  before  them.  These  levers  work  all  the  32  point 
and  35  signal  levers  ;  67  in  all.  Every  lever  is  numbered,  and 
on  the  floor  beside  it  there  is  fixed  a  brass  plate  engraved  with 
its  name  and  use.  All  the  point  levers  are  black,  the  up  signals 
are  red,  the   down  signals  blue,  and  the  distant  signals  yellow. 


\ 


Q{  R     [RON     K<'\1'S. 


Many  of  them,  too,  have  numbers,  sometimes  half  a  dozen  or 
painted  on  their  sides,  and  these  numbers  involve  the 
whole  secret  of  the  safety  which  is  secured  by  the  mechanism, 
as  will  be  readily  understood  if  we  examine  the  principles  on 
which  it  is  devised. 

The  keys  and  pedals  of  an  organ,  as  is  well-known,  command 
numerous  valves  admitting  air  from  a  wind-chest  to  the  pipes 
which  it  is  desired  to  sound.  "  The  key-boards  are  sometimes 
double  or  triple,  and  are  occasionally  arranged  so  that  the 
performer  sits  with  his  back  to  the  instrument.     The  pipes  are 


.U.N    STREET    STATION    SIGNALS. 


generally  spread  over  a  large  space,  and  sets  of  them  are  some- 
times enclosed  in  separate  chambers.  There  thus  arises  con- 
siderable complexity  in  the  mechanism  by  which  the  several 
keys  are  made  to  operate  on  their  respective  air  valves.  Never- 
theless, by  means  of  rods,  cranks,  and  levers,  such  a  connection 
is  effected,  that  on  depressing  a  C  key,  not  one  C  pipe  only,  but 
it  may  be  twenty  C  pipes  are  made  to  sound,  in  whatever  part 
of  the  instrument  those  pipes  may  be  situated.  And  so  it  is 
with  the  points  and  signal  levers  of  the  Cannon  Street  platform. 
The  whole  row  may  be  considered  to  form  a  key-board  of  five 


INTERIOR    OF    LONDON    BRIDGE    SIGNAL-BOX.  285 

and  a-half  octaves,  every  key  of  which  is  connected  by  suitable 
cranks  and  rods  to  some  one  of  the  sixty-seven  points  and 
semaphores  which  have  to  be  played  upon.  In  the  organ  a 
touch  of  the  finger  serves  to  depress  a  key,  for  the  movement 
has  only  to  admit  a  puff  of  air  to  certain  pipes — but  here  the 
keys  require  a  strong  and  steady  pull,  for  they  have  to  move 
ponderous  point  bars,  or  broad  semaphore  arms,  and  their 
movements  have  to  be  conveyed  round  many  corners  and  over 
considerable  distances.  In  both  cases  the  mode  of  communicat- 
ing motion  is  the  same,  the  two  mechanisms  differing  only  in 
size  and  strength  ;  and  thus  far  the  organ  and  the  signal  instru- 
ment exactly  correspond." 

We  may  now  compare  the  working  of  a  complicated  system  of 
signals  with  that  of  an  organ.  But  there  is  one  essential  dif- 
ference :  an  organist  can  touch  any  keys  he  pleases,  and  can,  if 
he  should  be  so  minded,  produce  not  only  concord  but  discord. 
"  Not  so  the  signalist.  Discord  is  utterly  beyond  his  powers. 
He  cannot  open  the  points  to  one  line  and  at  the  same  time  give 
a  safety  signal  to  a  line  which  crosses  it.  When  he  gives  a  clear 
signal  for  a  main  line,  he  cannot  open  a  point  crossing  to  it ; 
when  he  gives  a  clear  signal  for  a  crossing,  he  must  show  danger 
for  all  the  lines  which  it  crosses.  And  this  is  the  meaning  of 
the  numbers  marked  on  the  different  levers.  No.  10,  let  us 
suppose,  has  5,  7,  and  23  marked  on  its  side.  He  may  pull  at 
No.  10  as  long  as  he  pleases,  but  he  cannot  move  it  till  Nos.  5, 
7,  and  23  have  first  been  moved — and  so  throughout  the  whole 
system.  No  signal  lever  can  be  moved  to  safety  unless  the 
point  levers  corresponding  with  it  have  first  been  moved,  and 
no  point  lever  can  be  moved  while  there  stands  at  safety  any 
signal  lever  that  ought  to  stand  at  danger.  Every  lever  is 
under  lock  and  key,  each  being  a  part  of  the  key  which  unlocks 
some  of  the  others,  and  each  forming  a  part  of  the  lock  which 
secures  some  of  the  others  against  possible  movement,  while 
each  is  at  the  same  time  subject  to  the  control  of  all  those  which 
are  related  to  it." 

This  result,  complex  and  difficult  as  it  seems,  is  achieved  by 
mechanism  of  great  simplicity  and  beauty.  Immediately  under 
the  floor  of  the  platform,  and  just  in  front  of  the  levers,  are 
arranged  several  series  of  vibrating  and  sliding  bars,  somewhat 
like  the  tumblers  of  a  lock  placed   horizontally.     These  bars 


OTR    IRON    ROADS. 


na  here  which  stand  in  front  of  certain  levers  as 

to  their  motion,  or  notches  there  which  permit  certain 

travel.     "  Some  of  them  have  sloping  faces  such  that, 

when  a   lever  moves  along  them,  it  edges  them  to  one  side,  and 

this  transverse   motion  being  communicated  to  others  of  the 

s  brings  the  proper  projections  or  notches  in  front  of  those 

levers  to  which  the  moving  lever  is  related.     Thus,  by  the 

ment  of  one  lever,  some  others  are  stopped  and  some  are 

left  free,  and  this  simple  principle  carefully  applied  to  all,  works 

them  into  a  system  incapable  of  discord." 


INTERIOR   OF  LONDON    BRIDGE   SIGNAL   BOX. 


The  locking  apparatus  of  points  and  signals  is  not  excepted 
from  the  general  law  of  degradation.  But  since  the  normal 
position  of  all  the  signals  indicates  danger,  if,  through  slackness 
or  wear,  the  lever  which  works  a  signal  should  become  partly 
inoperative,  the  worst  that  can  happen  is  to  leave  the  signal  at 
danger.  So  throughout  the  whole  mechanism — let  cranks  or 
slides  wear,  rods  stretch  or  break,  delay  may  ensue,  but  danger 
never. 

Let  us  now  explain  the  system  which  guides  the  signalists  in 
their  operations.     At  each  end  of  the  glass  house  a  lad  is  seated, 


SEEING    SIGNALS    OUT    OF    SIGHT.  287 

with  note-book  and  pencil,  in  front  of  an  electric  telegraph. 
"  The  apparatus  on  the  right  rings  a  bell,  the  lad  looks  at 
its  index  and  immediately  exclaims,  '  North-Kent,'  '  Charing 
Cross,'  or  whatever  else  the  needle  may  direct  him  to  say.  An 
observer  looking  along  the  bridge  perceives  the  steam  cloud  of 
a  locomotive  advancing,  and  presently  catches  the  bright  sheen 
of  its  steam  chest  as  it  sweeps  with  a  train  round  the  curve  on 
the  Surrey  side.  Before  he  can  turn  round  the  signalmen  have 
drawn  some  three,  four,  or  it  may  be  half  a  dozen  levers,  the 
proper  junctions  have  been  effected,  and  the  due  signals  are  set : 
the  train  glides  safely  into  its  allotted  platform.  And  not  one 
train  only,  for  several  trains  may  be  coming  up  their  several 
lines,  and  others  may  be  simultaneously  sweeping  out  from  the 
station.  The  telegraph  passes  the  word  from  afar,  the  lad  who 
watches  it  repeats  the  word  aloud,  and  the  men  calmly,  quietly, 
yet  rapidly  turn  it  into  the  practical  work  of  guiding  the  train 
to  its  destination." 

Our  readers  will  agree  with  us  that  the  inventors  of  such 
agencies,  so  economical  to  the  Companies,  and  so  safe  to  the 
public,  are  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  mankind. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  ordinary  signals  of  a  station 
— the  "  home,"  and  the  "  distance  "  or  "  distant  "  signals — with 
arms  by  day,  and  lamps  at  night.  But  suppose  that  a  bridge  or 
a  tunnel  happens  to  be  so  situated  at  the  end  of  a  station,  that 
the  signalman  who  uses  the  signal  cannot  see  whether  it  acts 
properly ;  and  suppose  that,  though  it  has  worked  with  perfect 
accuracy  for  years,  some  tempestuous  night  the  oil  or  the  wick 
of  the  lamp  is  defective,  or  a  stone  breaks  the  glass,  and  the 
light  goes  out  ;  may  not  a  train,  unwarned  of  danger,  come 
careering  onwards  through  the  gloom  and  the  storm  to  destruc- 
tion ?  The  contingency  may  be  remote,  but  it  is  possible  ;  and 
the  results — if  they  followed — would  be  disastrous.  This  subject 
engaged  the  anxious  consideration  of  Mr.  Needham,  the  Super- 
intendent of  the  Midland  Railway,  and  he  conferred  with  the 
Company's  electrician  about  it.  "  Can't  you  make  us  an  appa- 
ratus," he  said,  "  by  which  we  can  see  round  a  corner — see 
whether  a  lamp  is  burning  half  a  mile  off  and  out  of  sight?" 
The  electrician  set  his  wits  to  work,  and  at  length  was  successful. 
Just  over  the  place  where  the  flame  of  the  signal-lamp  burns  he 
placed  a  thin  brass  tube,  which,  as  soon  as  heat  is  applied,  ex- 


288  OUR    IRON    ROADS, 

pands.  This  "  expanding  piece,"  as  it  is  railed,  presses  against 
:ln-  short  end  of  a  lever,  the  long  end  of  which  is  so  arranged  as 
ss  against  a  "stop"  made  of  some  conducting  material, 
and  so  placed  that  the  electric  circuit  is  complete.  The  electric 
current  immediately  passes  to  the  signal-house,  and  indicates 
that  the  lamp  is  burning.  No  sooner  is  the  lamp  extinguished 
than  the  "expanding  piece"  begins  to  contract,  the  contact  is 
broken  between  it  and  the  stop,  the  circuit  is  interrupted,  and 
the  signal  current  ceases  to  flow.  "There,"  said  Mr.  Needham, 
as  we  stood  in  one  of  these  signal-houses,  at  the  west  end  of 
the  Derby  Station,  "the  lamp  is  just  lit,  and  in  thirty  seconds 
the  brass  tube  will  expand,  the  current  will  flow,  and  on  that 
little  box  on  the  shelf  you  will  see  the  words  move  up,  'Lamp 
in.' "  We  stood,  watch  in  hand  ;  and  it  was  so.  Subsequently 
the  lamp  was  by  order  extinguished  ;  and  in  thirty  seconds 
more  the  words  "  Lamp  in "  disappeared,  the  words  "  Lamp 
out "  leaped  up  in  their  place,  and  the  loud  ring  of  an  alarum 
bell  proclaimed  the  fact.  That  sound  and  those  words  would 
arouse  the  attention  of  the  signalman  in  the  stormiest  winter 
night,  would  tell  him  that  his  signal-lamp  had  gone  out,  and 
would  warn  him  immediately  to  adopt  other  means  for  stopping 
any  approaching  train,  and  averting  any  threatened  disaster. 
Many  such  signals  are  in  use. 

The  reader  has  doubtless  heard  of  the  block  system  ;  we  may 
state  precisely  the  way  in  which  it  is  worked  on,  for  instance, 
the  Midland  Railway.  At  certain  distances,  determined  by 
the  amount  of  traffic,  signal-boxes  are  erected,  each  of  which 
is  supplied  with  telegraph  instruments  communicating  with  the 
next  signal-station  up  and  the  next  that  is  down  the  line.  For 
simplicity,  however,  we  will  now  deal  with  only  one,  the  down 
line  ;  and  we  will  call  the  stations  to  which  we  have  to  refer  A, 
B,  and  C.  In  front  of  the  signalman  is  the  dial  of  his  telegraphic 
instrument,  which  also  is  supplied  with  a  clear-sounding  bell, 
and  it  is  by  the  aid  of  both  bell  signals  and  dial  signals  that  the 
work  is  done.  When  the  instrument  is  not  in  use,  the  handle 
which  works  the  needle  hangs  down  below  the  instrument,  and 
is  in  an  upright  position.  It  is  also  ordered  that  each  beat  of  the 
bell  must  be  made  slowly  and  distinctly  ;  and  that  under  no  cir- 
cumstances can  a  signal  be  considered  to  be  understood  "  until 
it  has  been  correctly  repeated  back  to  the  station  from  which  it 


BELL    AND    DIAL    SIGNALS. 


289 


was  received,  and  the  acknowledgment  given  that  such  repetition 
is  correct."  If  the  reader  will  now  glance  over  the  list  of  "  bell 
signals  "  and  "  dial  signals  "  given  below,  he  will  see  how  ample 
are  the  resources  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  signalmen  for  ful- 
filling the  duties  that  follow. 

Bell  Signals. 

To  call  attention 

Be  ready  for  passenger  train 

Be  ready  for  goods,  cattle,  mineral,  or  ballast  train,  or 

light  engine >      J 

Train  on  line 

Shunt  train  for  passenger  train  to  pass 

Signal  given  in  error,  train  last  signalled  not  coming 

Stop  and  examine  train         ..... 

Shunt  train  for  goods  or  mineral  train  to  pass 
Testing  signal       ....... 

Withdraw,  '  Be  ready,'  and  '  Train  approaching '  sig 

nals  last  sent .  

Train  divided 

Train  or  vehicles  running  away  on  wrong  line     . 

Time  signal 

Train  or  vehicles  running  away  on  right  line 

Lampman  required 

Fog-signalman  required        ..... 

Opening  of  signal  post 

Closing  of  signal  post .20 

Dial  Signals. 

Signal  correctly  repeated 

Passenger  train  approaching  . 

Express  goods  or  cattle  train  approaching 

Through  goods  or  mineral  train  approaching 

Stopping  goods,  mineral,  or  ballast  train,  or 

light  engine  approaching 
Testing  signal . 
Signal  incorrectly  repeated 
Fast  passenger  train  on  line 
Slow  passenger  train  on  line 
Express  goods  or  cattle  train  on  line 
Through  goods  or  mineral  train  on  line 
Stopping  goods,  mineral,  or  ballast  train,  or  ) 

light  engine  on  line f 

Train  passed  without  tail  lamp 

Stop   train   and  instruct  driver  to  come  for 

ward  cautiously  .... 

Testing  signal 9      „ 

Line  clear  of  train  or  engine  ....        2       „  „  right. 

U 


I 

beat  of  the  bell 

2 

beats 

55 

55 

3 

>> 

55 

55 

4 

» 

55 

55 

5 

>? 

55 

55 

6 

55 

55 

55 

7 

55 

55 

55 

8 

55 

55 

55 

9 

55 

55 

55 

10 

55 

55 

55 

1 1 

55 

55 

55 

12 

55 

55 

55 

13 

55 

55 

55 

'4 

55 

55 

55 

15 

55 

55 

55 

16 

55 

55 

55 

18 

i  beat  of  needle 

to  right 

3  beats 

55 

55 

4       „ 

5> 

55 

5       „ 

55 

55 

6      „ 

55 

55 

9      55 

1  beat  of  needle 

55 

to  left. 

2  beats 

55 

55 

3       5, 

55 

55 

4      „ 

55 

55 

5       ,5 

55 

55 

6      „ 

OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

We  will  suppose  that  a  passenger  train  is  approaching  the 
l-station  that  we  call  A  ;  and  thereupon,  by  one  beat  of  the 
bell,  the  signalman  calls  the  attention  of  station  Bj  and  then, 
by  two  other  beats,  he  tells  B  to  "Be  ready."  The  signalman 
at  B,  having  ascertained  that  the  line  is  clear  for  the  approaching 
train  to  run  on,  repeats  to  A  the  signal  he  has  received.  Station 
A  now  indicates  to  B  the  kind  of  train — viz.,  passenger  train — 
that  is  coming  forward,  by  giving  the  three  beats  of  the  "  Pas- 
senger train  approaching"  dial  signal  ;  and  when  station  B  has 
duly  acknowledged  the  same,  and  has  received  the  required 
intimation  from  station  A  that  his  acknowledgment  is  correct,  B 
must,  by  the  insertion  of  a  little  peg  into  the  right-hand  hole  on 
the  dial,  keep  the  needle  to  "  Line  clear."  As  soon  as  the  train 
has  passed  station  A,  the  signalman  must  give  the  bell  signal 
"  Train  on  line  ;  "  upon  hearing  which,  station  B  must  acknow- 
ledge the  signal  and  unpeg  the  needle.  Station  A  must  then 
give  to  station  B  the  proper  "  Train  on  line  "  dial  signal ;  and 
(when  station  B  has  acknowledged,  and  received  the  necessary 
intimation  from  station  A  that  his  acknowledgment  is  correct) 
he  must  peg  the  needle  over  to  "  Line  blocked,"  and  then  call 
the  attention  of,  and  give  the  signal  "  Be  ready  "  to  station  C. 
So  will  it  be  through  the  series  of  block  stations.  Supplemen- 
tary instructions  are  given  in  the  event  of  fogs  or  snowstorms 
or  other  contingencies.  In  the  event  of  a  second  train  arriving 
at  a  signal-station  before  the  preceding  train  has  been  tele- 
graphed as  clear  from  the  station  in  advance,  the  train  must  be 
brought  to  a  stand,  and  the  driver  must  then  draw  the  tail  of 
his  train  within  the  signals,  and  await  the  signal  being  given. 
At  night,  when  trains  are  ordinarily  fewer  and  further  between, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  keep  all  these  signal-houses  in  service.  A 
"  switch,"  as  it  is  called,  is  then  put  on,  for  instance,  at  B,  so 
that  the  electric  current  flows  direct  from  A  to  C,  and  then  the 
signalling  is  carried  on  as  if  the  B  station  did  not  exist.  The 
safety  of  the  line  is  equally  secured,  but  the  blocks  are  longer, 
and  of  course  a  smaller  number  of  trains  can  run. 

By  means  of  the  bell  other  signals  also  are  given,  as,  for 
instance  :  "  Shunt  goods  train  for  passenger  train  to  pass  ;  " 
"  Shunt  slow  goods  train  for  fast  goods  train  to  pass  ;  "  "  Shunt 
slow  passenger  train  for  fast  passenger  train  to  pass."  In  the 
event  of  a  signalman  observing  anything  the  matter  with  a  train 


BLOCK    SYSTEM.  20,1 

as  it  passes  his  box,  he  signals  to  the  next  station  to  "  Stop 
and  examine  train  ;  "  thereupon  the  signalman  puts  his  signals 
against  the  train  as  it  approaches,  and  the  train  is  pulled  up  for 
examination. 

The  advantages  of  the  block  system  are  great,  and  none  are 
more  conscious  of  this  than  the  drivers  themselves.  They  run 
with  a  sense  of  security,  and  the  traveller  may  pass  over  long 
distances  without  hearing  the  whistle,  except  at  the  junctions. 
Arrangements  are  also  in  progress  by  which  even  this  may  be 
obviated,  messages  being  sent  forward  to  the  junction  both  as  to 
the  kind  of  train  that  is  coming  and  the  line  on  which  it  will 
have  to  travel,  so  that  the  signals  and  the  points  will  be  ready 
before  it  arrives. 

This  system  perhaps  reaches  its  most  remarkable  development 
on  the  Metropolitan  line.  "  Suppose,"  we  said  to  the  engineer 
"  London  goes  on  increasing,  and  more  people  want  to  travel  by 
your  line,  how  will  you  carry  them  ?  Trains  as  near  together  as 
every  three  minutes  were  recently  considered  to  be  your  maxi- 
mum ? "  "  We  have  already,"  was  the  reply,  "  shifted  the  block 
stations  and  signalled  our  line  for  a  two  minutes'  service,  and  we 
can  begin  at  any  time  to  carry  this  into  effect  when  they  make 
more  room  at  Aldgate  to  receive  and  to  re-start  the  trains.  There, 
at  present,  at  one  point,  the  trains  have  to  cross  one  another's 
path  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  circle  is  completed  this  difficulty  will 
disappear.  Aldgate  will  then  be  a  roadside  instead  of  a  termi- 
nal station  ;  the  trains  will  pass  through  one  after  another,  and 
a  minute's  interval  will  be  ample."  "  It  is  the  improvements  in 
the  brakes— the  use  of  continuous  brakes,  also,"  we  suggested, 
"  that  aid  you  in  this  multiplication  of  trains."  "  Yes,"  said  the 
engineer  ;  "  we  can  now,  if  we  like,  pull  up  our  trains,  when  run- 
ning at  a  speed  of  25  miles  an  hour,  in  their  own  length— 120 
yards.  But  we  are  not  often  in  such  a  hurry  as  that ;  for  we 
don't  allow  a  train  to  start  till  the  next  length  of  line  is  clear. 
We  work  the  absolute  block,  and  there  are  never  two  trains  on 
one  section." 

Thus  does  the  telegraph  supplement  the  railway  ;  and,  antici- 
pating and  following  the  course  of  the  innumerable  trains  that 
pass  up  and  down  the  line,  acts  like  a  nervous  system,  sensi- 
tively responding  to  what  may  be  called  the  potent  energies  and 
activities  of  the  muscular  system  of  the  railway  itself. 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

The  expense  of  these  signalling  arrangements  is  great.  Every 
in  a  blocking  machine  costs  £S,  besides  the  expense  of 
adapting  the  signals  to  it,  and  in  addition  to  the  necessity  fre- 
quently arising  of  purchasing  additional  land  at  the  points 
where  the  machines  have  been  brought  into  action.  In  the 
locking  machine  at  Charing  Cross  there  arc  as  many  as  ioo 
levers,  so  that  the  price  paid  for  it  on  delivery  was  ,£800,  be- 
sides the  cost  of  fitting  it  up  and  putting  it  into  action.  The 
Midland  Railway,  alone,  for  some  time  expended  not  less  than 
£60,000  a  year  on  the  block  and  interlocking  systems. 

In  close  connection  with  the  signalling  arrangements  of  a 
railway  is  the  lamp  department.  When  we  enter  a  lamp-room 
of  a  station  we  are  ready  to  exclaim,  "  Can  a  clean  thing  come 
out  of  an  unclean  ?  "  but  the  problem  is  solved  in  the  affirma- 
tive. Here,  unless  we  accept  Lord  Palmerston's  definition  of 
dirt,  that  it  is  only  "a  good  thing  in  the  wrong  place,"  every- 
thing is  dirty,  at  any  rate  is  oily.  The  lamps,  cleaned  and  not 
cleaned,  are  oily ;  the  benches  are  oily,  the  floor  is  oily,  the 
"  waste  "  is  oily,  the  men  are  oily ;  yet  from  all  this  come  the 
clear  lights  of  the  bright  lamps,  and  the  comfort  and  safety 
of  travellers.  The  lamp-room  is  a  land  of  lamps.  Rows  of 
lamps  hang  right  across  and  along  the  roof;  there  are  upright 
rows  or  racks  of  lamps  at  the  side  and  ends;  there  are  lamp- 
barrows  on  the  floor  ;  there  are  lamps  in  the  adjoining  rooms, 
lamps  in  hundreds  in  all. 

At  the  lamp-benches  the  lamp-cleaners  are  at  work.  The 
lamp  is  half  sunk  into  a  hole  in  the  bench,  so  that  it  can  be 
easily  held  and  rubbed  and  scrubbed.  "  One  man,"  says  the 
foreman,  "can  clean  thirty  lamp-glasses  in  an  hour,  but  he 
couldn't  do  this  for  long.  Another  does  the  burners  ;  he  also 
fills  the  '  cistern  '  of  the  lamp.  Each  has  a  pint,  and  it  will  burn 
for  twenty-four  hours  if  the  wick  is  properly  trimmed." 

A  lamp -barrow  stands  ready  with  its  perhaps  forty  lamps  ;  a 
train  is  nearly  due  that  will  have  to  be  "  lamped  "  ;  so  the 
barrow  is  wheeled  off  along  the  platform.  "  Is  it  safe,"  we  in- 
quire, "to  throw  the  lamps  on  and  off  the  carriage  roofs,  as 
those  men  are  doing  ?  "  "  It  is  the  safest  way  of  all,"  is  the 
reply.  "  We  very  seldom  have  any  accident  in  throwing  them. 
If  a  man  when  just  going  to  catch  a  lamp  were  to  see  that  the 
glass  was  broken,  he  perhaps  would  let  it  drop.     It  might  cut 


THE    LAMP    ROOM.  293 

his  hands  all  in  pieces  if  he  didn't.  They  weigh  fifteen  to  eigh- 
teen pounds  apiece,  so  their  force  is  great.  Sometimes  the  glass 
gets  cracked  ;  and  then,  if  the  valve,  by  any  chance,  should  feed 
the  flame  too  freely,  the  surplus  will  collect  in  the  glass,  and 
by  the  oscillation  of  the  train  may  leak  through  the  crack  and 
drop  on  the  floor." 

"  The  greatest  stations  for  lamping  business,"  remarks  the 
foreman,  "  are  where  the  most  trains  start  from.  Some  start 
from  here.  Through  trains  that  arrive  in  an  evening  when  it  is 
getting  dark  we  also  have  to  lamp  ;  and  when  an  express  stops 
we  have  to  see  that  every  lamp  in  every  carriage  is  burning 
brightly.  If  it  isn't,  it  might  go  out  before  the  train  reached 
the  next  station  at  which  it  stopped,  perhaps  sixty  or  seventy 
miles  away ;  so  we  shift  it.  When  the  Lefroy  job  was  on,  we 
had  orders  to  lamp  some  trains  by  day  that  go  through  some 
short  tunnels — trains  we  had  never  lamped  before — and  we  have 
lamped  them  ever  since.  It  costs  a  lot  of  money,  I  expect,  to 
do  it.  The  tank  overhead  will  hold  750  gallons  of  rape  oil, 
and  a  gauge  affixed  shows  at  a  glance  how  full  it  is.  Though 
the  days  are  long  now,"  adds  the  foreman,  "  every  lamp  in  the 
service  will  be  in  use  next  week  with  the  excursions;  they  come 
home  late." 

"  Semaphore  signals  are  cleaned  by  a  man  on  purpose  for  the 
job.  They  burn  petroleum.  He  cleans  his  lamps  at  the 
signals  ;  for  the  junctions  lie  wide  apart.  He  has  to  go  over  a 
deal  of  ground — four  or  five  miles,  I  should  say — to  do  them. 
At  roadside  stations  the  lamps  are  all  brought  into  the  station 
to  be  cleaned." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  superintendent  of  the  lamp  department  at 
Derby,  "  we  have  lately  made  great  improvements  in  our  lamps. 
Each  roof-lamp  now  has  its  own  cover  ;  and  so  well  is  every 
part  adjusted,  that  I  can  take  this  lamp  and  swing  it  when  it  is 
burning  "  (and  he  suited  the  action  to  the  word)  "  over  my  head 
without  disturbing  the  oil  or  the  light."  By  the  substitution  of 
petroleum  oil  for  rape  oil  in  many  of  their  lamps  the  Midland 
Company  alone  have  recently  effected  a  saving  of  £  10,000  a 
year. 

We  may  add  that  the  lamps  that  light  our  trains  have,  like 
everything  else  in  railway  matters,  undergone  great  changes. 
"  On  the  Bolton  and  Kcnyon  Junction  line,  one  of  the  earliest 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

that  cm icd  passengers,"  an  engineer  remarked  to  us,  "the 
'amp  in  front  of  the  engine  used  to  be  a  coal-fire.  A  sort  of 
crane,  with  a  hook  at  the  end  of  it,  stuck  out  from  the  buffer- 
plank,  and  from  the  hook  hung  a  fire-grate,  about  a  foot  in 
diameter,  filled  with  burning  coal,  the  same  sort  as  we  used 
the  engine.  The  draught  created  by  the  engine  as  it  ran 
ard,  and  as  it  oscillated  from  side  to  side,  kept  the  fire 
bright,  and  the  ashes  dropped  on  the  road.  We  could  see  the 
line  well  before  us.  I  have  ridden  on  such  an  engine  many  a 
time 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  signalling,  we  may  refer  to  an 
important  class  of  services  rendered  in  connection  with  this 
department.  "  Bang,  bang,  bang,"  noisily  went  the  knocker  on 
the  door  of  a  cottage  in  a  quiet  street  one  night  last  winter.  It 
was  pitch  dark  ;  and  though  the  lamp-post  stood  at  the  corner 
of  the  street,  it  gave  but  the  faintest  glimmer  to  the  gloom. 
•'  Bang,  bang,  bang,"  again  the  knocker  sounded,  and  it  effected 
its  purpose,  for  the  bedroom  window  was  opened  for  a  minute, 
and  a  gruff  voice  cheerily  said,  "All  right."  If  we  ask  what  it 
was  that  disturbed  the  deep  slumbers  of  the  tired  platelayer,  the 
answer  would  be  given  in  the  one  short,  simple  word,  "  Fog." 
In  that  cottage  lives  a  "  fogman,"  and  he  was  wanted  for  his 
duties.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  away  is  the  signal-house  of  the 
•North  Junction";  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ago  the  signalman 
there  observed  that  the  mists  had  suddenly  and  heavily  settled, 
and  that  help  must  be  obtained.  Accordingly,  along  his 
"  speaking  telegraph  " — a  special  wire  with  which,  in  addition 
to  his  ordinary  signalling  wires,  he  is  furnished — he  flashed  to 
the  "  Platform  Inspector "  on  night  duty  at  the  station  the 
expressive  order,  "  Send  fog-signalmen."  On  the  wall  of  the 
station-master's  office  hangs  a  list  headed:  "Arrangement  of 
fog-signalmen,  and  their  respective  addresses  and  posts  of 
duty,"  and  also  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  two  "gangers" 
of  the  said  fog-signalmen.  A  porter  is  immediately  despatched 
to  one  of  the  "  gangers,"  who  will  at  once  proceed  to  summon 
the  men  under  his  command,  each  of  whom  knows  the  exact 
spot  where  his  duty  lies,  and  thither  he  will  hie  himself. 

Our  fogman  is  not  long  in  coming  to  his  senses.  He 
buttons  up  the  overcoat  with  which  he  is  specially  supplied  by 
the  company  for  this  service ;  and,  though  the  night  is  so  dark 


FOG    SIGNALLING.  295 

and  the  fog  so  dense  that  he  cannot  see  his  hand  a  foot  from 
his  nose,  he  knows  the  way  he  has  to  go,  and  soon  "reports 
himself"  at  the  signal-box  at  the  North  Junction.  The  signal- 
man looks  him  over  with  a  glance  to  see  that  he  is  in  all  respects 
fit  for  his  work,  and  he  then  "  signs  on  duty,"  is  supplied  with 
a  lamp  and  a  couple  of  dozen  fog-signals,  and  goes  to  his  accus- 
tomed post — the  distance-signal  of  the  up  line  half  a  mile  away, 
as  duly  recorded  on  the  card  in  the  station-master's  office. 
Meanwhile  the  other  fogmen  have  hastened  to  their  respective 
stations  ;  in  a  short  time  every  one  will  be  at  his  place ;  and,  as 
soon  as  practicable,  each  will  have  kindled  a  fire  which  will  give 
himself  light  and  warmth. 

The  duty  now  devolving  upon  the  fog-signalman  is  this  :  He 
is  to  place  himself  as  far  beyond  the  distance-signal  as  he  can, 
so  as  still  to  see  it — fifteen  or  twenty  yards,  perhaps — nearer,  if 
the  fog  is  very  thick  ;  as  often  and  as  long  as  the  distance- 
signal  stands  at  "  danger,"  he  is  to  keep  two  "  fogs  "  on  the  rail ; 
and  as  soon  as  the  distance-signal  turns  to  white,  meaning 
"  clear,"  he  is  to  take  the  two  "  fogs  "  off  again.  The  advantage 
of  standing  beyond  the  signal  is  that  there  will  be  more  time 
for  the  driver  of  the  coming  train,  after  he  has  heard  the  "  fogs," 
to  glance  up  at  the  signal  itself,  and  to  verify  by  his  sight  what 
his  ear  has  already  told  him. 

From  time  to  time  during  the  night  the  men  are  visited  by 
the  foreman  signalman,  to  see  that  they  are  vigilantly  discharg- 
ing their  responsible  duties  ;  and  also,  at  intervals  of  six  hours, 
to  take  them  refreshments.  These  consist  of  a  pint  of  hot 
coffee  for  each  man,  and  also  a  quartern  loaf  and  half  a  pound 
of  cheese  between  every  four  men.  These  provisions  are  sup- 
plied to  the  foreman  by  a  woman,  who  is  allowed  tenpence  a 
meal  a  man  ;  and  as  these  fog-signalmen  at  their  ordinary  work 
have  to  work  twelve  hours  for  a  day's  work,  but  at  signalling 
earn  a  day's  wage  in  eight  hours,  it  is  a  service  they  are  willing 
enough  to  perform.  As  they  are  relieved  by  other  men  every 
twelve  hours,  "  they  would  not  mind,"  remarked  an  officer  to  us, 
"  if  the  fog  lasted  for  a  month."  The  relief  men  are  obtained 
from  what  are  called  the  "  extra  gang  "  of  the  platelayers  in  the 
engineer's  department  of  the  neighbouring  station. 

A  fog-signal  is  somewhat  of  the  shape  of  a  large  thick  penny- 
piece.    It  is  about  two  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  half  an  inch 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 
thick,  and  Has  two  flexible  pieces  of  lead  across,  which  maybe  so 

brut   as   to    clasp   both    sides  of  the    rail.      It 

contains  three  gun-caps  and  perhaps  half  an 
ounce  of  gunpowder.     It  is  said  that  when  a 
"  fog  "  was   first    used   for  experimental    pur- 
fog-signal.  poses,  a  driver  reported  that  he  had  been  shot 

it  by  a  man  who  had,  to  take  aim,  laid  himself  down  on  the  ballast. 
The   Midland  Company  use  a  large  number  of  these  signals. 
Last   winter  but   one,  at   Nottingham   station  alone,  forty  gross 
they  are  ordered  in  grosses)  were  required.     They  were  going 
night  and  day  as  long  as  the  fogs  lasted.     Fogmen  are,  during 
fogs,  stationed  at  many  of  the  home  signal-boxes  also.     If  a 
conies  on  during  the  day,  the  men  do  not  wait  to  be  sum- 
moned, but  proceed  at  once  to  their  respective  stations. 

We  may  conclude  this  chapter  with  a  brief  reference  to  the 
telegraphic  arrangements  of  a  railway  company — arrangements 
familiar  yet  wonderful.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  extent 
and  multitude  of  these  operations  when  we  mention  that  on,  for 
instance,  the  Midland  Railway,  for  the  private  use  of  that  Com- 
pany, there  are  no  fewer  than  8,000  miles  of  telegraph  wire  in 
almost  constant  employment ;  there  are  more  than  9,000  tele- 
graph instruments,  employing  15,000  batteries — most  of  them 
Daniell's.  Including  signal-boxes,  there  are  800  telegraphic 
stations.  The  mere  "battery  power"  necessary  for  such  a  set  of 
instruments  has  been  emphatically  affirmed  to  be  "  something 
enormous."  The  battery  plates,  if  put  end  to  end,  would  stretch 
twelve  miles  in  length  ;  and  their  power  would  be  sufficient  to 
lift  one  of  Her  Majesty's  81 -ton  guns  a  foot  high  in  a  second  of 
time. 

The  outdoor  staff  of  the  telegraph  department  sometimes 
includes  as  many  as  400  men,  who  carry  on  the  work  of  the  con- 
struction and  maintenance  of  the  telegraphs.  The  indoor  staff 
consists  of  nearly  as  many  clerks,  all  under  the  charge  of  the 
telegraph  superintendent.  Candidates  for  employment  under 
him  are  of  the  age  of  14  or  16,  are  first  admitted  to  a  prelimin- 
ary or  educational  examination,  and  afterwards  to  one  that  tests 
their  competence  in  telegraphy.  Having  passed  the  latter,  they 
receive  a  certificate  to  that  effect,  and  are  employed  as  vacancies 
arise. 

The  amount  of  service  rendered   in  the  telegraph  department 


RAILWAY    TELEGRAPHY.  297 

of  a  great  railway  company  is  enormous.  The  messages  on 
"  company's  business  "  number  on  the  Midland  Railway  alone 
some  5,000,000  annually,  and  they  increase  at  the  rate  of  per- 
haps 500,000  a  year.  Besides  these  there  are  the  messages  known 
as  "  train  reports."  When,  for  instance,  a  train  leaves  Norman- 
ton  for  the  south,  a  "  train  report "  to  that  effect  is  despatched 
to  all  the  stations  within  a  certain  distance  ahead,  say  as  far  as 
Sheffield.  It  is  in  such  brief  form  as  the  following  :  "  Number 
84  left  at  2.5  ;  "  and  as  the  train  passes  in  succession  the  other 
stations  further  south,  similar  "train  reports  "  are  forwarded,  so 
that  it  is  known  for  perhaps  half  an  hour  ahead  "  how  she  is 
running."  The  various  signalmen  are  thus  enabled  to  keep 
the  line  clear  for  the  coming  passenger  trains.  These  "  train 
reports"  on  the  Midland  line  alone  are  not  fewer  than  the 
amazing  number  of  10,000,000  a  year. 

The  greatest  enemies  of  telegraphic  communication  are 
thunderstorms,  hurricanes  of  wind,  and  snowstorms.  In 
thunderstorms  the  electric  fluid  has  been  known  to  flash  along 
the  telegraph  wires,  and  to  fling  the  telegraphic  instrument 
across  the  office  at  the  heads  of  clerks  yards  away.  In  frosty 
weather  rain  that  falls  upon  the  wires  will  become  frozen 
thereon,  till  sometimes  around  it  is  a  solid  mass  of  pure  ice,  as 
clear  as  glass,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  wire  looks  like  "  a  fly  in 
amber."  At  such  times  the  force  of  the  wind  pressing  on  so 
broad  a  surface  is  irresistible  ;  the  wires  and  posts  go,  or  the 
wires  are  torn  in  rags  that  dangle  at  the  posts.  In  the  latter  end 
of  1872  the  telegraphic  system  was  thus  interrupted  over  large 
districts  of  the  country.  In  March,  1881,  the  Settleand  Carlisle 
section  of  the  Midland  line  was  visited  by  a  succession  of  snow- 
storms— of  which  we  shall  have  to  speak  hereafter — which  at 
length  seriously  interrupted  the  whole  telegraphic  system.  The 
wires  became  a  mass  of  ice,  and  after  a  night-storm  of  rain, 
snow,  hail,  and  frost  that  followed  as  the  weather  broke,  the 
wires  went  by  the  run.  The  rain,  however,  in  a  few  hours 
helped  to  clear  the  line  ;  before  daylight  on  the  following  day 
a  train  with  a  gang  of  telegraph  men  got  through  ;  by  10  o'clock 
defects  were  temporarily  adjusted,  and  the  traffic  resumed  its 
course.  It  is  at  such  times  when  the  railway  communication  is 
interrupted  that  the  special  value  of  the  telegraph  makes  itself 
felt.     The  traffic  becomes  congested,  and  the  pressure  is  only 


OUR    1U<>\     ROADS. 

•1  by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  those  at  headquarters,  who 
by  th.  iph  can  learn  the  facts  of  the  case  and  can  help  to 

deal  with  them.  Without  the  telegraph  the  difficulties  attending 
the  i\  ation  would  be  tenfold  what  they  now  often  are. 

To  show  the  eagerness  with  which  the  telegraph  is  used  at  such 
times,  we  may  mention  that  after  the  snowstorm  of  January, 
[88l,  which  affected  the  whole  of  the  Midland  lines  south  of 
Leeds,  the  number  of  telegraph  messages  passing  through 
the  Derby  office  alone  rose  in  one  week  from  13,782  to  nearly 
20,000. 

The  construction  and  maintenance  of  the  signals  of  a  great 
railway  company  form  an  interesting  department  of  service. 
That  of  the  Midland  Company  at  Derby  had  a  small  beginning 
— at  first  perhaps  a  dozen  carpenters,  fitters,  and  smiths  ;  but 
gradually  the  work  expanded  till  the  Midland  system  had  to 
be  arranged  for  signalling  purposes  into  some  twenty  districts, 
over  each  of  which  is  an  inspector,  with  15  to  25  assistants  ;  and 
there  are  now  some  800  men  in  this  department — 500  at  Derby 
and  300  outside. 

The  loftiest  signals  made  by  the  Company  are  65  feet  high,  six 
feet  of  which  are  fixed  below  ground,  and  are  strutted  with  cross 
timbers  ;  if  necessary,  they  are  also  stayed  with  wires  from  the 
top.  The  wood  of  which  these  semaphores  are  constructed  is 
resinous  Memel  pine,  a  single  tree  of  the  right  size  being  selected, 
and  then  squared  and  tapered,  so  as  to  be  about  14  inches 
square  at  the  bottom  and  8  inches  at  the  top.  The  usual  height 
of  a  signal,  however,  is  45  or  50  feet,  and  hundreds  of  this  size 
are  used  for  one  of  the  maximum  height.  Piles  of  signal-posts, 
with  all  the  subordinate  but  necessary  appliances,  are  always  in 
readiness,  so  that,  in  case  of  need,  they  can,  in  a  few  hours,  be 
despatched  to  any  destination.  Some  1,200  or  1,300  signals  are 
sent  out  from  Derby  in  the  course  of  a  year,  consuming  in 
their  preparation  and  appliances  some  900  tons  of  iron,  and 
perhaps  15,000  cubic  feet  of  timber. 

Much  of  the  apparatus  of  signals  is  made  of  wood  ;  and  every- 
thing connected,  not  only  with  signals  proper,  but  with  their 
manifold  appliances,  and  with  the  cabins  for  the  signalmen,  are 
provided  from  the  signal  department  at  Derby.  Wooden 
planks,  grooved  and  tongued  for  flooring,  and  also — though 
somewhat  lighter — for  the  roofing    of  signal-boxes ;  flights   of 


THE    SIGNAL    MAKING    DEPARTMENT. 


299 


steps,  with  step  plates  ;  window  sashes  and  windows  ;  "  benches  " 
on  which  the  "  point  rollers  "  and  "  angles  "  are  fixed  ;  "  crosses  " 
for  strutting  the  semaphores  below  ground  ;  lockers  and  locks — 
one  for  each  box  of  each  signalman  who  works  in  that  cabin  ; 
fans;  indicator  boards  for  single  lines;  facing  points;  "brackets" 
upon  which  two  signals  are  erected  on  one  post  when  there  is 
insufficient  room  on  the  ground  for  two  posts  ;  weights  to  hold 
the  signals  to  "danger"  when  they  are  "pulled  off"  by  the 
signalman, — all  are  made  here ;  and,  in  addition,  there  are  in 
readiness,  "  in  stores,"  lamps,  gongs,  and  a  hundred  other 
matters  required  in  this  department. 

Passing  the  painting  shops  we  come  to  the  smiths'  shops,  where 
the  iron  work  is  done.  Here  all  kinds  of  machines,  for  planing, 
boring,  drilling,  slotting,  and  shaping,  are  busily  and  noisily  at 
work.  Groups  of  men  are  building  locking  frames  in  all  stages 
of  progress,  and  containing  perhaps  40,  50,  or  even  60  levers. 
Other  men  are  at  the  forges,  and  here  have  just  been  finished  five 
or  six  hundred  "  road  gauges  "  for  the  gangers  to  measure  and 
maintain  the  precise  gauge  of  the  "road."  Here  are  "angle 
pulleys"  innumerable  :  they  are  required  to  shift  the  direction  of 
the  wires  or  rods  that  pull  over  the  signals  or  points  ;  here  are 
some  new  and  handsome  metal  "  staffs  "  for  the  use  of  drivers  on 
single  lines  ;  and  near  at  hand  are  stores  of  galvanised  wire — 
"No.  8,"  nearly  tV  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  made  by  the  firm  of 
Richard  Johnson,  of  Manchester,  all  for  signalling  purposes. 


MONSAL    DALE    FOOTHRIUOE   AND    VIADUCT. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Station  Masters. — Duties  of  Station  Masters. — Working  Single  Line  Traffic. 
ptional   Duties.  —  Perplexities.  —  Names  of  Station  Masters. — 
Hooking  Clerks. — The  Booking  Office. — Thomas  Edmondson. — Ticket- 
making    Machines. — The    Dating    Press. — The    Cash    Counter. — Train 
Books. — Audit  Office. — The  Clearing  House. — Experiences  of  Booking 
Clerks.  —  Involuntary  Travellers. — The  Parcels  Office. — All    Sorts    of 
Parcels. — Work  of  Parcel  Clerks. — Signalmen. — Duties  of  Signalmen. — 
Guards. — Duties   of  Guards. — A  Polite   Guard. —  Porters. — Complaints 
about  Luggage. — A   Valise  of  Dynamite. — Bag- 
gage Smashers   and   Bees. — What   is    Personal 
.•".: ';/  'y-  Luggage  ?— "  Checking  the  Baggage." 


BmafljJIggB^^Bq  HE    station  master  of   a    railway    company 
^?TfB8^^^     occupies  a  position  of  responsibility.      He 
■wfej      .'.]( ...  is,  it  has  been  said,   not  only  respectable, 

HEr^BpTitf     but    respected,    knowing    and    known    by 
J^.m1i6^-    every  passenger  who  frequents  the  station — 
Jg^^"      — '^Z  %    from  the  humble  labourer  who  comes  up 
'-^jjpfn  mud-bespattered  to  take  the  parliamentary 

train,  to  the  head  of  the  great  county  family 
who  steps  from  his  carriage  and  four  into  the  first-class  express. 
The  station  master  is  not  only  what  his  name  indicates  :  he  is 
much  more.  "  He  is  the  captain  in  command  of  all  the  human 
and  steam  forces  that  aggregate  round  that  little  world — micro- 
cosm in  the  railway  cosmos — called  a  station,  and  within  his 
own  sphere  holds  the  same  place  as  the  commander-in-chief — 
the  general  manager — does  in  the  more  exalted  position.  Of 
course  the  importance  of  the  station  master  is  as  the  importance 
of  the  station  of  which  he  has  charge."  The  station  master 
of  Euston  or  St.  Pancras  holds  a  different  position,  and  must  be 
differently  qualified,  from  the  station  master  of  Auchtermuchty  ; 
still  the  duties  of  these  officers  differ  less  in  nature  than  in  ex- 

The  initial  letter  is  from  a  sketch  of  the  Malvern  Link  station. 

300 


DUTIES    OF    STATION    MASTERS.  301 

tent.     Many  station  masters,  too,  can  count  up  a  quarter  of  a 
century  and  more  of  railway  service. 

The  station  master  is  answerable  for  the  care  of  the  com- 
pany's property  ;  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the 
staff  whether  permanently  or  temporarily  employed  within  the 
limits  of  his  station  ;  for  the  signalling  and  the  safe  working  of 
the  trains  ;  and  for  the  security  of  all  moneys  received.     On  him 
primarily  devolves  the  duty  of  starting  the  trains  at  the  right 
time,  and  of  seeing  that  there  is  a  sufficient  interval  to  make  a 
collision  between  them  impossible.      It  is  within  his  discretion 
to  start  or  to  delay  trains  that  may  be  out  of  time  ;  his  decisions 
on  these  points  may  demand  cool  judgment  and  quick  resolu- 
tion.     For  example,  as  a  general  rule,  "  passenger  trains  take 
precedence  of  all  goods,  cattle,  and  coal  trains,  the  regulation 
being  that  the  latter  must  not  be  started  from  any  station  when 
passenger  trains  are  due.      But  this  rule,  like  most  others  that 
guide  the  difficult  and  intricate  work  of  the  railway,  is  subject 
to   modifications,   according  to  the  circumstances  under  which 
trains  arrive,  the  state  of  the  weather,  the  weight  of  the  loads  of 
goods  trains,  and  the  class  of  engine  drawing  them.      Thus  a 
light  '  through '  goods  or  cattle  train  may  be  started  from  a  sta- 
tion on  a  clear  day  or  night  before  a  slow,  frequently-stopping 
passenger  train.      It  may  be  done  at  the  station  master's  discre- 
tion— but  at  his   responsibility.      Again,  it  is  the  rule  that  no 
goods  train  is  to  leave  a  station  if  there  is  a  passenger  train 
to  arrive,  due  before,  but  delayed  on  the  road.     But  this  rule, 
too,  like  many  others,  not  only  may  be  broken,  but  must  be 
broken  should   the  efficient  working  of  the  service  require  it. 
It  may  happen  that,  from  facts  which  come  to  his   knowledge, 
either  by  telegraph,  signals,  or  otherwise,  the  station  master  has 
reason   to   think   that  a  passenger  train  which  is  due  may  not 
come  for  some  time  ;  and  he  is  then  justified  promptly  to  de- 
spatch the  goods  train,  but  taking  care  to  inform  the  driver  of 
the  coming  passenger  train  of  the  existence  of  the  goods  train 
in  front  and  its  next  shunting  place."     Innumerable,  indeed,  are 
the  circumstances  under  which  a  station  master  has  to  act  with 
quick  judgment,  sound  discretion,  and  courtesy,  and  the  various 
qualities  required  for  the  due  discharge  of  all  these  functions  are 
by  no  means  common. 

Such  services  can  be  discharged  only  by  the  effective  co-oper- 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

ation  of  an  adequate  staff.  At  a  station  like  Nottingham,  for 
instance,  there  are  some  twenty  clerks,  twenty  guards,  thirty  por- 
ters, forty-five  signalmen,  a  dozen  men  and  boys  in  connection 
with  the  parcel  office,  besides  lamp-men,  carriage-cleaners,  tickct- 
examiners,  shunters,  fish-porters,  and  others,  about  170  in  all, 
■  each  of  whom  devolves  duties  which  require  constant 
attention,  practical  experience,  and  good  conduct. 

Station  masters  usually  consist  of  two  classes,  arranged  ac- 
cording to  the  importance  of  the  stations.  To  speak  more 
precisely,  there  are  two  ranks  of  station  masters  :  the  first-class 
station  master,  and  another — another  being  a  rank  widely  com- 
prehensive. The  appointment  of  all  the  staff  is  made  from  the 
superintendent's  office  ;  but  the  local  station  master  may  intro- 
duce and  commend  the  applicant,  and  he  is  frequently  officially 
invited  to  do  so.  If  the  station  master  has  any  fault  to  find 
with  a  member  of  his  staff,  he  reports  it  with  particulars  to  the 
superintendent  ;  and,  if  the  offence  should  be  of  sufficient  gra- 
vity, the  delinquent  may  be  suspended  by  the  station  master, 
pending  the  matter  being  dealt  with  at  headquarters. 

Station  masters  are  appointed  from  those  who  have  had  ex- 
perience in,  and  who  show  aptitude  for,  the  duties  of  the  office. 
As  a  rule,  they  come  from  the  superintendent's  departments, 
but  sometimes  from  the  goods'.  A  knowledge  of  only  the  goods' 
would  not  give  the  requisite  qualifications :  there  must  be  a 
thorough  familiarity  with  signalling,  and  with  the  working 
of  trains.  Sometimes  a  man  begins  as  a  porter,  is  then  a 
porter-guard,  and  through  his  practical  efficiency  wins  promotion 
to  the  office  of  a  station  master  at  a  small  station.  But  ordin- 
arily they  have  begun  as  booking  clerks,  have  gradually  learned 
the  working  of  all  the  details  of  the  station,  and  have  thus 
become  qualified  for  the  higher  position. 

The  salary  of  station  masters  is  progressive.  A  second-class 
officer  begins  with  perhaps  £95  ;  it  will  be  increased  next  year 
to  £120,  and  will  rise  for  a  few  years  at  the  rate  of  .£20  a  year. 
Some  of  the  great  companies  make  £120  or  ^130  the  minimum 
for  a  first-class  station  master  ;  the  boundary  line  signifying 
also  whether  they  are  entitled  to  a  first  or  second-class  pass 
in  travelling.  The  salary  may  steadily  rise  to  a  maximum  of 
about  £350.  If  a  house  is  also  provided,  rent  is  charged  ;  but 
£20  is  the  maximum  rent  demanded.     Sometimes  a  company 


WORKING    SINGLE    LINE    TRAFFIC.  3O3 

has  to  buy  house  property  near  its  station  in  order  to  avoid 
paying  "  compensation  "  to  a  former  owner  :  such  houses  may 
be  eligible  for  the  residence  of  their  servants. 

One  of  the  most  critical  duties  of  station  masters  is  that  of 
working  through  the  traffic  of  a  great  main  line  on  a  single  line. 
An  accident  has  occurred,  blocking  one  road,  and  until  it  is 
cleared,  a  safe  passage  for  both  up  and  down  trains  must  be 
provided.  Not  long  ago  we  had  the  opportunity  of  learning 
how  these  are  performed.  We  were  one  night  travelling  by 
express  from  King's  Cross,  when,  by  the  slower  speed  of  the 
train,  and  by  its  stopping  at  various  stations  unauthorized  by 
the  time-table,  we  inferred  that  something  was  amiss ;  and,  at 
length,  at  a  roadside  station  we  ascertained  that  a  serious  acci- 
dent had  occurred,  that  several  persons  had  been  injured,  that 
the  down  line  was  blocked,  and  that  it  would  be  at  least  mid- 
night before  we  could  get  through.  After  a  long  time  we  were 
allowed  cautiously  and  slowly  to  start.  We  went  a  few  miles 
along  the  down  line,  and  then,  once  more,  were  stopped.  It 
was  as  dark  as  pitch ;  and,  save  the  blowing  off  of  the  steam 
of  the  engine,  and  a  low  conversation  between  the  guard,  the 
engine-driver,  and  a  man  who  emerged  with  his  lamp  from  the 
gloom,  we  could  see  and  hear  nothing.  At  length  we  could 
catch  the  long  whistle,  and  then  the  roar  of  an  approaching  up 
train.  Louder  and  louder  it  came  ;  and  with  a  flash  and  a 
scream,  it  passed  us,  and  was  gone.  A  few  minutes  more,  and 
another  up  train  came  by  with  a  crash  ;  and  yet  a  third,  and 
a  fourth  ;  and  once  more  we  were  left  to  ourselves.  "  Now," 
said  'a  signalman  to  our  engine-driver,  "back  by  the  cross- 
over on  to  the  up  rails,  run  down  to  Welwyn  crossing,  back 
again  on  to  the  down  line,  and  go  ahead  !  "  Accordingly  we 
were  slowly  shunted  on  to  the  very  rails  on  which,  a  few  minutes 
before,  those  up  trains  had  been  running  with  such  terrible 
speed.  Then  our  engine  was  reversed,  and  away  we  ran ;  we 
passed  the  workmen  who,  by  torch  and  firelight,  were  clearing 
the  down  line,  where  precious  blood  had  so  recently  been  spilt, 
and  precious  limbs  had  so  recently  been  shattered  ;  and  we 
were  thankful  when,  after  a  pause,  we  crossed  over  by  what  was 
to  us  a  facing  point  to  our  own  down  rails,  and  eventually 
reached  in  safety  our  destination. 

It  is,  however,  of  interest  to  know  that  all  the  arrangements 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

uv  for  the  working  o\  single  line  traffic,  day  or  night, 

can  be  carried  OUt  with  precision  and  safety.  The  Great 
niunv,  for  instance,  requires  that,  under  such 
circumstances,  "  the  following  rule  shall  be  rigidly  put  in 
force."  A  pilot  or  goods  or  coal  engine  must  be  obtained  ; 
and  "written  orders"  must  be  "given  at  both  ends  of  the 
single  line  by  the  chief  officer  on  the  spot,  that  no  engine  or 
train  be  allowed  to  go  on  it  without  the  pilot  engine  is  at  the 
end  from  which  the  train  is  about  to  start  ;  the  district  agent 
will  then  proceed  to  pass  the  traffic  on  one  line,  accompanying 
the  pilot  engine  backwards  and  forwards."  If  a  pilot  cannot  be 
procured,  "one  man,  whose  name  must  be  given  to  the  person  " 
in  charge  of  the  arrangements  at  each  end,  "must  be  appointed, 
in  writing,  to  act  as  pilot  man,  and  he  must  ride  on  every  train 
or  engine  in  both  directions,  and  this  one  man  must  continue 
riding  to  and  fro  between  the  aforesaid  places  until  relieved." 

The  financial  responsibility  of  a  station  master  may  be  con- 
siderable. At  a  first-class  country  station  he  may  receive  from 
fares  and  from  the  district  collector  as  much  as  .£10,000  in  cash 
at  a  time,  and  may  have  to  pay  £1,000  in  wages  on  the  same 
day.  But  the  .£1,000  will  not  be  taken  out  of  the  £10,000 :  the 
wages  will  be  received  in  full,  and  the  money  received  will  be 
sent  away  in  full. 

Upon  some  station  masters,  not  strictly  official  exceptional 
duties  devolve.  It  is  so,  for  instance,  with  the  station  master  at 
1 1  awes  junction,  on  the  Settle  and  Carlisle  line,  who  renders 
valuable  services  to  the  Meteorological  Society  and  to  the 
public.  On  the  wrestern  slope  of  the  embankment,  a  little  to  the 
north  of  the  station,  are  placed  water-gauges,  barometers,  and 
various  other  appliances,  the  data  of  which,  collected  at  various 
hours,  are  daily  transmitted  to  London.  The  following  is  an 
exact  copy  of  the  message  sent  on  the  day  we  happened  to 
call:— 

86032  04235  85532         02431  29000 

37270    Slight  showers  snow  during  night.    Very  cold.* 


*  In  the  first  group  of  figures,  the  first  three  represent  the  reading  of  the 
barometer,  the  last  two  refer  to  the  wind,  and  state  that  it  is  north.  The 
second  group  mentions  the  force  of  the  wind,  weather,  and  temperature.  In 
the  other  groups  the  readings  of  the  barometer,  the  direction  and  force  of  the 


STATION    MASTERS.  3O3 

Station  masters  have  their  perplexities  as  well  as  other  people. 
An  illustration  may  be  mentioned.  A  certain  station  master  on 
a  branch  line  in  Leicestershire  had  given  orders  to  the  driver  of 
a  goods  train  to  take  away  with  him  some  empty  trucks  that 
stood  in  a  siding.  The  driver  demurred  ;  the  station  master 
insisted  ;  the  driver  flatly  refused,  and  did  so  with  gestures 
which — as  the  sequel  will  show — added,  as  the  station  master 
considered,  insult  to  disobedience.  Not  long  afterwards  a  pas- 
senger train  arrived,  in  one  of  the  carriages  of  which  the  chair- 
man of  the  company  was  seated — a  gentleman  distinguished, 
among  other  qualities,  by  his  extreme  gravity  of  demeanour 
and  sense  of  decorum.  The  station  master  at  once  mentioned 
his  grievance.  "  And  what  did  the  driver  say  ?  "  inquired  the 
chairman,  after  hearing  sundry  particulars  of  the  dispute.  "  He 
said  he  wouldn't  take  the  trucks,  sir,"  returned  the  station 
master.  "  He  positively  refused,  did  he  ? "  exclaimed  the  chair- 
man. "  Yes,  sir,  he  did."  "And  what  did  he  do  then?"  con- 
tinued the  chairman.  "  He  started  his  engine,  sir,"  added  the 
station  master,  "  and  did  like  this,  sir ; "  and  the  station  master, 
in  too  literal  imitation  of  the  example  of  the  offending  driver, 
put  his  thumb  to  his  nose,  and  stretched  out  his  fingers  in  a 
manner  like  that  of  certain  rude  little  boys  when  they  take 
what  we  believe  is  popularly  designated  "  a  sight."  It  so  hap- 
pened that  several  persons  from  a  little  distance  on  the  plat- 
form were  watching  this  somewhat  animated  conversation  of 
the  station  master  with  his  august  superior ;  but  though  they 
could  not  hear  what  was  said,  they  were  surprised — if  not  scan- 
dalized— to  observe  that  just  as  the  train  was  moving  away,  the 
station  master  was  plainly  seen  apparently  most  mutinously 
"  taking  a  sight  "  at  the  chairman  of  the  company  of  which  he 
was  a  servant. 

A  playful  writer  has  made  the  following  comments  upon  the 
names  of  sundry  station  masters  engaged  in  the  service  of  the 
Midland  Railway.     "  On  the  Midland  system,"  he  said,  "  there 


wind  at  various  hours  of  the  day,  the  rainfall  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  the 
temperature  at  the  time,  and  the  maximum  and  minimum  temperature  are 
given.  If  there  is  a  dead  calm,  there  is  no  "  force  "  or  "  direction"  of  wind 
to  tell,  and  cyphers  are  used.  Notes  are  added  with  regard  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  sky  and  the  weather. 

X 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

only  ten  station  masters  who  can  be  represented  under  their 
true   colours  ;    these    are    seven    Browns,  two  Whites,  and  one 

a.    The  naturalist  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  one  Eagle, 
two  Martins,  two  Foxes,  and  a  Dolphin  are  employed  by  the 
company,  and  may  be  seen  booking  passengers  and  parcels  to 
various  parts  of  the  country.      The  geologist  would  find  Stone 
..:  Gargrave,  Cliff  at  Elslack,  Hill  at  Ben  Rhydding,  and  Home 
at  A rni ley.     Botanists  would  have  to  go  to  Rothwell  Haigh  to 
find  t me  solitary  Fearn,  and  the  florist  would  be  delighted  to 
find  at  1  haycott  a  full-blown  Rose  each  day,  whilst  a  Marigold 
is   perpetually   blooming   at   Wolverhampton.      Timber  would 
appear  to  be  scarce,  as  there  is  only  one   Poplar  at  Dronfield, 
one  Ash  at  Bentham,  and  a  solitary  Twigg  at  Unstone.     Fruits 
are  anything   but   abundant,   there  being  only  one  Cherry  at 
Southwell,  a  Nutt  at  Barnt  Green,   and  a   good-sized  Plumb 
at  King's  Norton  ;  though  an  Orchard  exists  at  Sandiacre,  and 
an  Appleyard  at  King's  Cross.      It  appears   absurd    to   keep 
Clay  at  Sutton  and  Potters  at  Ketton   and  Loughton.     There 
is  a  Furnace  at  Cromford,  a  Brook  at  Ashwell,  whilst  Bells  are 
kept  at  Nottingham  Road  and  Hampton.     And,  oh,  how  the 
mighty  are  fallen  !    two  Kings,  one   Baron,   three    Knights,    a 
Marshal,  a   Herald,  a  Judge,  and  a  Friar  lustily  call  out  the 
names  of  their  respective  stations  to  thousands  who  little  dream 
of  their   former   greatness.      For   all    domestic   purposes,  four 
Cooks    have    been    deemed    sufficient ;    but    only   one    Carver 
(though  Moore  could  be  had  from  Oakley  if  required).     Trades- 
men would  find  Turners  at  Woodlesford  and  Bugsworth,  Smiths 
at  Stanton  Gate  and  Settle,  and  a  Skinner  at  Duffield,  whilst  a 
Master  could  be  had  from  Apperley  Bridge,  if  required.    A  Bar- 
ber is  kept  constantly  at  Pinxton,  Taylors  at  Budworth,  Kentish 
Town,  and  Helpstone,  and  ready-made  Coates  sufficient  for  two 
companies  are  always  on  hand  at  Barnsley.      A  Miller  is  kept 
at  Fishponds,   and  a  Gardiner  at  Bristol.      Historians   will  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  Welsh  reside  at   Barrow,  and  the 
Scotts  at  Thorpe.     To  provide  a  dinner  (unless  you  could  put 
up  with  a  Fry  from  Gloucester),  Salmon  would  have  to  be  had 
from  Harpenden,  Rice  from  Hitchen,  and  Porter  from  Radford, 
whilst  Salt  would  have  to  be  procured  from  Basford,  and  Pepper 
from  Camp  Hill.     Entrees  could  be  had  from  Walsall  or  Berke- 
ley,   Jelly  being   kept  at  both    stations.      The    Stocks   are   at 


BOOKING    CLERKS.  307 

Kilnhurst,  as  a  warning  to  evil-doers,  and  per  contra  at  Raw- 
marsh  an  Organ  has  been  sent  for  their  use.  The  station  master 
at  Great  Bridge  is  said  to  be  Rich;  at  Belfast,  Little;  Kegworth, 
Cross ;  Thurgaton,  Kind  ;  Little  Eaton  and  Haslour,  Sharpe  ; 
Hazlewood,  Swift ;  and  Steeton,  Wright.  A  full-rigged  Ship 
has  long  been  kept  at  Wisbeach,  and  a  Brigstock  may  be  seen 
unfinished  at  Kirby  Muxloe.  If  only  a  Rivett  is  lost  at  Brough- 
ton,  it  may  be  found  at  Rolleston.  The  facilities  for  recreation 
are  great.  You  may  Read  at  Willington,  Hunt  at  Wilnecote 
and  Gloucester,  Gamble  at  Water  Orton,  and  admire  the  Rain- 
bow at  Eckington,  in  a  very  few  hours.  English  geography 
has  been  taken  great  liberties  with,  and  we  are  asked  to  believe 
that  Warwick  is  in  Lincoln,  Buckingham  in  Blackwell,  Sunder- 
land in  Crouch  Hill,  Bolton  in  Terrington,  and  Buxton  in 
Hassop.  We  are  also  told  that  the  East  is  at  Stoke-on-Trent. 
Yorke  is  where  he  is  wanted,  and  the  garden  of  Eden  can  be 
seen  at  St.  Albans.  Two  stations  (which  shall  be  nameless)  are 
handed  over  to  the  mercy  of  two  living  Savages.  Finally,  to  be 
grave,  the  Tombs  are  at  Peak  Forest,  and  the  Saxton's  house  at 
Manningham  ;  and,  though  truth  is  sometimes  stranger  than 
fiction,  it  is  notorious  that  only  one  Christian  is  to  be  found 
amongst  the  entire  number  of  the  company's  servants  !  " 

An  important  class  of  duties  discharged  at  every  station  are 
those  of  the  booking  clerk.  He  has  been  playfully  described 
as  "  the  young  gentleman  of  pleasing  manners,  who  hands  you 
your  ticket  through  a  pigeon-hole,  and  flings  about  sovereigns 
and  silver  as  if  coin  came  as  natural  to  him  as  mud  comes  to  a 
hippopotamus."  In  the  early  days 
of  railways,  passengers,  on  some  lines, 
were  required  to  give  and  to  spell 
their  names  to  the  clerk,  in  order  that 
they  might  be  written  on  a  large 
green  paper  ticket  ;  and,  in  other 
cases,  metal  tickets  were  used,  on 
which  was  engraved  the  name  of  the 
station  to  which  the  traveller  was 
going.     Their  size  and  shape  arc  in- 

A  METAL  TICKET. 

dicated  in  the  engraving  drawn  from 

a  ticket  we    have    seen,  formerly  in   use  on  the  Leicester  and 

Swannington    Railway.       When  the  passengers  reached    their 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

nation,  these  tickets   were  collected  by  the  guard,  placed 
in   a   leather  pouch,  and  taken    back  to   Leicester  to  be  used 
But  Improvements     came,  and  came  in  an   interesting 
way. 

A  Quaker,  in  the  year  1840,  was  walking  in  a  field  in  North- 
umberland, and  he  had  an  idea.  Though  a  man  of  integrity,  he 
had  in  business  been  unsuccessful,  and  was  now  a  railway  clerk 
at  a  little  station  on  the  Newcastle  and  Carlisle  line.  When  a 
passenger  came,  it  was  the  duty  of  Thomas  Edmondson — for  that 
was  the  name  of  the  clerk — to  tear  the  bit  of  paper  off  from  the 
printed  sheet,  and,  with  pen  and  ink,  to  fill  up  the  form  for  the 
use  of  the  traveller  on  that  journey.  On  that  particular  walk  on 
that  day  in  the  field  he  suddenly  paused,  as  an  idea  struck  him 
how  much  time,  trouble,  and  liability  to  mistake  would  be  saved 
if  the  work  were  done  by  a  mechanical  process — if  tickets  were 
printed  with  the  names  of  stations,  the  class  of  carriages,  and 
the  dates,  and  all  on  one  uniform  system  by  all  the  railways. 
"  Most  inventors  accomplish  their  great  deeds  by  degrees,  one 
thought  suggesting  another  from  time  to  time ;  but,  when 
Thomas  Edmondson  showed  his  family  the  spot  in  the  field 
where  his  invention  occurred  to  him,  he  used  to  say  that  it  came 
into  his  mind  complete,  in  its  whole  scope  and  all  its  details." 
And  Mr.  Edmondson's  idea  has  saved  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to 
a  good  many  people  besides  himself. 

On  the  machines  thus  invented  may  be  seen  the  name  of 
Blaylock.  Blaylock  was  a  watchmaker,  an  acquaintance  of 
Edmondson's,  and  a  man  whom  he  knew  to  be  capable  of 
working  out  his  idea.  Edmondson  told  him  what  he  wanted  ; 
Blaylock  understood  him;  and  the  third  machine  they  made 
was  nearly  as  good  as  those  now  in  use.  "  The  one  we  saw," 
says  an  observer,  "had  scarcely  wanted  five  shillings'  worth  of 
repairs  in  five  years  ;  and  when  it  needs  more,  it  will  be  from 
sheer  wearing  away  of  the  brasswork  by  constant  hard  friction. 
The  Manchester  and  Leeds  Railway  Company  were  the  first 
to  avail  themselves  of  Mr.  Edmondson's  invention  ;  and  they 
secured  his  services  at  their  station  at  Oldham  Road  for  a  time. 
He  took  out  a  patent ;  and  his  invention  became  so  widely 
known  and  appreciated  that  he  soon  withdrew  himself  from 
other  engagements,  to  perfect  its  details  and  provide  tickets  to 
meet  the  daily  growing  demand.      He  let  out  his   patent   on 


DUTIES    OF    BOOKING    CLERKS.  309 

profitable  terms — ten  shillings  per  mile  per  annum  ;  that  is,  a 
railway  of  thirty  miles  long  paid  him  fifteen  pounds  a  year  for  a 
licence  to  print  its  own  tickets  by  his  apparatus  ;  and  a  railway 
of  sixty  miles  long  paid  him  thirty  pounds,  and  so  on.  As  his 
profits  began  to  come  in,  he  began  to  spend  them  ;  and  it  is  not 
the  least  interesting  part  of  his  history  to  see  how.  He  had 
early  in  life  been  a  bankrupt.  The  very  first  use  he  made  of  his 
money  was  to  pay  every  shilling  he  had  ever  owed.  He  was 
forty-six  when  he  took  that  walk  in  the  field  in  Northumber- 
land. He  was  fifty-eight  when  he  died,  on  the  twenty-second  of 
June,  1852." 

The  dating-press,  which  stands  on  the  counter  of  every  book- 
ing-office like  a  sort  of  bottle-jack,  and  with  the  click  of  which 
we  are  all  familiar,  was  also  an  invention  of  Mr.  Edmondson's. 
The  only  attention  it  requires  is  that  the  clerk  the  last  thing  at 
night  changes  the  type  for  the  next  day,  and  occasionally  sees 
that  the  ribbon  is  properly  saturated  with  the  ink  the  type 
requires. 

Among  the  duties  of  the  booking  clerk  is  to  keep  an  ample 
supply  of  tickets  for  his  own  station  to  every  other  to  which 
passengers  are  booked,  and  especially  when  fairs  or  other 
popular  gatherings  are  likely  to  cause  a  special  demand.  Some 
tickets  are  rarely  used,  of  others  he  will  receive  10,000  at  a 
time. 

Before  the  booking  clerk  lifts  his  hatch  to  issue  tickets  for  a 
train,  he  sees  that  everything  is  in  order.  Before  him  is  a  set  of 
five  bowls,  in  which  his  change  is  arranged.  Over  these  a  lid,  A, 
can,  when  neces- 
sary, be  drawn  and 
locked.  The  bowls, 
B  B,  usually  contain 
respectively  two- 
shilling  pieces  and  CASH  B0WLs- 
gold  ;  the  other  three,  CCC,  have  severally  half-crowns,  shillings, 
and  sixpences  ;  the  whole  sum  amounting  to  £1,  or,  in  some 
instances,  to  £2  ;  so  that,  after  the  passengers  have  been  sup- 
plied, and  the  train  has  gone,  and  the  clerk  has  put  down  his 
"hatch,"  he  can  the  more  easily  "take  the  tickets  off,"  and  balance. 
Just  above  the  row  of  tubes  that  contain  the  tickets  runs  a 
narrow   strip  of  slate,  on    which,  when  he  issues  a  ticket,  he 


OUR    I  RUN    1U»ADS. 

writes  the  "  commencing  number"  of  the  ticket — the  number  of 
the  first  ticket  issued  for  that  train  to  that  station  ;  and  as  the 
tickets  generally  stand  with  the  lowest  protruding  a  little  for- 
wards, he  can  tell  by  a  glance  at  the  tubes  those  from  which 
tickets  have  been  issued,  and  by  pulling  out  the  bottom  one,  and 
comparing  its  number  with  the  number  marked  on  the  slate,  he 
knows  at  once  how  many  for  that  station  have  been  issued.  The 
clerk  now  proceeds  to  enter  in  a  "train-book,"  printed  and  ruled 
for  the  purpose,  the  number  of  tickets  he  has  issued  to  each 
station,  and  the  money  he  has  received  ;  and  thus  he  ascertains 
the  amount  required  to  balance  with  the  cash  in  his  bowls,  less 
the  .£1  or  £2  change  previously  placed  there. 

The  entries  in  the  train-books  thus  made  are  at  the  end  of 
the  day  all  "totalled  up,"  and  are  recorded  in  a  "summary 
book."  The  cash  taken  through  the  day  has  to  agree  with  the 
total  in  this  book,  and  with  the  amount  he  pays  that  day  into 
the  bank. 

At  the  end  of  the  month  the  commencing  and  closing  num- 
bers of  each  set  of  tickets  to  each  station  is  entered  into  the 
"  classification  book,"  and  the  total  amount  of  money  received 
for  ordinary  tickets,  season  tickets,  parcels,  and  telegrams,  must 
agree  with  the  sum  paid  during  the  month  into  the  bank.  A 
copy  of  the  "  classification  sheets  "  is  taken  from  the  book,  and 
forwarded  to  the  audit  office  of  the  company,  and  also  a  copy 
of  the  "  foreign  proportion  sheets  "  for  the  use  of  the  Clearing 
House. 

"  Everything,"  said  a  clerk,  "  has  to  balance  to  a  farthing  ; 
and  if  we  take  bad  money  we  have  to  lose  it.  I  have  taken," 
he  added,  "  fifteen  bad  half-crowns  at  one  races,  but  I  broke 
them  in  two,  and  returned  the  bits  to  those  who  offered  them. 
We  can  tell  bad  money  by  the  feel  of  it,  without  seeing  it." 
Some  idea  of  the  amount  of  money  that  flows  through  the 
narrow  wickets  of  some  booking  offices  may  be  formed  from  the 
fact  that  the  "  takings "  by  the  ten  booking  clerks  at  Euston 
station,  from  passenger  tickets  alone,  amount  to  upwards  of 
half  a  million  sterling  a  year,  and  are  gradually  rising  towards 
£600,000.  Each  takes  on  the  average  fifty  thousand  pounds  in 
the  twelvemonth. 

But  when  a  railway  ticket,  issued  by  the  booking  clerk,  has 
travelled  with  its  purchaser  to  the  journey's  end,  and  has  been 


THE    CLEARING    HOUSE.  311 

given  up  to  the  collector,  it  is  not  yet  done  with.  These  used- 
up  bits  of  pasteboard  are  tied  into  bundles  ;  are  duly  scheduled 
as  to  their  number,  class,  and  station  ;  are  despatched  to  the 
audit  office,  and  are  checked  by  the  returns  sent  in  from  the 
stations  whence  the  tickets  were  issued.  If  the  ticket  carried 
the  traveller  simply  over  part  or  all  of  the  line  of  the  issuing 
company,  its  career  is  completed  at  the  audit  department  of 
that  company  ;  but  if  the  traveller  went  with  it  a  mile  farther 
on  to  a  foreign  line,  the  ticket  also  commences  a  new  journey, 
and  is  despatched,  with  sundry  data  referring  to  it,  to  an  im- 
portant institution  known  as  "the  Clearing  House." 

When  the  first  long  railway  was  completed,  and  when  a  travel- 
ler with  one  ticket  and  one  payment  could  take  a  journey  from 
one  end  of  that  line  to  the  other,  it  was  considered  a  great  event  ; 
but  when  several  different  railways  came  to  be  connected  together, 
the  question  was  asked  whether  one  ticket  could  not  be  made 
to  clear  a  passenger,  or  even  a  parcel,  over  the  whole  journey. 
Hence  the  proposal  to  establish  a  clearing  house  for  railways. 
It  was  not  an  original  idea.  There  had  been  clearing  houses 
before  there  were  railroads.  Banks  had  a  clearing  house,  and 
there  had  been  at  Charing  Cross  a  clearing  house  for  coaches. 
The  greater  part  of  mankind,  it  has  been  well  said,  "  is  naturally 
averse  to  putting  its  hand  in  its  pocket  ;  but  when  this-©peration 
must  of  necessity  be  performed,  wishes  to  make  short  work  of 
the  agony,  and  forget  it.  Now,  this  happy  oblivion  would  have 
been  impossible  to  any  traveller  who  essayed  the  road  between, 
for  instance,  London  and  Holyhead,  but  for  a  clearing  house.  No 
one  person  could  conveniently  have  '  horsed  '  a  coach  '  through  ' 
between  those  places."  Hence  the  horses  of  one  proprietor  ran 
for  forty  or  fifty  miles,  then  those  of  another  took  up  the  running 
for  a  similar  distance,  and  then  others  had  their  turn.  But 
though  the  road  was  "  horsed  "  by  sections,  travellers  could  not 
think  of  paying  by  sections.  Hence  a  coaching  clearing  house, 
which  enabled  passengers  to  book  through  and  pay  their  fare  at 
one  end  of  their  journey,  was  founded,  and  it  was  a  precursor  of 
the  organization  in  Seymour  Street,  Euston  Square,  London. 

In  1841,  Mr.  Kenneth  Morison,  chief  auditor  of  what  was 
then  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway,  proposed  to  Lord 
Wolverton  that  the  clearing  house  system  used  in  banking  and 
coaching  should  be  extended  to  railways.     In   1842  five  com- 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

pani<  !  ;  in    [846  there  were  forty-six  such  companies; 

and  in  1850  the  "Railway  Clearing  Act"  was  passed,  which 
defined  the  powers  of  the  new  establishment.  There  were,  of 
that  time  pessimist  "prophets,  robed  in  wet  blankets," 
who  did  not  foresee  the  issues  of  the  change,  but  the  anticipa- 
tions of  even  the  most  sanguine  as  to  the  success  of  the  work 
undertaken  have  perhaps  been  exceeded. 

One  department  of  the  work  of  the  Clearing  House  deals  with 
railway  tickets.  If  a  ticket  carries  a  traveller,  not  only  over  the 
railway  of  the  issuing  company,  but  on  to  what  is  technically 
called  a  "  foreign  "  line,  that  ticket  is  forwarded  to  the  Clearing 
House,  and  instead  of  each  individual  company  settling  its 
accounts  with  perhaps  five  and  thirty  other  companies,  the  exact 
amount  of  money  due  respectively  to  each  on  every  ticket  is 
determined  by  the  Clearing  House.  It  has  a  debtor  and  creditor 
account  with  them  one  and  all,  and  by  it,  as  the  common 
creditor  of  all,  the  balance  due  to  each  at  the  end  of  every  month 
is  paid  over. 

The  arithmetic  thus  involved  is  enormous,  but  it  is  worked 
out  every  day  down  to  such  problems  as  the  fourth  part  of 
a  schoolboy,  and  to  the  charges  on  "  horses,  carriages,  and 
corpses,"  which  it  is  directed  are  not  "  to  be  included  in  the 
parcels."  As  the  items  to  be  dealt  with  for  passengers — besides 
goods — on  a  line  of  thirty  stations  amount  to  thousands,  some 
idea  may  be  gathered  of  the  bewildering  character  of  the  busi- 
ness to  be  dealt  with,  and  the  multitude  of  the  items  to  be 
accurately  determined. 

The  Clearing  House  also  does  much  more  than  this.  At 
every  junction  in  the  kingdom  where  the  lines  of  two  companies 
converge,  the  Clearing  House  stations  what  are  called  "  number- 
takers."  Their  duty  is  to  take  the  number  of  every  carriage, 
wagon,  or  other  vehicle,  and  of  every  sheet  that  passes  from 
one  company's  system  to  another ;  to  make  a  record  of  every 
mile  thus  travelled  over  a  foreign  line,  and  of  every  hour  in 
which  each  vehicle  has  to  be  charged  "  demurrage  "  for  delay  or 
detention.  For  instance,  let  it  be  supposed  that  a  truck  laden 
with  fish  is  sent  from  Yarmouth  to  a  consignee  in  Liverpool. 
The  truck  arrives  by  Great  Eastern  line  safely  at  Peterborough. 
Its  number  is  taken,  and  note  is  made  of  the  company  to  which 
it  belongs.     From  Peterborough  the  truck  bound  for  Liverpool 


THE    CLEARING    HOUSE.  3 13 

has  several  courses  open  to  it.     It  might  be  sent  along  the  Great 
Northern  to   Retford  ;  or  by  the  Midland  to  Burton-on-Trent, 
and  thence  by  Crewe  ;  or  by  Midland,  then  via  Manchester,  to 
Liverpool.     That  truck  and  its  route  become  perfectly  known  to 
the  Clearing  House.     The  ownership  of  the  truck  is  also  noted, 
since  companies  not  unfrequently  use  the  first  that  comes  to  hand, 
to  whomsoever  it  may  belong.     The  knowledge  thus  acquired  is 
sent  in  to  the  Clearing  House,  and  also  the  amount  of  charges, 
and  whether  paid  in  advance  or  not;  and  the  Clearing  House  de- 
cides the  proportions  in  which  the  sum  charged  is  to  be  divided. 
The  fish  truck  just  spoken  of  might  possibly  have  its  earnings 
divided  among  four  companies.     "  First  and  foremost  come  the 
1  terminal '  charges,  as  they  are  called,  generally  4s.  per  ton  for 
ordinary  goods,  is.  6d.  for  grain,  and  gd.  for  minerals.     These 
terminal  charges  are  credited  in  equal  shares  to  the  terminus  of 
collection  or  reception  and  the  terminus  of  delivery,  and  the  rest 
of  the  sum  is  divided  between  the  several  companies  according 
to  mileage.     In  the  instance  of  the  fish  truck  the  terminal  charges 
would  be  first  divided   between  Yarmouth  and    Liverpool,  the 
Midland  line  over  which  the  truck  merely  runs  without  lading 
and  sheeting,  or  unlading  and  unsheeting,  getting  no  share  of 
these,  but  only  its  mileage."     Then   comes  the  question  of  the 
truck  itself,  for  the  owning  company  is  entitled  to  charge  the 
others  for  hire  of  rolling  stock,  and  has  to  be  credited  therewith 
by  the  Clearing  House.     Its  business  thus  includes  the  charging, 
counter-charging,  checking,  and   settling  accounts,  even  to  the 
damage,  for  instance,  to  a  cask  of  spirits  stove  in,  or  to  a  wagon 
that  has  broken  down,  or  to  a  leakage  in  a  whisky  barrel  which 
has  passed  over  the  lines  of  several  different  companies,  no  one 
of  which  thinks  itself  to  blame.    When  rolling-stock  was  injured 
while  in   the  hands  of  another  company  than  that  owning  it ; 
whose  fault  was  it  ?     Was  the  wheel  a  bad  one,  or  was  it  badly 
used  ? 

