_July_, _1898_.
I.
INTRODUCTION.
AT the outset I must offer an apology for making use, throughout this
pamphlet, of the first person. I do so partly for convenience of
expression, and partly because almost all that I have to advance is
derived from my own experience. In doing so I am far from desiring to
undervalue the work of others in the same direction. I have, however,
little hesitation in saying that, with the exception of the late Mr.
Charles Spooner, the able Engineer of the Festiniog Railway, most of
those, so far as I know, who are responsible for the design of plant for
these small lines have been manufacturers whose productions, though often
of fair workmanship, are clearly indicative of a failure to grasp many of
the leading principles involved. This shortcoming is the natural result
of a want of sufficient time for the consideration of details, and a
consequent tendency to imitate established customs in regard to railway
work which by no means apply with equal advantage to very narrow gauges,
where the conditions involved are wholly different. This is especially
true of small locomotive building, the specimens of which evidence in
their design not only ignorance on important points, but also a
deplorable absence of the sense of well-balanced proportion.
I venture to think that, in the twenty-five years during which I have
devoted much of my time to the subject, I have succeeded in bringing to
considerable perfection both permanent way and rolling stock suitable for
these diminutive lines, and more especially the locomotives, which are
probably, for their weight, the most powerful and flexible ever built to
work by simple adhesion. Whether this conceit be well founded or no I
leave to the judgment of those who may be at the pains to acquaint
themselves with the details and result of my work, which has been
undertaken wholly as a labour of love with the sole desire to promote
improvement in what I believe to be an entirely special branch of
engineering. I have never wasted my money on patents, and, so long as my
designs are not imitated in a bungling manner, I am glad to see them made
use of by anyone to whom they may be of service.
It must be understood that I do not here attempt to enter upon the
comparative merits of narrow gauge railways generally, but merely to give
particulars of what has come within my own experience. To facilitate a
comprehension of the conditions under which I have worked, it will be
well to explain that I make no pretension to be considered a professional
engineer, and that I speak rather as a self-taught mechanic and surveyor.
My father possessed a beautiful Holtzappfel lathe, with elaborate tools
for ornamental turning in wood and metal. As a boy of seven or eight I
can recall watching him as he worked. At ten years old I was promoted to
stand on a box and turn candlesticks, but, a year or two later, a few
lessons—the only direct practical instruction I ever had—from an old
fishing-rod maker in chasing metal screw-threads begot in me an ardent
desire to construct machinery, particularly anything pertaining to
railways, for which from my childhood I had an absorbing craze.
By my father’s kindness I, by-and-bye, fitted up a workshop in which the
tools were driven by a half-horse steam engine; and at eighteen had
completed my first locomotive, weighing 56 lbs., which, with a dozen or
so of small wagons, made a fine show on some 40 yards of brass-railed
permanent way of 4 in. gauge. Locomotive driving was my hobby when I went
up to Cambridge, and many were the tips that I learned in my illicit
journeyings on the footplate. The new degree of “Applied Science” had
just made its appearance, in which, in 1871, I had the doubtful credit of
appearing alone in the first class. Doubtful, because the papers were
absurdly simple, and the examiners hardly educated beyond the bare
theories of the mechanical processes; for it was long anterior to the
days of Professor Stuart and his engineering laboratory, where,
by-the-bye, I once remember seeing the “demonstrator” supervising the
reduction of a 4 in. shaft on a stout 9 or 10 in. lathe by a young turner
whose nervous and thread-like shavings would have ensured his speedy
dismissal from any commercial machine-shop.
When I settled at Duffield in 1872, I at once began to put into practice
the views I had formed in regard to the possibility of advantageously
superseding horse traction, in cases where a traffic, though heavy, was
wholly insufficient to justify a more costly railway, by a line of the
narrowest and consequently the cheapest gauge compatible with safety. It
is to a setting forth of the results of my experiments during the years
that have since elapsed, that the following pages are devoted. My claim
to a hearing is chiefly based upon having always been my own draughtsman,
and, for my first two larger locomotives, also moulder, machinist, and
fitter. Owing to the increasing number of experiments, and to other calls
upon my time, assistance eventually became necessary, and, though I am
still conceited enough to keep the more delicate manipulations in my own
hands, so far as I can find time to execute them, it has gradually come
about that I have seven or eight artisans in the little workshops.
Practical acquaintance with every detail both in survey, design, and
construction of narrow-gauge railways has given me something of a pull
over the professional engineer. Thus it happens that, without the credit
of any exceptional ability, I have had advantages that fall to few of
acquiring information which I desire to lay before those who are
interested in the rapid and economical transport of a moderate annual
tonnage.
The first three sections of this pamphlet comprise a brief sketch of the
purposes, origin, and construction of my own line. In Section IV. is
given a detailed account of the construction, working, and cost of the
similar line which I made to connect Eaton Hall with the Great Western
Railway. Sections V., VI., VII., and VIII. are more technical, and may be
passed over by those not interested in the mechanical details, although
it is to the care that has been bestowed on these that my success is
chiefly attributable. Section IX. deals, from such experience as I have
acquired, with the conditions under which these small railways may be
profitably installed. In Section X. I have appended a few further items
of possible interest.
II.
OBJECTS OF THE 15 IN. GAUGE.
WHEN, in 1874, I started on the construction of my experimental railway,
the more notable narrow-gauge lines in our own country were those of 18
in. at Crewe, Woolwich, Chatham, and Aldershot—the latter a sad failure
and the admirable 23½ in. from Portmadoc to the Festiniog Slate Quarries.
The Festiniog Railway, which owed its success as a locomotive-worked line
to the persistent energy and ability of the late Mr. Charles Spooner,
opened the eyes of the transport-interested world to the extraordinary
capacity of a very narrow gauge. But here the marvel lies in the manner
in which the work was adapted to the gauge, not in the suitability of the
gauge to the work. No one but an enthusiast would dare to contend that a
two-foot gauge was the ideal width for a line employing twenty-ton
locomotives and hauling about 100,000 passengers and some 150,000 tons of
minerals and goods per annum. If this development could have been
foreseen, the selected gauge would doubtless have been wider. Such a
traffic, however, is quite outside the scope of this pamphlet, the logic
of which is directed to shewing how a much smaller annual tonnage than
has been hitherto deemed worthy of a railway may be profitably thus
conveyed.
An 18 in. line, such as one of those above referred to, would, if of not
more than three or four miles in length and tolerably level, be capable
of transporting, with one locomotive, 60,000 tons of minerals annually,
reckoning the traffic as in one direction only. There are, however, up
and down the country, a number of cases where a traffic of from 5,000 to
10,000 tons is annually hauled between two fixed points over the public
highways by a single employer. Such cases may be classified as large
mansions, public institutions, mines, quarries, &c. Now it is clear that,
unless there is a prospect of large increase in the traffic, it would be
absurd to employ for a maximum of 10,000 tons a railway equal to 60,000
tons, and so the question arises:—What is the smallest and therefore the
cheapest railway capable of being practically and advantageously worked?
This is the question to which I