The  money  here  annually  cleared  is  about  £17,500,000  ;  the 
settlements  made  yearly  by  the  Merchandise  Department  num- 
ber 2,500,000,  and  passenger  settlements  are  some  2,750,000. 
The  number  of  miles  charged  for  use  of  rolling  stock  is  over 
500,000,000,  the  work  involving  upwards  of  30,000,000  of  entries 
yearly. 

The  number  of  persons  employed  at  the  Clearing  House  is 


314  OUR    ikon    ROADS. 

isarily  large,  and  is  increasing  as  through  traffic  over  foreign 

lines  increases.     When  Mr.  Noble,  the  present  General  Manager 

of  the  Midland  Company,  was  at  the  head  of  the  Clearing  Mouse, 

the  clerks  were  about  Soo  in  number  ;  there  arc  now  2,100. 

The    experiences    of    booking    clerks    are    sometimes  amus- 

"Yes,"  remarked  one,  "  some  passengers  are  odd.  They  ask 
for  tickets  for  places  they  are  thinking  of,  but  not  going  to,  and 
are  very  angry  when  we  give  them  one  they  don't  want.  Others 
sometimes  come  short  of  money,  and  they  wish  us  to  trust  them 
for  the  balance.  We  don't  turn  them  away  if  we  can  help  it. 
If  they  have  luggage,  we  send  them  and  it  to  our  station  master's 
office.  He  perhaps  takes  what  money  they  have,  and  issues 
a  way-bill.  So  much  'paid  on'  and  so  much 'to  pay';  their 
luggage,  or  their  watch,  or  whatever  they  have  to  give  us,  is 
handed  with  this  way-bill  to  the  guard  of  the  train  they  are 
going  by  ;  he  gives  it  to  the  station  master  at  their  destination  ; 
and  when  they  have  discharged  the  balance,  they  get  their 
property  again.  Yes,  sometimes  we've  been  cheated.  A  sailor's 
box  has  been  found  with  bricks  in  it,  instead  of  clothes  ;  but 
now,  if  we  have  any  doubt,  we  require  the  owner  to  open  it,  and 
to  show  us  the  contents,  before  we  issue  the  ticket."  Another 
booking  clerk  had  a  handsome  meerschaum  pipe  left  with  him 
as  security  for  a  fare  he  consented  to  advance  ;  but  it  was  not 
reclaimed,  and  at  length  the  clerk  sold  it  as  a  curiosity  to  recoup 
himself.  In  a  third  instance  a  traveller  left  a  white-handled 
pocket-knife  with  the  clerk  in  lieu  of  a  halfpenny  of  which  he  was 
short  in  purchasing  his  ticket,  and  never  came  for  it.  "  I  have 
often,"  said  a  Derbyshire  booking  clerk,  "  lent  a  neighbour  who 
was  going  to  sell  butter  and  eggs  at  Chesterfield  the  amount  of 
her  fare,  and  she  has  paid  me  when  she  returned." 

Travellers  are  of  all  sorts — most  of  them  voluntary,  some  in- 
voluntary. In  January,  1877,  half  a  dozen  children,  each  about 
ten  years  of  age,  were  charged  before  the  Bristol  magistrates  with 
having  travelled,  without  taking  their  tickets  or  paying  their  fares, 
on  the  Great  Western  Railway,  in  the  truck  of  a  goods  train,  for 
three  days  and  three  nights.  It  was  found  that  they  had  been 
playing  in  the  goods  station  yard  at  Plymouth  when  a  guard 
shouted  to  them,  and  they  became  so  frightened  that  they  hid 
themselves  in  one  of  the  trucks.     Keeping  very  quiet,  so  as  not 


THE    PARCELS    OFFICE.  3  15 

to  be  detected,  they  all  fell  asleep.  During  the  night,  the  truck 
was  attached  to  a  goods  train  which  was  being  formed  for  Pen- 
zance. The  train  then  started  without  any  one  knowing  that 
the  stowaways  were  there.  The  truck  was  shunted  when  the 
train  reached  Truro  in  the  night,  and  there  the  urchins  woke  up, 
and,  being  much  frightened,  they  stole  out  of  the  station  and 
tried  to  walk  back  towards  Plymouth.  They  had  only  gone  a 
short  distance  when  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents,  and  so 
drenched  them  that  they  determined  to  go  back  to  the  railway 
station,  where,  unobserved,  they  got  into  another  covered  truck, 
which  they  thought  would  take  them  back  to  Plymouth.  This 
truck  was  booked  through  to  Bristol  with  a  load  of  general 
goods ;  it  was  consequently  not  shunted  at  Plymouth,  but  with 
numerous  delays  and  shuntings  in  the  course  of  the  goods  traffic 
en  route,  it  arrived  at  Bristol.  The  urchins  slept  a  good  deal  of 
the  time,  but  were  so  exhausted  when  discovered  that  three  or 
four  of  them  could  not  stand.  They  soon  recovered  under  the 
attention  they  received,  but  appeared  in  the  most  bewildered 
state  of  mind.  They  were  taken  to  the  police  station  and  cared 
for  during  the  night.  Their  names  and  addresses  were  tele- 
graphed to  Plymouth,  and  the  Plymouth  police  discovered  that 
inquiries  had  been  made  at  the  police  station  for  two  or  three  of 
the  little  travellers,  and  their  parents  were  in  great  distress  at 
their  loss.  The  magistrates  expressed  their  astonishment  that 
the  boys'  hunger  had  not  caused  them  to  declare  themselves. 
They  were  eventually  dismissed,  the  bench  expressing  the 
opinion  that  it  was  hardly  a  case  of  fraud. 

The  parcels  office  is  an  important  department  of  every 
station.  Parcels  are  collected  from  the  parcel  offices  in  the 
town,  and  also  by  "  collecting  vans "  which  call  at  the  whole- 
sale houses.  Nottingham,  for  instance,  has  three  receiving 
houses,  and  the  whole  town  is  mapped  out  into  five  divisions, 
called  A,  B,  C,  D,  and  E,  a  van  being  assigned  to  each.  "  We 
have,"  said  the  chief  clerk,  "four  such  vans  collecting  every 
night.  They  begin  at  6.30  and  finish  at  9.30,  or,  in  a  busy 
season,  an  hour  later.  If,  when  the  vans  call,  the  parcels  are 
not  ready,  they  have  to  be  called  for  again,  and  meanwhile  the 
vans  go  for  orders  elsewhere.  There  is  a  regular  scrimmage 
at  night.  The  Midland,  the  London  and  North-Western,  the 
Great   Northern,  and   the   parcel  companies  are   all  eager   to 


OUR    IK<»\    ROADS. 

.  and  they  each  do  their  best  to  win.  As  soon  as 
a  van  has  got  a  load,  it  comes  to  the  station  to  discharge,  and 
then  hurries  off  for  more." 

Various  towns  have  their  special  classes  of  parcels,  according 
to  the  local  trade  The  lace  and  millinery  trades  of  Notting- 
ham, for  instance,  yield  large  numbers  of  light  and  valuable 
parcels,  which  perhaps  have  to  be  sent  ofif  to  catch  some  vessel 
that  may  be  sailing  from  Liverpool  ;  and,  "  four  hours  after  we 
receive  them  they  are  delivered  to  the  consignee  at  the  dock 
side."  Millinery  goods  are  made  at  Nottingham  in  tens  of 
thousands  of  dozens,  and  as  they  are  despatched  in  light  boxes 
they  are  classed  in  what  is  called  the  "  frail "  trade,  for  which 
fifty  per  cent,  additional  is  charged.  The  number  of  parcels 
"inwards"  and  "outwards"  thus  received  and  despatched  is 
very  large.  At  a  station  like  Nottingham  they  may  average 
30,000  a  month,  while  at  Christmas  time  there  may  be  5,000 
a  day  for  three  days  together. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  chief  clerk,  "we  have  everything  you  can 
imagine  sent  by  'parcel' — birds,  beasts,  live  fishes  in  tins, 
badgers  and  foxes ;  in  fact,  everything  from  a  live  gorilla  to 
a  dead  baby."  "  A  gorilla!"  we  exclaimed.  "Yes  ;  it  was  sent 
to  a  gentleman  at  Loughborough  who  had  a  fancy  for  keeping 
such  pets  ;  but  when  it  got  there  it  was  found  to  be  loose  in 
the  van  ;  and  so  they  sent  it,  van  and  all,  on  to  Nottingham.  It 
was  bigger  than  a  man.  I  tried  to  capture  it,  but  it  bit  me 
across  the  thigh,  and  then  rushed  out  into  the  street.  Every- 
body gave  chase  with  sticks  and  dogs  ;  and  at  length  they  ran 
it  into  a  timber  yard,  where  two  dogs  tackled  it.  But  it  knocked 
them  over  time  after  time  with  its  fists.  At  last  two  men 
got  a  chain  and  a  rope  over  it,  and  it  was  sent  back  to  Lough- 
borough." 

Many  curious  incidents  have  occurred  in  connection  with  the 
business  of  parcels  offices.  One  night,  at  a  certain  station  in 
the  north  of  England,  a  large  hamper  arrived  by  the  mail, 
booked  as  containing  a  live  dog,  and  addressed  to  a  clergyman 
in  a  certain  Lincolnshire  village.  The  hamper  was  taken  into 
the  parcels  office  to  await  the  proper  train ;  and  some  lads,  in- 
terested in  dogs,  resolved  to  gratify  their  curiosity  by  having  a 
sly  peep  at  the  visitor,  and  they  gently  untied  the  thick  string 
with  which  the  hamper  was  secured.     But  no  sooner  had  they 


THE    PARCELS    OFFICE.  3  I  7 

done  so  than,  with  a  loud  snarl  and  yell  of  anger  and  terror,  the 
dog  leaped  up  at  the  lid,  out  of  the  hamper,  and  rushed  out  of 
the  office;  and  though  hotly  pursued  by  clerks,  porters,  and 
guards,  it  sped  down  the  platform,  and  was  lost — among  dark- 
ness, sidings,  and  carriages. 

Blank  despair  was  on  the  faces  of  the  too  curious  clerks. 
What  was  to  be  done  ?  What  a  row  there  would  be.  At 
length  a  suggestive  mind  hazarded  a  proposal :  "  Why  not 
send  Nipper  ? "  Nipper  was  an  old  dog,  "  a  thorough-bred 
mongrel,"  a  disreputable-looking  thief,  who  hung  about  the 
station  under  a  kind  of  law  of  "toleration."  But  the  case 
was  desperate,  and  required  a  desperate  remedy.  Accordingly, 
Nipper  was  found,  feasted,  decorated  with  a  pink  ribbon  tied 
into  a  festive-looking  bow — to  show  that  he  was  fondly 
cherished  and  was  in  holiday  attire.  He  was  then  carefully 
packed  in  the  hamper,  securely  fastened,  and  forwarded  by  the 
next  train.  No  complaint,  we  are  told,  ever  reached  the  rail- 
way company  ;  and  the  hope  is  cherished  that  Nipper  became 
a  reformed  character,  that  he  lived  long  and  peacefully,  and 
ended  his  days  with  the  respect  of  the  parish  as  the  clergy- 
man's dog. 

We  enter  a  parcels  office  just  before  a  train  is  starting.  Men 
and  boys,  porters  and  clerks  are  shouting  to  one  another  at  the 
top  of  their  voices.  A  parcel  porter  seizes  a  parcel,  calls  out 
the  name  and  destination  written  thereon,  and  the  clerk  replies 
by  assigning  the  route  along  which  it  is  to  travel.  "  Tomlinson, 
Falmouth,"  exclaims  the  parcel  porter  ;  "  Bristol  and  West," 
replies  the  clerk.  "Aberdeen,"  bawls  another  porter;  "Edin- 
burgh," answers  the  clerk.  Meanwhile,  while  the  porter  shouts 
the  address  to  the  clerk,  and  he  replies,  the  clerk,  with  the  aid 
of  a  "  manifold  writer,"  makes  out  a  way-bill  in  duplicate,  with 
name,  address,  and  amount  to  be  charged.  One  way-bill  is 
sent  with  the  parcel,  the  other  is  filed.  At  the  end  of  the  day 
the  duplicates  are  placed  together,  the  amounts  entered  thereon 
are  checked  with  the  cash  book ;  and  they  are  then  passed  to 
the  "  abstract  clerk,"  who  abstracts  the  amounts  that  will  be 
due  from  each  station  to  which  the  parcels  have  been  sent.  At 
the  end  of  the  month  these  abstracts  are  balanced,  summarised, 
and  sent  to  the  audit  office,  where  they  are  checked  with  the 
foreign   stations,   and  then  despatched  to  the  Clearing  House 


318  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

for  the  division  of  the  receipts  among  the  different  companies 
over  whose  lines  the  parcels  have  travelled. 

The  parcels  are  now  handed,  with  their  way-bills,  and  also 
with  any  "despatches"  (letters  on  the  company's  business),  to 
the  guard  of  the  train,  who  at  once  begins  to  sort  the  parcels 
and  to  check  them  with  the  way-bills.  Sometimes  this  is  sharp 
work,  for  it  has  to  be  done  before  the  train  reaches  the  first 
station  at  which  it  stops — which  may  be  only  a  mile  or  two  dis- 
tant, and  lure  some  parcel  and  bill  may  have  to  be  delivered. 

"Inwards"  parcels,  when  received,  are  taken  into  the  office, 
called  off  to  the  clerk,  checked  with  the  way-bills,  and,  when 
all  is  found  correct,  sorted  for  the  different  deliveries,  and  dis- 
tributed by  the  vans. 

At  the  head  of  the  parcels  office  is  the  chief  clerk.  All  the 
other  clerks,  except  the  "  abstract  clerk,"  take  weekly  turns  at 
the  different  duties  of  the  office,  each  thus  becoming  familiar 
with  all  the  work  of  the  office,  and  the  hours  of  service  also 
being  equalized.  The  parcel  porters  interchange  their  work  in 
a  similar  way. 

The  duties  of  the  parcel  clerks  are,  by  practice,  discharged 
with  great  rapidity  and  accuracy.  The  work  is  all  done  in  a 
noise  and  a  bustle,  but  the  clerks  become  so  used  to  it  that, 
with  two  or  three  sets  at  work  at  the  same  time,  they  will 
despatch  or  receive  two  or  three  hundred  parcels  in  half  an 
hour.  This  is  important,  because  the  time  is  often  short  between 
the  arrival  of  the  vans  and  the  departure  of  the  trains,  and  every 
parcel  must  leave  by  the  earliest  train. 

The  signalman  belongs  to  an  important  and  responsible  class 
of  railway  servants.  Some  of  his  duties  may  be  described.  He 
has  to  see  that  the  points  and  signals  are  kept  in  perfect  order  ; 
and  to  report  to  the  station  master,  and  to  the  inspector  of  the 
permanent  way,  any  case  in  which  the  points,  switches,  or  signals 
are  defective.  He  must  frequently  try  the  working  of  all  his  sig- 
nals to  see  that  they  work  well.  He  must  know  that  care  is  used 
in  putting  on  a  distant  signal,  and  must  watch  the  signal  or  its 
repeater  to  see  that  it  fully  obeys  the  lever.  He  must  ascertain 
that  the  signal  wires  are  kept  at  the  proper  length  by  means  of 
the  regulating  screws,  so  as  to  allow  for  the  variations  made  by 
the  temperature.  In  the  event  of  a  distant  signal  not  working 
properly,   a   man    with   hand  signals  and  detonators  must  be 


SIGNALMEN.  319 

stationed  within  sight  of  the  home  signal ;  and,  if  necessary, 
other  men  must  be  placed  at  intervals  on  to  the  defective  signal, 
for  the  purpose  of  repeating  to  the  man  stationed  at  the  distant 
signal  the  signals  exhibited  at  the  home  signal.  "  If,  when  two 
or  more  trains  approach  a  junction  at  nearly  the  same  time,  the 
signalman  should  have  lowered  the  signals  for  a  train  which 
should  have  been  kept  back  for  the  passage  of  another,  he  must 
not  attempt  to  alter  the  order  of  the  trains  by  reversing  the 
signals,  but  must  put  all  the  signals  to  danger,  until  all  the 
trains  have  been  brought  to  a  stand,  when  precedence  can  be 
given  to  the  proper  train.  Signalmen  are  also  required  to  as- 
certain how  the  ordinary  and  special  trains  in  their  respective 
districts  are  running,  and  to  give  information  to  guards.  The 
guard  in  charge  of  a  train  which  should  shunt  for  another  train 
to  pass,  must  instruct  the  engine-driver  where  to  shunt,  and  on 
arriving  at  a  station,  junction,  or  siding,  where  he  should  shunt 
for  another  train  to  pass,  must  inquire  whether  the  train  due  to 
pass  him  there  is  late.  The  guard  must  be  informed  as  to  the 
whereabouts  of  the  train,  and,  subject  to  the  order  of  the  station 
master,  must  proceed  or  shunt,  as  may  be  necessary.  If  he  goes 
forward  he  must  take  care  that  there  is  ample  time  to  reach  the 
place  he  intends  to  proceed  to,  and  to  get  his  train  shunted  off 
the  main  line." 

Other  important  rules  are  also  laid  down  for  signalmen.  Thus 
"  no  engine  or  vehicle  must  be  shunted  or  moved  from  one  main 
line  to  the  other,  until  the  proper  signals  have  been  exhibited, 
as  may  be  required  ;  and  care  must  be  taken  when  the  main 
line  is  about  to  be  obstructed  after  a  distant  signal  has  been 
placed  at  danger  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  it,  to  allow 
sufficient  time  to  elapse  for  any  approaching  engine  or  train 
which  may  have  been  near  to  or  within  such  signal  before  it 
was  so  placed  at  danger,  to  pass  before  the  obstruction  is 
allowed." 

The  signalman  must  see  that  each  train  that  passes  has  a  tail 
lamp  on  the  last  vehicle,  in  order  that  he  may  be  satisfied  that 
the  whole  of  the  train  has  gone,  and  that  none  of  the  vehicles 
have  broken  away.  If  the  signalman  observes  anything  unusual 
about  the  train  as  it  runs  by,  such  as  a  signal  of  alarm  by  a 
passenger,  or  that  a  tail  lamp  is  missing,  or  is  not  burning,  that 
goods  are  falling  off,  or  that  a  vehicle  is  on  fire,  or  that  there  is 


I  il  R    [RON    ROADS, 

i  hot  axle-box,  he  must  give  the  station  in  advance  the  signal 

p  and  examine  the  train,  and  that  station  must  immedi- 

cxhibit  the  danger  signal.      The  train,  when  thus  stopped, 

must  be  carefully  examined  and  dealt  with  as  occasion  may 

require. 

tin,  it  a  portion  of  a  train  should  be  running  back  in  the 
wrong  direction,  the  signalman  must  give  the  prescribed  signal 
to  the  signalman  at  the  next  signal-box  towards  which  the  portion 
of  the  train  is  running  ;  and  the  man  who  receives  this  signal 
must  step  any  train  about  to  proceed  on  the  same  line,  and  take 
protective  measures,  such  as  turning  the  runaway  train  across  to 
the  other  line  or  into  a  siding,  as  may  be  most  expedient  under 
the  circumstances.  If  a  portion  of  a  train  has  escaped,  and  is 
running  away  in  the  proper  direction  on  the  right  line,  the  section 
in  advance  must  be  signalled  accordingly,  and  this  signal  must, 
it"  necessary,  be  sent  forward,  and  such  other  measures  be  taken 
as  arc  expedient.  If  a  signalman  observes  that  a  train  has  be- 
come divided,  the  "train  divided"  signal  must  be  used.  If  the 
train  is  running  on  a  falling  gradient,  where  the  stoppage  of  the 
first  part  would  risk  a  collision  with  the  second  part  following, 
the  signalman  must  take  measures  accordingly,  with  instructions 
for  which  he  is  provided.  Each  signalman  must  register  in  the 
train-book  the  time  of  his  arrival  on  duty  and  of  his  leaving, 
and  affix  his  signature. 

The  duties  of  guards  are  perhaps  known  to  our  readers.  Some, 
however,  of  themselves  may  be  unaware  how  greatly  the  position 
of  guards  has  been  improved.  "  In  my  early  days,"  remarked 
one  of  them,  "  we  were  called  brakesmen  ;  we  had  no  brake- 
vans  ;  we  had  to  ride  on  the  top  of  the  carriages  or  on  the 
loaded  vans,  anywhere  we  could,  and  to  get  on  and  off  any- 
how we  could.  And  on  a  frosty  night  it  was  getting  off.  Our 
limbs  were  often  benumbed  with  cold  ;  we  were  sometimes  so 
stiff  with  cold  that  we  had  to  be  lifted  off,  and  some,  when  they 
were  lifted  off,  were  found  to  be  frozen  to  death.  When  trains 
were  running  down  an  incline,  we  had  to  scramble  or  jump  from 
one  wagon  to  another  in  order  to  put  on  perhaps  five  or  six 
brakes.  When  you  jumped  upon  a  load  of  goods  sheeted  down, 
you  could  not  possibly  tell  what  you  jumped  upon,  and,  in  con- 
sequence, many  men  lost  their  limbs  or  their  lives.  When  a 
train  stopped  for  anything,  the  brakesman  had  to  go  back  a 


RAILWAY    GUARDS.  321 

quarter  of  a  mile  ;  he  was  not  to  return  till  he  was  whistled  in, 
and  then  he  had  to  run  in  as  quick  as  he  could  for  fear  he  should 
be  overtaken  by  a  following  train.  I  have  run  many  a  pair  of 
shoes  off  in  my  time  in  doing  this." 

We  need  not  say  that  the  duties  of  guards  are  now  very 
different  from  all  this,  and  that  their  circumstances  are  incom- 
parably improved.  Their  responsibilities  are,  however,  equally 
great,  and  the  importance  of  their  services  is  fully  admitted. 
The  driver  and  stoker  may  be  useful,  but  the  guard  is  "the 
cynosure  of  all  eyes.  '  Where  is  the  guard  ? '  cries  the  aged 
dame  transfixed  among  a  pile  of  trunks.  '  Where  is  the  guard  ?' 
shouts  the  stout  gentleman,  vainly  seeking  his  smoking  com- 
partment ;  and  '  Where  is  the  guard  ? '  echoes  the  bewildered 
young  lady,  who  has  lost  her  lap-dog  and  her  temper.  To  all 
and  everybody  the  guard  is  the  leader,  the  representative  of  the 
train.  Proudly  as  Louis  XIV.  in  his  royal  robes,  the  British 
railway  guard,  standing  in  full  uniform  at  the  side  of  the  winged 
express  preparing  to  start,  may  lay  his  hand  on  his  heart  and 
say,  '  Le  train,  c'est  moi.'  " 

Ten  hours  is  the  usual  daily  work  of  the  guard.  But  it  is  found 
to  be  best  for  the  service,  and  for  the  comfort  of  the  whole  body  of 
the  guards,  that  there  should  be  change  from  day  duties  to  night 
duties,  and  from  the  conduct  of  one  train  to  another ;  and  these 
arrangements  go  by  the  name  of  "  roadsters " — pronounced 
"  roosters."  For  example,  "  the  guard  of  a  London  and  North 
Western  'through'  train  will  leave  Euston  for  Liverpool  on 
Monday  in  charge  of  the  9  a.m.  express,  which  arrives  at  2.45 
p.m.,  and  start  from  Liverpool  on  his  return  journey  with  the 
4  p.m.  train,  arriving  at  Euston  at  9.15  p.m.  The  next  day, 
Tuesday,  the  same  guard  will  take  charge  of  the  train  leaving 
Euston  at  noon,  which,  dividing  at  Shrewsbury,  does  not  arrive 
at  Liverpool  till  6. 1 5  ;  but  he  will  not  then  return  to  London, 
but  stop  at  Liverpool  for  the  night.  It  will  be  seen  that  on 
Monday  the  guard  is  on  duty,  or  rather  in  his  van,  for  just 
eleven  hours,  while  on  the  Tuesday  his  hours  on  duty  are  not 
more  than  six  and  a  quarter,  so  that,  taking  the  average  of  both 
days,  he  has  less  than  eight  hours  and  a  half  per  diem."  But  to 
this  must  be  added  the  time  before  the  starting  and  after  the 
arrival  of  the  trains,  during  which  the  guard  has  to  be  at  his 
post. 

Y 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

Th<  ing  done  by  an  old  guard  may  be  considerable. 

With  an  average  of  300  miles  a  day,  and  counting  six  working 

in  the  week,  it  would  conic  to  [,8oo  miles  a  week,  93,600 

miles  a  year  ;  and  in  twenty-live  years  of  service,  to  no  less  than 
0  miles — "equal  to  making  three  return  journeys  to  the 
moon." 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  guard  to  be  in  attendance  half  an  hour 
re  his  train  starts.  While  the  train  is  at  the  station,  the 
guards  are  under  the  orders  of  the  station-master;  the  train  itself 
under  the  immediate  control  of  the  guard,  who  instructs 
the  driver  as  to  the  general  working  of  the  train.  The  guard 
must  satisfy  himself  before  starting,  and  during  the  journey, 
that  the  train  is  properly  loaded,  marshalled,  coupled,  lamped, 
greased,  and  sheeted  ;  and  that  the  brakes  are  in  good  working 
order.  He  must  also  carefully  examine  the  loading  of  any 
vehicles  he  may  attach  on  the  way,  and,  if  necessary,  must 
have  a  load  readjusted  or  a  vehicle  detached. 

If  the  guard  wishes  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  engine- 
driver,  he  may,  besides  using  the  communication,  apply  his 
brake  sharply,  and  release  it  suddenly.  This  operation,  when 
repeated,  will  call  the  notice  of  the  driver,  to  whom  any  neces- 
sary signal  can  be  exhibited.  When  the  driver  gives  three  or 
more  short,  sharp  whistles,  or  sounds  the  brake  whistle,  or 
applies  the  communication,  the  guard,  or  guards,  must  imme- 
diately apply  the  brakes.  If  from  any  cause  a  train  is  stopped 
except  where  it  is  efficiently  protected  by  fixed  signals,  the 
guard,  if  there  be  only  one,  or  the  rear  guard,  if  there  be  more 
than  one,  must  immediately  go  back  1,200  yards  to  stop  any 
following  train  ;  and  must,  besides  his  hand  signals,  take 
detonators,  which  are  to  be  used  by  day  as  well  as  by  night, 
and  must  place  one  detonator  upon  the  line  of  rails  on  which 
the  stoppage  has  happened,  at  a  distance  of  400  yards  from  his 
train,  another  at  a  distance  of  800  yards,  and  two,  ten  yards 
apart,  at  a  distance  of  1,200  yards. 

While  a  guard  is  in  charge  of  a  train,  he  has  to  make  entries 
in  a  book  provided  for  the  purpose  as  to  the  running  of  his 
train,  and,  at  the  end  of  his  journey,  he  transcribes  them  into 
a  formal  "journal,"  and  sends  it  to  the  superintendent's  office. 
This  journal  has  some  forty-four  columns.  In  these  have  to  be 
entered  the  names  of  the  stations  stopped  at,  the  published  time 


RAILWAY    GUARDS.  ^20 

of  departure,  the  times  of  actual  arrival  and  departure,  the 
time  spent  at  each  station,  and  the  number  of  vehicles  attached 
and  detached.  Space  is  also  provided  for  the  guard's  ex- 
planatory "  remarks."  On  the  back  of  this  journal  are  other 
spaces  to  be  filled  in  :  the  number  of  the  engine,  or  the  numbers 
of  the  series  of  engines  successively  drawing  the  train  ;  the 
names  of  the  drivers  and  the  firemen  ;  the  time  lost  by  the 
engine  arriving  late  to  train ;  or  by  waiting  for  "  foreign " 
trains ;  or  waiting  for  their  own  Company's  trains,  or  other 
causes.  Particulars  have  also  to  be  entered  of  any  time  lost 
on  the  journey,  by  engine  in  running,  at  stations,  or  by  signals, 
etc. ;  the  time  gained  ;  and  the  total  number  of  minutes  of  late 
arrival.  The  guard  has  also  to  make  an  exact  return  with 
regard  to  the  working  of  the  continuous  brake  in  use  on  his 
train.  At  the  foot  of  the  document  the  signature  of  the  head 
guard  has  to  be  placed,  and  also  the  names  of  the  under  guards. 

Some  1,600  of  these  "journals"  are  received  daily  at  the 
superintendent's  office  of  the  Midland  Company.  These  data 
are  all  carefully  considered,  and  the  cause  of  delay  is,  if  neces- 
sary, "  taken  up  "  by  the  traffic  inspectors  or  through  the  local 
station  masters.  We  glance  over  some  of  these  journals.  There 
was  a  delay  by  such  a  train  of  four  minutes  through  "attaching" 
a  composite  carriage ;  of  one  minute  in  "  slowing "  over  a 
bridge  that  is  being  rebuilt,  and  of  two  minutes  at  another 
place  in  "  excessing  "  a  fare  from  a  passenger  who  was  perhaps 
too  sleepy  or  too  short  of  change  to  be  more  prompt.  These 
guards'  reports  are  "  abstracted  "  into  books  printed,  ruled,  and 
bound  for  the  purpose,  so  that  the  minute  history  of  every  indi- 
vidual train  and  the  precise  cause  of  any  delay  is  on  permanent 
record,  and  can  be  referred  to  at  any  time  afterwards. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  much  intelligence,  activity,  and  watchful- 
ness are  required  on  the  part  of  railway  guards,  and  it  is  usually 
found  that  they  are  not  deficient  in  these  respects.  An  amusing 
illustration  of  the  formal  politeness  of  one  of  them  once  occurred 
at  the  Reigate  station.  The  guard  came  to  the  window  of  a 
first-class  carriage,  and  said  :  "  Please,  sir,  will  you  have  the 
goodness  to  change  your  carriage  here  ?  "  "  What  for  ?  "  was 
the  gruff  reply  of  Mr.  Bull  within.  "  Because,  sir,  if  you  please, 
the  wheel  has  been  on  fire  since  half-way  from  the  last  station !  " 
Mr.  B.  looked  angrily  out ;  but  when  he  saw  that  the  wheel  was 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

sending  forth  a  cloud  of  smoke,  lie  lost  no  further  time  in  con- 
descending  to  comply  with  the  request. 

With  the  duties  of  railway  porters  our  reader  is  acquainted. 
In  some  places  they  arc  more  onerous  than  in  others.  At  a 
London  terminus  one  of  them,  with  perhaps  a  tinge  of  exag- 
tion,  thus  told  his  tale:  "My  gang,  as  I  say,  comes  on  at 
a  quarter  to  three  in  the  morning, — a  gang  of  twelve  men. 
First  of  all  we  'sec  up'  a  market  train  due  about  three — we 
unloads  her,  ami  that  is  pretty  stiff  work.  Then  in  the  fish 
season  there  are  fish  trains  that  keep  arriving  between  the  other 
trains.  By-and-by  comes  the  up  limited  mail,  and  there  is  the 
getting  out  of  the  bags,  loading  them  into  the  van,  shunting, 
and  what  not.  Then  there  is  a  passenger  train  with  fish  and 
parcels  ;  and  then  comes  the  six  o'clock  down,  with  newspapers 
— the  papers  are  always  very  heavy — newspapers,  horses,  car- 
riages, and  such  like  gear.  At  6.25  there  is  a  short  train,  and 
then  the  '  Bristol  cheap  '  at  6.45 — milk  cans  and  luggage.  A 
cheap  train  is  always  a  bothersome  thing  to  start.  There  are 
lots  of  lone  women  and  children,  and  they  get  mixed  in  such  a 
contrairy  way,  and  want  an  uncommon  lot  of  sorting.  More 
horses  and  carriages  with  the  7.45.  Stop,  I  had  forgotten  the 
7.30,  a  short  train.  The  8  o'clock  West  Midland  and  North 
train  is  always  very  heavy — especially  with  horses  and  carriages 
in  the  season.  After  she  is  out  we  gets  time  for  a  bit  of  break- 
fast, but  have  to  be  back  in  time  to  get  the  mails  in  to  the  9.15, 
and  load  up  the  luggage.  At  10  o'clock  there  is  an  'out'  long 
train  that  takes  mostly  a  lot  of  fish,  and  is  always  heavy  in 
luggage.  Then  the  work  gets  warmer  still  with  the  10.15  train, 
the  11,  the  II. 15,  the  11.45,  and  the  12  trains.  You  don't  have 
a  minute's  respite — on  the  tear  all  the  time  ;  for  we  have  to 
'  make '  the  trains,  unload  and  clean  them.  After  we  see  out  the 
12.35,  we  are  supposed  to  get  our  dinners,  getting  back  at  1.30 
to  load  for  the  2  train,  and  then  comes  the  2.20  and  the  2.40. 
After  that  there  is  the  turning  of  the  mail  carriages  on  the  turn- 
tables, that  their  heads  may  be  the  right  way  for  the  down 
journey.  When  this  is  over  there  is  the  3.40  to  load  '  down,' 
and  more  truck  work.  When  we  are  through  with  that  we  are 
supposed  to  be  done,  except  on  Saturdays,  when  we  remain  on 
till  five  o'clock  to  see  the  expresses  up.  But  if  there  is  any- 
thing extra  going  on,  we  stop  on  till  the  work  is  done,  no  matter 


A    "  BAGGAGE-SMASHER.  325 

how  long,  and  the  meal  times — short  enough  they  are  at  the 
best — are  often  cut  into,  so  that  a  man  has  to  get  his  food  down 
anyhow." 

Complaints  are  sometimes  made  of  the  want  of  due  respect 
paid  on  the  part  of  porters  to  passengers'  luggage.  It  appears 
that  occasionally  a  like  lack  of  caution  is  manifested  by  owners 
to  their  own  property.  It  is  said  that  on  a  train  lately  on  a 
western  railroad  in  America,  some  passengers  were  discussing 
the  carriage  of  explosives.  One  man  contended  that  it  was 
impossible  to  prevent  or  detect  this ;  if  people  were  not  allowed 
to  ship  nitro-glycerine  or  dynamite  legitimately,  they'd  smuggle 
it  through  in  their  baggage.  This  assertion  was  contradicted 
emphatically,  and  the  passenger  was  laughed  at,  flouted,  and 
ignominiously  put  to  scorn.  Rising  up  in  his  wrath  he  drew  a 
capacious  leather  valise  from  under  the  seat,  and  slapping  it 
emphatically  on  the  cover,  said  :  "  Oh,  you  think  they  don't,  eh  ? 
Don't  carry  explosives  in  cars  ?  What's  this  ? "  and  he  gave  the 
valise  a  resounding  thump.  "  Thar's  two  hundred  good  dynamite 
cartridges  in  that  air  valise  ;  sixty  pounds  of  deadly  material ; 
enough  to  blow  this  yar  train  and  the  whole  township  from 
Cook  county  to  Chimborazo.  Thar's  dynamite  enough,"  he  con- 
tinued ;  but  he  was  without  an  auditor,  for  the  passengers  had 
fled  incontinently,  and  he  could  have  sat  down  on  twenty-two 
seats  if  he  had  wanted  to.  And  the  respectful  way  in  which  the 
baggage-men  on  the  out-going  trains  in  the  evening  handled  the 
trunks  and  valises  was  pleasant  to  see, 

The  neglect  of  carefulness  appears  in  one  instance  at  least  to 
have  involved  inconvenience  to  the  offending  official.  "  An  un- 
known genius,"  says  an  American  periodical,  "  the  other  day 
entrusted  a  trunk,  with  a  hive  of  bees  in  it,  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  a  Syracuse  '  baggage-smasher.'  The  company  will  pay  for  the 
bees,  and  the  doctor  thinks  his  patient  will  be  round  again  in 
a  fortnight  or  so." 

Of  railway  servants  it  may  be  stated  that  every  punishment, 
whether  of  fine  or  reprimand,  is  entered  against  the  name  of  the 
man  incurring  it ;  and  these  records  of  men  who  commit  them- 
selves in  any  way  are  carefully  examined  and  considered  in 
dealing  with  any  matters  affecting  their  position.  This  fact  is 
perfectly  understood  by  the  men,  who  know  that  any  offences 
they  have  committed  stand  against  their  names  in  the  company's 


OUR    IKON'    ROADS. 

is  they  remain  in  Its  service  ;  and  that  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  "  black  marks"  would  ensure  their  dismissal  or 
their  reduction  to  less  important  positions. 

But  with  regard  to  the  conduct  of  railway  servants  generally, 
with  the  sentiment  of  cordial  respect  expressed  by 
Charles  Dickens.  "I  would  ask  you,"  he  said,  in  speaking  on 
behalf  of  the  Railway  Provident  Institution,  "to  consider  what 
your  experience  of  the  railway  servant  is.  I  know  what  mine 
is.  Here  he  is,  in  velveteen  or  in  a  policeman's  dress,  scaling 
cabs,  storming  carriages,  finding  lost  articles  by  a  kind  of 
instinct,  binding  up  lost  umbrellas  and  walking  sticks,  wheeling 
trucks,  counselling  old  ladies,  with  a  wonderful  interest  in  their 
affairs — mostly  very  complicated — and  sticking  labels  upon  all 
sorts  of  articles.  I  look  around  me.  There  he  is  again  in  a 
station  master's  uniform,  directing  and  overseeing  with  the  head 
of  a  general,  and  the  manners  of  a  courteous  host.  There  he  is 
again  in  a  guard's  belt  and  buckle,  with  a  handsome  figure, 
inspiring  confidence  in  timid  passengers.  He  is  as  gentle  to 
the  weak  people  as  he  is  bold  to  the  strong,  and  he  has  not  a 
single  hair  in  his  beard  that  is  not  up  to  its  work.  I  glide  out 
of  the  station,  there  he  is  again,  with  a  flag  in  his  hands.  There 
he  is  again,  in  the  open  country,  at  a  level  crossing.  There  he 
is  again  at  the  entrance  to  the  tunnel.  At  every  station  that  I 
stop  at,  there  he  is  again,  as  alert  as  usual.  There  he  is  again 
at  the  arrival  platform,  getting  me  out  of  the  carriage  as  if  I 
was  his  only  charge  upon  earth.  Now,  is  there  not  something  in 
the  alacrity,  in  the  ready  zeal,  in  the  interest  of  these  men,  that 
is  not  acknowledged,  that  is  not  expressed  in  their  mere  wages  ? 
And  if  your  experience  coincides  with  mine,  and  enables  you  to 
have  this  good  feeling  for,  and  to  say  a  good  word  in  regard 
of,  railway  servants,  then  if  we  take  a  human  interest  in  them, 
they  will  take  a  human  interest  in  us.  We  shall  not  be  merely 
the  9.30  or  the  10.30  rushing  by,  but  we  shall  be  an  instalment 
of  the  considerate  public  that  is  ready  to  lend  a  hand  to  the 
poor  fellows  in  their  risk  of  their  lives." 

The  question  of  what  is,  or  is  not,  "personal  luggage"  may  to 
some  readers  be  of  practical  interest.  "  It  may  well  be  imag- 
ined," says  the  Solicitors  Journal,  "that  it  is  not  always  easy  to 
decide  what  is  'personal '  or  'ordinary'  luggage.  In  the  County 
Court  at  Exeter  it  was  held  that  a  photographic  apparatus  was 


PASSENGERS     LUGGAGE.  327 

not  'personal  luggage.'  In  '  Cahill  v.  the  London  and  North 
Western  Railway  Company '  *  it  was  held  that  a  box  containing 
only  merchandise  was  not  personal  luggage.  In  'The  Great 
Northern  Railway  Company  v.  Shepherd '  -f-  it  was  decided,  on 
the  same  ground,  that  a  passenger  could  not  recover  for  the  loss 
of  a  number  of  ivory  handles  which  were  packed  up  with  his 
luggage.  And  in  '  Mytton  v.  the  Midland  Railway  Company  '\ 
the  sketches  of  an  artist  were  held  not  to  be  his  'ordinary  lug- 
gage.' "  On  the  other  hand,  a  hamper  containing  two  pairs  of 
shooting  boots,  a  couple  of  fowls,  and  apples  and  vegetables 
intended  for  a  present  were  decided  to  be  personal  luggage, 
and,  having  been  lost,  the  company  had  to  pay  the  value  of  it. 
The  dispute  was  not  over  the  boots,  but  over  the  vegetables. 
Happily  most  of  the  railways  give  a  wide  interpretation  to  the 
law  in  this  matter  in  favour  of  their  passengers. 

There  are  considerable  advantages  in  the  American  methods 
with  regard  to  passengers'  luggage,  especially  for  long  journeys. 
"  Checking  the  baggage,"  is  an  expressive  phrase  in  the  States. 
"  I  am  going,"  remarks  a  traveller,  "  say  from  Utica  to  Toledo, 
and  I  have  two  parcels.  Do  I  direct  them  carefully  on  parch- 
ment ?  No !  I  arrive  at  the  station  and  get  my  ticket,  followed 
by  a  muscular  negro,  Cuffy  by  name,  who  carries  my  baggage. 
He  goes  with  me  to  the  luggage  van,  and  cries  out : 

"'Massa  George,  gib  'un  a  check  for  Toledo  for  this  jebble- 
man.' 

"  Massa  George  looks  up  from  a  chaos  of  luggage,  and  answers 
to  him  : 

" '  How  many  ? ' 

"  '  Two,  and  all  going  through.' 

"  '  Two  checks  for  Toledo — right !  ' 

"As  he  speaks,  Massa  Jack,  the  under  contractor,  selects  four 
brass  tickets  with  leather  loops  attached  to  them,  which  hang 
with  some  hundreds  of  others  from  his  arms,  and,  looping  two 
on  my  luggage,  hands  me  the  two  duplicates. 

"  '  2359/  '2617 '  are  the  figures  on  my  tickets,  and  on  producing 
them  at  Toledo  to-morrow,  or  to-morrow  six  months,  my  black 
portmanteau  and  blue  hat-box  will  be  handed  to  me.  I  shall 
find  them,  I   know,  as  well  as  the  brass  labels,  twins  to  mine, 

*  9  W.  R.  391.  t  21.  L  J.  Ex.  114,  286.  t  7  W.  R.  737. 


•s 


OUR    IRON     ROADS. 


upon  them     I  shall  call  out  to  the  porter  or  baggage-master, 

17,'  and  out  will  roll, as  in  a  pantomime  trick,  my  black 
and  red  portmanteau  and  my  blue  hat-box.  Presently,  before 
the  train  starts,  Cuflfy  will  call  out  the  numbers  to  the  luggage 
man,  'who  stands  by  the  van  near  the  blazing  red  lamp,  that 
turns  his  lace  to  currant  jelly,  and  whose  business  it  is  to  check 
all  luggage  passing  from  Utica  any  whither.'  You  may  go  a 
thousand  miles,  and  pass  nights  on  the  road,  but  need  never 
give  a  sight  to  the  luggage  till  you  reach  your  destination." 


CLAY   CROSS  JUNCTION. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


The  Vicar's  Alarm. — The  First  Locomotive  in  the  World. — Trevethick  and 
Jones. — The  Trial. — Improvements  in  Engines. — London  and  North 
Western,  Midland,  and  American  Locomotives. — Speed  and  Momentum 
of  Engines  and  Trains. — Life  of  a  Locomotive. — Cost  of  Engine  Coal. — 
Locomotive  Establishments. — The  Metropolitan  Railway  Locomotives. 
— Fitters  and  their  ways. — Duties  of  Drivers  and  Firemen.  — Working 
of  Engines. — Incidents. — A  Night  Journey  on  the  Dover  Night  Mail. — 
Possible  Locomotives  of  the  future. — Electric  Railways. — Break-Down 
Train. — Railway  Carriages. — The  Old  Tub  and  the  New  Bogie. — A 
Railway  Carriage  Building  Works. — The  Wood  Yard,  the  Shaping 
Machinery,  Carriage  Wheels. — Wringing  on  the  Tires. — Furnishing  the 
Carriages. — Painting  of  Carriages.  — Pullmans. — Injuries  of  Carriages 
by  Travellers.— Cost  of  Repairs. ^-The  Botany  of  a  Railway  Carriage 
Window. — Sleeping  Cars  in  America. — "  One  Good  Turn  Deserves 
Another." — A  Sheet  Stores. 

NE  dark  night  in  the  year  1784,  the  ven- 
k  erable  Vicar  of  Redruth,  in  Cornwall, 
was  taking  a  quiet  walk  in  a  lonely  lane 
leading  to  his  church.  Suddenly  he 
heard  an  unearthly  noise,  and  to  his 
horror,  he  saw  approaching  him  an  in- 
describable creature  of  legs,  arms,  and 
wheels,  whose  body  appeared  to  be  glowing 
with  internal  fire,  and  whose  rapid  gasps  for 
breath  seemed  to  denote  a  fierce  struggle  for 
existence.  The  vicar's  cries  for  help  brought 
to  his  assistance  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
Murdoch,  who  was  able  to  assure  him  that  this  terrible  appa- 
rition was  not  an  incarnation  or  a  messenger  of  the  Evil  One, 
but  only  a  runaway  engine  that  had  escaped  from  control. 
This,  it  is  believed,  was  the  first  locomotive  ever  built. 

Ten  years  passed  away,  and  this  engine  worked  on  the 
Merthyr  Tydvil  Tramway,  which  has  "  the  honour  of  being  the 
oldest  railway  in  the  world,"  the  Act  of  Parliament  having  been 
granted  to  it  in  1803.     The  engine  had  a  dwarf  body,  which,  in 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

ughest  style,  was  secured  on  a  high  frame-work  built  by 
a  hedge-carpenter.  Surmounting  all  was  a  huge  stack,  ugly 
enough  when  it  was  new,  but  in  aftertime  made  uglier  by  white- 
wash and  rust.  Every  movement  of  the  engine  caused  a 
hideous  snorting  and  clanking,  accompanied  by  the  loud  noise 
o(  the  escaping  steam. 

The  Merthyr  locomotive  was  the  joint  production  of  Trcve- 
thick,  a  Cornishman,  and  of  Rees  Jones,  of  Pennydarran,  who 
lal>oured  under  the  direction  of  Samuel  Homfray,  the  iron- 
master, and  chief  proprietor  of  the  Penydarran  Works.  This 
gentleman  was  so  pleased  with  the  success  that  he  saw  fore- 
shadowed, that  he  laid  a  wager  of  £1,000  with  Richard  Craw- 
shay,  that,  by  its  aid,  he  would  draw  a  load  of  iron  to  the  Navi- 
gation from  Penydarran  Works.  Richard  ridiculed  the  idea, 
and  accepted  the  wager.  One  or  two  attempts  to  run  the 
engine  had  already  been  made  ;  but  in  one  case  it  would  not 
move  at  all,  and  in  another  it  wanted  to  imitate  Pegasus  and 
to  soar  into  the  air,  instead  of  steadily  taking  the  iron  way  care- 
fully laid  for  it. 

The  day  fixed  for  the  trial  was  the  12th  of  February,  1804, 
and  the  track  was  a  tramway  lately  formed  from  Penydarran 
at  the  back  of  Plymouth  Wall,  down  to  the  Navigation.  Great 
was  the  concourse  assembled  ;  "  and  the  rumour  of  the  day's 
doings  even  penetrated  up  the  defiles  of  Taff  Fawr  and  TafF 
Bach,  bringing  down  old  apple-faced  farmers  and  their  wives, 
who  were  told  of  a  power  and  a  speed  that  would  alter  every- 
thing, and  do  away  with  horses  altogether." 

On  the  first  engine  and  train  twenty  persons  clustered, 
anxious  to  win  immortality.  The  trams,  six  in  number,  were 
"  laden  with  iron,  and,  amid  a  concourse  of  villagers,  including 
the  constable,  the  '  druggister,'  and  the  class  generally  dubbed 
'  shopwrs  '  by  the  natives,  were  Mr.  Richard  Crawshay  and  Mr. 
Samuel  Homfray,  both  as  interested  as  a  bet  of  £1,000  would 
naturally  make  them.  The  driver  was  one  William  Richards, 
and  on  the  engine  were  perched  Trevethick  and  Rees  Jones  ; 
their  faces  black  but  their  eyes  bright  with  the  anticipation  of 
victory.  Soon  the  signal  was  given,  and  amidst  a  mighty  roar 
from  the  people,  the  wheels  turned,  and  the  mass  moved  down- 
ward, going  steadily  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour  until  a 
bridge  was  reached,  a  little  below  the  town,  that  did  not  admit 


"  THE    OLDEST    RAILWAY    IN    THE    WORLD."  33 1 

of  the  stack  going  under,  and  as  this  was  built  of  bricks  there 
was  a  great  crash  and  instant  stoppage.  In  a  minute  or  two 
Richard  Crawshay  thought  his  £1,000  were  all  right,  but  it  was 
only  for  a  brief  time.  Trevethick  and  Jones  were  of  the  old- 
fashioned  school  of  men,  who  did  not  believe  in  impossibilities. 
The  fickle  crowd,  who  had  hurrahed  like  mad,  hung  back  and 
said,  *  It  wouldn't  do  ' ;  but  these  heroes — the  advance  guard  of  a 
race  who  have  done  more  to  make  England  famous  than  battles 
by  land  or  sea — sprang  to  the  ground  and  worked  like  Britons, 
never  ceasing  until  they  had  repaired  the  mischief,  and  then 
they  rattled  on,  and  finally  reached  their  journey's  end."  * 

The  return  journey,  on  account  of  gradients  and  curves,  was 
a  failure ;  but  from  this  run  on  the  Merthyr  tramway  the 
eventual  success  of  the  enterprise — though  attended  by  suspense, 
delays,  accidents,  and  misadventure — was  assured. 

To  the  connection  of  the  locomotive  with  the  success  of  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway  we  have  already  referred. 
Though  much  more  was  performed  by  the  early  engines  of  that 
line  than  could  have  been  anticipated,  it  was  soon  found  that 
their  strength  was  insufficient  to  sustain  the  shocks  and  strains 
to  which  they  were  exposed,  and  repeated  and  thorough  repairs 
became  indispensable.  For  many  years  the  locomotive  depart- 
ments of  the  early  companies  had  to  carry  on  elaborate  and 
expensive  improvements,  to  meet  the  requirements  of  an  in- 
creasingly heavy  traffic,  and  of  higher  velocities  than  the  imagin- 
ation of  the  most  sanguine  friends  of  railways  had  anticipated. 
These  improvements,  too,  were  made  amid  the  bustle  and 
responsibilities  of  pressing  duties.  Engines  with  known  imper- 
fections had  to  be  employed  in  the  day,  and  repairs  had  to  be 
made  during  the  night,  in  order  that  the  requisite  number  of 
engines  might  be  ready  for  service.  The  outer  and  inner  fram- 
ings were  stayed  in  various  parts  ;  iron  wheels  were  substituted 
for  wooden ;  crank-axles  were  formed  with  almost  double  the 
amount  of  metal  at  first  employed  ;  and  pistons,  piston-rods, 
connecting-rods,  and  brasses  were  strengthened  ;  till,  with  the 
exception  of  the  boiler  and  cylinders,  there  was  about  as  much 
left  of  some  of  the  original  engines  as  there  was  of  the  sailor's 
knife,   which,   while   declared   to   be   "quite    an  antique,"   was 


*  "History  of  Merthyr." 


332  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

currently  reported  to  have  recently  had  two  new  handles  and 
il  new  blades.  Alterations  so  extensive  naturally  involved 
a  considerable  augmentation  of  the  weight  of  the  engine;  and 
thus  the  four  tons  and  a  half  which  the  Rocket  weighed,  became 
increased  to  the  ten  tons  of  the  Planet  class. 

Other  important  alterations  followed.  The  cylinders  and 
the  machinery  by  which  the  working  wheels  were  driven,  were 
originally  placed  outside  the  wheels;  they  were  removed  to  the 
space  under  the  boiler  ;  the  cylinders  were  now  enclosed  in  the 
smoke-box,  and  protected  from  cold  ;  and  the  driving  power 
was  made  to  act  nearer  the  centre  of  inertia  of  the  engine  and 
load.  There  was,  however,  a  serious  drawback  ;  for  this  arrange- 
ment required  that  the  axle  of  the  driving-wheels,  on  which  the 
greater  part  of  the  weight  of  the  engine  rested,  should  be  con- 
structed with  two  cranks,  so  as  in  fact  to  be  broken  and  discon- 
tinuous in  two  places.  At  a  more  recent  period  it  was  found 
difficult  to  compress  machinery  of  sufficient  power  into  the 
narrow  space  between  the  wheels  ;  and  the  cylinders  and  work- 
ing-gear were,  in  some  cases,  restored  to  their  original  position 
outside  the  wheels.  This  plan,  in  its  turn,  has  been  objected  to, 
as  giving  instability  to  the  engine  when  in  motion  ;  and  the 
former  arrangement  of  the  machinery  has  been  again  adopted. 

The  ,£550  early  engine,  on  four  wheels,  and  of  four  or  five  tons 
weight,  has  thus  been  superseded  by  the  six  or  eight-wheeled 
engine  of  ,£2,500,  and  of  thirty,  forty,  fifty,  and  even  sixty  tons  ; 
and  though  cost  and  weight  are  not  to  be  identified  with 
efficiency,  yet  they  are  fairly  indicative  of  the  extent  of  the 
alterations,  and,  we  may  safely  say,  improvements,  which  have 
been  made.  The  successful  competitor  on  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  line  was  required  to  draw  a  load  of  only  three  times 
its  own  weight,  or  a  total  of  less  than  twenty  tons ;  before  many 
years  had  passed  an  engine  was  able  to  draw  after  it,  without 
difficulty,  thirty  passenger  carriages,  each  weighing  five  tons  and 
a  half,  at  thirty  miles  an  hour ;  the  express  trains  on  the  Great 
Western  ran  at  from  sixty-five  to  seventy-five  miles  an  hour ; 
and  the  goods  engines  would  draw  500  tons  at  twenty  miles  an 
hour. 

Even  in  the  early  days  of  railway  enterprise  engines  and  trains 
ran  at  great  speeds  on  special  occasions.  "  As  long  ago  as  '45 
or  '46,"  remarked  Mr.  Allport,  to  the  writer,  "  when  the  battle 


A    REMARKABLE    RIDE.  333 

of  the  gauges  was  being  vigorously  carried  on,  I  wished  to  show 
what  the  narrow  gauge  could  do.  It  was,  of  course,  before  the 
days  of  telegraphs.  The  election  of  George  Hudson,  as  member 
for  Sunderland,  had  that  day  taken  place,  and  I  availed  myself 
of  the  event  to  see  how  quickly  I  could  get  the  information  up 
to  London,  have  it  printed  in  the  Times  newspaper,  and  brought 
back  to  Sunderland.  The  election  was  over  at  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  by  about  five  o'clock  the  returns  of  the  voting 
for  every  half-hour  during  the  poll  were  collected  from  the 
different  booths,  and  copies  were  handed  to  me.  I  had  ordered 
a  series  of  trains  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  journey,  and  I  at 
once  started  from  Sunderland  to  York.  Another  train  was  in 
waiting  at  York  to  take  me  to  Normanton,  and  others  in  their 
turn  to  Derby,  to  Rugby,  to  Wolverton,  and  to  Euston.  Thence 
I  drove  to  the  Times  office,  and  handed  my  manuscript  to  Mr. 
Delane,  who,  according  to  an  arrangement  I  had  previously 
made  with  him,  had  it  immediately  set  up  in  type,  a  leader 
written,  both  inserted,  and  a  lot  of  impressions  taken.  Two 
hours  were  thus  spent  in  London,  and  then  I  set  off  on  my 
return  journey,  and  arrived  in  Sunderland  next  morning  at 
about  ten  o'clock,  before  the  announcement  of  the  poll.  I  there 
handed  over  copies  I  had  brought  with  me  of  that  day's  Times 
newspaper,  containing  the  returns  of  what  had  happened  in 
Sunderland  the  afternoon  before.  Between  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening  and  ten  that  morning  I  had  travelled  600  miles,  besides 
spending  two  hours  in  London — a  clear  run  of  40  miles  an 
hour." 

Thirty  years  ago  the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  shown  at  the  Great 
Exhibition,  was  the  type  of  the  class  of  locomotives  then  being 
constructed  for  the  Great  Western  Railway,  and  it  was  able  to 
take  a  passenger  train  of  120  tons,  upon  easy  gradients,  at  an 
average  speed  of  60  miles  an  hour.  The  weight  of  the  engine 
in  working  order  was  35  tons,  besides  the  tender,  which,  when 
laden,  weighed  nearly  18  tons.  It  is  said  that  one  of  these  large 
engines  belonging  to  this  company  was — we  suppose  as  a 
delicate  compliment — nicknamed  "  the  Emperor  of  Russia,"  on 
account  of  its  extraordinary  capacity  for  the  consumption  of 
oil  and  tallow  ! 

The  narrow  gauge  lines,  too,  were  not  behind  in  the  colossal 
power  of  their  engines.     One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these 


Ol'U    IKON    ROADS. 


was  tlu-   .  .'.  built  on  Crampton's  patent,  and  exhibited  at 

the  Crystal  Palace.  It  weighed  3a  tons;  and  the  evaporation 
of  the  steam  when  .it  lull  work  was  said  to  be  equal  to  1,140 
horse   power.      It   was  built,  ill   order  to   ensure   steadiness,  with 


A   LONDON   AND   NORTH   WESTERN    ENGINE. 

a  very  low  boiler.  Another  narrow-gauge  engine  of  that  period 
is  represented  in  the  engraving.  It  belonged  to  the  London 
and  North  Western  Company,  and  was  constructed  by  Robert 
Stephenson  &  Co.  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 


MIDLAND  EXPRESS   ENGINE. 


The  main  line  passenger  engine  of  the  Midland  Company  is 
very  powerful.  It  weighs,  when  loaded,  more  than  60  tons,  and 
it  can  draw,  on  a  level,  a  load  of  240  tons  at  a  speed  of  45  miles 
an  hour. 


LOCOMOTIVES.  335 

Among  the  latest  and  best  of  these  wonderful  machines  are 
the  main  line  six-wheeled  the  and  eight-wheeled  bogie  passenger 
locomotives  of  the  Midland  Railway.  The  former  have  cylinders 
of  18  inches  diameter  and  2  feet  2  inches  stroke.  The  driving 
wheels  are  6  feet  9  inches  diameter,  and  four  are  coupled.  These 
engines  will  draw  26  coaches  upon  a  level  at  the  rate  of  50 
miles  an  hour,  or  19  coaches  up  a  bank  of  1  in  100  at  the  rate 
of  30  miles  an  hour.  The  tender  will  carry  about  3,000  gallons 
of  water  and  five  tons  of  coal,  an  amount  which  enables  the 
engine  to  run,  without  stopping  for  water,  a  distance  of  from 
100  to  120  miles.  The  bogie  passenger  engines  are  also  a  very 
powerful  type.  One  of  them  is  represented  in  the  engraving 
The  exact  dimensions  are  as  follows  :  cylinder  18  inches  and 
26  inches  stroke,  wheels  7  feet  in  diameter  ;  the  centre,  from 
trailing  to  the  driving  wheel,  8  feet  6  inches  ;  and  the  driving 


'^p 


NEW    MIDLAND    BOGIE    ENGINE. 


wheels  to  the  centre  of  the  bogie  10  feet.  The  extreme  wheel 
centre  over  the  tender  is  43  feet  8  inches  ;  and  the  total  length 
over  all,  or  the  buffers,  52  feet  4  inches.  The  tender  will  hold 
3,000  gallons  of  water,  and  will  carry  5  tons  of  coal,  enough  for 
a  run  of  100  to  120  miles.  These  engines  will  draw  24  coaches 
on  a  level  at  50  miles  an  hour,  and  will  draw  18  coaches  up  an 
incline  of  1  in  100  at  30  miles  an  hour.  They  are  admirably 
adapted  for  running  at  high  speeds  on  railways  that  have  quick 
and  varying  curves,  as  they  pass  round  them  smoothly  and  with- 
out oscillation.  As  a  driver  of  one'  of  them  remarked,  "  they 
will  bend  like  a  whip."  The  express  engines  of  the  Midland 
Company  will  work  with  a  power  of  from  350  to  1,250  horses. 

Engines  used  on  American  lines  have  remarkable  character- 
istics of  their  own.  Some  of  these  are  plainly  indicated  in  the 
accompanying  engraving. 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


It  is  difficult  to  understand  the  speed  not  only  at  which 
sal  Structures  travel,  but  at  which  some  of  their  parts  are 
working.  When,  for  instance,  a  train  is  running  at  50  miles  an 
hour,  the  pistons  are  passing  backwards  and  forwards  along 
the  cylinders  at  the  marvellous  rate  of  800  feet  a  minute, 
and  the  movements  of  some  parts  of  the  machinery  are  dis- 
tinctly and  regularly  dividing  even  a  second  into  many  equal 
parts  When  a  train  is  running  at  70  miles  an  hour,  a  space  is 
traversed  of  about  105  feet  per  second — that  is  to  say,  thirty  - 
five  yards  between  the  tickings  of  the  clock.  If  two  trains  pass 
one  another  at  this  speed,  the  relative  velocity  will,  of  course,  be 
doubled  ;  so  that,  if  one  of  them  be  seventy  yards  long,  it  would 
Rash  past  the  other  in  a  second.  Now,  according  to  the  experi- 
ments of  Dr.  Hutton,  the  flight  of  a  cannon-ball,  having  a  range 


AN   AMERICAN   LOCOMOTIVE. 


of  6,700  feet,  takes  a  quarter  of  a  minute,  which  is  at  the  rate  of 
five  miles  a  minute,  or  300  miles  an  hour ;  and  hence  it  follows, 
that  a  railway  train  moving  at  75  miles  an  hour  has  one-fourth 
of  the  velocity  of  a  cannon-ball,  and  is  practically  a  huge  projec- 
tile, subject  to  exactly  the  same  laws  as  projectiles,  and  having 
the  same  force  as  projectiles  ;  only  that  a  cannon-ball  weighs 
perhaps  100  pounds,  and  a  train  may  weigh  100  tons.  This 
force,  like  that  of  a  cannon-ball,  is  estimable  "  as  the  weight  of 
the  body  multiplied  by  the  square  of  its  velocity,  and  the  blow 
which  the  oscillations  of  an  engine  cause  to  be  given  to  the  rails 
arc  comparable  with  the  impact  of  a  rifle  bolt  upon  an  iron 
target.  In  gunnery  practice  the  tests  are  generally  applied 
direct,  in  railway  battering  the  blows  are  indirect.  The  gun- 
shot hitting  on  an  incline  does  not  penetrate,  but  makes  a  more 


THE    WORK    OF    ENGINES.  337 

or  less  deep  scoop,  and  travels  on  deflected  from  its  former 
course.  The  blow  is  just  as  hard  whether  the  thing  that  gives 
it  has  travelled  60  miles,  60  yards,  or  one-sixtieth  of  an  inch, 
the  actual  force  of  impact  is  always  given  by  the  actual  velocity 
of  the  moving  body  at  the  instant  of  collision.  Every  vertical 
oscillation,  every  lateral  oscillation  of  a  locomotive,  then,  is  cal- 
culated to  make  the  engine  hit  the  rails  with  a  terrible  force, 
equalling,  or  exceeding,  the  tremendous  blows  of  the  largest 
steam  hammers."  Happily,  in  railway  accidents,  these  terrific 
forces  are  never  fully  exerted  ;  the  steam  has  been  shut  off, 
suction  in  the  cylinders  is  induced,  and  the  brakes  are  put  on  ; 
or  the  blow  is  indirect  ;  or  the  buffer-springs  yield  ;  or  in  other 
ways  the  momentum  is  diminished  before  collision  takes  place. 

With  regard  to  swift  and  sustained  speed,  it  is  probable  that 
the  best  long  run  ever  made  was  by  a  special  train  in  July, 
1880,  on  the  Great  Northern  Railway — a  train  which  conveyed 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  to  Scarborough.  The  distance  from 
London  to  York,  188  miles,  was  accomplished  in  217  minutes — 
an  average,  including  a  ten  minutes'  stoppage  at  Grantham,  of 
52  miles  an  hour.  The  first  53  miles  from  London  were  done  in 
an  hour,  not  10  miles  of  the  road  being  level;  and  whereas 
King's  Cross  station  is  130  feet  above  the  sea,  for  about  13  miles 
the  line  is  about  400  feet  above  the  sea,  descending  at  the  53rd 
mile  to  about  150  feet.  Stoke  box,  100  miles  from  London, 
was  passed  in  1  hour  and  5 1  minutes  ;  and  between  Barkstone 
and  Tuxford,  22^  miles,  the  speed  was  at  the  rate  of  64  miles  an 
hour.  The  whole  run  was  done  in  3  hours  and  27  minutes, 
exclusive  of  stoppage.  The  Great  Northern  Company's  Scotch- 
man, in  its  ordinary  journeys,  occupies  21  minutes  more. 

As  the  charges  for  horsing  the  old  coaches  exceeded  all  others, 
so  the  heaviest  item  in  the  working  expenses  of  railways  is  for 
locomotive  power.  The  average  work  of  an  engine  is  about 
20,000  miles  a  year,  or  80  miles  a  day,  allowing  for  the  time 
during  which  it  is  laid  up  in  the  "  hospital "  for  repairs  ;  for 
though  the  engine  does  not  tire,  it  wears,  and,  like  the  animal 
frame,  is  constantly  undergoing  renewals  of  parts — tubes,  tires, 
cylinders,  crank-axles,  and  boilers — indeed,  in  almost  everything 
but  its  name-plate.  "Do  not  engines  wear  out?"  inquired  Mr. 
Denison  of  Mr.  Allport.  "  According  to  our  books,"  he  replied, 
"  there  never  was  an  engine  on  the  Midland  Railway  that  is  not 

z 


;,;S  OUR  iron  roads. 

on  the  books  now  ;  bul  the  engines  have  been  renewed  over  and 
over  again.     They  arc  like  the   Irishman's  knife,  which  he  said 

had   been   in   his   family  30  man}-  yens,  and   which   had    had   so 

many  new  blades  and  so  many  new  handles.  So  it  is  with  the 
locomotive.  It  is  renewed  from  time  to  time;  and  all  these 
renewals  come  out  of  the  working  expenses,  so  that  there  can  be 
no  depreciation.  It  is  included,  in  fact,  in  the  expenses."  The 
average  life  of  a  locomotive  boiler  is  about  fifteen  years,  during 
which  the  engine  will  have  run  about  300,000  miles. 

One  of  the  chief  items  of  cost  in  working  a  locomotive  is  for 
fuel.  "  On  the  South  Eastern  Railway,"  says  the  Raihvay  Nezvs, 
"  the  consumption  of  fuel  per  train  mile  is  about  forty-nine 
pounds  ;  on  the  Midland,  forty-six  ;  and  North  Western,  forty- 
six  ;  on  the  Great  Northern,  forty-five  ;  on  the  Great  Eastern, 
forty-two  ;  and  on  the  London,  Brighton,  and  South  Coast, 
thirty-nine  pounds  per  train  mile.  The  average  of  these  figures  is 
forty-four  pounds,  which  may  be  taken  as  that  of  the  railways  of 
the  United  Kingdom.  From  the  Board  of  Trade  returns  for 
1 88 1,  we  find  that  the  total  train  mileage  of  our  railways  for  that 
year  was  about  248,500,000  miles.  This  would  give,  on  the 
basis  of  forty-four  pounds  per  mile  run,  a  total  of  5,467,000  tons 
for  the  year,  or  600,000  tons  short  of  the  whole  quantity  of  coal 
brought  into  London  by  rail  and  canal  last  year.  Considering 
the  enormous  benefit  which  the  railways  are  to  the  country,  this 
cannot  be  regarded  as  a  large  proportion  of  the  total  coal  pro- 
duction of  the  country.  The  price  paid  by  the  different  com- 
panies for  their  coal  varies,  of  course,  very  much,  according  to 
their  distance  from  the  pit.  Thus,  the  Brighton  Company,  for 
the  second  half  of  188 1,  paid  over  14^.  a  ton,  the  South  Eastern 
about  12s.,  the  Great  Eastern,  io^.,  the  Great  Northern,  js.,  the 
North  Western,  6s.,  and  the  Midland  about  \2s.  a  ton."  A  fair 
average  for  the  railways  of  the  United  Kingdom  would,  there- 
fore, be  about  \os.  a  ton  ;  and,  at  this  rate,  they  paid,  in  1881, 
nearly  £2,734,000  for  coal  alone. 

In  connection  with  the  locomotive  department  of  a  railway 
are  not  only  the  central  establishments,  but  also  various  running 
and  repairing  places  at  convenient  parts  of  the  system.  These, 
in  many  instances,  like  everything  connected  with  railway  work, 
have  grown  from  little  to  much.  "You  manage  your  engines  in 
Nottingham  differently  from  what  they  did  when  I  was  there," 


A    LOCOMOTIVE    STATION.  339 

recently  remarked  an  old  Midland  locomotive  superintendent  at 
Peterborough.  "When  I  was  there,"  he  continued,  "we  had 
only  two  engines  :  we  ran  one  one  day,  and  the  other  the  next. 
We  took  three  trains  a  day  of  passengers,  goods,  and  minerals  to 
Long  Eaton,  and  one  to  Kegworth ;  and  then  we  came  home 
and  put  her  by  to  rest  and  repair,  and  next  day  we  ran  the 
other  engine."  Now  there  are  nearly  one  hundred  Midland 
engines  stationed  at  Nottingham,  each  of  them  incomparably 
more  powerful  than  those  of  early  days. 

The  locomotive  station  of  a  railway  company  includes  two 
departments — the  repairing  and  the  running.  The  work  of  the 
former  is  done  by  men  called  fitters.  "  I  have  been  a  fitter," 
said  an  engineer  to  the  writer,  "in  a  running-shed  for  twelve 
months.  There  were  about  150  engines  stationed  there,  perhaps 
IOO  of  which  would  run  every  day.  We  only  did  what  are  called 
running  repairs,  by  which  I  mean  repairs  that  could  be  com- 
pleted between  the  time  an  engine  came  in  from  her  ordinary 
run,  and  the  time  she  was  wanted  for  her  next  journey  ;  as,  for 
instance,  renewing  joints  that  were  blown  out  of  the  dome  of 
the  cylinder  covers  or  steam  chest  covers."  "  Blown  out  ?  "  we 
inquired.  "  Yes  ;  a  joint  is  made  by  putting  red  lead  where  the 
cover  touches  the  cylinder,  and  then  screwing  it  up  tight  with 
the  nuts.  In  time  the  red  lead  perishes,  and  the  steam  works 
its  way  through  the  joint.  The  way  our  work  was  arranged  was 
as  follows  :  there  were  ten  of  us,  and  we  had  to  finish  before  we 
left  at  night.  We  were  like  clerks  at  a  bank  ;  everything  had 
to  be  cleared  up  for  the  day,  nothing  left  for  to-morrow." 

"  How  did  you  know  what  you  had  to  do  to  an  engine  ?  "  "  A 
list  of  the  repairs  required  was  fixed  up  in  the  fitters'  shop, 
giving  the  numbers  of  the  engines  in  one  column,  the  nature  of 
the  repairs  in  another,  as  reported  by  the  drivers.  To  tell  the 
truth,  we  didn't  always  do  what  they  asked  for,  but  in  some 
cases  only  what  we  believed  to  be  necessary.  We  used  to  find 
that  certain  drivers  thought  about  their  engines  as  some  men  do 
about  their  bodies,  that  they  wanted  a  deal  of  patching  and 
physic  ;  but,  somehow,  if  they  didn't  get  it  they  did  very  well 
without  it.  Drivers  of  that  sort  soon  get  to  be  known  to  the 
fitters,  and  are  treated  accordingly.  To  the  list  I  have  spoken 
of  the  fitters  would  come.  Against  the  number  of  the  engine 
that  stood  first,  the  first  fitter  would  write  his  name,  to  show  that 


OUR    [RON   ROADS. 

he  would  take  that  job  in  hand.    The  next  fitter  would  take  the 

job  .  and  so  on  till  they  were  all  finished.     Suppose  there 

twenty  jobs  to  he  clone  by  the  ten  men,  then  as  soon  as  the 

first  had  finished  his  work,  he  would  come  back  to  take  another, 

till  all  were  completed." 

hitters,  it  appears,  have  their  fun  as  \vrell  as  other  people. 
When  the  cat  is  away  the  mice  will  play  ;  and  when  the  fore- 
man oi~  fitters  is  absent  the  humorous  propensities  of  the  men 
sometimes  find  vent.  "  I  have  known,"  said  an  engineer  to  the 
writer,  "  a  group  of  three  or  four  fitters,  instead  of  continuing 
their  work,  ensconce  themselves  inside  the  firebox  of  an  engine 
'hat  was  under  repairs,  in  order  by  the  light  of  a  candle  to  play 
at  cards.  While  busily  engaged  in  their  game  a  co-conspirator 
quietly  opened  the  smoke-box  door  at  the  front  end  of  the 
engine,  stuck  in  one  of  the  tube-ends  the  nozzle  of  a  two-inch 
hose-pipe,  and  then  turned  on  the  water  at  high  pressure.  The 
water  immediately  rushed  along  the  tube,  and,  flying  with  great 
force  across  the  fire-box  against  the  opposite  side,  splashed  over 
the  candle,  drenched  the  card-players,  and  led  to  the  ridiculous 
spectacle  of  four  men  trying  at  the  same  moment  to  crawl  out  at 
the  furnace  door  through  an  oval  hole  18  inches  by  15  inches, 
the  fountain  being  still  at  full  play,  and  pouring  its  volume  on 
the  retreating  forces,  who,  as  one  by  one  they  emerged,  received 
the  undissembled  congratulations  of  their  mischief-loving  com- 
panions." 

Occasionally  a  joke  is  practised  upon  young  apprentices. 
After  an  engine  has  had  its  first  trial  run,  and  is  brought  into 
the  shed,  it  is  carefully  examined  all  over,  to  ascertain  whether 
any  portions  have  "  heated."  On  such  occasions  it  is  not  un- 
common for  apprentices  to  be  full  of  curiosity  and  activity  in 
their  professional  inquiries,  and  of  this  some  old  fitters  take 
advantage.  As  one  part  after  another  is  tested  by  the  hand  and 
found  to  be  cool,  some  one  suddenly  suggests,  "  Just  feel  if  the 
piston-rods  have  heated."  An  apprentice  eagerly  obeys,  for- 
getting that  which  his  monitor  remembers,  that  the  piston-rods 
have  been  running  up  and  down  through  the  steam  in  a  cylinder 
of  something  more  than  212  degrees  of  temperature,  and  he 
soon  finds  that,  though  the  rod  has  not  "  heated,"  it  is  hot ! 

"  Yes,"  said  an  engineer,  "  I  have  had  other  jobs  to  do — 
engine  work.     I  once  made  a  new  locomotive  out  of  two  old 


A    LOCOMOTIVE    STATION.  341 

ones.  The  foreman  took  me  to  what  we  called  the  condemned 
siding,  where  old  engines  were  placed  till  they  were  broken  up. 
There  were  two  old  engines,  both  of  the  same  class,  and  the 
foreman  said,  '  Now,  you  can  have  anything  you  like  out  of 
those  two  engines,  and  I  will  give  you  a  new  boiler.'  I  took  the 
best  parts  of  both — one  cylinder  from  one  and  another  from 
the  other — and  so  built  up  a  new  engine,  which,  though  it  is 
years  ago,  I  happen  to  know  is  running  still  as  a  good  engine  up 
and  down  a  very  stiff  incline.  But  engines  are  now  built  in  a 
much  more  business-like  way,  and  beautiful  and  powerful  loco- 
motives are  turned  out." 

"  When  you  went  out  to  test  your  repaired  engines,  or  to  try 
your  new  ones,  did  you  ever  come  to  grief?  "  we  inquired. 

"  Yes,"  said  our  friend.     "  One  foggy  morning  I  was  on  an 
engine,  going  from  Battersea  Park  station  to  Croydon  to  fetch 
a  train.     We  could  not  see  fifty  yards  before  us,  and  we  were 
running  along  at  only  about  ten  miles  an  hour,  when  all  of  a 
sudden  over  we  went.     I  found  myself  in  a  ditch  bottom  at  the 
side  of  the  line.     Could  see  nothing,  but  could  hear  a  tremen- 
dous  noise   of    steam    blowing   off.     I    sang  out  to  my  mate, 
'  What's  up  ?  '     'I   don't  know,'  he  answered.     We  got  out  of 
the  ditch,  went  to  the  engine,  and  found  her  lying  on  her  side. 
Neither  of  us  was  hurt,  but  the  tender  of  the  engine,  which  had 
been  running  first,  had  the  wheels  on  both  sides  cut  off  the  axles 
as  clean  as  if  it  had  been  done  with  a  knife.     We  sent  to  the 
next  station;  they  'blocked'  the  line  and  telegraphed  to  the 
break-down  gang,  and  in  about  three  hours  they  got  the  engine 
on  her  legs  again.     The  tender  had  to  be  taken  home  on  the  top 
of  a  truck.      We  had  run  into  a  truck  loaded  with  bricks  which 
had  come  out  of  a  siding,  and  was  standing  across  the  line  we 
had  been  going  on.     The  bricks  were  smashed  to  dust,  and  our 
engine  looked  as  if  it  had  been  powdered  all  over  with  cayenne 
pepper.     Another  time  I  was  on  the  express,  and  when  running 
about  thirty  miles  an  hour,  we  '  pitched  into  '  a  cattle  train  that 
was  going  about  ten  miles  an  hour.     The  passengers  were  not 
seriously  hurt,  but  a  right  reverend  prelate  suffered  from  an 
unfortunate   collision   of  his  nose  with  the  padded  walls  of  his 
carriage.     Unhappily,  the  guard  of  the  cattle  train  was   killed, 
and  so  were  eight  bullocks.     The  latter  were  so  smashed  up, 
that  one  of  the  bullocks  was  cut  in  two,  and  half  of  his  body 


342 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 


actually  pitched  on  to  the  top  of  the  chimney.     The  first 
I  upon  myself  was  that  the  shock  brought  down  the  coals 
out  o(  the  tender  on  to  the  footplate,  and   I   was   imbedded   in 
them  up  to  my  knees." 

But  the  titters  have  now  finished  their  work  with  a  particular 
engine,  and  it  has  to  be  got  ready  for  duty.  About  two  hours 
before  it  has  to  start,  a  man  lights  the  fire  by  putting  a  shovel- 
ful of  hot  coals  in  at  the  furnace  door.  When  the  fire  is  fairly 
lighted,  he  opens  the  whistle  of  the  engine,  so  that,  as  soon  as 
the  boiler  begins  to  make  steam,  the  fact  is  announced.     People 


LOCOMOTIVE   STATION,    WELLINGBOROUGH. 


who  live  near  a  running-shed  sometimes  wonder  what  causes 
the  strange  noises  they  hear.  There  is  a  low,  faint  whistle, 
which,  as  the  steam  is  generated,  gradually  increases  in  volume, 
until,  in  the  course  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  it  would,  if  not 
arrested,  become  a  full-blown  shriek.  The  lighters  are,  how- 
ever, by  these  means  informed  that  the  fire  is  burning,  that  the 
water  is  heating,  that  the  steam  is  getting  up,  and  that  the 
engine  will  soon  be  ready  for  her  work.  A  ton  or  more  of  coals 
and  two  or  three  thousand  gallons  of  water  supply  her  enormous 
requirements  for  the  first  part  of  her  next  journey,  and  "she" 
is  ready  to  be  taken  in  hand  by  driver  and  fireman. 


DUTIES    OF    DRIVERS    AND    FIREMEN. 


D  +  J 


It  is  the  duty  of  the  engine-driver  and  fireman  to  be  punc- 
tually at  their  posts  an  hour,  or  more,  according  to  the  previous 
instructions  of  the  locomotive  superintendent,  before  the  time  of 
starting  the  train.  On  their  arrival  at  the  shed  they  "  sign  on 
duty,"  by  which  is  meant  that  they  give  their  names  to  a  clerk 
at  the  office,  and  it  is  entered,  with  the  hour  and  moment,  in  a 
book  provided  for  the  purpose.  Driver  and  fireman  also  sign 
their  names.  They  then  satisfy  themselves  that  the  engine  they 
are  to  drive  is  in  proper  order,  and  that  the  distinguishing  lamps 
are  in  their  places,  and,  if  necessary,  that  they  are  lighted.  It 
is  also  the  duty  of  the  driver  before  he  leaves  the  shed  with  his 
engine  to  examine  the  "  Notice  Case "  that  hangs  up  in  the 
shed,  to  see  if  there  are  any  instructions  affecting  his  train  or 
the  condition  of  the  road  over  which  he  will  run.  Let  us  look 
at  these  cases.  They  are  large.  One  is,  perhaps,  six  yards  long 
and  four  feet  high,  and  is  faced  with  glass.  It  is  divided  into 
three  parts :  one  headed  "  Latest,"  another  "  Permanent,"  the 
third  is  for  premiums  and  fines.  Here  are  notices  to  the  follow- 
ing effect : — "  There  will  not  be  any  water  at station  on 

Monday  next,  2nd  October.  Drivers  must,  if  necessary,  pro- 
vide themselves  at  station."     Here  is  another :  that  the 

"  '  Distant  Signal '  at station  has  been  moved,"  and  that  it 

is  now  1,000  yards  from  such  and  such  a  cabin.  Others  are  to 
a  similar  purport,  or  perhaps  they  cancel  notices  previously 
posted.  A  printed  copy  of  these  notices  is  also  given  to  the 
driver,  for  the  receipt  of  which  he  gives  his  acknowledgment  in 
a  form  provided  for  the  purpose. 

The  importance  of  the  notice-board  may  be  illustrated.  By 
neglecting  to  examine  it,  a  driver  and  his  fireman  lost  their  lives. 
"  By  incessant  rain  a  river  had  become  so  swollen  that,  by  the 
rush  of  water,  the  buttresses  of  a  wooden  railway  bridge  became 
shifted.  The  bridge  was  inspected,  and  one  side  of  it  was  pro- 
nounced to  be  dangerous.  Arrangements  were  made  to  work 
the  traffic  '  single  road,'  and  '  notice '  of  such  arrangements  was 
posted  in  the  running-shed.  The  driver  neglected  to  read  the 
notice  ;  he  ran  his  train  past  the  man  appointed  to  pilot  him 
over,  and  got  off  the  metals  down  an  embankment.  The  regu- 
lar fireman  came  late  on  duty,  and  was  sent  home  again,  'until 
zvanted ;  '  an  extra  fireman  was  sent  to  do  his  work,  and  while 
the  poor  fellow,  no  doubt,  was  striving  to  do  his  best,  and  pro- 


344  "lR  IR0N  roads. 

bably  rejoicing  to  think  that  he  had  come  down  to  the  shed  in 
I    time   to   secure  a  trip,  he  was   suddenly  summoned   into 
another  world." 

In  these  notice-cases  are  a  list  of  fines  that  have  been  levied 
in  the  locomotive  department  of  the  company  for  sundry  petty 
delinquencies  ;  and  hard  by  is  a  list  of  gratuities  that  have  been 
given  tor  special  services.  Thus  we  read  that  a  cleaner,  whose 
name  and  station  are  mentioned,  has  been  awarded  2s.  6d.  for 
drawing  attention  to  a  defective  driving-tire  ;  that  another 
cleaner  has  had  2s.  6<f.  for  drawing  attention  to  a  defect  in  en- 
gine No.  308  ;  and  that  an  engine-man  has  had  a  similar  present 
for  calling  attention  to  a  coke  wagon  he  observed  to  be  on  fire. 
Then  again  there  are  premiums.  We  read  as  follows  : — A.  B., 
during  the  first  six  months  of  the  current  year,  ran  12,925  miles  ; 
burnt  3,449  cwts.  of  coal,  averaging  29*9  lbs.  per  mile  ;  oil,  625 
pounds,  averaging  4*8  per  100  miles;  average  number  of  car- 
riages per  trip,  8  ;  trips  in  which  time  was  kept,  617  ;  trips 
in  which  time  was  lost,  14  (30  minutes  lost  in  14  trips)  ;  and 
that  to  him  a  premium  was  given  of  £1  $s.  A  goods  driver 
for  similar  services  received  a  premium  of  £5.  These  gifts 
graduate  from  the  above  sums  down  to  10s.,  and  are  awarded 
twice  a  year. 

Now  these  premiums  do  not  come  "  by  luck,"  but  by  most 
careful  attention.  There  are  good  and  bad  ways  of  "  firing  "  an 
engine.  To  fire  properly,  the  fireman  should  stand  in  such  a 
position  as  to  command  the  coals  in  the  tender,  and  to  work 
the  shovel  without  shifting  his  feet,  except  when  he  turns 
slightly  on  his  heels,  first  toward  the  coals,  and  then  towards 
the  fire-hole.  The  shovel,  too,  should  enter  the  fire-box  as 
little  as  possible.  It  should  be  stopped  dead  at  the  fire-hole 
ring  ;  and  the  impetus  given  to  the  coals  should  be  sufficient  to 
discharge  them,  like  shot,  right  into  their  intended  destination, 
close  to  the  copper.  It  is  a  common  practice  to  pick  up  with 
the  shovel  as  much  coal  as  it  is  possible  to  heap  upon  it,  pushing 
the  shovel  into  the  coal  with  the  knees  ;  but  this  should  not 
be  done.  Each  shovelful  should  be  put  in  its  place.  The  first 
should  find  a  billet  in  the  left-hand  front  corner  ;  the  second  in 
the  right-hand  front  corner ;  the  third  in  the  right-hand  back 
corner ;  the  fourth  in  the  left-hand  back  corner  ;  the  fifth  under 
the  brick  arch  close  to  the  tube-plate  ;  the  last,  under  the  door. 


GOOD    FIRING.  345 

To  do  this,  as  soon  as  the  shovel  enters  the  fire-box,  it  should 
be  turned  over  sharp,  to  prevent  it  falling  too  far  forwards. 

The  secret  of  good  firing  is  to  fire  little  and  often.  When 
fresh  fuel  is  put  on,  a  black  cloud  of  imperfectly  consumed 
carbon  rises  from  the  chimney  ;  so  that  the  most  suitable  spots 
for  the  use  of  the  shovel  should  be  selected  and  habitually  used, 
and  no  stoking  business  be  in  hand  "when  the  engine  ap- 
proaches junctions,  signals,  or  stations.  It  should  be  done  after 
passing  them.  The  grand  aim  of  first-rate  stoking  is  to  keep 
the  steam  at  one  pressure  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  needle  of  the 
pressure-gauge  should,  as  nearly  as  possible,  point  to  a  full 
boiler  pressure,  up  hill  and  down  dale.  To  accomplish  this — 
and  it  is  done  on  the  crack  engines  every  day — firing  must  be 
studied.  Engines  are  not  alike.  Some  are  robust,  others  very 
delicate,  but  the  generality  of  engines  require  the  exercise  of 
trained  skill  to  jockey  them.  Some  engines  steam  best  with  a 
low  fire,  and  others  may  carry  fuel  up  to  the  fire-hole.  Nearly 
all  engines  are  affected  by  cross  winds.  The  firing  should  be 
done  when  the  steam  is  just  on  the  point  of  blowing  off — a  con- 
dition which  generally  happens  while  the  engine  is  on  a  rising 
gradient,  for  the  fierce  blast  causes  a  maximum  supply  of  oxy- 
gen to  pass  through  the  fire  and  the  tubes,  which  generates  great 
heat  and  much  steam." 

It  is  astonishing  what  may  be  done  by  some  drivers  and  fire- 
men in  the  economy  of  fuel.  "  A  case  occurred  a  short  time  ago," 
says  Mr.  Michael  Reynolds,  "that  will  just  illustrate  the  point. 
Driver  A.  had  for  a  long  period  been  a  heavy  consumer  of  coal, 
compared  with  other  drivers  working  the  same  trains.  His  en- 
gine was  equal  to  theirs  in  condition,  and  there  was  no  distinc- 
tion between  them  in  any  one  point,  or  in  the  coals,  the  loads, 
or  in  keeping  time.  But  he  always  consumed  two  or  three 
pounds  per  mile  more  than  other  men  in  his  '  link.'  Driver  B., 
on  the  other  hand,  stood  at  the  top  of  the  premium  list  month 
after  month.  It  was  decided  by  the  locomotive  superintendent 
to  change  the  firemen  of  the  two  drivers  who  were  so  wide  apart 
in  consumption.  This  was  done  for  three  months.  After  work- 
ing a  month  the  change  was  striking.  Both  men  had  felt  the 
electric  shock,  and  figured  on  the  coal-premium  list  both  to- 
gether, in  the  centre  of  eighteen  other  drivers  ;  but  driver  B.  was 
still  first  by  fourpencc.     The  next  month  both  men  '  went  in  for 


OUR    [RON    Roads. 

it,'  and  it  was  in  every  sense  of  the  word  a  struggle.  Their  coal 
was  weighed,  and  everything  they  required  to  be  done  to  their 
..is  done  at  once.  Well,  the  long  looked-for  coal- 
premium  list  came  out  for  the  second  mouth,  and,  as  was  iully 
anticipated  by  those  who  knew  anything  of  the  firemen,  the 
formerly  heavy  consumer  beat  the  man  who  had  so  long  been 
I  p  c^al-man  by  S.v.  (></.  !  The  secret  of  this  change  rested  with 
I  b.'s  fireman,  who  studied  economy  with  a  vengeance  from 
point  vi  view.  He  did  wh.it  many  others  did  not  care 
about  doing,  namely,  he  fired  little  at  a  time  and  often,  he  studied 
the  road,  kept  the  shovel  and  the  fire-irons  out  of  the  fire-box, 
took  advantage  of  every  contingency — as,  for  instance,  the  pro- 
tection of  a  cutting  or  of  trees — for  the  opening  of  the  fire-door 
— to  work  his  engine  fully  up  to  the  mark  with  a  shovelful  of 
coals  less  to-day  than  yesterday." 

It  is  now  nearly  time  to  start,  and  everything  being  in  readi- 
ness, the  driver  and  his  fireman  mount  the  foot-plate  and  proceed 
from  the  running-shed  to  the  station  where  their  train  is  being 
marshalled. 

Just,  however,  as  the  engine  leaves  the  shed,  an  incident 
sometimes  occurs  that  creates  surprise.  Suddenly  an  enormous 
gush  of  steam  pours  forth  from  the  cylinders  in  front  of  the 
engine,  perhaps  envelops  even  the  chimney  in  a  fleecy  cloud,  and 
possibly  suggests  to  the  timid  that  an  accident  had  occurred. 
It  is  done  for  an  important  purpose.  When  the  engine  last 
stopped  running  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  steam  in  the 
cylinders  which,  as  they  cooled  down,  would  condense  into 
water.  Before  the  engine  begins  another  journey  this  water  has 
to  be  cleared  out  of  the  cylinders,  otherwise  the  pistons  would 
not  work  freely  and  fully  along  the  cylinders,  but  would  have  a 
cushion  of  water  at  each  end,  which,  being  incompressible,  would 
cause  danger  of  the  cylinder  ends  (or  lids,  as  they  are  called) 
being  knocked  out.  The  volume  of  steam  we  have  seen  forces 
out  the  water  and  makes  all  clear. 

The  place  for  the  driver,  when  his  engine  is  under  steam,  is 
upon  the  foot-plate,  so  that,  in  an  instant,  he  can  command  the 
regulator  and  the  reversing  lever.  This  is  especially  requisite 
at  night,  when  it  is  imperatively  necessary  that  the  attention 
of  the  driver  should  be  continuously  directed  to  the  engine, 
"  listening  constantly  to  the  sound  of  the  beat,  to  detect  any 


GOOD    DRIVING.  $\7 

irregularity  that  may  arise  from  some  defect  in  the  machinery 
or  from  priming,  frequently  casting  his  eye  on  the  pressure- 
gauge  and  on  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  gauge-glass.  As 
the  fireman  puts  on  the  coals,  the  driver  should  occasionally  see 
that  he  is  placing  them  next  the  walls  of  the  fire-box,  and  not 
in  a  heap  in  the  middle.  When  the  rails  are  slippery,  great 
care  is  required  to  prevent  the  engine  from  slipping,  by  closing 
the  regulator  in  time.  By  unceasing  attention  to  the  action  of 
the  engine,  a  man  will  soon  be  enabled  to  check  her  in  the  act 
of  slipping,  and  to  prevent  her  from  flying  round  at  the  rate  of 
800  or  1,000  revolutions  per  minute." 

The  instructions  given  to  drivers  and  firemen  are  numerous 
and  weighty.  When  a  passenger  train  is  about  to  start  from  a 
station,  the  driver  satisfies  himself  that  the  line  before  him  is 
clear  ;  and  when  starting,  the  fireman  looks  back  on  the  plat- 
form side  till  the  last  vehicle  has  drawn  clear  of  the  platform, 
to  see  that  the  whole  train  is  following  properly,  and  to  receive 
any  signal  that  may  be  given.  It  may  seem  unnecessary,  if  not 
absurd,  to  say  that  a  driver,  when  he  starts  on  his  journey, 
should  know  that  his  train  is  following  ;  yet  it  is  a  fact  that 
drivers  have  pulled  out  of  a  station  without  their  trains,  that 
they  have  not  found  out  their  mistake  until  they  reached  the 
platform  of  the  next  station,  and  that  they  have  there  actually 
whistled  to  their  guard  to  put  on  his  brake.  Others  have  lost 
eight  carriages  out  of  twelve,  and  have  observed  no  difference 
in  the  working  of  the  engine. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  drivers  who  habitually  work  their 
engines  according  to  the  load  ;  and  they  can  tell,  after  knowing 
the  number  of  coaches  in  their  train,  when  a  guard's  brake  has 
been  inadvertently  left  "  on."  An  express  engineman  one  day, 
says  Mr.  Reynolds,  as  soon  as  his  train  stopped  at  Brighton, 
jumped  off  his  engine,  and  said  to  the  guard,  "  Guard,  thy 
brake's  been  on,  I'll  swear.'  "  No  it  has  not,"  said  the  guard. 
"  Then  thy  mate's  has,"  replied  Ben  ;  and  when  the  wheels  of 
the  rear  van  were  examined,  they  were  found  to  be  black-hot, 
with  a  fiat  place  worn  on  the  tire. 

In  starting,  the  regulator  should  be  opened  gently,  especially 
when  there  is  a  full  boiler.  "  If  the  engine  has  to  wait  some 
time  for  a  train,  the  steam-pipes  and  cylinders  may  be  kept 
warm    and   free  from   water   of  condensation    by    opening    the 


3  |.8  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

itor  a  very  little,  with  the  brake  screwed  on  hard.  As 
the  engine  conies  to  feel  the  load,  so  the  regulator  may  be 
opened  more,  until  the  engineman  and  lookers-on  can  hear 
what  it  is  Likely  to  do  with  the  train.  A  few  clear,  sonorous 
puffs  at  the  start  do  good  ;  they  rouse  the  fire  into  action  at 
once — there  is  no  hesitation  in  the  matter.  They  also  clear  the 
tubes  of  loose  cinders  or  soot  left  in  them  after  being  swept  out. 
It  is  cruel,  wicked,  not  to  give  the  noble  iron  steed  a  little  grace 
at  the  start,  so  as  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  shaking  the 
cold  and  stiffness  out  of  his  iron  limbs;  and,  moreover,  it  is  a 
loss  of  time  to  commence  reining  in,  by  extra  cutting  off  the 
steam,  before  he  is  half  a  dozen  yards  away." 

The  driver  must  endeavour  to  regulate  the  running  of  his 
engine  as  nearly  as  possible  according  to  the  "  working  time- 
table " — a  book  from  which  he  learns  not  only  when  to  stop, 
but  the  time  when  he  is  due  to  pass  stations  and  sidings  at 
which  he  does  not  stop.  He  thus  avoids  extreme  speed,  or  the 
loss  of  time  through  slowness.  He  has  to  observe  anything 
wrong  on  the  line  of  rails  opposite  to  that  on  which  his  train 
is  running,  he  must  sound  his  whistle  and  exhibit  a  danger 
signal  to  any  train  or  engine  he  may  meet,  and  stop  at  the  first 
signal-box  or  station,  and  report  to  the  signalman,  or  person  in 
charge,  what  he  has  observed.  Should  he  meet  an  engine  or 
train  too  closely  following  any  preceding  engine  or  train,  he 
must  sound  his  whistle  and  exhibit  a  caution  or  danger  signal, 
as  occasion  may  require,  to  the  engine-driver  of  such  following 
engine  or  train.  Just  before  entering  a  tunnel,  the  sand-valves 
should  be  opened,  and  the  sand  be  allowed  to  flow  until  the 
train  emerges  from  the  tunnel.     Sand  is  cheaper  than  steam. 

A  great  part  of  the  driver's  time  when  on  the  foot-plate  is 
spent  in  looking  out  for  signals.  The  old  master  drivers,  who 
travel  the  road  at  express  speed,  secure  a  few  seconds  in  reserve 
before  reaching  a  busy  junction  station,  so  as  to  reduce  speed. 
This  may  be  required  only  at  exceptional  places,  where  the  view 
of  the  signals  is  defective,  and  where  a  great  traffic  is  going  on, 
or  where  there  are  curves  in  the  line.  He  will  also,  as  far  as 
possible,  not  only  see  that  a  signal  is  "  off,"  but  that  the  con- 
dition of  the  road  is  such  that  it  ought  to  be  "off."  Such 
watchfulness  will  have  its  reward  in  the  increased  safety  of  his 
train. 


GOOD    DRIVING.  349 

Opportunities  also  frequently  arise  for  the  special  vigilance 
of  a  driver.  "A  few  years  ago  a  goods  train,  having  two  engines 
attached,  was  proceeding  south  at  midnight,  and  after  it  had 
passed  a  fast  express  train,  a  thought  struck  the  driver  of  the 
express  that,  for  two  engines,  it  was  a  very  short  goods  train. 
He  stepped  over  to  the  fireman's  side  of  the  foot-plate  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  whether  there  were  any  tail  lights  on  the  last 
vehicle  ;  but,  owing  to  a  curve  in  the  line,  he  could  not  ascertain 
that  point.  He,  however,  shut  off  steam,  and  gave  instructions 
to  his  mate  to  have  the  brake  in  readiness,  '  for,'  said  he,  '  it 
strikes  me  very  forcibly,  mate,  all  the  train  is  not  there.'  When 
they  had  run  about  two  miles,  and  were  thinking  of  getting  up 
the  speed  again,  a  red  light  was  seen  ahead  surging  violently 
from  right  to  left.  They  pulled  up  at  once  to  it,  when  a  goods 
guard  informed  them,  as  he  held  his  bull's-eye  light  into  their 
faces,  that  a  wagon-axle  had  broken  in  his  train,  and  had 
caused  twelve  trucks  to  leave  the  rails,  and  that  they  were 
across  the  down-road  right  in  the  way  of  the  express.  The 
guard  got  up  on  the  step  of  the  engine,  when  they  pulled 
gently  down  to  the  scene  of  the  accident,  where  a  sight  pre- 
sented itself  which  told  them  that  something  else  besides  being 
able  to  drive  an  engine  was  required  to  make  a  man  a  good 
railwayman." 

Railway  service,  says  Mr.  Reynolds,  demands  eyes  that  see 
and  heads  that  think,  and  are  ready  at  a  moment  to  detect  an 
intimation  of  anything  wrong.  "  Driver  Standiford,  in  charge  of 
an  up  midnight  mail,  running  to  time,  expected  to  pass  driver 
Coven  at  or  very  near  the  Harrow  junction — Coven  being  also 
in  charge  of  a  mail  going  down.  But  as  they  did  not  pass  each 
other  near  the  usual  spot,  driver  Standiford  became  very  anxious 
about  the  whereabouts  of  Coven,  and  he  looked  with  the  greatest 
anxiety  at  every  signal  he  approached  to  see  whether  the  latter 
was  signalled.  Disappointed,  he  said  to  his  mate,  '  Coven  not 
signalled  yet ;  something  is  surely  wrong  ;  stand  handy  to 
thy  brake.' 

"  Such  a  thing  as  losing  time  with  the  down  mails  was  very 
rare ;  so  that,  when  they  were  late,  the  first  idea  about  the 
matter  was  that  a  pitch-in  had  happened,  and  nine  times  out  of 
ten  this  thought  was  the  correct  one.  '  Ten  minutes  late,'  said 
Standiford,  as  he  crossed  over  to  the  fireman's  side  of  the  engine 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

I  a  better  view  of  the  line  in  going  round  a  curve,  at  the 
same  time  telling  his  mate  to  let  the  fire  alone  awhile  until  they 
knew  or  saw  something  of  the  down  mail.  During  those  anxious 
moments  Standiford  never  lifted  his  hand  off  the  regulator 
handle.  For  aught  he  knew,  his  life  and  those  of  others  were 
threatened,  and  he  expected  at  every  chain  to  be  suddenly 
summoned  to  shut  the  regulator  and  stop  quick.  With  the 
assistance  of  the  gauge-lamp  Standiford  once  more  looked  at  his 
watch  ;  the  mail  was  now  seventeen  minutes  overdue.  As  he 
returned  his  watch  to  his  pocket  he  also  stepped  over  to  his  own 
side  of  the  engine  foot-plate,  and  he  had  scarcely  been  there 
fifteen  seconds  when  something  was  struck  by  the  buffer-beam 
or  guard-iron  of  the  engine.  It  was  neither  timber  nor  stone, 
but  was  something  much  softer.  Standiford  heard  something 
grating  under  the  ash-pan  ;  he  shut  off  steam,  and  ordered  his 
mate  to  stop  the  train.  A  spot  of  oil,  as  he  thought,  had  settled 
on  his  face  ;  but  on  wiping  it  off  with  the  back  of  his  hand  he 
observed  it  was  blood!  Forty  thoughts  sped  through  his  brain. 
A  man  killed — fogman,  signalman,  Coven,  front  guard,  or  fire- 
man— and  on  this  he  urged  his  fireman  to  put  his  brake  on 
tighter  if  possible  ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  done  so,  when,  to  his 
astonishment,  he  heard  the  mail  coming  at  a  tremendous  speed  ; 
he  instantly  seized  the  gauge-lamp  with  his  right  hand,  and 
with  his  left  opened  the  whistle  freely  to  attract  the  down  mail 
engineman's  attention.  Coven,  as  he  came  round  the  corner, 
saw  the  danger  light  and  shut  off  steam,  put  on  the  brakes,  and 
pulled  up  as  quickly  as  possible.  When  he  had  stopped  he 
jumped  down,  and  discovered,  a  few  yards  in  the  front  of  his 
engine,  in  the  four-foot  way,  two  dead  steers,  and  ten  living  ones 
wandering  about  the  track.  Meanwhile  Standiford  had  stopped 
also  ;  but  after  examining  his  engine,  and  on  being  satisfied  that 
it  was  a  beast  he  had  run  over,  he  put  on  steam  again  and  pur- 
sued his  way  south."  His  thoughtfulness  had  prepared  him  for 
the  emergency. 

When  the  driver  has  completed  the  trip  or  series  of  trips  on 
which  he  started,  and  has  brought  his  train  to  its  destination,  he 
runs  his  engine  to  the  locomotive  yard,  and  over  an  ashpit, 
where  his  fireman  has  the  engine  fire  taken  out,  and  the  smoke 
and  fire-box  emptied  of  ashes.  While  this  is  being  done  the 
driver  reports  himself  as  "  on  the  ashpit,"  and  the  fact  is  entered 


THE    DUTIES    OF    DRIVERS.  3d1 

in  the  "  ashpit  book."  He  is  now  allowed  half  an  hour  to  get 
his  engine  into  the  shed,  to  have  it  looked  over  for  any  defects, 
to  see  if  any  repairs  are  necessary.  These  are  entered  in  a  book 
set  apart  for  that  purpose.  About  the  end  of  the  half-hour  the 
driver  enters  the  office,  and  fills  up  a  certain  schedule.  This  is 
headed,  "  Driver's   weekly  account  of  materials  consumed    and 

duty    performed    by    engine    No. ,  stationed  at ,  week 

ending ."     There   are  spaces  for  the  names  of  the  driver 

and  fireman  ;  the  miles  run  each  day  of  the  week,  with  passenger 
trains,  or  goods,  or  assisting  ;  for  running  light,  piloting,  shunting, 
or  ballasting ;  the  hours  in  steam  ;  the  coal  stations  at  which  the 
engine  coaled,  and  the  cwts.  of  coal  taken  ;  the  oil,  tallow,  and 
waste  consumed  ;  and  any  "  remarks  "  thereon.  Having  filled 
in  these  and  other  particulars,  the  driver's  work  is  done ;  he 
"  signs  off,"  and  leaves. 

In  a  single  long  journey  the  services  of  several  engines  may 
be  engaged.  It  is  all  a  question  of  practical  convenience. 
Between  London  and  Liverpool,  for  instance,  one  engine  may 
take  the  train  from  St.  Pancras  to  Leicester ;  another  from 
Leicester  to  Trent,  and  a  portion  on  to  Nottingham  ;  a  third, 
that  has  come  from  Nottingham  to  Trent,  may  run  on  to  Derby  ; 
an  engine  of  greater  strength,  to  overcome  the  inclines — perhaps 
a  bogie  engine,  that  will  better  deal  with  the  curves — will  take 
it  to  Manchester  ;  another  from  Manchester  to  Liverpool  ;  and 
possibly,  in  addition,  a  pilot  engine  may  be  required  to  assist 
to  Leicester,  and  another  through  Derbyshire.  In  other  cases 
one  engine  will  run  to  Leicester,  another  to  Manchester,  and  a 
third  to  Liverpool. 

In  arranging  the  work  of  the  various  engine-drivers  at  a  par- 
ticular "  loco,  station,"  the  principle  recognised  is  to  endeavour  to 
equalize  the  labours  of  the  men  in  their  respective  grades.  For 
instance,  at  Nottingham,  a  week's  service  may  be  as  follows  : — 
On  Monday  the  driver  would  take  the  8.30  a.m.  express  from 
Nottingham  to  London,  and  would  bring  back  the  1.50  slow,  via 
Trent,  doing  257  miles  in  13.I  hours.  On  Tuesday  he  would 
drive  the  10.15  express  to  London,  and  return  with  the  4.20 
slow;  248  miles,  13I1.  50m.  On  Wednesday,  the  12.30  to 
London,  and  the  5.30  express  back  ;  248  miles  in  9I1.  10m.  On 
TJiursday  he  would  be  off  duty,  and  on  Friday  and  Saturday 
he  would  repeat  Monday  and  Tuesday's  work.     On  Sunday  he 


353  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

would  not  run.  Four  men  work  those  trains  round.  They  are 
very  experienced,  but  not  necessarily  the  oldest  drivers  in  the 
sen  ice  :  these  may  perhaps  begin  to  lose  nerve  for  express  run- 
ning. They  are  paid  by  miles,  15  miles  being  reckoned  as  an 
hour's  work.  Another  class  are  the  "single-wheel  "  enginemen, 
those  who  run  engines  the  wheels  of  which  are  not  coupled. 
The  third  and  fourth  classes  are  the  four-wheeled  coupled  engines 
which  run  between  Nottingham  and  Leicester,  Derby,  Sheffield, 
Lincoln,  and  Retford.   The  fifth  class  are  pilot  and  excursion  men. 

We  may  here  remark  that  an  indispensable  qualification  of 
drivers  and  firemen  is  the  excellence  of  their  sight ;  and  on  this 
they  are  examined  not  only  at  the  outset,  but  at  intervals,  some- 
times twice  a  year  afterwards.  In  doing  this  a  staff  of  wood 
is  employed.  It  is  (besides  the  handle)  nine  inches  long  by 
two  wide  ;  is  painted  white,  and  on  each  of  the  four  flat  sides 
are  painted  in  three  divisions  a  number  of  black  spots  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  square.  This  staff  is  held  up  at  a  distance  from  the 
candidate  of  fifteen  feet,  and  he  is  required  to  count  any  set 
of  spots  on  any  side.  If  unable  to  do  so,  he  is  ineligible  for  the 
service.  Each  eye  is  tested  separately.  If  his  "length  of 
vision  "  is  satisfactory,  he  is  examined  on  the  subject  of  colour. 
Some  men  are  naturally  "  colour  blind  "  ;  others  may  be  better 
described  as  "  colour  ignorant."  They  may  see  the  colour 
plainly,  but  not  know  its  name.  The  "  wool  test  "  is  employed. 
Some  forty  pieces  of  coloured  wool — all  shades  of  green,  red, 
magenta,  scarlet,  brown,  and  bronze — are  hung  in  a  row  on  a 
stand,  and  the  candidate  is  required  to  tell  which  is  which.  Bits 
of  wool  representing  the  colours  of  the  danger  and  the  caution 
signals  are  also  given  to  him,  and  he  has  to  match  them  with 
those  on  the  stand.  On  this  subject,  also,  the  candidate  must 
satisfy  the  examiner,  or  he  is  ineligible  as  a  fireman.  The 
answers  given  are  entered  in  a  form,  and  are  preserved  for 
future  reference. 

Sometimes  the  eyesight  of  a  driver  or  fireman,  after  he  has 
been  long  in  service,  is  found,  upon  re-examination,  to  have 
partially  failed.  Under  these  circumstances  he  has  to  be  "  re- 
duced "  to  an  inferior  position.  Fassenger  engine-drivers  may 
thus  have  to  be  employed  in  the  safer  service  of  shunters.  In 
such  matters  the  safety  of  the  men  and  of  the  public  is  the 
supreme  consideration. 


ENGINE    DRIVERS.  353 

When  the  local  locomotive  superintendent  requires  additional 
drivers  for  his  work,  he  communicates  the  fact  to  the  chief  of 
his  department.  In  reply  he  perhaps  obtains  permission  to  have 
a  certain  number — say  half  a  dozen — of  firemen  examined  as  to 
their  qualifications.  An  inspector  from  headquarters,  himself 
probably  an  old  driver,  is  sent  over ;  and  for  two  or  three  days 
he  travels  on  an  engine  with  the  candidate,  who  takes  charge 
of  the  engine.  At  the  end  of  the  trial  the  inspector  makes  his 
report.  If  it  is  to  the  effect  that  the  fireman  is  a  fit  and  proper 
person  to  undertake  the  higher  duties  of  driver,  the  man  goes 
over  to  headquarters  ;  and,  if  approved,  is  a  "  passed  man," 
held  in  reserve  for  special  work,  or  to  fill  temporary  vacancies, 
with  a  view  to  ultimate  promotion  to  permanent  service.  A 
somewhat  similar  course  is  adopted  when  cleaners  are  advanced 
to  the  position  of  firemen.  Sometimes,  when  trade  becomes 
seriously  slack,  drivers  have  to  be  temporarily  reduced  to  fire- 
men, and  firemen  to  cleaners. 

Of  the  character  and  work  of  engine-drivers  we  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  speaking  at  length  elsewhere  ;  and  we  believe 
that,  as  a  rule,  they  have  discharged  their  gravely  responsible 
duties  with  great  satisfaction  to  their  employers  and  to  the 
public.  Occasionally  some  have  been  found  who  have  allowed 
their  ingenuity  and  enterprise  to  flow  in  undesirable  channels. 
"I  knew  a  driver,"  remarked  an  engineer  to  us,  "who  used  to  run 
between  London  and  Rugby,  who  once  showed  his  professional 
knowledge  in  a  new  direction.  Just  before  leaving  Euston,  he 
noticed  on  the  platform  near  his  engine  a  little  toy  terrier  that 
seemed  to  have  lost  its  owner.  Tempted  beyond  measure  at 
such  unexpected  treasure  trove,  he  beguiled  the  dog  nearer  to 
him,  and  then  seizing  a  favourable  opportunity  and  the  dog  at 
the  same  moment,  put  the  latter  into  his  tool-box.  Soon  there 
was  eager  inquiry  up  and  down  the  platform  for  the  lost  dog. 
The  train  started  ;  but  the  station-master's  suspicions  being 
aroused,  he  ordered  a  telegram  to  be  despatched  to  Rugby,  the 
first  stopping-place,  directing  a  search  to  be  made  for  the  dog 
from  the  engine  of  the  train  back  through  every  carriage  to  the 
rear  van  of  the  guard.  On  approaching  Rugby  platform  the 
driver  noticed  two  policemen  waiting  to  receive  the  train.  '  Get 
the  dog,'  said  the  driver  to  his  fireman,  '  and  bolt  with  it  the 
moment  you  have  a  chance.'     The  fireman  pocketed  the  prize, 

A  A 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

and   awaited   events     As   the  engine    drew  up,  a   policeman 
mounted  the  foot-plate,  and  was  beginning  to  search,  when  the 

i  accidentally  (on  purpose)  with  a  hammer  concealed  under 
his  arm  smashed  the  water-gauge  glass  of  his  engine.  Out 
rushed,  With  a  lotld  noise,  volumes  of  steam,  and  the  policeman, 
thinking  the  boiler  had  burst,  leaped  back  on  to  the  platform 
and  ran   for  dear  life.     Meanwhile  the  fireman  quietly  walked 

i  the  other  side  with  the  dog  under  his  jacket,  and  even- 
tually succeeded  in  depositing  his  treasure  in  a  safe  place 
outside  the  bounds  of  the  station." 

The  experiences  of  engineers,  officers,  and  men,  are  sometimes 
unpleasant.  "The  greatest  '  funk'  I  ever  was  in,"  said  a  Midland 
engineer  to  the  writer,  "  was  many  years  ago.  I  wanted  to  go 
from  Preston  to  Lancaster,  and  with  that  intent  got  into  the  van 
of  a  goods  train.  The  brakesman  was  in  the  front  of  the  train, 
and  I  was  alone.  We  soon  started  ;  but  when  we  had  run 
a  little  way  into  the  tunnel  the  train  pulled  up,  and  after  a  bit 
proceeded  to  back.  The  tunnel  was  a  very  old-fashioned  one, 
Very  narrow  all  ways,  so  that  if  a  passenger  put  his  head  out 
of  a  carriage  window  he  was  very  likely  to  strike  the  wall. 
We  had  backed  only  a  little  way,  when  suddenly  I  saw  another 
train  following  on  our  rails  into  the  tunnel.  (There  was  no 
block  system  in  those  days.)  A  smash  was  inevitable  ;  and, 
to  escape  it,  I  was  just  going  to  get  down  on  to  the  other  line 
of  rails,  when  at  that  moment  another  train  on  the  other  line 
came  dashing  past  us,  and  all  I  could  do  before  the  collision 
was  to  throw  myself  on  my  back  on  the  floor  of  the  van.  What 
I  felt  during  those  about  thirty  seconds  I  cannot  describe.  The 
blow  came.  The  engine  broke  its  lamps  and  buffers  against  the 
van  I  was  in,  knocked  off  its  own  funnel,  and  made  our  van  tilt 
itself  up  on  to  the  smoke-box  end  of  the  locomotive,  where  it 
was  fast  taking  fire.  I  was  soon  on  my  legs ;  ran  back  to  tell 
that  the  whole  place  would  soon  be  in  a  blaze,  and  we  at  length 
managed  to  extinguish  the  flames  and  to  remove  the  trains." 

We  have  already  recounted  some  of  our  own  various  ex- 
periences in  riding  on  engines  :  a  graphic  writer  has  sketched 
those  through  which  he  passed.  Having,  as  he  tells  us,  en- 
sconced himself  in  a  couple  of  great-coats  and  a  fur  cap,  "  I 
stroll,"  he  says,  "on  the  platform  at  Cannon  Street  with  the 
assumption  of  an  indifference  I  blush  to  record.     The  mail  train 


A    RIDE    ON    THE    DOVER    NIGHT    MAIL.  355 

lay  alongside,  '  72  '  blowing  off  a  stream  of  hot  impatience  to  be 
away.  Her  Majesty's  mail  men  were  hurling  enormous  bags  of 
letters  from  their  red  carts,  and  porters  frantically  hurled  these 
bags  into  the  two  mail  vans,  in  which  stood  clerks  ready  to  begin 
their  task  against  time  en  route  in  the  sorting  of  these  many 
missives,  portentous  with  weal  or  woe,  riches  or  ruin.  Huge 
piles  of  luggage,  disgorged  from  cabs  and  carriages,  were  being 
stowed  away  as  quickly  as  the  individual  anxieties  of  their 
owners  would  permit.  The  passengers,  as  they  stood  around 
the  carriage  doors,  were  a  study.  Each  face  had  a  tale  to  tell  ; 
and  not  a  few  of  them  might  have  afforded  materials  for  any 
amount  of  romance.  In  nearly  every  case  this  night  journey 
would  seem  to  have  been  taken  rather  of  necessity  than  choice  ; 
'  72/  however,  screaming  a  shrill  warning  for  all  to  stand  clear, 
heeds  not  these  matters.  A  porter,  to  whom  I  take  an  instant 
dislike,  touches  his  hat,  and  tells  me,  with  a  sardonic  grin,  that 
Mr.  Watkin  is  ready ;  so  I  walk  nervously  up  to  '  72,'  which 
is  still  hysterical,  mount  the  step,  and  squeeze  through  a  narrow 
gangway,  and  at  last  am  in  for  it. 

" '  Right  away,  sir,'  shouts  a  horrid  man  on  the  platform, 
waving  a  lantern  as  if  the  whole  business  were  rather  funny. 

"  '  Right  away,  sir,'  says  the  stoker. 

"  '  Right  away  ! '  echoes  Mr.  Watkin,  who  stands  with  his  hand 
on  the  regulator. 

"Another  short  squeal  from  '72,'  who  'refuses'  for  a  moment, 
and  the  next  I  am  jerked  incontinently  forward.  It  seems  I 
have  been  standing  on  the  foot-plate  which  covers  the  play 
between  the  engine  and  tender.  This  plate  has  a  tendency 
to  '  wobble,'  and  is  positively  not  fit  to  stand  upon.  Having 
recovered  myself,  I  begin  to  wish  I  had  thought  of  making  a 
few  simple  bequests  to  friends  I  never  hope  to  see  again,  and 
for  the  first  time  think  tenderly  of  my  tailor,  and  wonder  how 
the  poor  man  will  get  paid.  When  I  venture  to  open  my  eyes 
I  find  that  we  have  rolled  out  of  the  station  and  arc  rumbling 
slowly  over  the  river.  Feeling  no  small  astonishment  and 
satisfaction  that  I  am  still  alive  to  the  appreciation  of  surround- 
ing objects,  I  think  I  will  begin  to  look  about.  To  do  this  with 
any  effect  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  I  should  be  able  to 
stand  still,  and  to  achieve  this  it  is  equally  necessary  that  I 
should  hold  on  to  something.     A  copper  pipe  looks  tempting, 


OUR    [RON    Roads. 

and  I  grasp  it  unhesitatingly  ;  it  was — well,  it  was  not  cold. 
I  smother  a  wicked  word  that  bubbles  up,  and,  after  a  more 
carefully  conducted  experiment  or  two,  manage  to  clutch  some- 
thing not  absolutely  red-hot.  My  general  demeanour  all  the 
time  is  very  much  that  of  a  figure  on  wire  worked  up  and  down 
by  springs  from  beneath.  We  arc  still  moving  slowly,  as  it 
were  picking  our  course  from  out  the  intricacies  of  lines  that 
cross  .md  recross  our  path.  Before  us,  high  in  the  air,  shine 
out  innumerable  signal  lamps,  each  with  its  own  meaning,  each 
terrible  if  wrongly  read  or  carelessly  adjusted.  A  short  stop  at 
London  Bridge,  and  we  are  away  again.  And  now  the  feeling 
of  disquiet  is  leaving  me,  and  in  its  place  comes  a  deep  admira- 
tion for  the  mighty  minds  that  have  thought  out  the  wonderful 
machine  upon  which  I  ride,  and  which,  obeying  the  slightest 
touch  of  a  practised  hand,  is  beginning  to  bound,  and  thunder, 
and  crash  into  the  darkness.  Above  us,  from  the  funnel,  streams 
a  flame-tinted  comet-like  cloud  ;  in  front,  beneath  us,  glistening 
in  the  light  of  the  forward  lamps,  stretch  out  the  weblike  lines 
that  alone  divide  us  from  annihilation,  whilst  on  either  side 
looms  nothing  but  thick  night.  Around,  above,  beneath,  below 
us  the  very  air  seems  ripped  to  ribbons  as  the  iron  monster 
rends  out  its  terrible  way ;  then  ever  and  again,  as  if  in  anti- 
climax to  some  unknown  horror,  we  rush  with  a  wild  screech 
into  dark  dank  tunnels  from  which  it  is  like  resurrection  to 
emerge. 

"  After  somewhere  about  thirty  miles  I  have  got  my  locomo- 
tive legs  on,  and  have  ventured  to  let  go  my  hold  of  support,  and 
after  two  attempts  at  smoking,  in  which  my  tobacco  entirely 
disappeared  in  about  three  whiffs,  I  learn  how  to  smoke  at  a 
mile  a  minute  and  begin  to  feel  better.  But  do  what  I  will 
I  cannot  think  steadily  ;  one  moment  I  am  ready  to  invoke 
Zeus,  the  fabled  owner  of  Pegasus,  and  back  '  72 '  at  long  odds 
against  anything  that  fiery  untamed  one  ever  did  ;  the  next — 
well,  it's  no  use  trying  to  write  the  thoughts  of  that  night,  though 
I  am  convinced  that  some  of  them  were  really  noteworthy,  but 
as  they  galloped  into  my  mind  they  got  shaken  into  hopeless 
jumble  by  the  incessant  vibrato  which  my  anatomy  was  under- 
going. Nevertheless,  zealous  for  my  literary  duty,  I  took  out  a 
notebook,  and,  by  the  light  of  the  little  lamp  that  shone  on  the 
water-gauge,  tried  to  make  a  few  shorthand   notes.     These  are 


A    RIDE    ON    THE    DOVER   NIGHT    MAIL.  357 

now  at  the  service  of  any  ardent  student  of  Pitmanian  lore  who 
likes  to  call  at  the  office  for  them. 

"  It  is  now  horribly  cold,  and  I  am  suffering  from  extremes  of 
temperature,  a  bleak  wind  such  as  I  never  felt  before  blowing 
right  off  the  sea,  which  we  had  reached,  freezing  me  to  my  waist, 
while  the  heat  from  the  furnace  fires  bakes  my  legs.  I  begin 
to  speculate  how  much  longer  I  can  bear  this  combination  of 
untoward  circumstances,  when  we  plunge  madly  into  the  base 
of  a  hideous  cliff.  Then,  just  as  I  feel  convinced  the  end  of 
all  things  is  at  hand,  we  are  standing  quietly  at  the  platform 
of  the  Dover  station,  and  five  minutes  later  at  the  pier.  The 
Calais  boat  lies  heaving  beneath  us,  painfully  suggestive  of 
stomachic  inversion.  Mail  bags,  luggage,  and  sleepy  passengers 
are  all  huddled  down  a  gangway  of  45  degrees  declension,  and 
all  is  hurry,  confusion,  and  crush.  I  turn  away  and  walk  to  my 
hotel  with  the  gentleman  who  has  brought  the  people  safely 
thus  far,  and  wonder  if  ever  there  flits  across  the  minds  of  our 
travelling  millions  any  sense  of  gratitude  to  enginemen,  whose 
exceptional  mishaps  are  duly  and  justly  noted,  but  whose 
general  vigilance,  the  only  thread  upon  which  hangs  the  life  of 
the  traveller,  is  unchronicled,  unheard  of.  For  myself,  I  shall 
never  take  a  night  journey  without  a  vivid  remembrance  of  two 
hours  on  '  72.'  " 

The  Metropolitan  Railway  Company,  by  reason  of  the  narrow 
limits  to  which  it  was  confined,  and  the  enormous  cost  of  land 
around  its  original  route,  long  suffered  special  inconvenience 
from  the  insufficiency  of  its  locomotive  establishment.  This  is 
situated  at  Edgware  station,  and  every  inch  is  crowded  up. 
Since,  however,  the  opening  of  the  Harrow  Extension  Railway, 
new  works  have  been  erected  at  Neasden,  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  rolling  stock.  On  this  company's  lines  the  fires  of  the 
locomotives  are  drawn  only  once  a  week,  that  the  engines  may 
be  washed  out.  "  Practically,"  said  the  engineer,  "  we  run  them 
a  thousand  miles  without  their  being  stopped." 

We  may  add  that  the  Metropolitan  and  the  District  Railway 
Companies  work  their  trains,  so  far  as  the  public  is  concerned, 
as  one  main  line.  This  is  done  by  interchange  of  mileage  ;  that 
is  to  say,  as  the  Metropolitan  engineer  explained  to  us,  "  for 
every  mile  the  District  runs  over  us,  we  run  a  mile  over  them. 
The  trains  are  practically  the  same  in  carrying  capacity,  and  the 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 


wear  and  teat  of  the  road  is  nearly  the  same.  Our  line  is  about 
twice  as  long  as  theirs,  so  we  run  eight  trains  over  them,  and 
they  four  over  US.  If  one  company  does  more  miles  working  in 
the  half-year  than  its  proportion,  it  is  adjusted  in  the  next  half- 
year.      No  money  passes." 

We  are  told  that  the  locomotive  engine  as  it  now  appears 
may  some  day  become  a  thing  of  the  past.  "  Nearly  thirty  years 
Mr.  Fowler,  the  engineer,  has  said,  "  when  projecting  the 
present  system  of  underground  railways  in  the  metropolis,  I 
foresaw  the  inconveniences  which  would  necessarily  result  from 
the  vise  of  an  ordinary  locomotive,  emitting  gases  in  an  im- 
perfectly ventilated  tunnel,  and  proposed  to  guard  against 
them  by  using  a  special  form  of  locomotive.  When  before  the 
Parliamentary  Committee  in  1854,  I  stated  that  I  should  dis- 
pense with  firing  altogether,  and  obtain  the  supply  of  steam 
necessary  for  the  performance  of  the  single  trip  between  Pad- 
dington  and  the  City  from  a  plain  cylindrical,  egg-ended  boiler, 
which  was  to  be  charged  at  each  end  of  the  line  with  water  and 
steam  at  high  pressure.  In  an  experimental  boiler  constructed 
for  me  the  loss  of  pressure  from  radiation  proved  to  be  only 
3<Dlb.  per  square  inch  in  five  hours,  so  that  practically  all  the 
power  stored  up  would  be  available  for  useful  work.  I  also 
found  by  experiment  that  an  ordinary  locomotive  with  the  fire 
1  dropped '  would  run  the  whole  length  of  my  railway  with  a 
train  of  the  required  weight.  Owing  to  a  variety  of  circum- 
stances, however,  this  hot-water  locomotive  was  not  introduced 
on  the  Metropolitan  Railway,  though  it  has  since  been  success- 
fully used  on  tramways  at  New  Orleans,  Paris,  and  elsewhere. 
I  am  sorry  to  have  to  admit  that  the  progress  of  mechanical 
science,  so  far  as  it  affects  locomotives  for  underground  railways, 
has  been  absolutely  nil  during  the  past  thirty  years.  Whether 
a  hot  water,  a  compressed  air,  or  a  compressed  gas  locomotive 
could  be  contrived  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  metropolitan  traffic 
is  a  question  which,  I  think,  might  be  usefully  discussed." 

The  recent  wonderful  developments  of  electric  science  have 
extended  even  to  the  domain  of  railway  locomotion.  The  great 
cost,  it  has  been  urged,  of  railway  construction  is  caused  by  the 
fact  that  bridges  and  other  works  are  required  to  be  made 
strong  enough  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  locomotive,  which 
is  five  or  six  times  heavier  than  an  ordinary  carriage  of  the  same 


ELECTRIC    RAILWAYS.  359 

size.  If  it  were  possible  to  pull  or  push  the  train  without  the 
use  of  a  locomotive,  a  great  advance  would  be  made  in  railway 
propulsion.  "Electricity,"  says  Professor  Ayrton,  F.R.S.,  "en- 
ables this  to  be  done.  Hence  the  wide  future  that  was  open  for 
its  practical  employment  in  our  great  arteries  of  traffic.  But  a 
train  could  not  go  of  itself,  like  the  witch  on  the  broomstick, 
and  power  must  be  expended  to  start  it,  and  still  more  to  keep 
up  its  motion.  Power  could  not  be  created.  All  they  could  do 
was  simply  to  make  machines  and  devices  for  converting  one 
form  of  power  into  another.  Practically,  they  would  employ 
the  power  drawn  from  coal  when  electric  railways  were  made. 
The  burning  of  coal  instead  of  zinc  was  the  secret  of  the  great 
development  of  electricity,  as  the  latter  was  about  thirty  times 
as  dear  as  the  former.  One  reason  why  the  electric  trans- 
mission of  power  could  be  made  so  efficient  was  because  elec- 
tricity had  no  mass,  and  therefore  no  inertia ;  and  therefore  it 
required  no  additional  force  to  make  electricity  go  round  a 
corner,  as  was  the  case  with  water  or  material  fluids.  In  order 
to  work  a  railway  by  means  of  electricity,  they  must  have  two 
wires — one  might  be  in  the  earth  itself,  and  the  other  insulated 
from  it,  and  some  contrivance  must  be  used  by  means  of  which 
a  continuous  connection  was  kept  up  between  the  dynamo 
machine  on  the  moving  train  and  the  two  wires.  The  simples, 
method  of  doing  this  was  to  use  the  two  rails — one  as  the  going 
wire  and  the  other  as  the  return  wire — and  let  the  current  enter 
the  carriage  by  means  of  the  wheels  on  one  side,  and  leave  it 
by  means  of  the  wheels  on  the  other.  The  axle,  however,  must 
be  broken  and  insulated,  otherwise  the  current  would  pass 
through  the  axles  to  the  carriages,  instead  of  through  the 
dynamo  machine."  He  exhibited  a  model  of  an  electric  rail- 
way, devised  by  himself  and  Professor  Ferry ;  and  he  added 
that  within  a  little  while  an  electric  railway  on  the  plan  he  had 
explained  would  be  in  operation  in  New  York. 

An  electric  railway  has  been  projected  to  pass  under  the 
Thames,  and  to  connect  Charing  Cross  with  the  Waterloo  ter- 
minus of  the  South  Western  Railway.  The  Siemens  Electric 
Railway  at  Berlin  has  made  the  public  familiar  with  the  fact 
that  the  electric  current  can  be  rendered  subservient  to  pur- 
poses of  locomotion,  and  there  are  some  who  indulge  in  pleasant 
visions  of  the  time  when  a  properly  constructed  "  accumulator  " 


,6o 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 


shall  even  stow  away  enough  electric  energy  to  give  motive 
power  to  a  bicycle.  The  proposed  electric  railway  is  to  com- 
mence thirty  yards  south-east  from  the  base  of  the  statue  of 
Charles  I.,  and  to  pass  beneath  houses  and  streets,  and 
then  under  the  Thames,  to  a  point  beneath  the  loop-line  station 
of  the  Waterloo  terminus.  The  South  Western  Railway  Com- 
pany is  to  have  power  to  contribute  towards  the  construction  of 
the  line,  and  to  enter  into  agreements  with  respect  to  its  use, 
ownership,  and  management.  The  promoters  ask  for  authority 
to  provide  engine-houses,  stations,  warehouses,  yards,  depots, 
and  works  ;  and  to  levy  tolls,  rates,  and  charges  ;  and  to  make 
provision  as  between  themselves  and  the  South  Western  Com- 
pany for  the  appropriation  and  use  of  joint  and  separate 
stations,  the  supply  of  rolling  stock  and  machinery,  of  officers 
and  servants  for  the  conduct  of  the  traffic,  and  also  the  ap- 
pointment of  joint  committees.  The  development  of  enterprise 
in  these  directions  will  be  watched  with  interest  both  by  the 
railway  world  and  by  the  public. 


IiKEAK-DOWN   TRAIN. 


To  the  locomotive  department  of  a  large  station  a  break- 
down train  and  gang  are  attached,  the  arrangements  of  which 
we  may  describe.  These  are  maintained  in  the  highest  degree 
of  efficiency.  Everything  is  in  constant  readiness  for  action  at 
the  shortest  notice.  A  telegram  flashes  into  the  passenger 
station  that  there  has  been  an  accident.  Two  copies  are  imme- 
diately sent,  one  to  the  locomotive  superintendent,  or  his  fore- 
man in  charge  at  the  "  locomotive  shed,"  the  other  to  the 
"  traffic  inspector "  of  the  district.  A  list  of  the  names  and 
addresses  of  the  foreman  in  charge  of  the  break-down  vans  and 
of  the  skilled  men,  twelve  in  all,  who  form  the  break-down  staff, 
hangs  up,  framed  and  glazed,  on  the  wall  of  the  office  ;  these 
are  at  once  summoned;  and,  if  additional  hands  are  wanted,  they 
are  made  up,  as  the  circumstances  require,  from  the  ordinary 
staff  connected  with  the  locomotive  department. 


BREAK-DOWN    TRAIN.  36  T 


3 


The  break-down  train  itself  is  soon  ready — in  fact,  always  is 
ready.  It  consists  of  seven  vehicles  :  two  tool-vans,  one  riding- 
van,  one  laden  with  wood  "  packing,"  the  break-down  crane,  and 
two  "runners"  or  wagons  which  act  for  the  protection  at  either 
end  of  the  crane,  one  supporting  the  "jib,"  while  the  other 
carries  the  "  balance  blocks." 

We  enter  the  tool-van  at  one  end  of  the  train.  Within  it  are 
arranged  ropes  of  different  lengths  and  thicknesses,  "  snatch 
blocks,"  small  and  large-sized  pulley  blocks,  bars,  shovels,  screw- 
couplings,  "  clips  "  for  securing  broken  axles,  and  various  other 
kinds  of  tools.  The  next  is  the  "  riding-van,"  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  workmen  who  go  with  the  train.  Formerly  they 
used  to  ride  on  the  trucks,  or  on  the  engine,  "  to  hang  on  where 
they  could."  The  riding-van  will  hold  forty  men.  "  At  the  end," 
says  our  engineering  guide,  "you  see  these  cupboards."  He 
opens  them  and  displays  flags,  fog-signals,  signal  and  roof  lamps 
used  for  lighting  and  protecting  the  train,  train  signal  lamps, 
all  ready  trimmed  for  lighting,  and  four  train  lamps.  In  the 
centre  is  a  stove  with  an  oven  attached,  to  keep  the  men  warm, 
and,  if  necessary,  to  warm  their  food.  Round  the  sides  of  the 
riding-van  are  "  box-seats,"  in  which  are  tools  of  various  kinds, 
wood  scotches,  small  "packing"  shovels,  hammers,  bars  of 
various  descriptions,  and  "sets"  for  cutting  shackles  or  bolts. 
"  What,"  we  ask,  "  is  a  '  set '  ?  "  It  is  a  piece  of  sharpened  steel, 
like  the  head  of  an  axe  without  the  handle,  varying  in  weight 
from  one  pound  to  three.  A  piece  of  hazel,  commonly  called  a 
"set  rod,"  is  wrapped  round  it,  and  the  two  ends  form  the 
handle.  The  "  set "  is  held  on  anything  it  is  required  to  cut, 
and  with  the  blows  of  a  heavy  hammer,  given  by  those  accus- 
tomed to  such  work,  it  will  quickly  sever  any  bolt  or  shackle. 
In  this  van  are  also  shovels,  hammers,  chisels,  bars  of  various 
descriptions,  everything  of  the  kind  likely  to  be  wanted. 

The  third  is  a  wagon  carrying  wood  planks,  "  packing,"  as 
it  is  called,  of  various  lengths,  from  two  to  six  feet  long,  and 
from  an  inch  to  six  inches  in  thickness.  When,  for  instance,  a 
screw-jack  is  employed  to  lift  up  the  end  of  a  wagon  that  has 
gone  off  the  rails,  the  bottom  of  the  jack  must  rest  upon  a  flat 
piece  of  oak  timber,  else  it  would  be  pressed  down  into  the 
ballast.  There  are,  perhaps,  three  tons  of  packing  in  this 
wagon. 


tH'R    IRON    ROADS. 


The  next  vehicle  carries  the  crane  itself,  which  is  calculated 
to  lift  I'nc  tons,  but  when  properly  secured  will  lift  considerably 
The  balance  block  of  the  crane  is  movable,  and  when 
in  use  is  heavily  weighted  with  a  number  of  blocks  of  cast  iron  ; 
and  in  addition  to  this,  when  a  heavy  weight  is  being  raised,  the 
crane  is  secured  to  the  permanent  way  by  means  of  four  clips, 
which  are  attached  to  each  corner  of  the  crane  and  clip  the 
head  of  the  rails.  These  are  tightly  screwed  down  after  the 
crane  has  been  properly  arranged  in  position  for  any  lift  that  it 
may  have  to  perform.  The  jib  of  the  crane,  which  is  about  20 
feet  long,  is  also  raised  into  its  proper  position  ;  and  it  is  now 
easy  even  to  load  one  vehicle  into  another.  A  powerful  brake 
is  attached.  The  crane  itself  is  usually  worked  by  five  men. 
The  frame  of  the  crane  is  iron,  and  the  wagon  which  carries  it 
is    also    iron   throughout,  weighing   altogether   about    15    tons 


A   S MATCH    BLOCK. 


Next  to  the  crane  is  another  runner,  which  supports  the  jib  of 
the  crane. 

The  next  vehicle  is  another  tool-van,  which  contains  oil  and 
naphtha  lamps,  crosscut  saws,  hand  saws,  axes,  traversing  jacks 
of  various  sizes,  which  are  used  for  not  only  lifting  but  carrying 
anything  into  position,  bottle-jacks  of  various  sizes,  and  hydraulic 
jacks,  each  calculated  to  lift  15  tons,  which  one  man  can  work 
with  the  greatest  ease.  There  is  a  bench  at  one  end,  with  a 
pair  of  vices  and  cupboards  underneath,  and  there  are  also 
various  tools  used  in  connection  with  break-down  work. 

When  the  break-down  train  is  running  to  the  scene  of  accident 
it  is  signalled  as  if  it  were  an  express  passenger  train,  and  it 
takes  precedence  over  all  other  trains.  A  good  supply  of  both 
torch  and  naphtha  lamps  are  always  ready  for  night  use  as  soon 


BREAK-DOWN    TRAIN. 


as  the  train  arrives  at  its  destination.  These  are  usually  held 
by  bars  specially  arranged  for  the  purpose,  driven  into  the 
ground.     Fires  are  also  made  of  coal  or  broken  wood. 

There  are  several  useful  appliances  carried  with  the  vans, 
which  are  found  to  be  of  very  great  service.  One  is  a  "  snatch 
block."  This  is  used  in  various  ways.  In  some  cases  when  it  is 
found  necessary  to  turn  a  wagon  over  which  has  been  turned 
upside  down,  the  snatch  block  ACD  is  secured  to  the  rails  by 
means  of  a  chain  B  wrapped  round  the  rail.  One  end  of  a  rope 
EFG,  of  about  2\  inches  diameter,  is  attached  to  the  engine, 
the  other  end  passes  through  the  snatch  block,  and  over  the 
wagon,  which  can  thereby  be  turned  over  with  very  little  trouble. 
In  cases  where  wagons  are  down  any  steep  embankment  or  in 
fields,  they  are  pulled  back  to  the  line  in  a  similar  manner  ;  only- 
two  blocks  are  used,  and,  instead  of  being  attached  to  the  rail, 
one  is  fastened  to  the  draw-bar  of  the  crane,  and  the  crane  itself 
is  secured  to  the  rails.  The  other  snatch  block  is  secured  on 
the  wagon  about  to  be  pulled  up,  and  the  rope  passing  through 
both  blocks  draws  the  wagon  within  reach  of  the  jib  of  the 
crane.  This  takes  it  up  bodily  and  places  it  on  the  rails.  It  is 
also  frequently  used  for  pulling  a  wagon  on  to  the  road,  where, 
for  instance,  an  engine  cannot  pass. 

The  second  appliance  is  called  a  "ramp."  There  are  right 
and  left  hand  ramps.  These  are  used  for  getting  wagons  on  to 
the  rails  when  they  have  run 
off.  The  ramp  is  so  constructed 
as  to  fit  the  rail  at  one  end,  A, 
and  the  sleeper  at  the  other,  B. 
The  ramp  has  two  spikes  or 
claws  at  the  end  which  rests  on 
the  sleeper,  and  these  are  fixed 
immediately  in  front  of  the 
wheel  of  the  wagon  which  it 
is  intended  to  pull  on  the  rails. 
The  ramps  are  forged  out  of 
the   solid,  having   a  flange  on  A  RAMI>' 

the  right  side  of  C,  and  a  jaw,  A,  on  the  top  nearest  the  rail, 
which  guides  the  wagon  wheel  into  position.  Either  two  or  four 
of  these  ramps  can  be  used  at  the  same  time  for  a  wagon,  accord- 
ing as  may  best  suit  its  position  off  the  road.     As  soon  as  the 


01  R    [RON    ROADS. 

weight  of  the  vehicle  gets  upon  the  lower  end  of  the  ramp, 
it  presses  the  teeth  into  the  sleeper,  and  this  compels  it  to  keep 
its  position. 

The  third  appliance  is  a  catch  or  "clip."  This  fits  on  the 
rail.  The  foot  rests  on  the  bottom  flange  of  the  rail,  and  is  used 
t.>  prevent  a  wagon,  when  lifted  by  the  jacks, 
and  when  being  forced  over,  from  going  too 
far.  The  wheel  might  drop  over  on  the  out- 
side were  it  not  prevented  by  this  simple  and 
useful  kind  of  clip.  It  is  used  for  both  engines 
\  ,up.  and  wagons. 

A  top  coat  is  provided  for  each  man  of  the  break-down  gang  ; 
and,  in  addition  to  what  "time  they  may  make,"  a  bonus  of 
2s.  is  given  to  each  on  every  occasion  he  is  called  upon  to  "  main 
line  break-down  work." 

Refreshments  are  also  supplied  for  the  staff  by  the  foreman 
in  charge,  which,  as  a  rule,  is  obtained  from  the  nearest  public- 
house,  shop,  or  farmhouse.  In  some  cases  in  lonely  places, 
where  the  work  has  been  heavy,  it  has  happened  that  refresh- 
ments have  had  to  be  brought  from  a  considerable  distance. 
"  They  are  always  willing,"  says  the  engineer,  "to  help  us  in  a 
difficulty.  Sometimes  they  make  a  fresh  baking  on  purpose 
for  us." 

The  improvements  that  have  been  made  in  railway  carriages 
have  been  gradual,  but  unceasing.  Some  travellers  can  re- 
member taking  a  ride  in  one  of  the  original  passenger  "  tubs," 
a  vehicle  that  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  modern  cattle 
truck  ;  or  of  having  to  put  up  an  umbrella  in  even  a  second-class 
carriage,  because  the  rain  poured  in  through  the  lamp-hole  in  the 
roof;  or  of  being  crowded  up  in  the  narrow  first-class  carriages 
that  were  built  after  the  fashion  of  the  "inside"  of  the  old 
stage-coach.  The  work  of  building  and  repairing  the  40,000 
carriages  for  railway  passengers,  and  the  400,000  other  vehicles 
belonging  to  our  railways  is,  no  light  task  ;  and,  beside  the  work 
done  by  railway  carriage  and  wagon  building  companies,  the 
great  railway  companies  have  vast  establishments  of  their  own. 
The  Midland  Railway  Company,  for  instance,  in  1875  and  1876, 
bought  a  piece  of  land  at  Derby  for  this  department  alone, 
fifty-four  acres  in  extent,  whereon  they  erected  more  than  four- 
teen acres  of  buildings,  with  more  than  ten  miles   of  sidings, 


DERBY    CARRIAGE    BUILDING    WORKS.  ^6^ 


D' 


and  here  they  employ  some  2,000  men.  The  works  consist  of 
seven  large  shops,  of  the  same  design,  and  of  the  uniform  height 
of  twenty-one  feet  to  the  underside  of  the  principals.  The  saw- 
mill, the  wagon-shop,  the  carriage-shop,  and  the  painting  and 
trimming  shop  are  on  the  west  side  of  the  yard,  and  these  are 
entirely  used  for  the  preparation  of  timber,  the  putting  together 
of  material,  and  the  completion  of  vehicles.  The  great  ranges 
of  buildings  on  the  east  side  are  for  the  manipulation  of  metals. 
Special  precautions  are  adopted  throughout  for  the  prevention 
of  fire.  Spaces  of  at  least  seventy  feet  have  been  left  between 
the  blocks  of  building,  and  each  block  is  surrounded  by  a  seven- 
inch  water  main,  always  charged  with  water  at  a  pressure  suffi- 
cient to  throw  a  jet  over  any  roof  of  any  building  ;  and  hose- 
boxes,  with  hose,  stand-pipes,  and  everything  complete,  are  fixed 
conveniently  to  seventy  hydrants  in  various  parts  of  the  yard. 
Fire-buckets  filled  with  water,  and  hand -pumps,  are  ready  for 
use  in  every  shop. 

We  first  approach  the  timber-yard.  Here,  being  discharged 
from  trucks,  or  stacked  in  vast  piles,  are  logs  of  ash,  elm,  East 
Indian  teak,  Honduras  mahogany — worth  from  £15  to  ,£20  a 
log — red,  white,  and  yellow  deals  from  the  Baltic  and  Canada  ; 
oak  from  Quebec  and  Stettin — worth  £5  to  £50  each  ;  and  satin- 
wood  from  Kauri,  in  New  Zealand.  Seven  or  eight  thousand 
enormous  butts,  the  lot  weighing,  perhaps,  10,000  tons,  are  piled 
in  apparent  confusion  ;  but  each  bears  certain  mysterious  hiero- 
glyphics, which  tell  to  the  initiated  when  and  whence  it  was 
brought,  and  what  place  it  had  in  the  stock-taking.  Overhead 
is  a  travelling  crane,  or  gantry  as  it  is  called,  by  which,  aided 
by  a  stationary  engine,  these  giant  forms  can  be  handled  and 
dandled  about  like  so  many  gigantic  babies,  and  can  be  borne 
away  (here  we  beg  permission  to  drop  our  simile)  to  the  saw- 
mills to  be  cut  up. 

The  first  building  we  enter  appears  of  enormous  proportions. 
It  is  320  feet  long  by  200  wide,  while  the  light  and  lofty  roof, 
tinged  with  a  soft  sky-blue  colour,  gives  it  a  bright  and  airy 
appearance.  The  whirr  of  the  machinery,  and  the  screaming, 
with  every  variety  of  harshness  of  note,  of  innumerable  saws, 
tell  us  that  this  is  the  saw-mill.  Here  arc  a  hundred  machines 
— for  sawing,  planing,  moulding,  shaping,  morticing,  tenoning, 
boring,   turning,   and    recessing — all  specially  designed   for  the 


J 


65  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


conversion  of  timber  from  the  log  into  scantlings  of  every 
description  tor  wagon  and  carriage  work. 

We  approach  the  vertical  frame  saw.  It  has,  perhaps,  fifty 
blades,  and  it  saws  the  wood  into  fifty  slices,  with  a  speed  of 
nearly  ioo  strokes  for  an  inch  of  wood,  and  at  the  rate  of  eight 
an  hour.  "  We  like  forest-grown  oak  the  best,"  says  the 
foreman.  "  Hedge-grown  is  scrubby  and  full  of  rubbish — knots, 
And  stones,  and  nails  sometimes  two  feet  inside  the  wood.  But 
they  don't  punish  us  so  bad  as  they  do  the  circulars."  We  pause 
for  a  moment  to  look  at  the  shaping  machines,  revolving  some 
2,000  times  a  minute ;  in  fact,  so  rapidly  that  it  is  only  with  the 
closest  scrutiny  that  we  can  tell  that  the  keen  blades  are  moving 
at  all — blades  that  will  shape  the  wood  into  almost  any  required 
form.  Here  also  are  the  "  endless  band  saws,"  of  various  sizes, 
and  from  an  inch  to  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  width,  so  that  they 
can  not  only  cut  continuously  (as  their  name  implies),  but  can 
work  in  any  direction  the  governor  listeth.  The  endless  saw,  it 
has  been  remarked,  is  "a  triumph  of  human  ingenuity."  It 
revolves  round  two  wheels,  much  in  the  same  way  as  a  band 
revolves  round  two  drums.  "  The  wheels  are  perhaps  three  feet 
in  diameter,  and  two  inches  in  thickness  at  the  circumference. 
They  are  placed — one  as  low  as  the  workman's  feet,  another 
rather  above  his  head — six  or  seven  feet  apart.  Round  the 
wheels  there  stretches  an  endless  narrow  band  of  blue  steel,  just 
as  a  ribbon  might.  This  band  of  steel  is  very  thin.  Its  edge 
towards  the  workman  is  serrated  with  sharp  deep  teeth.  The 
wheels  revolve  by  steam  rapidly,  and  carry  with  them  the  saw, 
so  that  instead  of  the  old  up  and  down  motion,  the  teeth  are 
continually  running  one  way.  The  band  of  steel  is  so  extremely 
flexible  that  it  sustains  the  state  of  perpetual  curve."  The 
ancient  stories  of  sword  blades  that  could  be  bent  double  are 
here  surpassed  by  a  saw  that  is  incessantly  curved  and  inces- 
santly curving.  "  A  more  beautiful  machine  cannot  be  imagined. 
Its  chief  use  is  to  cut  out  the  designs  for  cornices  and  similar 
ornamental  work  in  thin  wood  ;  but  it  is  sufficiently  strong 
to  cut  through  a  two-inch  plank  like  paper,"  while  it  is  itself 
apparently  as  flexible  as  indiarubber. 

Here  are  moulding  machines,  which  can  at  the  same  time 
plane,  mould,  tongue,  or  groove  all  four  sides  of  a  piece  of 
timber ;  also  moulding   machines  for  moulding  short  pieces  of 


DERBY    CARRIAGE    BUILDING    WORKS.  367 

timber ;  and  dovetailing  machines,  a  very  ingenious  mechanical 
arrangement,  by  which  dovetails  of  boards  are  at  one  operation 
expeditiously  cut  out  and  made  to  fit  exactly  together.  The 
panel-planing  machine  reduces  the  panel  boards  for  carriages 
to  an  even  thickness  and  a  perfectly  true  face  ;  and  the  sand- 
papering machine  smooths  the  panel  so  that  it  is  ready  to 
receive  the  paint.  Attached  to  the  sand-papering  machine  is 
an  exhausting  fan,  which  withdraws  the  dust,  and  prevents  it 
injuring  either  the  work  or  the  lungs  of  the  workmen. 

We  notice  in  the  sawing  mill  that,  despite  the  work  constantly 
going  on  and  the  enormous  power  required,  the  main  shafting, 
pulleys,  and  belting  are  "  conspicuous  by  their  absence."  The 
fact  is  they  are  in  a  cellar,  nine  feet  deep,  under  our  feet.  By 
this  arrangement  the  quick-running  and  dangerous  machinery  is 
kept  away  from  the  general  workmen  ;  the  floor  of  the  mill  is 
clear  for  carrying  or  stacking  the  various  lengths  of  timber  ;  and 
the  sawdust,  shavings,  and  other  refuse  from  the  machines  can 
be  removed  without  interfering  with  the  work  of  the  mill.  The 
mill  floor,  which  serves  also  as  the  roof  of  the  cellar,  is  sup- 
ported by  500  cast-iron  columns,  and  is  made  specially  sub- 
stantial and  stiff,  in  order  to  bear  the  weight  and  to  resist  the 
vibration  of  the  machinery. 

The  two  engines,  of  18-inch  cylinder,  which  drive  the 
machinery,  are  apparently  small  in  size,  but  they  develop  an 
exceedingly  high  actual  horse-power.  Their  three  boilers  have 
a  working  steam  pressure  of  140  pounds  a  square  inch.  "  The 
engines  are  provided,"  says  Mr.  Clayton,  "  with  a  very  heavy 
fly-wheel,  and  most  perfect  governor,  in  order  to  enable  them 
to  overcome  any  sudden  increase  or  decrease  of  work  to  which 
sawing  machinery  is  liable." 

We  next  enter  the  wagon  shop.  It  also  is  320  feet  by  200. 
Here  the  timber  from  the  saw-mill,  and  the  metal  parts  from 
the  machine  shop,  meet,  and  are  built  together  into  wagons.  So 
complete  is  the  fit  that  the  men  here  have  very  little  actual 
mechanical  labour,  as  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  "  one  pair 
of  men  can  build  ordinary  open  goods  wagons  at  the  rate  of 
one  a  day." 

The  next  is  the  carriage  building  and  finishing  shop,  where, 
again,  the  timber  from  the  saw-mill  and  the  ironwork  from  the 
machine  shop  meet,  and  are  formed  into  carriage  bodies.     These 


368  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

are  seen  in  all  stages  of  construction,  and  in  all  states  of  repair. 
Some  are  just  lifted  off  their  bogies  ;  from  others  the  bogies 
have  been  removed  for  repair.  Here  are  "bodies"  "in  frame," 
mere  skeletons — like  the  ribs  of  a  whale  without  his  blubber, — 
but  withal  well-formed  skeletons  of  sound  English  oak,  to  be 
covered  with  panelling,  to  be  sheathed  with  Honduras  maho- 
gany. Here  are  carriages  partly  stripped  of  their  panels,  the 
clean  bright  patch  of  new  wood  showing  boldly  against  the 
deep,  dead  chocolate  of  the  old  painted  side.  Here  are  some  of 
the  new  Midland  bogies,  fifty-four  feet  long,  some  six-wheeled, 
others  four-wheeled  ;  the  latter  being  the  type  at  present  princi- 
pally built  by  the  Midland  Company,  partly  because  they  are 
found  "handier"  to  lift.  Carriages  so  heavy  as  these,  and  of 
such  a  length,  necessarily  gain  immensely  in  steadiness.  The 
body  of  the  carriage  is  mounted  on  a  "bogie,"  or  a  bogie  truck, 
each  having  two  or  three  pairs  of  wheels.     Through  the  centre 


NEW    MIDLAND    BOGIE   CARRIAGE. 


of  each  truck  runs  a  massive  pin,  which  bolts  it  securely  to  the 
body,  but  allows  it  to  revolve  sufficiently  to  run  easily  and  safely 
round  the  greatest  curve  on  any  existing  railway.  The  interior 
of  these  carriages  has  all  the  improvements  which  have  been 
made  from  time  to  time  in  railway  carriages,  and  several  others 
of  its  own.  One  of  these  is  the  clerestory  roof,  sometimes 
called  the  "  tunnel "  roof,  which  gives  an  air  of  lightness  and 
space  so  pleasant  to  a  railway  passenger.  The  first-class  com- 
partments are  upholstered  in  the  usual  way,  with  movable  arms  ; 
the  wood-work  is  of  sycamore,  divided  into  panels  by  maple 
mouldings,  and  these  carriages  are  among  the  finest,  if  not  the 
finest,  upon  our  English  railways.  The  third-class  compartments 
have  also  been  improved,  till  they  fairly  compete  in  popular 
esteem  with  the  first  class.  In  the  west  end  of  the  carriage  shop 
is  a  space  set  apart  for  the  "finishing"  of  carriages.  This 
includes  the  veneering  over  the  inside  panels,  the  insertion  of 


DERBY    CARRIAGE    BUILDING    WORKS.  369 

the  window  frames  and  windows,  the  fixing  of  the  maple  and 
satinwood,  and  the  cabinet  work  generally.  Hard  by  this  shop, 
and  in  practical  conjunction  with  it,  is  the  panel  shed — a  timber 
building  300  feet  long  by  100  wide,  with  walls  formed  of  louvre 
boards,  where  is  a  large  stock  of  mahogany  panels,  maple  boards 
for  moulding,  and  also  dry  boards  for  carriage  work.  All  this 
remains  for  two  years  to  season  before  it  is  used.* 

The  last  shop  on  this  side  is  for  painting  and  trimming.  It 
is  nearly  400  feet  by  300  ;  has  seventeen  lines  of  railway,  on 
each  of  which  ten  ordinary  vehicles  can  stand.  For  a  carriage 
to  be  able  effectually  to  resist  the  action  of  the  weather,  and 
also  to  maintain  a  suitable  appearance,  it  has  to  receive  a 
succession  of  coats.  Including  the  lead  colour,  the  "  filling  up," 
the  rubbing  the  surface  smoothly  down,  the  painting,  and  the 
repeated  varnishing,  there  are  no  fewer  than  twenty-five  opera- 
tions before  a  carriage  is  finished.  Meanwhile,  in  their  various 
stages  of  painting  they  present  a  varied  appearance  :  their  dull 
look  in  the  initiatory  stages,  the  improvement  made  at  each 
successive  stage,  until  at  last  they  are  completed  as  handsomely 
as  a  gentleman's  carriage  ;  and  a  bystander  can  see  his  face  in 
the  carriage  almost  as  plainly  as  in  a  mirror. 

At  the  west  end  of  this  block  the  trimming  and  upholstery 
work  of  the  carriages  is  prepared  ;  indeed,  much  of  it  is  being 
done  while  the  carriages  are  being  painted.  The  cushions  are 
stuffed  with  horsehair,  and  are  covered  on  one  side  with  woollen 
cloth,  and  on  the  other  with  American  cloth,  the  latter  being 
cleaner  and  cooler  for  dusty  and  hot  weather.  The  horsehair  is 
worth  from  a  shilling  to  eighteenpence  a  pound,  and  a  single 
compartment  of  a  first-class  carriage  will  require  100  to  no 
pounds — costing,  therefore,  from  £$  to  £S  for  one  compart- 
ment. The  roof  is  lined  with  what  is  called  wax  cloth,  worth 
two  shillings  a  square  yard  and  upwards. 

On  the  other,  the  eastern,  side  of  the  yard  are  the  buildings 
in  which  metal  work  is  dealt  with.  There  is  the  foundry, 
whence,  for  instance,  2,000  tons  of  castings  are  annually  turned 
out ;  there  is  the  smithy,  with  its  ninety-two  rows  of  hearths ; 
and  the  bolt  and  spring  makers'  shops,  which  manufacture  more 

*  From  a  paper  contributed  to  the  Chesterfield  and  Derbyshire  Institute 
of  Mining,  Civil,  and  Mechanical  Engineers,  by  Mr.  T.  G.  Clayton. 

B  B 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

than  twenty  tons  of  bolts  and  nuts  every  week,  and  which  make 
and  repair  springs.  Here  also  is  the  wheel-tiring  shop. 
The  work  done  by  railway  carriage  wheels  is  enormous.  A 
wheel  of  four  feet  diameter  is,  of  course,  twelve  feet  or  four 
yards  in  circumference.  In  running  a  mile  it  will  have  to  turn 
round  440  times,  and  in  ten  miles  4,400  times  ;  that  is  to  say, 
in  running  from  London  to  Leeds,  a  distance  of  about  200 
miles,  it  will  turn  some  88,000  times.  That  is  a  good  many 
turns,  and  a  good  deal  of  wear  and  tear,  for  one  very  moderate 
journey.  It  is  frequently  necessary  to  remove  wheels  from, 
and  to  force  others  upon,  their  axles,  to  do  which  a  machine, 
with  a  pressure  of  two  hundred  tons,  is  applied.  Here,  also, 
the  various  processes  are  carried  on  by  which  wheels  are  made 
or  repaired — a  trade  of  itself ;  and  of  tires  alone,  remarked  Mr. 
Clayton,  "we  have  140,000  or  150,000  of  our  own  running  every 
day,"  a  number  since  largely  increased.  "  Before  a  carriage  be- 
gins its  journey,"  he  continued,  "  the  train  examiner  takes  what 
is  called  '  a  pricker '  (a  piece  of  iron  bent  into  a  suitable  shape), 
with  which  he  opens  the  grease  holes,  to  know  that  they  are 
properly  lubricated,  and  also  to  tell  whether  there  is  sufficient 
brass  in  the  'journal'  against  which  the  axle  in  running  presses, 
so  that  it  may  run  with  safety  and  ease.  Experience  enables 
him  at  once  to  know  by  the  '  feel '  of  the  pricker  if  all  is  right." 

We  may  here  remark  that  in  the  repairing  shed  of  the  Metro- 
politan, at  Edgvvare  Road,  the  tires  when  put  on  are  heated  by 
gas.  The  tire  is  placed  on  a  sort  of  gridiron,  and  jets  of  blue 
gas  are  lit.  The  wheel  hangs  above  by  a  chain  ;  and  when  the 
tire  has  been  sufficiently  expanded  by  the  heat,  the  wheel  is 
quietly  lowered  into  it.  As  the  tire  cools,  it  contracts,  and  is 
securely  "  wrung "  on.  "  By  this  process,"  remarked  the  en- 
gineer, "  I  have  never  had  a  tire  go  wrong." 

To  the  machine  and  fitting  shop — which  contains  nearly 
200  lathes  and  machines  required  for  finishing  the  iron-work — 
is  brought  nearly  all  the  material  made  in  the  foundry  and 
smithy,  whence  it  goes  over  to  the  wood  shops,  to  form  part  of 
the  vehicles  under  construction  or  repair.  Such  are  some  of  the 
arrangements  made  at  the  Midland  Railway  carriage  establish- 
ment in  order  to  maintain  in  efficient  order  a  rolling  stock 
consisting  of  some  4,000  carriages  and  34,000  wagons.  To 
these   considerable   additions    have    lately  been   made   by  the 


PULLMAN    CARRIAGES.  371 

purchase  of  what  have  hitherto  been  the  wagons  of  private 
owners. 

We  may  add  that  in  each  department  there  are  convenient 
and  comfortable  mess-rooms  for  the  workmen.  There  are 
several  cooks  in  each  room,  and  each  workman  brings  his 
victuals  of  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl,  or  chops,  beef,  or  steak,  and  at 
the  meal-time  he  finds  his  dish  set  before  him,  all  excellently 
cooked,  and  also  hot.  This  is  a  great  boon  to  the  workmen 
who  live  at  a  distance  from  the  works.  At  breakfast  every  day 
a  minister  conducts  a  short  service,  and  delivers  a  brief  address, 
or  if  one  cannot  be  obtained  there  are  several  of  the  workmen 
who  are  able  to  suitably  address  their  fellow-workmen  on  re- 
ligious topics.  On  several  occasions  the  workmen  here,  includ- 
ing those  of  the  locomotive  department,  have  been  addressed 
in  the  open  air  by  distinguished  visitors  ;  and  thus,  at  the  recent 
Church  Congress  held  at  Derby,  the  Rev.  Canon  Farrar  spoke 
to  a  delighted  auditory  of  some  2,000  of  them. 

The  cost  of  the  repairs  of  passenger  carriages  has  been  esti- 
mated at  from  i\d.  to  2\d.  per  train  mile.  The  cost  of  repair- 
ing goods  trucks  varies  very  much,  but  in  general  is  from  2\d. 
to  3d.  per  train  mile.  On  several  lines  this  is  greatly  exceeded, 
and  the  maximum  reaches  6d.  There  appear  to  be  two  general 
causes  for  this  result :  one,  the  large  proportional  stock  required 
for  the  mileage  run  in  agricultural  districts  ;  the  other,  the  large 
stock  needed  for  mineral,  more  especially  for  coal  traffic.  For 
this  traffic  the  number  of  trucks  in  a  train  is  large ;  the  trucks 
are  heavily  laden,  and  liable  to  much  rough  usage. 

In  competition  with  the  best  bogie  carriages  are  the  Pullmans, 
"fit,"  as  Sir  Edward  Baines  has  said,  "for  the  journeyings  of 
monarchs."  In  the  autumn  of  1872,  Mr.  Allport  visited  the 
United  States,  and  found  how  rapid  and  remarkable  had  been 
the  success  of  these  carriages.  In  1867  there  were  only  thirty- 
seven  of  them  in  America ;  but  five  years  later  there  were  700 
in  remunerative  operation  ;  and  the  company's  contracts  are 
with,  more  than  150  different  railways,  and  extend  over  30,000 
miles  of  American  railway.  Careful  observation  and  inquiry 
led  Mr.  Allport  to  the  conclusion  that  these  carriages  might  be 
of  service  in  this  country,  especially  for  long  or  night  journeys. 
Eventually  it  was  arranged  between  the  Midland  board  and 
Mr.  Pullman  that  his  cars  should  be  introduced  on  their  lines  ; 


,;;:?  our  iron  roads. 

and  a  contract  was  entered  into  for  fifteen  years,  by  which  the 
Pullman  Company  provides  the  cars  in  good  order  and  with 
suitable  attendants  ;  and  the  railway  company  supplies  motive 
power,  warmth,  and  protection.  In  payment,  the  railway 
company  has  the  ordinary  first-class  fare,  and  the  Pullman 
Company  a  certain  very  moderate  additional  sum.  That  every- 
thing has  been  completed   without  regard   to  expense  may  be 


INTERIOR   OF    PULLMAN    CAR. 


inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  Pullman  parlour  car  costs  no 
less  than  ^3,000 — a  sum  nearly  equal  to  that  spent  on  the 
magnificent  travelling  carriage  built  by  the  London  and  North 
Western  Railway  for  the  use  of  the  Queen. 

When  the  first  journey  of  the  Pullman  train  was  run,  it  was 
from  St.  Pancras  to  Bedford.  "  Literally  nothing,"  wrote  one 
who  then  travelled,  "  seemed  left  to  desire.     Entering  the  train 


PULLMAN    CARRIAGES. 


2>7, 


from  one  end,  you  were  introduced  to  the  parlour  car,  a  luxurious 
contrivance  for  short  lines  and  day-travel  only.  It  was  a  taste- 
fully and  richly  decorated  saloon,  over  fifty  feet  long,  light, 
warm,  well  ventilated,   and  exquisitely  carpeted,    upholstered, 


El 


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LB 


m 


M 


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m 


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and  furnished.  Along  each  side,  and  close  to  the  windows,  were 
crimson-cushioned  easy  chairs,  in  which,  by  means  of  a  pivot, 
you  might  swing  yourself  round  to  converse  with  your  neigh- 
bour, or,  by  means  of  one  of  the  thousand  ingenious  contrivances 


374  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

with  which  the  whole  train  abounded,  you  might  tilt  yourself 
hack  to  the  proper  angle  of  enjoyment.  The  centre  is  free  for 
passing  to  and  fro.  There  are  various  little  saloons  of  the 
private  box  order,  in  which  a  family  party  might  make  them- 
selves happy.  Then  you  came  to  the  drawing-room  sleeping 
car,  another  long,  well-appointed  saloon,  with  fixed  scats  at  the 
windows  like  short  sofas,  two  and  two,  and  facing  each  other. 
Between  them  a  firm,  convenient  table  could  be  planted,  and 
upon  one  of  them  we  were  able,  while  the  train  ran  at  over  fifty 
miles  an  hour,  to  write  without  difficulty.  The  tables  removed, 
the  seats  lowered  to  meet  each  other  became  an  admirable 
bedstead,  while  some  beautifully  ornamented  and  finished  panels 
overhead,  that  appeared  to  be  merely  part  of  the  sloping  roof 
of  the  saloon,  were  unfastened,  and  in  a  moment  converted  into 
equally  comfortable  upper  berths.  By-and-by  the  saloon  was 
restored  to  its  normal  drawing-room  aspect,  the  tables  were 
again  put  up,  waiters  entered  with  snow-white  cloths,  pantries 
and  anterooms  were  brought  into  operation,  and  there  appeared 
a  dining  hall  as  complete  in  its  requirements  as  the  drawing- 
room  and  sleeping-room  had  been  in  theirs." 

How  far  the  Pullman  car  will  be  generally  preferred  in 
England  is  a  matter  of  some  doubt.  Americans  themselves, 
when  they  come  to  this  country,  appear  well  content  with  the 
matchless  speed  of  English  railway  travelling  and  the  comfort 
of  half-filled  ordinary  first-class  carriages.  When  Lord  George 
Bentinck  said  on  an  off-day  at  Newmarket,  only  a  few  owners, 
trainers,  and  jockeys  being  present,  "  This  is  what  I  like.  I 
hate  a  crowd,"  he  expressed  a  feeling  widely  distributed  among 
our  population,  and  one  adverse  to  the  adoption  of  long  cars. 
They  are,  without  question,  a  great  boon  to  ladies  and  to 
solitary  travellers.  Relieved  of  the  custody  of  her  impedimenta, 
of  all  fear  of  insult,  and  pleased  with  the  handsome  surroundings 
of  the  Pullman  drawing-room,  the  lady  traveller  will  appreciate 
the  provision  made  for  her  comfort ;  and  the  more  social 
varieties  of  the  Englishman,  if  travelling  alone,  may  also  take 
kindly  to  the  long  car.  A  shy  and  sensitive  minority  will 
perhaps  prefer  the  comparative  seclusion  of  the  ordinary  first- 
class  carriage. 

Some  of  the  sleeping  cars  on  American  lines  appear  to  have 
their  drawbacks.     A  traveller  tells  us  of  his  experiences  in  one 


SLEEPING    CARS.  375 

of  them.  "There  was  something  touching,"  he  says,  "in  the 
perfect  neatness  and  comfort  of  the  beds.  In  the  midst  of  a 
great,  dirty,  roaring,  selfish  city,  one  could  hardly  have  looked 
for  such  domesticity  and  motherly  providence.  How  cool  and 
fresh  the  linen  looked!  How  springy  the  mattresses!  How  soft 
the  pillows  !  Surely  this  must  be  the  happiest  way  to  bridge 
the  two  hundred  and  odd  miles  between  New  York  and  Boston ! 
1  To  sleep ! '  and,  by  a  sleep,  to  say  we  end  the  newsboys  and  the 
pop-corn  man,  urchin  with  gum-drops,  and  with  Ridley's  candies, 
the  long  array  of  '  bound  books,'  novels,  '  Harper's,'  '  Leslie's,' 
'  Fun  for  Three  Months,'  and,  though  last  not  least,  the  stench 
the  gloom,  the  smoke,  the  dirt,  of  that  foul  place,  the  depot  at 
New  Haven  !  .  'Tis  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished  !  I 
little  thought  that  in  that  sleep  there  might  be  dreams ! 

"  After  the  tedious  gentleman  had  given  me  my  ticket,  I 
suffered  myself  to  be  led  like  a  lamb  to  a  bench  in  an  alcove 
at  one  side  of  the  car.  This  bench  a  youth  shared  with  me,  and 
opposite  were  two  other  victims.  All  four  of  us  were  innocent 
and  unsuspecting ;  we  entered  into  a  light  and  courteous  con- 
versation ;  we  played  about  the  subject  that  lay  nearest  our 
thoughts,  as  though  we  were  utterly  indifferent  to  it ;  we 
encouraged  each  other  in  a  fatuous  confidence  in  the  honour 
and  good  intentions  of  those  to  whom  we  had  blindly  intrusted 
ourselves.  We  expressed  our  belief  in  the  beds !  Each  one 
told  the  other  that  he  expected  to  sleep  like  a  top !  We 
believed  we  should,  or  we  tried  to  believe  it ;  and  as  we  really 
know  nothing  about  tops  and  how  they  sleep,  perhaps  we  did 
sleep  like  them.  In  that  case,  tops  are  a  miserable  class  of 
creatures.  Conversation  soon  became  confidential.  The  youth,, 
my  neighbour,  wound  up  his  watch.  He  said  that  he  had  been 
told  that  he  must  particularly  look  out  for  pickpockets  in  the 
sleeping-cars!  His  papa  had  told  him  that  they  looked 
remarkably  like  gentlemen.  His  watch  was  a  valuable  one. 
He  had  more  money  with  him  than  he  cared  to  lose.  His  aunt 
had  advised  him  to  pin  it  into  his  fob  ;  but  his  brother  had  told 
him  that  all  such  devices  were  useless  against  pickpockets. 

"  Then  the  man  appeared  who  makes  up  the  beds.  He 
pulled  levers  up  and  down,  shots  bolts,  turned  windlasses, 
adjusted  screws,  and  finally  we  saw  our  snug  alcoves  trans- 
formed  into  four  beds  o^  such  a   guileless   and    prepossessing 


OUR     IKON     ROADS. 

appearance  as  might  have  deceived  the  very  elect!  For  us,  as 
for  the  rest,  snow-white  sheets  were  spread  ;  crimson  blankets — 
which  the  chilly  August  air,  and  the  dreary,  pattering  rain  made 
seem  most  comfortable — were  cosily  tucked  in,  plumpest  pillows 
invited  our  heads,  and  the  shadowing  curtains  enclosed  me  and 
the  confiding  youth  in  their  folds  while  we  undressed  for  the 
night      But,  reader,  I  am  no  poet,  and  cannot  describe  that  night. 

"  After  a  few  hours  of  abortive  attempts  at  sleeping,  I  at  last 
found  myself,  in  the  early  grey  of  morning,  as  wide  awake  as  if  it 
were  broad  noon.  I  leaned  out  of  my  coffin  and  looked  about 
in  the  dim  light  to  see  how  it  fared  with  the  other  dead  people. 
My  confiding  friend  was  sitting  on  a  pillow  on  the  floor  by  the 
side  of  his  berth,  apparently  wondering  why  his  maiden-aunt 
had  not  included  sleeping-cars  in  her  list  of  dangers  he  was  to 
avoid." 

One  good  turn  deserves  another  ;  and  we  are  patriotically 
happy  to  read  in  the  Detroit  Tribune  that  the  Wagner  Sleep- 
ing Car  Company  have  been  fitting  up  and  advertising  an 
"  English  parlour  car,"  to  be  put  upon  the  Michigan  Central. 
"It  is  built,"  we  are  told,  "in  continental  style,  with  compart- 
ments, doors  at  the  side,  a  smoking-room  in  each  end,  and  a 
narrow  foot  platform  running  along  the  side.  It  will  be  ele- 
gantly fitted  up,  and  equipped  with  sofa  chairs." 

But  while  the  railway  companies  are  endeavouring  to  pro- 
mote the  comfort  of  their  travellers,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
there  are  some  passengers  who  are  unworthy  of  such  consider- 
ation. A  chairman  of  the  London  and  South  Western  stated 
to  a  meeting  of  shareholders,  that  he  had  been  shown  a  cushion 
in  one  of  their  carriages  in  the  back  of  which  no  fewer  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  holes  had  been  cut  ;  and  the  amount  of  loss 
which  railway  companies  sustain  from  wilful  and  wanton  damage 
is  as  great  as  it  is  inexcusable.  A  railway  carriage  is  often  so 
mutilated  that  it  has  to  be  upholstered  de  novo;  and  brainless 
fops  who  wear  diamond  rings  consider  it  a  display  at  once  of 
their  elegance  and  wit  to  scrape  the  glass  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  interrupt  the  view,  or  even  to  outrage  decency,  so  that  the 
window  has  to  be  replaced  before  the  carriage  again  becomes 
suitable  for  public  use. 

Some  travellers,  it  appears,  are  careful  observers  of  such 
scientific   minutice   as   the   botany   of    the   interior   of    railway 


BOTANY    OF    A    RAILWAY    CARRIAGE.  377 

carriages.  Dr.  M'Nab,  Professor  of  Botany  in  the  Royal 
College  of  Science,  Dublin,  says  that  in  a  railway  carriage  on 
the  express  between  Paddington  and  Milford,  he  noticed  in  the 
window  two  tufts  of  moss,  one  near  each  corner  of  the  glass. 
"  There  was  a  little  black  soil  kept  moist  by  the  condensation 
of  vapour  on  the  window,  and  two  little  bright  green  patches, 
consisting  of  about  forty  or  fifty  plants,  about  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  in  height,  and  apparently  very  healthy.  The  other  windoAV 
had  the  same  moist  deposit  of  soil,  but  no  mosses.  I  put  a 
small  quantity  of  the  soil  and  moss  into  my  pocket-book,  and 
after  my  return  to  the  college  placed  two  or  three  of  the  little 
plants  under  the  microscope.  The  plants  have  only  a  few 
leaves,  and  probably  belong  to  the  genus  tortula ;  but  along 
with  the  moss  I  could  detect  an  abundance  of  two  species  of 
oscillatoria  in  a  very  healthy  condition,  with  abundance  of 
phycochroma  in  their  cells.  On  examining  the  slide  with  a 
higher  power,  I  detected  a  number  of  diatoms,  all  belonging 
to  a  small  species  of  navicula.  The  soil  in  which  the  mosses 
were  growing  was  very  peculiar.  It  consisted  almost  exclusively 
of  exceedingly  minute  black  particles,  appearing  as  mere  specks 
with  a  sixth-inch  object  glass,  and  all  exhibiting  the  most  active 
Brownian  movements.  The  moving  soil  seems  a  fitting  accom- 
paniment to  the  locomotive  habitat  of  the  specimens.  I 
suppose  it  will  be  necessary  to  say  the  distribution  of  the  plants 
is  remarkable,  extending,  as  it  does,  from  Paddington  to 
Milford  and  back.  You  may,  therefore,  accept  this  as  a  small 
contribution  towards  the  '  Botany  of  the  South  Wales  Ex- 
press.' " 

Mr.  Elliott,  the  Midland  station  master  at  Leeds,  has  in- 
vented an  ingenious  contrivance  for  labelling  railway  carriages. 
It  consists  of  a  wooden  framework  encasing  transparent  indi- 
cators inscribed  with  letters  about  an  inch  and  a  half  deep. 
These  work  in  a  groove,  and  by  means  of  an  ordinary  carriage- 
key  may  be  concealed  behind  the  frame,  or  let  down  so  as  to 
indicate  to  the  passengers,  by  day  or  by  night,  the  destination 
of  the  carriage.  Carriages  running  between  London  and  Leeds 
and  Bradford  may  be  labelled  "  London "  on  the  upward 
journey,  and  on  the  downward,  as  may  be  arranged,  "  Leeds  " 
or  "  Bradford." 

Near  Trent  station  is  a  spot  often  passed  by  those  who  are 


37^  OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

unaware  of  the  interesting  and  useful  work  there  carried  on. 

The  place  is  situated  just  where  the  two  lines  from  Trent  con- 
-.  and  whence  they  run  on  together  towards  Derby.  It  is 
known  among  railway  men  as  "the  sheet  stores";  it  is  not 
only  a  store,  but  a  manufactory.  At  one  time  the  spot  was 
used — it  being  on  the  Erewash  Canal  as  well  as  on  the  railway 
— as  a  coke  stores  ;  and  the  directors  of  the  old  Midland  Coun- 
ties Railway  Company  had  offices  here  for  the  transaction  of 
business.  The  basin,  formerly  used  for  coaling  purposes,  now 
receives  barges  which  bring  ballast  that  has  been  dredged  from 
the  Trent,  and  which  is  here  trans-shipped  into  ballast  trains  for 
the  service  of  the  line. 

Our  reader  has  some  rainy  night  stood  at  a  roadside  station 
and  watched  a  goods  train  pass  slowly  by.  It  was  a  very  wet, 
long,  low,  solid  mass,  and  over  each  wagon  was  some  sort  of 
black-looking  covering  that  glistened  in  the  lamp- light,  and 
showed  pools  of  water  that  had  collected  in  the  folds  of  the 
sheets — water  that  otherwise  would  have  soaked  into  the  boxes 
or  bales  of  merchandise  of  various  kinds  underneath.  It  is  to 
the  making  and  the  repair  of  these  sheets  that  the  extensive 
manufactory  near  Trent  station  is  devoted. 

Sheets  were  employed  for  a  very  curious  purpose  at  one  time. 
The  circumstance  is  little  known,  but  it  was  mentioned  to  us 
on  unquestionable  authority.  When  coals  were  first  carried  by 
railway  on  the  then  London  and  Birmingham  line,  they  were 
sheeted  down,  for  fear  they  should  be  seen,  it  being  thought  be- 
neath the  dignity  of  a  railway  company  to  carry  minerals  !  An 
indignant  objection  was  at  first  made  to  their  being  carried  at 

all,  and  it  was  reported  to  Stephenson  that  Mr.  B ,  of  the 

London  and  Birmingham  line,  had  said  :  "  They  will  want  us  to 
carry  dung  next."     On  hearing  this,   "  Old  George's  "  anger  was 

aroused,  and  he  replied,  "You  tell  B from  me,  that  when 

he  travels  by  rail  they  carry  dung  now." 

The  selection  by  the  Midland  Company  of  the  present  lonely 
spot  for  their  sheet  stores  was  partly  because  of  the  risk  of  fire 
consequent  on  the  inflammable  nature  of  some  of  the  materials 
employed.  Formerly  the  work  was  carried  on  at  Derby  station, 
over  the  cheese  warehouse  ;  and,  within  a  twelvemonth  of  the 
removal  to  temporary  premises  near  Trent,  they  were  burned 
down. 


A    SHEET    STORES.  379 

The  covers  are  made  of  a  stout  canvas,  sent  here  in  "  bolts," 
or  pieces  of  ioo  feet  each,  from  Dundee,  Leeds,  or  elsewhere,  and 
cut  up  in  lengths  20  feet  long.  A  single  sewing-machine  will 
do  as  much  work  as  half  a  dozen  sewing-men.  When  the  sheet 
has  been  made,  it  is  taken  to  a  large  shed,  laid  on  the  floor, 
and  "  dressed  "  ;  in  other  words,  it  is  vigorously  scrubbed  with  a 
long-handled  stiff  brush  dipped  into  a  combination  of  boiled 
linseed  oil  and  vegetable  black — the  black  being  the  soot  of 
burned  cabbage  stalks  or  other  vegetable  refuse.  One  coat  of 
this  oil  is  brushed  in  on  each  side,  then  three  more  are  added, 
and  the  sheets  have  now  a  bright  "  face  "  upon  them. 

Besides  the  making  of  new  sheets,  there  is  also  the  mending 
of  old  ones.  "  You  can  t  guarantee  a  sheet,"  said  Mr.  Clat- 
worthy,  the  superintendent,  "  after  it  has  had  even  one  journey." 
The  corners  of  the  trucks,  the  awkward  projections  of  the 
packages,  or  the  carelessness  of  those  who  handle  the  sheets, 
will  cause  them  to  be  pierced  or  torn  ;  and,  if  there  is  one  hole, 
however  small,  it  may  let  through  water  enough  to  spoil  a  lot 
of  valuable  property.  A  large  number  of  men  and  boys  may 
be  seen  squatting  about  on  the  floor,  in  tailor-like  positions, 
darning,  patching,  and  piercing  the  places  that  have  already 
been  found — perhaps  by  holding  the  sheets  before  a  window — 
to  be  defective.  These  darns  are  subsequently  blackened  over 
by  boys  ;  or,  in  bad  cases,  the  whole  sheet  is  re-painted.  A 
sheet  will  sometimes  come  in  for  repairs  half  a  dozen  times  in  a 
year.  A  mark  placed  upon  it,  and  sundry  brief  but  suggestive 
records  in  a  "sheet-book,"  enable  the  clerks  to  recognise  any 
sheet,  and  to  trace  its  history. 

When  a  sheet  has  been  painted,  it  is  laid  over  a  pole,  and 
hoisted  by  a  couple  of  ropes  and  pulleys  over  the  heads  of  the 
workmen,  that  it  may  dry.  It  is  then  lowered,  to  be  stencilled 
with  the  gigantic  fourteen-inch  letters  M  R  Co.  These  are  put 
twice  on  each  side  of  the  sheet,  so  that  it  may  easily  be  recog- 
nised ;  and,  with  the  same  design,  the  edges  of  the  sheet  are 
painted  yellow,  so  that  when  folded  up  and  mixed  with  the 
sheets  of  perhaps  half  a  dozen  other  companies,  each  may  be 
known  without  unfolding  all.  The  Great  Northern  has  a  white 
and  blue  line  from  corner  to  corner  ;  and  the  London  and  North 
Western  has  two  red  lines  running  lengthwise  over  the  sheet. 
These  drying  rooms  are  heated  by  steam,  and  will  hold  600 


[8  > 


nl'U    IRON    ROADS. 


sheets.  Each  sheet  when  finished  is  worth  about  £2.  It  lasts 
ordinarily  four  years;  though,  said  Mr.  Clatworthy,  "we  often 
get  lather  more  out  of  them."  Several  thousand  new  ones  are 
here  made  every  j  ear. 

In  addition  to  sheets,  various  kinds  of  covers  and  ropes  are 
made  at  the  Trent  sheet  stores.  The  shunting  ropes  are  of  six- 
inch  rope,  ten  yards  Long,  and  are  intended  chiefly  for  goods 
yards  and  collieries.  Into  one  end  of  the  rope  a  great  hook  is 
spliced,  and  into  the  other  end  perhaps  a  ring.  These  are  so 
fund}-  interwoven  that  not  an  engine  on  the  line  could  draw 
owe  out  :  the  rope  would  rather  break.  "  Lashing  ropes,"  for 
binding  wool  or  timber  on  wagons,  ropes  for  slings  with  which 
to  hoist  goods  into  warehouses,  and  similar  appliances,  are  here 
prepared.  Covers  for  the  horses  are  also  made.  Formerly  they 
were  of  ordinary  oil-cloth,  which  effectually  excluded  the  wet, 
but  as  effectually  kept  in  the  moisture.  Flannel  is  now  pre- 
ferred, and  it  supplies  a  warm  jacket  for  horses  in  wet  or  cold 
weather,  and  fewer  of  them  now  go  to  the  infirmary. 


-^j-^  ' 


MONSAL   DALE. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


R  Bradshaw." — The  Editorial  Department  of  a  Railway. — The  Official  Time- 
Table.— The  "Working  Time-Table."— The  "Appendix"  to  the  Work- 
ing Time-Table. — Excursion  Time-Table. — The  Staff  of  a  Railway 
Editor. — Charms  of  Early  Railway  Travelling. — Third- Class  Passengers. 
— Improvements  in  Third-Class  Travelling.  —"Third  Class  by  all  Trains." 
— Numbers  of  Third-Class  Passengers. — First-Class  Passengers. — 
Workmen's  Trains. — Special  Trains. — Fox  Hunters. — New  "Twin  Day 
Saloons"  of  London  and  North  Western. — Dining  Saloon  Cars  on  Mid- 
land.— Limited  Pullman  Express  on  London  and  Brighton. — Special 
Sociability  of  Certain  Railroad  Travellers. — The  Royal  Train.— Odd  Ideas 
of  Locomotion. — A  Passenger  Travelling  as  Merchandise. — An  Exciting 
Episode. — Carelessness  of  Travellers. — Foolishness  of  Travellers. — A 
New  Zealander. — An  Iron-Clad  Train  on  Duty. — Railway  Travelling  in 
War  Time.— A  Military  Railway.— Private  Owners  of  Railways.— Other 
Passengers  by  Railway  :    Horses,  Cattle,   etc.— Legal  Definition  of  a 

Pig.— A  Lap  Dog.— A  Tiger.— Fish  Traf- 
fic—Milk Traffic— A  Goods  Station  at 
Night.— Coal  Traffic. 


HE  legal  historian  records  a  re- 
markable judicial  opinion.  It 
appears  that  some  years  ago  a 
witness  observed  that  he  had  on 
a  certain  occasion  examined  the 
pages  of  "  Bradshaw's  Guide"  for 
some  twenty  consecutive  minutes  ; 
whereupon  the  judge  declared  that 
the  evidence  of  such  a  person  must  not  be  relied  upon — that  he 
was  a  fit  subject  for  a  commission  de  limatico  inquirendo.  We 
are  so  unfortunate  as  to  differ  from  the  learned  gentleman.  We 
are  of  opinion  that  one  of  the  most  valuable,  if  one  of  the  most 
unconnected,  periodicals  issued  from  the  monthly  press,  is  that 
which  bears  the  name  of  Bradshaw,  and  that  it  contains  data 
which  even  the  statesman,  the  philosopher,  and  the  humorist 
may  ponder.     The  name  itself  is  suggestive.     "  Some  men,"  it 

The  initial  letter  represents  a  temporary  over-bridge. 


382  I  'l  R    tRON    ROADS. 

has  been  said,  "arc  born  to  greatness,  others  achieve  greatness, 
and  others  have  greatness  thrust  upon  them;"  and  to  one  of 
these  orders  o(  fame  we  must  assign  a  position  for  the  author  of 
the  work  in  question.  It  is  something  to  leave  behind  us  a  title 
which  posterity  will  ponder  ;  it  must  be  more  to  win  contempo- 
raneous renown  ;  what  must  it  not  be  to  write  our  name  upon 
both  the  present  and  the  future  literature  of  our  country?  To 
insert  his  name  in  the  almanacks  of  his  empire  was  an  honour 
Julius  Caesar  laboured  to  deserve,  and  Augustus  intrigued  to 
share.  But  to  make  one's  name  a  necessity  in  the  language  of 
our  country,  and  every  month  to  have  it  proclaimed  and  re- 
proclaimed  amid  the  busiest  haunts  of  men,  must  be  a  triumph 
the  Caesars  never  won.  Sneering  critics  may  extinguish  ambi- 
tious enemies  by  the  mere  use  of  an  indefinite  article,  when  they 
recount  that  "  a  Mr.  So-and-so  then  addressed  the  meeting  ; " 
but  that  which  is  the  marring  of  one  man  may  be  the  making  of 
another ;  the  insertion  of  the  article  may  turn  a  surname  into  a 
noun,  and  be  the  means  of  spreading  it  on  every  side  and  of 
handing  it  down  to  coming  centuries.  Thus  our  reader  may 
muse,  in  mood  more  grave  or  gay,  when  he  next  stands  at  a 
railway  book-stall  and  buys  "  a  Bradshazv." 

But  though  month  by  month  tens  of  thousands  peruse  the 
pages  of  this  most  popular  of  all  the  monthlies,  even  fame  so 
great  is  not  without  alloy.  Ill-natured  people  declare  that  the 
volume  is  as  unintelligible  as  a  book  of  logarithms  to  a  school- 
girl, and  that  its  study  is  as  exacting  a  mental  toil  as  the  mas- 
tery of  the  integral  calculus.  Still  we  venture  to  think  that 
after  all  there  may  be  something  worth  pondering  in  a  sixpenny 
"  Bradshaw,"  —  something  that  deserves  the  scrutiny  even  of 
gentlemen  who  can  talk  by  the  hour  about  the  currency,  who 
can  revel  in  a  "  price  current "  that  informs  us  that  bones  were 
"  inanimate,"  and  that  "  calves  moved  off  heavily,"  and  who  can 
grow  eloquent  over  the  provincial  politics  of  a  town  council's 
balance  sheet. 

It  is  not  long  since  our  journeyings  were  regulated,  not  by 
a  volume  that  contains  nearly  half  a  million  items,  but  by  a 
few  coachmen's  "  way-bills."  It  is  not  long  since — as  Mr.  Oliver 
Heywood  remarked  at  the  opening  of  the  Eccles,  Tyldesley, 
and  Wigan  line — that  railway  passengers  "had  to  give  their 
names,  and  spell  them,  in  order  to  their  being  written  on  a  large 


TIME-TABLES.  ^T, 


O-'J 


green  paper  ticket  ;  when  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
there  was  a  long  stay  at  Newton  in  order  that  passengers  might 
refresh  themselves  with  Eccles  cakes  ;  and  when  '  a  guide  '  to 
the  line  to  London  cost  five  shillings,  with  a  cheap  edition  at 
half  a  crown."  Nor  are  we  aware  of  any  better  means  by  which 
to  give  vividness  to  our  conception  of  the  greatness  of  this 
peaceful  revolution  than  to  hold  in  our  hand  a  time-table  as  it 
was  years  ago  and  as  it  is  to-day. 

The  "  Railway  Companion,"  as  it  was  then  called,  was  less 
than  half  the  size  of  a  page  of  "  Bradshaw,"  and  contained  only 
about  six  leaves  of  railway  information.  Some  cab  fares,  some 
little  plans  of  towns,  and  maps  of  the  counties  through  which 
the  railways  ran,  were  added.  The  book  was  enclosed  in  a 
cloth  cover,  upon  which  was  a  small  gold  label,  and  it  was  sold 
for  a  shilling.  Subsequently  two  editions  of  the  "  Guide  "  were 
published  at  threepence  and  sixpence  ;  these  have  grown  in 
their  proportions  with  the  growth  of  what  is  called  by  courtesy 
"  our  railway  system,"  until  we  have  now  a  volume  of  hundreds 
of  pages,  telling  us  of  the  movements  of  the  thousands  of 
passenger  trains  that  daily  run  along  our  great  iron  thorough- 
fares, or  wind  their  course  along  the  innumerable  byeways  that 
cross  and  re-cross  the  land. 

But  besides  the  "  Bradshaw "  of  the  book-stall,  there  are 
other  railway  guides  that  tell  of  the  working  of  particular  rail- 
ways :  the  official  productions  of  the  editorial  departments  of 
the  companies  themselves.  It  is  not  enough  to  run  trains,  and 
to  run  them  safely  and  punctually  at  convenient  times  ;  it  is 
also  necessary  that  the  public  should  have  adequate  and 
accurate  information  thereon  ;  and  the  labour  and  care  thus 
involved,  directly  and  indirectly,  is  greater  than  is  generally 
supposed. 

There  is,  firstly,  the  official  time-table  of  the  passenger 
trains.  In  the  arrangement  of  these,  various  considerations  have 
to  be  regarded.  The  seasons,  the  earnings  of  the  train  service 
already  in  operation,  the  growth  of  trades  or  of  towns,  the 
changes  contemplated  by  neighbouring  companies,  the  sugges- 
tions made  to  or  by  officers  of  the  company — all  are  carefully 
considered,  and  are  embodied  in  a  report  that  is  submitted 
to  the  general  manager,  and  afterwards  to  the  directors.  This 
report  being  sanctioned,  the  new  proof-sheets  are  prepared,  the 


384  nlR    1RON    ROADS. 

corrections  being  marked,  sometimes  to  the  number  of  scores 
on  .1  page,  on  one  oi  the  current  time-tables  ;  and  then  every 
item  is  finally  reconsidered,  to  see  that  there  are  no  mistakes 

or  omissions,  or  clashing  of  arrangements  of  trains  that  should 
meet  at  junctions  or  with  other  companies.  Meanwhile,  in 
another  department  the  runnings  of  goods  and  mineral  trains 
also  arc  determined  ;  it  being  understood  that,  in  all  cases,  the 
passenger  trains  have  the  preference.  The  manuscripts  are 
now  sent  to  the  printer,  who,  to  avoid  risk  of  error  by  resetting, 
keeps  all  his  type,  as  used  at  the  last  printing,  still  standing  ; 
the  proofs  returned  by  him  are  carefully  checked  and  corrected, 
and  then  a  "  proof  time-table  "  is  printed,  and  forwarded  to  the 
editors  of  all  railway  local  time-tables.  "  Foreign  "  railway  com- 
panies now  send  in  any  alterations  they  propose,  and  these  have 
to  be  compared  with  and  adjusted  so  that  the  through  traffic  of 
each  company  concerned  may  work  harmoniously.  All  being 
settled,  and  the  necessary  corrections  being  made,  the  official 
time-tables  are  ordered  to  be  printed.  For  the  Midland  Railway 
Company  33,000  to  35,000  are  required  ;  more  in  summer — 
when  they  are  also  larger  in  size — than  in  winter  ;  and  all  are 
ready  about  nine  days  before  the  end  of  the  month. 

Copies  are  now  sent  to  all  the  stations  on  the  system  for  use 
or  sale  ;  and  some  thousands  are  despatched  by  post  to  prin- 
cipal hotels  and  to  certain  business  houses  in  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom.  The  price  at  which  they  are  sold  is  id. ;  their  cost  of 
production  is  at  least  4^. 

Meanwhile  other  departments  of  the  editing  are  being  actively 
pushed  forward.  The  times  for  the  running  of  goods  and  mineral 
trains  have  been  considered  ;  the  alterations  required  to  suit 
the  changes  in  the  passenger  trains  have  been  determined  ;  and, 
as  the  outcome  of  all,  the  "  Working  Time-Table,"  as  it  is  called, 
for  the  use  of  the  company's  servants,  is  prepared  and  com- 
pleted. This  is  a  remarkable  production.  The  copy  that  lies 
before  us  is  a  volume  of  more  than  400  octavo  pages.  It  gives 
particulars  of  every  train — passengers,  goods,  and  minerals — 
(except  excursions  and  specials)  that  runs  ;  and  it  states  not  only 
the  times  at  which  each  train  stops  at  an  intermediate  station, 
but  also  (in  smaller  figures)  the  time  when  it  is  due  to  pass 
other  stations.  It  mentions  where  shunting  engines  will  work, 
and   when    and   where   express   goods  will  be  marshalled  ;    it 


TIME-TABLES.  \8 


classifies  certain  goods  and  mineral  trains ;  and  it  gives  the 
maximum  dimensions  allowed  for  a  wagon-load  on  "  foreign  " 
lines.  The  page  open  before  us  deals  with  a  couple  of  hours' 
morning  traffic  between  Nottingham  and  Clay  Cross  ;  and  we 
observe  by  the  figures  at  the  top  of  the  columns  that  sixty-three 
trains  have  already  run  since  the  day  began  ;  before  it  ends 
the  number  will  be  157  ;  the  list  of  which  occupies  twelve 
full  octavo  pages,  and  from  Clay  Cross  to  Nottingham  twelve 
pages  more.  In  some  other  directions  the  line  is  even  more 
busy,  and  the  time-table  is  more  voluminous.  From  Normanton 
to  Skipton,  for  instance,  in  the  twenty-four  hours  of  the  day 
200  trains  are  run  ;  they  fill  nearly  fourteen  pages  of  the  time- 
table, and  there  are  200  more  trains  the  other  way.  This 
working  book  is  divisible  into  several  sections — the  last  being 
"  City  and  Suburbs  of  London," — and  every  driver,  guard,  signal- 
man, and  platelayer,  and  every  other  outdoor  member  of  the 
staff,  is  supplied  with  at  least  that  section  that  covers  the  ground 
to  which  his  duty  relates.  These  books  are  issued  a  week  before 
they  come  into  operation,  that  the  men  may  have  time  to  inform 
themselves  of  the  changes  that  are  impending.  A  signalman, 
for  instance,  wants  to  know  what  goods  trains  are  to  be  shunted 
at  his  post  ;  a  guard  has  to  inform  himself  of  the  first  station 
at  which  he  must  be  ready  to  stop  and  to  deliver  his  parcels  ; 
and  a  driver  learns  where,  for  the  future,  his  train  is  to  be  pulled 
up.  An  acknowledgment  that  the  men  supplied  with  these 
books  have  actually  received  them  is  in  every  case  insisted 
upon,  and  an  official  record  is  preserved  of  the  fact. 

Besides  the  working  table,  there  is  also  its  "  Appendix."  The 
instructions  in  this  were  formerly  included  in  the  previous  ;  but 
it  was  found  that  while  much  of  the  information  of  the  latter 
was  liable  to  changes,  there  was  much  that  was  permanent,  and 
that  each  might  be  treated  separately.  Hence  the  "  Appendix." 
The  Midland  appendix  contains  more  than  150  pages  octavo. 
It  mentions  all  the  distinctive  whistles  to  be  sounded  by  drivers 
on  approaching  the  different  junctions,  particulars  which  fill  forty 
pages  ;  it  states  what  are  the  head,  tail,  and  side  lamps  to  be 
carried ;  it  gives  instructions  for  the  use  of  the  continuous 
brakes  ;  the  regulations  for  the  working  of  the  block  system  ; 
the  loads  for  engines  on  different  gradients;  and  a  thousand 
other  necessary  details. 

c  c 


386  01  R    [RON    RO  IDS, 

But  the  editorial  work  is  not  yet  completed.  The  working 
time-table  and  its  appendix  deal  only  with  ordinary  trains  at 
ordinary  times.  The  exclusion  trains  need  specially  to  be 
considered,  and  special  instructions  have  from  time  to  time  to 
(Sued  concerning  them.  There  are  excursions  and  excur- 
sions. Some  are  run  by  the  company,  and  are  duly  announced 
by  advertisement  ;  others  are  ordered  by  schools,  clubs,  societies; 
and  others  by  private  or  public  bodies.  The  pages  of  the 
working  time-table  of  excursion  trains,  from  May  20th  to  May 
28th  inclusive,  run  from  280  to  317  ;  and  each  page  contains 
instructions  about  three  or  four  such  trains.  The  week  follow- 
ing is  from  May  27th  to  June  3rd,  covering  Whitsuntide,  and 
its  pages  continue  from  318  to  430;  and  they  describe  the 
working  of  upwards  of  500  special  excursion  trains  on  all  parts 
of  the  Midland  system,  all  of  which  have  to  be  kept  clear  of 
the  ordinary  passenger  trains.  Before  the  year  closes  this  time- 
table of  excursion  trains  alone  will  have  swollen  into  a  book  of 
1,300  or  1,400  pages.  Besides  all  these  larger  books  there  arc, 
perhaps,  a  dozen  small  ones  to  be  provided  for  local  use  in  the 
great  centres  of  the  system. 

The  posters,  also  for  the  official  use  of  the  Company,  are 
prepared  in  this  department.  There  are  great  bills  with  blue 
lines  at  the  top,  representing  the  running  of  the  main  line  trains  ; 
there  are  thirty  or  forty  printed  on  two  or  three  different 
colours,  which  state  the  working  of  the  fast  and  express  trains 
to  and  from  some  one  great  town  and  London  ;  and  there  are 
those  printed  on  card  that  mention  simply  the  trains  that  run 
to  and  from  particular  stations — Derby,  Birmingham,  or  Notting- 
ham, for  instance — to  every  other  part  of  the  system  and  beyond. 

The  work  thus  involved  in  preparing  (to  say  nothing  of  the 
printing)  and  despatching  these  productions  to  their  destina- 
tions is  considerable.  Most  of  them  travel  as  parcels  ;  three 
or  four  cab-loads  may  go  by  post.  The  editors  of  some  350 
private  local  time-tables  generally  send  back  copies  of  their 
productions  to  the  company's  office  in  acknowledgment  of  the 
official  copy  previously  received.  When  critically  examined,  it 
must  be  allowed  that  these  are  not  always  infallible,  though 
many  of  them  are  excellent. 

At  the  editorial  office  of  the  Midland  Company,  nearly  thirty 
clerks  are  employed  on  these  and  other  duties.     "  It  means  at 


EARLY    CHARMS    OF    RAILWAY    TRAVELLING.  387 

times,"  said  one  of  them,  "  a  lot  of  day  and  night  work.     The 
pressure  at  the  last  is  terrific." 

Having  referred  to  the  literary  aspects  of  passenger  and 
other  railway  locomotion,  we  may  turn  to  the  practical.  In 
doing  so  we  may  venture  to  repeat  that  the  worst  forms  of 
railway  travelling  for  the  poorest  third-class  passenger  are  in- 
comparably better  than  the  best  methods  for  even  the  rich  of 
former  days.  There  is  now  no  clambering  over  dirty  wheels — 
no  hurting  one's  shins  on  sharp  irons — no  wedging  of  one's  self 
amidst  piles  of  luggage  on  a  lofty  unsheltered  platform,  around 
which  numerous  legs  hung  dangling  like  a  dozen  brace  of  black 
and  brown  grouse  ;  no  necessity  for  one's  comfort  that  the  drip 
of  our  umbrella  should  be  turned  into  a  neighbour's  neck.  It 
is  at  the  same  time  a  pleasant  thought  to  many,  that,  while  the 
train  bowls  along  over  the  iron  road,  there  is  no  plying  of  the 
whip,  there  are  no  foaming  mouths,  no  turgid  veins  of  generous 
steeds ;  the  giant  power  that  bears  us  swiftly  onwards  has  bones 
of  brass  and  iron,  and  nerves  and  muscles  that  cannot  tire. 

We  will,  however,  frankly  allow  that  some  of  the  charms  of 
our  earlier  railway  travelling  have  been  withdrawn.  When  the 
first  London  railway — that  to  Greenwich — was  opened  for  traffic, 
it  was  exhibited  as  a  show,  and  special  attractions  were  employed 
to  make  it  "  draw."  "  A  band  of  musicians  in  the  garb  of  the 
Beefeaters  was  stationed  at  the  London  end,  and  another  band 
at  Deptford.  For  cheapness'  sake  the  Deptford  band  wasshortly 
superseded  by  a  large  barrel-organ,  which  '  played  in '  the  pas- 
sengers ;  but  when  the  traffic  became  established,  the  barrel- 
organ,  as  well  as  the  Beefeater  band  at  the  London  end,  were 
both  discontinued.  The  whole  length  of  the  line  was  lit  up  at 
night  by  a  row  of  lamps  on  either  side,  like  a  street,  as  if  to 
enable  the  locomotives  or  the  passengers  to  see  their  way  in 
the  dark  ;  but  these  lamps  also  were  eventually  discontinued 
as  unnecessary.  As  a  show,  the  Greenwich  Railway  proved 
tolerably  successful.  During  the  first  eleven  months  it  carried 
456,750  passengers,  or  an  average  of  about  1,300  a  day." 

It  may  seem  paradoxical,  but  nevertheless  it  is  true,  that  the 
most  important  travellers,  those  who  arc  the  most  numerous, 
and  who  best  support  the  railways,  are  the  third-class  passengers. 
Only  gradually  has  this  fact  been  learned  by  the  companies  and 
by  the  public.     It  is  only  a  few  years  since  the  parliamentary 


388  "I  R    IK"\    ROADS. 

trains  were  run  in  bare  fulfilment  of  the  obligations  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  when  a  journey  by  one  of  them  could  never  be  looked 
upon  as  anything  better  than  a  necessary  evil.  To  start  in  the 
darkness  of  a  winter's  morning  to  catch  the  only  third-class 
train  that  ran  ;  to  sit,  after  a  slender  breakfast,  in  a  vehicle  the 
windows  of  which  were  compounded  of  the  largest  amount  of 
wood  and  the  smallest  amount  of  glass,  carefully  adjusted  t<> 
exactly  those  positions  in  which  the  fewest  travellers  could  see 
out  ;  to  stop  at  every  roadside  station,  however  insignificant  ; 
and  to  accomplish  a  journey  of  200  miles  in  about  ten  hours — 
such  were  the  ordinary  conditions  which  Parliament  in  its  bounty 
provided  for  the  people.  When  the  first  edition  of  this  work 
was  issued,  we  called  attention  to  what  were  then  regarded  as 
great  improvements,  then  recently  provided,  for  third-class 
travellers.  The  London  and  North  Western  Company,  we 
remarked,  is  now  running  "  a  train  of  third-class  carriages, 
covered  in,  with  side-doors  and  seats,  which  starts  from  the 
metropolis  every  morning  between  six  and  seven  o'clock,  and 
arrives  at  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  Leeds  the  same  evening — 
travelling  at  an  average  speed  of  fifteen  miles  an  hour,  including 
stoppages  ;  but  when  in  motion,  at  twenty-five,  to  avoid  the 
danger  of  being  overrun  by  other  trains.  On  its  arrival  at 
Blisworth,  sixty-three  miles  from  London,  it  is  detained  an  hour 
and  a  half,  to  allow  the  mail  and  three  other  quick  trains  to  pass, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  warming  and  refreshing  the  passengers, 
for  whom  a  large  and  commodious  room  is  provided.  Another 
half-hour  is  allowed  at  Birmingham  and  Derby.  The  object  of 
these  stoppages  is,  in  fact,  chiefly  to  prevent  the  use  of  the 
train  by  those  for  whom  it  is  not  intended.  A  similar  arrange- 
ment is  made  by  an  up  train  for  the  people  of  the  north." 

In  the  course  of  years  a  few  further  meagre  concessions  were 
made  ;  but  still  the  speed  of  trains  that  carried  third-class 
passengers  was  slow  ;  neither  through  tickets  nor  through 
journeys  could  be  taken  ;  and  travellers  had  to  get  forward  as 
best  they  could  by  a  series  of  fragmentary  journeys  over  the 
lines  of  different,  rival,  and  often  conflicting  companies.  Thirty 
years  ago  a  third-class  passenger  from  London  to  Liverpool  had 
to  spend  two  days  on  the  journey  ;  and  a  second-class  passenger 
from  London  to  Liverpool  had  to  stop  at  Birmingham  for  the 
night,  or  else  to  proceed  by  first  class  at  first-class  fare.     "  We 


THIRD    CLASS    BY    ALL    TRAINS.  389 

remember,"  says  a  writer,  "  once  standing  on  the  platform  at 
Darlington  when  the  parliamentary  train  arrived.  It  was  de- 
tained for  a  considerable  time  to  allow  a  more  favoured  train  to 
pass,  and  on  the  remonstrance  of  several  of  the  passengers  at 
the  unexpected  detention,  they  were  coolly  informed,  '  Ye  mun 
bide  till  yer  betters  gaw  past ;  ye  are  only  the  nigger  train.'  " 

At  last  came  a  revolution.  On  the  last  day  of  March,  1872, 
we  remarked  to  a  friend  :  "  To-morrow  morning  the  Midland 
will  be  the  most  popular  railway  in  England."  Nor  did  we 
incur  much  risk  by  our  prediction.  For  on  that  day  the  Board 
at  Derby  had  decided  that  on  and  after  the  1st  of  April  they 
would  run  third-class  carriages  by  all  trains  ;  the  wires  had 
flashed  the  tidings  to  the  newspapers  ;  the  bills  were  in  the 
hands  of  the  printers,  and  on  the  following  morning  the  direc- 
tors woke  to  find  themselves  famous,  not  perhaps  in  the  esti- 
mation of  railway  competitors,  but  in  the  opinions  of  millions 
of  their  fellow-countrymen  who  felt  that  a  mighty  boon  had 
been  conferred  upon  the  poor  of  the  land.  This  step  had,  we 
believe,  long  been  in  contemplation,  and  in  deciding  to  adopt 
it  the  Board  had  had  to  prepare  for  what  some  expected  would 
be  a  serious  sacrifice  of  revenue  ;  but  reasons  of  high  policy  won 
the  day,  and  tens  of  millions  of  passengers  who  have  since  been 
borne  swiftly  and  comfortably  over  the  land  have  been  grateful 
that  instead  of  the  narrowness  and  greed  so  commonly  and 
often  so  unjustly  attributed  to  railway  administration,  a  states- 
manlike and  philanthropic  temper  has  prevailed  and  triumphed.* 

"  If  there  is  one  part  of  my  public  life,"  Mr.  Allport  has  said, 
"  on  which  I  look  back  with  more  satisfaction  than  on  anything 
else,  it  is  with  reference  to  the  boon  we  conferred  on  third-class 
passengers.  When  the  rich  man  travels,  or  if  he  lies  in  bed  all 
day,  his  capital  remains  undiminished,  and  perhaps  his  income 
(lows  in  all  the  same.  But  when  a  poor  man  travels,  he  has  not 
only  to  pay  his  fare  but  to  sink  his  capital,  for  his  time  is  his 
capital ;  and  if  he  now  consumes  only  five  hours  instead  of  ten 
in  making  a  journey,  he  has  saved  five  hours  of  time  for  useful 
labour — useful  to  himself,  to  his  family,  and  to  society.  And 
I  think  with  even  more  pleasure  of  the  comfort  in  travelling 
we  have  been  able  to  confer  upon  women  and  children.     But  it 

*  "The  Midland  Railway  :  its  Rise  and  Progress." 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

..'  he  added,  "  five-and-twenty  years'  work  to  t^ct  it  done." 
[•.  is  a  happy  circumstance  when  the  hard  realities  of  railway 
administration  are  thus  tempered  by  a  spirit  so  humanitarian 
and  elevated. 

That  the  concessions  thus  made  to  the  needs  of  the  public 
have  been  justified,  the  following  figures  will  prove.  In  1850, 
passengers  of  all  classes  in  England  were  in  number  58,000,000, 
and  the  receipts  were  less  than  ,£6,000,000;  in  1880,  the  pas- 
sengers were  540,000,000,  and  the  receipts  from  them  were 
£20,000,000.  The  number  of  passengers  had  multiplied  about 
nine  times,  and  the  receipts  had  multiplied  between  three  and 
four  times  ;  and  the  notable  fact  is  that  the  greater  part  of  all 
this  enormous  increase  of  railway  traffic  is  due  to  the  third-class 
passengers.  In  1850  the  third-class  passengers  were  nearly 
equal  in  number  to  the  two  other  classes  put  together ;  since 
then  the  increase  of  the  two  classes  has  gone  on  at  a  slow  rate, 
while  that  of  the  third  class  now  numbers  five  times  as  many 
as  those  of  the  first  and  second  classes  combined.  Mr.  Allport 
says  :  "  From  1862  to  187 1,  or  nine  years  preceding  the  change 
of  carrying  third-class  passengers  by  all  trains,  the  passenger 
receipts  per  mile  on  railways  open  increased  4*31  per  cent,  and 
they  increased  nine  years  after  the  change  15 '69  per  cent."  No 
wonder  that  the  Times,  remarking  upon  these  facts,  said  :  "  The 
third-class  traffic  of  railways  grows  and  grows  till  it  overshadows 
all  the  rest  of  their  passenger  business."  The  Raihuay  News  also 
thus  writes :  "  Take  the  last  decennial  period  as  an  illustration. 
The  number  of  passengers  has  increased  on  the  railways  from 
337  millions  to  626  millions.  But  this  increase  of  289  millions 
is  actually  less  than  the  increase  in  third  class  alone.  These 
have  risen  from  228  millions  in  1870  to  523  millions  last  year — 
an  increase  of  not  less  than  295  millions." 

In  1 88 1  the  returns  were,  on  the  railways  of  the  United  King- 
dom, exclusive  of  season  and  periodical  tickets,  as  follows  : — 

Number  Amount 

of  passengers.  received. 

1st  Class      .         .         .         37.993.944  £3.779.371 

2nd     „         .         .         .         64,474,717  3,398>8o6" 

3rd     „         .         .         .       520,579,126  15,266,519 


Total 


1,506,332* 


623,047,787    £23,951,028 


*  Holders  of  season  or  periodical  tickets — an  average  of  a  year  each. 


FAST   TRAINS.  391 

"  One  would  have  thought,"  said  the  Quarterly  Review,  "from 
the  pride  taken  by  railway  people  in  their  express  trains,  that 
it  was  these  that  paid  the  dividend.  Everything  must  give 
way  to  them.  Coal  and  goods  trains  are  shunted — parlia- 
mentary trains  are  drawn  into  sidings — and  signals  are  manned 
to  clear  the  road  and  signal  it  '  all  clear '  for  the  '  down '  or 
'  up  express.'  Chairmen  are  almost  ready  to  weep  when  they 
hear  of  an  accident  befalling  them.  Yet  it  is  even  doubtful 
whether,  in  many  cases,  the  express  defrays  the  cost  of  working 
it,  while  the  speed  at  which  it  runs  increases  all  the  elements  of 
danger  in  travelling  by  railway."  These  fast  trains — to  use  the 
words  of  Mr.  Hawkshaw — "  run  the  gauntlet  through  goods 
trains,  coal  trains,  and  cattle  trains."  To  keep  out  of  the  way 
of  the  fast  trains,  the  goods  and  coal  trains  are  run  with  light 
loads  and  at  high  speeds,  thereby  occasioning  great  wear  and 
tear  of  road  and  rolling  stock,  and  increase  in  the  working 
expenses.  Passengers  in  first-class  carriages,  too,  have  their 
costly  peculiarities.  They  expect  not  only  a  seat  for  them- 
selves, but  another  for  their  feet.  Some  regularly  fee  the 
porters  or  guards,  "  paying  the  tribute  known  at  railway  sta- 
tions by  the  name  of  '  fluff,'  to  reserve  a  compartment  for 
themselves.  Others,  solitarily  disposed  persons,  fill  up  vacant 
seats  with  their  wrappers  and  carpet-bags,  so  that  the  first-class 
compartments  are  rarely  more  than  half  filled."  "  You  will  find," 
remarked  Mr.  Sheriff,  M.P.,  a  railway  authority,  "if  there  are 
half  a  dozen  first-class  compartments,  half  a  dozen  persons  will 
immediately  take  a  single  place  in  each,  and  there  will  be  a 
great  outcry  if  anything  like  five  or  six  people  are  put  in." 

Another  source  of  waste  in  running  fast  trains  has  been 
described  by  Mr.  Stewart,  then  Secretary  of  the  London  and 
North  Western  Company  :  "  When  there  are  only  three  or  four 
passengers  for  a  place,  a  through  carriage  must  be  provided  for 
them.  There  must  be  a  carriage  put  on  for  the  Buckingham- 
shire line,  another  for  the  Bedford  line,  another  for  the  North- 
ampton line,  another  for  Leamington,  and  so  on  ;  so  that,  apart 
altogether  from  the  feeing  of  porters,  there  is  a  great  waste." 
In  illustration  of  this  statement,  Mr.  Stewart  stated  that  on  two 
days  selected  as  a  fair  average,  whilst  4,482  passengers  were 
booked  from  Euston  Square,  the  trains  to  accommodate  them 
contained  13,512  seats.     "Thousands,  nay  millions  of  miles  arc 


3  )2  01  R    IR<  IN    R<  IADS. 

run,"  said  Professor  Gordon  some  years  ago,  and  it  is  true  to- 
day, "by  locomotives  and  carriages  whilst  they  are  performing 
in  amount  of  transport  preposterously  disproportioned  to  the 
power  and  capacity  of  the  trains  employed  for  effecting  it."  The 
iverage  number  of  persons  carried  per  mile  at  that  time  by  all 
the  trains  in  the  United  Kingdom  for  which  the  returns  were 
made  up  was  only  thirty-two,  or  four  more  than  the  full  com- 
plement of  an  omnibus.  "  Engines  of  300  or  400  horse  power, 
weighing  thirty  to  forty  tons,  with  carriages  behind  them  weigh- 
ing equally  as  much,  are  set  to  draw  about  half  a  dozen  more 
passengers  than  could  be  taken  in  an  omnibus,  and  who  might 
be  easily,  though  not  so  quickly,  of  course,  drawn  upon  the  line 
with  a  single  horse." 

An  important  class  of  trains  are  known  as  "workmen's 
t  rains."  In  the  recent  report  of  the  Select  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons  appointed  to  consider  the  working  of  the 
Acts  relating  to  artisans'  and  labourers'  dwellings,  there  is  a 
recommendation  "that  the  obligation  placed  upon  the  Eastern 
Counties  system  of  railways  out  of  London  to  provide  trains  for 
artisans  at  the  rate  of  id.  for  each  passenger  per  course  of  seven 
or  eight  miles  should  be  extended  to  other  suburban  railways 
as  opportunities  may  offer."  This  is,  doubtless,  in  the  interest 
of  the  class  referred  to,  an  excellent  suggestion,  but  for  some 
of  the  railway  companies  it  might  involve  serious  practical  diffi- 
culties. Many  of  the  railway  companies,  besides  the  Great 
Eastern,  already  grant  special  facilities  for  working  men  to  live 
in  the  suburbs.  The  Chatham  Company,  for  instance,  runs 
workmen's  trains  to  and  from  Victoria  or  Ludgate  Hill  or  any 
intermediate  station  on  their  metropolitan  extension  line:  from 
Penge  three  trains,  Sydenham  Hill  three,  Dulwich  three,  and 
Heme  Hill  three.  The  fare  by  these  workmen's  trains  for  a 
double  journey  between  Victoria  and  Ludgate  is  2d.y  and  a 
return  ticket  is  is.  a  week.  Many  of  these  trains  carry  from 
700  to  800  passengers.  It  is,  of  course,  highly  desirable  that 
the  home  life  of  the  working  classes  should  thus  be  improved  ; 
but  while  there  is  no  difficulty  in  running  special  working-men's 
trains  early  in  the  morning,  this  involves  the  necessity  of  the 
same  number  of  passengers  being  carried  back  to  their  homes 
in  the  evening,  at  the  time  when  the  company's  ordinary  traffic 
is  at  its  heaviest.     The  consequence  often  is  that  the  workmen, 


SIR    SAMUEL    MORLAND.  393 

when  returning,  crowd  out  of  the  trains  a  much  more  remunera- 
tive class  of  traffic  ;  and  that  the  company  is  a  pecuniary  loser 
thereby.  The  Parliamentary  Committee  appointed  in  1872  to 
inquire  into  the  amalgamation  of  railways  recognised  the  right 
of  the  companies  to  some  consideration  for  their  attempts  to 
improve  the  condition  of  the  lower  classes,  and  suggested  that 
"  where  the  municipality  of  a  town  desires  the  running  of  work- 
men's trains,  it  should  be  enabled  to  guarantee  to  the  company 
a  certain  amount  of  traffic." 

Special  arrangements  are  made  by  railway  companies  for  the 
convenience  of  other  special  classes  of  the  community.  Social 
Science  and  British  Association  Assemblies,  Church  Congresses, 
Wesleyan  Conferences,  etc.,  are  all  considered,  and  even  the 
sport  of  fox-hunting  is  not  overlooked.  When  railways  were 
first  proposed,  country  gentlemen  became  greatly  alarmed  about 
the  dangers  with  which  their  favourite  sports  were  threatened. 
It  was  asserted  that,  there  being  no  longer  any  use  for  horses, 
they  would  become  extinct,  and  oats  and  hay  would  be  rendered 
unsaleable.  "  But  railroads,"  says  Mr.  Anthony  Trollope,  "have 
done  so  much  for  hunting  that  they  may  almost  be  said  to  have 
created  the  sport  anew  on  a  wider  and  much  more  thoroughly 
organized  footing  than  it  ever  held  before."  Trains  are  now 
arranged  to  take  hunting  men  from  the  large  cities  ;  and 
hunters  walk  in  and  out  of  their  railway  boxes  as  quietly  as 
though  they  were  holders  of  season  tickets. 

The  latest  developments  of  railway  passenger  locomotion 
are  in  some  respects  the  best.  Many  years  ago  Sir  Samuel 
Morland  constructed  for  himself  a  coach  with  a  sort  of  movable 
kitchen,  so  fitted  with  clockwork  machinery  that  he  could  broil 
steaks,  roast  a  joint  of  meat,  and  make  soup  as  he  travelled 
along  the  road.  This  ingenious  gentleman  was  made  a  baronet 
by  Charles  II.,  and  died  at  a  good  old  age,  so  that  good  food 
by  the  way  did  not  appear  to  have  shortened  his  life.  "  But 
then  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  travelled  in  his  coach  and 
saw  what  was  to  be  seen  as  he  went  along.  Flying  through  a 
country,  arriving  only  to  depart  and  departing  only  to  arrive, 
appears  to  be  exactly  the  course  of  training  to  prepare  an 
average  man  to  have  said  of  him  what  was  said  of  one  by 
Humboldt : — '  This  man  has  gone  farther  and  seen  less  than 
anybody  I  ever  met.' "     Still,  to  be  able  to  eat  and  even  to  sleep 


394  °UR    IRON    ROADS. 

on  a  long  journey  is,  frequently,  an  enormous  boon  to  the 
traveller.  For  such  a  journey  by  day,  the  new  twin  day 
saloon  of  the  London  and  North  Western  between  London  and 
Liverpool  is  excellent.  The  two  saloons — for  ladies  and  gentle- 
men— are  connected  by  a  covered  gangway  two  feet  wide,  along 
which  the  attendant  can  pass.  The  length  of  each  saloon  is 
thirty-four  feet  ;  and  the  height  from  the  rail  at  the  side  is  ten 
feet  eight  inches.  There  are  six  wheels  to  each  saloon.  The 
under  frame  is  of  oak,  and  the  sides  are  plated  with  steel. 
The  total  weight  of  each  saloon  in  running  order  is  about 
fourteen  tons ;  the  passenger  accommodation  is  for  eighteen 
ladies  and  twenty-one  gentlemen.  The  saloons  are  fitted  with 
electrical  communication,  and  with  hot-water  heating  apparatus. 

The  Great  Northern,  Company,  also  has  recently  begun  to  run 
a  "dining-car"  between  King's  Cross  and  Leeds,  and  the  comfort 
of  this  mode  of  passing  the  time  appears  to  be  appreciated  by 
passengers.  The  Midland  Company,  too,  which  was  the  first 
to  place  Pullman  cars  on  English  lines,  runs  a  "  dining  saloon 
car"  between  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  London.  The  first 
train  of  this  series  consisted  of  three  Pullman  cars.  It  left  St. 
Pancras  at  2.5  p.m.,  and  was  timed  to  reach  Leicester  at  4.19 
p.m.  One  of  the  cars  was  the  ordinary  Pullman  drawing-room 
carriage ;  another  the  dining-room  car  ;  the  third  was  a  smaller 
but  handsomely  fitted  car,  run  expressly  for  the  occasion.  On 
the  middle  car  was  a  complete  little  cooking  stove,  capable  of 
providing  a  dinner  for  forty  persons. 

The  Pullman  limited  expresses  on  the  London  and  Brighton 
seem  to  provide  almost  the  perfection  of  travelling  arrangements. 
Instead  of  their  being  ordinary  trains  with  one  or  two  or  more 
Pullman  cars  attached,  all  the  carriages  are  on  the  Pullman  plan, 
and  they  are  so  coupled  that  the  officials  in  charge  can  walk  from 
one  end  of  the  train  to  the  other.  "  Entering  it,"  says  a  traveller, 
"you  enter  a  mansion  on  wheels.  You  can  roam  about  from 
parlour  to  drawing-room,  dining-room,  and  smoking-room.  The 
ladies  have  also  a  boudoir.  Servants  are  at  your  call  by  electric 
bell ;  but  you  need  not  call  for  light  or  fire.  A  pleasant  and 
equable  temperature  is  maintained  by  hot- water  pipes,  and  light- 
ing up  is  done  before  there  is  time  to  demand  it.  No  sooner  do 
you  enter  a  tunnel  than  the  bright  but  soft  and  equal  light  of 
the   Edison   electric   lamp    is  shed  all  over  the  compartments. 


PULLMAN    EXPRESSES.  395 

It  noiselessly  comes  at  the  moment  it  is  needed,  and  is  as 
quietly  gone  when  the  need  for  it  is  over.  It  beats  the  good 
fairy  of  nursery  lore,  for  it  needs  no  summons.  It  is  with  you 
before  you  can  as  much  as  think  of  a  wishing  cap,  and  it  is  it- 
self a  magic  lamp."  With  this  train  service  Brighton  may  well 
come  to  be  more  appropriately  than  ever  considered  as  London- 
on-Sea. 

At  night  the  whole  train  is  lighted  by  electricity.  "The 
steady  soft  white  light  of  the  incandescent  carbon  threads  in  the 
little  sealed  glass  lamps — these  tiny  horseshoes,  burning  but  not 
consumed — were  approved,  admired,  acclaimed.  To  read  by 
them  was  a  pleasure.  There  were  thirty  lights  in  the  train  ; 
none  gave  a  less  brilliant  light  than  another  ;  and  any  one  light 
could  be  put  out  without  the  others  being  affected.  The  light 
came  from  thirty-four  of  Faure's  accumulators  in  the  guard's 
compartment.  These  magazines  of  electricity  had  been  filled 
at  the  Strand,  but  they  will  hereafter  be  charged  by  an  engine 
and  dynamo  machine  at  Victoria  Station."  A  proposal  has 
been  considered  for  making  the  train  store  up  electricity  for 
itself  by  the  working  of  a  dynamo  machine  attached  to  the  axle 
of  the  engine. 

Arrangements  are  now  contemplated  for  the  running  of 
sleeping  cars  from  Paris  to  Vienna  and  back.  There  should 
be  no  more  difficulty  in  this  than  in  travelling  from  New  York 
to  San  Francisco  by  "  lightning  express  in  Pullman  cars,"  carry- 
ing all  that  is  wanted  with  them.  And  if  through  traffic  with 
sleeping  and  eating  cars, — so  that  one  literally  lives  on  board, — 
can  be  made  successful,  the  plan  may  be  extended  beyond 
Vienna,  on  one  side  to  Constantinople,  and  also  to  Calais, 
Cologne,  and  Bologna.  For  all  this,  like  the  perfect  river 
steamer,  we  are  indebted  to  institutions  of  purely  American 
growth.  When  long  journeys  are  to  be  made  without  stopping, 
and  eating  and  drinking  are  to  be  done  in  the  train,  the  long 
car  is  indispensable. 

One  of  the  effects,  we  will  not  say  advantages,  of  travelling  in 
a  long  car  may  be  to  promote  sociability.  "  An  American," 
says  a  St.  Louis  paper,  in  an  article  on  native  politeness,  "  may 
not  be  so  elegant  at  a  dinner  party,  but  he  will  not  ride  half  a 
day  in  a  railway  car  without  speaking  to  the  fellow-passenger 
at   his   elbow,    as   the    Englishman    will."     "  No,"    remarks   an 


39<5  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

American  critic,  "indeed  he  will  not  :  'fore  George  he  will  not. 
I  low  often,  oh,  how  often,  have  we  wished  that  he  would  !  But 
he  won't.  He  will  pounce  upon  a  stranger  whom  he  has  never 
seen  before  in  all  his  life,  and  talk  him  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind  in 
fifty  miles.  Catch  an  American  holding  his  mouth  shut  when 
he  has  a  chance  to  talk  to  some  man  who  doesn't  want  to  be 
talked  to." 

But  sociability  in  Pullman  cars  may,  especially  under  certain 
circumstances,  take  more  demonstrative  forms.  "I  have  never," 
observes  another  traveller,  "  got  so  well  acquainted  with  the 
passengers  on  the  train  as  I  did  the  other  day  on  the  Milwaukee 
and  St.  Paul  Railroad.  We  were  going  at  the  rate  of  about 
thirty  miles  an  hour,  and  another  train  from  the  other  direction 
telescoped  us.  We  were  all  thrown  into  each  other's  society, 
and  brought  into  immediate  social  contact,  so  to  speak.  I  went 
over  and  sat  in  the  lap  of  a  corpulent  lady  from  Manitoba,  and 
a  girl  from  Chicago  jumped  over  nine  seats  and  sat  down  on 
the  plug  hat  of  a  preacher  from  La  Crosse,  with  so  much  timid, 
girlish  enthusiasm  that  it  shoved  his  hat  clear  down  over  his 
shoulders.  Everybody  seemed  to  lay  aside  the  usual  cool 
reserve  of  strangers,  and  we  made  ourselves  entirely  at  home. 
A  shy  young  man,  with  an  emaciated  oil-cloth  valise,  left  his 
own  seat  and  went  over  and  sat  down  in  a  lunch  basket,  where 
a  bridal  couple  seemed  to  be  wrestling  with  their  first  picnic. 
Do  you  suppose  that  reticent  young  man  would  have  done  such 
a  thing  on  ordinary  occasions  ?  Do  you  think  if  he  had  been  at 
a  celebration  at  home  that  he  would  have  risen  impetuously  and 
gone  where  those  people  were  eating  by  themselves,  and  sat 
down  in  the  cranberry  jelly  of  a  total  stranger?  I  should  rather 
think  not.  Why,  one  old  man,  who  probably  at  home  led  the 
class-meeting,  and  who  was  as  dignified  as  Roscoe  Conkling's 
father,  was  eating  a  piece  of  custard  pie  when  we  met  the  other 
train,  and  he  left  his  own  seat  and  went  over  to  the  other  end  ot 
the  car  and  shot  that  piece  of  custard  pie  into  the  ear  of  a  beau- 
tiful widow  from  Iowa.  People  travelling  somehow  forget  the 
austerity  of  their  home  lives,  and  form  acquaintances  that  some- 
times last  through  life." 

What  may  be  perhaps  regarded  as  the  perfection  of  railway 
travelling  in  the  world  is  attained  under  the  arrangements  for  the 
passage  of  the  royal  train,  when,  for  instance,  the  Queen  goes  to 


RUNNING    OF    THE    ROYAL    TRAIN.  397 

or  from  Scotland.  The  train  is  fitted  throughout  with  continu- 
ous brakes,  with  an  electrical  communication  between  the  com- 
partments of  each  saloon  and  carriage  and  the  guards,  and  with 
a  communication  between  the  guards  and  the  driver.  A  pilot 
engine  is  run  fifteen  minutes  in  advance  of  the  train  throughout 
the  journey,  and  in  order  to  guard  against  any  obstruction  or  in- 
terference with  the  safe  passage  of  the  train,  no  engine  except  the 
pilot,  or  any  train  or  vehicle,  is  allowed  to  proceed  upon  or  cross 
the  main  line  and  stations  during  an  interval  of  at  least  thirty 
minutes  before  the  time  at  which  the  royal  train  is  appointed  to 
pass,  all  shunting  operations  on  the  adjoining  lines  being  sus- 
pended during  the  same  period  ;  while  after  the  royal  train  has 
passed  no  engine  or  train  is  permitted  to  leave  a  station  or  siding 
upon  the  same  line  for  at  least  fifteen  minutes.  In  addition  to 
these  regulations,  no  light  engines  or  trains,  except  passenger 
trains,  are  allowed  to  travel  between  any  two  stations  on  the  oppo- 
site line  of  rails  to  that  on  which  the  royal  train  is  running  from 
the  time  the  pilot  is  due  until  the  royal  train  has  passed.  Every 
level  crossing,  farm  crossing,  and  station,  is  specially  guarded,  to 
prevent  trespassers  ;  and  all  facing  points  over  which  the  pilot 
and  royal  train  have  to  travel  are  securely  bolted.  Platelayers 
are  also  posted  along  the  line  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  any 
impediment  at  the  occupation  road-crossings. 

Some  passengers,  we  may  add,  are  eccentric  in  their  ideas 
of  locomotion.  Not  long  ago,  on  the  arrival  of  the  3.15  Irish 
mail  at  Chester  platform,  a  man  was  found  lying  underneath 
a  carriage.  He  was  grasping  the  brake-rod  with  his  legs  and 
hands,  and  in  order  to  hold  the  rod  securely,  he  had  some  flan- 
nel in  his  hands.  He  had  ridden  in  this  way  from  Holyhead 
to  Chester,  nearly  ninety  miles.  How  he  escaped  death  was  a 
marvel.  He  was  sentenced  to  pay  twenty  shillings,  or  to  have 
twenty-one  days'  hard  labour. 

Another  passenger,  of  an  adventurous  order  of  mind,  desired 
a  similarly  cheap  and  airy  ride  from  Euston  to  Liverpool.  His 
name  was  John  Smith,  and  he  was  described  as  "  a  seafaring  man 
respectably  attired."  It  appeared  from  the  evidence,  and  indeed 
from  Mr.  Smith's  own  admission,  that  on  the  previous  night  he 
left  the  Euston  station  by  an  express  train  at  nine  p.m.,  which, 
travelling  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  does  not  stop  until  it  reaches 
Rugby  at  eleven  p.m.,  a  distance  of  82^  miles.     "Mr.  Smith  did 


39^  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

not  take  his  scat  like  an  ordinary  passenger  inside  any  of  the 
carriages,  but  he  travelled  underneath  one  of  them,  and  would, 
no  doubt,  have  concluded  his  journey  to  Liverpool  in  safety,  but 
that  on  the  arrival  of  the  train  at  Rugby  the  wheel-examiner, 
seeing  a  man's  legs  protruding  from  under  one  of  the  carriages, 
had  the  curiosity  to  make  further  search,  and  discovered  Mr. 
Smith  coikd  round  the  brake-rod,  a  piece  of  iron  not  above 
three  inches  broad,  in  a  fantastic  position.  Mr.  Smith  was  im- 
mediately uncoiled,  and  being  technically  in  error  was  detained 
in  custody.  The  bottom  of  the  carriage  was  only  eighteen 
inches  from  the  ground,  and  where  the  engine  takes  up  water  as 
it  travels,  Mr.  Smith  was  not  more  than  six  inches  from  the 
trough  ;  he  therefore  had  not  far  to  fall  in  case  of  a  casualty  ; 
but  the  bench,  surprised  at  a  railway  passenger  under  any  cir- 
cumstances having  survived  a  journey  of  eighty-two  miles,  said 
'  it  was  a  miracle  he  was  not  killed,'  and  let  him  off  with  a  fine 
of  2s.  6cf.  and  costs,  or  fourteen  days'  imprisonment.  Mr.  Smith 
stated  that  his  journey  'was  not  a  very  comfortable  one,' " — a 
remark  the  accuracy  of  which — however  on  other  matters  we 
may  differ  from  him — may  be  conceded.* 

It  has  usually  been  understood  that  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  passenger  traffic  and  goods  was  in  the  nature  of  things 
sufficiently  plain.  It  has  been  left  to  the  ingenuity  of  an  Ameri- 
can to  endeavour  to  confound  these  distinctions.  An  "  old  and 
well-known  citizen"  of  Chicago,  of  "an  eccentric  and  jocular  dis- 
position," lately  conceived  the  brilliant  idea  of  boxing  himself 
up,  and  obtaining  transportation  to  Philadelphia  as  merchandise. 
He  was  informed  by  the  agent  of  the  Adams  Express  Company, 
to  whom  he  announced  his  intention,  that  no  objection  would 
be  raised  to  his  travelling  to  Philadelphia  in  a  box,  but  that  he 
would  have  to  pay  passenger  fare.  Mr.  M'Auley  declared,  how- 
ever, that  he  would  go  as  merchandise,  and  would  pay  no  more 
than  2  dols.  50  c.  per  cwt.  Accordingly,  he  packed  himself  up 
in  a  box  with  a  week's  provisions  by  his  side,  and  was  taken  by 
an  expressman  to  the  railway  office.  The  box  was  18  in.  wide, 
6  ft.  long,  hooped  with  iron  bands,  and  fastened  by  a  padlock. 
It  was  addressed  to  "  Miss  Kisselman,  Philadelphia,"  and  the 
agent  was  told  that  it  contained  flowers.     On  the  same  night 

*  Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


EPISODES    OF    TRAVELLING    EXPERIENCE.  399 

the  box  was  forwarded  to  its  destination,  the  charges  having 
been  prepaid.  At  an  early  hour  on  the  following  morning  the 
real  nature  of  the  contents  of  the  box  was  discovered  by  a  rail- 
way guard,  and  when  the  train  stopped  at  Van  West,  Ohio,  Mr. 
M'Auley  was  taken  out  of  his  box.  put  into  gaol,  and  in  the 
evening  was  "shipped  home,"  having  had  a  narrow  escape  of 
being  shot  by  the  guard  as  a  train  robber.  He  states  that  on  an 
early  occasion  he  intends  to  try  the  question  again. 

Among  the  episodes  of  travelling  experiences  may  be  men- 
tioned one  from  the  pen  of  a  lively  journalist.  "  Maybe,"  he 
says,  "  a  man  feels  happy,  and  proud,  and  flattered,  and  envied, 
and  blessed  among  men  when  he  sees  a  pretty  girl  trying  to 
raise  a  window  on  a  railway  car,  and  he  jumps  up  and  gets  in 
ahead  of  the  other  boys,  and  says,  '  Allow  me  ?  '  oh,  so  courte- 
ously. And  she  says,  '  Oh,  if  you  please,  I  would  be  so  glad,' 
and  the  other  male  passengers  turn  green  with  envy,  and  he 
leans  over  the  back  of  the  seat  and  tackles  the  window  in  a 
knowing  way  with  one  hand,  if  peradventure  he  may  toss  it  airily 
with  a  simple  turn  of  the  wrist  ;  but  it  kind  of  holds  on,  and  he 
takes  hold  with  both  hands,  but  it  sort  of  doesn't  let  go  to  any 
alarming  extent,  and  then  he  pounds  it  with  his  fist,  but  it  only 
seems  to  settle  a  '  leetle '  closer  into  place,  and  then  he  comes 
around,  and  she  gets  out  of  the  seat  to  give  him  a  fair  chance, 
and  he  grapples  the  window  and  bows  up  his  back,  and  tugs,  and 
pulls,  and  sweats,  and  grunts,  and  strains,  and  his  hat  falls  off, 
and  his  suspender  buttons  fetch  loose,  and  his  vest-buckle  parts, 
and  his  face  gets  red,  and  his  feet  slip,  and  people  laugh,  and 
irreverent  young  men  in  remote  seats  grunt  and  groan  every 
time  he  lifts,  and  cry  out,  '  Now,  then,  all  together !  '  as  if  in 
mockery,  and  he  busts  his  collar  at  the  forward  button  ;  and  the 
pretty  young  lady,  vexed  at  having  been  made  so  conspicuous, 
says,  in  her  iciest  manner,  '  Oh,  never  mind  ;  thank  you !  It 
doesn't  make  any  difference,'  and  then  calmly  goes  away  and 
sits  down  in  another  seat ;  and  that  wearied  man  gathers  himself 
together,  and  tries  to  read  a  book  upside  down." 

Passengers  are  often  grievously  careless  of  their  own  lives  or 
limbs,  or  of  those  of  others.  This  is  especially  the  case  on  the 
Metropolitan  railways.  People  may  be  seen  jumping  out  of 
every  train  that  arrives  before  it  has  stopped,  and  when  it  is 
moving  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.      This  is,  of  course,  done  to 


I  'I  R    [Rl  IN     ROADS. 

save  time  .  but  were  they  to  reflect  how  short  a  time  they 
save,  and  what  risk  they  run  in  doing  it,  we  cannot  hut  think 
they  would  hesitate  before  taking  the  chance  of  paying  so  high 
a  price  tor  so  small  an  advantage.  Indeed,  it  frequently  hap- 
pens that  the}-  gain  nothing  at  all,  for  when  the  exit  gate  <>f  a 
station  is  at  the  engine  end  of  a  train — as  at  the  Mansion  House 
and  many  other  places, — the  person  who  waits  in  a  carriage  till 
the  train  has  come  to  a  stand,  as  a  rule  gets  to  the  gate  before 
another  who  leaves  the  same  carriage  when  the  train  is  in 
motion.  "A  constant,  I  may  say  an  almost  weekly,  cause  of 
accident,"  says  the  chairman  of  a  railway,  "sometimes  a  daily 
cause,  is  that  of  people  falling  from  getting  out  of  the  trains 
while  they  arc  in  motion.  We  do  everything  we  possibly  can  to 
caution  people  against  so  dangerous  a  practice.  People  forget 
with  a  bod}-  like  a  train  weighing  200  or  300  tons,  and  with  an 
immense  amount  of  accumulated  momentum,  that  if  it  is  only 
going  at  one  or  two  miles  an  hour,  and  the  foot  of  the  passenger 
is  partly  on  the  platform  and  partly  in  the  carriage,  there  must 
be  a  serious  and  dangerous  fall  ;  and  we  find — I  hope  I  shall 
not  be  scolded  for  stating  the  fact — the  fact  is,  for  one  man  who 
gets  hurt  from  this  unfortunate  habit  of  getting  out  of  the  trains 
while  they  arc  in  motion,  five  women  get  hurt."  * 

Nor  do  persons  acting  thus  confine  the  chance  of  accident  to 
themselves  alone.  An  approaching  train  on  the  Metropolitan 
has  one  especially  dangerous  feature — the  array  of  doors  which 
fly  open  from  the  carriages  as  they  emerge  from  the  tunnel,  in 
readiness  for  one  or  more  of  the  occupants  to  jump  out.  These 
doors,  being  open  while  the  train  is  running,  form  so  many 
battering-rams,  each  ready  to  strike  down  those  who,  from  want 
of  knowledge  or  by  accident,  may  be  within  its  reach,  and  throw 
them  possibly  under  the  train,  or,  at  all  events,  violently  on  to 
the  platform.  The  danger  does  not  cease  here,  for  even  if 
people  at  the  station,  aware  of  the  effect  of  a  blow  from  one  of 
these  doors,  were  to  keep  well  clear  of  them,  they  would  still  be 
exposed  to  the  unsteady,  staggering  rush  of  passengers  who, 
leaping  from  the  moving  train,  light  upon  the  platform  with 
control  over  their  feet  and  legs  for  the  moment  gone. 

Other  forms  of  thoughtlessness  on  the   part   of  passengers 

*  The  Globe. 


THOUGHTLESSNESS    OF    SOME    TRAVELLERS.  40 1 

often  lead  to  serious  consequences.  We  are  aware  of  the 
punishments  properly  inflicted  on  lads  for  throwing  stones  at 
running  trains ;  some  of  the  occupants  of  these  trains  are 
almost  equally  culpable  in  throwing  empty  bottles  out  of  trains. 
This  is  often  done  from  excursion  trains,  and  even  from  ordi- 
nary trains.  "  These  people,"  says  a  correspondent  of  a  Lon- 
don paper,  "  often  starting  by  an  early  train  before  their  usual 
breakfast  hour,  are  in  the  habit  of  loading  their  pockets  with 
sandwiches  and  bottles  of  beer  or  diluted  spirits,  to  eat  and 
drink  while  they  are  travelling,  and  when  the  bottles  are  empty 
they  are  thrown  out  of  the  window  to  save  the  trouble  of  carry- 
ing them.  Only  the  other  day  I  was  travelling  up  to  London, 
and  at  nearly  every  station  at  which  the  train  stopped  pas- 
sengers might  be  seen  bringing  bottles  of  spirits  or  beer  into  the 
carriages  from  the  refreshment  rooms,  and  which  when  empty 
were  pitched  out  of  the  window  while  the  train  was  at  full 
speed.  I  saw  several  bottles  thus  thrown,  and  while  passing  a 
bridge  over  a  highway,  a  man  and  child  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  being  struck  by  a  bottle  being  thus  carelessly  thrown,  and 
which  fell  close  behind  them  with  very  great  force.  I  am  sure 
that  none  of  these  dangerous  and  formidable  missiles  are  thrown 
with  the  intention  to  do  harm  ;  but,  in  passing  along  the  coun- 
try at  a  rapid  rate,  these  bottles  have  a  dangerous  velocity  given 
to  them  which  thoughtless  passengers  have  no  idea  of.  Espe- 
cially over  populous  routes,  where  out-door  labourers  are  pass- 
ing and  about,  this  practice  is  attended  with  very  great  danger, 
as  the  bottles  do  not  fall  where  the  passengers  suppose  they 
do." 

Not  long  ago,  in  eight  days  there  were  no  fewer  than  three 
instances  reported  in  which  injury  had  been  done  by  persons 
throwing  bottles  from  trains  in  motion.  "As  the  10.10  a.m. 
train  from  Euston  was  passing  Mancetter-crossing  box,  near 
Atherstone,  a  bottle  was  thrown  from  the  train  which  broke 
two  panes  of  glass  in  the  box.  The  signalman  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  injury.  On  the  19th  of  May  a  passenger  threw  a 
bottle  from  the  10  a.m.  express  train  from  Liverpool  to  London, 
when  the  2.45  p.m.  train  from  Euston  was  passing  near  Berk- 
hampstead.  The  bottle  came  in  contact  with  the  fireman's 
head,  almost  cutting  his  eye  out,  and  the  train  had  to  be 
stopped  at  Berkhampstead  to  set  him  down.     On  the  23rd  of 

D    I) 


OUR    ikon    ROADS. 

the  fireman  with  the  2  p.m.  train  from  Carlisle  was  struck 
by  a  piece  of  glass  which  came  from  a  bottle  thrown  out  of  the 
3.10  p.m.  train  from  Preston.     The  bottle  struck  the  engine  of 

the  2  p.m.  down  train,  and  was  shivered  to  pieces,  a  piece  of 
glass  cutting  the  fireman's  neck."  In  view  of  such  facts,  some  of 
the  principal  railway  companies  have  found  it  necessary  recently 
to  issue  warnings  On  this  subject  to  their  travellers  and  to  the 
public  generally. 

The  eccentricities  of  English  travellers,  however,  if  dangerous, 
are  not  so  odd  as  some  "  in  foreign  parts."  It  is  said  that  not 
long  ago  an  engine-driver  in  New  Zealand  noticed  a  lady  ener- 
getically waving  her  hand  at  a  siding  where  he  was  not  timed  to 
stop.  On  pulling  up  his  train  she  was  asked  if  she  wished  to 
"  come  on  board,"  when  she  stated  that  her  object  in  stopping 
the  train  was  to  ascertain  whether  any  passenger  could  give  her 
change  for  a  £1  note  ! 

The  most  startling  uses  to  which  railways  have  recently  been 
devoted  are  military.  The  first  armour-plated  train  was  used 
for  the  defenders  of  Paris  in  1871  ;  and  latterly  our  Egyptian 
correspondents  have  recounted  to  us  such  unusual  railway 
experiences  as  the  following  : — "  A  strange  excursion,"  writes 
'  One  of  the  Passengers,'  "  started  a  few  nights  ago  upon  the  line 
which  runs  between  Alexandria  and  Kafr  Dowar.  To  say  our 
party  was  not  made  up  of  pleasure-seekers  would  do  scant  justice 
to  the  gallant  fellows  who  belonged  to  it.  It  is  true  that  the 
members  of  this  pleasure  party  were  armed  to  the  teeth,  carried 
cutlasses  at  their  waists,  and  Martini-Henry  rifles  in  their  hands, 
while  some  had  revolvers  in  their  belts,  and  all  wore  jack-knives. 
But  a  merrier  set  could  not  be  found  than  my  companions. 

"  Grim  enough  was  the  train  that  waited  to  convey  them.  In 
place  of  cushioned  carriages  were  hard  railway  trucks,  without 
seats  or  any  other  kind  of  comfort  ;  while  the  contents  of  some 
of  the  wagons  were  not  precisely  of  that  kind  which  is  usually 
supposed  to  be  intimately  connected  with  pleasure-taking. 
First  of  all  was  an  empty  wagon  with  low  sides,  on  which  was 
laid  a  lot  of  railway  metal  ;  then  came  a  truck  with  sides  about 
two  feet  high,  from  the  front  of  which  peered  the  muzzle  of  a 
40-pounder  Armstrong  gun.  Round  the  sides  of  this  wagon 
were  plates  of  iron  fixed,  by  the  care  of  Captain  Fisher,  of  the 
Inflexible,  so   that  a  rifle  bullet  would  hardly  be  able  to  penc- 


MILITARY    OPERATIONS    BY    RAILWAY. 


40; 


tratc  them,  while  to  protect  still  further  anybody  that  might 
choose  to  ride  in  the  vehicle,  sand  bags  were  piled  on  each 
other,  so  that  the  cannon  seemed  to  look  out  of  a  nest  of  them, 
so  thickly  were  they  laid  and  so  high  did  they  stand.  Then  we 
saw  a  truck  similarly  equipped,  from  which  a  Nordenfelt  with 
its  fan-like  arrangement  of  barrels  peered,  and  yet  another  fitted 
also  with  sand  bags,  and  carrying  a  9-pounder  gun.  Now  came 
the  engine  covered  up  to  the  funnel  with  sand  bags  tied  all 
round  it,  and  then  three  more  trucks  all  armoured  like  the  pre- 
ceding three,  and  carrying  two  Gatling  guns.  Such  a  train  had 
never  been  sent  on  a  holiday  excursion  before. 

"Yet  uninviting  as  was  the  conveyance  thus  placed  at  our 
service,  the  tars  jumped  into  it  with  more  alacrity  than  they 


BRITISH    IRON-CLAD   TRAIN    IN    EGYPT. 


would  have  even  entered  a  Pullman  saloon.  What  cared  they 
for  easy  chairs  and  lounges,  for  cushions  or  carpets  ?  .  .  . 
We  had  companions.  Another  train,  composed  of  really  com- 
fortable carriages,  was  just  behind  ;  and  in  it  were  about  700 
marines  ;  but  the  sailors  did  not  care  much  for  the  'jollies,'  and 
wanted  to  be  well  in  advance  and  have  the  fight,  if  there  should 
be  any,  to  themselves. 

"  But  the  trip  now  really  looked  like  business.  Our  aim  in 
moving  out  was  a  serious  one.  For  some  days  Arabi's  men  had 
been  working  on  the  railway  line  which  we  were  about  to  ad- 
vance upon,  pulling  up  the  rails  and  running  away  with  the 
sleepers.  The  40-pounder  on  the  hill  above  Ramleh  had  every 
now  and  then  dropped  a  shell  on  to  them,  driving  them  away 
for  the   nonce,   only  to   return    again  when    they  thought    the 


404  OUR   IRON   ROADS. 

English  gunners  wore  not  looking.  .  .  .  So  that  we  fairly  ex- 
pected to  see  a  good  gap  made  in  the  line,  and  looked  forward 
to  having  to  wait  some  little  while  during  the  repairs,  which  we 
Unite  expected  would  be  the  signal  for  a  heavy  shell  fire  from 
the  enemy's  lines,  not  quite  a  mile  from  the  spot  where  we  were 
going.  Yonder,  right  ahead  of  US,  lay  the  station  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  two  lines  of  the  Rosctta  and  the  Cairo  Railway,  and 
this  station  we  knew  to  be  frequently  occupied  by  Arabi's  men. 
Our  people  had  been  in  it  once,  and  noted  loopholes  and  other 
such  extremely  unpleasant  arrangements  for  annoyance,  and  we 
quite  thought  there  would  be  a  party  of  Arabs  there  to  dislodge, 
perhaps  with  a  lively  little  fight. 

"At  last  we  got  the  order  to  start,  and  on  we  steamed,  ot 
course  very  carefully.  Nobody  knew  where  the  line  might  be 
mined,  and  although  we  had  an  empty  truck  in  front  to  explode 
any  little  device  of  this  kind,  it  was  necessary  to  move  circum- 
spectly, lest  we  might  get  into  trouble  unawares.  The  night 
was  as  still  as  though  we  had  been  the  only  human  beings  in 
the  country.  The  stars  shone  out  as  placidly  from  the  sky  as  if 
war  and  desolation  had  been  in  some  other  planet  and  not  near 
our  own.  Yet  every  puff  of  the  engine  and  every  turn  of  the 
wheels  brought  us  nearer  to  the  enemy's  lines,  behind  which  lay 
hid  any  number  of  men  from  two  to  twenty  thousand,  and  any 
number  of  guns,  say,  from  ten  to  a  hundred.  Still  not  a  shot 
was  fired.     .     .     . 

"  On  we  went  ;  sometimes  we  stopped  while  an  official  went 
forward  ;  then  we  would  go  on  a  little  way  and  stop  again. 
Still  no  shell  came,  and  still  we  proceeded.  Our  work  was  to 
protect  a  party  of  engineers  sent  to  repair  a  piece  of  the  line, 
and  to  try  and  get  a  broken-down  engine  on  that  line  back  to 
Alexandria,  and  we  knew  Arabi  or  his  people  could  see  us. 
Why  did  he  not  blaze  away  ?  We  reached  the  place  where  the 
work  was  to  be  done.  No  shell  was  yet  sent  against  us  or  the 
train.  Out  wrent  the  engineering  party  from  the  carriage  in  our 
rear,  taking  with  them  the  rails  and  sleepers  in  the  fore  part  of 
our  train.  Away,  too,  went  a  company  of  marines  along  the 
line  up  to  the  junction  station,  whence,  however,  not  a  shot 
came.  It  was  evident  that  we  were  to  have  no  hand-to-hand 
fight.  The  countenances  of  the  tars  began  to  be  sorrowful  for 
the  first  time. 


MILITARY    OPERATIONS    BY    RAILWAY.  405 

"  For  an  hour  or  more,  perhaps  two,  the  rapping  and  the 
picking  went  on,  the  line  repairing  being  progressed  with  pretty- 
rapidity,  till,  just  as  it  was  pronounced  on  the  point  of  being 
finished,  there  flew  a  shell  just  over  the  train,  screaming  and 
whistling  as  it  went  far  past  us,  right  into  the  lake,  sending  the 
water  around  flying  into  the  air  as  it  burst,  but  doing  no  more 
damage  than  if  it  had  been  fired  into  the  clouds  and  exploded 
there.  Our  men  laughed  as  they  got  round  their  weapons  and 
got  the  order  to  send  a  40-pounder  shell  into  the  enemy's 
camp.  With  a  very  little  loss  of  time,  for  the  gun  had  been 
trained  with  great  accuracy  on  the  spot  which  was  to  be  aimed 
at,  the  weapon  was  prepared,  the  sailors  stood  by,  and  away 
went  the  big  shell  right  on  to  the  very  place  which  had  been 
indicated.  Not  a  moment  to  be  lost.  Now  we  could  see  lights 
dancing  about  us,  heralding  a  great  movement,  and  then  the 
engineers  came  in,  saying  they  had  done  their  work,  and  just 
then  came  another  shell  from  Arabi,  followed  by  two  from  us. 
Half  a  moment  later  and  we  had  the  marines  all  in,  and  then 
we  began  to  steam  back  quicker  than  we  came,  for  we  had  no 
obstacles  to  fear,  and  no  mines  to  take  notice  of  were  to  be 
apprehended,  and  of  course  all  the  time  our  guns  were  loaded 
once  more  lest  the  enemy  should  fire  again.  But  we  looked  in 
vain  for  another  mark  of  his  attention.  The  dark  lines  of  land 
which  indicated  his  position  had  suddenly  ceased  to  give  any 
evidence  of  life  ;  no  more  lights  were  to  be  seen  ;  no  more 
flashes  of  guns  ;  all  was  still." 

Again.  Among  the  most  spirited  incidents  of  this  war,  the 
capture  of  Zagazig  takes  a  foremost  place.  It  was  effected  by 
two  officers  and  five  troopers.  The  rest  of  the  corps  had  been 
left  behind  in  the  headlong  gallop  from  the  battle-field.  "  The 
little  party  dashed  through  the  crowd  assembled  round  the 
station,  and  there  found  four  trains  laden  with  soldiers  with  the 
steam  up,  and  at  the  point  of  departure.  They  reined  up  in 
front  of  the  first  engine,  and,  with  levelled  pistols,  ordered  the 
engineer  to  dismount.  He  refused,  and  was  at  once  shot ;  the 
rest  bolted,  as  did  the  passengers,  including  some  pachas,  whose 
luggage  was  taken,  and  thousands  of  troops  fled  across  the 
country.     Our  cavalry  came  up  half  an  hour  later." 

But  if  the  military  operations  of  the  iron-clad  train  were  thus 
entirely  satisfactory,  it  cannot  be  said  that  ordinary  travelling — 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

if  SO  it  could  be  called — on  an  Egyptian  railway  in  war  time  was 
pleasure  without  alloy.  One  who  recently  passed  through  these 
experiences  tells  us  that  in  an  evil  hour  the  spirit  of  investiga- 
tion induced  him  to  go  to  the  front  by  train,  instead  of  on  horse- 
back in  the  usual  way.  No  one,  he  writes,  who  has  not  tried  it 
can  possibly  conceive  the  sensation  of  being  roasted  through  by 
direct  fire  from  above,  by  reflected  heat  from  below,  aided  by 
furnace  blasts  across  the  sandy  expanse ;  and  the  real  way  to 
try  it  is  to  ride  from  Ismailia  to  Kassassin — the  extreme  front — 
on  the  back  of  a  quadruped.  "  '  Go  by  train,'  kind  friends  said — 
1  so  cool,  so  expeditious,  so  convenient.  You  can  take  boxes  of 
wine  and  provisions  for  your  friends  in  divers  regiments,  who 
will  straightway  receive  you  with  open  arms,  more  widely  spread 
even  than  usual.'  Happy  thought.  Excursion  train  !  Five 
minutes  for  refreshments  every  now  and  then.  Everybody  goes 
to  the  Derby  by  rail  now — why  not  to  'the  front'  ?  At  six  a.m. 
the  train  was  to  start.  Twenty  miles  in,  say,  three  hours. 
Slower  than  it  should  be,  but  comfortable.  Actually  a  first-class 
carriage  formed  part  of  the  convoy,  attached  to  the  extreme 
end,  away  from  the  engine.  The  rest  of  the  train  was  made  up 
of  trucks  laden  with  multifarious  stores.  True,  there  were  no 
cushions  in  the  compartments — they  had  been  looted  long  ago 
for  beds  ;  but  the  backs  were  well  padded,  and  the  general  effect 
was  decidedly  promising.  We  got  in — an  officer  of  the  ist  Life 
Guards,  two  of  the  Scots  Guards,  some  Indian  officers,  two  artists 
attached  to  the  illustrated  papers,  and  myself.  Taking  advan- 
tage of  the  method  of  transit  we  had  laden  ourselves  overmuch, 
perhaps,  with  small  impedimenta,  for  bundles  of  sardine  boxes 
peeped  from  beneath  the  seats,  while  loose  wine  bottles  rattled 
in  the  nettings.  It  was  dusty  and  over-warm — of  course  it  must 
be  that, — and  the  flies  were  most  annoying. 

"  Away  across  the  desert — past  Nefiche,  whilom  a  stronghold 
of  Arabi's,  shortly  to  be  the  base  of  operations  for  the  Indian 
contingent — away  towards  Mahuta.  Certainly  we  were  proceed- 
ing very  slowly,  with  too  many  stoppages,  each  one  longer  than 
the  last.  Presently  an  officer  of  the  Grenadiers  put  his  head  in 
at  the  window.  '  I  say,  you  fellows.  Do  you  want  to  be  left 
behind  ? '  General  consternation.  '  What ! '  '  This  ramshackle 
old  engine  can't  drag  so  heavy  a  train.  They've  unshipped  all 
but  the  first  two  trucks  ;  the  rest  will  be  picked  up  some  other 


MILITARY    OPERATIONS    BY    RAILWAY.  407 

time.'  What  a  scurry  !  How  we  tumbled  out !  What  a  wild 
grabbing  there  was  for  bottles,  bags,  boxes  !  Meanwhile  the 
officer  in  charge  caracoled  up  and  down.  '  Never  mind  waiting 
for  these  people  ;  steam  ahead  !  '  At  this  barbarous  order  there 
was  a  wild  shriek  and  general  stampede — boxes,  bottles  were 
abandoned  to  their  fate,  flung  anywhere,  and  we  crawled  up  the 
fronts  of  the  two  tall  trucks  with  a  desperate  energy  begotten  of 
despair. 

"  Off  we  started  again  ;  more  stoppages,  with  longer  and 
longer  intervals  of  inaction.  The  only  moving  thing  at  last  was 
the  officer  in  charge,  who  became  rabid  and  foamed  at  the 
mouth.  The  water  from  the  tanks  had  been  allowed  to  dribble 
away  and  waste  ;  there  was  no  fuel,  and  engines  without  water 
or  fuel  are  of  no  more  use  for  motive  purposes  than  a  dressing- 
table  or  a  hip-bath.  Here  we  were,  eight  or  nine  miles  out  in 
the  desert,  and  here  we  were  likely  to  stop.  It  was  presently 
discovered  that,  hidden  in  one  of  the  trucks,  was  a  little  water  in 
a  barrel  ;  and  hard  by  was  a  little  wood,  which,  if  husbanded, 
might  enable  the  crazy  machine  to  drag  on  alone — a  greater 
trouvaille  than  those  in  charge  deserved.  So  off  it  crawled,  in 
hopes  of  being  able  to  reach  Mahsuma,  where  was  a  supply  of 
water  and  coal,  leaving  us  perched  on  the  top  of  the  trucks  with 
the  full  sun  of  midday  blazing  on  us,  and  hope  vanishing  in  the 
distance.  Hotter  and  hotter  it  grew,  and  more  stifling  ;  the  iron 
bands  which  fastened  the  hay  bales  together,  on  which  we  sat 
enthroned,  became  so  heated  that  the  finger  could  not  rest 
on  them.  We  had  nothing  to  eat,  for  everything  of  that  sort 
had  been  dropped.  The  mouth  felt  like  a  redhot  nutmeg-grater, 
the  tongue  like  wash-leather.  How  long  was  this  to  last  ? 
Would  the  engine  ever  return,  or  must  we,  in  a  cooked  state, 
make  the  best  of  our  way  to  shelter  afoot  ?  Two  hours  passed. 
A  low  whistle — the  engine  was  coming  back — fuel  and  water 
had  been  reached,  and  all  was  well.  By-and-by  we  struggled 
up  to  Mahsuma — marked  by  the  white  bell-tents  of  the  Guards, 
otherwise  a  bit  of  desert  undistinguishable  from  the  rest — and 
a  little  later  reached  the  Life  Guards'  camp,  or  rather  the 
Cavalry  camp." 

Before  the  war  ended  a  hundred  miles  of  railway  were  provided 
as  an  accessory  to  the  military  operations  in  Egypt.  The  ships 
were  to  land  the  rails  and  other  plant  at  Ismailia.     The  heavy 


408  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

description  of  the  rails,  7olbs.  to  the  yard,  rendered  them,  it  was 
said,  better  suited  to  a  permanent  line  than  a  merely  flying 
military  tram-road  ;  and  the  sleepers,  which  are  mostly  of  broad 
iron  plates,  hollowed  beneath,  were  well  adapted  for  resting  on 
the  sand  of  the  desert.  A  railway  corps  was  specially  trained 
for  laying  and  working  the  railway.  It  consisted  of  No.  8 
Company  Railway  Engineers,  among  whom  were  platelayers, 
engine-drivers,  and  mechanics  capable  of  building  a  bridge  or 
a  pier.  This  company  had  previously  been  exercised  for  such 
services  on  a  section  of  railway  at  Upnor  Castle,  on  the 
Medway. 

We  may  here  remark  that  some  railways,  though  used  by  the 
public,  are  in  a  special  sense  private  property.  A  line,  for 
instance,  that  connects  the  seaside  village  of  Felixstowe  with  the 
Great  Eastern  system  is  the  property  of  a  single  owner — Colonel 
Tomline,  formerly  M.P.  for  Grimsby,  who  has  not  only  con- 
structed it  at  his  sole  cost,  but  for  some  time  worked  it  himself. 
It  is  now  worked  by  the  Great  Eastern.  It  is  14^  miles  long, 
and  joins  the  Great  Eastern  at  Westerfield,  about  ten  minutes' 
run  beyond  Ipswich.  It  was  completed  within  twenty  months 
of  its  commencement.  Colonel  Tomline,  it  is  said,  spent  a 
quarter  of  a  million  sterling  on  the  undertaking.  The  Maenclo- 
chog  Railway,  in  the  heart  of  North  Pembrokeshire,  and  termi- 
nating at  his  slate  quarries  a  few  miles  from  Fishguard,  is  the 
freehold  property  of  Mr.  E.  Cropper,  and  is  worked  by  his  ser- 
vants, his  engines,  and  his  rolling  stock  for  both  passenger  and 
goods  purposes.  But  while  "  Colonel  Tomline's  efforts  led  him 
through  14!  miles  of  dry  and  easily  worked  soil  to  his  goal, 
those  of  Mr.  Cropper  were  met  by  deep  rock  cuttings  and  valleys, 
mountain  and  moorland,  river  and  forest,  in  the  course  of  nine 
miles  of  railway,  forming  a  variety  of  difficulties  and  of  scenery 
in  such  a  short  distance"  said  to  be  "almost  unparalleled." 
The  railway  from  Sunderland  to  Seaham  Harbour  is  the  private 
property  of  the  Londonderry  family. 

There  are  other  travellers  by  passenger  trains  besides  men, 
Avomen,  and  children  ;  namely,  horses,  dogs,  cattle,  sheep,  and 
pigs.  Cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs,  however,  usually  have  the  honour 
of  trains  to  themselves.  The  Government  returns  do  not  now 
specify  the  numbers  of  the  animals  thus  conveyed  ;  but  so  long 
ago  as  1864  it  was  calculated  that  if  the  live  stock  that  then 


LEGAL  STATUS  OF  A  TITHE- PIG.  409 

became  passengers  were  marshalled  in  a  procession  ten  abreast 
and  ten  feet  apart,  the  line  of  horses  would  extend  for  6  miles  ; 
the  phalanx  of  pigs  would  be  44  miles  in  length  ;  there  would 
be  9  miles  of  dogs,  60  miles  of  cattle,  and  160  miles  of  sheep.  In 
other  words,  there  would  be  a  procession  of  horses,  pigs,  dogs, 
cattle,  and  sheep  ten  abreast,  extending  so  far  that,  while  the 
rear  ranks  of  the  sheep  were  bleating  in  London,  the  front  ranks 
of  the  horses  would  be  neighing  among  the  hills  of  Cumberland. 
We  need  not  add  that  these  numbers  have  since  enormously 
increased. 

The  legal  status  of  some  of  the  articles — or,  more  strictly,  some 
of  the  passengers — who  travel  by  railway  may  sometimes  be 
difficult  to  define.  A  porter,  for  instance,  is  said  to  have  ex- 
plained to  an  old  lady  that  her  cats  and  rabbits  would  have  to 
travel  as  dogs.  "  I  have  been  a  rector  for  many  years,"  says  a 
traveller,  "and  have  often  heard  and  read  of  tithe-pigs,  though 
I  have  never  met  with  a  specimen  of  them.  But  I  had  once  a 
little  pig  given  to  me  which  was  of  a  choice  breed,  and  only  just 
able  to  leave  his  mother.  I  had  to  convey  him  by  carriage  to 
the  X  station  ;  from  thence,  twenty-three  miles  to  Y  station,  and 
from  thence,  eighty-two  miles  to  Z  station,  and  from  there,  eight 
miles  by  carriage.  I  had  a  comfortable  rabbit-hutch  of  a  box 
made  for  him,  with  a  supply  of  fresh  cabbages  for  his  dinner  on 
the  road.  I  started  off  with  my  wife,  children,  and  nurse  ;  and 
of  these  impedimenta  piggy  proved  to  be  the  most  formidable. 
First,  a  council  of  war  was  held  over  him  at  X  station  by  the 
railway  officials,  who  finally  decided  that  this  small  porker  must 
travel  as  '  two  dogs.'  Two  dog  tickets  were  therefore  procured 
for  him  ;  and  so  we  journeyed  on  to  Y  station.  There  a  second 
council  of  war  was  held,  and  the  officials  of  the  Y  said  that  the 
officials  of  X  (another  line)  might  be  prosecuted  for  charging 
my  piggy  as  two  dogs,  but  that  he  must  travel  to  Z  as  a  horse, 
and  that  he  must  have  a  huge  horse-box  entirely  to  himself  for 
the  next  eighty-two  miles.  I  declined  to  pay  for  the  horse-box — 
they  refused  to  let  me  have  my  pig — officials  swarmed  around 
me — the  station-master  advised  me  to  pay  for  the  horse-box  and 
probably  the  company  would  return  the  extra  charge.  I  scorned 
the  probability,  having  no  faith  in  the  company — the  train  (it 
was  a  London  express)  was  already  detained  ten  minutes  by  this 
wrangle  ;  and  finally  I  was  whirled  away  bereft  of  my  pig.     I 


4IO  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

felt  sure  that  he  would  be  forwarded  by  the  next  train,  but  as 
that  would  not  reach  Z  till  a  late  hour  in  the  evening,  and  it 
Saturday,  I  had  to  till  my  pig  tale  to  the  officials  ;  and  not 
only  so,  but  to  go  to  the  adjacent  hotel  and  hire  a  pig-stye 
till  the  Monday,  and  fee  a  porter  for  seeing  to  the  pig  until  I 
could  send  a  cart  for  him  on  that  day.  Of  course  the  pig  was 
sent  after  me  by  the  next  train  ;  and  as  the  charge  for  him  was 
less  than  a  halfpenny  a  mile,  I  presume  he  was  not  considered  to 
be  a  horse.  Yet  this  fact  remains — and  it  is  worth  the  attention 
<>f  the  Zoological  Society,  if  not  of  railway  officials — that  this 
small  porker  was  never  recognised  as  a  pig,  but  began  his  rail- 
way journey  as  two  dogs,  and  was  then  changed  into  a  horse." 

Another  correspondent  of  a  public  journal  mentions  that  at 
the  high-level  Crystal  Palace  line  he  had  been  much  interested 
by  the  wrath  of  a  lady  against  some  of  the  porters,  who  had  pre- 
vented her  taking  her  dog  into  the  carriage.  "  The  lady  argued 
that  Parliament  had  compelled  the  companies  to  find  separate 
carriages  for  smokers,  and  they  ought  to  be  further  compelled  to 
have  a  separate  carriage  for  ladies  with  lap-dogs,  and  it  was 
perfectly  scandalous  that  they  should  be  separated,  and  a  valu- 
able dog,  worth  perhaps  thirty  or  forty  guineas,  should  be  put 
into  a  dog  compartment.  I  have  some  of  the  B  stock  of  this 
railway,  upon  which  not  a  penny  has  ever  been  paid,  and  I  could 
not  help  comparing  my  experience  of  this  particular  line  of  rail- 
way with  that  of  my  fellow-traveller,  and  wondering  what  sort  of 
a  train  that  would  be  which  would  provide  accommodation  for 
all  the  wants  and  wishes  of  railway  travellers." 

Occasionally  animals  other  than  domesticated  are  passen- 
gers by  railway.  We  have  already  referred  to  the  exploits  of  a 
gorilla  that  went  to  Nottingham  ;  we  find,  also,  that  on  the  ioth 
of  July,  1877,  the  station-master  at  Weedon,  on  the  London 
and  North  Western,  was  informed  that  a  tigress  had  not  only 
travelled  on  the  line,  but,  moreover,  had  made  its  escape.  She 
was  somewhere,  he  ascertained,  between  Wolverton  and  Rugby, 
and  she  was  prowling  about  at  large.  The  station  master  there- 
upon gathered  some  friends,  and,  with  some  officers  from  the 
Weedon  garrison,  went  off  on  an  engine  in  search.  The  tigress 
was  discovered  near  the  line,  her  movements  having  been 
watched  from  a  telegraph-box  by  a  porter  who  had  sighted 
her.     A  number  of  country  people  acted   as  beaters,  and  she 


CATTLE  SENT  BY  RAILWAY.  411 

was  at  length  despatched  after  receiving  no  less  than  eight  rifle 
bullets,  besides  several  charges  of  small  shot.  She  belonged  to 
Mr.  Jamrach,  of  Ratcliff  Highway,  and  had  been  forwarded  from 
Broad  Street  in  what  is  called  a  "  low-sided  junction  wagon." 
While  at  large  she  had  killed  and  partly  eaten  two  sheep. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  railways  were  soon  brought  into  use 
for  the  removal  of  live  stock.  The  cattle  dealer  calculates  that 
for  every  day  a  beast  is  travelling,  whether  on  foot  or  by  train, 
it  loses  a  stone  of  eight  pounds  ;  not  to  speak  of  the  suffering  to 
which  it  is  exposed  in  long  journeys  by  road.  The  transference 
of  stock  is  not,  however,  the  easiest  or  pleasantest  part  of  the 
duties  of  railway  men,  to  say  nothing  of  the  occasional  hazards 
to  the  public.  "  Here,"  says  a  writer,  "  you  meet  bipeds  who, 
per  force,  fiercely  frightened,  are  pushing  onwards  ;  and  if  you 
have  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  this  road  when  all  is  in  full  play, 
look  not  only  to  the  safety  of  your  corns  but  to  that  of  your 
life.  A  charge  down  this  incline  of  a  hundred  or  two  of  horned 
cattle  just  released  from  durance  vile,  and  followed  closely  by 
sticks  and  dogs,  is  not  to  be  treated  as  you  would  treat  a  con- 
temptible enemy.  But  on  this  occasion  the  porcine  element — 
less  dangerous  by  far — prevailed.  Some  hundreds  of  pigs, 
despite  an  unanimous  remonstrance  that  filled  the  air  far  and 
wide,  were  being  trans-shipped  from  the  railway  trucks  to  vans 
and  carts.  This  mode  of  conveyance  is  adopted  when  the  time 
for  getting  them  to  market  is  very  limited,  or  they  have  to  pass 
through  some  of  the  crowded  streets  of  the  metropolis.  Even 
in  an  open  country  road  Master  Pig  is  a  troublesome  customer ; 
but  in  the  midst  of  London  street  traffic  he  gets  stark  mad, 
and  runs  everywhere  but  in  the  direction  he  ought."  It  often 
happens,  too,  both  on  arrivals  and  departures,  that  different  lots 
of  cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs  get  mixed  together ;  but  this  appa- 
rently alarming  difficulty  is  got  over  by  the  men,  who,  by  long 
experience,  are  familiar  with  the  marks  of  various  breeders  and 
the  names  of  salesmen  to  whom  the  stock  is  consigned. 

The  scenes  presented  at  the  "great  cattle  market  of  the 
world  "  shortly  before  Christmas  are  more  striking  than  pleasant. 
The  curiosity  of  a  visitor  led  him  to  witness  the  spectacle.  At 
one  point,  when  his  topographical  knowledge  was  at  fault,  he  was 
told  :  "  Go  on  a  bit  and  you'll  hear  'cm  ;  "  and,  he  adds,  "  I  did 
'  hear  'em,' — the  barking  of  innumerable  dogs,  and  the   hoarse 


.]  1  2  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

shoutings  of  men  standing  out  as  a  duet  to  a  roaring  obbligato 
accompaniment  from  the  throats  of  some  thousand  cattle.  The 
snorting  of  a  locomotive  a  little  off  the  road  to  my  right  told  me 
that  the  landing-place  was  close  by,  and  turning  through  a  gate 
and  wading  knee-deep  in  mud,  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  I 
soon  found  myself  in  the  midst  of  a  scene  I  shall  not  easily  for- 
get. A  train,  stretching  far  into  the  night,  apparently  intermin- 
able, and  laden  with  sheep  and  beasts,  was  drawn  up  alongside 
a  narrow  platform,  on  the  near  side  of  which  were  I  should  not 
like  to  say  how  many  'pens'  for  their  reception.  The  doors  of 
most  of  the  trucks  being  opened,  a  couple  of  drovers  made  their 
way  into  each,  and  then  apparently  went  mad,  with  a  view  of 
inducing  the  frightened  beasts  to  vacate  the  trucks  for  the  pens, 
which  they  in  some  cases  obstinately  refused  to  do  until  urged 
by  means  more  effective  than  gentle.  At  length  the  train  is 
cleared,  and  I  inquire  when  the  next  will  arrive. 

"  '  You'd  better  ask  at  the  office,'  I'm  told. 

"  The  office,  I  find,  is  what  I  had  taken  to  be  a  stable.  I  push 
open  a  door,  and  discover  a  couple  of  drover  boys  in  fierce  com- 
bat re  the  ownership  of  a  stick,  with  which  a  third  boy  bolts  as 
I  pass  in.  After  a  little  trouble  I  am  directed  by  one  of  the 
fiery  youths  to  an  inner  chamber — the  office — an  apartment  some 
nine  feet  square,  in  which  sundry  drovers  are  baking  before  a 
huge  fire,  and  the  atmosphere  is  redolent  of  mutton  hung  just 
a  trifle  too  long. 

" '  Can  you  tell  me  when  the  next  cattle  train  comes  in  ? '  I 
ask  of  a  muffled  man  who  writes  by  a  lantern  at  a  small  table. 

"  '  About  three  ;  where  do  you  expect  'em  from  ? '  replies  the 
muffled  man  without  looking  up. 

"  I  explain  with  difficulty  that  I  don't  expect  anything  ;  and, 
though  politely  invited  to  sit  down,  I  am  convinced  the  company 
think  me  a  little  gone  in  the  upper  storey  for  being  out  at  such 
an  hour  without  any  business  ;  besides,  the  cooking  drovers  are 
beginning  to  brown  ;  so  I  excuse  myself,  and  promise  to  look 
in  later  on.  Once  outside,  I  attached  myself  to  another  drover, 
who  seemed  very  preoccupied  and  disinclined  to  fraternize  ; 
however,  some  tobacco  made  him  somewhat  more  sociable,  and 
he  informed  me  he  was  going  to  take  some  sheep  to  the  '  rails,' 
and  if  I  wanted  to  see  the  market  place  I  had  better  come  along. 
We  went  back  again  to  the  railway  pens,  and   my  friend,  with 


DEAD    MEAT    TRAINS.  4!3 

some  more  dreadful  persons,  proceeded  to  eject  a  lot  of  sheep 
into  the  lane.  Out  they  scampered,  as  if  glad  of  any  place  that 
had  not  four  sides. 

"  '  Ninety-eight,'  said  one  of  the  dreadful  ones. 

"  '  Right,'  said  my  drover,  consulting  a  ticket. 

"  '  How  did  you  know  that  ? '  I  asked  of  the  dreadful  one. 

"  '  Counted  'em,'  said  he. 

"  I  am  sure  I  looked  as  if  I  thought  he  was  lying,  for  the 
sheep  had  rushed  out  in  wild  confusion  apparently  in  a  heap. 
I  found  out  afterwards  that  the  thing  was  possible  enough  to 
these  men  from  constant  practice,  but  I  had  no  opportunity  of 
apologising.  In  a  few  minutes  we  were  on  our  way — that  is  to 
say,  the  sheep,  the  drover,  his  man,  his  dog,  and  myself.  As 
we  neared  one  of  the  great  entrances  to  the  market,  symptoms 
of  insanity  developed  in  my  three  companions,  who  rushed  in 
amongst  the  sheep,  and  I  saw  them  no  more.  Within  the  mar- 
ket is  '  confusion  worse  confounded,'  for  they  are  driving  the 
beasts  in  from  the  lairs  in  which  they  have  been  deposited  since 
their  arrival  during  the  two  past  days.  Some  of  them  are  as 
wild  as  the  traditional  '  March  hare,'  and  come  tearing  and 
bellowing  down  the  alleys  followed  by  frantic  drovers'  men 
yelling  their  war-whoop  of  '  Turn  'em  back.'  It  is  pitch  dark, 
and  the  long-horned  brutes  are  on  you  before  you  can  see  them. 
I  would  not  have  it  known  how  many  times  I  scrambled  over 
railings  barely  in  time  to  save  the  tails  of  my  coat  from  dis- 
grace." 

Besides  the  multitudes  of  live  stock  brought  by  railway  for 
the  feeding  of  the  great  towns,  there  are  also  innumerable  trucks 
and  trains  of  dead  meat.  Not  long  ago  the  London  Scotsman 
referred  to  this  subject  as  seen  from  its  northern,  or  departure, 
end.  It  appears  that  the  north  of  Scotland  is  tapped  by  two 
railway  systems  which  converge  at  Perth.  Aberdeenshire  and 
Banffshire  are  served  by  the  ramifications  of  the  Great  North  of 
Scotland,  which  meets  the  Caledonian  at  Aberdeen.  Inverness 
and  Moray  shires,  and  the  counties  still  farther  north,  use  the 
Highland  Railway,  which,  striking  inland  at  Forres,  cuts  off  the 
angle  involved  in  the  Aberdeen  route.  "  From  almost  every 
station  on  these  two  railways  fresh  meat  is  habitually  forwarded. 
Huntly  sends  eight  tons  per  day  along  the  Great  North,  from 
the  juicy  pastures  of  the  'Audit  an'  forty  daugh,'  and  the  bieldy 


4H  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

:s  of  the  Foud lands.  Inverurie  does  a  large  trade  also.  The 
pretty  town  at  the  junction  of  the  Don  and  the  Urie  averages 
twelve  tons  daily,  forwarded  by  four  dealers.  Then  we  take  a 
slant  along  the  Buchan  and  Formartine  line,  and  find  Peterhead, 
which  is  besides  given  largely  to  the  herring  and  whale  fishery, 
with  this  other  iron  in  the  fire  besides.  The  rich  meadow-land 
o(  Buchan  makes  glorious  beef.  At  one  time  Buchan  had  a 
breed  of  cattle  of  its  own — known  among  our  grandfathers  by 
the  name  of  '  Buchan  humblies  ' ;  long,  low,  brindled  or  black- 
polls,  with  a  fine  capacity  for  taking  on  beef,  but  with  a  greater 
celebrity  still  as  noble  milkers.  But  the  '  humblies '  took  a 
long  time  to  grow,  and  were  apt  to  get  '  set'  and  stunted  during 
stirkhood,  besides  which,  when  they  had  attained  their  full  size, 
that  was  by  no  means  gigantic.  So  they  have  been  almost 
without  exception  supplanted  by  the  bigger  Aberdeenshires,  the 
kindlier  shorthorns,  and  the  great-framed,  fast-growing  crosses, 
although  even  now  a  trace  of  the  '  humblie '  still  lingers  in 
many  a  herd."  Peterhead  sends  away  an  average  of  twenty 
tons  per  day.  Minor  "  roadside  "  stations  contribute  over  sixty 
tons  per  day.  Aberdeen,  besides  sending  southward  a  large 
number  of  very  large-headed  and  preternaturally  "canny"  men, 
sends  likewise  an  immense  quantity  of  meat  to  feed  them  and 
others. 

A  carcase  destined  for  the  London  market  is  divided  into 
halves ;  each  half  is  sewn  up  in  canvas,  and  packed  into 
wagons,  the  backbone  downmost  and  the  shanks  up,  as  closely 
as  possible.  A  row  well  packed  generally  fills  a  wagon,  and 
weighs  from  four  to  six  tons. 

The  Great  North  of  Scotland  goods  train,  which  leaves  Keith 
early  in  the  morning,  conveys  into  Aberdeen  the  dead  meat 
wagons  from  the  stations  on  the  main  line.  Another,  which 
leaves  Peterhead,  brings  up  the  dead  meat  from  the  Buchan 
district.  "These  two  trains,  during  the  winter  months,  bring 
to  Aberdeen  on  an  average  twenty-five  wagons  daily  of  dead 
meat.  On  arrival  in  Aberdeen  the  wagons  and  their  contents 
are  turned  over  to  the  Caledonian  Railway,  and  by  it  they  are 
despatched  at  twelve  noon  by  the  express  train  containing 
London  goods  only.  This  train,  which  requires  two  engines, 
contains  on  an  average  thirty-five  to  forty  wagons  laden  with 
dead   meat.     On  reaching  Perth,  the  meat  from  the  Inverness 


FOOD    TRAINS.  4  I  5 

district,  brought  down  by  the  Highland  Railway,  is  in  waiting." 
At  Perth  the  express  is  split  into  two  trains  :  one  taking  the 
east  coast  route  and  picking  up  meat  all  along  it,  the  other 
taking  the  west  coast  line  and  receiving  contributions  as  it 
rattles  southward  to  Carlisle. 

The  cargoes  of  these  various  trains,  in  which  the  commissariat 
of  the  metropolis  is  so  deeply  concerned,  have  to  be  treated  on 
their  arrival  in  the  most  expeditious  manner.  "  The  most  im- 
portant are  the  two  express  meat  trains  from  Scotland — trains 
which  may  be  said  to  have  revolutionised  the  cattle  trade  of  the 
Highlands.  The  first  arrival  is  the  daily  meat  express  from 
Inverness  and  Aberdeen,  and  all  Scotland  north  of  the  Tay, 
consisting  of  about  forty-four  wagons  filled  entirely  with  fresh 
beef  and  mutton.  It  performs  the  journey  in  about  thirty  hours, 
and  arrives  punctually  at  Camden  at  11.5  p.m.  The  second 
Scotch  meat  express  consists  of  fifty-five  wagons,  drawn  by  two 
powerful  engines.  As  far  south  as  Rugby  it  is  principally  filled 
with  fresh  butcher's  meat  from  the  west  of  Scotland,  and  arrives 
at  Camden  at  2.40  a.m.  These  valuable  freights  are  despatched 
with  all  celerity  to  Newgate  and  Leadenhall  Markets,  from 
whence  they  are  distributed  by  noon  all  over  London  ;  so  that 
the  bullock  that  was  grazing  under  the  shadow  of  Ben  Wyvis, 
may  within  forty-eight  hours  be  figuring  as  the  principal  piece 
de  resistance  at  a  West-end  dinner. 

"  There  are  numerous  other  food  trains  which  come  in  from  the 
midland  counties.  The  Aylesbury  meat,  butter,  and  milk  train, 
averaging  about  twenty  wagons,  arrives  nightly  at  1.20  a.m.  ; 
the  Bletchley  train,  similarly  freighted,  averaging  twenty-five 
wagons,  arrives  at  1.55  a.m.;  and  the  Northampton  and  Peter- 
borough train,  also  averaging  twenty-five  wagons,  at  3.5  a.m. 
About  half  an  hour  later  a  train  comes  in  from  Chester,  prin- 
cipally freighted  with  cheese.  And  thus  the  arrivals  continue 
all  the  night  through,  and  the  food  is  rapidly  forwarded  by  the 
carts  and  vans  which  are  in  waiting  to  the  meat  markets,  pro- 
vision shops,  and  milk  and  butter  dealers  in  all  parts  of  London. 
.  .  .  The  fish  trains  are  of  a  more  irregular  character,  the 
arrivals  depending  upon  the  season  and  the  takes  of  fish  at 
different  parts  of  the  coast.  When  the  mackerel  fishing  is  at 
its  height,  special  trains  come  in  laden  with  the  fish  at  the  rate 
of  ninety  tons  a  day  for  a  month.     Then,  when    the  herring 


4l6  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

season  sets  in,  from  ten  to  twelve  wagons  a  day  arrive  with 
herrings  from  points  as  remote  as  Banff,  Peterhead,  and  the 
north-cast  coast  of  Scotland  ;  about  a  similar  quantity  coming 
in  from  the  east  of  Scotland  and  the  north  of  Ireland.  The 
station  is  a  busy  scene  on  the  arrival  of  these  fish  trains." 

The  fish  traffic  at  many  country  stations  is  very  large.  "  At 
Nottingham,"  remarked  an  official,  "  it  is  almost  the  largest  we 
have  for  money.  It  arrives  by  the  mail  due  very  early  in  the 
morning.  This  train  brings  fish  from  the  east  coast — from 
Hull,  Berwick,  and  the  whole  of  Scotland.  Hull  and  Grimsby 
also  send  a  train  here  by  'M.  S.  &  L.,'  leaving  Grimsby  at  five, 
and  arriving  at  10.30.  Here  it  shunts  off  the  trucks  that  are 
for  Nottingham,  and  for  the  Erewash  Valley  and  Mansfield 
lines  ;  it  then  goes  forward  to  Bristol.  Yes,  it  supplies  Bristol 
with  fish.  The  other  night  it  came  in  with  forty-eight  wagons 
and  two  engines,  and  was  late  because  the  catch  had  been  so 
large  that  they  could  not  get  it  all  loaded  at  the  usual  time. 
Grimsby  is  our  best  fishing  port  for  winter  and  summer  in  Eng- 
land, I  should  think.  The  London  market  depends  on  Grimsby 
for  its  crimped  cod,  much  of  which  comes  through  Nottingham. 

"  The  fish  we  get  at  Nottingham,"  he  continued,  "  are  of  all 
sorts — sometimes  very  large.  We  had  a  fish  last  week  that 
weighed  nearly  two  hundredweight,  and  another  of  more  than 
twenty-one  stones,  at  fourteen  pounds  a  stone.  It  was  halibut." 
It  seems  strange,  but  it  is  true,  that  much  of  the  fish  that  travels 
by  land  goes  in  water.  They  are  in  tanks,  holding  perhaps 
half  a  ton  of  salt  water  each,  and  half  a  ton  of  live  cod.  The 
tank  is  lifted  by  a  crane  on  to  the  railway  truck  ;  and  when  it 
reaches  its  destination  at  St.  Pancras,  a  horse  truck  is  ready  ; 
and  directly  the  train  arrives,  the  tank  is  put  on  the  truck  and 
is  taken  away  to  Billingsgate.  The  empty  fish  tanks  will  be 
returned  in  the  carriages  that  have  taken  them  up,  perhaps  by 
the  first  down  passenger  train. 

The  receipts  at  a  country  town  station  on  account  of  the  fish 
trade  are  often  large.  The  fried  fish  men  buy  a  "  kit,"  or  barrel, 
of  fresh  fish  of  the  merchant,  and  fry  it ;  and  having  sold  it, 
perhaps  in  pennyworths  at  a  time,  pay  for  it  in  halfpence ;  so 
that  when  the  wholesale  dealer  settles  his  railway  charges,  he 
will  perhaps  do  so  with  £15  worth  of  fishy,  green-moulded 
coppers — as  much  in  weight  as  a  man  can  comfortably  carry. 


FISH    AND    MILK    TRAFFIC.  41  7 

It  is,  however,  at  the  railway  stations  on  the  seaboard  itself, 
in  the  fishing  season,  that  this  business  is  seen  in  its  magnitude. 
Then  the  exportation  of  herrings  to  the  London  market  from 
Peterhead,  during  the  season,  amounts  to  perhaps  80  tons  a 
week,  some  of  the  large  English  towns  on  the  road  intercept- 
ing a  portion.  Fraserburgh,  last  season,  says  a  local  authority, 
forwarded  about  80  tons  to  London;  Banff  sent  120  tons; 
Lossiemouth  also  a  considerable  quantity.  There  is  a  consider- 
able export  Londonward  of  cured  herrings  also — about  500 
tons  ;  but  some  of  these  go  by  steamer.  There  is  a  saying 
that  the  town  of  Amsterdam  is  built  on  old  fish  bones,  and 
the  fish  whose  bones  are  here  referred  to  were  not  so  much 
caught  off  the  coast  of  Holland  as  off  the  east  coast  of  Scot- 
land, and  as  far  south  as  Yarmouth  on  the  coast  of  England. 
"Fresh  fish  is  now  recognised  as  an  important  part  of  the 
food  of  people  in  the  populous  midland  counties  of  England  ; 
and  as  it  is  of  recognised  importance  that  the  fish  should  go 
into  these  markets  in  a  fresh  condition,  there  is  every  reason 
to  suppose  that  the  traffic  will  considerably  be  increased.  I 
don't  say  but  the  traffic  must  be  carried  on  under  somewhat 
onerous  conditions,  at  a  fast  speed  and  low  rates,  but  as  the 
necessity  of  accommodating  the  needs  of  those  large  English 
districts  will  be  seen  here  in  the  north,  the  traffic  is  one  which 
we  may  fairly  expect  continuously  to  increase." 

The  milk  traffic  by  railway  during  the  last  few  years  has  de- 
veloped enormously.  As  the  rate  is  only  a  halfpenny  a  gallon 
for  short  distances,  and  a  penny  for  long  ones,  farmers  find  that 
it  pays  to  send  their  milk  even  to  distant  cities.  The  rich 
meadow  lands,  for  instance,  near  Derby,  on  the  Wirksworth, 
Dufheld,  Ripley,  and  Castle  Donington  lines,  forward  their 
milk  to  Derby  by  the  earliest  morning  and  the  afternoon  local 
trains  ;  and,  by  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  middle  platform 
at  Derby  will  sometimes  be  crowded  up  with  cans  ready  to 
leave  for  London  by  the  mail.  The  morning  passenger  train 
from  Derby,  soon  after  eight  o'clock,  generally  takes  eight  or 
ten  vans  of  milk,  each  containing  more  than  40  "  churns,"  each 
churn  holding  15  or  16  gallons. 

Again,  at  Nottingham  the  milk  arrives  between  seven  and 
eight  in  the  morning,  and  between  five  and  six  in  the  evening. 
Perhaps  five  and  twenty  milk  dealers  send  their  carts  to  meet 

E  E 


4  l8  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

these  trains.  The  churns  in  which  it  comes  arc  made  very 
strong,  of  block  tin  iron-bound  ;  when  empty  they  weigh  about 
two  stones,  when  full  about  16  stones,  or  two  hundredweight. 
"  Yes,  there  are  large  dealers  as  well  as  small.  One  of  them 
has  ^50  men  in  30  different  towns,  stretching  from  South  Shields 
to  London,  who  sell  his  milk  retail.  He  has  160  men  in  London 
alone.  In  order  to  obtain  the  required  quantity  of  milk  he 
makes  yearly  contracts  with  large  dairies.  These  men  sell 
15,000  gallons  of  milk  in  London  every  day,  all  of  which,  of 
course,  goes  by  rail.  But  the  milk  brought  to  Nottingham  by 
rail  is  consumed  here.  This  trade  has  all  been  made  in  the 
last  ten  years.  The  milk  brought  is  excellent — far  superior  to 
what  it  used  to  be.  If  you  go  into  our  refreshment  room,  and 
look  at  a  glass  of  milk  that  has  been  standing  there  for  two  or 
three  hours,  you  will  find  the  cream  thick  on  the  top." 

We  have  elsewhere  told  of  the  working  of  the  inward  and  the 
outward  departments  of  a  great  London  goods  terminus — St. 
Pancras  ;  we  may  therefore  content  ourselves  with  a  description, 
written  some  years  ago,  of  a  similar  scene  at  Camden  station. 
"  The  working  of  a  London  railway  station  is  one  of  the  busiest 
night  sights  of  London,  for  all  the  outward  merchandise  traffic 
is  loaded  and  despatched  to  the  country  at  night,  and  nearly  all 
the  inwards  traffic  arrives  from  the  country  in  the  early  morning 
for  delivery  to  the  consignees  before  the  usual  hours  of  business 
begin.  Fancy  fifteen  hundred  men  nightly  occupied  in  loading 
and  unloading  goods  in  the  goods  sheds  of  a  single  company  ; 
vans  arriving  from  all  parts  of  the  metropolis,  beginning  at  6.30 
p.m.  and  ending  at  9.30  ;  a  little  army  of  men  struggling  with 
the  bulky  packages,  which  they  deposit  on  their  respective 
platforms,  from  whence  they  are  loaded  into  the  railway  wagons 
placed  alongside,  and  despatched  at  once,  train  by  train,  to  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  scene  appears  at  first 
one  of  inextricable  confusion — men  battling  with  bales,  barrels, 
crates,  and  hampers,  amidst  the  noise  of  voices  and  clangour  of 
machinery.  Yet  the  whole  is  proceeding  with  regularity  and 
despatch,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  the  last  train  out- 
wards has  left,  and  the  station  is  wrapped  in  quiet  until  the  time 
of  the  early  morning  arrivals. 

"  The  Camden  station  occupies  about  fourteen  acres,  and  is 
provided  with  nearly  twenty  miles  of  sidings,  mostly  converging 


GOODS    STATIONS. 


419 


on  the  great  shed  itself,  as  large  as  a  West-end  square,  being 
400  feet  long  by  250  round.  This  shed  is  fitted  up  throughout 
with  stages  and  platforms,  between  which  the  wagons  are 
ranged,  into  which  the  goods  are  loaded,  and  every  contrivance 
is  adopted  which  mechanical  skill  can  suggest  for  facilitating  the 
despatch  of  business.  As  the  vans  come  in,  the  packages  are 
hoisted  out  of  them  by  hydraulic  cranes,  and  wheeled  direct  to 
their  respective  stages,  the  names  of  the  places  of  destination — 
Liverpool,  Glasgow,  Manchester,  etc. — being  conspicuously  indi- 
cated alongside  the  wagons  about  to  be  loaded  with  the  goods 


ST.    PANCRAS   GOODS   STATION. 


for  those  places,  where  they  are  trucked  at  once,  and  packed, 
corded,  and  tarpaulined.  The  wagons,  when  complete,  are  then 
cleverly  drawn  out  of  the  platform  sidings  by  ropes  worked 
round  hydraulic  capstans,  when  they  are  marshalled  on  their 
respective  sidings,  and  despatched  train  by  train,  almost  with  the 
regularity  of  clockwork.  The  number  of  wagons  loaded  and 
despatched  from  the  Camden  station  nightly  is  about  670,  in  27 
trains,  averaging  about  25  wagons  per  train.  Although  there 
are  about  10,000  packages  despatched  nightly,  averaging  from 
90  to  100  lbs.  per  package,  the  quickness  with  which  the  work  is 
got  through  is  such  that  scarcely  two  hours  elapse  between  the 


420  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

arrival  of  the  goods  in  the  station  and  their  departure  by  railway 
to  their  respective  destinations. 

"After  midnight  the  goods  trains  begin  to  conic  in  from  the 
country.  Now  the  bustle  is  in  unloading  and  despatching  by 
van  to  the  London  customers  the  articles  which  have  come  to 
hand.  The  same  number  of  trains,  carrying  about  an  equal 
number  of  packages,  have  now  to  be  disposed  of.  After  3  a.m. 
the  station  is  again  in  full  work,  and  the  press  of  vans  and  carts 
is  as  great  as  on  the  previous  evening,  until  about  6  aan.,  when 
the  business  of  the  night  is  nearly  got  through,  and  the  station 
again  reposes  in  comparative  quiet."  * 

The  amount  of  railway  business  involved  in  the  supply  of  the 
needs  of  a  population  of  4,000,000  may  be  understood  when,  for 
instance,  in  giving  evidence  before  a  Parliamentary  Committee 
on  behalf  of  a  mid-London  railway,  Mr.  Samuel  Morley,  M.P., 
said  that  "  at  his  place  of  business  in  Wood  Street,  there  were 
usually  about  3,000  bales  or  packages  of  goods  in  and  out  every 
day."  And  the  expedition  with  which  such  work  is  transacted 
may  be  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  goods  entrusted  to  railway 
companies  at  7  o'clock  in  the  evening,  at  distances  of  even 
200  miles  from  London,  are  delivered  next  morning  at  the  doors 
of  the  consignees  in  the  city,  and  many  kinds  of  goods  arrive 
even  by  9  o'clock.  But  it  is  not  surprising  that  Mr.  Morley 
added  that  "  the  congestion  of  the  traffic  from  the  narrowness 
of  the  streets  in  that  locality,  and  the  want  of  an  outlet,  put  the 
occupiers  of  warehouses  to  the  greatest  inconvenience." 

Goods  traffic,  in  one  important  respect,  is  inferior  to  that  for 
passengers.  "Nothing,"  said  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,t  "is  so 
profitable,  because  nothing  is  so  cheaply  transported,  as  pas- 
senger traffic.  Goods  traffic,  of  whatsoever  description,  must 
be  more  or  less  costly.  Every  article  conveyed  by  railway  re- 
quires handling  and  conveyance  beyond  the  limit  of  the  railway 
station  ;  but  passengers  take  care  of  themselves,  and  find  their 
own  way  without  cost  from  the  terminus  at  which  they  are  set 
down.  It  is  true,  passengers  require  carriages  of  somewhat  more 
expensive  construction  than  those  prepared  for  goods ;  but  this 
expense  is  compensated  for  by  the  circumstance  that  they  are 

*  "  The  Great  Railway  Monopoly." 

f  Address  to  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers. 


MINERAL    TRAFFIC.  42  1 

capable  of  running,  and  do  run,  a  much  greater  number  of  miles 
— that  the  weight  of  passengers  is  small  in  proportion  to  the 
weight  of  goods — and  that  consequently  the  cost  for  locomotive 
power  is  less."  Still  the  carrying  of  goods  and  of  mineral  traffic 
is,  on  some  lines,  the  principal  source  of  profit. 

In  the  conduct  of  the  mineral  traffic  there  is  an  important 
difference  of  administration  among  railway  boards.  On  the 
North  Eastern  and  Great  Northern  lines,  coal  is  carried  in 
wagons  most  of  which  belong  to  the  companies ;  hence  the 
uniformity  of  build  and  appearance  which  they  present.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  London  and  North  Western,  and  the  Midland, 
have  been  accustomed  to  allow  coal-owners  or  merchants  to 
provide  their  own  wagons  for  their  own  traffic ;  hence  their 
endless  diversity  of  shape  and  size.  This  system  has  some 
advantages.  The  proprietors  feel  that  they  have  more  control 
over  their  own  property,  and  that  if  they  have  not  wagons 
enough  to  do  their  business,  or  if  they  have  too  many,  it  is  their 
own  affair  ;  and  these  opinions  have  been  so  strongly  held  that 
owners  have  till  lately  objected  to  accede  to  any  other  arrange- 
ment, except  under  compulsion. 

But  serious  objections  have  long  been  urged  against  the  private 
ownership  of  railway  rolling  stock.  According  to  this  plan,  it  is 
necessary  that  every  empty  truck  shall  be  returned  empty  to  its 
owner  ;  and  one  man's  truck  cannot  be  left  at  another  man's 
colliery  ;  whereas  if  all  the  trucks  belonged  to  one  Company,  it 
would  be  enough  to  leave  the  required  number — the  first  that 
could  be  most  conveniently  obtained — for  the  use  of  the  particu- 
lar trader.  He  wants,  perhaps,  twenty  trucks  ;  and,  according 
to  existing  methods,  his  twenty  must  be  found  for  him  and 
brought  back  to  him,  though  one  may  have  gone  to  Brighton, 
two  to  Exeter,  four  to  Carlisle,  and  the  rest  to  King's  Lynn  ; 
whereas  by  the  proposed  arrangement  all  that  would  be  neces- 
sary in  his  case  would  be  to  deliver  to  him  the  first  twenty  that 
could  be  got  hold  of.  Depots  could  be  formed  every  here  and 
there  for  the  collection  and  distribution  of  wagons,  and  the  work 
would  be  easy  ;  whereas  now  enormous  shunting  sidings  are 
required,  and  an  engine  may  be  a  whole  day  picking  out  the 
wagons  for  a  particular  owner. 

Frequently,  too,  it  happens  that,  while  certain  collieries  are 
busy,  others  are  comparatively  idle  ;  the  former  are  in  want  of 


422  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

trucks  with  which  to  carry  their  coals,  and  the  latter  have  empty 
trucks  standing  useless  in  their  sidings.  In  fact,  there  is  scarcely 
a  colliery  on  the  Midland  system  that  has  siding  accommodation 
for  all  its  own  wagons  ;  and  the  consequence  is,  that  if,  from 
want  o(  trade,  or  defects  in  the  mine,  or  a  strike  among  the  men, 
the  colliery  is  thrown  out  of  work,  the  company  has  to  find  room 
on  its  own  sidings  for  the  empties.  It  is  believed  that  such  is 
the  increase  of  economy  that  would  be  secured,  that  three-fourths 
of  the  present  number  of  trucks,  and  three-fourths  of  the  present 
number  of  sidings,  would  be  sufficient  if  the  trucks  belonged  to 
the  companies. 

Another,  and  perhaps  the  most  important,  result  of  a  change 
of  system  would  be  the  increased  safety  of  the  traffic.  If  trains 
are  delayed  or  accidents  occur  on,  for  instance,  the  Midland 
Railway,  the  common,  if  not  almost  invariable,  explanation  is 
that  some  mineral  truck  has  broken  down,  or  has  run  off  the 
rails,  and  further  inquiry  into  the  subject  would  reveal  the 
surprising  fact,  that  out  of  a  hundred  breakdowns  of  goods  or 
minerals  wagons,  ninety-four  per  cent,  are  with  the  wagons  of 
private  owners  ;  that  is  to  say,  that  if  the  wagons  of  private 
owners  were  made  as  strong  and  as  safe  as  the  wagons  of  the 
railway  company,  the  number  of  breakdowns  would  be  reduced 
to  about  one-tenth  of  what  they  are.  Now,  the  breakdown  of  a 
mineral  truck  not  only  certainly  involves  delay — delay  which 
may  derange  the  entire  traffic  of  the  line  for  hours,  or  even  days 
— but  it  may  be  one  of  the  most  perilous  forms  of  accident. 

These  and  other  considerations  have  led  the  Board  of  the 
Midland  Railway  Company  to  arrange  for  the  purchase  of  the 
mineral  wagons  of  private  owners,  and  this  is  now  being 
carried  forward  on  a  large  scale. 

One  arrangement  of  the  railway  companies  with  regard  to 
their  coal  traffic  has  been  freely  criticised  :  it  is  their  practice  of 
allowing  the  use  of  their  coal  depots  to  only  a  limited  number  of 
coal  agents.  "Why,"  it  has  been  asked,  "cannot  any  person  have 
a  truck  of  coals  consigned  to  him  at  the  station,  and  be  allowed 
to  fetch  it  away  ?  "  This  problem  was,  some  years  since,  prac- 
tically tested  at  Nottingham.  There  had  been  there  only  a 
small  coal  wharf,  and  inconvenience  had  arisen.  To  remedy  it 
the  company  bought  from  fifteen  to  twenty  acres  of  land  for 
coaling  purposes.     At  once  they  received  innumerable  applica- 


COAL    DEPOTS. 


423 


tions  from  all  sorts  of  persons  for  coaling  space,  and  the  yard 
became  so  crowded  and  confused  that  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  carry  on  business.  "  We  were  receiving,"  said  Mr. 
Allport  before  the  Royal  Commission,  "constant  complaints  from 
the  consumers,  the  traders,  and  the  coal-owners  ;  and  I  went  my- 
self to  Nottingham,  and  spent  nearly  a  day  there,  for  the  purpose 
of  investigating  them  ;  and  I  found  that  although  we  had  appro- 
priated so  large  a  space  to  the  coal  traffic,  the  whole  yard  was 
so  crowded  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  rid  of  the  trucks.  I 
found  upwards  of  500  trucks  of  coal  standing  in  the  Nottingham 
yard,  and  it  was  quite  impossible  for  any  of  the  parties  to  get 
at  them.  I  then  ascertained  that  great  numbers  of  them  were 
small  dealers,  receiving  a  single  truck,  and  that  others  were 
private  consumers,  receiving  perhaps  a  truck." 

To  remedy  these  evils,  it  was  arranged  that  only  a  limited 
number  of  the  largest  merchants  should  be  admitted  to  the 
ground,  and  that  each  should  be  allowed  to  stack  a  certain 
number  of  hundreds  of  tons  of  coals.  If  the  land  had  been 
large  enough  for  a  dozen  such  merchants,  a  dozen  would  have 
been  selected  ;  but  it  was  not  so,  and  nine  dealers  were  ad- 
mitted. The  largest  were  accepted,  and  they  are  charged  a 
"  terminal  "  at  Nottingham  of  twopence  a  ton.  The  results  of 
this  arrangement  have  been  satisfactory.  Similar  methods  have 
been  adopted  in  every  large  town  on  the  Midland  system,  and 
Mr.  Allport  subsequently  gave  evidence — "  There  is  not  a  single 
coal-owner  now  complaining." 


HAMPTON    STATION. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Working  of  Trains. — "Correspondence  "  of  Trains. — Punctuality  of  Trains. 
— Mr.  S.  Laing. — Sir  D.  Gooch. — Mr.  Allport. — Mr.  Paterfamilias  and 
his  Opinions. — Snow-storms  on  Railways. — A  Young  Lady's  Experi- 
ence.— Other  Trains  Snowed  up. — Snow-storm  in  Scotland. — Results  of 
Weather  on  Railway  Finance. — Cost  of  a  Snow-storm  to  a  Railway. — 
Snow  Sheds. — Railway  Accidents. — A  Paradox:  is  it  true? — Safety  of 
Railway  Travelling. — Curative  Effects  of  Railway  Accidents. — Horse- 
racing  on  Railways. — Brake  Trials  at  Newark. — The  Trial  Trains. — 
The  Westinghouse  Brake.  —  "Mr.  Vacuus  Smith." — Mr.  Clayton's 
Brake. — A  Ride  on  an  Engine  with  a  Vacuum  Brake. — Earl  de  la 
WaiVs  Bill. — Communicators. — The  Cord  System. — Results. — Running 
Powers  of  Railways. — "  Facility  Clauses." — Interchange  of  Traffic  on 
Metropolitan  Lines. — Lines  jointly  Owned  or  Worked. — "  Compen- 
sation."— Curious  Cases. — Taxation  of  Railways. — The  Railway  Com- 
mission.— Alleged  Excessive  Railway  Rates.— Reply  of  Companies. — 
Classification  of  Rates. — Special  Rates. — Reasons  for  Special  Rates. — 
Uniform  Mileage  Rates  Impracticable  and  Pernicious. 

fcft">-#JE?H  HE  working  of  railway  trains  now  deserves  our 
•1  ...  careful  attention.  To  run  a  train  at  all  involves 
a  good  deal.  It  means  coal,  oil,  tallow,  cotton 
waste,  wages,  wear  and  tear  of  engines,  car- 
riages, rails,  sleepers,  ballast,  bridges,  embank- 
ments, cuttings,  stations,  and  all  the  other 
belongings  of  railways,  not  under  cover,  but  in 
the  open  air,  exposed  to  the  sundry  and  mani- 
fold changes  of  the  weather  for  which  our 
climate  is  noted.  But  there  is  not  merely  one 
train,  or  one  class  of  trains,  but  many  trains 
and  many  classes.  On  the  same  lines  of 
railway  run  express  and  mail  passenger  trains,  at  a  rate  of 
perhaps  45  miles  an  hour;  others  at  35  miles  an  hour;  and 
stopping  trains,  calling  at  all  stations,  at  25  or  30  miles  an  hour. 
There  are  also  express  goods  trains,  slow  or  stopping  goods, 


The  initial  letter  represents  a  fogman's  hut. 
424 . 


"correspondence"  of  trains.  425 

shunting  or  ballast  trains,  followed  by  or  mixed  with  through 
heavy  coal  trains  from  the  great  coal-fields  of  the  country,  on 
their  way  to  the  large  centres  of  population  ;  yet  one  and  all 
have  to  be  run  with  order,  regularity,  and  punctuality. 

When  a  railway  company  has  successfully  completed  the 
arrangements  on  its  own  system,  and  is  prepared  fully  to  carry 
them  out,  it  is  reminded  that  it  "does  not  live  unto  itself." 
Provision  has  to  be  made  for  the  "correspondence"  of  some  of 
its  trains  with  those  of  other  great  companies  with  which  it  is 
in  constant  practical  alliance  and  action.  A  passenger  who  has 
come  from  Peterborough  by  Melton  and  Syston  to  Leicester, 
complains  that  his  train  is  late ;  he  perhaps  forgets  that  it  was 
in  connection  with  a  train  from  Yarmouth  off  the  Great  Eastern, 
and  that  it  arrived  twenty  minutes  late  at  Peterborough. 
Similarly  a  passenger  from  Bristol  for  Manchester  may  be 
detained  in  starting,  because  his  train  is  waiting  for  a  Great 
Western  that  has  not  arrived  from  Torquay  or  Penzance.  Per- 
fect punctuality  is,  of  course,  theoretically  desirable  ;  and  it  could 
be  guaranteed.  All  that  would  be  necessary  would  be  to  alter 
the  time-bills  of  the  railway  companies,  so  as  to  allow  an 
ample  margin  for  all  contingencies.  But  when,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  should  have  in  all  ordinary  journeys  to  wait  at  the 
stations  for  "  time,"  or  to  loiter  out  on  the  road  the  time  that 
occasionally  was  required  for  dealing  with  exceptionally  heavy 
traffic,  it  would  be  allowed  that  the  remedy  was  worse  than  the 
disease.  "Personally,"  said  Mr.  S.  Laing,  in  a  letter  to  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  "  as  a  director,  I  should  have 
no  objection  to  see  my  responsibility  sheltered  by  the  decree 
of  a  public  authority,  extending  the  time  of  the  express  trains 
between  London  and  Brighton  from  one  hour  and  a  quarter  to 
one  hour  and  a  half,  of  the  stopping  trains  from  two  hours  to 
two  hours  and  a  half,  and  all  other  trains  in  proportion — and 
less  than  this  would  not  answer  the  object.  But  as  a  share- 
holder, I  should  deprecate  it,  because  I  believe  it  would  so  in- 
convenience the  public  that  it  would  drive  away  a  large  amount 
of  traffic.  As  a  resident  in  Brighton  I  should  deprecate  it, 
because  the  prosperity  of  Brighton  depends  mainly  on  its  being 
within  50  miles  of  London,  while  such  a  decree  would  practically 
increase  the  distance  to  60  or  70  miles  ;  and  lastly,  as  an  indi- 
vidual traveller  on  the  railway,  I  should  deprecate  it,  because  I 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

would  prefer  to  travel,  as  at  present,  in  a  time  so  short  that  I 
do  not  feel  it  to  be  irksome,  taking  my  chance  of  now  and  then 
being  a  little  behind  time,  rather  than  see  an  unnecessary 
quarter  of  an  hour  added  daily  to  my  journey  under  the  plea  of 
consulting  my  safety  and  convenience."  The  immense  majority 
of  travellers  would  take  the  same  view,  and  if  two  railways  were 
running  side  by  side  at  the  same  hours  and  fares,  one  at  40 
miles  an  hour,  the  other  at  30,  with  any  of  the  advantages  of 
greater  safety  and  punctuality  which  the  slower  speed  would 
give,  the  great  majority  of  passengers  would  patronize  the  faster 
train. 

Nor  is  it  only  at  a  single  point  or  two  that  one  company  is 
in  correspondence  with  another.  At  Bristol,  said  Mr.  Allport 
in  evidence  before  the  Royal  Commission,  our  trains  are 
placed  in  connection  with  the  trains  from  the  extreme  west — 
from  Cornwall  and  Devonshire.  At  Gloucester  the  Midland 
comes  into  connection  with  the  South  Wales  system,  stretching 
from  Milford  Haven,  Swansea,  Cardiff,  and  Monmouthshire. 
At  Worcester  there  are  lines  approaching  from  another  part  of 
the  system  of  the  Great  Western,  and  from  Hereford  and  South 
Wales.  At  Birmingham  the  Midland  system  comes  in  contact 
with  the  main  artery  of  the  London  and  North  Western  system  ; 
and  at  Burton  they  are  flanked  by  the  North  Staffordshire 
Company.  At  Eckington  they  are  in  connection  with  the 
Manchester,  Sheffield  and  Lincolnshire  Company  ;  at  Norman- 
ton  with  the  North  Eastern  system  ;  and  at  Oakenshaw  with 
the  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  line.  It  is  easy  to  see  how 
impossible  it  is  "  to  fit  a  train  running  from  south  to  north 
with  all  these  various  branch  connections,  the  main  line  having 
far  more  important  sources  of  traffic  to  accommodate  than  the 
few  passengers  who  may  be  brought  in  by  the  branch  lines  of 
other  companies.  The  principle  to  be  recognised  is  the  accom- 
modation of  the  greatest  number,  and  this  can  be  accomplished 
only  by  the  apparent  occasional  neglect  of  the  few.  To  attempt 
to  run  trains  so  as  to  suit  all  the  branches  would  throw  the 
whole  system  out  of  gear — would  be  impossible." 

The  uniformity  of  railway  arrangements  is  constantly  being 
interfered  with  by  the  varying  conditions  of  traffic,  of  weather, 
and  of  season.  The  excursion  and  summer  traffic  to  the  sea- 
side, to  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  the  cross  Channel  service  to 


A    SNOW-STORM.  427 

the  Continent,  and  the  consequent  complications  at  junctions, 
make  absolute  regularity  impossible. 

As  the  British  Paterfamilias  sits  after  breakfast,  some  winter 
morning,  by  his  warm  fireside,  toasting  his  toes  and  reading  his 
paper,  his  eye  rests  upon  a  paragraph  which  gently  stirs  the 
choleric  within  his  protuberant  breast.  It  is,  perhaps,  to  the 
following  effect :  "  Snow-storm  in  Hampshire.    Up  mail  detained 

several  hours."     "  Bad  management  again,"  remarks  Mr.  P ; 

and  he  is  evidently  under  the  impression  that  that  part  of  the 
railway  system  would  have  been  far  better  administered  if  his 
had  been  the  presiding  mind.     Fortunately,  however,  for  Mr. 

P ,  he  was  safe  and  warm  in  bed  during  the  vicissitudes  of 

that  night.     For  what  was  happening  ? 

A  dense  sky  had  been  hanging  over  these  grey  snow-clad 
Hampshire  hills,  and  then  those  hills  disappeared  under  the  whirl- 
ing dance  of  snow-flakes.  "  Where  usually  is  a  varied  landscape 
of  meadow,  river,  trees,  and  hedges,  is  now  one  unbroken  line  of 
white,  with  an  occasional  dark  object  peering  through  to  mark 
the  spot  where  usually  is  a  fence  or  a  tree.  Away  it  stretches 
till  we  reach  a  dark  fir  plantation,  and  then  again  we  are  lost 
amid  the  snow-clad  range  of  the  Purbeck  Hills.  Now  and  then 
drift  across  the  grey  expanse  small  flocks  of  larks,  with  their 
heads  turned  westward,  their  slow  dreary  flight  adding  a  melan- 
choly touch  of  life  to  the  lifeless  scene.  The  lines  were  just 
visible  under  the  snow,  which  was  piled  high  in  the  centre  of  the 
railway,  and  crowds  of  men  were  employed  in  sweeping  it  away  ; 
while  the  wind  rendered  their  task  almost  endless  by  blowing  it 
back  again  almost  quicker  than  they  could  brush  it  away,  a  fine 
white  powder  being  drifted  in  a  ceaseless  shower  across  every- 
thing from  the  masses  on  the  roads,  where  the  dense  white  stuff 
lay  wholly  between  the  hedges,  level  with  the  tops."  When  dug 
out  it  came  out  in  square  blocks  like  sugar,  or  still  more  like 
starch,  for  it  had  the  peculiar  blue  tint  that  this  latter  commo- 
dity possesses,  and  none  of  the  brilliant  sparkle  of  a  lump  of 
sugar. 

The  guard  of  a  goods  train  thus  narrated  his  experiences  that 
night.  "  I  daresay,"  he  said,  "  it  was  much  the  same  on  all  the 
lines.  I  can  only  speak  for  myself,  and  I  know  that  I  never  was 
out  in  such  a  storm  in  all  the  winters  that  I've  been  guard  on  the 
London  and  South  Western.     Bad  enough  we  had  it,  in  all  con- 


4-S  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

science,  coming  up  from  Salisbury  in  the  dark  right  against  that 
east  wind,  driving  and  howling  incessantly,  and  the  snow  enough 
to  blind  you  it"  you'd  only  turned  your  face  straight  towards  it 
for  a  moment  ;  but  the  truth  is  you  couldn't  do  it.  Yes,  I  will 
tell  Jrou  about  it  if  you  think  it  worth  hearing,  at  least  in  my 
way. 

"  I  went  down  from  Waterloo  in  the  morning  to  bring  up 
a  train  coming  from  Exeter  on  from  Salisbury  to  London.  It 
was  blowing  wild  enough  when  we  started,  and  the  snow  whirl- 
ing round  and  round  us — not  in  big  flakes,  like  you  see  it  fall 
when  in  still  weather,  but  in  a  sharp  fine  dust,  just  like  glass 
ground  down  into  powder.  Long  before  we  got  to  our  down 
journey's  end  the  snow  had  begun  to  gather  deep  in  the  cuttings, 
the  wind  sweeping  it  down  from  the  open  country  above,  and 
laying  it  in  a  sloping  bank,  running  down  far  across  the  rails. 
It  is  an  odd  sensation  when  you  are  cutting  through  snow  that 
is  not  quite  enough  to  stop  you,  but  very  near.  It  is  as  if  you 
were  off  the  rails,  going  over  stony  ground,  and  something  all 
the  time  trying  hard  to  shove  you  back,  and  then  letting  you  go 
clean  ahead  for  a  minute  or  two. 

"  But  the  worst  of  it  hadn't  come  yet.  Our  engine  made  her 
way  through  it  very  fair,  and  we  were  not  much  above  half  an 
hour  behind  when  we  went  into  Salisbury  station.  There  we 
waited  for  the  Exeter  train,  telegraphed  from  Gillingham  only 
an  hour  late.  When  she  came  in  I  took  her  guard's  place,  and 
we  started  for  Waterloo  with  nine  or  ten  carriages,  and  a  good 
many  passengers,  a  little  before  five — just  after  dark,  in  fact.  It 
had  been  snowing,  snowing,  snowing  down  there,  as  elsewhere,  all 
day  long ;  and  as  we  went  out  of  the  lighted  station  right  into 
the  wild  open  country,  I  couldn't  help  thinking  of  what  it  would 
be  like  that  night  on  the  great  chalk  downs,  or  on  the  roads 
over  Salisbury  Plain,  without  a  bit  of  shelter  for  miles  and  miles. 
Oh,  how  it  did  blow  !  and  how  the  sharp  snow-dust  came  sweep- 
ing down  upon  us  as  we  went  towards  it  in  the  teeth  of  the  wind. 
WTe  kept  on  at  a  good  pace,  at  least  on  the  embankments,  where 
the  line  was  swept  by  the  gale  as  clean  as  twenty  thousand 
brooms  could  have  made  it.  On  we  went  till  we  got  into  the 
cuttings  the  other  side  of  Andover.  There  we  were  again 
rumbling  as  if  over  stones  instead  of  iron  rails,  and  being  shoved 
back,  and  then  again  on  with  a  start,  and  then  rumbling  and 


A    SNOW-STORM.  429 

bumping,  and  then  on  again.  I  should  think,  with  you,  that  the 
passengers  found  it  unpleasant  ;  but  it  was  curious  how  quiet 
and  contented  they  all  seemed.  Nobody  cared  apparently  to  peep 
out  even  for  a  moment.  The  ladies  in  the  first-class  carriages 
had  got  foot-warmers,  and  so  had  a  good  many  people  in  the 
second  and  third  class  ;  but  if  they  wanted  anything  more  they 
didn't  trouble  themselves  to  make  a  sign,  even  when  we  stopped 
a  moment  at  Andover.  Somebody,  I  daresay,  had  tried  to  look 
out,  and  finding  it  took  his  breath  away,  and  sent  the  snow 
flying  in  shovelfuls  into  the  carriage,  had  shut  the  window 
quicker  than  he  opened  it.  The  frost  on  the  panes  made  it 
impossible  to  see  them  from  outside,  and  the  lamps  inside  looked 
like  little  tips  of  yellow  flame  upon  a  tallow  candle. 

"  So  there  they  were,  all  invisible,  huddling  up  together,  I 
daresay,  and  longing  to  hear  they  were  at  Woking  junction,  or 
somewhere  farther  still  on  the  way  to  Waterloo.  I  knew  it 
would  be  worse  when  we  got  past  Whitchurch,  for  the  deep 
cuttings  are  about  there  ;  and  so  it  was.  Rumble,  rumble  we 
went  again,  and  again  something  seemed  shoving  us  back,  and 
then  on,  and  then  back  ;  and  then  we  came  to  a  dead  stand  in 
that  comfortless  hole,  with  the  snow,  that  was  continually  sweep- 
ing down  on  us,  now  up  above  the  foot-board  and  even  against 
the  lower  part  of  the  carriage  doors.  I  got  down  with  my 
lantern,  and  no  sooner  did  I  meet  the  cutting  gale,  than  my 
beard  and  all  the  lower  part  of  my  face  was  covered  over  with  a 
thick  crust  which  you  could  neither  rub  nor  pull  off  with  the 
hand.  The  wind  literally  blew  me  backward,  and  forced  me  to 
keep  my  chin  down  on  my  chest,  and  grope  along  holding  by 
the  carriage  handles. 

" '  How  are  you  getting  on,  Jack  ?  '  I  asked  my  mate  beside 
the  engine  as  soon  as  I  could  get  near  enough  to  his  ear  to  be 
heard. 

"  '  Bad  enough,  Bill,'  he  said.  '  Turn  your  lantern  down  here, 
old  man.  It's  the  ash-pan  all  caked  up  with  snow,  and  not  a 
bit  of  draught  can  get  into  the  fire.' 

"  And  so  it  was — hard  as  flint,  too,  in  spite  of  the  warmth. 
There  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  rake  away  with  a  long 
bent  iron  bar — all  three  of  us,  stoker  included — till  we  had 
cleared  a  bit ;  and  we  began  to  make  steam  again. 

"  '  Can  you  get  on  now,  do  you  think  ? '  I  says. 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

"  '  Look  at  that  snow  in  front  of  my  engine,'  says  he;  'she'll 
never  go  through  with  the  train  behind  her.' 

"  '  Whi it'll  you  do,  then?'  I  says. 

"'You  get  into  your  van,  Bill,'  says  he,  'and  put  the  brake 
hard  on  while  I  unhook.' 

"  So  I  did  ;  and  when  Jack  Randall  had  backed  a  trifle,  or 
tried  to  do  it,  he  unhooked,  and  leaving  us  behind  in  that  dismal 
place,  whistled  and  went  bang  at  the  snow,  and  right  on,  plough- 
ing and  cutting  into  it  for  three  hundred  yards  or  so.  Then  he 
backed  again,  and  down  we  were  once  more,  stoker  and  all, 
hooking  on  and  peering  with  the  lantern,  and  clearing  the  ash- 
pan.  That  is  the  way  we  got  on ;  and  patience  it  wanted  too, 
with  our  numbed  fingers  and  half-frozen  faces." 

The  troubles  of  the  driver  were  greater  even  than  those  of  the 
guard.  Along  the  line  the  white  ground  reflected  the  light ;  but 
it  was  difficult  to  see  any  signal  when  the  air  was  full  of  snow 
driving  straight  against  him.  He  continually  had  to  clear  the 
snow  off  those  two  round  glass  spectacles  in  front  of  him,  other- 
wise he  could  not  see  even  a  fogman,  with  his  red  or  green 
light,  against  the  signal  post.  And  all  down  the  lines  there 
were  similar  difficulties.  Trains  got  stuck  fast  in  the  stations 
themselves  from  the  snow  drifting  in  heaps  up  to  the  platforms. 

"  It  is,"  continued  the  guard,  "  a  hard  life  at  times.  But 
there's  one  comfort — at  least  for  steady,  sober  guards  and  drivers 
— and  no  other  kind  of  men  will  do  in  our  trade,  I  can  assure  you. 
That's  when  they  get  home  (for  we  do  get  home  at  last)  and 
find  the  missus,  late  as  it  is,  sitting  up  with  a  good  fire  and  a 
bit  of  supper  for  them,  as  she  always  does,  if  she's  one  of  the 
right  sort.  The  women,  you  see,  fidget  a  little  bit  when  you're 
late  ;  it's  natural,  and  though  they  put  the  children  to  bed,  they 
can't  sleep  themselves,  for  listening  to  the  clock  ticking,  and 
counting  the  hours,  wondering  where  you  are,  and  hoping  all's 
right." 

A  young  lady  has  touchingly  described  her  experiences 
during  this  storm  in  a  journey  from  Oxford  to  London,  and 
her  words  we  cannot  refrain  from  quoting.  "At  length,"  she 
said,  "  we  came  to  a  standstill,  and  on  hearing  voices  upon  the 
line,  I  opened  the  carriage  window,  and  nervously  inquired  what 
was  the  matter,  saying,  '  Snowed  up,  I  suppose,'  and,  receiving 
an  answer  in  the  affirmative,  rejoined,  in  my  simplicity,  '  That 


A    SNOW-STORM.  43  I 

we  should  all  turn  out  and  help  clear  the  snow  away/  to  which 
a  good-tempered  man  responded,  '  If  they  was  all  like  you,  miss, 
we  should  soon  get  it  out.'  I  closed  the  window,  expecting 
every  moment  the  train  would  proceed,  and  continued  to  amuse 
myself  by  reading  ;  but  hour  after  hour  passed  without  the 
slightest  indication  of  a  movement,  and  I  began  to  feel  my  lone 
and  desolate  position — cut  off  from  all  communication  with  my 
fellow-passengers,  and  with  nothing  visible  on  either  side  but 
snow,  which  insidiously  crept  in  through  the  crevices  of  the 
windows  and  drifted  to  such  an  extent  that  I  thought  unless 
relief  soon  came  I  should  become  '  snowed  in.'  " 

The  light  failed  in  the  carriage.  "  Cold,  benumbed,  and 
hungry,  I  lay  myself  prostrate  on  the  seat,  unconscious  of  what 
was  going  on  around  me,  until  I  was  aroused  by  a  knock  at  the 
window,  and  on  opening  it  a  '  Samaritan,'  in  the  form  of  a 
labouring  man,  asked  me  to  take  a  little  '  whisky.'  At  first  I 
refused  his  proffered  kindness,  but  on  his  assuring  me  it  would 
do  me  good,  and  that  some  other  ladies  had  drunk  some,  I, 
much  against  my  will,  yielded  to  his  kind-hearted  solicitations, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  swallowed  what  I  have  heard 
my  gentlemen  friends  term  a  drop  of  the  '  crater.'  That  it  did 
me  good  I  have  no  doubt,  although  I  should  prefer  to  it  many 
other  alcoholic  or  non-intoxicating  drinks.  I  offered  a  shilling 
to  him,  but,  with  a  generosity  I  shall  never  forget,  he  declined 
to  accept  a  farthing,  and  left  me.  On  the  departure  of  my 
well-intentioned  benefactor,  I  took  off  my  shoes  and  stockings 
and  rubbed  my  feet,  which  were  very  benumbed,  with  all  the 
energy  I  was  possessed  of.  I  made  a  pillow  of  some  wraps 
strapped  together,  and  tried  to  sleep ;  but  in  vain.  Thoughts 
of  home  would  come,  and  tears  rolled  down  my  cheeks,  for  up 
to  this  time  I  had  not  thoroughly  realized  my  critical  position. 
At  12.30  I  heard  some  one  talking  to  my  next-door  neighbours 
— some  light-hearted  youths  going  to  Harrow — and  asked  where 
we  were,  for  until  then  I  had  no  idea,  and  was  informed  by  the 
gentleman  whose  voice  I  had  heard,  that  we  were  200  yards 
from  Radley  station.  He  inquired  if  I  was  alone,  and  on 
telling  him  of  my  position  he  asked  if  he  could  do  anything  for 
me,  and  suiting  the  action  to  the  word  climbed  up  to  my  win- 
dow, literally  covered  with  frozen  snow,  supplied  me  with  some 
biscuits,  and  took  my  foot-warmer  away  and  refilled  it  from  the 


43a  Ot  R    [RON    ROADS. 

engine,  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty,  as  the  snow  had 
blocked  up  the  train  on  either  side,  and  was  very  deep.  I  felt 
intensely  grateful  to  him  for  his  trouble,  and,  as  he  promised  to 
return  again  with  some  hot  tea  and  something  to  eat,  if  it  was 
possible,  saw  a  gleam  of  hope  at  last.  lie  advised  me  to  try 
i"  sleep,  and  for  half  an  hour  I  managed  to  do  so,  when  he  re- 
turned with  some  warm  tea  and  bread  and  butter,  saying  that 
he  believed  the  train  was  to  be  cleared,  and  passengers  were  to 
go  cither  to  Radley  station  or  the  inn.  He  remained  with  me 
for  several  hours,  and,  a  way  having  been  cut  through  the  snow, 
we  reached  the  inn,  where  all  my  fortitude  gave  way,  and  I 
became  dreadfully  ill.  Every  room  in  the  establishment  was 
crammed  with  people,  who  seemed  exceedingly  thoughtful  of 
each  other,  excepting  one  lady,  who  was  more  taken  up  with 
her  lapdog,  which  she  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  and  sitting  on  a 
bed  exclaimed  frantically  and  continuously,  '  Oh,  my  poor  little 
darling,  he  has  not  been  used  to  this  sort  of  thing.  I  am  sure 
it  will  kill  him.  What  shall  I  do  ? '  The  supply  of  provisions 
was  of  such  a  limited  nature  that  a  bit  of  bread  or  a  raw 
crumpet  was  a  luxury  ;  but  whatever  there  was  available  the 
gentlemen  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  ladies. 

"At  length  it  was  suggested  we  should  go  to  Abingdon,  and  I 
started  with  a  lady  and  her  brother  and  the  gentleman  who  had 
been  so  kind  to  me  through  a  weary  drag  of  nearly  three  miles 
in  the  snow.  We  arrived  at  the  Crown  and  Thistle  about  noon, 
when  my  '  friend  in  need '  left  me,  having  seen  me  comfortably 
settled.  The  people  at  the  hotel  were  very  attentive,  as  also 
were  two  clergymen,  who  treated  me  with  more  than  Christian 
kindness,  entertaining  me  at  their  table  to  an  excellent  dinner 
(to  which  I  need  not  inform  you  I  did  excellent  justice),  and 
tending  me  with  fatherly  care  until  ten  o'clock,  when  I  retired  to 
bed  and  slept  until  eight  o'clock  on  Thursday  morning.     .     . 

"  I  got  home  about  half-past  twelve  on  Thursday  night, 
thankful  to  Providence  that  nothing  serious  had  happened,  and 
with  a  full  sense  of  the  great  kindness  I  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  those  I  had  come  in  contact  with,  to  one  and  all 
of  whom  I  return  my  most  heartfelt  thanks."  Amongst  the 
blocked-in  passengers  were  the  Very  Rev.  the  Dean  of  Christ 
Church,  Dr.  Acland,  the  Dean  of  Worcester,  the  Rev.  Alwyne 
Compton,  and  others. 


A    SNOW-STORM.  433 

Such  was  the  complete  arrest  at  that  time  laid  by  these  snow- 
storms upon  the  traffic,  that  the  mail  trains,  with  the  mails  for 
the  west,  were  actually  detained  for  twenty-four  hours  in  the 
shed  at  Paddington,  waiting  till  it  was  reported  that  the  line 
was  clear  enough  to  get  through — an  unprecedented  event. 

Similarly,  on  Thursday,  the  3rd  of  March,  1881,  a  snow-storm 
began  to  fall  in  West  Yorkshire,  Westmoreland,  and  around. 
So  furious,  in  those  higher  elevations,  was  the  wind,  that  it 
rocked  the  trains,  even  heavy  Pullman  carriages,  as  they  paused 
at  stations  on  the  Settle  and  Carlisle  line ;  and  it  swept  the 
snow  from  the  upper  parts  of  the  great  fells  "  as  clean  as  a 
broom."  "During  the  day,"  said  the  engineer,  "we  kept  the 
line  open,  but  by  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  drifts  entirely  blocked 
the  up  road.  We  then  worked  the  traffic  for  a  short  distance 
on  the  down  line,  till  an  engine,  which  had  been  taken  from  its 
train  to  make  a  run  at  the  drift,  bedded  itself  so  fast  in  the  snow 


A   MIDLAND  TRAIN   SNOWED   UP,    NEAR   DENT. 

that  it  could  not  back  out.  From  that,  time  till  Sunday  morn- 
ing it  was  a  continual  fight  with  the  drifts  to  try  to  keep  the 
line  clear.  Two  engines  with  a  gang  of  nearly  600  men  left 
Dent,  and  cut  the  drifts  before  them  to  Dent  Head,  and  on 
their  return  had  at  once  to  repeat  the  process  in  order  to  get 
back,  the  drifts  of  snow  filling  every  gully  and  cutting  to  a 
depth  of  thirty  feet.  During  Saturday  night  it  alternately 
rained  and  froze,  so  that  the  surface  of  the  snow  became  firm 
and  frozen  ;  and  on  Sunday  morning,  when  the  gale  ceased  the 
masses  of  snow  would  bear."  The  engraving  indicates  the 
actual  condition  of  affairs,  showing  all  that  was  to  be  seen  of 
an  entire  train,  namely  the  top  of  the  engine  funnel,  the  snow 
around  being  hard.  One  man  who  walked  over  the  train 
found  the  chimney  top  convenient  as  a  spittoon.  Meanwhile  the 
moisture  that  had  accumulated  on  the  telegraph  wires  had  be- 

F    F 


434  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

come  as  thick  as  a  man's  wrist.  The  lamp-posts  on  the  plat- 
form at  Dent  were  buried  in  the  snow.  After  the  line  was 
reopened,  a  train  of  ten  locomotives  that  had  "gone  cold  " — the 
trains  of  which  had  already  been  removed  by  fresh  engines — 
was  dug  out  of  a  drift  thirty  or  forty  feet  deep  and  drawn  away. 

The  railways  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  are  in  winter 
frequently  exposed  to  obstruction  from  snow-falls  and  snow- 
drifts. The  telegraph  wires  are  broken  down,  and  no  one  when 
he  takes  his  seat  in  the  train  can  tell  when  he  will  reach  his 
destination.  Even  the  steam-plough  gives  little  help.  Some 
years  ago  a  number  of  travellers  were  snowed  up  on  the  high 
moorland  at  the  bleak  sources  of  the  Gala,  between  Galashiels 
and  Edinburgh.  Some  of  them  tried  to  wade  through  the  snow 
to  houses  which,  it  was  thought,  existed  in  the  neighbourhood. 
They  had  to  return,  wet  to  the  skin,  and  to  pass  the  night  in 
the  railway  carriages.  "  The  shepherd  lost  in  the  snow  is  a 
sufferer  who  has  often  attracted  the  notice  of  poets.  The  bag- 
man lost  in  the  snow  appeared  a  topic  for  mockery  to  the 
Ettrick  Shepherd.  For  a  whole  train  to  be  swallowed  up  in 
the  drift  may  be  a  very  serious  misfortune,  but  it  is  one  which 
is  rapidly  becoming  quite  familiar  on  certain  northern  lines." 

Travellers  by  rail  to  Sutherland  may  remember  the  desolation 
of  the  scenery  between  Dalnaspidal  and  Dalwhinnie.  The  land- 
scape has  the  aspect  of  a  high  sour  tableland,  the  prevailing 
colours  are  a  sullen  green  and  a  dreary  brown,  while  chill  gleams 
of  sunlight  chase  each  other  across  the  melancholy  hills.  The 
country  seems  starved.  The  rare  houses  are  built  of  a  dull  grey 
stone,  and  have  an  inhospitable  appearance.  A  suspicion  of 
hail,  even  in  summer,  is  mixed  with  the  rain  that  is  always 
scudding  by.  Here,  in  1879,  a  train  was  snowed  up.  Towards 
Dalwhinnie  the  train  struggled  pluckily  along.  But  before  it 
arrived  there,  it  was  found  that  further  progress  was  impossible. 
The  snow  was  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  upper  edges  of  the 
cutting.  Fortunately  there  are  a  few  houses  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  so  the  outside  world  "  believed  that  the  officials  and 
passengers  would  there  have  found  refuge."  Similarly  from 
Inverness,  during  the  same  storm,  it  was  announced  that  "  the 
whereabouts  of  the  3.10  p.m.  Sunday  mail  was  to  the  officials 
on  Monday  night  an  absolute  mystery."  The  train  was  known 
to  have  passed  Altnabreac,  and  was  believed  to  be  probably 


COST    OF    SNOW-STORMS.  435 

somewhere  between  that  station  and  Scot-scalder,  a  bleak  and 
most  inhospitable  region— the  very  name  of  this  home  of  the 
snow  and  the  east  wind  tells  of  its  desolation  in  its  sound  ;  one 
seems  to  hear  the  wind  wailing  through  a  forest  of  stunted  and 
weather-bitten  pines.  "The  most  ordinary  journey  in  Scotland 
seemed  to  partake  of  the  nature  of  an  Arctic  expedition.  Trains 
went  into  the  darkness  and  the  drift,  and  station  masters,  porters, 
and  guards  could  not  guess  on  Monday  night  where  the  mail 
that  left  on  Sunday  afternoon  could  be." 

The  issue  of  such  events  is,  to  the  shareholders  as  well  as  to 
the  public,  practical  enough.  Sir  E.  W.  Watkin,  M.P.,  in  1876, 
stated  to  the  South  Eastern  shareholders  that  the  difference  to 
them  between  a  fine  week  or  a  wet  week  was  something  like 
£3,000.  "  A  year  with  more  than  the  average  of  sunshine,  and  a 
year  with  less  than  the  average  of  sunshine,  makes  a  difference 
to  you  of  £100,000.  We  all  know  what  sort  of  a  half-year  we 
have  had.  Now  we  are  in  the  midst  of  reasonably  hot  weather, 
and  for  the  first  time  we  are  beginning  to  perspire  with  pleasure. 
We  almost  forget  that  we  have  been  going  through  a  succession 
of  winters.  We  have  hardly  had  a  spring  ;  we  have  only  had  a 
little  touch  at  the  end  of  the  half-year  of  a  summer.  Now, 
what  really  are  the  facts  ?  I  learnt  from  the  Observatory  at 
Greenwich  that  during  the  last  half-year  there  have  been  no 
less  than  seventy-nine  wet  days,  and  no  less  than  seventy-seven 
days  on  which,  at  four  feet  from  the  ground,  the  thermometer 
was  less  than  45  degrees  Fahr.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  on 
a  line  which  is  to  a  large  extent  a  pleasure  line,  as  well  as  a 
business  line,  like  ours,  in  that  state  of  weather  the  trains  will 
be  very  full." 

But  the  burden  devolving  upon  railways  in  dealing  with  great 
snow-storms  is  not  only  negative,  by  a  loss  of  revenue  :  it  is 
positive,  by  an  enormous  expenditure  of  labour  and  money.  At 
the  half-yearly  meeting  of  the  Great  Western  Railway  Com- 
pany, following  the  snow-storm  of  January,  1881,  the  chair- 
man said  :  "  We  had  every  reason,  up  to  the  middle  of  January, 
to  anticipate  that  we  might  have  been  able  to  offer  the  share- 
holders a  dividend  in  excess  of  what  they  had  previously  received, 
but  you  all  know  in  the  middle  of  January  a  snow-storm 
occurred,  the  first  we  have  had  in  the  history  of  this  railway  to 
interfere  with  our  traffic,  and  wiped  off  something  like  £56,000 


436  our  iron  roads. 

of  the  amount  available  for  dividend.  Had  we  had  that  £56,000 
in  our  pockets,  we  should  have  been  able  to  give  you  from  a  half 
to  three-quarters  more  dividend  than  we  are  now  doing.  We 
did  not  make  the  storm  ;  we  did  our  best  under  the  circum- 
stances ;  so  I  hope  you  will  all  be  satisfied  that  the  5  per  cent. 
we  now  offer  you  is  as  much  as  we  could  reasonably  be  expected 
to  give.  There  is  no  doubt  the  storm  was  much  more  severe  on 
our  line  than  on  any  other.  Its  great  weight  fell  in  the  counties 
of  Berks,  Wilts,  and  down  towards  Weymouth  and  that  district. 
We  had  to  excavate  1 1 1  miles  of  snow,  varying  according  to  the 
drift,  from  3  feet  down  to  10  feet  in  depth.  We  had  unfortu- 
nately fifty-one  passenger  trains  and  thirteen  goods  trains  buried 
in  the  snow,  making  a  total  of  sixty-four,  and  we  had  blocks  on 
141  different  parts  of  the  system.  Great  credit  is  due  to  the 
skill  and  zeal  of  our  officers,  and  not  only  to  the  officers,  but  to 
every  man  engaged  in  the  service,  for  accomplishing  what  they 
did.  They  had  a  very  difficult  service  to  perform,  and  we  had 
no  accident  to  any  person  during  the  whole  period." 

In  Canada,  and  in  some  other  parts  of  the  world,  special 
arrangements  have  to  be  made  to  prevent  the  interruption  of 
railway  traffic  by  snow-storms.  The  Central  Pacific  Railroad  of 
California  crosses  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  at  a  height  very 
near  the  perpetual  snow-line ;  every  winter  the  snow-fall  is  from 
sixteen  to  twenty  feet  deep  ;  and  in  the  spring  mighty  ava- 
lanches sweep  down  the  mountain  sides.  Here  the  line  has  to 
be  roofed  over  with  solid  structures  of  wood,  called  snow-sheds. 
One  of  them  is  1,659  feet  l°ng  5  others  range  from  100  feet  to 
870  feet  in  length  ;  and  their  aggregate  length  is  no  less  than 
45  miles.  Over  these  sheds  the  "snow-slides"  pass  into  the 
valleys  below  without  injuring  either  the  permanent  way  or  the 
passing  trains. 

Having  referred  to  some  of  the  vicissitudes  of  railway  travel- 
ling, we  may  advert  to  some  of  the  means  that  are  adopted  for 
securing  the  safety  of  the  public.  That  railway  accidents  are 
serious  enough  when  they  do  take  place,  goes  without  saying. 
When  steam  locomotion  began,  a  coachman  is  said  to  have  drawn 
a  distinction  between  coach  accidents  and  railway  accidents  thus  : 
"  Why  you  see,  sir,  if  a  coach  goes  over  and  spills  you  in  the  road 
there  you  are  ;  but  if  you  are  blown  up  by  an  engine,  where  are 
you  ?  "     The  scene  represented  in  the  engraving,  of  an  accident 


A    RAILWAY    ACCIDENT. 


437 


that  happened  to  an  empty  goods  train,  may  bring  home  to  the 
mind  of  the  reader  the  realities  of  such  a  contingency.  In  view, 
however,  of  the  accidents  on  railways  to  passengers,  from  causes 
beyond  their  own  control,  we  make  bold  to  utter — what  our 
readers  may  at  first  regard  as  a  startling  paradox — that,  after 
all,  as  things  now  are,  it  is  safer  to  travel  by  raihvay  than  to 
stop  at  home.     Now  is  this  statement  true  or  untrue  ? 

Let  us  think  for  a  moment  of  the  number  and  the  diversity 
of  the  casualties  that  occur  to  people  who  are  not  travelling 


ACCIDENT   TO   AN    EMPTY   COAL   TRAIN. 

{From  a  Photograph.) 


— casualties  that  do  not  happen  to  them  when  they  are  travel- 
ling. A  person  seated  in  a  railway  carriage  is  certainly  free, 
for  instance,  from  any  danger  of  tumbling  down  stairs  and 
breaking  his  neck,  or  of  slipping  over  a  piece  of  orange  peel 
and  dislocating  his  spine,  or  of  being  blown  up  in  a  coal  pit,  or 
of  being  torn  by  machinery,  or  of  being  burnt  in  bed,  or  of  being 
thrown  from  a  horse,  or  being  run  over,  or  being  run  away  with, 
or  getting  drowned.  Not  very  long  ago  it  was  mentioned  in  the 
newspapers  how  that  a  lad  of  sixteen  became  entangled  with  a 


43^  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

cow's  tail,  and  was  dragged  about  a  field  by  his  leg  till  he  was 
dead.  A  dog  fell  into  a  London  dock,  and  a  neighbour,  who 
was  passing,  offered  his  aid  in  the  rescue.  In  doing  this  the 
latter  took  hold  of  the  hand  of  the  owner,  leaned  over  the  side 
of  the  dock,  and  lifted  the  dog  up  to  his  master,  who  was  so 
delighted  to  recover  his  property  that  he  let  go  the  hand  of  its 
deliverer,  who  dropped  into  the  water,  and  was  drowned.  But 
such  cases,  it  will  be  said,  are  exceptional.  Doubtless  ;  but 
"  exceptional "  accidents  are  always  happening.  Throughout 
the  first  six  months  of  a  recent  year  two  persons  were  taken  to 
the  London  hospitals  every  day  who  had  been  worried  by  dogs. 
M.  Boutin  informs  us  that  in  France  three  persons  are  struck 
dead  by  lightning  every  fortnight.  Eight  persons  are  burned  or 
scalded  to  death  in  Great  Britain  every  day.  In  South  Wales  a 
life  is  lost  for  every  66,000  tons  of  coals  that  are  raised.  In  one 
week,  recently,  eleven  persons  were  killed  in  London  by  street 
accidents  ;  and  the  coroner  declared  that  there  are  300  fatal  cases 
and  6,000  non-fatal  cases  of  accidents  from  conveyances  and  horses 
in  the  metropolis  every  year.  In  fact,  nearly  as  many  persons 
are  slain  in  the  streets  of  London  every  fortnight  as  there  were 
passengers  killed  on  all  the  railways  in  Great  Britain  in  a  year 
from  causes  beyond  their  own  control.  Further,  it  is  stated  that 
"  2,000  persons  are  lost  in  London  every  year,  and  only  half  of 
them  found  again,  leaving  annually  1,000  disappearances  never 
accounted  for."  Again,  above  1,000  lives  are  lost  annually  in 
the  mines  of  the  United  Kingdom  ;  and  500  lives  are  lost  every 
year  upon  the  coasts  of  the  British  isles  by  ship  and  boat  wrecks. 

So  with  other  forms  of  injury  in  the  country.  The  number  of 
accidents  occurring  weekly  in  Bristol  is  123  ;  in  Birmingham, 
196  ;  in  Worcester,  32  ;  in  Stafford,  23  ;  in  Manchester,  246  ; 
in  Northampton,  40.  The  proportion  of  these  weekly  accidents 
to  the  total  population  would  show  how  large  an  amount  of  risk 
is  incurred,  which  nobody  sees,  which  nobody  knows,  and  which 
nobody  cares  about,  because  the  newspapers  do  not  write  on  the 
subject  in  connection  with  the  various  industries  carried  on  in 
this  country,  whereas  concerning  every  railway  accident  they 
supply  the  amplest  information. 

Now,  putting  together  many  forms  of  accident,  from  which  a 
railway  passenger  is  for  the  time  being  exempt,  remembering 
that  the  number  of  railway  travellers  last  year  in  Great  Britain 


SAFETY    OF    RAILWAY    TRAVELLING.  439 

was  more  than  620,000,000,  that  the  average  time  occupied  by  a 
journey  was  about  an  hour,  making  620,000,000  hours — equal  to 
the  whole  population  of  a  town  of  500,000  inhabitants  during 
twelve  hours  a  day  for  more  than  three  months,  we  believe  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  there  were  fewer  injuries  received  by 
passengers  in  railway  carriages  from  causes  beyond  their  own 
control  than  there  were  to  a  similar  number  of  persons  for  a 
similar  period  who  were  not  for  that  time  railway  travellers. 

We  may  add  that,  at  the  half-yearly  meeting  of  the  London 
and  North  Western  Railway,  August,  1882,  the  chairman  stated 
that  there  had  not  been  a  single  passenger  killed  on  that  rail- 
way for  the  last  two  years  and  a  half,  and  that  for  the  last  three 
years  and  a  half  only  one  passenger  had  been  killed — a  lady, 
who  was  killed  by  a  beam  breaking  loose  in  one  of  the  goods 
trains.  Otherwise,  in  that  period  not  a  single  passenger  had 
been  killed,  although  the  company  carry  between  fifty  and  sixty 
millions  every  year. 

"  I  have  in  this  room  proved,"  said  Sir  E.  Watkin,  on  one 
occasion,  "  that  railway  travelling  is  safer  than  walking,  riding, 
driving,  than  going  up  and  down  stairs,  than  watching  agricul- 
tural machinery,  and  even  safer  than  eating,  because  it  is  a  fact 
that  more  people  choke  themselves  in  England  than  are  killed  on 
all  the  railways  of  the  United  Kingdom." 

Our  security  in  travelling,  says  Sir  John  Hawkshaw,  de- 
pends on  the  perfection  of  the  machine  in  all  its  parts,  including 
the  whole  railway,  with  its  movable  plant,  in  that  term  ;  it 
depends  also  on  the  nature  and  quantity  of  traffic,  and,  lastly, 
on  human  care  and  attention.  With  regard  to  what  is  human, 
it  may  be  said  that  so  many  of  these  accidents  as  arise  from 
the  fallibility  of  men  will  never  be  eliminated  until  the  race  be 
improved.  And  yet  he  adds  :  "  There  is  only  one  passenger 
injured  in  every  four  million  miles  travelled.  On  an  average,  a 
person  may  travel  100,000  miles  each  year  for  forty  years,  and 
the  chances  are  slightly  in  his  favour  of  his  not  receiving  the 
slightest  injury."  The  marvel  is,  considering  varying  conditions, 
the  imperfection  of  human  nature,  the  intricacy  of  the  machinery 
employed,  and  the  high  velocities  attained,  that  railway  travel- 
ling is  so  safe.  Yet  all  this  work  is  done,  as  the  late  Mr.  Locke, 
C.E.,  expressed  it,  over  "two  thin  parallel  bars  of  iron."  Hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  passengers,  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  tons 


440  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

of  goods,  are  moved  over  these  same  "thin  parallel  bars  of  iron," 
moved  by  the  consumption  of  more  than  10,000,000  tons  of 
coal,  burned  by  13,000  locomotives,  in  all  varieties  of  weather, 
by  day,  by  night,  in  sunshine  and  fog,  rain  and  storm,  frost  and 
snow  ;  on  level  plains,  through  many  miles  of  tunnel,  over  steep 
embankments  and  lofty  viaducts,  through  long  deep  cuttings, 
over  bridges  spanning  water  and  viaducts  over  the  land,  past 
innumerable  junctions,  and  through  crowded  stations  and  level 
crossings.  This  immense  number  of  passengers  and  enormous 
bulk  of  goods  are  drawn  by  engines  of  the  most  complicated 
mechanism,  held  together  with  millions  of  rivets,  each  engine 
containing  an  intricate  network  of  tubes,  numerous  cranks,  and 
other  delicate  pieces  of  workmanship,  and  the  engines  and 
vehicles  are  connected  by  chains  and  couplings.  In  every 
separate  item  of  all  these  innumerable  parts  lurk  elements  of 
danger,  and  the  slightest  fracture  might  produce  disaster.  All 
this  is  done,  and  with  what  result  ?  That  there  is  no  safer 
place  in  the  world,  as  Professor  De  Morgan  said  some  years 
ago,  and  it  is  still  true,  than  a  railway  train. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that,  in  at  least  two  known  instances,  rail- 
way accidents  have  exercised  a  directly  curative  effect.  The 
Rev.  W.  Woods,  formerly  of  Leicester,  assured  the  writer  that 
a  collision  in  which  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  had  an  im- 
mediate and  most  salutary  influence  upon  his  nervous  system. 
Similarly  a  gentleman  who  wrote  in  November,  1869,  to  the 
Times,  stated  that  a  few  days  before  he  had  been  threatened 
"with  a  violent  attack  of  rheumatic  fever;  in  fact,"  he  said,  "my 
condition  so  alarmed  me,  and  my  dread  of  a  sojourn  in  a  Man- 
chester hotel  bed  for  two  or  three  months  was  so  great,  that  I 
resolved  to  make  a  bold  sortie  and,  well  wrapped  up,  start  for 
London  by  the  3.30  p.m.  Midland  fast  train.  From  the  time  of 
leaving  that  station  to  the  time  of  the  collision,  my  heart  was 
going  at  express  speed  ;  my  weak  body  was  in  a  profuse  per- 
spiration ;  flashes  of  pain  announced  that  the  muscular  fibres 
were  under  the  tyrannical  control  of  rheumatism,  and  I  was 
almost  beside  myself  with  toothache.  .  .  .  From  the  moment 
of  the  collision  to  the  present  hour  no  ache,  pain,  sweat,  or 
tremor  has  troubled  me  in  the  slightest  degree,  and  instead  of 
being,  as  I  expected,  and  indeed  intended,  in  bed,  drinking 
tinct.    aiirantii,    or  absorbing  through    my  pores  oil  of  horse- 


TRIAL    OF    BRAKES    NEAR    NEWARK.  44  r 

chestnut,  I  am  conscientiously  bound  to  be  at  my  office  bodily 
sound."  The  writer  humorously  adds,  "  Don't  print  my  name 
and  address,  or  the  Midland  Company  may  come  down  on  me 
for  compensation." 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  immense  momentum  of 
trains  :  we  may  now  deal  with  the  equally  important  subject  of 
the  best  methods  by  which  an  arrest  may  be  laid  upon  that 
momentum. 

In  June,  1876,  horse-racing  took  a  new  turn  in  Nottingham- 
shire. In  doing  so,  various  innovations  were  introduced  into 
the  arrangements  :  the  course  was  lengthened  to  nearly  four 
miles  ;  the  speed  was  calculated  and  recorded  by  electricity ; 
the  spectators  were  strictly  professional,  and  there  was,  we  are 
assured,  no  betting. 

But,  to  drop  our  metaphor,  it  is  to  the  steam-horse,  its  paces 
and  its  races,  that  we  refer.  No  panting  flanks  and  furrowed 
ribs,  no  drooping  heads  and  blood-red  nostrils  were  seen  upon 
that  field  ;  only  ribs  of  steel,  and  bowels  of  brass,  and  breath  of 
steam  were  tested  in  that  contest  ;  and,  moreover,  the  problem 
to  be  solved  was  not  so  much  how  fast  to  run,  but  how  soon  to 
stop.     It  was,  in  fact,  a  trial  of  brakes. 

Among  the  many  proposed  improvements  that  have  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  railway  world,  has  been  how — with  the 
greatest  speed,  certainty,  and  security — to  stop  a  train.  The 
enormous  and  increasing  power  and  swiftness  of  our  locomotives 
— which,  despite  their  ponderous  tread  and  massive  burdens,  can 
clear,  for  long  distances,  a  mile  a  minute — has  necessarily  in- 
volved the  question  :  How  shall  a  pace  like  this  be  controlled — 
a  momentum  like  this  be  arrested  ?  How  soon,  when  a  tire  has 
come  off,  or  a  carriage  has  broken  down,  or  an  obstacle  is  in 
view  upon  the  line,  can  the  mighty  mass,  with  its  priceless  living 
freight,  be  brought  to  rest  ? 

The  ordinary  plan  used  to  be  to  apply  the  pressure  of  blocks  of 
wood  to  a  few  of  the  wheels,  and  to  do  this  by  means  of  screws 
worked  by  different  men,  at  different  moments,  and  in  different 
parts  of  the  train.  The  driver  shuts  off  the  steam,  and  the  fire- 
man applies  the  brake  to  the  tender.  What  is  the  effect  ?  The 
speed  of  the  front  part  of  the  train  is  arrested  ;  the  remainder, 
with  undiminished  momentum,  rushes  forward  upon  the  engine 
and  tender.     By  this  time  the  rear  guard  puts  on  his  brakes  ;  the 


.\.\2  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

last  carriages  are  pulled  back,  and  the  tendency  now  is  to  snap 

the  train  in  two  in  the  middle.  It  is  also  found  by  experiment 
that  with  the  hand  brake  a  train  of  fourteen  carriages  and  brake 
vans,  weighing  perhaps  1S0  tons,  if  running  at  43  miles  an  hour, 
requires  nearly  a  minute  and  a  distance  of  some  700  yards  before 
it  can  be  stopped  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  wheels  will  "skid"  along 
the  rails  for  not  much  less  than  half  a  mile,  with  the  inevitable 
tendency  to  grind  the  wheels  into  polygons,  and  to  crush  the 
upper  surface  of  the  rails  into  dust.  All  this  would  happen  with 
tin-  old  brakes  every  time  a  stoppage  at  a  station  was  required. 
Hut  when  unexpected  stops  had  to  be  taken,  the  work  was  done 
under  less  favourable  circumstances.  The  driver  caught  sight  of 
a  danger-signal  or  of  an  obstruction  on  the  line,  and  what  fol- 
lowed ?  He  called  to  his  fireman  and  whistled  to  his  guards; 
but,  though  the  former  might  obey  as  soon  as  he  has  had  time 
to  reach  the  handle  of  his  brake  and  to  turn  it  round,  the  guards 
could  scarcely  be  so  prompt.  They  might  be  sorting  parcels, 
or  making  memoranda,  or  otherwise  occupied,  and  a  quarter  of 
a  minute  might  elapse  before  they  take  their  brake  screws  in 
hand.  Some  seconds  would  still  be  necessary  before  the  brake 
blocks  were  made  to  bear ;  and  thus  nearly  a  minute  would 
elapse,  and  some  six  or  seven  hundred  yards  more  would  be 
traversed  before  the  train  would  be  brought  to  rest. 

It  is  evident  that  any  such  arrangements  and  construction  fall 
far  short  of  a  perfect  brake.  When  an  arrest  of  a  train  is  at- 
tempted, it  should  be  made  equally  upon  every  vehicle,  and  upon 
every  wheel ;  it  should  be  "  continuous  "  throughout  the  train  ; 
it  should  be  instantaneous  and  simultaneous.  It  should  also 
not  "  skid  "  the  wheels,  but  simply  restrain  them,  with  an  elastic 
pressure  which  permits  them  to  rotate,  though  more  slowly  than 
the  speed  of  the  train  ;  in  order  that  flat  surfaces  may  not  be 
worn  upon  them,  nor  vibration  be  communicated  to  the  vehicles 
that  are  being  stopped.  It  should,  moreover,  be  capable  of  appli- 
cation by  either  the  fireman  or  the  guard  ;  it  should  be  unaffected 
by  extreme  changes  of  the  temperature  ;  it  should  admit  of  the 
carriages  being  coupled  or  uncoupled  with  facility  ;  and,  in  the 
event  of  the  train  breaking  in  two,  each  portion  should  still  be 
provided  with  a  brake  in  complete  order,  which  should  also  be 
automatically  applied.  Finally,  the  stoppage  from  a  high  velo- 
city should  not  be  made  in  too  abrupt  a  manner,  otherwise  new 


TRIAL    OF    BRAKES    NEAR    NEWARK.  443 

mechanical  disturbances  may  arise  and  new  forms  of  accident 
be  created.  Such  are  the  requirements  of  a  perfect  brake. 
From  time  to  time  inventors  came  forward  with  appliances  which 
they  averred  would  fulfil  these  conditions  ;  and  the  period 
arrived  when  it  was  thought  that  their  rival  claims  should  be 
put  to  the  test.  The  Railway  Commission  desired  to  be  posted 
up  on  the  subject  ;  the  Railway  Association  invited  competitors 
into  the  field  ;  the  Midland  Railway  Company  provided  an 
eligible  arena  for  the  peaceful  contest ;  and  a  series  of  trials 
were  undertaken  which,  it  was  believed,  would  be  fraught  with 
benefit  to  the  railway  community  and  to  the  travelling  public. 

The  trial  ground  stretched  from  about  two  miles  west  of 
Newark- upon-Trent  for  about  four  miles  in  the  direction  of  Not- 
tingham. It  was  nearly  level ;  with  the  exception  of  one  gentle 
curve  it  was  perfectly  straight ;  the  permanent  way  was  in 
excellent  condition  ;  and  the  ordinary  traffic  was  not  so  con- 
siderable but  that  it  could  be  relegated  to  one  line  while  the 
experimental  trains  occupied  the  other.  The  distances  were 
measured,  and  proclaimed  in  large  letters  on  high  posts  ;  elec- 
trical and  mechanical  appliances  were  provided  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  speed  at  which  each  train  was  running ;  platelayers 
were  posted  at  every  crossing,  even  of  a  field  footpath,  and  every 
precaution  of  every  kind  appeared  to  be  adopted  to  prevent 
accident  or  interruption.  Splendid  trains,  with  engines  and  car- 
riages spick  and  span  new,  came  in  from  various  parts  of  Eng- 
land, and  took  preliminary  canters  over  the  course  ;  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  first  trial  day  they  were  drawn  up  in  apparently 
interminable  line.  In  front  was  the  London  and  North  Western 
train,  fitted  with  the  chain  brake  of  Clarke  and  Webb  ;  then  the 
Caledonian,  with  the  automatic  reaction  brake;  then  the  London, 
Brighton,  and  South  Coast,  with  the  Westinghouse  vacuum 
brake  ;  the  Great  Northern,  with  Smith's  vacuum  brake,  was 
next  ;  and  there  were  others  in  line,  including  four  from  the 
Midland  Company.  Each  train  consisted  of  the  regulation 
number  of  thirteen  carriages  and  two  vans,  each  carriage  being 
loaded  so  as  to  represent  the  ordinary  weight  of  passengers,  and 
each  van  carrying  two  tons  in  lieu  of  luggage.  At  ten  o'clock 
a  train  arrived  bringing  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  Earl  of 
Aberdeen,  and  others  officially  connected  with  the  Royal  Com- 
mission, and  also  a  hundred  or  two  of  the  most  eminent  authori- 


44  \  l  >UR    [RON    ROADS. 

tics  in  the  railway  world.  As  only  one  line  of  rail  was  at  the 
service  of  the  experimentalists,  it  was  arranged  that  each  train 
was  to  be  tried,  whether  once  or  twice,  in  the  order  in  which  it 
Stood  ;  and  that  when  its  turn  was  over  it  should  run  forward  to 
Thurgarton  station,  and  wait  there  till,  one  by  one,  the  others 
arrived,  and  then  all  could  he  brought  back  to  the  starting-point. 

Our  space  forbids  us  to  give  any  minute  details  of  the  results 
o[  the  experiments  thus  made,  but  some  approximate  data  may 
be  mentioned.  In  the  first  trials  the  trains  were  brought  up  by 
the  ordinary  brakes,  worked  in  the  usual  way  by  hand  ;  and  it 
is  stated  that  the  Great  Northern  train,  for  instance,  when  run- 
ning at  a  speed  of  47  i  miles  an  hour,  was  not  stopped  till  it  had 
run  a  distance  of  nearly  1,200  yards  in  86  seconds  of  time.  But 
when  the  second  series  of  trials  was  made  with  continuous 
brakes,  the  same  train  was  pulled  up,  when  at  nearly  the  same 
speed,  with  Smith's  vacuum  brake  in  400  yards  and  in  26  seconds 
— a  whole  minute  of  time  being  saved.  A  minute  saved  in  an 
emergency  might  avert  disaster. 

Of  the  brakes  themselves,  we  may  say,  without  a  word  of  dis- 
paragement to  the  rest,  that  there  were  two  which  it  seemed  hard 
to  beat — the  Westinghouse  and  Smith's  vacuum.  The  Westing- 
house  is  supplied  with  air,  by  a  little  "  donkey  engine  "  on  the 
side  of  the  locomotive,  pumped  into  an  air-chamber  under  the 
foot-plate.  From  this  chamber  two  pipes  run  under  the  tender 
and  communicate  with  a  small  cylinder  containing  a  piston  and 
rod  under  each  carriage  of  the  train.  This  piston,  when  pushed 
out,  presses  against  the  usual  rods  and  fittings  which  apply  the 
brake.  All  that  is  necessary  to  be  done  is  for  the  driver  to  turn 
a  tap  in  the  communicating  pipe ;  and  the  compressed  air,  flow- 
ing along  the  pipe,  pushes  out  the  piston  under  each  carriage, 
and  immediately  the  brake  blocks  are  applied  to  every  wheel, 
and  the  train  is  pulled  up  without  jar  or  jolt.  When  the  Mid- 
land train  was  running  at  about  54  miles  an  hour,  it  was  stopped 
in  some  330  yards  of  distance  and  in  23  seconds  of  time. 

Many  ingenious  details  have  been  provided  in  connection  with 
the  Westinghouse  brakes.  For  instance,  in  the  rapid  making 
up  of  trains,  it  is  important  that  the  connecting-pipes  should  be 
easily  fastened  and  unfastened,  and  still  more  important  that 
there  should  be  no  leakage  of  the  compressed  air.  This  is  done 
with    the    utmost    simplicity    of  arrangement.      There    are    no 


WESTINGIIOUSE    AND    VACUUM    BRAKES.  445 

screws,  cocks,  or  complex  couplings.  All  that  is  necessary  is 
"  to  stick  one  end  of  a  pipe  into  another  end  of  another  pipe  ; 
to  give  the  joint  a  half  twist,  and  the  joint  is  made  good."  A 
little  india-rubber  band  is  forced  out  by  the  pressure  from  within, 
and  acts  with  perfect  precision.  "  No  joint,"  said  the  Engineer, 
"  possessing  anything  like  the  advantages  of  this  joint  has  ever 
been  applied  to  a  kindred  purpose  before ; "  and  both  pipes  can 
be  coupled  in  ten  seconds. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  illustration  of  the  power  of  this 
invention  is  seen  in  the  following  circumstance.  Not  long  ago 
Mr.  Needham  gave  instructions  to  the  driver  of  a  certain  train 
that  he  was  to  go  ahead,  and,  if  the  brakes  should  be  applied,  to 
take  no  notice,  but  push  on  at  his  utmost  speed.  He  promised 
obedience  ;  the  train  started  ;  and  when,  as  it  was  running  at  the 
rate  of  fifty  miles  an  hour,  Mr.  Needham  had  the  brakes  put  on, 
the  effect  was  immediate  and  decisive  ;  and  though  the  machinery 
of  the  engine  was  in  full  forward  gear,  and  though  the  steam 
was  turned  on  at  its  highest  pressure,  the  power  of  the  brakes 
was  too  great  for  the  mighty  force  of  the  locomotive,  and  engine 
and  train  were  quietly  and  speedily  dragged  back  to  a  full  stop. 

"  Can  any  gentleman  tell  us,"  we  inquired  of  a  group  who  were 
standing  on  the  line  near  the  winning-post,  "  where  Mr.  Smith 
is,  the  patentee  of  the  vacuum  brake  ? "  "  Down  yonder,"  was 
the  reply;  "ask  for  Vacuum  Smith,  that's  his  Christian  name; 
only,"  added  our  informant,  "  it  ought  to  be  Vacuus  to  agree 
with  Smith."  But  though  we  did  not  find  Mr.  Smith,  his  repre- 
sentative explained  to  us  the  peculiarity  of  his  principle.  It 
has  two  india-rubber  tubes  running  under  the  carriages  through- 
out the  train,  and  attached  by  an  ingenious  form  of  coupling 
between  them.  By  opening  a  steam  valve  on  the  engine,  and 
ejecting  steam  from  the  boiler,  which  escapes  up  the  funnel,  a 
vacuum  is  formed,  the  air  is  suddenly  drawn  out  of  the  tubes, 
a  pressure  approaching  to  fourteen  pounds  on  the  square  inch  is 
obtained,  and  this  pressure  acts  on  "sacks"  shaped  like  accor- 
dions, under  the  carriages,  and  causes  the  "  brake-blocks  "  to  act 
on  each  wheel  of  every  carriage  in  the  train. 

With  reference  to  the  relative  powers  of  the  Westinghouse 
and  the  vacuum  brakes  for  stopping  trains,  the  results  at  the 
Newark  trial  were  thus  given  :  the  Westinghouse  had  its  power 
in  reserve  and  was  always  ready  for  instantaneous  action,  obey- 


.}}  )  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

ing  the  movement  of  its  lever  with  almost  electric  speed  ;  while 
the  vacuum  brake  had  to  obtain  its  vacuum  by  the  passage  of 
steam  through  the  whole  length  of  the  train  before  it  came  into 
play.  The  time  lost  might  seem  insignificant  when  expressed 
in  seconds  and  estimated  by  ordinary  rates  ;  but  seconds  cease 
to  be  insignificant  when  an  express  train  is  being  whirled  at  the 
rate  oC  sixty  miles  an  hour  towards  an  obstacle  which  threatens 
to  bring  it  to  destruction.  In  such  circumstances,  a  second 
means  a  run  of  seventy-nine  feet ;  and  its  importance  may  be 
illustrated  by  mentioning  that  "a  few  nights  previously,  on  the 
North  British  Railway,  an  express  running  at  sixty  miles  an 
hour  was  stopped  by  a  fog  signal,  which  there  had  not  been  time 
to  place  as  far  back  as  could  have  been  desired.  The  driver 
applied  the  Westinghouse  brake,  and  the  train  was  brought  up 
nine  yards  in  the  rear  of  one  which  had  broken  down  and  was 
blocking  the  line.  A  repetition  of  the  Abbot's  Ripton  accident 
was  prevented." 

After  the  series  of  brake  trials  near  Newark,  the  Midland 
Railway  Company  put  the  several  descriptions  of  brakes  then 
exhibited  into  every-day  work ;  their  respective  merits  and 
defects  were  carefully  studied  ;  and  exhaustive  inquiries  and 
experiments  were  made  by  the  officers  of  the  company.  The 
result  was  that,  in  1878,  a  very  effective  continuous  brake,  on 
the  automatic  vacuum  principle,  was  brought  out  and  patented 
by  Mr.  T.  G.  Clayton,  the  carriage  and  wagon  superintendent. 
The  automatic  principle  is,  in  a  word,  that  in  the  event  of  any- 
thing going  wrong  with  the  brake-pipe,  either  by  the  severance 
of  the  train  or  otherwise,  the  brake  is  immediately  self-applied. 

The  Midland  Railway  Company's  apparatus  is  automatic,  and 
otherwise  conforms  with  the  requirements  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 
It  has  the  advantage  also  of  great  simplicity,  the  action  being 
obtained  without  the  intervention  of  valves,  cocks,  or  other 
devices  usually  inseparable  from  automatic  action. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  vacuum  brake  has  only,  as  its  maxi- 
mum power,  fourteen  or  fifteen  pounds  to  the  square  inch — the 
amount  of  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  ;  whereas  the  Westing- 
house  brake  can  create  a  pressure  of  seventy  pounds  on  the  inch. 
This  disadvantage,  it  is  replied,  is  got  over  by  the  vacuum  brake 
using  an  18-inch  instead  of  the  8-inch  cylinder  of  the  Westing- 
house.     There  is  practically  ample  space  in  the  under-frame  of 


TRIAL  OF  VACUUM  BRAKE.  44  7 

the  carriages  for  this  increase  of  the  size  of  the  cylinder.  It  is 
also  remarked,  in  favour  of  the  vacuum  brake,  that  the  constant 
pressure  from  within  of  the  Westinghouse  tends  to  open  the 
joints,  and  therefore  to  create  leakage  in  the  pipes  ;  while  the 
pressure  from  without  of  the  vacuum  brake  helps  to  close  them, 
and  to  minimise  any  defects  in  them  that  may  arise.  Mr. 
Clayton's  brake  is  now  being  fitted  to  all  the  Midland  stock, 
the  Westinghouse  brake  being  confined  to  those  Midland  trains 
that  run  in  connection  with  the  Scotch  railways. 

A  pleasant  writer  has  described  some  of  his  experiences  when 
riding  on  an  engine  with  a  train  at  a  special  trial  of  the  earlier 
vacuum  brake.  "  How  the  old  engine,"  he  says,  "did  rush,  and 
roar,  and  seem  to  jump  along!  And  as  we  near  Marks  Tey 
some  one  is  on  the  line  ahead,  and  the  driver,  our  master,  sounds 
his  horn — screeching,  yelling,  and  screaming  out,  '  Yoicks  for'ard 
there,  yoicks  for'ard ' — and  we  see  a  speck  of  a  man  looking  no 
bigger  in  the  distance  than  a  fox,  steal  across  the  line,  and  with 
another  bound  we  are  through  the  station.  The  wind  is  so 
high,  and  the  rush  of  the  engine  so  noisy,  that  we  can  hardly 
hear  each  other  speak,  but  Captain  Tyler  explains  to  us,  as  well 
as  he  can  under  such  circumstances,  the  feat  we  are  going  to 
perform,  and  how  it  is  to  be  accomplished  ;  and  as  we  near 
Witham  we  increase  our  speed  to  fifty  miles  an  hour,  and  then 
the  driver  touches  a  little  bit  of  metal  before  him,  not  bigger 
than  the  handle  of  an  iron  spoon,  and  all  at  once  we  hear  a 
slight  sucking  sound  beneath  us,  and  along  the  train,  and  in 
twenty-two  seconds,  by  the  official's  watch,  we  are  brought  up 
to  a  gentle  trot  !  On  again,  through  the  curve  at  Witham,  the 
worst  on  the  line,  and  the  most  dangerous.  But,  luckily,  those 
'inside'  don't  see  it  as  we  did  on  Monday  ;  we  seem  at  first  to 
be  making  full  tilt  towards  the  left-hand  station,  like  a  bull  goes 
at  a  gate  ;  then,  with  a  sudden  twist,  we  appear  to  go  in  the 
same  way  at  the  right-hand  buildings  ;  but  we  get  through  all 
right,  nevertheless,  and  rush  along  with  increased  speed.  How 
the  wind  searches  out  our  very  bones,  and  bits  of  coal  and  dust 
get  into  our  eyes  ;  yet  we  try  to  look  cheerful,  for  the  Captain 
is  all  on  the  qui  vive — '  Hark  for'ard,  there  ;  hark  for'ard  ; 
yoicks  !  '  we  are  nearing  Chelmsford,  and  shall  put  on  another 
spurt,  and  then,  turning  the  spoon-handle  himself,  he  will  bring 
us  to  a  full  stop  ! 


44^  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

"We  ask  how  heavy  the  train  is,  and  we  arc  told  150  tons  ! 
'  And  sec,'  says  Captain  Tyler,  'how  easily  by  putting  my  little 
finger  upon  this  strip  of  metal,  this  enormous  weight,  travelling 
at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles  an  hour,  can  be  "brought  up  ! '" — there 
was  again  a  grating  or  sucking  noise  beneath  us,  and  in  little 
more  than  twenty  seconds  we  were  standing  still.  It  was  some- 
thing wonderful,  and  'Locomotive'  seemed  to  think  so  too,  for 
she  jibbed  a  bit,  from  the  pressure  of  the  curb,  perhaps,  and 
wouldn't  start  again  all  at  once,  and  people  in  the  train  couldn't 
make  it  out,  for  as  we  looked  back  along  the  carriages  every 
window  had  heads  looking  out,  like  rats  peeping  from  their 
holes.  '  Shove  her  back  a  bit,'  says  the  Captain,  '  and  then  give 
her  her  head,'  and  the  driver  backed,  and  then  with  another  rush 
we  went  forward,  and  the  heads  of  the  people  went  in.  No 
more  experiments  to-day,  but  the  road  is  pretty  and  interesting. 
At  some  places  we  can  see  miles  before  us,  and,  as  the  road  is 
spanned  by  numberless  bridges,  we  seem  to  be  rushing  up  the 
inside  of  a  huge  telescope  from  the  big  end,  and  never  getting 
nearer  to  the  small.  Down  the  incline  from  Brentwood,  our 
pace  is  a  mile  a  minute,  and  then,  as  we  near  our  crowded 
destination,  signal  posts  greet  us  on  all  sides  with  various 
messages  ;  and  one  with  a  red  hand  makes  a  slight  inclination 
downwards — like  a  polite  bow  ;  and  the  Captain  says,  '  That 
means  "  Caution," '  and  the  driver  touches  the  spoon-handle 
gently,  and  we  ease  our  speed,  and  glide  along  carefully,  until 
we  run  into  Stratford — time,  1  hour  15  minutes,  and  only  two 
'vacuum '  checks." 

Efforts  have  been  made  in  some  quarters  to  compel  railway 
companies  to  adopt,  definitely  and  finally,  a  particular  system  of 
continuous  brakes  ;  and  Earl  de  la  Warr  recently  introduced 
a  bill  into  Parliament  to  make  it  compulsory  for  railway  com- 
panies to  adopt  such  brake,  the  companies,  however,  taking  all 
responsibility  for  the  choice  they  made.  Upon  this  proposal 
Earl  Cairns  remarked  that  "  it  was  very  desirable  that  a  system 
of  continuous  brakes  should  be  adopted,  and  if  the  Board  of 
Trade  had  made  up  their  minds  as  to  the  best  system,  and  had 
come  to  Parliament  for  powers  to  compel  its  adoption,  he,  for 
one,  should  be  very  much  disposed  to  grant  their  request.  But 
that  was  just  what  they  had  not  done.  By  the  bill,  Parliament 
was  asked  to  stereotype,  now  and  for  ever,  or  at  any  rate  until 


<(  COMMUNICATORS.  449 

the  Act  was  repealed,  a  sort  of  ideal  brake,  and  to  submit  the 
question  whether  the  brakes  of  the  various  companies  answered 
the  requirements  of  the  Act  to  a  body  of  gentlemen — the  Rail- 
way Commissioners — who  were  utterly  unfit  to  determine  such 
matters." 

A  few  years  ago  great  efforts  were  made  to  provide  some 
means  of  communication  between  the  passengers  and  the  guards 
of  running  trains.  A  committee  was  formed  of  the  general 
managers  of  the  leading  railway  companies,  and  they  examined 
193  inventions,  "  some  of  them  patented,  some  of  them  regis- 
tered ;  all  of  them,"  said  Mr.  S.  Clarke,  "considered  very  clever 
by  the  parties."  The  best  of  them  was  a  delicate  electric  appa- 
ratus communicating  between  the  guard  and  the  driver,  and 
the  passengers  and  the  driver  ;  and  it  was  soon  afterwards  used 
to  some  extent  on  the  London  and  South  Western  line.  It  was 
found,  however,  more  easy  of  application  on  a  self-contained 
railway  like  the  South  Western,  where  there  is  little  attaching 
and  detaching  of  carriages  at  junctions,  than  on  some  of  the 
northern  lines,  where  the  trains  are  remarshalled  several  times 
in  a  journey.  Another  proposal  was  the  use  of  a  tube,  which 
was  connected  with  the  carriages  so  that  a  passenger  could 
speak  either  to  the  guard  or  the  driver  without  necessarily  stop- 
ping the  train.  The  tubes  were  of  iron,  except  between  the 
carriages,  where  they  were  of  vulcanized  wire,  covered  with 
vulcanized  india-rubber.  A  metal  mouthpiece  was  fixed  at  the 
end  of  each  tube,  the  mouthpiece  in  the  carriage  being  covered 
with  a  slide.  Directly  this  slide  was  removed  by  a  passenger,  a 
red  signal  was  displayed  outside  the  carriage,  which  told  from 
which  compartment  the  communication  was  made.  It  also 
served  as  a  check  upon  the  needless  or  foolish  use  of  the 
apparatus. 

The  only  plan  that  eventually  came  into  common  use  is  "  the 
cord  system."  Its  practical  value  has  not  been  as  great  as 
was  expected.  In  one  half-year  on  the  South  Eastern  Railway 
the  data  were  as  follows  : — "  On  the  14th  June  the  up  tidal 
passenger  train  was  stopped  at  Chislehurst  out  of  curiosity  ;  on 
the  10th  June  the  12.15  Hastings  train  was  stopped  at  London 
Bridge  out  oi  curiosity  ;  on  the  19th  June  the  7.40  mail  was 
stopped  by  the  Post-office  clerks  because  they  had  put  their 
baggage  into  the  wrong  van  ;  on  the  8.th  April  the  12.15  Hast- 

G  G 


45°  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

ings  train  was  stopped  at  Tonbridge  out  of  curiosity;  on  the 
[6th  April  the  7.40  train  was  stopped  at  Dartford  because  of  a 
hot  axle  ;  on  the  2nd  May  the  12.15  Hastings  train  was  stopped 
at  Etchingham  out  of  curiosity.  The  7.40  train  on  May  17th 
was  stopped  at  Ashford  out  of  curiosity.  On  May  19th  the  8.45 
train  was  stopped  by  the  guard  at  Staplehurst  because  a  door 
had  flown  open  ;  and  on  the  31st  a  train  was  stopped  at  Burton 
Green  out  of  curiosity.  On  June  3rd  the  1  p.m.  Margate  train 
was  stopped  at  Chatham,  again  out  of  curiosity.  On  June  17th 
the  12.15  train  from  Hastings  was  stopped  at  Wadhurst  out 
of  curiosity."  This  was  the  history  of  six  months'  experience  ; 
and  the  result  therefore  was,  that,  out  of  a  thousand  trains  a  day 
run  by  this  company,  there  were  Only  two  cases  in  which  these 
means  of  communication  between  passenger,  guard,  and  driver 
was  of  any  direct  practical  value. 

In  July,  1880,  Sir  E.  W.  Watkin  mentioned  that  in  about 
a  dozen  years  the  electric  communication  had  been  used  177 
times.  "In  this  half-year,  I  suppose,  we  have  run  1,000  trains 
a  day — 7,000  a  week — and  we  have  only  had  our  trains  stopped 
by  this  thing  three  times.  The  first  was  on  the  20th  March, 
when  the  8.27  from  Charing  Cross  to  Tunbridge  was  stopped 
by  a  passenger  in  the  Bletchingley  tunnel  out  of  curiosity.  On 
the  1 2th  of  April  the  4.20  from  Charing  Cross  to  Redhill  was 
stopped  in  the  Merstham  tunnel  out  of  curiosity  ;  and  on  the 
30th  of  May  the  4.37  Ramsgate  train  was  stopped  by  a  passen- 
ger because  he  had  got  into  the  wrong  train."  With  regard  to 
some  classes  of  accident,  any  communicator  would  be  of  little 
use.  As  Sir  Daniel  Gooch  has  said  :  "  The  first  intimation 
that  people  in  the  train  get  of  an  accident  where  injury  has 
arisen  is  the  accident  itself;  it  is  all  over  before  they  have 
time  to  think  of  it."  On  the  other  hand,  the  presence  of  the 
communicator  may  prevent  passengers  annoying  one  another 
in  the  seclusion  of  a  long  run.  The  sense  of  security  that 
its  existence  may  inspire  is  itself  a  consideration  not  to  be 
overlooked. 

The  rights  of  railway  companies  are  not  confined  to  their  own 
estates,  wide  as  many  of  them  are.  Parliament  has  provided  * 
that  lines  that  form  part   of  a  continuous   route,  or  that  have 

*  Railway  and  Canal  Traffic  Act,  17  and  18  Vic. 


"WORKING    AGREEMENTS."  45  I 

stations  near  one  another,  shall  afford  all  due  and  reasonable 
facilities  for  receiving  and  forwarding  traffic  from  and  to  one 
another;  and  a  most  complete  and  comprehensive  system  of 
through  booking  and  rates,  often  without  change  of  carriage 
or  trans-shipment,  has  been  arranged  between  the  companies. 
"  Working  agreements "  are  also  made  between  companies  for 
their  mutual  convenience,  by  which  the  engines  and  servants  of 
one  company  pass  over  the  line  of  another  company.  Special 
statutory  sanction  may  also,  under  certain  circumstances,  be 
obtained,  called  "  running  powers,"  or  the  right  to  work  over  and 
use  with  their  engines,  carriages,  wagons,  and  servants,  the  lines, 
stations,  watering  places,  and  sidings  of  another  company,  on 
the  payment  of  special  tolls.  Usually  companies  seeking  such 
powers  have  done  so  for  their  mutual  benefit  ;  but  in  some  cases 
they  have  been  granted  only  after  great  opposition,  and  Parlia- 
ment, in  the  public  interest,  has  compelled  a  company  to  yield 
its  road  for  the  use  of  a  rival.  Other  running  powers  have  been 
obtained  for  politic  reasons,  but  have  been  unexercised.  The 
London  and  North  Western  has  such  powers  over  about  200 
miles  of  the  Caledonian  system,  and  similarly  the  Caledonian 
over  100  miles  of  the  London  and  North  Western.  The  Rail- 
way News  has  given  a  list  of  the  principal  of  these  running 
powers,  which  shows  how  widespread  they  are.  The  Midland 
Company,  for  instance,  has  power  to  run  over  and  use  about 
500  miles  of  other  companies'  lines,  but  these  are  exercised 
only  on  about  250  ;  and  the  London  and  North  Western  has 
running  powers  over  more  than  1,200  miles  of"  foreign  "  line. 

It  must  be  allowed  that  all  such  powers  are  of  value  chiefly  so 
far  as  the  interests  of  the  parties  concerned  are  at  one.  When 
it  is  otherwise,  "facility  clauses  "  are  of  little  worth,  "  I  speak," 
said  Mr.  Allport  in  1862,  when  giving  evidence  in  support  of  the 
extension  of  the  Midland  to  New  Mills  and  Manchester,  "  from 
more  than  twenty  years'  practical  experience  in  the  management 
of  railways,  and  I  state  that  I  never  saw  a  facility  clause  yet 
drawn  that  would  enable  a  competing  company  to  avail  itself 
of  the  line  of  the  company  which  is  required  to  give  facilities, 
supposing  that  company  to  be  determined  not  to  give 
them." 

The  practical  convenience  of  the  exercise  of  these  running 
powers  is  great,  especially  in  the  metropolis.     Within   six   or 


452  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

seven  miles  of  Charing  Cross  there  arc  260  miles  of  line  in  opera- 
tion ;  and,  allowing  for  double  lines,  sidings,  and  so  forth,  there 
are  ~^o  miles — enough  to  make  a  single  line  from  London  to 
Thurso,  in  the  extreme  north  of  Scotland.  These  lines  arc  the 
property  of  thirteen  railway  companies  ;  but  each  possesses,  by 
mutual  arrangement  or  Parliamentary  sanction,  the  power  of 
collecting  and  distributing  traffic  over  other  lines.  Thus  the 
London  and  North  Western  trains  run  over  forty-four  miles  of 
the  lines  of  five  other  companies  in  the  metropolis ;  the  Great 
Northern  over  thirty-six  miles  of  six  other  companies  ;  and  the 
.Midland  over  thirty-one  miles. 

How  convenient  is  the  outcome  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
case  of  a  visitor  to  London,  who  takes  a  ticket  for  sevenpence- 
halfpenny  from  Broad  Street  station  to  the  Mansion  House. 
By  road  the  distance  is  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ;  by  rail  the 
traveller  rides  for  seventy  minutes,  over  twenty  miles  of  railway, 
and  calls  at  thirty  stations  on  his  way,  the  property  of  no  fewer 
than  seven  different  railway  companies,  and  makes  the  round 
of  London. 

Such,  indeed,  are  the  facilities  afforded  in  the  metropolis  for 
the  interchange  of  traffic,  that  if  a  body  of  troops  were  sent  from 
Colchester  to  Portsmouth,  there  are  seven  different  railway  routes 
through  London,  any  one  of  which  could  be  taken.  The  Mid- 
land Company  has  eleven  stations  in  the  metropolis,  the  Great 
Western  twelve,  the  London  and  North  Western  thirteen,  the 
South  Eastern  twenty,  and  the  Great  Eastern  forty.  The  differ- 
ent companies  have  of  their  own  245  stations,  of  joint  stations 
43,  of  stations  on  other  companies'  lines,  210;  in  all  nearly 
500,  exclusive  of  goods,  coal,  and  cattle  depots.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  number  of  passengers  using  these  stations  is  750,000 
a  day,  the  Metropolitan  alone  averaging  180,000  every  week- 
day ;  while  the  journeys  taken  by  season-ticket  holders  are 
simply  incalculable.  Of  the  Metropolitan  stations  for  long  dis- 
tance traffic,  Paddington  is  the  most  important.  With  regard  to 
the  number  of  trains,  several  stations  have  500  each,  Liverpool 
Street  has  nearly  700,  Moorgate  Street  over  800  a  day,  and 
Victoria  more  than  1,100 — or  an  average  of  sixty-one  an  hour  for 
eighteen  hours  a  day.  It  has  been  estimated  that  in  busy  times 
of  the  day  there  are  probably  two  movements  of  trains  every 
minute.     The  passenger  trains  within  the  metropolis  run  a  dis- 


"  COMPENSATION."  453 

tance  of  35,000  miles  every  week-day,  or  1 1,000,000  in  the  year. 
The  capital  invested  is  more  than  £50,000,000.* 

Besides  those  companies  that  have  running  powers  over 
"  foreign  "  lines,  there  are  many  others  that  are  jointly  owned  by 
two  or  more  different  companies.  These  are  of  three  kinds  : 
those  worked  jointly  ;  those  worked  by  one  of  the  owning  com- 
panies ;  and  those  worked  by  a  committee  on  behalf  of  the 
owning  companies.  The  Ashby  and  Nuneaton,  for  instance,  29 
miles  long,  is  owned  and  also  worked  by  the  "  L.  &  N.  W.  R." 
and  the  Midland  Companies,  and  there  are  some  270  miles  of 
line  thus  owned  and  worked  by  other  companies.  The  Carn- 
forth  and  Wennington,  9  miles  long,  is  owned  by  the  Midland 
and  the  Furness  Companies,  but  is  worked  by  the  Midland,  and 
the  Macclesfield  line  is  in  a  somewhat  similar  position  ;  whereas 
the  Cheshire  lines,  104  miles  in  length,  are  owned  jointly  by  the 
Great  Northern,  Midland,  and  "  M.  S.  &  L.,"  but  are  worked  by 
a  committee  of  the  three  companies.  In  addition  to  these  there 
are  several  important  lines  that  are  "  jointly  leased  " — the  mile- 
age, capital,  and  revenue  of  which  are  mixed  up  in  the  published 
accounts  of  larger  companies.  There  are  about  twenty  such 
companies,  with  about  400  miles  of  lines,  and  a  capital  of 
about  £12,000,000,  upon  which  the  leasing  companies  provide 
the  dividends. 

In  the  vocabulary  of  railways  there  is  one  ugly  word — ugly 
for  all  concerned — the  word  "compensation."  It  represents 
loss,  injury,  suffering ;  sometimes  it  means  chicanery  and  fraud. 
The  principle  that  has  been  acknowledged  is  that  where  acci- 
dents, causing  injury  to  passengers,  have  resulted  from  careless- 
ness on  the  part  of  railway  officials,  the  company  is  liable  for 
damages.  From  the  first,  charges  for  compensation  to  passengers 
have  appeared  in  railway  accounts ;  and  in  some  years  they 
have  been  so  great  as  to  cause  a  serious  diminution  in  the 
dividends  of  shareholders.  Two  accidents  on  the  Brighton 
Railway  during  one  year  cost  that  Company  £100,000 ;  and 
there  have  been  many  occasions  on  which  £50,000  or  £60,000 
were  required  to  meet  the  claims  arising  out  of  some  great 
disaster.     It   is    believed    that,  as   a   rule,  railway  directors  are 


*  "  Railway  Revolutions,"  an  article  in  the  Contemporary  Revieiu.     By 
Frederick  S.  Williams. 


4  54  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

us  to  deal  fairly  with  such  cases;  but  it  must  be  allowed 
that  these  liabilities  of  railway  companies  have  sometimes  had 
curious  developments.  A  blind  man  went  unattended  into  a 
station  on  the  London  and  North  Western,  touched  a  nail  on 
the  top  of  the  staircase,  fell  down,  and  claimed  damages  for 
injuries  received.  In  another  case,  on  the  same  line,  a  boy  tried 
to  climb  on  to  the  mantelpiece  in  a  waiting-room,  pulled  it 
down,  broke  his  arm,  and  obtained  £i$0  from  the  company. 
A  lady  walking  across  the  floor  at  Spalding  station  caught  her 
foot  in  a  hole  in  the  carpet,  fell,  and  received  some  injury,  for 
which  she  was  awarded  by  a  jury  .£1,500  damages. 

But  there  have  been  claims  more  surprising.  Soon  after  the 
catastrophe  at  Abergele,  a  man,  by  his  solicitor,  claimed 
damages  for  injuries  sustained  in  the  collision.  An  officer  of 
the  company  called  upon  him.  He  "  appeared  to  be  greatly 
suffering,"  and  he  said  he  claimed  .£4,000.  When  the  case 
came  on  for  trial  he  was  short  of  funds,  and  the  action  was 
withdrawn.  But  soon  afterwards  the  company  procured  con- 
clusive evidence  that  he  was  never  in  the  train  at  all.  He  was 
prosecuted,  and  sentenced  to  eighteen  months'  imprisonment. 
In  another  case  a  man  who  had  been  in  a  collision  on  the  Mid- 
land line  made  a  demand  for  compensation.  He  appeared  in 
court  wrapped  in  blankets  ;  one  friend  supported  his  head,  an- 
other his  feet  ;  and  he  gave  his  evidence  in  a  pathetic  whisper. 
The  jury,  touched  by  the  sight  of  such  suffering  resignation, 
awarded  him  £750  damages,  and  £213  costs.  The  money  was 
paid.  Soon  afterwards  it  was  ascertained  that  on  the  Friday 
before  the  trial  he  had,  with  much  agility,  climbed  over  a  five- 
barred  gate  ;  and  that  a  few  days  after  the  trial  he  had  been  at 
the  sea-side,  had  mounted  rocks,  had  searched  for  crabs,  had 
bathed,  and  had  taken  long  walks.  On  the  matter  being  once 
more  submitted  to  a  judge,  he  was  thought  sufficiently  recovered 
to  undergo  fifteen  months'  imprisonment  for  perjury  ;  but  the 
railway  company  did  not  recover  a  penny  of  its  nearly  £1,000. 

In  another  case  a  person  who  had  met  with  a  railway  accident 
on  the  line  of  the  London  and  Brighton  Company  sent  in  a 
claim  for  upwards  of  £4,000.  The  medical  men  called  for  on 
either  side  differed  as  to  the  cause  of  the  symptoms  from  which 
the  claimant  was  suffering,  his  medical  advisers  referring  them 
to  the  accident,  and  the  gentlemen  who  examined  him  on  behalf 


"COMPENSATION.  455 

of  the  company  considering  them  solely  due  to  fatigue  subse- 
quently undergone,  to  an  attack  of  rheumatism,  and  to  mercurial 
treatment.  As  to  the  amount  of  the  claim,  there  was  more 
agreement  in  the  evidence.  It  was  admitted  by  the  plaintiff 
that  the  "  loss  on  forced  sale  of  livery  stable  business,"  which 
he  had  estimated  at  £6oo,  was  hardly  fairly  chargeable  to  the 
company,  inasmuch  as  he  had  unsuccessfully  attempted  the 
said  sale  a  year  before  the  accident.  Again,  a  claim  for  ^300 
for  "  loss  from  inability  to  go  to  the  Continent  for  purchase  of 
stock  "  could  scarcely  be  defended  in  the  face  of  his  admission 
that  he  had  discontinued  his  business  on  the  Continent  for  a 
year  and  a  half.  An  accountant  who  had  examined  into  his 
affairs,  found  that  one  part  of  his  business  had  not  suffered,  and 
that  the  other  had  improved  since  the  accident.  The  jury 
diminished  the  compensation  from  ^4,000  to  £300  ! 

"We  would  willingly  pay,"  recently  remarked  a  railway  au- 
thority who  has  frequently  to  do  with  such  cases,  to  the  writer, 
"  the  uttermost  farthing  of  all  the  damage  we  ever  do,  and  five- 
and-twenty  per  cent,  besides,  if  we  could  only  be  guaranteed 
against  fraud."  It  is  true,  on  the  one  hand,  that  no  adequate 
compensation  can  be  given  for  some  injuries  which  may  involve 
life-long  disability  or  suffering  ;  it  is  also  true,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  no  condemnation  can  be  too  severe  for  those  who  attempt 
to  defraud  railway  companies  by  claiming  compensation  for 
injuries  they  have  never  received. 

We  will  conclude  a  subject  which  has  both  humorous  and 
grave  aspects  by  referring  to  an  American  case  of  compensation. 
A  farmer,  we  are  told,  living  on  the  line  of  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral lost  a  cow  by  a  collision  with  a  train,  and  he  at  once  started 
off  to  the  office  of  the  manager  to  effect  a  settlement.  "  I  under- 
stand that  she  was  thin  and  sick,"  said  the  manager,  after  the 
old  man  had  explained  his  business.  "  Makes  no  difference," 
replied  the  farmer  doggedly.  "  She  was  a  cow,  and  I  want  pay 
for  her."  "  How  much  ?  "  asked  the  manager  laconically.  "  Two 
hundred  dollars  !  "  returned  the  farmer.  "  Now,  look  here,"  said 
the  manager  kindly,  "  how  much  did  the  cow  weigh  ?  "  "  About 
four  hundred,  I  suppose,"  answered  the  farmer.  "  And  we  will 
say  that  beef  is  worth  ten  cents  a  pound  on  the  hoof."  "  It's 
worth  a  heap  more  than  that  on  the  cow-catcher  !  "  retorted  the 
old  man.     "  But  we'll  call  it  that,  what  then  ?  "     "  That  makes 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

forty  dollars,"  said  the  manager  quietly.  "Shall  I  give  you  a 
cheque  for  forty  dollars  ? "  "I  tell  you  I  want  two  hundred 
dollars,"  persisted  the  old  man.  "  Hut  how  do  you  make  the 
difference?"  inquired  the  manager  politely.  "I'm  willing  to 
pay  full  value,  tort}-  dollars.  How  do  you  make  the  one 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars  ?"  "Well,  sir,"  replied  the  old  man, 
rising  in  wrath,  "  I  want  this  railroad  to  understand  that  I'm 
going  to  have  something  special  for  the  goodwill  of  that  cow  !  " 
It  must  be  allowed  that  there  is  a  burden  upon  railway  com- 
panies of  an  exceptional  and  scarcely  equitable  character.  It 
used  to  be  said  by  satirists,  that  an  Englishman  was  always 
being  taxed  ;  that  at  his  birth  he  was  attended  by  a  taxed 
doctor  and  laid  in  a  taxed  cradle,  and  that  at  his  death  he  was 
carried  in  a  taxed  coffin  in  a  taxed  hearse  to  a  taxed  grave. 
Modern  legislation,  however,  has  been  more  enlightened.  Our 
fiscal  burdens  have  one  after  another  been  removed  ;  locomotion 
has  shared  in  the  general  remission,  horse  duties  have  been 
abolished,  owners  of  vehicles  have  been  relieved  of  charges,  and 
toll-gates  have  been  abolished  by  hundreds,  in  order  to  give  a 
free  current  to  the  trade  and  traffic  of  town  and  country.  But 
railways  are  still  taxed  through  every  moment  of  their  being 
and  every  mile  of  their  career.  The  changing  policies  of  Parlia- 
ment, the  costs  of  law,  the  claims  of  the  parishes  through  which 
they  run,  and  the  demands  of  the  imperial  exchequer,  cause 
enormous,  and  often  needless,  charges  to  be  laid  upon  the  initia- 
tion, the  construction,  and  the  maintenance  of  railways.  The 
railway  has  to  pay  its  full  share  of  local  taxation,  including  the 
cost  of  the  very  highways  along  which  carts  and  wagons,  vans, 
omnibuses,  and  tramways,  and  all  sorts  of  untaxed  horses  and 
vehicles,  run  in  competition  with  itself.  "  We  are  taxed,"  said 
the  Chairman  of  the  Metropolitan  District,  "  upon  all  our  traffic  ; 
and  yet  we  have  the  Thames  running  parallel  with  us  nearly  the 
whole  length  of  our  line,  with  comparatively  no  taxes  and  no 
maintenance  of  roads  to  pay  ;  while  we  have  also  to  contribute 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  road  for  omnibuses,  because  since  the 
turnpike  trusts  have  been  abolished  the  charge  has  come  upon 
the  ratepayers." 

The  local  and  imperial  burdens  thus  laid  upon  railways  are 
enormous.  The  London  and  Brighton  Company,  for  instance, 
have   during   some   recent  years  distributed  to  their  ordinary 


PASSENGER    DUTY.  457 

shareholders  the  sum  of  £1,000,000  in  dividends,  but  during  the 
same  period  they  have  had  to  pay  in  the  form  of  Government 
duty  and  taxes  of  various  kinds  not  less  than  £670,000  ;  in 
effect,  an  income  tax  of  6y  per  cent.  The  North  Eastern  direc- 
tors recently  complained  that  these  charges  levied  upon  them 
had  greatly  augmented.  The  amount  of  Government  duty,  they 
stated,  had  increased  almost  30  per  cent,  on  the  gross  passenger 
returns,  equal  to  about  60  per  cent,  increase  on  the  net  receipts. 

"  The  passenger  duty  alone,"  said  the  Chairman  of  the  Metro- 
politan District,  "is  a  serious  matter  for  us.  It  is  a  matter  of 
one  per  cent,  to  the  preference  shareholders." 

By  some  it  has  been  said  that  railways  are  rich,  and  can  afford 
to  be  taxed.  But  if  doubts  arise  whether  it  is  fair  even  to  the 
strong,  what  shall  we  say  about  the  poor  and  the  weak  railways, 
and  the  impoverished  shareholders  which  such  concerns  always 
represent  ?  On  the  South  Devon  Railway,  for  instance,  during 
a  recent  period  of  twenty-three  years  the  income  has  been 
£644,000,  and  the  amount  paid  for  passenger  duty  has  been 
£82,000;  in  other  words,  the  Government  received  12^  per 
cent,  of  the  profits,  although  the  company  was  able  to  pay  its 
own  shareholders  only  a  2  per  cent,  dividend.  On  the  Corn- 
wall line,  also,  £22,000  were  paid  under  this  tax,  while  the 
shareholders  not  only  did  not  receive  a  farthing  in  dividend, 
but  had  to  borrow  something  like  £100,000  to  meet  their 
preference  charges.  "Then,"  said  Mr.  Mitchell,  "there  is  the 
little  line  of  Brixham  and  Torbay,  which  was  made  by  a  public- 
spirited  individual  who  wished  to  give  an  impetus  to  the  fishing 
industry  on  the  coast.  This  result  has  been  realized,  but  at  the 
price  of  ruin  to  the  man  and  his  family.  This  line  has  never 
been  able  to  pay  either  dividend  or  debenture  interest ;  but  the 
Inland  Revenue  carries  off  £50  every  year  for  passenger  duty, 
while  the  Post-office,  with  marvellous  liberality,  hands  back  £25 
a  year  for  carrying  the  mails  five-and-twenty  times  a  week. 
The  reason  why  the  duty  is  charged  appears  to  be  that  while 
the  line  is  2\  miles  long,  the  Act  of  Parliament  allows  it  to  be 
reckoned  as  three  miles,  which  thus  brings  up  the  charge  of  3c/. 
for  a  third-class  ticket  to  more  than  a  penny  a  mile."  The 
magnitude  of  the  injustice  thus  inflicted  will  be  seen  in  the  fact 
that  there  are  many  millions  of  railway  capital  that  pay  little 
or  no  dividend  whatever  ;   and  yet  all  these  lines  arc  taxed  to 


-15  s  OUR    IKON     ROADS. 

the  amount  of  5  per  cent,  per  annum  on  their  passenger  re- 
ceipts. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  railways  are  monopolies,  and  may, 
therefore,  be  taxed  exceptionally.  On  the  contrary,  not  only 
ire  they  in  active  competition  with  each  other,  but  also  with 
other  rival  carriers  both  on  land  and  water,  by  coast  and  canal. 
This  is  especially  the  case  in  and  around  the  metropolis,  where 
the  owners  of  tramways  and  omnibuses  are  not  only  free  from 
passenger  duty,  but  have  had  no  land  to  buy  for  their  roads, 
and  have  no  duty  to  pay  for  their  horses  ;  and,  so  far  as  the 
omnibuses  are  concerned,  no  charges  for  the  repair  of  the  roads 
they  wear  out. 

If,  as  Lord  Bacon  declared,  the  facilities  for  travelling  in  a 
country  may  be  taken  as  a  touchstone  of  its  civilization,  it 
cannot  be  sound  statesmanship — apart  from  the  inequity  of 
laying  upon  railways  an  invidious  and  onerous  liability — to 
cripple  the  free  and  full  development  of  railway  enterprise. 
That  the  great  highways  of  a  country  ought  to  be  as  free  as 
possible  to  the  trade  and  traffic  of  the  community  is  a  truth 
that  no  one  will  deny  whose  lot  happens  to  be  cast  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  an  impoverished  and  struggling  railway. 
"  Poverty,"  said  Captain  Huish,  many  years  ago,  and  his  words 
are  true  now,  "  causes  railway  companies  to  run  things  very 
fine."  Trains  are  few  and  slow  ;  accommodation  for  both  pas- 
sengers and  goods  is  inadequate  ;  fares  and  rates  are  high  ; 
shabbiness  in  appearance  and  in  work  is  conspicuous  ;  rival 
trades  and  rival  towns  on  better  lines  of  railway  carry  off  the 
business  of  the  district  ;  and  while  the  strong  thus  grow  stronger 
the  poor  grow  poorer.  And,  as  with  the  district,  so  with  the 
railway.  "  I  believe  that  it  is  the  greatest  curse  to  any  district," 
said  Mr.  Sherriff  before  the  Royal  Commission,  "to  have  a  rail- 
way company  that  does  not  pay  a  fair  dividend."  "  I  happen 
to  have  been  connected  with  companies,"  says  an  eminent  civil 
engineer,  "  in  different  phases  of  prosperity  and  poverty.  In 
the  case  of  a  line  that  was  not  paying  anything,  I  have  always 
had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  getting  what  was  almost  an  abso- 
lute necessity,  even  to  the  rolling  stock  and  the  permanent  way. 
I  recollect  having  to  apply  for  the  relaying  of  a  line  which  I  did 
not  consider  safe  ;  and  I  had  it  urged  upon  me  whether  it  might 
not  go  on  as  it  was  for  three  months  longer.     That  is  drawing 


THE    RAILWAY    COMMISSION.  459 

the  line  to  the  nicest  possible  degree.  Even  with  reference  to 
the  simple  question  of  painting  the  carriages  and  having  them 
in  a  better  state,  it  is  always  deferred,  when  you  come  to  a  line 
which  is  in  a  bad  condition,  to  the  very  last  moment.  I  suffered 
from  these  anxieties  to  an  extent  which  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
scribe. .  .  .  But  when  you  get  to  the  next  stage  of  a  line — 
viz.,  one  that  is  improving — everything  looks  up,  and  every 
application  you  make  is  treated  in  a  totally  different  spirit." 
And  all  this,  we  may  add,  is  not  only  natural,  but  inevitable. 

The  Government  is  not  asked  to  recur  to  the  policy  of  the 
time  when  Parliament  conferred  direct  benefits  upon  commercial 
undertakings  ;  when,  for  example,  £130,000  was  granted  to  put 
the  road  between  London  and  Birmingham  in  such  a  condition 
as  to  enable  it  to  compete  with  the  new  railroad,  and  when  the 
workmen,  paid  for  with  Government  money,  were  easing  the 
gradients  of  a  hill  through  which  the  railway  engineers  were 
tunnelling.  But  we  agree  with  those  who  ask  that  "  an  act  of 
justice  and  a  great  boon  to  the  great  body  of  railway  share- 
holders throughout  the  kingdom "  should  be  done  to  those 
"  whose  undertakings  and  profits  are  taxed  heavily  in  other 
respects  than  the  passenger  duty." 

We  may  here  refer  to  the  position  of  the  Railway  Commis- 
sioners. As  far  back  as  1854,  an  Act  was  passed  for  the  settle- 
ment of  disputes  relating  to  traffic.  It  was  said,  with  some  play 
of  humour,  that  railway  companies  had  become  despots,  whose 
despotism  was  tempered  only  by  the  fear  of  invasion.  Their 
early  history  has  been  one  of  wars  for  the  command  of  pro- 
vinces— their  later  of  amalgamations  and  agreements  for  the 
partition  of  the  spoil.  "  Within  certain  limits,"  it  was  declared, 
"  the  companies  were  practically  omnipotent.  They  shaped  the 
destiny  of  a  district  to  their  will.  Their  time-bills  were  framed 
to  favour  one  place,  and  keep  down  another.  They  were 
carriers,  dock-owners,  hotel-keepers,  land  speculators  at  once. 
They  seized  upon  strategic  points,  and  cut  off  communications. 
Their  lines  seldom  worked  harmoniously.  By  preferential  rates 
on  goods  they  made  the  fortune  of  one  and  crushed  another. 
There  was,  indeed,  a  remedy  at  law,  but  so  slow  the  process, 
and  so  difficult  was  it  for  the  injured  to  get  at  the  essential 
facts,  that  the  appeal  to  justice  was  rarely  ventured." 

In  all  this  there  was,  of  course,  much  exaggeration,  but  it  was 


460  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

at  the  same  time  felt  that  some  suitable  tribunal  should  be 
appointed,  which  could  deal  with  matters  at  issue  between  the 
public  and  the  companies.  Hence  the  Railway  Regulation  Act 
oi  [873,  and  the  appointment  of  the  Railway  Commission. 
The  Commissioners  were  to  be  three,  "of  whom  one  shall  be 
of  experience  in  the  law,  and  one  of  experience  in  railway 
business."  Their  appointment  was  in  the  first  place  for  five 
years,  and  has  since  been  renewed. 

The  opinion  expressed  by  the  recent  Select  Committee  with 
respect  to  the  working  of  the  Railway  Commission  is  valuable. 
"  The  public  approve  of  the  Commission,  and  express  the 
opinion  that  its  beneficial  effect  has  been  much  greater  than 
indicated  by  the  number  of  cases  brought  before  it,"  whereas 
the  representatives  of  the  railway  companies  would  prefer  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  ordinary  courts.  Whereupon  the  Committee 
remark,  that  inasmuch  as  the  Railway  Commission  was  estab- 
lished for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  public  a  more  simple  and 
direct  control  over  railway  companies,  as  well  as  to  deal  with 
questions  of  fact,  if  the  object  of  appointing  the  Commission 
has  been  attained,  "  it  may  be  only  natural  that  the  result 
should  not  be  acceptable  to  the  railway  companies."  They 
add  that  no  really  material  change  in  the  constitution  of  the 
court  has  been  suggested  "  other  than  substantially  a  return  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  ordinary  courts,  which  was  found  so  un- 
satisfactory as  to  necessitate  the  constitution  of  the  Railway 
Commission." 

Traders,  however,  ask  that  the  functions  of  the  Commission 
should  be  made  more  relevant  to  the  public  needs.  Many  wit- 
nesses stated  that  it  is  not  for  the  interest  or  pecuniary  advan- 
tage of  almost  any  trader  to  take  a  railway  company  before 
the  Commission  :  because  of  the  expense  of  obtaining  redress  ; 
because  railway  companies  are  prepared  to  litigate  to  an  extent 
which  no  trader  would  dare  to  contemplate  ;  and,  because  rail- 
way companies  have  so  many  opportunities  of  putting  traders 
to  inconvenience  and  loss  by  withholding  ordinary  trade  facili- 
ties, that  traders  are  afraid  of  the  indirect  consequences  of 
taking  a  railway  company  into  court. 

The  Committee  stated  that  from  the  evidence  submitted, 
there  was  ground  for  these  apprehensions,  and  that  it  is  to  the 
pecuniary  advantage  of  a  trader  to  submit  to  overcharges,  or 


GOODS    RATES. 


461 


to  suffer  from  undue  preference  to  others,  rather  than  to  take  a 
railway  company  before  the  Commissioners. 

The  Committee  accordingly  recommended  that  a  locus  standi 
before  the  special  Railway  Tribunal  should  be  given  to  Cham- 
bers of  Commerce  and  Agriculture,  and  to  similar  associations 
of  traders  or  agriculturists.  The  Committee  was  also  of  opinion 
that  the  establishment  of  the  Railway  Commission  had  been  of 
great  public  advantage  in  causing  justice  to  be  speedily  done  in 
the  cases  which  had  been  brought  before  it,  in  preventing  differ- 
ences from  arising  as  between  the  railway  companies  and  the 
public  ;  and  also  by  the  deterrent  and  controlling  influence  of 
its  mere  existence.  It  accordingly  recommended  that  it  should 
be  made  a  permanent  tribunal. 

With  regard   to   the  charges   of  railway  companies    for  the 
carriage  of  goods,   complaints   were  recently  submitted  to  the 
Select  Committee.    It  was  stated 
that    some    rates    were    higher 
than  the  amounts  authorized  by 

law,    "the    authorized    rate    per        -..,.-*,-- Z„  *■.*-  j^~^^^--  :  ■  ■•.,.-■ 
mile  multiplied  by  the  distance  "   jjHE 
being  taken  as  constituting  the  ^9H^ 
strictly  legal  charge.      To  this  m 
the  companies  replied  that  they  ^*ppfl 


■ 


:Mm- 


were  entitled  under  their 
special  Acts  to  charge 
not  only  for  carrying 
goods  from  point  to 
point,  but  for  services 
"  incidental  to  convey- 
ance." When  the  earlier  Railway  Acts  were  passed,  it  was 
supposed  that  the  companies   would   be,   like   the   canal  com- 


LAWLEY   STREET   GOODS   STATION. 


462  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

panics,  mere  owners  of  the  route,  and  their  maximum  mileage 
charges  were  fixed  accordingly.  But  they  soon  became  carriers, 
ami  as  carriers  they  had  to  undertake  new  and  costly  responsi- 
bilities. They  had  to  expend  capital  on  "  land  for  stations  and 
roads  ;  on  the  cost  of  construction  and  maintenance  of  stations, 
sidings,  sheds,  platforms,  warehouses,  cranes,  turntables,  weigh- 
ing machines,  hydraulic  power,  fixed  appliances,  machinery,  and 
other  property,  and  also  all  the  working  charges,  repairs,  re- 
newals, and  insurance  of  station  buildings,  loading  and  unload- 
ing, clerkage,  stores,  covering,  and  other  labour  of  all  kinds  ; 
shunting  by  horses  and  engines,  gas,  rates  and  taxes,  risk  of 
damage  in  loading  and  unloading,  and  cartages,  and  all  other 
services  incidental  to  the  duty  of  a  carrier."  Thus  the  case  was 
put  by  Mr.  Birt,  the  General  Manager  of  the  Great  Eastern  ; 
and  Mr.  Noble,  the  General  Manager  of  the  Midland,  sub- 
sequently said  :  "  It  is  a  fact  that  for  every  mile  of  line  of  rail- 
way we  are  obliged  to  have  almost  a  mile  of  sidings."  On  the 
services  thus  rendered  and  the  capital  thus  expended,  a  reason- 
able remuneration,  over  and  above  the  mere  mileage  rates,  is 
claimed.  After  hearing  witnesses  upon,  and  considering,  these 
matters,  the  Select  Committee  were  of  opinion  that  the  right  of 
railway  companies  to  these  additional  charges  should  be  recog- 
nised in  some  declaratory  enactment. 

Another  subject  submitted  to  the  Committee  is  the  fact  that 
goods  are  divided  into  various  classes,  for  which  different  mile- 
age rates  are  allowed,  and  that  these  vary  from  id.  to  $d.  a 
mile,  except  for  coals.  This  classification  is  seriously  lacking  in 
simplicity  and  uniformity,  some  companies  levying  their  rates 
under  as  many  as  fifty,  or  even  seventy,  Acts  of  Parliament. 
Nor  is  it  easy  to  remedy  this  difficulty,  since  the  rates  charge- 
able by  a  railway  amount  to  millions  in  number.  Mr.  Birt,  the 
General  Manager  of  the  Great  Eastern  Company,  when  recently 
giving  evidence,  was  asked,  "  Can  you  tell  the  Committee  the 
lowest  rate  per  ton  per  mile  that  you  carry  any  goods  upon  your 
line  for  ?  "  "  I  cannot,"  he  replied  ;  "  we  have  6,000,000  rates," 
and  he  added  that  they  had  been  fixed  as  nearly  as  possible  by 
what  was  believed  to  be  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  each  case. 
They  had  grown  up  gradually,  with  the  view  of  meeting  the 
wishes  and  requirements  of  the  public.  "  So  that,"  he  was  asked, 
"you  have  had  to  be  the  judges  of  6,000,000  different  circum- 


"  PREFERRED  "    RATES.  463 

stances  ?  "  "  You  may  put  it  that  that  is  so,"  he  replied  ;  "  but, 
of  course,  it  has  been  the  work  of  very  many  years." 

On  the  North  British  Railway  the  rates  are  more  than 
16,000,000  in  number;  and  on  the  Midland  about  30,000,000. 
"The  way,"  said  Mr.  Noble,  the  General  Manager,  "in  which  rates 
are  made,  is  by  consultation  between  the  traders  and  the  rail- 
way companies  ;  they  have  got  to  the  figures  at  which  they  now 
stand  after  many  years'  experience.  A  railway  company  having 
ascertained  the  views  and  interests  of  a  trader,  and  what  he  can 
afford  to  pay  for  the  carriage  of  his  goods  to  a  certain  market, 
meets  him,  if  possible.  We  have  a  very  large  staff  engaged  daily 
upon  the  rates."  The  Select  committee  were  of  opinion  that 
the  charges  made  by  companies  should  be  entered  in  the  rate- 
book, or  should  be  otherwise  publicly  notified  ;  and  that  a 
revised  classification  of  goods  should  be  made  between  them- 
selves and  the  public,  so  that  any  trader  would  be  able  to  ascer- 
tain precisely  what  the  company  was  entitled  to  demand  from 
him  for  the  transport  of  his  goods. 

Another  class  of  complaints  made  was  to  the  effect  that  certain 
places  are  "  preferred  "  in  the  matter  of  rates — are  "nursed  "  by 
railway  companies  to  the  prejudice  of  other  places.  Liverpool, 
for  instance,  stated  that  the  railways  from  Barrow,  Fleetwood, 
Holyhead,  and  other  ports — at  some  of  which  the  companies 
have  docks  of  their  own — carry  goods  to  the  inland  manufactur- 
ing centres  at  lower  rates  than  those  at  which  they  take  them 
from  Liverpool.  Farmers,  said  the  Committee,  complain  that 
imported  agricultural  produce  is  given  a  bounty  over  home  pro- 
duce, by  being  carried  at  a  lower  rate  ;  that  foreign  corn  and 
meat  are  carried  from  Liverpool  to  London  for  less  than  English 
corn  and  meat  ;  that  American  cattle  are  conveyed  from  Glas- 
gow to  London  for  less  than  Scotch  cattle  ;  that  cattle  landed 
at  Newcastle  are  carried  inland  for  less  than  cattle  reared  in 
Northumberland  and  Durham  ;  and  that  foreign  fruit  and  hops 
are  carried  from  Boulogne  or  Flushing  to  London  for  less  than 
fruit  and  hops  from  Ashford  or  Sittingbourne.  Ironmongers 
complain  that  Belgian  wire  and  other  goods  are  brought 
from  Belgium  to  Birmingham  for  less  than  similar  goods  are 
charged  from  Birmingham  to  London.  Bradford  complains  that 
the  export  trade  from  both  Manchester  and  Bradford  enjoys 
rates  which  are  preferential  as  compared  with  those  for  the  home 


OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

consumption  trade.  In  short,  the  complaint  is  frequently  heard 
that  railway  companies  prejudice  home  producers  by  low  import 
and  export  rates. 

How,  we  may  ask,  do  these  irregularities  come  about?  and 
we  may  answer  by  stating  a  fact.  Not  long  ago  an  ironmaster 
from  the  Erewash  Valley  went  into  the  office  of  the  General 
Manager  of  the  Midland  Railway.  "I  want,"  he  said,  "to 
tender  for  a  contract  for  a  large  quantity  of  iron.  It  is  for  a 
foreign  Government — 25,000  tons  to  be  delivered.  The  Cleve- 
land district  and  South  Wales  will  also  tender,  and  they  are  on 
the  sea.  We  find  no  fault  with  your  ordinary  rate  for  ordinary 
quantities  ;  but  this  is  special  ;  and  if  you  can  for  this  large 
amount  give  us  a  special  rate,  we  shall  have  a  chance ;  other- 
wise we  have  none."  "  When  do  you  want  the  rate  ? "  was  the 
inquiry.  "To  send  off  by  to-night's  post."  The  special  rate 
was  granted,  and  the  tender  was  accepted.  Now  if,  as  some 
ask,  a  uniform  and  invariable  rate  were  adopted,  the  only  reply 
that  could  have  been  given  in  this  case,  and  in  all  similar  cases, 
would  have  been,  "  Our  rules  cannot  be  relaxed." 

If  the  railways  did  not  adjust  their  rates,  they  would  lose 
much  of  their  traffic.  Mr.  Allport  was  asked  by  Lord  Derby, 
then  Lord  Stanley,  if  he  considered  it  the  duty  of  a  Company 
"  to  endeavour  so  to  regulate  the  trade  as  to  distribute  a  certain 
share  to  each  town  in  such  a  manner  as  seems  to  them  just,  or 
if  it  was  not  rather  their  business  to  take  such  traffic  as  might 
be  offered  them  without  asking  further  questions  ?  "  "  I  think  it 
is  the  duty  of  managers  of  railways,"  replied  Mr.  Allport,  "  to 
develop  the  resources  of  their  districts  to  the  utmost  possible 
extent  ;  that  is  the  principle  that  has  influenced  me.  If  I  saw  an 
opportunity  of  developing  a  trade  at  Gloucester,  so  long  as  the 
rates  left  a  profit,  I  should  most  undoubtedly  endeavour  to  do 
it,  without  reference  to  the  rates  from  Liverpool,  or  London,  or 
elsewhere  ;  the  only  question  would  be  whether  the  rates  would 
leave  a  profit.  I  consider  it  my  duty,  as  manager  of  the  Midland 
Railway,  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  district  to  the  utmost 
extent  that  I  can."  Lord  Stanley  admitted  the  force  of  the  pro- 
position as  thus  put,  and  said  :  "  So  long  as  you  only  charge 
what  the  law  of  the  land  entitles  you  to  charge,  no  one  town  or 
community  has  a  right  to  complain  because  you  happen,  with  a 
view  to  your  own  advantage,  to  charge  a  lower  rate  to  another." 


UNIFORM    RATES    IMPRACTICABLE.  465 

Even  the  cost  of,  and  the  traffic  upon,  a  railway  must  be  con- 
sidered in  the  charges  made.  "  I  presume,"  said  Lord  Stanley 
to  an  advocate  of  uniform  rates,  "  if  one  line  is  made  between 
two  great  towns,  say  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  and  if 
another  line  is  made,  say  through  the  Highlands  of  Scotland, 
there  would  be  a  great  deal  more  traffic  on  the  former  line  than 
upon  the  latter  ;  and  where  the  traffic  is  greater,  and  the  trains 
are  fuller,  it  is  possible  to  carry  passengers  and  goods  at  a 
cheaper  rate  ?  "  "  Undoubtedly,"  was  the  reply.  "  Do  you 
think,"  continued  his  lordship,  "  that  an  equal  mileage  rate  in 
each  of  these  cases  would  be  just  ?  "  "  No,"  replied  the  witness, 
"  I  cannot  say  that  it  would  in  that  case ;  as  a  matter  of 
course,  I  cannot  say  it  would  be."  "  Then  you  are  not  in  favour 
of  an  uniform  mileage  rate  throughout  the  kingdom  ?  "  "  I  can- 
not," he  frankly  added,  "  in  the  way  in  which  your  lordship  puts 
it  before  me,  say  so." 

But  railway  managers  have  to  consider  not  only  what  is 
reasonable  with  some  special  consignment  under  some  special 
contract,  but  also  other  conditions  that  affect  the  ordinary  trade 
and  traffic  between  one  part  of  the  country  and  another.  Glou- 
cester, for  instance,  is  very  inconveniently  situated  as  a  port,  and 
the  cost  of  landing  goods  on  the  quay  at  Gloucester  is  much 
greater  than  landing  them  at  Liverpool.  If,  therefore,  the  Mid- 
land Company  were  to  say  to  the  people  at  Gloucester,  "  We 
shall  charge  you  the  same  rate  that  is  charged  at  Liverpool,"  the 
trade  of  Gloucester  would  at  once  severely  suffer  in  its  competi- 
tion with  Liverpool  at  many  Midland  towns,  and  the  Midland 
Company  would  suffer  too.  Again,  at  first  sight,  it  seems  strange 
that  a  ton  of  sugar  should  be  carried  76  miles,  from  Hull  to 
Sheffield,  for  less  money  than  75  miles,  from  Liverpool  ta 
Sheffield.  But  the  difference  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
there  is  free  water  navigation  from  Hull  to  within  a  few  miles  of 
Sheffield,  that  the  carriage  rates  are  low  by  water,  and  that  they 
must  be  low  by  land.  To  say  to  the  railway  company  that  they 
are  bound  to  charge  between  Hull  and  Sheffield  the  maximum 
they  charge  for  a  similar  distance  to  any  other  point,  is  to  tell 
them  that  for  the  future  all  the  work  is  to  be  done  by  the 
water  navigation. 

Similarly,  there   arc    low   rates    between    Birmingham    and 
Bristol,  because  there  is  a  cheap  navigation   up  the  Severn  to 

H    II 


01  R    [RON    ROADS. 

Worcester  and   Stourport,  and    a   cheap   continuous   navigation 
from  Bristol  to  Birmingham. 

To  put  an  end   to  the  "inequalities  and  contrarieties "  that 
now  exist  by  establishing  uniformity  of  rates,  according  to  dis- 
tance, from    everywhere  to    even-where,  would  have   the  most 
injurious  consequences  on   trade  and  on  the   country  at  large. 
Certain  already  rich  districts  on  the  coast  would  absorb  foreign 
orders,  and  become  overgorged  with  prosperity,  while  the  staple 
trades    of  towns    less  advantageously  situated  would    dwindle 
and  die.     The  country,  too,  would  suffer  as  much  as  the  trade. 
London  could  no  longer  be  fed  every  year  with  hundreds  of  tons 
of  meat  from  Scotland,  but  must  be  satisfied  with  the  flocks  and 
herds  of  the  Midland  counties  ;  vegetables  could  not  be  brought 
from  the  far  west ;  *  and  the  metropolis  would  have  to  look  to 
the  coasting    trade   and   to    Derbyshire  for   its  supply  of  fuel. 
The  producer  and  consumer  alike  would  suffer  ;  the  trade   and 
commerce  of  the  whole  country  would  have  to   be  readjusted, 
at  infinite  loss  and  cost,  to  the  new  condition  of  charges ;  and 
the    only    individuals    who   would    be    gratified    amid    all    this 
national  ruin  would  be  the  admirers  of  a  theoretical  but  disas- 
trous uniformity. 

Such  was  the  conclusion  at  which  the  Select  Committee 
arrived.  To  have  an  uniform  rate  would,  they  said,  put  an  end 
to  competition.  "  The  result  would  probably  be  levelling  up, 
and  not  levelling  down."  Parliament  would  never  consent  to  take 
the  lowest  profit  which  a  company  now  makes  by  its  cheapest 
traffic  as  a  standard,  and  fix  maximum  rates  accordingly  for  all 
their  traffic.  Supposing  such  a  standard  fixed,  the  only  result 
would  be  that  the  traffic  which  is  now  carried  at  a  low  rate  in 
competition  with  a  sea  route  would  be  driven  from  the  railway 
to  the  competing  route,  whilst  the  railway,  if  it  is  to  make  as 
much  aggregate  profit  as  before,  must  charge  a  higher  rate  than 
is   now  charged  on   the  traffic  which  remains  to  it.     If,  for  in- 

*  "Between  November  and  April  in  each  season  inclusive,  the  markets  of 
London,  and  other  large  towns  north  of  Bristol,  are  supplied  from  West 
Cornwall  with  from  16,000,000  to  20,000,000  of  heads  of  brocoli,  weighing 
about  15,000  tons,  and  in  May,  June,  and  July  of  each  year  the  same  markets 
are  supplied  with  12,000  tons  of  new  potatoes.  The  average  price  for  this 
season  of  brocoli  in  Covent  Garden  Market  would  be  ys.  a  crate,  each  crate 
weighing  from  ii  cwt.  to  if  cwt." — Evidence  before  Select  Committee  on 
Railways,  1882. 


UNIFORM    RATES    IMPRACTICABLE. 


467 


stance,  Parliament  were  to  take  from  the  South  Eastern  Railway 
Company  the  power  of  charging  on  fruit  and  hops  from  Boulogne 
the  low  rate  they  now  charge,  the  result  would  be  that  French 
fruit  and  hops  would  reach  London  by  water.  If  Parliament 
were  to  say  that  the  North  Eastern  shall  make  no  greater  pro- 
fit on  cattle  or  fish  brought  from  Newcastle  to  London  than 
they  do  on  that  brought  from  Scotland  over  the  same  lines  to 
London,  the  Scotch  goods  would  go  by  sea,  or  would  not  go 
at  all.  Or,  again,  if  the  Great  Eastern  were  not  allowed  to 
have  a  cheap  long  distance  to  London,  the  trade  of  Norfolk 
and  Suffolk  in  agricultural  produce  would  almost  disappear, 
since  London  is  their  market. 

Pressed,  before  the  Select  Committee,  by  these  difficulties,  the 
proposers  of  equal  mileage  admitted  that  where  there  is  sea 
competition, — which  is  the  case  at  about  three-fifths  of  the  rail- 
way stations  of  the  United  Kingdom, — where  low  rates  for  long 
distances  will  bring  a  profit,  and  also  where  the  article  is,  like 
coal,  a  necessary,  exceptions  must  be  made.  But  exceptions,  so 
numerous  and  great,  destroy  the  value  of  "  equal  mileage  "  as  a 
principle,  or  the  possibility  of  applying  it  as  a  general  rule. 


■r   .taj 


i 


CIIESTERFORD    STATION,    EASTERN    COUNTIES    RAILWAY. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Financial  Aspects  of  Railways.— Closing  of  Capital  Accounts. — Enormous 
1  demands  on  Railway  Shareholders. — The  Crucial  Question. — Dividends 
lisli  Railways. — Capital  Authorized.— A  Profitable  Line. — The 
State  Purchase  of  Railways.  — Financial  Difficulties.— Increasing  Value 
of  Railways. — Captain  Tyler's  Proposal. — Cost  of  Purchase.— The 
Speculator. — Stupendous  Financial  Problems. — Logical  Results.— 
Political  Aspects  of  the  Subject. — Political  Pressure. — "  Portentous  Mis- 
chief."— Mr.  Gladstone's  Opinion. 


are  compelled  to  do  more. 


'E  may  now  turn  to  some  of  the  finan- 
cial aspects  of  railways.  On  the 
construction,  maintenance,  and  en- 
largement of  the  railways  of  the 
United  Kingdom  £831,000,000 
have  been  spent.  The  amount  is 
stupendous ;  moreover,  it  is  con- 
stantly increasing  ;  and  it  has  all 
been  provided  by  private  share- 
holders in  a  commercial  enterprise. 
And  having  done  so  much,  they 
It  is  impossible  for  railway  com- 
panies to  stand  still.  Sometimes  at  shareholders'  meetings  the 
question  is  asked  whether  the  directors  cannot  diminish  their 
disbursements — cannot,  it  has  been  suggested,  "  close  their 
capital  account."  Now  what  would  a  closing  involve  ?  We  read 
the  announcement  that  a  railway  company  in  a  week  has  had  an 
increased  traffic  above  that  of  the  corresponding  week  of  last 
year  of,  say,  £1,000.  A  locomotive  can  earn  £100  a  week  ;  so 
it  follows  that,  if  this  increased  average  is  maintained,  ten 
locomotives  are  required  by  that  company  alone,  more  than 
were  necessary  for  its  work  of  the  same  week  of  last  year.  But 
ten  engines  would  cost  some  £2,800  each,  or  £28,000 ;  in  other 
words,  £28,000  would  have  to  be  raised  in  capital,  and  spent  on 

The  initial  letter  gives  a  sketch  of  Saltash  Viaduct. 


"an  awful  lot  of  money."  469 

engines  alone,  in  order  to  draw  the  mere  increase  of  the  traffic 
of  this  year ;  in  addition  to  which  there  would  be  all  the  other 
expenditure  for  trucks,  vans,  sidings,  and  station  accommodation 
which  would  necessarily  be  involved.  But  the  increased  amounts 
thus  required  by  a  railway  company,  even  for  engine  power  alone, 
are  sometimes  much  larger  than  this.  The  Midland  Company, 
for  instance,  has  had  an  increase  of  £9,000  worth  of  traffic  in  a 
week,  demanding  an  increased  engine  power  costing  about  a 
quarter  of  a  million  sterling  over  and  above  what  was  sufficient 
a  twelvemonth  previously.  And  if  that  capital  had  not  been 
spent  on  additional  engines,  and  all  the  accessories  consequent 
thereon  had  not  been  provided,  the  passengers  and  goods  could 
not  have  been  conveyed  :  in  effect,  a  distinct  public  announce- 
ment would  have  gone  forth  that  the  existing  railway  accommo- 
dation for  those  districts  was  insufficient,  and  that  some  com- 
peting line  would  be  welcome  ;  an  announcement  the  force  of 
which  would  have  been  freely  recognised  by  the  first  Parlia- 
mentary Committee  to  whom  the  claims  of  any  new  lines  were 
submitted. 

The  demands  made  upon  the  resources  of  railway  shareholders 
are  enormous.  A  few  years  since  there  was  a  general  revival  of 
trade,  and  the  ordinary  growth  of  traffic  and  the  special  pressure 
put  upon  all  the  great  railway  companies  was  such  as  to  necessi- 
tate an  immense  outlay  of  capital  in  the  creation  of  new  works. 
The  London  and  North  Western,  for  example,  had  to  widen  their 
road  so  as  to  admit  a  fourth  line  of  rails  for  the  forty-two  miles 
between  Willesden  and  Bletchley,  necessitating  an  almost  con- 
tinuous series  of  excavations  and  embankments,  masonry  on  a 
gigantic  scale,  and  also  two  tunnels  ;  and  the  widened  line  has 
since  been  continued  through  Northampton  to  Rugby.  "  We  are 
spending,"  said  Mr.  Moon  at  the  spring  meeting  of  1875,  "a?z 
awful  lot  of 'money.  We  are,"  he  continued,  "  spending  a  million 
at  Liverpool,  a  large  amount  upon  the  Manchester  stations,  and 
even  the  London  station  is  insufficient  for  the  traffic,  and  we 
find  it  impossible  to  go  on  year  after  year  giving  facilities  to 
the  public  without  spending  large  sums  of  money."  Similarly 
the  London  and  South  Western  spent  £500,000  in  improving 
their  stations,  completing  the  block  system,  and  for  increased 
rolling  stock.  The  Great  Western  widened  their  main  line  near 
London.     The   Lancashire   and  Yorkshire   made   a   number  of 


01   R     [RON     R<  IADS. 

branch  lines,  and  completed  their  block  system.  The  Midland 
led  their  lines  from  Trent  to  Wigston,  and  from  Chester- 
field to  C  ay  CrosSj  opened  new  lines  in  Notts  and  Derbyshire, 
made  jo  miles  of  additional  mineral  branches,  and  meanwhile 
bore  with  what  fortitude  they  could  command  the  burden 
ol  more  than  ^5,000,000  of  unproductive  capital  on  uncom- 
The  London  and  Brighton  shareholders  happily 
emerged,  as  their  chairman  expressed  it,  "from  the  depth  of 
adversity "  to  "  the  position  of  a  line  paying  a  respectable 
dividend  ;  "  but  the  expenditure  of  capital  during  four  years 
increased  nearly  ^40,000  a  year. 

These  enormous  outlays  were  not  a  matter  of  choice  upon 
the  part  of  the  companies  :  the  traffic  of  the  country  compelled 
them.  Complaints,  for  instance,  had  been  made  that  the  rail- 
way accommodation  provided  by  the  North  Eastern  Company 
was  insufficient  ;  and  it  might  have  been  thought  that  Mr. 
Leeman  and  his  board  had  been  doing  nothing.  On  the  con- 
trary, during  the  previous  six  months  the  North  Eastern  had 
spent  on  lines  in  course  of  construction,  new  sidings,  working- 
stock,  engines,  carriages,  and  wagons,  nearly  a  million  sterling  ; 
and  in  the  course  of  one  year,  nearly  two  millions  of  money  were 
spent  for  the  better  accommodation  of  traders  and  traffic.  "  It 
is,"  said  Mr.  Leeman,  "  a  large  expenditure — it  is  a  fearful  ex- 
penditure— and  it  is  one  which  one  would  have  thought  would 
have  brought  a  degree  of  satisfaction  that  we  were,  at  all  events, 
doing  our  best  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  district."  Yet 
meanwhile  there  were  complaints  everywhere  of  the  insufficiency 
of  the  accommodation  provided. 

In  the  four  years  ending  June,  1875,  twenty  of  our  leading 
railway  companies  spent  no  less  than  ^60,000,000.  Of  this, 
^22,000,000  went  for  improving  the  lines  open  for  traffic  ; 
.6 1 2,000,000  for  additional  rolling  stock ;  and  the  remaining 
,£26,000,000  in  constructing  new  lines,  and  in  other  objects 
which  demanded  the  expenditure. 

The  period  we  have  referred  to  was,  no  doubt,  exceptional, 
and  the  rate  of  expenditure  of  capital  has  since  diminished  ; 
but  it  still  continues,  and  on  an  enormous  scale.  During  the 
period  extending  from  1 871  to  188 1,  the  amount  actually  raised 
and  expended  by  the  London  and  North  Western  Company  for 
additional  accommodation,  additional  rolling   stock,  new  lines, 


CONSOLIDATED    STOCKS.  471 

•docks,  and  steamboats,  has,  in  the  ten  years,  been  twenty 
millions.  So  with  other  railways.  "  We  find,"  wrote  a  high 
authority  on  this  subject,  "  that  notwithstanding  an  outlay  by 
railway  directors  of  about  twelve  millions  in  the  year,  the  esti- 
mates which  appeared  at  the  beginning  of  1881  had  to  be 
exceeded.  In  other  words,  the  amount  wanted  at  the  com- 
mencement of  last  year  was  under-estimated  by  about  seventeen 
millions." 

In  the  face  of  these  facts  it  is  idle  to  talk  about  the  closing 
of  railway  capital  accounts  :  the  crucial,  the  only  question  is,  not 
whether  the  expenditure  of  capital  has  gone  on,  and  will  go  on, 
but  how  is  it  being  spent  ?  If  to  attempt  to  close  the  capital 
account  would  be  to  try  to  fossilize  the  railway  system  and  the 
commercial  life  of  the  kingdom,  we  may,  on  the  other  hand, 
find  consolation  if  it  can  be  affirmed  that  the  large  expenditure 
during  the  last  ten  years  has  yielded  as  good  a  return  to  the 
companies  as  on  their  old  capital.  And  this,  we  think,  may  be 
granted  ;  while  it  is  unquestionable  that  to  the  community  at 
large  the  increased  accommodation  has  been  an  immeasurable 
boon. 

An  important  financial  change  has,  during  late  years,  been 
made  by  the  consolidation  of  the  guaranteed  and  preference 
stocks  of  several  of  our  principal  railway  companies,  and  the 
result  has  proved  of  great  advantage  to  the  companies  and  to 
the  holders  of  their  stocks.  In  1878  the  London  and  North- 
Western  Railway  consolidated  about  fifty  such  stocks,  of  which 
the  face  or  nominal  value  of  the  stocks  amounted  to  as  much  as 
^94,000,000,  exceeding  that  of  any  other  corporation  or  joint- 
stock  undertaking.  The  market  value,  as  compared  with  the 
face  value,  was,  however,  much  higher  :  the  .£94,000,000  being 
worth  the  enormous  sum  of  more  than  ,£130,000,000,  the  excess 
being  an  actual  aggregate  premium. 

Nor  let  it  be  forgotten  that  if  the  benefits  conferred  by  rail- 
ways have  been  vast — enriching  every  class  of  the  community 
and  making  the  trade  of  England  the  wonder  and  admiration 
of  the  world — the  share  of  profit  which  railways  generally  have 
been  permitted  to  appropriate  is  sufficiently  modest ;  the  capital 
expended  having  brought  back  to  its  owners  only  a  little  more 
interest  than  might  have  been  obtained  had  the  money  been 
invested  in  consols. 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


1  luring  the  List  year  a  dividend  of  less  than  i   per  cent,  has 
been  paid   on   railway  capital  in  England   and   Wales  to   the 

amount  oi  .{'^o^.SSo  ; 


£ 


Exceeding    i    and  not  exceeding1   2 


5  >>  >• 

»           4  »  „ 

»>            5  >,  >> 

6 

»           /  >•  „ 

"  °  >>  >> 

,»  9  >>  ,, 

IO 

and  i6|  per  cent,  on  the  £1, 110,000  capital  of  the  Taff  Vale. 

Some  of  the  principal  data  touching  the  mileage,  the  capital, 
and  the  profits  of  the  railways  of  the  United  Kingdom  may 
here  be  given  : — 


2    per 

cent.,  on 

12,876,256 

0 

j 

>              ,> 

5,042,765 

4 

»              >, 

6,727,385 

5 

>              ,, 

26,095,785 

6 

»              >> 

76,851,776 

7 

>              >> 

3,086,875 

8 

>              ,, 

58,932,125 

9 

>              ,, 

285,000 

10 

»              >> 

477,326 

1 1 

>>              ,» 

1,036,272 

13 

,              ), 

30,000 

Length  of  line  open  for  traffic 

.Miles. 

Number  of  passen 

jers  besides 

at  the  end  of  each  year. 

season-ticket  holders. 

1854  •           • 

8,053     • 

I  I  1 ,  1 80, 

[65 

1864  . 

12,789     . 

229,272, 

[65 

1874  .          .           . 

16,449     • 

477,840,411 

1881    . 

18,175      • 

623,047,787 

Capital  authorized. 

£ 

1854 

368,384,308 

1864 

520,522,334 

1874 

704,338,299 

1881 

• 

831,125,312 

Receipts. 

£ 

per  cent. 

From  passenger  traffic 

1854     • 

10,244,954  . 

50-68 

From  goods             „ 

>, 

9,97o,77o   • 

49-32 

From  passenger      „ 

1864    . 

15,684,040    . 

46-11 

From  goods             ,, 

,, 

18,331,524  . 

53-89 

From  passenger      ,, 

1874    . 

24,893,615    . 

42-OI 

From  goods             „ 

,, 

32,005,883   . 

84-01 

From  passenger      ,, 

1881     . 

27,461,645    . 

40-26 

From  goods             ,, 

,, 

36,446,592   . 

5476 

STATE    PURCHASE    OF    RAILWAYS.  473 

We  may  add  that  probably  the  most  profitable  line  in  the 
world  is  the  Marine  Railway  in  Coney  Island,  the  favourite 
suburban  summer  resort  of  New  York.  It  is  2,000  feet  in 
length,  has  two  engines  and  four  cars.  It  cost,  including  sta- 
tions, 27,000  dollars,  and  it  paid  for  itself  a  few  weeks  after  it 
was  opened.  The  expenses  are  said  to  be  50  dollars,  and  the 
average  receipts  450  dollars  a  day.  "The  property  paid  a  profit 
last  year  of  500  dollars  per  cent,  on  its  cost." 

We  may  now  turn  to  a  subject  of  great  national  moment — the 
proposal  that  there  should  be  a  transference  of  all  railway  pro- 
perty and  administration  from  the  present  owners  to  the  nation 
itself.  The  subject  is  one  of  the  gravest  importance.  It  is  not 
one  only  for  statesmen,  or  shareholders,  or  speculators — not  one 
of  merely  theoretical  interest  or  party  politics.  Every  man  who 
travels  or  who  trades,  every  one  who  deals  in  or  consumes  the 
product  of  the  manufactory  or  the  soil  or  the  sea,  would  be 
immediately  affected,  in  every  transaction  of  life,  by  the  wise  or 
the  unwise  solution  of  this  problem.  A  property  of  almost  in- 
calculable value  ;  interests,  private  and  public,  of  the  greatest 
magnitude  and  complexity,  are  directly  involved.  The  rights 
of  more  than  three  hundred  railway  companies,  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  shareholders,  who  employ  some  400,000  officers  and 
servants,  and  who  receive  a  revenue  of  more  than  £60,000,000 — 
all  these  claims  would  have  to  be  adjusted  before  this  vast  and 
now  divided  property  could  be  consolidated  into  one  undertaking, 
and  placed  under  the  management  and  guarantee  of  the  State. 

Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  consider  the  svfo'}Qct  financially . 

The  staple  argument  for  the  ownership  of  the  railways  by  the 
State  may  be  put  thus  : — "  Government  credit  is  better  than 
private  credit.  Railways  yield  an  average  profit  of  about  4  per 
cent,  per  annum.  Buy  them  up  with  money  borrowed  at  about 
3  per  cent,  and  there  will  be  a  clear  gain  of  1  per  cent,  per 
annum  on  the  transaction." 

This  estimate  appears  simple  and  satisfactory.  But,  in 
making  it,  some  considerations  have  been  overlooked  and  some 
facts  have  been  ignored  which  would  inevitably  disturb  the 
accuracy  of  the  calculation.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  subject 
engages  the  attention  of  the  Cabinet,  that  a  Bill  is  laid  before 
Parliament,  and  that  in  due  course  it  becomes  the  law  of  the 
land.     Now  what  are  the  principles  and  methods  on  which  the 


1-74  OUR    [RON    roads. 

Government  could  equitably  deal  with  the  several  kinds  of 
property  which  constitute  what  is  commonly  described  as  the 
capita]  o(  a  railway  company?  There  is,  for  instance,  the 
debenture  stock,  bearing  interest  on  a  good  line  at  nearly  4 
per  cent.,  and  worth  rather  more  than  £100.  At  the  present 
moment  the  holder  of  such  stock  has  a  perpetual  guaranteed 
dividend  ;  and  if  the  State  took  possession  of  this  property  by 
compulsory  purchase,  a  smaller  amount  of  interest  could  not  be 
offered  to  the  owner  than  that  which  he  has  been  accustomed  to 
receive.  But,  if  so,  a  Government  guaranteed  debenture  stock, 
at  4  per  cent.,  would  be  worth  more  than  par,  if  three  per  cent. 
consols  arc,  say,  at  100;  in  other  words,  a  bonus  would  have 
to  be  given  to  debenture  stock  holders,  to  the  detriment  of  all 
other  creditors  of  the  Crown.  Meanwhile,  the  theory  with  which 
we  started — that  Government  could  borrow  at  about  3  per  cent. 
— would  have  been  compromised.  How,  too,  we  may  inquire, 
Mould  the  Treasury  provide  a  fair  adjustment,  under  a  com- 
pulsory scheme,  for  between  thirty  and  forty  different  debenture 
stocks,  which  stand  at  different  values  in  the  market  ?  Or  would 
all  stocks  bearing  the  same  interest  be  lumped  together  at  the 
same  price,  the  poorest  properties  being  levelled  up  to  the  value 
of  the  richest  ? 

When  these  difficulties  had  been  overcome,  would  not  others 
of  a  similar  nature  arise  with  regard  to  preference  stocks  ?  Of 
such  stocks  there  are  many  kinds,  some  of  them  bearing  a 
dividend  contingent  on  the  profits  of  the  current  year,  others 
of  which  are  free  from  this  restriction  ;  and  others  again  are, 
at  certain  specified  periods,  convertible  into  the  ordinary  stock 
of  the  particular  company — stock  which  may  at  the  present 
moment  be  at  a  premium,  at  par,  or  at  a  discount.  All  these 
may  have  the  one  general  designation  of  "preference  stock," 
but  they  are  very  various  in  their  real  and  relative  values.  A 
preference  stock  is  merely  one  that  is  to  be  "preferred"  to  the 
ordinary  ;  unless,  therefore,  a  line  is  worked  at  a  profit,  its  pre- 
ference and  its  ordinary  stock  may,  for  the  time  being,  be,  in 
theory,  valueless  ;  and  the  precise  degree  of  probability  that  the 
profits  of  a  railway  will  yield  enough  to  pay  interest  on  the 
preference  capital,  is  the  measure  of  the  market  value  of  that 
-stock.  All  these  various  degrees  of  probability  would  have  to 
be   considered,  in  order  to  estimate  the  values  of  the  different 


STATE    PURCHASE    OF    RAILWAYS.  475 

preference  stocks  of  different  companies,  before  the  claims   of 
the  owners  of  such  properties  could  be  equitably  discharged. 

But  suppose  that  some  principle  were  discovered  by  which 
these  discrepancies  were  adjusted,  by  which  the  diversified 
claims  of  debenture  holders,  preference  shareholders,  and 
holders  of  fixed  rents  were  satisfied,  and  by  which  the  British 
public — who  would  have  to  pay  the  bill — was  fairly  dealt  with  ; 
how  shall  the  demands  of  the  ordinary  shareholder  be  met  ? 
Would  it  be  enough  to  pay  him  the  present  market  price  of 
his  shares,  or  their  average  worth  during  the  last  few  years  ? 
No  ;  because  the  value  of  railway  property  is  increasing.  "  For 
the  last  ten  years,"  said  Mr.  Dudley  Baxter,  some  years  ago, 
"  there  has  been  an  annual  increase  of  the  gross  profit  of  the 
railways  of  ^2,000,000  sterling  ;  and  during  the  last  five  years 
there  has  been  an  increase  of  ,£1,300,000  a  year  in  the  net 
receipts."  "  Railways,"  remarks  Captain,  now  Sir  H.  W.  Tyler, 
"  are  an  improving  property."  But,  if  so,  it  would  not  be 
enough  for  the  State  to  offer  the  shareholder  the  mere  present 
market  price  of  his  shares.  If  the  sale  of  his  property  were 
optional,  the  price  of  the  day  would  be  enough  ;  but  what  if  he 
does  not  want  to  dispose  of  his  property ;  what  if,  with  the 
prospects  that  lie  before  him,  he  prefers  to  retain  it,  on  what 
terms  shall  he  be  compelled  to  part  with  it,  and  to  part  with  it 
confessedly  for  the  good  of  other  people  ?  Many  a  shareholder 
might  honestly  say  :  I  did  not  buy  these  shares,  nor  have  I 
held  them,  nor  do  I  keep  them,  for  the  interest  they  yield  ;  but 
because  I  have  reasonable  ground  to  anticipate  that  since  the 
construction  of  railways  is  limited,  and  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation is  unlimited,  traffic  will  augment,  and  the  profits  of 
conducting  that  traffic  will  also  augment.  Who,  for  instance, 
would  give  ,£"28  for  a  London,  Chatham,  and  Dover  share — a 
share  that  pays  no  interest,  that  has  not  paid  interest  for  years, 
and  that  may  be  many  years  before  it  pays  5  per  cent. — except 
because  he  is  satisfied  that  that  share  will  hereafter  rise  in  value, 
and  that  then  he  will  receive  the  reward  of  his  patience  ?  Was 
it  not  with  the  same  anticipation — not  of  actual  results,  but  of 
prospective  profits — that  a  few  years  since  North  British  stock, 
when  it  paid  a  dividend  of  only  12s.  6d.  per  ,£100  share,  was 
worth  £62  ?  And  even  the  best  shares  in  the  railway  market 
are  largely  held,  not  simply  for  their  present  value  ;  but  because 


OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

h   the)    are  costly  to  purchase  to-day,  they  may  be  yet 
more  valuable  hereafter. 

the  State,  the  re  lore,  to  tell  the  owner  of  such  a  property 
that  he  shall  be  compelled  to  surrender  it  to  the  public  for  the 
good  of  the  public,  at  a  price  that  does  not  take  a  full  account 
o\  the  future  improvement  for  the  sake  of  which  he  has  been 
content  with  small  interest  or  with  no  interest  on  his  outlay, 
i  lie  an  injustice  so  palpable  that  no  English  Government 
would  propose  it,  and  no  class  of  English  people  would  sanction 
it.  "  Better  far  if  the  railways  were  paid  for  as  the  telegraphs 
were  paid  for,"  says  a  writer,  "than  incur  the  social  dangers 
which  confiscation  would  involve."  But,  if  prospective  advan- 
tages are  to  be  discounted,  then  an  amount  will  have  to  be  paid 
to  the  present  owners  of  the  railways  of  this  country  greatly  in 
excess  of  the  market  price  of  the  day  ;  and  what  with  a  clumsy 
liner,  with  a  stupendous  transaction,  with  forced  sales,  with 
the  payment  of  cash  or  its  equivalent  for  future  and  contingent 
profits,  the  account  that  would  have  to  be  discharged  would 
probably  exceed  the  anticipations  of  the  boldest  financier. 

Some  of  these  considerations  came  under  the  notice  of  the 
Joint  Committee,  and  the  Earl  of  Derby  questioned  Captain 
J  I.  W.  Tyler,  R.E.,  Inspecting  Officer  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
with  regard  to  them.  Assuming,  at  that  time,  that  the  pur- 
chase money  would  amount  to  only  some  ^500,000,000,  the 
carl  asked  Captain  Tyler  if  he  thought  that  those  who  had 
previously  been  receiving  an  average  return  of  4  or  4!  per  cent, 
would  accept  a  Government  3  per  cent,  stock  in  lieu  thereof. 
"  No,"  replied  Captain  Tyler,  "  I  should  not  offer  such  terms." 
"  Then,"  said  the  carl,  "  you  would  offer  them  a  larger  nominal 
stock  than  the  amount  of  their  present  capital  ? "  To  this 
question  Captain  Tyler  replied  that  he  thought  it  might  be 
undesirable  to  give  "in  public"  a  reply.  But,  to  the  further 
inquiry,  whether  in  his  judgment  it  would  be  possible  "to  sub- 
stitute for  the  present  railway  stock,  yielding  an  average  of  4^ 
per  cent.,  a  Government  stock  to  the  same  amount,  yielding 
only  3 4  per  cent.,"  Captain  Tyler  answered  that  it  did  seem 
"  an  enormous  operation,  no  doubt ;  "  but  he  appeared  to  find 
relief  from  the  difficulty  in  the  consideration  that  "when  you 
come  to  look  at  it,  you  are  only  substituting  one  for  another. 
You  are  only  giving  a  man  Government  paper  instead  of  com- 


STATE    PURCHASE    OF    RAILWAYS.  477 

pany's  paper  for  his  holding  in  a  particular  railway."  "  Exactly," 
rejoined  the  earl ;  "but  you  are  giving  him  3 J  per  cent,  instead 
of  4I  per  cent.  ;  and  the  success  of  your  operation,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  depends  upon  his  being  willing  to  accept  that  change  ?  " 
To  which  Captain  Tyler  assented  so  far  as  to  say  :  "  You  must 
certainly  not  give  him  less  than  he  is  receiving  at  present.  He 
would  not  take  it,  and  it  would  not  be  fair  to  offer  it  to  him." 

Such  are  some  of  the  preliminary  financial    problems    that 
have    to  be  considered    before  any  action   with  regard    to    the 
purchase  of  railways  could  be  contemplated  ;  and  by  the  time 
they  had  been  equitably  adjusted,  the  amount  of  the  cost  of 
the  undertaking  will  be  seen  to  have  largely  increased.     If  Sir 
R.  Blennerhassett,  in  urging  upon  Parliament  the  adoption  of 
the   Irish  railways,  computed  their  value  at  twenty-two  years' 
purchase,  or  £22,963,270,  which  he  said  was  "  an  extravagant 
estimate,"    and    yet    candidly    allowed    that  (with    a    couple  of 
millions  more  to  provide  for  re-stocking  the  lines,  and  for  re- 
pairs) "  the  whole  thing  "  would  cost  the  country  £30,000,000  ; 
if  the  Marquis  of  Clanricarde  thought  it  worth  while  to  make  a 
formal  application  to  the  holders  of  Irish  railway  stock,  whether 
they  would  be  content  to  part  with  their  property  at   an  ad- 
vance of  25   per  cent,  upon  its   present  market  value  ;   if  "the 
best  authorities  calculated   that   it   would  take  something  like 
£40,000,000,  if  not  more,  to  buy  the  Irish  lines  ;  "  then  we  leave 
the  reader  to  estimate  what  would  be  the  sum  required  to  pur- 
chase  on  similar  terms   the  railway  property  of  the  kingdom. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  Mr.  Horatio  Lloyd,  more  than  ten  years 
ago,  estimated  the  cost  of  the  purchase  of  such  a  property  at 
not  less  than  £800,000,000  ;    that  Mr.  Newmarch,  the    banker, 
believed  it  would  reach  £1,000,000,000  ;  and  that  Mr.  Allport 
did  not  consider  that  it  could  be  obtained  for  even  that  amount. 
The  fact  is,  as  the   Times  said,   "  We  do  not  know  within  some 
hundreds  of  millions  what  the  actual  price  might  be ; "  and  the 
Daily   News  truly  remarked  that    "  the  magnitude  of  such    a 
measure  might  well  stagger  the  boldest  financier.     The  cost,  we 
believe,  would  not  be  far  short  of  a  thousand  millions  sterling, 
and  the  raising  and  payment  of  so  vast  a  sum,  though  it  would 
be  substantially  a  conversion  of  railway  securities  into  Govern- 
ment debt,  would  almost  convulse  Lombard  Street,  and  would 
certainly  require  no  little  delicacy  of  management."     All    this 


4.78  I  'I  R    tRl  >N    R<  IADS. 

was  said  when  (in  1 87 1 )  the  total  capital  paid  up  on  the  railways 
of  the  United   Kingdom  was  £552,661,551  ;  this  has  since  in- 
ed  (in  [881)  to  £745,528,162  ;  and  the  market  value  of  our 
railways  was  said  by  Mr.  Moon,  Chairman  o\'  the  London  and 
North  Western  Company,  in   November,  [882,  to  be  a  thousand 
:.<  sterli 
The  stupendous  proportions  of  these  financial  problems  appear 
times  to  have  staggered  even  so  courageous  a  gentleman 
iptain  Tyler.     When  pressed  by  the  Joint  Committee  with 
of  the  "difficulties  and  disturbances"  that  would  arise,  he 
1  that,  instead  of  the  State  by  one  supreme  effort  acquiring 
the  ownership  of  the  plant  and  powers  of  the  railways  of  the 
1,    the   work    might    be    undertaken    piecemeal.*      The 
property  of  one  company  might,  in  the  first  instance,  be  pur- 
chased ;    and   when    the   adjacent   lines  had  begun  to  feel  "all 
the  disadvantage  of  competing  with  the  Government,"  the  State 
might  proceed  to  buy  up  other  lines  "one  line  after  another." 
But,  "  do  you  think  it  would  be  possible,"  inquired  Mr.  Hunt, 
41  or  do  you   think   it  would  be  allowed,  that   the  Government 
should  purchase  a  line  running  parallel  with  another  line  still 
left    in    the    hands  of  a  company?"     "Yes,"    replied   Captain 
Tyler  ;  "  I  think  if  the  Government  makes  terms  with  one  com- 
pany and  buys  it  up  ;  if  another  company  felt  itself  aggrieved, 
it  would  come  forward  and  say,  '  You  are  going  to  do  us    an 
injury;'  and   then   the    Government  might  reply,  'Very  well, 
if  you  think  so,  we  are  ready  to  buy  you  also  on  fair  terms.'" 
"  Supposing,"  said   Mr.  Hunt,    "  that  the  State  purchased  the 
Midland  and  worked  it  for  some  years,  would  not  that  have  the 
effect  of  depreciating  the  property  of  the  London  and  North 
Western  ?  "     "Not,"  replied  Captain  Tyler,  "unless  they  worked 
it  at  reduced  rates  and  fares,  so  as  to  oblige  the  other  company 
to  reduce  their  rates  and    fares  in  proportion."     "  Supposing," 
inquired  Mr.  Hunt,  "that  the  State  undertook  the  working  of  a 
railway,  there  would  immediately  be  a  demand  on  the  part  of 
the  country  that  it  should  be  worked  to  the  advantage  of  the 

*  Sir  H.  \V.  Tyler's  piecemeal  plan  reminds  us  of  the  gamekeeper  who, 
wishing  to  reduce  the  proportions  of  his  dog's  tail,  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  so  severe  an  operation  ought  not  to  be  performed  all  at  once  ;  and 
accordingly  decided  to  get  over  the  difficulty  by  what  he  considered  the 
more  humane  method  of  cutting  the  tail  off—  a  joint  at  a  time  / 


STATE    PURCHASE    OF    RAILWAYS.  479 

public,  and  not  to  the  profit  of  the  Government  or  the  State  ; 
would  there  not  ? "  "  Yes,"  said  Captain  Tyler,  "  clearly  that 
would  be  the  only  object  of  the  Government  taking  the  rail- 
ways." "Then,"  continued  Mr.  Hunt,  "there  would  necessarily 
almost  be  a  reduction  in  the  rates  and  fares  on  the  part  of  the 
Government?"  "Yes;  that  would  be  so."  "If  that  were  so, 
the  property  of  a  competing  company  would  be  depreciated  ?  "' 
"  Clearly,"  returned  Captain  Tyler.  "Would  it  not  be  unfair  to 
allow  the  Government  to  purchase  that  competing  line,  and  to 
depreciate  by  means  of  its  operations  the  property  of  the  other 
company,  and  then  to  purchase  it  when  they  had  depreciated 
it?"  "  I  think,"  said  Captain  Tyler,  "that  it  would  be  an  unfair 
course  for  the  Government  to  pursue,  unquestionably,  to  go  and 
buy  up  one  line  for  the  purpose  of  competing  with  others  and 
bringing  the  price  of  their  property  down  ;  but  I  do  not  think 
it  would  be  unfair  if  it  were  done  in  a  proper  way,  and  if  the 
Government  were  to  offer  both  competing  lines  fair  terms,  and 
then  to  say,  '  Well,  if  you  will  not  accept  fair  terms,  we  will  buy 
up  only  one  line  instead  of  both,  and  you  must  take  the  result.' " 
We  must  leave  Captain  Tyler  to  resolve  the  interesting  problem 
of  how  what  he  admits  to  be  "  unquestionably "  an  "  unfair 
course,"  would  be  made  quite  fair  "  if  it  were  done  in  a  proper 


way 


/" 


We  have  thus  far  been  considering  the  terms  on  which  we 
have  supposed  that  a  bargain  might  be  made  between  the 
Crown  and  the  present  owners  of  railway  property.  But  there 
is  another  person,  whose  presence  we  have  hitherto  ignored, 
who  would  watch  with  eager  interest  every  step  in  these  pro- 
ceedings, who  would  even  anticipate  every  turn  of  events,  and 
who,  with  astute  calculation,  adroit  manipulation,  and  daring 
enterprise,  would  endeavour  to  turn  every  incident  to  the  fur- 
therance of  his  private  advantage.  We  refer  to  the  speculator. 
There  is  not  a  circumstance,  from  the  first  rumour  of  the  in- 
tention of  the  Government  down  to  the  payment  of  the  last 
pound  to  the  last  shareholder,  in  which,  regardless  of  every 
interest  but  his  own,  he  would  not  concern  himself.  Tens  of 
thousands,  too,  who  had  never  speculated  before,  would  rush  in 
to  gamble  for  a  part  of  the  stupendous  pri/x.  No  sooner  was 
the  earliest  whisper  heard  that  the  State  would  perhaps  purchase 
the  telegraph  companies,  than  the  shares  rose  enormously  in 


480  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

:  and  mere  priority  o[~  information,   with   regard  to   the 

of  the  negotiations,  enabled  men  who  previously  never 
held  a  share,  to  make  vast  fortunes  in  a  few  weeks.*  If,  not 
long  ago,  a  forged  telegram,  that  the  Sheffield  Company  was 
about  to  he  absorbed  into  the  Midland,  led,  in  a  few  hours,  to 
speculation  in  Sheffield  stock  to  the  extent  of  millions  sterling, 
what  would  be  the  condition  of  the  Stock  Exchange  when  a 
thousand  millions  of  money  had  become  the  football  of  gam- 
blers ?  Is  it,  also,  too  much  to  say  that  at  such  a  time,  a  little 
earlier  private  intelligence  with  regard  to  the  development  of 
affairs  might  be  worth  to  the  fortunate  receiver  of  it — millions  ! 
Every  change  in  that  scries  of  events  would  be  discounted  and 
speculated  about  on  every  Stock  Exchange  in  England,  and 
perhaps  in  the  world.  Property  of  enormous  value  would 
change  hands.  Capital  to  a  yet  more  enormous  sum  wrould 
have  to  be  created,  or  liabilities  to  a  like  amount  would  have 
to  be  incurred  ;  the  national  debt  of  this  country  would  stand  at 
not  less  than  .£2,000,000,000  sterling  ;  and  even  if,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  so  stupendous  a  transaction,  every  official  were  incor- 
ruptible in  integrity,  and  inviolable  in  secrecy,  nobody  w'ould 
believe  it.  The  moral  sense  of  the  community  would  receive  a 
shock  from  which  it  might  never  recover. 

Let  us  imagine,  however,  that,  as  by  the  stroke  of  an  en- 
chanter's wand,  all  these  difficulties  are  overcome.  The  bill, 
whatever  it  may  be,  is  paid,  and  the  State  has  possession  of  all 
the  railways  in  the  land.  But  if  the  Government  is  for  the 
future  to  regulate  the  traffic  of  the  country,  would  it  be  able  to 
do  this  unless  it  controlled  not  only  the  railroads  but  the  other 
great  highways  of  the  nation's  commerce  ?  When  the  Govern- 
ment undertook  the  charge  of  either  the  postal  or  the  telegraphic 

*  Startling  facts  bearing  on  this  subject  have  transpired,  at  which  Mr. 
Allport  hinted  in  a  speech  before  the  Statistical  Society.  "  What,"  he 
asked,  "  did  the  Government  do  in  the  case  of  the  telegraphs  ?  They  gave 
thirty  years'  purchase  on  the  enhanced  price  of  a  property  which  the  sellers 
had  not  in  their  possession.  In  the  case  of  the  Midland  Company,  for 
instance,  the  greater  part  of  the  wires  and  instruments  belonged  to  the 
Company,  which  had  an  agreement  with  the  Electric  Telegraph  Company 
expiring  about  the  end  of  1873  or  the  beginning  of  1874.  The  Government 
gave  the  Telegraph  Company  thirty  years'  purchase  ;  but  the  Government 
has  yet  to  buy  what  belongs  to  the  Midland  Company,  and  an  arbitration 
is  to  the  amount  to  be  paid  is  now  pending." 


STATE    PURCHASE    OF    RAILWAYS.  48 1 

business,  it  insisted  on  a  monopoly  :  would  it  be  possible  to 
conduct  public  traffic  in  some  directions  without  doing  so  in  all 
directions — to  control  it  in  some  ways  without  doing  it  in  every 
way  ?  There  are  great  navigations  that  are  worked  in  daily 
and  direct  connection  or  competition  with  the  railroads  :  could 
any  uniformity  of  system  be  devised  on  the  land,  if  the  condi- 
tions were  constantly  liable  to  be  disturbed  by  the  traffic  on  the 
water?  In  fact,  would  it  not  be  inevitable  that,  if  the  Govern- 
ment took  into  its  hands  what  Sir  R.  Blennerhassett  calls  "the 
great  iron  highway  of  modern  civilization,"  it  must  also  have 
possession  of  those  great  water  highways  which  intersect  these 
islands  and  wash  their  shores  ? 

To  this  subject  the  attention  of  the  Joint  Committee  was 
directed  ;  and  this  problem  was  presented  for  the  solution  of  a 
witness  who  may  be  presumed  to  be  well  qualified  to  deal  with 
it,  and  who  answered  the  questions  proposed  to  him  with,  on 
the  whole,  a  commendable  consistency.  Sir  William  Wright, 
chairman  of  the  Hull  Docks  Company,  admitted  that  the  canals 
belonging  to  the  railway  companies  should  also  be  purchased  by 
the  State.  But,  it  was  asked,  if  the  proprietors  of  other  canals 
wished  to  dispose  of  their  property  to  the  Government,  or  if  it 
were  thought  necessary,  in  order  to  regulate  traffic  rates,  that 
control  should  be  obtained  over  those  navigations,  should  they 
not  be  purchased  by  the  State  ?  And  Sir  William  gave  an 
affirmative  reply.  But  if  the  Government  went  thus  far,  must 
it  not  go  farther  ?  Mr.  Childers  pressed  these  inquiries,  and 
obtained  answers  which  indicate  the  goal  to  which  State  control 
of  railways  appears  logically  and  inevitably  to  conduct.  "  Sup- 
pose," he  said,  "  that  railways  and  canals  were  placed  under  the 
Crown,  ought  not  the  docks — which  are  intimately  connected 
with  railways — to  be  similarly  dealt  with?"  and  the  case  of 
Hull,  with  which  Sir  William  was  connected,  was  cited.  "  I 
should,"  he  replied,  "  have  no  objection  whatever."  "  You  are 
aware/'  continued  Mr.  Childers,  "  that  some  railways  have  also 
lines  of  steamers  ;  should  those  steamers  be  purchased  by  the 
Government  ?  "  "  I  think,"  was  the  answer,  "  if  they  belong 
to  the  lines  of  railway  they  must  follow  ;  "  and  eventually  he 
admitted  that  the  docks  at  Fleetwood,  Liverpool,  and  even 
London,  must  be  included  in  the  same  category,  and  be  pur- 
chased and  amalgamated  under  Government  control,  along  with 

I  1 


482  OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

the  carrying  trade  and  agencies  connected  therewith.     But  if 

railways  are  to  be  appropriated  by  the  State,  ought  not  the 
tramways  and  the  small-gauge  lines  that  have  been  contemplated, 
and  the  omnibuses,  to  be  placed  under  the  same  control  ?  "  I 
do  not  know,"  said  Sir  William,  deprccatorily,  "that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  go  down  so  low  as  that  ;  but  if  you  could  not  get  omni- 
buses, you  would  have  to  provide  them  at  the  cost  of  the  State." 
"  You  think  it  would  be  a  public  convenience  that  the  omnibus 
system,  the  cartage  system,  the  tramway  system,  and  other  pro- 
posed cheap  systems  of  communication  also,  should  all  come 
under  the  control  of  the  State  ?  "  And  the  emphatic  answer 
was,  "  I  do,  decidedly."  Broadly,  he  expressed  his  belief  that 
"  the  carrying  trade  generally  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
Government ;  "  and  with  some  qualification,  he  added,  "  both  by 
land  and  by  sea."  He  was  asked  whether  "  all  the  internal  carry- 
ing trade,  and  all  the  foreign  carrying  trade,  which  either  is  in 
connection  with  railway  companies,  or  which  would  not  be 
established  by  private  enterprise  without  that  connection,  should 
be  in  the  hands  of  the  State ; "  and  his  answer  was  "  Yes." 
Under  favourable  circumstances  he  saw  no  objection  to  the 
State  being  the  owner  both  of  the  home  and  of  the  foreign 
steam  carrying  trade  ;  for,  he  added,  "  wherever  the  steamers 
which  are  absolutely  required  for  the  conveyance  of  traffic  are 
not  already  in  existence,  I  think  the  State  ought  to  have  the 
alternative  of  placing  them  there." 

The  consistency  of  Sir  William's  position  we  do  not  deny ; 
but  our  readers  will  admit  that  by  the  time  the  State  had 
undertaken  these  responsibilities — railways,  tramways,  canals, 
docks,  home  and  foreign  steam  carrying  trade — or  even  any 
considerable  part  of  them,  the  estimate  of  the  capital  that  had 
to  be  paid  by  the  State  for  their  purchase  would  have  passed  out 
of  the  region  of  arithmetic  into  that  of  imagination. 

Having  dealt  with  the  subject  in  some  of  its  financial  bear- 
ings, we  might,  in  the  second  place,  look  at  various  effects  that 
would  be  likely  to  jlozv  from  the  substitution  of  Governmental 
for  private  administration  ;  but  we  will  refer  to  only  one  or  two. 
Would  there  not,  as  Mr.  Hugh  Mason  suggests,  be  "  great 
danger  of  an  entire  absence  of  that  elasticity  which  characterizes 
the  present  management  of  railway  property  ?  In  other  words, 
before  the  public  could  get  relief  from  any  particular  grievance, 


STATE    PURCHASE    OF    RAILWAYS.  483 

there  would  have  to  be  unrolled  an  enormous  quantity  of  red 
tape.  There  would  be  the  laying  down  of  hard  and  fast  lines 
for  the  government  of  railways,  which  would  be  found  incom- 
patible with  the  ebbs  and  flows  of  railway  traffic."  Again, 
would  an  English  Government  be  willing,  after  all  ordinary 
questions  of  the  patronage  and  promotion  of  their  men  had  been 
determined,  to  come  into  contact  with  Trades'  Unions,  and  to 
deal  practically  with  the  constant  agitation  going  on  among  all 
classes  of  railway  servants  for  shorter  hours  of  duty  and  higher 
pay  ?  The  free  warehousing  of  goods,  clearing  and  shipping  at 
the  ports,  long  credits,  and  other  kindred  problems  would  have 
to  be  considered,  and  would  probably  end  in  the  withdrawal  of 
existing  facilities,  and  in  the  introduction  of  all  the  other  objec- 
tionable modes  of  dealing  with  goods  traffic  which  are  found  to 
prevail  in  France,  Belgium,  and  Germany.  Would  it,  too,  be  pru- 
dent "  to  allow  a  system  of  private  lines  to  grow  up  that  might 
form  a  nucleus  of  larger  undertakings  which  must  either  enter 
into  competition  with  State  railways,  or  be  bought  up  hereafter  ? 
There  is  more  than  one  instance  on  record  of  a  combination  of 
colliery  owners  constructing  railways  and  docks  in  competition 
with  existing  lines,  and  doing  it  successfully.  Would  this  be 
allowed  or  not  ? "  These  and  many  other  problems  would  have 
to  be  solved  before  it  could  be  shown  to  be  advantageous  for 
the  State  to  undertake  the  administration  of  our  railways. 

But  thirdly,  we  may  refer  to  the  bearings  of  this  subject 
politically. 

We  will  take,  for  example,  the  proposal  to  purchase  the  rail- 
ways of  Ireland,  and  that  the  Government  had  consented.  Sup- 
pose that  the  State  had  become  the  common  carrier  of  that 
country  ;  and  that  it  was  now  the  largest  employer  of  labour  in 
Ireland.  "  Does  anybody  believe,"  asked  the  Daily  News,  "  that 
it  would  be  good  either  for  Ireland  or  the  Government  that 
ministers  should  have  a  whole  army  of  railway  officials  in  their 
employment  ?  Again,  as  soon  as  it  had  assumed  the  manage- 
ment of  the  railways  of  Ireland,  the  Government  would  be 
regarded  as  responsible  for  the  prosperity  of  every  undertaking 
which  is  in  any  degree  dependent  on  railway  locomotion. 
Ireland  has  many  mines  and  other  undertakings,  the  success  of 
which  is  a  simple  question  of  carriage.  Imagine  a  Government 
being  told,  at  a  time  when  the  price  of  ore  or  any  other  produce 


484  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

falls  ill  the  market,  and  profits  arc  ready  to  vanish,  that  the 
alternative  of  the  continued  employment  or  discharge  of  bodies 
of  men  depends  on  its  resolution."  As  Sir  Francis  Goldsmid 
has  said,  "  the  lowering  of  the  rates  would  become  a  hustings 
cry." 

And  if  anything  like  this  were  true — and  true  it  would  be 
on  even  a  much  larger  scale  with  regard  to  the  railways  of  Eng 
land  and  Scotland — would  it  be  possible  to  administer  so  vas 
a  machinery  wit'nout  some  contingencies  arising  that  would 
affect  the  theory  and  practice  of  constitutional  government 
itself?  "  How  many  supply  nights,"  naively  inquired  Lord 
Redesdale,  "  do  you  suppose  would  be  required  for  railway 
business  ? "  And  would  there  be  no  danger  of  the  conduct  of 
the  traffic  and  trade  of  the  kingdom  being  affected  by  political 
and  party  influences  ?  If  a  certain  amount  of  political  pressure 
could  secure  to  a  population,  however  scanty,  and  to  a  region, 
however  barren,  the  enormous  benefits  of  railway  communication 
— the  sale  of  land  at  an  enhanced  price,  the  augmented  value  of 
every  building  and  every  acre  near  which  the  line  would  pass, 
the  vast  outlay  of  capital  in  the  construction  of  works,  the 
means  of  conveyance  of  agricultural  produce,  of  goods,  of 
minerals,  not  to  say  of  passengers — surely  every  part  of  the 
country  would  assert  its  claim,  and  would  press  that  claim  with 
an  importunity  and  persistency  which  it  might  be  hard,  or  even 
impossible,  to  resist. 

Similarly,  even  the  minor  matters  affecting  local  accommo- 
dation might  become  the  parents  of  political  agitation.  "  Every 
town  in  the  country,"  said  the  Earl  of  Derby  to  Captain  Tyler, 
"  would  come  to  the  Government  to  ask  a  favour,  which 
might  be  granted  or  refused  at  the  option  of  Government." 
Captain  Tyler,  shrinking  from  the  word  "  favour,"  replied  :  "  I 
do  not  think  they  would  ask  '  favours ' ;  but  the  department 
which  managed  the  railways  would  see  what  extensions  were 
required  from  time  to  time,  and  would  carry  them  on  as  a  matter 
of  necessity,  not  as  a  matter  of  favour."  "  But  I  presume,"  re- 
joined the  earl,  "  that  it  would  be  a  matter  of  '  disfavour '  if  the 
traffic  in  one  place  were  not  accommodated  as  well  as  in  another. 
You  cannot  lay  down  any  such  self-acting  rules  as  would  ex- 
clude the  discretion  of  the  executive."  "The  question  of  politi- 
cal pressure,"  Captain  Tyler  eventually  admitted,   "  is  perhaps 


STATE    PURCHASE    OF    RAILWAYS.  485 

the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of  State  purchase."  "  All 
Governments,"  Professor  Fawcett  has  said,  "  tried  to  strengthen 
their  position  by  patronage  ;  and  the  more  patronage  a  Govern- 
ment has  to  bestow,  the  more  will  pecuniary  and  political  cor- 
ruption flourish." 

With  sound  political  sagacity,  Mr.  Hugh  Mason,  President 
of  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce,  has  declared  that  he 
"  viewed  with  uneasiness  the  slightest  prospect  of  the  Government 
of  the  country  obtaining  the  vast  amount  of  political  power  and 
patronage  which  would  necessarily  follow  the  acquisition  of  rail- 
ways by  the  State."  Even  Mr.  Biddulph  Martin  allowed,  "  that 
the  habit  of  relying  on  co-operation  either  in  the  shape  of  limited 
partnership  or  Government  aid  is  a  most  enervating  and  perni- 
cious national  habit ; "  and  the  Times  declared  that  "  the  conse- 
quences of  placing  so  vast  an  amount  of  patronage  in  the 
hands  of  the  ministry  of  the  day  would  be  almost  incalculable." 

By  the  State-ownership  of  the  railways  every  tradesman  and 
every  traveller  would  be  brought,  in  all  his  transactions,  into 
what  Sir  Edward  Watkin  has  characterized  as  "  a  compulsory 
partnership  with  the  State.  Every  day  the  railway  service  is 
becoming  more  and  more  an  integral  portion  of  almost  every 
action  or  transaction  of  our  lives  ;  and  therefore  to  arm  the 
State  with  the  power  of  regulating  the  whole  movement  of  the 
population,  the  whole  carriage  of  goods,  and  all  the  varied 
transactions  which  railways  involve,  is  just  to  say  to  every  man 
who  is  a  manufacturer,  or  to  every  man  who  moves  about,  that 
he  must  from  that  day  forward  be  a  partner  with  the  State. 
What  is  the  State  ?  In  this  free  country  it  simply  means  the 
party  government  of  the  day  ;  and  the  moment  you  give  the 
control  of  this  vast  system  of  carrying  to  the  State,  you  prac- 
tically hand  over  the  management  of  railways  to  party  govern- 
ment." 

"It  had  been  held  in  Manchester  as  a  cardinal  principle," 
said  Mr.  Mitchell  Henry,  M.P.,  "that  the  prosperity  of  the 
country  must  depend  upon  individual  enterprise,  and  as  a 
Manchester  man  he  should  be  ashamed  if  it  were  possible  that 
they  should  desire  the  Government  to  acquire  the  railways,  in 
order  to  their  greater  success."  Similarly,  Mr.  Hugh  Mason 
thought  that  the  country  owed  an  immense  amount  of  its  pros- 
perity to  the  enterprise,  skill,  and  wisdom  with  which  our  great 


;So 


OUR    ikon    ROADS. 


railway  system  had  been  brought  to  its  present  state  of  per- 
fection  ;  and  he  was  very  much  afraid  that  if  railways  were 
thrown  into  the  hands  of  the  State,  "we  should  have  a  much 
worse  master  to  deal  with  than  with  a  board  of  directors."  Mr. 
Chadwick  also  declared  that  he  "dreaded  anything  in  the  shape 
of  Government  interference  with  the  industry  or  the  commercial 
operations  oC  this  country  ;  "  and  the  Times  deprecated  "  all  the 
portentous  mischiefs  of  commercial  enterprise  on  so  colossal 
a  scale  conducted  by  the  State." 

We  trust  that  "  our  transit  and  our  traffic,  like  our  liberties, 
will  remain  free  and  independent  of  Government  and  State  con- 
trol ;  that  this  nation  will  refuse  to  rest  on  the  rotten  support 
which  all  Government  assistance  to  commercial  undertakings  in 
reality  is  ; "  and  that,  like  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, we  shall  "view  with  disfavour,  both  on  economic  and 
political  grounds,  the  project  of  the  purchase  and  working  of 
railways  by  the  State."  "  It  is  the  business  of  a  Government," 
Mr.  Gladstone  has  said,  "not  to  trade,  but  to  govern." 


CHEE   VALE  TUNNELS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Continental  Railways.— Belgian  Railways.— Railways  in  France.— Railway 
up  Vesuvius.— Spanish  Railways.— Railways  in  India.— American  Rail- 
ways. 

OME  attention  might  now  be  given  to 
the  progress  of  railway  construction 
and  the  conduct  of  railway  adminis- 
tration in  other  lands ;  and  many  a 
strange  tale  and  many  a  startling  fact 
might  be  told  thereon.  A  k\v  brief 
glances  must,  however,  suffice. 

The  successful  results  of  railway 
locomotion  in  England  quickly  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  various  parts 
of  Europe.  Belgium  was  the  first  of 
the  continental  nations  to  avail  her- 
self of  the  new  agency.  Political,  as 
well  as  social  and  general  consider- 
ations, led  to  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  railways  in  which 
great  skill  in  design  and  energy  in  execution  were  developed. 

The  first  proposal  was  that  two  trunk  lines  should  be  made, 
which,  with  some  secondary  lines,  were  347  miles  in  length.  The 
project  was  at  once  adopted  by  the  legislature ;  the  necessary 
enactment  was  passed  on  the  1st  of  May,  1834;  and  it  was 
undertaken  as  a  national  work,  to  be  carried  on  under  national 
management. 

The  railways  of  France  may  be  regarded  as  national  enter- 
prises. Private  energy  and  resource  in  that  country  are  inferior 
to  those  of  England  ;  and  though  special  encouragements  were 
given  for  the  undertaking  of  railways  by  the  people,  they  were 
inadequate,  and  the  French  companies  stand  in  the  relation  of 
tenants  or  lessees  of  lines  which  the  State  principally  made. 


The  initial  letter  gives  a  view  of  part  of  the  Righi  railway. 

487 


488 


(Hi;    IRON    ROADS. 


Continental  railways  have  peculiarities  unknown  in  this 
country,  which  appear  strange,  and  are  sometimes  annoying,  to 
Mr.  Bull.  In  England,  the  traveller  goes  to  the  station  when 
he  pleases  ;  lounges  in  the  waiting-room,  cats  and  drinks  when 
he  pleases  ;  wanders  about  the  platform,  and  superintends  his 
luggage  as  he  pleases  ;  and,  in  fact,  so  long  as  he  docs  not 
interfere  with  the  convenience  of  other  people,  and  does  not  vio- 
late the  "  bye-laws  "  of  the  company,  he  may  do  what  he  likes. 
In  Fiance,  instead  of  the  traveller  managing  himself,  he  is 
managed.  On  procuring  his  ticket,  he  delivers  up  his  luggage, 
is  marched  into  a  waiting-room,  according  to  the  class  of  his 
fare  ;  as  if  the  company  were  afraid  that,  having  paid  his 
money,  he  should  not  have  his  ride.  When  the  train  is  ready, 
the  first-class  passengers  are  liberated,  and  every  one  scrambles 
to  his  seat  with  as  much  agility  as  circumstances  will  admit ; 
and  then  the  second-class  and  the  third  are  allowed  to  follow. 


THE  CARRIAGI". 


We  pass  by  those  modern  wonders  of  European  railways — the 
Righi  incline,  the  Mont  Cenis  and  St.  Gothard  tunnels  (to  which 
we  have  already  referred  at  length),  but  must  mention  the  rail- 
way up  Vesuvius.  At  the  foot  of  the  cone,  on  the  west  side  of 
the  mountain,  stands  the  new  station  of  the  railway,  which 
ascends  to  the  summit  of  the  old  crater.  The  constructors  of 
the  railway  have  adopted  the  American  double  iron  rope  system. 
There  are  two  lines  of  rails,  each  provided  with  a  carriage 
divided  into  two  compartments,  and  capable  of  holding  six  per- 
sons. While  one  carriage  goes  up  the  other  comes  down,  thus 
economizing  the  steam  of  the  stationary  traction  engine.  The 
incline  is  extremely  steep,  commencing  at  40  degrees,  increasing 
to  63   degrees,  and  continuing  at   50  degrees  to  the   summit. 


THE    RAILWAY    UP    VESUVIUS. 


4§9 


The  railway  is  protected  against  possible  flows  of  lava  by  an 
enormous  wall.  The  ascent  occupies  seven  or  eight  minutes. 
A  supply  of  water  is  preserved  in  large  covered  cisterns,  which 
in  winter  are  filled  with  the  snow  that  often  falls  heavily  on 
Vesuvius.  A  writer  says  that  at  every  step  one  feels  the  prox- 
imity of  the  great  storehouse  of  heat.  Great  pillars  of  smoke 
frequently  burst  up  from  the  ground,  close  to  the  spot  where 
the  railroad  ends,  and  great  chasms  open,  swallowing  up  any- 
thing which  may  be  on  the  spot,  so  that  the  expedition  may 
sometimes  not  be  wholly  free  from  danger.  The  view  from  the 
summit  repays  all  the  trouble  taken  and  the  risk  incurred. 


THE    RAILWAY    UP    VESUVIUS. 


In  many  parts  of  Spain  there  are  great  difficulties  in  the 
formation  of  any  considerable  scheme  of  railways.  Leaving  out 
of  sight  the  fact  that  Spain  has  never  yet  been  able  to  construct 
even  a  sufficient  number  of  common  roads  and  canals  for  her 
poor  and  passive  trade,  the  geological  formation  of  the  country 
presents  serious  obstacles  to  engineering  skill.  Spain  is  a  land 
of  mountains,  which  wall  off  one  district  from  another.  The 
mighty  cloud-capped  Sierras  are  masses  of  hard  rock,  and 
tunnelling,  if  attempted,  would  be  requisite  on  a  scale  which 
would  reduce  that  of  Box  or  Kilsby  to  the  delving  of  the  poor 


490  OUR    [RON    ROADS. 

mole.  Spain,  again,  is  a  land  where  travellers  are  occasionally 
attacked  by  brigands  ;  by  whom,  (.hiring  the  Carlist  times,  ex- 
presses were  run  off  the  line,  railway  men  were  murdered,  and 
against  whom  the  passengers  and  their  escorts  of  soldiers  had 
to  barricade  themselves  in  houses  till  assistance  arrived.  One 
travels  in  a  "stiff,  straight-backed,  narrow-seated  first-class 
carriage,"  through  what  seems  to  be  "a  death-stricken,  God- 
forsaken, irreclaimable  solitude,"  where  the  absence  of  present 
life  is  enhanced  by  the  vestiges  of  a  former  greatness  visible 
in  the  lofty  aqueducts,  temples,  and  theatres,  such  as  those  that 
cumber  the  ground  for  miles  around  the  Merida  railway  station. 

Some  time  ago  a  German  authority  calculated  that  the  rail- 
ways of  Europe  were  upwards  of  70,000  miles  in  length,  and  that 
they  had  60,000  bridges  and  40  miles  of  tunnel ;  that  some 
20,000  locomotives  were  employed  ;  and  that  the  engines  and 
vehicles  might  be  formed  into  a  train  that  would  reach  from 
St.  Petersburg  to  Paris. 

Our  dwindling  space  forbids  us  to  dwell  upon  the  revolutions 
that  railways  have  effected  in  India.  "There,"  says  a  traveller, 
"  it  used  to  take  a  man  three  months  to  ascend  the  Ganges  from 
Calcutta  to  Cawnpore,  a  distance  I  have  now  travelled  by  rail 
in  about  six-and-thirty  hours."  There  it  is  now  customary  to 
telegraph  ahead  how  many  guests  are  coming  to  dine  at  the 
next  refreshment  station  ;  and  there  (such  are  the  refinements 
of  civilization)  the  once  easy-going  Bengalees,  who  were  well 
content  to  travel  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour,  now  "  write 
to  the  papers  "  to  complain  of  want  of  speed  and  punctuality 
on  the  railways. 

The  wonders  of  American  lines  might  well  form  a  delightful 
volume.  Railways  have  created  new  cities  in  the  East,  and  have 
surprised,  if  they  have  not  always  gladdened,  the  solitudes  of 
the  Far  West.  A  border  newspaper  tells  us — and  we  receive 
the  narrative  according  to  the  measure  of  faith — that  on  the 
Union  Pacific  road,  not  long  ago,  a  Kickapoo  Indian  saw  a 
locomotive  coming  down  the  track  at  the  rate  of  forty  miles 
an  hour.  He  thought  it  was  an  imported  breed  of  buffalo,  and 
was  anxious  to  secure  one.  So  he  fastened  one  end  of  his  lasso 
to  his  waist-belt,  and,  when  the  engine  got  near  enough,  he 
threw  the  noose  nicely  over  the  smoke-stack.  The  locomotive 
did  not  stop  ;  but  the  engineer  and  fireman  witnessed  the  most 


LEWISTOWN    NARROWS. 


492  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

successful  attempt  to  do  the  flying  trapeze  made  by  any 
Kickapoo  Indian  upon  the  plains.  Subsequently,  near  a  hamlet 
further  on  the  line,  a  small  piece  of  copper-coloured  meat  tied 
to  .1  string  was  found,  and  was  duly  enclosed  in  a  sardine  box, 
and  interred. 

The  appearance  of  many  American  railways  is  very  different 
from  that  of  our  English  lines.  As  he  travels  along,  an  English- 
man opens  his  eyes  to  find  the  greater  part  of  the  line  entirely 
open,  and  unprotected  on  both  sides.  There  is  no  embankment 
or  fence  to  prevent  children  or  cows  from  wandering  on  to  it. 
"  The  train  dashes  fearlessly  through  villages  and  towns,  cutting 
the  streets  at  right  angles,  and  if  people  get  in  its  way,  why, 
they  must  take  the  consequences,  and  do  duty  as  an  awful 
example  for  others."  "  Mile  after  mile,"  said  Charles  Dickens  in 
his  time,  and  in  some  districts  the  facts  are  the  same  to-day, 
"  we  pass  stunted  trees,  some  hewn  down  by  the  axe,  some  blown 
down  by  the  wind,  some  half  fallen  and  resting  on  their  neigh- 
bours, some  mere  logs  half  hidden  in  the  swamp,  others  moulded 
away  to  spongy  chips.  The  very  soil  of  the  earth  is  made  up 
of  minute  fragments  such  as  these  ;  each  pool  of  stagnant  water 
has  its  crust  of  vegetable  rottenness  ;  on  every  side  there  are  the 
boughs,  and  trunks,  and  stumps  of  trees,  in  every  possible  stage 
of  decay,  decomposition,  and  neglect.  Now  you  emerge  for  a 
few  brief  minutes  on  an  open  country,  glittering  with  some 
bright  lake  or  pool,  broad  as  many  an  English  river,  but  so 
small  here  that  it  scarcely  has  a  name  ;  now  catch  hasty  glimpses 
of  a  distant  town,  with  its  clean,  white  houses,  and  their  cool 
piazzas,  its  prim  New  England  church  and  school-house  ;  when, 
whir-r-r-r  !  almost  before  you  have  seen  them,  comes  the  same 
dark  scene  :  the  stunted  trees,  the  stumps,  the  logs,  the  stagnant 
water — all  so  like  the  last,  that  you  seem  to  have  been  trans- 
ported back  again  by  magic."  On,  still  on,  the  train  advances, 
traversing  roads  where  there  are  no  gates,-  policemen,  nor  signals 
— nothing  but  a  rough  wooden  arch,  on  which  is  painted  the 
important  "  Notice. — When  the  bell  rings,  look  out  for  the  loco- 
motive." 

The  roughness  of  the  American  railroad  sometimes  leads  to 
contingencies  more  or  less  pleasant.  A  traveller  tells  us  that 
he  had  proceeded  the  greater  part  of  the  journey  smoothly 
enough,  but  when  within   about  ten  miles  of  his  destination,  a 


AMERICAN    RAILWAYS.  493 

violent  jolt  apprised  the  passengers  that  they  had  run  against 
something.  The  engine-driver  slackened  speed  ;  and,  on  the 
stoppage  of  the  train,  it  was  discovered  that  a  cow  had  tres- 
passed on  the  line.  "  Sure  out,"  said  the  driver,  as  soon  as  he 
had  satisfied  his  curiosity.  "You  seem  familiar  with  such 
accidents,"  observed  the  traveller  ;  "  are  they  frequent  ?  "  "  Now 
and  then  of  a  night,"  said  he,  "we  do  run  agin  somethin'  of 
the  kind,  but  they  ginirally  manage  to  get  the  worst  on't." 
"  But  do  they  never  throw  you  off  the  rail  ?  "  "  They  seem  to 
take  a  pleasure  in  doin'  it  when  they  find  us  without  the  cow- 
ketcher,"   he  replied. 

That  veracious  historian,  Artemus  Ward,  implies  that  the 
mechanical  arrangements  of  American  trains  are  sometimes 
defective.  "  I  was,"  he  says,  "  on  a  slow  California  train,  and  I 
went  to  the  conductor  and  suggested  that  the  cow-ketcher  was 
on  the  wrong  end  of  the  train  ;  for  I  said,  '  You  will  never 
overtake  a  cow,  you  know  ;  but  if  you'd  put  it  on  the  other  end 
it  might  be  useful,  for  now  there's  nothin'  on  earth  to  hinder 
a  cow  from  walkin'  right  in  and  bitin'  the  folks  ! ' " 

In  the  American  world  of  locomotion,  novelties  and  wonders 
never  cease.  It  is  a  land  where  we  travel  by  "  track  "  instead 
of  line,  by  "  car "  instead  of  carriage,  from  "  depots  "  instead 
of  stations,  attended  by  "  baggage  cars "  instead  of  luggage 
vans  ;  where  mountains,  8,000  feet  above  the  sea  level,  are 
climbed  by  Pullman  cars,  in  which  as  luxurious  a  meal  is 
served  as  can  be  provided  by  a  first-class  hotel  ;  a  country  in 
which  occasionally  "  railway  highwaymen  "  are  found  who  re- 
move a  rail,  pour  in  a  volley  of  bullets,  ransack  the  dollars  from 
the  "  express  safe,"  cut  open  the  mail  bags,  and  ride  off  across 
the  prairie  with  their  booty ;  where  "  elevated  railways  "  pass 
over  the  crowded  streets  of  cities,  and  run  in  keen  competition 
with  the  tramway  cars  beneath  ;  where  strikes  of  workmen 
have  been  celebrated  on  the  largest  and  fiercest  scale,  petroleum 
cars  have  been  fired,  train  after  train  destroyed,  and  the  popula- 
tions of  cities  have  been  thrown  into  paroxysms  of  terror ; 
where  new  lines  are  laid  down  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  miles  a  day 
and  of  5,000  a  year;  where  there  are  already  100,000  miles  of 
railroad,  and  where  it  is  expected  that  in  1884  there  will  be 
140,000  miles  ;  where  railway  "rings"  and  "corners  "  have  been 
carried   out  by  daring  and  unscrupulous  speculators,   "utterly 


494 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


and  shamelessly/'  and  where  "  the  intrigues,  conspiracies,  and 
pernicious  Influence  of  Wall  Street  debauch  the  moral  sense  of 
the  community,  and  convert  the  most  solemn  processes  of  justice 
into  the  weapons  of  a  mere  personal  contest  of  the  lowest 
kind  ;" — a  land  where  the  dull  monotony  of  meetings  of  railway 
shareholders  is  sometimes  diversified  by  "a  struggle  for  the 
possession  of  the  records,"  when  "coats  are  torn,  hair  is  pulled, 
windows  are  broken,  pictures  pulled  down  and  envelope  the 
combatants,  when  seats  and  benches  are  broken,  and  personal 
encounters  take  place." 


^  - 


CONESTOGA  BRIDGE, 
ON   THE  PENNSYLVANIA   RAILROAD. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Railway  Revolutions.— Increased  Comfort  and  Convenience  of  our  Loco- 
motion.—English  Locomotion  Fifty  Years  Ago.— Wealth-creating 
Power  of  Railways.— New  Industries  brought  into  Existence.— Im- 
provements in  Country  Towns  and  Country  Life.— Lowestoft  and 
Harwich.— Crewe  and  Swindon.— Railway  Companies  as  Landowners. 
—Increased  Value  of  Land  in  Scotland  through  Railways.— Resi- 
dential Area  of  London  Enlarged  by  Railways.— Diminished  Cost  of 
Locomotion.— Numbers  of  Passengers  who  Travel  by  Railway.— Goods 
and  Mineral  Traffic. — Conclusion. 


HE  opinion  has  been  expressed  by- 
Mr.  Bright  that  railways  have 
rendered  more  services  and  have 
received  less  gratitude  than  any 
other  institution  in  the  land.  It 
is  somewhat  difficult  to  account 
for  the  asperity  of  the  tone  in 
pL  which  railway  administration  is 
criticised.  A  letter  in  a  news- 
paper that  frankly  expressed 
thankfulness  for  a  new  benefit 
conferred  by  a  railway  would  be 
almost  a  novelty  ;  an  acrimonious  complaint  from  a  corres- 
pondent— whose  sharp-nibbed  pen  has  been  dipped  in  ink 
of  which  the  principal  ingredient  is  gall — is  more  common. 
Whether  this  is  to  be  attributed  to  a  general  belief  that 
railway  "  boards  "  are  wooden,  and  therefore  incapable  of  feel- 
ing ;  or  that,  being  "corporations,"  they  have,  as  Sidney  Smith 
said,  neither  a  body  to  be  kicked  nor  a  soul  to  be  lost ; 
or  that,  as  "  monopolies,"  they  ought  to  excite  in  every  pro- 
perly constituted  British  mind  a  feeling  akin  to  that  which 
inspires  an  orthodox  British  bull  at  the  sight  of  a  red  rag,  we 

The  initial  letter  is  from  a  sketch  of  the  embankment  of  the  London  and 
North  Western  line  as  it  approaches  Lancaster  from  the  south. 

495 


49^  OUR   IRON    ROADS. 

cannot  tell.  But  the  fact  remains  that  a  railway,  from  the  very 
commencement  of  its  career,  has  to  fight  for  its  life  against 
landlords  and  lessees,  who  charge  and  surcharge  it  ;  against 
lawyers  and  jurymen,  who  mulct  it ;  and  against  speculators, 
who  toss  it  with  their  horns  into  the  air,  and  then  tread  it  with 
their  hoofs  into  the  mire. 

In  a  tone  thus  adverse  much  was  recently  said  about  "  Rail- 
way Revolutions."  The  decision  of  the  Midland  Company 
that  third-class  carriages  should  be  attached  to  all  trains  was 
said  to  be  "  a  revolution."  When,  by  the  same  board,  the  first- 
class  fares  were  lowered  to  the  amount  that  had  been  charged 
for  second-class,  we  were  assured  that  this  was  "  a  financial 
revolution."  To  permit  the  second-class  passenger  to  encroach 
upon  what  had  previously  been  the  exclusive  privileges  of  the 
first-class,  was  angrily  affirmed  to  be  not  only  a  mingling  in 
hopeless  confusion  of  classes  of  carriages,  but  of  classes  of 
society — "  a  democratic  and  social  revolution." 

Now,  of  course,  when  we  have  stigmatized  anything  as 
"  revolutionary,"  it  is  enough.  There  is  nothing  left  to  be  said 
or  done.  Argument  would  be  irrelevant,  and  declamation  only 
idle  air.  Every  well-constituted  British  mind  shrinks  writh 
moral  loathing  from  "revolution."  The  French  Revolution, 
which  happened  a  good  way  off  and  a  long  while  ago,  was  bad 
enough  ;  but  to  have  a  revolution  in  our  midst,  though  it  be 
only  a  railway  revolution,  must,  it  is  implied,  involve  calami- 
ties, not  perhaps  so  conspicuous,  but  possibly,  on  that  account, 
all  the  more  dangerous.  To  reduce  our  railway  fares,  to  cushion 
all  our  carriages,  and  to  ask  second  and  first-class  passengers 
to  travel  together  and  behave  themselves  well — all  this  may,  in 
the  judgment  of  some,  have  constituted  a  revolution  ;  yet  we 
venture  to  think  that  there  are  other  revolutions — economical, 
social,  political,  and  international,  revolutions  in  every  depart- 
ment of  business,  in  every  rank  of  society,  and  in  every  relation- 
ship of  life — which  railways  have  already  wrought  out,  even  in 
England,  more  mighty  and  more  minute  than  perhaps  have 
been  generally  supposed.  At  some  of  these,  laying  aside  our 
humour,  we  propose  to  look.  In  doing  so  we  will  notice,  first, 
the  revolution  that  railways  have  effected  in  tlie  comfort  and 
convenience  of  our  locomotion. 

Let  us  endeavour  to  picture  to  ourselves  what  the  means  of 


LESS    THAN    FIFTY    YEARS    AGO.  497 

communication  were  in  England  before  the  introduction  of  rail- 
ways, We  will  not  go  back  so  far  as  the  time  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  when  he  solemnly  deprecated  any  use  of  that  then  modern 
innovation,  a  gig.  "On  no  account,"  he  says  to  his  son,  "keep 
a  gig.  You  know  of  old  how  I  detest  that  mania  of  driving 
wheelbarrows  up  and  down,  when  a  man  has  a  handsome  horse 
and  can  ride  him.  They  are  childish  and  expensive  things,  and 
in  my  opinion  are  only  fit  for  English  bagmen  ;  therefore,  gig 
it  not,  I  pray  you."  We  will  simply  look  back  to  less  than  fifty 
years  ago. 

Here  the  surprising  fact  confronts  us  how  "  very  modern " 
are  all  our  skilled  industries.  English  engineering  itself  is  only 
about  a  century  old  ;  and  all  our  most  powerful,  widespread, 
and  facile  means  of  locomotion — the  very  breath  of  the  life  of 
trade  and  commerce — and  all  the  magnitude  and  multitude  of 
the  issues  that  flow  therefrom,  are  the  creation  of  less  than 
half  a  century.  We  listen  almost  with  incredulity  to  men  still 
living  who  tell  us  how  when  they  went  on  a  business  journey 
they  were  wont  to  put  their  money  in  their  purse,  to  mount  their 
horse,  and  to  ride  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  to  a  market  or  a  fair, 
although  the  gold  in  their  pocket  and  the  goods  in  their  saddle- 
bags did  chafe  them  a  little ;  how  hosiery  sent  from  Leicester 
into  some  parts  of  that  county  were  conveyed  in  panniers  on 
the  backs  of  donkeys  ;  and  how,  when  the  roads  in  certain 
districts  were  sufficiently  improved  to  allow  a  cart  to  pass, 
the  new  facilities  for  business  thus  created  amounted  to  almost 
a  revolution. 

It  was  not  till  the  30th  of  May,  1839,  that  the  Midland 
Counties  Railway  was  opened.  Till  then  the  only  modes  of 
conveyance  were  three :  the  canal,  the  fly  wagon,  and  the 
coach  ;  and  the  charges  made  were  proportionate  to  the  speed. 
Only  three  coaches  ran  daily  each  way  from  Leicester  to  Not- 
tingham, in  addition  to  those  that  passed  to  and  from  more 
distant  points,  and  on  which  little  reliance  could  be  placed  by 
local  travellers.  So  with  goods.  Wool  required  two  days  to 
travel  the  fifteen  miles  between  Leicester  and  Market  Har- 
borough,  a  special  price  being  charged  because  the  distance 
was  "so  short,  and  the  traffic  so  unimportant."  It  frequently 
happened  also  that  conveyances  were  unable  to  carry  the 
quantity  of  goods  offered.     A  woolstapler  stated,  in  evidence, 

K    K 


OUR    IRON     ROADS. 

that  he  frequently  had  from  200  to  500  bags  of  wool  lying- at 
Bristol,  which  could  not  be  brought  forward  by  land,  and  he  had 
to  divide  the  bulk  and  send  it  by  different  routes  ;  that  which 
went  by  road  occupied  from  seven  to  ten  days  in  the  transit, 
and  that  by  water  from  three  weeks  to  a  month.  Further  west, 
the  difficulties  increased,  so  that  goods  from  Plymouth  had  to 
come  by  sea  to  London,  and  were  not  unfrequcntly  a  great 
length  of  time  on  the  voyage  and  the  land  journey,  and  often 
arrived  in  a  wet  and  damaged  condition.  Such  was  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  when  the  new  era  was  inaugurated  in  1839  ; 
and  stupendous  have  been  the  revolutions  that  have  since 
been  silently  and  peacefully  accomplished. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  is  the  wealth-creating 
power  of  railways.  In  their  construction  in  the  United  Kingdom 
no  less  a  sum  than  ^83 1,000,000  of  capital  have  been  authorized 
by  Parliament,  and  £745,000,000  have  been  paid  up.  It  may  be 
true  that  some  of  these  railways  "  do  not  pay,"  in  the  sense  that 
they  do  not  give  a  reasonable  dividend,  or,  in  some  cases,  any 
dividend  at  all,  to  the  shareholders  who  have  provided  the 
capital ;  but  the  poorest  line  that  runs  in  the  poorest  district  is 
of  value  to  the  trade  and  to  the  people  among  whom  it  passes. 
The  construction  of  every  mile  of  every  railway — unlike  money 
lavished  in  war — has  at  almost  every  stage  enriched  somebody, 
has  enriched  the  nation  and  the  world.  Wealth  employed  on 
armies  and  fleets,  or  squandered  in  the  destruction  of  life  or 
property,  or  wasted  in  the  luxuries  of  despotic  rulers,  is  unpro- 
ductive. Not  so  with  railways,  every  pound  of  which  honestly 
spent,  in  due  time  yields  a  reward.  The  navvy  "  who  receives 
his  wages  for  building  up  embankments,  forming  cuttings, 
driving  tunnels,  or  preparing  the  surface  of  the  railways  ; — the 
men  who  are  employed  on  the  permanent  way,  and  who  keep 
the  ballast  and  the  rails  in  order  ; — the  pointsmen  and  the 
signalmen,  whose  duty  it  is  to  watch  over  the  running  of  the 
trains  ; — the  drivers,  the  guards,  the  porters,  and  the  station- 
masters, — these  all  expend  the  wages  which  they  receive  in  the 
purchase  of  the  necessaries,  and,  in  not  a  few  instances,  what  but 
a  short  time  since  would  have  been  regarded  as  the  luxuries,  of 
life.  The  producer  of  the  goods  thus  distributed  makes  his 
profit  on  their  production,  and  in  his  turn  secures  a  share  of  the 
money  which  the  working  of  the  railway  system  causes  to  be 


NEW  TRADES  CREATED  BY  RAILWAYS.       499 

circulated  throughout  the  country.  In  like  manner  the  coal- 
owner  or  the  ironmaster  who  supplies  the  coal  and  iron  ;  the 
various  manufacturers  who  build  the  rolling  stock ;  each  in  his 
turn  realizes  profits  and  accumulates  some  fraction  of  the  great 
total  of  national  wealth.  The  profits  thus  realized  become  in 
their  turn  invested  in  reproductive  works." 

In  the  early  days  of  railways  those  who  watched  the  coming 
events  anticipated  that  the  great  centres  of  population  would 
grow  to  immense  proportions  and  would  overshadow  the  whole 
of  the  smaller  towns.  Small  towns  on  the  lines  of  railway,  it 
was  thought,  would  be  bodily  carried  to  London,  or  Liverpool, 
or  Manchester ;  their  shops  would  be  deserted,  their  manufac- 
tories transferred,  and  the  grass  would  grow  in  their  streets. 
These  results  have  only  in  small  part  been  realized  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  railway  enterprise  has  not  only  brought  about  the 
enlargement  and  enrichment  of  innumerable  towns  :  it  has  led  to 
the  actual  creation  of  several.  When  the  Stockton  and  Darling- 
ton line  was  opened,  the  Corporation  welcomed  the  railway  to 
their  port,  but  it  acted  in  so  short-sighted  a  manner  with  regard 
to  the  accommodation  it  provided  for  the  traffic  brought,  that 
the  company  resolved  to  provide  for  themselves  elsewhere.  A 
few  miles  below  Stockton,  on  the  mudbanks  of  the  river,  stood, 
among  green  fields,  a  solitary  farmhouse  ;  here  500  acres  of  land 
were  purchased  ;  here  staiths  and  other  conveniences  for  the 
shipment  of  coal  were  erected  ;  and  here,  as  if  by  magic,  the 
great  town  of  Middlesbrough,  "  a  land  whose  stones  are  iron," 
arose, — the  "youngest  born  town,"  as  Mr.  Gladstone  called  it 
some  years  ago,  of  Britain.  All  along  that  line,  too,  new  popu- 
lations arose  :  Bishop  Auckland  became  threefold  what  it  was ; 
from  one  farmhouse,  Wilton  Park  became  a  little  town  ;  Shil- 
don,  called  by  an  engineer  the  "  hospital  of  the  locomotive," 
received  from  its  patient  a  new  life  for  itself ;  the  little  linen- 
weaving  and  Quaker  town  of  Darlington  started  upon  a  new 
career.  Eastwards  is  "  Urby  Nook,  where  bibulous  coach- 
drivers  in  the  line's  early  days  stopped  to  gain  refreshment  for 
man  and  beast ;  Preston,  where  '  Mr.  Fowler's  covers  '  were  of 
yore  a  snare  to  the  drivers  ;  Redcar,  away  to  the  east,  became 
rejuvenescent ;  Marske,  the  home  of  the  workers  in  one  of  the 
largest  iron  mines  in  the  world,  Saltburn  has  given  name  to  a 
bathing-place  of  note,  and  Lofthouse  has  found  a  newer  treasure 


5CO  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

than  its  alum  stored/"  here  arc  towns  which,  the  other  day, 
were  mining  villages.  Other  and  allied  trades  have  felt  the  im- 
pulse :  lead  mining  is  in  the  Durham  dales  ;  shipbuilding  on  the 
Tees  ;  chemical  factories  and  woollen  mills  are  on  and  near  the 
Skerne  ;  coke-ovens  to  the  north-west  of  the  county,  each  and 
all  have  fresh  life-blood  coursing  through  their  veins.  Rail- 
ways have  revolutionized  the  populations  of  wide  districts  of 
England  ;  and  especially  so  in  the  north — "birthplace  of  rail- 
way and  locomotive." 

The  improvement  made  in  the  position  of  a  town  may  be 
great  even  through  the  diversion  of  a  railway.  "  You  have  done 
a  great  thing,"  said  a  gentleman  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Mid- 
land Company  as  they  stood  together  on  the  down  platform  of 
the  Nottingham  station,  alongside  one  of  the  new  London  and 
North  expresses,  on  the  ist  of  July,  1880  :  "  You  have  for  the  first 
time  placed  Nottingham,  with  its  200,000  inhabitants,  on  the 
main  line  of  the  Midland  system."  For  on  that  day  Notting- 
ham rose  to  a  new  dignity  and  entered  on  new  advantages. 
"  Henceforth,"  as  a  writer  in  a  local  journal  remarked,  "  the  great 
tide  of  traffic  that  flows  from  south  to  north  and  north  to  south 
through  the  Midlands  of  England  need  not  suffer  by  diversion 
among  the  cross  currents  and  eddies  that  converge  at  Leicester 
and  Trent,  but  may  move  swiftly  and  uninterruptedly  along  the 
new  channel  across  the  county  and  through  the  county  town 
that  has  been  prepared  for  it  ;  and  no  one  can  stand  to-day 
at  our  busy  but  well-ordered  station,  and  see  the  splendidly- 
appointed  trains — the  spacious  and  easy  bogie  carriages,  the 
continuous  brakes  and  the  swift  and  powerful  engines — without 
thankfully  confessing  that  Nottingham,  placed  near  the  heart  of 
the  Midland  system,  is  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  advantages  of 
locomotion  that  are  equalled  by  few  and  surpassed  by  none."  * 

Railways,  too,  have  brought  changes  to  our  county  towns  and 
our  county  life.  Many  of  these  have  become  little  capitals  ;  and 
where,  in  former  days,  a  few  coaches  came  bustling  in,  and  the 
carriages  of  neighbouring  gentry  occasionally  enlivened  their 
streets,  there  are  now  all  the  bustle  and  activity  and  all  the  signs 
of  wealth  and  luxury  which  before  railway  times  were  seen  only 
in  great  cities.     The  wealth  and  trade  of  the  country  have  kept 


*  The  Nottingham  Daily  Express. 


TOWNS    MADE    BY    RAILWAYS.  50I 

pace  with  the  railway  development,  and  it  has  not  merely- 
increased  in  a  wonderful  manner  the  facilities-  for  intercourse, 
but  has  developed  in  far  more  than  corresponding  proportions 
the  industrial  activity,  the  trade  capital,  and  the  mineral  wealth 
of  our  country  districts  and  our  county  towns. 

Many  seaports  have  received-  special  activity  and  wealth  from 
the  incoming  of  railways.  The  Great  Eastern  Company  has 
constructed  the  harbour  at  Lowestoft.  In  the  year  1862  the 
tonnage  to  and  from  that  town  by  rail  was  35,000  tons,  and  the 
population  was  9,500;  in  1881  the  tonnage  had  risen  to  83,000 
tons,  and  the  population  to  20,500 ;  and  the  town  has  made 
"  very  considerable  headway  during  the  last  few  years,"  which 
is  largely  to  be  attributed  to  the  enterprise  of  the  railway  com- 
pany. So  also  with  Harwich,  with  reference  to  which  Mr.  Birt, 
the  General  Manager  of  the  Great  Eastern,  recently  gave  evi- 
dence :  "  We  are  developing  a  very  large  trade  in  the  port  of 
Harwich  ;  so  that  it  is  now  something  like  the  twelfth  port  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  and  we  attach  so  much  importance  to 
it  that  we  are  spending  over  .£250,000  in  providing  additional 
waterside  works  at  Harwich  for  the  traffic  with  the  Continent. 
Attempts  had  been  made  several  times  to  attract  additional 
trade  to  the  port  of  Harwich  by  the  establishment  of  docks  by 
outsiders ;  but  they  had  not  been  successful ;  and  unless  the 
railway  company  had  found  the  means  required  for  the  purpose, 
I  do  not  believe  they  ever  would  have  been  found."  And  what 
is  thus  said  of  Lowestoft  and  Harwich,  may  be  declared  of 
numberless  other  seaport  towns  which  railways  have  created  or 
re-created. 

Some  towns  have  been  the  distinct  creation  of  railway  estab- 
lishments. It  is  so  with  Crewe.  Here  stood  one  farmhouse  : 
now  there  is  a  railway  establishment  that  employs  5,000  or  6,000 
men  ;  and  between  2,000  and  3,000  locomotives  have  been  here 
erected.  So  with  Swindon.  Some  five-and-forty  years  ago,  a 
little  party  of  gentlemen  sat  down  on  the  greensward  to  take 
their  luncheon.  "  The  furze  was  in  blossom  around  them  ;  the 
rabbits  frisked  in  and  out  of  their  burrows  ;  two  or  three  distant 
farmhouses,  one  or  two  cottages,  these  were  all  the  signs  of 
human  habitation,  except  a  few  cart-ruts,  indicating  a  track- 
used  for  field  purposes."  Where  that  luncheon  was  that  day 
eaten  by  Isambard  Brunei  and  Daniel  Gooch,  the  platform  of 


502  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

the  Swindon  station  is  to-day,  and  hard  by  arc  Swindon  junc- 
tion and  the  vast  locomotive  establishments. 

Railway  companies  arc  themselves  great  landowners.  In 
December,  [868,  it  was  estimated  that  the  average  quantity  of 
land  held  by  railways  was  "about  twelve  acres  to  each  mile  of 
railway,  or  a  belt  as  many  miles  long  as  there  are  miles  of  rail- 
way of  102  feet  wide,  including  land  for  stations,  sidings,  and 
other  purposes,  and  surplus  land."  The  railway  companies  of 
England  then  occupied  no  less  than  213  square  miles  of  land  ; 
those  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  38  square  miles  each  ;  and  the 
total  amounted  to  what  was  equal  to  a  belt  of  land  a  mile 
broad  that  would  extend  bettveen  BrigJiton  and  Newcastle. 
The  acreage  must,  since  that  time,  have  enormously  increased  ; 
since,  instead  of  14,628  miles  of  line  then  open,  there  are  now 
18,175  miles. 

Nor  is  it  only  that  railway  companies  have  given  a  high  price 
for  the  land  they  have  bought,  they  have  also  greatly  enhanced 
the  value  of  all  the  property  into  the  neighbourhood  of  which 
they  have  come.  For  example,  the  late  Mr.  Smith,  of  Deanston, 
who  was  a  good  agriculturist  and  agricultural  engineer,  showed 
that  the  formation  of  a  certain  proposed  line  of  railway  would 
add  2s.  6d.  per  annum  to  the  valued  rental  of  each  acre  of  the 
land  five  miles  on  either  side  ;  that  this  sum  capitalised  would 
pay  for  the  formation  of  the  line,  which  might  be  given  over  to 
be  worked  as  a  turnpike  road.  The  evidence,  too,  recently 
placed  before  the  Select  Committee  with  regard  to  the  increased 
value  of  land  in  some  considerable  districts  of  Scotland  is  still 
more  remarkable.  "  I  had  the  curiosity,"  said  Mr.  Walker,  the 
General  Manager  of  the  North  British  Railway,  "  to  look  into 
the  valuation  rolls  of  several  counties  of  Scotland,  namely, 
Midlothian,  Peebles,  Selkirk,  Roxburgh,  East  Lothian,  and 
Berwick,  and  I  find  that  in  the  valuation  for  the  year  1877,  as 
compared  with  that  for  1862,  there  is  an  average  increase  of 
30  per  cent,  in  the  rent  roll.  In  the  pastoral  county  of  Peebles 
the  increase  has  been  no  less  than  33!  per  cent."  After  giving 
other  data  to  a  somewhat  like  effect,  Mr.  Walker  was  asked  : 
"  What  inference  do  you  wish  drawn  from  these  figures  ? " 
With  Scotch  caution  and  suggestiveness  he  replied  :  "  I  wish 
the  inference  to  be  drawn  that  the  railway  companies  have 
done  a  great  deal  to  improve  Scotland." 


EFFECTS    OF    RAILWAYS    ON    LONDON.  503 

Railways  have  created  important  changes  in  the  life  and 
wealth  even  of  London.  They  have  made  it  more  than  ever 
the  intellectual  and  social  centre  of  the  land.  "  The  country 
gentry  no  longer  go  into  the  county  towns  to  form  a  charming 
provincial  society  there,  as  they  did  at  Norwich  and  Notting- 
ham and  Derby  and  similar  places  half  a  century  ago.  They 
come  to  London  for  the  season,  and  their  houses  in  the  county 
towns  are  let  as  shops,  or  warehouses,  or  banks."  When  the 
London  and  Birmingham  Railway  had  been  opened  seventeen 
years,  it  was  found  that  within  a  circle  of  two  miles  of  each 
station  between  the  metropolis  and  Tring  the  total  amount  that 
had  been  expended  in  new  buildings  was  only  ,£22,000.  It  was 
then  suggested  that  if  a  first-class  pass,  available  for  a  few 
years,  were  presented  to  every  person  who  erected  a  residence 
of  a  certain  annual  value  near  the  line,  all  parties  would  be 
benefited.  In  eight  years  £  240,000  or  £250,000  were  spent  in 
house-building  in  these  localities  ;  the  increased  population 
largely  contributed  to  the  passenger,  goods,  and  parcels  traffic 
of  the  line  ;  and  the  amount  since  expended  in  building  has 
been  enormous. 

Similarly,  but  on  an  incomparably  larger  scale,  the  residential 
area  of  the  metropolis  has  been  increased  in  all  directions,  and 
especially  along  the  southern  lines.  Business  men,  not  many 
years  since,  were  accustomed  to  live  within  a  moderate  omnibus 
ride  of  their  offices  ;  but  numerous  trains,  low  fares,  and  season- 
tickets  have  created  traffic  ;  millions  of  capital  have  been  ex- 
pended in  house-building ;  new  towns  have  arisen  as  if  by- 
magic  ;  every  station  near  London  has  become  the  centre  of  a 
large  population,  until  there  are  now  some  3,000,000  of  inhabi- 
tants within  the  registration  limits,  and  "  beyond  this  central 
mass  there  is  a  ring  of  life  growing  rapidly  and  extending  along 
railway  lines  over  a  circle  of  fifteen  miles  from  Charing  Cross." 
The  district  formerly  inhabited  by  Londoners  stretched  from 
Clapham  to  Highgate,  and  from  Bow  to  Kensington  ;  it  is  now 
from  Reigate  and  Tunbridge  Wells,  and  even  from  Brighton,  to 
Watford,  and  from  Epping  and  Blackheath  to  Richmond. 

Another  of  the  beneficent  revolutions  effected  by  railways  is 
in  the  diminished  cost  of  locomotion.  A  favourable  change  in 
this  respect  was  produced  at  the  outset.  The  coach  fares 
between    Liverpool  and   Manchester  had  been  5^.  outside  and 


504  OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

inside  ;  the  railway  fares  were  $s.  Gd.  outside  and  5 jr.  inside; 
and  soon  the  carrying  of  outside  passengers  was  discontinued — 
all  were  conveyed  under  cover.  Thirty  years  ago  the  usual 
fare  of  a  passenger  was  5</.  a  mile  ;  now  it  is  little  more  than 
a  penny. 

Similar  reductions  have  been  made  with  respect  to  goods. 
When  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  line  was  opened,  the 
rate  per  ton  for  the  carriage  of  ordinary  merchandise  was 
reduced  from  5^/.  to  a  fifth  of  a  penny  a  mile  ;  in  other  words, 
the  trader  was  charged  a  shilling  for  what  he  had  before  paid 
25s.  Similarly,  the  reduction  in  the  price  of  the  carriage  of 
minerals  was  from  yd.  to  \\d.  per  ton  per  mile,  and  the  market 
price  of  coals  at  Darlington  fell  from  18s.  to  8s.  6d.  per  ton. 
The  rate  of  carriage  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester  had 
been  about  iSs.  a  ton  ;  after  the  line  was  opened  the  rate  was 
about  10s.,  and  it  has  since  been  reduced,  as  the  costs  involved 
in  conveyance  have  diminished.  Instead  of  paying  £5  a  ton 
for  bale  goods  between  Manchester  and  London,  the  merchant 
now  pays  less  than  30^. ;  instead  of  13d.  a  ton  a  mile  for  goods 
of  various  kinds,  the  amount  is  perhaps  only  2d.  Within  a 
year  after  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line 
the  reduction  in  the  charges  in  cotton  was  ^"20,000  a  year  ; 
some  firms  saved  .£500  annually  in  this  one  item  ;  and  when 
the  Leicester  and  Swannington  Railway  was  made,  Leicester 
effected  a  saving  of  ^"40,000  a  year  in  coals  alone — enough  to 
pay  all  the  rates  and  taxes  of  the  town. 

To  all  this  the  reduction  and  simplification  of  railway  fares 
themselves  have  further  contributed.  At  the  time  when  Mr. 
Allport  joined  the  Midland  Company  there  were  express  fares, 
first  and  second-class  ordinary  fares,  third-class,  and  Parlia- 
mentary or  fourth-class,  fares.  He  soon  abolished  express 
fares,  and  then  third-class  fares  as  distinguished  from  Parlia- 
mentary. This  was  first  done  on  one  selected  portion  of  the 
line,  and  the  effect  was  carefully  watched  ;  in  twelve  months  it 
was  ascertained  that  no  loss  had  been  sustained,  and  the  experi- 
ment was  extended  to  another  section.  The  third-class  fare 
was  then  made  a  penny  a  mile,  and  was  gradually  spread  over 
the  system,  so  that  eventually  the  fares  were,  for  the  three 
classes,  2d.,  ihd.,  and  id.  a  mile.  The  next  step  was  to  put 
third-class  carriages  on  all  trains,  and  the  last  was  to  abolish 


ECONOMY    OF    RAILWAY    LOCOMOTION.  505 

second-class  fares,  and  to  reduce  the  first-class  to  the  former 
price  of  second-class.  The  increase  that  has  thereby  been 
effected  in  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  travelling,  not  only 
on  the  part  of  the  working  classes,  but  of  all  who  deem  it  right 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  cheaper  services  of  trains,  is  enor- 
mous. 

The  reduction  of  the  cost  of  locomotion  that  railways  have 
secured  is  enormous.  Startling  as  it  may  seem,  it  may  yet  be 
said  that  all  our  railway  travelling  costs  the  country  nothing  at 
all.  If  we  put  to  the  credit  of  railways  the  diminution  in  the 
expense  of  traffic  since  they  were  introduced,  it  may  be  declared 
that  our  railways  do  their  work  for  less  than  nothing.  The 
reduction,  for  instance,  in  the  rate  of  the  conveyance  of  coal  to 
London,  Mr.  Allport  has  said,  "  for  the  last  fifteen  or  twenty 
years  is  equivalent  to  the  total  value  of  the  coals  themselves. 
Twelve  months  ago  people  were  paying  for  coals  in  London 
less  than  they  paid  for  the  carriage  of  the  coals  before  railways 
came  into  operation  ;  "  and  so  it  has  been  with  other  kinds  of 
traffic.  All  the  railway  locomotion  of  this  country  for  pas- 
sengers, goods,  and  minerals,  for  raw  materials  and  manufactured, 
for  export  trade  and  import,  is  paid  for  by  the  people  of  this 
country  by  a  gross  outlay  by  each  of  a  penny  a  day  ;  while  all 
the  passenger  traffic  is  carried  on  for  a  third  of  a  penny  a  day. 
"I  venture  to  assert,"  Mr.  Allport  has  remarked,  "that  the 
reduction  in  carriage  by  the  railways,  as  compared  with  the 
former  charges  and  quantities  carried,  has  effected  a  saving  to 
the  country  of  an  amount  equal  to  more  than  double  the  entire 
gross  receipts  of  all  the  railways  of  the  kingdom,  or  more  than 
^100,000,000  sterling  annually." 

Nor  is  the  direct  saving  and  cost  effected  by  railway  loco- 
motion alone  to  be  estimated  ;  there  is  the  indirect  saving  of 
time,  both  with  passengers  and  goods ;  and  "  time  is  money." 
Assuming,  for  instance,  that  the  600,000,000,  who  (besides 
season-ticket  holders)  travelled  last  year,  would  have  saved 
300,000,000  hours  ;  and  supposing  a  working  year  to  consist  of 
300  days  of  eight  hours  each,  the  years  of  life  and  labour  saved 
would  be  125,000,  and  the  industrial  energies  of  the  nation 
would  have  been  economized  proportionately.  A  similar  test 
of  money  value  might,  by  imagination,  if  not  by  arithmetic,  be 
extended  to  the  goods  and  mineral  traffic  of  our  railways,  and 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 

the  total  would  probably  be  more  remarkable  still: — "  Coal  is 
raised  from  the  mine,  delivered  to  the  consumer,  paid  for,  and 
burned  at  least  a  week  or  ten  days  earlier  than  would  have  been 
the  c.iso  had  it  been  sent  by  sea  or  by  the  sluggish  route  of  the 
canals.  The  manufacturer  now  sends  his  goods  from  Manchester 
to  London  by  rail.  They  arc  packed  overnight,  put  into  the 
railway  trucks,  and  delivered  in  London  simultaneously  with, 
and  in  many  cases  before,  the  letter  or  invoice  advising  the 
despatch  of  the  goods  is  received  by  the  consignee.  A  week 
would  probably  be  taken  up  by  the  carriage  and  delivery  of  the 
same  goods  by  canal.  The  manufacturer  can  now  draw  upon 
his  customer  for  the  goods  sent  a  week  earlier  than  would  have 
been  the  case  if  the  canals  were  the  only  mode  of  conveyance 
offered.  What  is  the  value  to  the  manufacturer  of  this  economy 
in  point  of  time  ?  He  receives  payment  for  his  goods  a  week 
earlier  than  he  would  do  if  the  railways  did  not  exist.  By  the 
joint  aid  of  the  telegraph  and  the  railways,  the  merchant,  manu- 
facturer, vendor,  or  consumer  is  enabled  to  save,  in  the  shape 
of  interest  and  discounts,  a  sum  which  in  the  aggregate  must 
amount  to  many  millions." 

Another  revolution  that  has  been  effected  in  our  social  con- 
dition by  railways  is  in  the  amount  of  our  locomotion.  Nowhere 
have  these  effects  been  more  noteworthy  than  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  London  itself.  People  who  live  in  the  country,  and 
who  know  of  the  metropolitan  railways  only  through  the 
occasional  eruptions  of  criticism  and  complaint  that  appear  in 
newspaper  correspondence,  might  naturally  conclude  that,  on 
the  whole,  the  London  lines  are  a  failure  :  let  their  work  be 
actually  witnessed  and  their  effects  be  examined,  and  it  will  be 
allowed  that  they  have  wrought  a  peaceful  and  beneficial  revo- 
lution in  the  life  of  the  metropolis.  Apart  from  the  main-line 
traffic,  and  the  fifteen  great  termini,  and  their  magnificent 
stations  and  splendid  expresses,  the  mere  suburban  work  is  one 
of  the  marvels  of  the  age.  Lines  costing  half  a  million  or  a 
million  of  money  a  mile  ;  railway  bridges  spanning  the  Thames  ; 
underground  lines  running  perhaps  under  underground  lines  ; 
innumerable  trains  passing  all  day  to  and  fro  with  almost  the 
constancy  and  precision  of  the  weaver's  shuttle,  and  at  night, 
gas-lit,  flashing  out  of  the  darkness  and  into  the  darkness,  and 
making  one  wonder  where  they  can   all  be   coming  from  and 


ENORMOUS    AMOUNT    OF    RAILWAY    LOCOMOTION.         507 

where  they  can  all   be   going  to  :  these  are  sights  which  have 
become  as  familiar  to  the  Londoner  as  Hansom  cabs. 

Or,  if  we  wish  to  form  some  estimate  of  the  amount  of  our 
railway  locomotion,  we  may  look  at  the  traffic  of,  for  instance, 
the  London  and  North  Western  Company,  with  its  1,766  miles 
of  continuous  railway,  more  than  10,000  miles  in  all,  along 
which  flows  the  trade  of  several  of  the  chief  towns  and  cities  of 
the  Empire  ;  carrying  50,000,000  passengers  a  year,  or  a  million 
a  week,  equal  in  a  month  to  the  population  of  London  ;  convey- 
ing 8,000,000  tons  of  general  merchandise,  and  nearly  26,000,000 
of  minerals  ;  with  2,300  locomotives,  3,500  carriages,  and  over 
50,000  other  vehicles,  that  run  a  distance  of  more  than  36,000,000 
miles  a  year,  equal  to  1,458  times  round  the  world  ;  to  say 
nothing  of  a  magnificent  fleet  of  steamships  ;  and  estimate,  if 
it  were  possible,  what  all  this  means  in  the  traffic  of  that  one 
line  of  railway.  Such  an  institution,  with  its  policies,  its  nego- 
tiations, its  responsibilities,  its  revenue,  its  40,000  servants,  its 
power,  and  its  authorized  capital  of  more  than  ;£  102,000,000,  is 
more  like  a  kingdom  than  a  company. 

Or  take  the  Midland,  which  has  gradually  spread  its  1,365 
miles  of  railway,  north  and  south  and  east  and  west,  through 
half  the  counties  of  England,  till  they  stretch  from  the  Severn 
to  the  Humber,  the  Wash  to  the  Mersey,  and  the  English 
Channel  to  the  Solway  Firth  ;  that  has  cost  .£60,000,000 ;  that 
has  an  authorized  capital  of  more  than  ^72,000,000  of  money  ; 
that  receives  a  revenue  of  nearly  .£7,000,000  a  year  ;  that  carries 
29,000,000  of  passengers,  and  more  than  31,000,000  tons  of 
goods  ;  and  the  engines  of  which  run  a  distance  equal  to  four 
and  a  half  times  round  the  world  every  day ;  and  imagine  how 
stupendous  a  revolution  in  the  amount  of  locomotion  has  been 
accomplished  in  the  districts  through  which  that  one  line  runs. 

So  vast  are  the  results  of  railway  enterprise  that  we  are  lost 
in  the  number  and  magnitude  of  the  terms  that  express  them. 
Words  and  figures  are  inadequate  to  the  task  of  conveying 
intelligible  and  proportionate  ideas.  Sir  Henry  Bessemer  has 
dwelt  on  the  impossibility  of  realizing  what  is  meant  by 
a  billion  ;  and  the  difficulty  seems  almost  as  great  when  we 
talk  of  a  million.  When  we  learn  that  last  year  our  British 
railway  companies  ran  their  trains  a  distance  of  nearly 
250,000,000  miles,  the  impression   conveyed   to   the   mind   must 


OUR    IKON    ROADS. 

fall  immeasurably  short  of  what  is  required  by  the  stupendous 
fact  ;  and  we  try,  however  ineffectually,  to  simplify  the  state- 
ment. We  are  aw  are  that  a  journey  round  the  world  would  be 
24,000  miles  long  ;  the  distance,  therefore,  run  by  our  trains 
equals  more  than  10,000  journeys  round  the  world  ;  or,  to  speak 
astronomically,  equals  two  and  a  half  times  the  distance  from 
the  earth  to  the  sun  ! 

We  arc  equally  embarrassed  by  the  numbers  that  tell  us  of 
the  multitudes  of  passengers  who  travel.  Instead  of  the  80,000 
persons  who,  thirty  years  ago,  went  by  coach,  1,500,000  passen- 
gers are  now  carried  every  day  by  railway  in  a  fraction  of  the 
time  and  at  a  fraction  of  the  cost  previously  required  ;  passen- 
gers who  would  require  70,000  coaches  to  hold  them,  and 
700,000  horses  to  draw  them.  Exclusive  of  season-ticket 
holders  there  were — in  1870,  336,000,000  passengers  ;  in  1880, 
604,000,000;  in  1881,  more  than  623,000,000,  or  considerably 
more  than  10,000,000  a  week  the  year  through.  Now,  what  do 
10,000,000  of  passengers  mean  ?  They  mean  a  number  two 
and  a  half  times  the  population  of  London.  They  mean  that 
so  many  persons  travel  that  in  three  weeks  the  railway  passen- 
gers are  as  numerous  as  the  whole  population  of  England  and 
Wales.  Ten  millions  a  week  means  nearly  a  million  and  a  half 
a  day,  who  would  fill  60,000  first-class  carriages,  which,  if  each 
is  eight  yards  long,  would  make  a  train  which  would  stretch 
nearly  300  miles  in  length,  or  from  London  to  Newcastle  ; 
while  the  passengers  who  travelled  last  year  in  Great  Britain 
would  form  a  procession  100  abreast  a  yard  apart — extending 
across  Africa  from  Tripoli  to  the  Cape  Colony  ;  or  from  London 
across  the  Channel,  France,  Switzerland,  Italy,  the  Mediterra- 
nean, Egypt,  Nubia,  and  Abyssinia  to  Aden,  at  the  southern 
mouth  of  the  Red  Sea,  a  distance  of  nearly  3,500  miles ;  and 
all  this  in  addition  to  the  journeyings  of  season-ticket  holders, 
who  last  year  numbered  500,000,  many  of  whom  probably 
travelled  200  or  300  journeys  each.  "  Figures  like  these,"  re- 
marked the  Times,  "  ought  to  overpower  the  pardonable  dislike 
of  statistics  which  the  reader  may  entertain.  They  are  more 
eloquent  than  many  descriptions  of  the  increasing  wealth  and 
welfare  of  the  country  ;  and  the  growth  of  intercommunication, 
of  which  they  are  evidence,  must  be  exerting  the  most  vital 
influence  upon  the  feelings  and  habits  of  the  people." 


ASTOUNDING    FACTS    AND    FIGURES.  509 

Moreover,  these  astounding  facts  and  figures  of  the  augmented 
facilities  for  our  locomotion  mean  much  more  than  they  say. 
They  mean  the  more  frequent  intercourse  of  families  who  other- 
wise would  be  separated,  perhaps,  for  months  or  years  ;  the  pro- 
motion of  the  domestic  happiness  of  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  homes.  They  mean  the  increased  activity  and  intelligence  of 
society.  They  mean  that  business  is  done  better,  more  effect- 
ively, cheaply,  and  widely.  They  mean  that  trade,  manufacture, 
and  commerce  become  possible  that  otherwise  would  have  been 
impossible.  They  mean  that  England  has  become  the  distribu- 
tive centre  of  Europe  ;  and  they  explain  how  it  is  that,  whereas 
thirty  years  ago  the  exports  of  this  country  amounted  to 
.£1,000,000  a  week,  and  great  authorities  were  deprecating  the 
inflated  speculation  of  the  times,  they  have  since  risen  to 
£5,000,000  a  week. 

The  proportions  to  which  goods  traffic  has  extended  is  also 
enormous.     During  the  year  1881  the  weight  of  minerals  carried 
was  174,000,000  tons  on  the  railways  of  the   United  Kingdom. 
If  the  average  load  is  estimated  at,  say,  seven  tons  a  truck,  the 
minerals  conveyed  would  fill  more  than  24,000,000  trucks  ;  and, 
as  the  ordinary  length  of   a  truck  is  about  five   yards,  these 
wagons  would  every  day  form  a  train  190  miles  long,  reaching 
from  London  as  far  as  York,  and  in  the  course  of  a  year  these 
trucks  would  stretch  from  one  end  to   another   of   a   railway 
68,000  miles  long,  or  nearly  three  times  round  the  world.     If  we 
similarly  estimate  the  goods  traffic  of  the  United  Kingdom,  we 
shall  learn  that  the  amount  conveyed  by  railway  in   1881  was 
more  than  70,000,000  tons  ;  and  that  if  we  average  six  tons  to 
fill  a  truck,  there  would  be  1 1 ,000,000  trucks  full  of  general  mer- 
chandise.    Now,  as  a  truck  is  five  yards  long,  the  amount  would 
fill  a  fresh  train  every  day  86  miles  in  length,  and  these  trains 
in  a  year  would  be  31,000  miles  long.     In  fact,  the  minerals  and 
and   goods  trains  of  the  United    Kingdom    (if    every    mineral 
truck  were  quite  filled  with  seven  tons  of  minerals,  and  every 
goods  truck  with  six  tons  of  goods)  would  stretch  a  distance  of 
nearly   100,000  miles,  and   would  be  long  enough  to  form    a 
gigantic  necklace  hanging  four  times  round  the  world.     Add  to 
these  figures  the  fact  that  on  our  railways  we  have  nearly  14,000 
locomotives,  42,000  carriages  and  other  vehicles  for  passenger 
trains  ;  that  we  have  also  more  than  400,000  other  vehicles  for 


510  I  ll  R    IKON    ROADS. 

-  and  miiu-r.il  traffic  ;  that  the  rolling  stock  of  our  British 
railways  would,  it"  placed  in  line,  form  a  train  2,000  miles  long  ; 
and  we  have  data  before  us  of  which  it  is  hard  indeed  to  realize 
the  momentous  significance. 

Such  are  some  of  the  silent  and  gradual  but  mighty  revolu- 
tions that  have  been  effected  in  this  country,  and  in  other  lands, 
by  railways  ;  augmenting  in  ever-increasing  proportion  and  with 
ever-enlarging  result,  the  intelligence,  the  wealth,  and  the  wel- 
fare oi~  the  nation  and  the  world.  It  is  railways  alone  that 
have  made  our  postal  system  possible.  It  is  easy,  for  instance, 
to  put  on  six  or  eight  additional  vans  to  a  night  mail ;  but  if 
we  were  still  dependent  on  coaches,  we  were  told  by  Sir  Robert 
Stephenson,  that  in  his  day  fourteen  or  fifteen  would  be  needed 
to  carry  the  bags  between  London  and  Birmingham.  Instead 
of  the  productions  of  one  district,  or  of  one  land,  supplying 
itself,  perhaps  to  satiety,  they  are  being  distributed  far  and 
wide,  to  the  enrichment  of  both  the  producer  and  the  consumer. 
Pastoral  plains  are  turning  into  mineral  fields  of  priceless  worth. 
The  extremities  of  the  kingdom  are  as  accessible  to  the  metro- 
polis as  were  its  suburbs  two  hundred  years  ago.  Europe  has 
united  its  great  cities  and  ports  together  by  links  of  iron.  The 
physician  will  soon  be  ordering  his  patient  a  change  of  air 
in  the  ancient  Garden  of  Eden,  or  a  fishing  trip  to  the 
Euphrates.  An  acquaintance  may  give  point  to  his  after-dinner 
conversation  by  reciting  an  adventure  he  had  the  other  day 
as  he  was  on  an  excursion  about  such  a  degree  of  longitude. 
The  valetudinarian  may  live,  like  the  swallow,  in  perpetual 
summer.  We  shall  all  increasingly  sympathise  with  the  saying 
of  Burton  concerning  the  traveller:  "He  took  great  content, 
exceeding  delight,  in  that  his  voyage.  And  who  doth  not,  who 
shall  attempt  the  like  ?  For  peregrination  charms  our  senses 
with  such  unspeakable  and  sweet  variety,  that  some  count  him 
unhappy  who  never  travelled,  a  kind  of  prisoner,  and  pity  his 
case,  that  from  his  cradle  to  his  old  age,  he  beholds  the  same  ; 
still,  still,  still  the  same,  the  same !  " 

Let  us  then  cherish  the  spirit  and  indulge  the  hope  of  the 
poet,  Dr.  Charles  Mackay,  when  he  sang : — 

"  No  poetry  in  Railways  !  foolish  thought 
Of  a  dull  brain,  to  no  fine  music  wrought, 
By  Mammon  dazzled,  though  the  people  prize 


CONCLUSION. 


I  I 


The  gold  untold  ;  yet  shall  not  we  despise 
The  triumphs  of  our  time,  or  fail  to  see, 
Of  pregnant  mind,  the  fruitful  progeny 
Ushering  the  daylight  of  the  world's  new  morn. 

'  Lay  down  your  rails,  ye  nations,  near  and  far  ; 
Yoke  your  full  trains  to  Steam's  triumphal  car  ; 
Link  town  to  town  ;  and  in  these  iron  bands 
Unite  the  strange  and  oft-embattled  lands. 
Peace  and  Improvement  round  each  train  shall  soar, 
And  Knowledge  light  the  Ignorance  of  yore  : 
Men,  joined  in  amity,  shall  wonder  long 
That  Hate  had  power  to  lead  their  fathers  wrong  ; 
Or  that  false  glory  lured  their  hearts  astray, 
And  made  it  virtuous  and  sublime  to  slay. 

'  Blessings  on  Science,  and  her  handmaid,  Steam  ! 
They  make  Utopia  only  half  a  dream  ; 
And  show  the  fervent,  of  capacious  souls, 
Who  watch  the  ball  of  Progress  as  it  rolls, 
Thatall  as  yet  completed,  or  begun, 
Is  but  the  dawning  that  precedes  the  sun." 


A    "DEAD   END.' 


INDII  X. 


Abbot's  Cliff,  r23,  124. 

A.  >  idents,  Railway,  436,  437. 

Amalgamations  of  Railways,  39. 

American  Railways.  400-494. 
Anderson,  Dr.  James,  6,  7. 
'■  Angle  of  Repose,"  no,  11 1. 
Armour-plated  Trains.  402-405. 
Awkward  Position,  An,  354. 

"  Baggage-smasher,"  A,  325. 
"  Baggage,  Checking  the,"  327,  328. 
Balance  Sheets,  Railway,  59. 
Ballast,  233,  234. 
Belgium,  Railways  in,  487. 
Booking  Clerks,  307-310,  314. 
Botany  of  a  Railway  Carriage,  376,  377. 
Bradsiiaw,  381-383. 
Brake,  Midland  Company's,  446. 
Brakes,  Trial  of,  at  Newark,  441-446. 
Break-down  Train,  360-364. 
Bridge,  Battersea,  217. 

„       Britannia  Tubular,  208-212. 

„       Charing  Cross,  216,  217. 

„       Chepstow,  205-207. 

,,       Conemaugh,  224,  225. 

,,       Conway  Tubular,  205. 

,,       Draw-,  over  the  Arun,  199,  200. 

„       Floating,    across     the    Forth, 
200,  201. 

.,       Forth,  217-221. 

„       High     Level,     at     Newcastle, 
200-203. 

,,       Maidenhead,  199. 

„       Niagara  Suspension,  224. 

„       Royal  Border,  203. 

„       Rugby  Road,  198. 

,,       Runcorn,  204,  205. 

,,       Saltash,  214-216. 

„       Severn,  213,  214. 

„       Skew,  197,  198. 
Bridges,  197-221. 

Capital  of  Railways,  472. 

Carriage  Building  Works,  364-370. 

Cattle  sent  by  Railway,  411-413. 

"Certain  Field,  A,"  253. 

Chairs,  239,  240. 

Charms  of  Railway  Travelling,  Early, 

387. 
Clearing  House,  The,  310-314. 
"  Coaching  Days  of  Old,"  The,  3. 


Coal  Depots,  422,  423. 

Colebrook  Dale,  5. 

Comfort  and  Convenience  of  Railway 

Travelling,  500. 
Commissioners,  The  Railway,  459-461. 
"  Communicators,"  449. 
Compensation,  78-82,  453-456. 
Consolidation  of  Railway  Stocks,  471. 
"  Correspondence"  of  Trains,  425,  426. 
Cost  of  Locomotion  diminished,  5°3~6- 
"  Creeping  "  of  Rails,  245. 
Curvature  of  Railways,  103-106. 
Curve,  Chiques  Rock,  104. 

„     Horse-shoe,  105,  106. 
Cutting,  Baron  Wood,  117. 

„       Birkett,  116,  117. 

„       Dove  Holes,  118,  119. 

,,       Haslingdon,  1 15. 

,,       Woodhouse,  120. 
Cuttings,  Landslips  in,  121,  122. 

„        Making,  107-114. 

Dead  Meat  Trains,  413-415. 
Denison,  Sir  B.,  76-78. 
Ditches,  Side  and  Crest,  113-115. 
Dividends  of  English  Railways,  472. 
Dover  Night  Mail,    A  Ride    on   the, 

355-357- 
Drivers  and  Firemen,  Duties  of,  343- 

354- 

Earthworks,  93. 

Earthworks,    Enormous    Amount    of, 

L36,  137. 
Edge  Railway,  5. 
Electric  Railways,  358-360. 
Elevated  Railways,  221-224. 
Embankment,  Chat  Moss,  132,  133. 

„  Desborough,  98. 

Intake,  134,  135- 

„  Lough  Foyle,  134,  135. 

„  Morden  Carr,  131,  132. 

„  Wolverhampton,  135. 

„  Wolverton,  127. 

Embankments,  Planting  Slopes  of,  137. 

,,  Unexpected    Difficul- 

ties with,  130-135. 
Episodes    of    Travelling   Experience, 

399- 
European  Railways,  490. 
"  Experiment,"  The,  13,  14. 


INDEX. 


513 


"  Facility  Clauses,"  451. 

Fast  Trains,  391,  392. 

Feed-trough,  A,  247. 

Ferry,  New  Holland,  193. 

Finance  of  Railways,  468-472. 

"First  Sod,"  The  Turning  of  the,  91-93 

"  Fish-bellied  "  Rails,  6. 

Fish  Traffic,  416,  417. 

Fog-signalling,  294-296. 

Food  Trains,  415,  416. 

French  Railways,  487,  488. 

Fuel,  Consumption  of,  by  Engines,  338. 

Gauge,  Broad  and  Narrow,  227-232. 

„      Changing  the,  231,  232. 

„      Wagon  Loading,  266,  267. 
Goods  Stations,  418-421. 
Gradients,  94-102. 

,,  Flat  and  Undulating,  96, 97. 

Gray,  Thomas,  of  Nottingham,  7. 
Guards,  Railway,  320-324. 
Gullet,  A,  106. 

High  Peak  Railway,  The,  99,  100. 

Hudson,  George,  47-51. 

Hunting  promoted  by  Railways,  393. 

Industries,  New,  created  by  Railways, 

409-502. 
Inventors,  Preternatural  Genius  of,  273. 

Johnson,  Dr.,  1. 

Labelling  Railway  Carriages,  377. 

Lamp  Room,  The,  292,  293. 

Land,    Increased    Value   of,    through 

Railways,  502. 
Landowners,  Railways  as,  502. 
Lapdogs  by  Railway,  410. 
Level  Crossings,  224-226. 
Lickey  Incline,  The,  100,  101. 
Liverpool      and      Manchester      Line 
Opened,  24,  25. 

„         „      Success  of,  25,  26. 
Locomotive,  A  Prize  for  a,  19,  20. 

„  Establishments,  338-342. 

Locomotives,  331-337. 
London  and  Birmingham  Line,  26. 
London  Railways,  503. 
Lost  Luggage  Office,  254-258. 
Luggage,  Personal,  326,  327. 

Metropolitan  Railway,  164-168. 
Merthyr  Tydvil  Tramway,  329-331. 
Middlesbrough,  15. 
Mileage  of  Railways,  472. 
Military  Operations  by  Railway,  405- 
408. 


Milk  Traffic,  417,418. 
Mineral  Traffic,  421. 
"  Minting  Age,"  The,  71. 
Mont  Cenis,  Railway  Over,  101,  102. 
„  ,,         Under,  175,  176 

Morland,  Sir  Samuel,  393. 

Navvies,  138-15 1. 

Nicholas  of  Russia's  Railway  Scheme 

64. 
North,  Roger,  4. 

November,  The  30th  of,  1845,  51-54. 
"Novelty,"  The,  21. 

Opening  a  Railway,  247-251. 
Opposition,  Buying  off,  83,  84. 

„  of  Northampton,  Oxford 

and  Eton,  35. 

„  "'Even  unto  Death,"  36. 

„  to  Railways,  34. 

Outram,  4. 

Paddington  Terminus,  254. 

„  The  Village  of,  252,  253. 

Parcels  Office,  The,  315-318. 
Parliamentary  Bar,  The,  72-78. 

„      Battle,  First  Great  Railway,  16. 
„      Proceedings,  Cost  of,  89,  90. 
Passenger  Duty  on  Railways,  457-459. 
„         Travelling  as  Merchandise 

398,  399- 
Passengers,  Adventurous,  397,  398. 

„  Careless,  399,  400. 

„  Eccentric,  402. 

,,  Involuntary,  314,  315. 

„  Number  of  Railway,  508. 

„  Thoughtless,  400,  402. 

Pease,  Edward,  9,  10,  12. 
„      Mr.  Henry,  9,  10. 
Permanent  Way,  Maintenance  of,  245- 

247. 
Planning  the  Course  of  a  Railway,  64. 
"  Points,"  268. 
Porters,  Railway,  324,  325. 
"Preamble  Proved,  The,"  85-88. 
Private   Ownership  of  Rolling  Stock, 

421,  422. 
Private  Railways,  408. 
Project,  A  New  Railway,  61-63. 
Prospectus,    First    English    Railway 

15,  16. 
Pullman  Carriages,  371-370- 
„         Cars,  Sociability  in,  396. 
„        Expresses,  394,  395- 

Rails,  243,  244. 

Railway  Enterprise,  Progress  of,  37. 
„        Travelling,  Safety  of,  437,  440. 

L   L 


5^4 


INDEX. 


Railway  Mania,  1S45,  30-47. 

Cost  of  the,  55,  56. 
'•  Railway  Session,  The,"  71-78. 

Rat-catchers,  Railway,  247. 
Rates,  Goods,  461,  402. 

,,       "  Preferred  ''  and  Uniform,  463- 

467. 
Redruth,  Vicar  of,  329. 
Refreshment  Room,  The,  264-266. 
Revolutions,  Railway,  495. 
Righi  Incline,  101. 

"  Rocket,"  The,  22.  [126. 

Round  Down  Cliff,  Levelling  the,  123- 
Royal  Train,  Running  of  the,  396,  397. 
Running,  Making  the,  109. 
Running  Powers,  451-453. 

"  Sanspareil,"  The,  23. 
Select  Committee  on  Joint  Stock  Com- 
panies, 40. 
Servants,  Railway,  325,  326. 
Sheet  Stores,  A,  377-380. 
Signalmen,  318-320. 
Signals,  273-291. 

„        Construction  of,  298,  299. 
Sleepers,  235-237. 

„        Creosoting,  237-239. 
„        Longitudinal  and  Cross,  241, 
242. 
Snow  Sheds,  436. 
Snowstorms,  Cost  of,  435,  436. 

„         „         on  Railways,  426,  45. 
"  Stags,"  45-47. 

State  Purchase  of  Railways,  473-486. 
Station,  A  Lonely,  260,  261. 
Station  Masters,  300-306. 

„  „  Names  of,  305,  306. 

„        York,  260,  261. 
Stations,  259-267. 

„        Names  of,  263,  264. 
,,        Notices  at,  264. 
Stephenson,  George,  8,  11,  12. 

„  „     Early  Life  of,  27-29. 

„  „     Before  Parliament- 

ary Committee,  16-18. 
Stephenson,  Robert,  27,  29,  32. 
Stockton  and  Darlington  Line,  8-15. 
Surrey  Iron  Railway  Company,  6. 
Surveying  and  Levelling,  65,  66. 

„  „        Difficulties  of,  67-70. 

Taxation  of  Railways,  456. 

Telegraphy,  Railway,  296-298. 

Third-class  Passengers,  387,  390. 

Tigress,  A,  on  a  Railway,  410,  411. 

Time  Tables,  383-387. 

Tip,  The,  129. 

Tithe  Pig,  Legal  Status  of  a,  409,  410. 


Toton  Sidings,  269-272. 

Towns,  New,    Created   by    Railways, 

499,  5oo. 
Traffic,  Goods  and  Mineral,  509. 
Train,  A  Departing,  258,  259. 
Tram  Roads,  4. 
Tunnel,  Box,  162. 

„        Channel,  174. 

„        Deepest,  in  England,  163. 
Kilsby,  155,  156,  163. 

„        Longest,  in  England,  164. 

„       Lost  in  a,  169,  171,  172. 

„        Mont  Cenis,  175,  176. 

„        St.  Gothard,  176-179. 

„        Severn,  169-171. 

„        Slips  in,  159,  160. 

,,        Spruce  Creek,  179,  180. 

,,       Woodhead,  162,  163. 

,,        Under  the  Thames,  169. 
Tunnelling,  153-155. 

„  Peculiarities  of,  160-162. 

Tunnels,  Cost  of,  157,  158. 

„         in  England,  Length  of,  173, 
174. 

„         Entrances  to,  179,  181. 

„        Interior  of,  153. 

Vacuum  Brake,  Ride  on  Engine  with, 

447,  448. 
Vesuvius,  Railway  up,  488,  489. 

Viaduct,  Arten  Gill,  183. 

„  Avon  Vale,  189. 

„  Bugsworth,  191. 

.,  Conewago,  195. 

„  Congleton,  190. 

„  Dent  Head,  193. 

„  Dinting,  188. 

„  Dryfe  Sands,  187,  188. 

„  Dutton,  187. 

,,  Foord,  near  Folkestone,  190. 

,,  Niphany,  186. 

„  Ribblehead,  192. 

„  Smardale,  183,  184. 

„  Tarentin,  185. 

„  Trenton,  196. 

„  Vale  of  Llangollen,  191. 

,,  Vicenza  and  Venice,  194. 
Viaducts,  182-195. 

Walls,  Retaining,  112,  113. 
Warr's,  Earl  de  la,  Bill,  448,  449. 
Wayside  Inn,  The,  3.  [498,  499. 

Wealth-creating   Power  of   Railways, 
Weather,Effects  of,on  Dividends  0L435. 
Wordsworth,  William,  34. 
Working  Agreements,  451. 

„        of  Trains,  The,  424. 
Workmen's  Trains,  392,  393. 


OUR    IRON    ROADS. 


Extracts  from.  Reviews  of  the    -First  Edition. 

"  It  is  long  since  we  have  met  with  a  more  excellent  work  on  a  more  ex- 
cellent subject  than  Mr.  Williams's  most  amusing,  instructive,  and  important 
volume.  The  book  may  fairly  be  called  a  national  one  ;  and  the  wonder  as 
one  looks  over  the  well-rilled  pages  is  that  such  a  topic  should  not  have  been 
attacked  and  partially  or  wholly  exhausted  years  ago.  .  .  .  Written  with 
verve  and  vigour,  with  sprightliness  and  address." — The  Atlas. 

"  Cleverly  done.  A  good  deal  of  amusing  and  some  interesting,  if  not 
exactly  instructive,  matter.  Also  a  sightly  book,  well  got  up,  and  illustrated." 
—  The  Spectator. 

"  It  is  historical  and  scientific.  It  tells  us  what  has  been  done,  and  explains 
the  principles  of  the  work.  It  is  anecdotical  as  well  as  practically  de- 
scriptive. .  .  .  A  great  repertory  of  all  kinds  of  information  about  rails, 
and  abounds  with  pleasant  and  useful  reading." — The  Economist. 

"A  History  of  the  Railroad  is  a  desideratum  in  our  literature,  and  has  been 
well  supplied  by  the  volume  before  us.  .  .  .  Mr.  Williams  writes  in 
an  agreeable  strain  and  style.  .  .  .  Handsomely  printed  and  profusely 
embellished  with  woodcuts." — The  Londo?i  Literary  Critic. 

"  A  full  and  pleasant  sketch  of  the  progress  of  a  railway  from  the  first 
conception  by  somebody  of  a  new  line  to  the  final  consolidation  of  a  Com- 
pany supported  by  an  Act  of  Parliament.  .  .  .  With  a  shrewd  sense 
of  what  is  fit,  he  has  extracted  wisely,  and  written  his  own  part  of  the  story 
well." — The  Examiner. 

"  Among  all  the  books  of  the  season  we  have  not  met  with  one  calculated 
to  be  more  generally  acceptable  than  this  work  of  Mr.  Williams's.  .  .  . 
The  result  is  a  volume  which  will  be  read  with  equal  pleasure  and  profit  by 
the  general  reader  and  the  practical  man.  .  .  .  Describes  the  whole 
details  connected  with  the  work  in  a  most  lively  and  agreeable  manner. 
Some  of  these  details  are  very  graphically  given,  and  enriched  with  many 
humorous  and  laughable  incidents.  ...  As  complete  a  history  of  the 
great  fact  of  the  century  as  we  could  hope  to  meet  in  such  a  compass." — 
Tail's  Magazine. 

"  The  history  of  railways  is  the  most  interesting  and  wonderful  chapter  in 
the  records  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  most  characteristic  of  the  century 
itself.  .  .  .  Thousands  would  gladly  avail  themselves  of  a  manual  of  the 
entire  subject,  free  from  the  science,  the  technicalities,  and  the  details  of 
mechanical  processes  belonging  to  it ;  and  presenting  in  a  clear  narrative  the 
past  history,  and  in  a  lively  picture  the  present  condition,  of  the  Railway 
System.  Here,  then,  is  just  such  a  book.  The  author  is  an  intelligent,  well- 
informed  man,  well-up  in  his  subject,  and  able  to  write  about  it  in  the  most 
agreeable  way.  .  .  .  There  is  a  completeness  about  the  book  leaving 
scarcely  anything  to  be  desired.  Seldom  do  interest  and  information  go 
hand-in-hand  so  fully  and  uninterruptedly  as  in  such  a  history  as  that  of 
'Our  Iron  Roads'  ;  and  the  topic  has  received  from  Mr.  Williams  a  treat- 
ment which  will  satisfy  almost  all  inquirers,  and  give  his  volume  a  good  and 
lasting  place  in  public  acceptance  and  repute." — The  Nonconformist. 

"  A  work  which,  in  the  narration  of  simple  facts,  has  all  the  air  and  excite- 
ment of  romance.  .  .  .  We  took  it  up,  thinking  that  only  railroad  pro- 
prietors and  engineers  could  take  interest  in  it.  No  greater  mistake  could 
have  been  committed.  It  is  a  book  of  extraordinary  ingenuity  and  power." — 
The  Evangelical  Magazine. 


■'  Wry  pleasant  and  amusing  reading  it  contains,  and  we  have  to  thank 
Mr,  Williams  for  facts  that  are  worth  knowing." — The  Gateshead  Observer. 

"An  informing  and  highly  agreeable  work.  .  .  .  The  scientific  part 
of  the  subject  is  treated  in  a  popular  style,  and  interspersed  there  is  much 
entertaining  reading,  descriptive  and  otherwise." — The  Bristol  Mercury. 

••  Exactly  such  a  book  as  the  public  requires.  .  .  .  No  comprehensive 
history  o(  the  rise  and  progress  of  this  new  element  of  change  existed  until 
the  publication  of  this  hook.  .  .  .  Contains  a  vast  amount  of  information, 
conveyed  in  an  agreeable  manner." — The  Birmingham  Journal. 

'"  A  work  which,  whether  perused  for  amusement  or  information,  is  sure  to 
give  satisfaction  to  the  reader.  .  .  .  Abounds  in  historical  illustrations." 
—  The  Leeds  Times. 

"A  very  handsome  volume.  ...  A  most  interesting  work,  not  only 
or  the  present,  but  for  future  generations.  ...  A  complete  encyclopaedia 
of  instructive  railway  matter ;  and  while  it  instructs,  it  will  also  amuse." — 
The  North  Wales  Chronicle. 

"  A  most  interesting  and  comprehensive  subject  popularly  treated.  The 
history  of  the  '  Iron  Road'  contains  every  kind  of  information  bearing  upon 
and  illustrating  it.  Statistics,  scientific  operations,  anecdotes,  biographical 
sketches,  all  of  these  are  to  be  found  in  the  pages  before  us  ;  and  the  result 
is  a  book  of  great  instruction,  and  of  equally  great  amusement." — Lloyd's 
Weekly  News. 


Four  Editions  ;  8,000  copies.  Handsomely  bouna  in  maroon  and  gola,  or 
blue  and  gold,  and  gilt  edges;  700  pages,  130  Illustrations  and  Maps. 
Price  11s. 

THE  MIDLAND  RAILWAY 

Ets  Bfse  anti  ^regress. 
A    Narrative    of     Modern    Enterprise. 


FREDERICK   S.   WILLIAMS. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    REVIEWS. 

"  Brimful  of  information." — The  Athenceutn. 

"  A  remarkable  book." —  The  Standard. 

"An  able  historian." — The  Railway  News. 

"  A  goodly  octavo  volume  of  700  pages,  fairly  and  intelligently  written, 
handsomely  got  up,  and  embellished  with  a  great  number  of  excellent  maps 
and  woodcuts." — The  Academy. 


miller's  dale  viaduct. 

"  Exceedingly  interesting  and  well  written.  .  .  A  perfect  mine  of  usefu 
information.  .  .  Mr.  Williams  is  so  perfectly  at  home  with  his  subject 
that  absolute  reliance  may  be  placed  on  all  that  he  says.  .  .  .  Capital 
illustrations,  admirably  printed,  and  handsomely  bound." — Figaro. 

"  We  can  congratulate  Mr.  Williams  on  having  amply  fulfilled  his  task. 
.  .  .  A  vast  amount  of  valuable  information.  .  .  He  has  made  what 
at  first  sight  appears  to  be  an  uninteresting  subject  eminently  entertaining." 
—  The  Hour. 

"  A  very  interesting  and  lively  picture  of  railway  enterprise.  We  are 
shown  the  successive  developments  of  an  ambitious  and  enterprising  Com- 
pany, always  on  the  alert,  now  dashing  into  a  neighbouring  territory,  now 
meeting  an  invasion  on  its  own  :  if  baffled  in  one  direction,  immediately 
seeking  an  outlet  somewhere  else,  and  all  the  while  steadily  spreading  its 
long  feelers  over  the  country,  like  a  vigorous  octopus.     It  is  quite  thrilling 


to  follow  the  almost  incessant  warfare.  .  .  .  Some  excellent  illustrations." 
—  The  Saturday  Review, 

"  He  has  allowed  nothing  to  escape  him.  .  .  He  has  the  whole  of  the 
line  at  his  fingers'  ends,  and  nothing  seems  to  have  occurred,  from  a  land- 
slip to  a  banquet,  from  the  'caravan'  on  Blea  Moor  to  the  Committee 
Room  of  the  House  of  Commons,  without  the  presence  of  the  indefatigable 
annotator,  questioning  and  cross-questioning,  suggesting,  admiring,  record- 
ing, and  finally  printing  it  all.  .  .  He  has  told  a  tale  that  was  worth  the 
telling  thoroughly  well." — The  Spectator. 

"  A  voluminous  and  most  interesting  narrative.  .  ,  Seldom  has  so 
elaborate  a  literary  tribute  been  paid  to  an  industrial  enterprise,  and  seldom 
has  there  been  an  enterprise  the  history  of  which  can  so  well  bear  to  be 
written.  .  .  Told  in  graphic  and  elevated  language.  .  .  Numerous 
engravings  and  maps,  designed  and  executed  in  the  highest  style  of  art." — 
Birmingham  Morning  and  Evening  News. 

"  Paper  and  type  are  of  the  best,  and  the  numerous  engravings  which 
adorn  the  pages  are  executed  with  a  delicacy  which  we  should  admire,  even 
if  they  came  before  us  in  a  Christmas  book,  intended  for  the  ornament  of 
the  drawing-room  table.  .  .  Both  readable  and  instructive.  Many  pages 
have  all  the  interest  of  a  romance." — The  Morning  Advertiser. 

"  An  extremely  interesting  study.  .  .  Ought  to  be  highly  appreciated 
by  the  numerous  shareholders  of  the  Midland  Railway.  .  .  Altogether 
executed  in  a  manner  worthy  of  much  commendation,  and  which  ought 
to  be  highly  appreciated  by  the  numerous  shareholders." — The  Leicester 
Journal. 

"  Exceedingly  readable.  .  .  The  story  Mr.  Williams  has  to  tell  is 
a  very  interesting  one,  and  he  tells  it  con  amore.  .  .  An  immense  mass 
of  information,  imparted  in  a  pleasant  chatty  way.  .  .  A  valuable  con- 
tribution to  the  records  of  British  industrial  and  commercial  enterprise." — 
The  Scots/nan. 

"  An  interesting  and  attractive  volume.  .  .  Printed  on  toned  paper, 
and  is  abundantly — we  might  say  profusely — illustrated." — The  Bath 
Chronicle. 

"  Mr.  Williams  has  done  his  work  extremely  well." — Edinburgh  Daily 
Review. 

"  An  exceedingly  interesting  and  instructive  history.  .  .  told  with  no 
slight  graphic  power.  .  .  Mr.  Williams  has  conferred  a  great  benefit,  not 
only  on  the  shareholders  of  the  Midland  Railway,  but  on  the  English  public. 
.  .  .  Told  in  a  way  that  never  wearies  his  readers.  .  .  An  eminently 
instructive  book.  .  .  We  can  conscientiously  recommend  it." — Nottingham 
Daily  Journal. 

"A  most  acceptable  addition  to  the  class  of  literature  in  which  the  history 
of  modern  enterprise  is  recorded.  .  .  Vivid  and  picturesque  sketches. 
.  .  .  It  requires,  we  are  sure,  no  recommendation  on  the  part  of  the  press 
to  ensure  it  that  general  acceptance  and  wide  circulation  which  it  eminently 
deserves.  .  .  Written  by  a  gentleman  who  touches,  as  with  the  pen  of 
a  master,  the  driest  details,  and  invests  them  with  the  deepest  interest." — 
Nottingham  Daily  Express. 

"  The  Midland  Company  have  been  very  fortunate  in  their  chronicler. 
.  .  .  Reads  like  a  romance.  .  .  We  cannot  think  that  any  railway 
officer  will  miss  perusing  it." — The  Railway  Fly-Sheet. 

"  Very  readable  and  interesting.  .  .  We  are  grateful  to  Mr.  Williams 
for  much  pleasant  reading.  .  .  To  the  general  reader  we  can  recommend 
it  as  a  volume  of  pleasant,  and  not  altogether  uninstructive,  reading." — The 
Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

"  Eminently  readable.  .  .  enlivened  by  witty  and  keen  observations, 
and  by  suggestive  incidents.  .  .  The  sparkling  style  and  shrewd  wit  of 
our  author." — The  Derby  and  Chesterfield  Reporter. 

"  The  rise  and  progress  of  that  most  representative  of  English  railway 
lines.  .  .  History,  topography,  and  administration,  find  each  a  place  in 
Mr.  Williams's  volume.     .     .     The  volume  is  one  that  has  something  to  do 

518 


with  all  who  have  to  do  with  the  Midland,  as  shareholders  or  travellers."— 
The  Graphic. 

"An  accurate  history  of  the  Midland  Company.  .  .  What  would  other- 
wise be  a  dry  story  is  relieved  by  numerous  interesting  personal  incidents, 
and  its  perusal  cannot  fail  to  raise  still  higher  the  public  appreciation  ot 
the  spirited  management  of  the  Midland  Company." — Liverpool  Daily 
Albion. 

"  A  very  clear  and  interesting  style.  .  .  The  marvellous  story  of  how 
the  Midland  has  grown  from  a  small  local  line  into  a  great  system.  .  . 
Sir  Bernard  Burke  has  written  the  '  Romance  of  the  Peerage.'  Mr.  Williams 
has  written  a  '  Romance  of  the  Railways.'  .  .  The  author  points  out  how 
great,  and  in  some  instances  how  stupendous,  were  the  difficulties  which 
beset  the  engineers.  Mountains  and  hills  have  been  here  tunnelled  and 
there  climbed  over,  while  quicksands  and  quagmires  have  been  made  to 
sustain  the  weight  of  heavy  embankments.  .  .  We  should  imagine  that 
every  proprietor  of  the  Midland  Company  will  be  grateful  to  Mr.  Williams.'' 
— Railway  News  {Second  notice). 

"  Has  graphically  detailed  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Midland  Railway. 
.  .  .  An  exceedingly  interesting  volume.  .  .  Admirably  got  up  in 
every  respect.  .  .  Admirably  executed  engravings." — Midland  Counties 
Herald. 

"  A  most  interesting  hisloiretle  of  commercial  enterprise.  .  .  Graphic 
descriptions  of  the  country  traversed  by  the  main  line  and  its  numerous 
branches." — Birmingham  Daily  Post. 

"A  book  which  it  is  a  pleasure  to  handle  and  to  read.  The  reader  is 
taken  from  the  St.  Pancras  Station  over  the  whole  line,  all  points  of  any 
interest  being  briefly  and  attractively  brought  before  his  notice,  with  the  aid 
of  the  many  engravings  of  beautiful  bits  of  scenery  and  wonderful  works  ot 
art  with  which  the  work  abounds." — Herapath's  Railway  journal. 

"  In  a  lucid,  and  at  times  graphic  style,  he  tells  a  story  which  is  really  as 
interesting  as  any  romance.  .  .  Mr.  Williams  has  done  well  to  weave 
together,  before  it  is  too  late,  the  story  of  the  marvellous  enterprise." — North 
British  Daily  Mail. 

"An  agreeable  surprise.  .  .  A  railway  company  is  not  at  first  sight 
an  attractive  study,  and  we  hardly  expected  much  pleasure  from  Mr. 
Williams's  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Midland  Company.  In 
this,  however,  we  have  been  mistaken — utterly  mistaken.  The  author  has 
an  interesting  story  to  tell,  and  he  tells  it  in  an  interesting  manner.'; — 
Nottingham  Daily  Guardian. 

"  This  very  able  and  interesting  work.  .  .  It  was  a  very  difficult  task 
which  Mr.  Williams  undertook,  to  pursue  the  narrative  through  its  various 
contemporaneous  and  parallel  threads,  which  in  many  places  he  has  had  to 
disentangle  from  almost  hopeless  confusion,  and  we  are  glad  to  say  that  he 
has  accomplished  it  with  a  rare  felicity.  We  feel  ourselves  somwhat  en- 
titled to  speak  on  this  point.  .  .  The  whole  railway  world  ought  to  feel 
itself  especially  indebted  to  Mr.  Williams.  .  .  His  pages  are  illuminated 
by  an  abounding  knowledge,  and  a  very  lively  interest  in  his  subject.  .  . 
The  volume  has  given  us  so  much  pleasure  that  we  cannot  too  warmly 
commend  it  to  others." — Sheffield  and  Rotherham  Independent. 

"  Containing  much  more  interest  and  charm  to  many  persons  than  the  most 
thrilling  novel  that  was  ever  written.  .  .  Most  interesting  reading.  .  . 
The  style  of  the  writer  is  admirably  adapted  to  his  theme." — Ilkeston  Pioneer. 

"  Familiar  facts,  picturesque  sketches,  racy  anecdotes,  quaint  allusions. 
.  .  .  Intensely  interesting.  .  .  Forcible  and  lucid  language.  .  . 
This  fascinating  and  instructive  book." — Mansfield  Reporter. 

"A  handsome  bulky  volume,  boldly  printed,  abundantly  illustrated,  and 
full  of  capital  reading.  It  is  a  history  that  wanted  writing,  and  Mr.  Williams 
has  told  his  story  with  clearness,  judgment,  and  fidelity.  There  is  hardly 
a  dull  page  in  the  volume.  .  .  We  can  follow  every  winding,  understand 
incidents  that  have  hitherto  seemed  mysterious,  revive  our  fading  knowledge 
of  early  conflicts,  and  grasp  all  the  necessary  details  for  a  calm  and  com- 


ensive  judgment  ol  what  the  Midland  has  done.  .  .  A  marvellous 
history.  .  .  Full  of  curious  episodes,  battles,  and  victories.  .  .  Im- 
possible  for  us  to  convey  to  our  readers  any  idea  of  the  wealth  of  details 
and  the  ever-shifting  interest  of  what  Mr.  Williams  has  to  say." — The  York 
He, 

"The  literary  matter  is  fully  equal  in  point  of  excellence  to  the  illustra- 
tions. .  .  At  first  sight  it  may  seem  almost  impossible  to  write  a  large 
book  that  should  be  thoroughly  interesting  on  the  development  of  a  railway. 
But  Mr.  Williams  has  clone  it." — The  Railway  Service  Gazette. 

"  Mr.  Williams's  literary  style  was  always  good  :  now  it  is  excellent.     . 
His  pages  are  as  full  of  fact  as  a  history  ;  they  are  also  as  pleasant  as  any 
fiction.     Higher  praise  could  be  bestowed  on  no  writer."—  The  Derbyshire 
Tin 

'■  To  the  execution  of  his  task  the  author  has  brought  energy,  industry, 
and  ability,  and  the  book  is  a  monument  of  honest,  conscientious,  pains- 
taking, literary  labour."' — Salisbury  and  Winchester  Journal. 

"'The   Midland  Railway  has  found   a  worthy  historian  in   Mr.   Williams. 

.     .     .     The  story  is  admirably  written.     The  author  contrives  to  interest 

the  reader  even  when  dealing  with  matters  which  in  less  apt   hands  would 

savour  of  the  driest.     .     .     In  many  respects  a  remarkable  volume." — The 

•pool.  Mercury. 

"  The  Company  could  not  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  better  historian 
than  Mr.  Williams.  .  .  Owes  its  great  charm  to  the  vivacity  and  fresh- 
ness imparted  to  it  by  the  author's  admirable  style.  .  .  From  beginning 
to  end  Mr.  Williams' is  a  most  entertaining  and  instructive  guide,  counsellor, 
and  companion." —  The  Derby  Mercury. 

"  A  most  interesting  work.  .  .  A  labour  of  love.  .  .  Worth  all  the 
space  that  was  necessary  to  exhaust  the  subject,  and  we  must  credit  him 
with  the  merit  of  having  wasted  none  of  it." — The  Mining  World. 

"  The  truly  wonderful  story  Mr.  Williams  has  to  tell.  .  .  Mr. 
Williams  must  be  congratulated  on  the  energy  and  ability  displayed  in  the 
work,  and  on  the  interest  with  which  he  has  invested  many  of  the  dry 
details  necessarily  introduced." — The  Leeds  Mercury. 

"As  we  close  this  handsome  and  interesting  volume,  an  amusing  fancy 
rises  in  our  mind.  What  if  its  painstaking  and  evidently  enthusiastic  author 
were  to  be  shut  up  in  a  room  with  Mr.  John  Ruskin  for  half  an  hour  or  so  ? 
Would  the  two  gentlemen  at  the  end  of  the  interview  emerge  with  smiling 
countenances  and  clasped  hands— in  token  of  the  fervency  of  their  friend- 
ship ?  Or  would  there  be  but  one  of  the  pair  left  alive  to  tell  the  fearful  tale 
of  their  fierce  contentions,  and  final  sanguinary  struggle?  Mr.  Ruskin 
abhors  railways.  .  .  .  Mr.  Williams  worships  the  Iron  Horse  as  de- 
voutly as  the  Norsemen  did  their  god  Odin  .  .  .  and  boldly  claims  for 
his  Iron  Horse  the  reverential  regard  of  the  whole  world.  We  may  smile  at 
his  enthusiasm,  but  cannot  help  admiring  his  earnestness.  He  is  the  Homer 
of  the  Railroad,  and  this  is  his  Iliad.  .  .  The  charm  lies  in  the  author's 
treatment  of  his  subject.  Many  a  latter-day  romance  is  less  interesting  ; 
many  a  novel  lacks  its  freshness  and  vivacity.  .  .  It  may  be  read  by  the 
capitalist  for  information,  and  by  everybody  for  amusement." — Sheffield 
Daily  Telegraph. 


LONDON  :    BEMROSE   &   SONS,    OLD  BAILEY, 
AND    IRONGATE,    DERBY. 


Butler  S:  Tanner,  The  Selwood  Printing  Works,   Frome,  and  London. 


UNIVERSITY  of  CALIFORNIA 

AT 

LOS  ANGELES 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


APR     2  1945 
14  1945 

JAN  8  -  184« 

MAR  2  6  1950 

^_ 
JAN  2  3  1952 
HAY  2  6  1955 

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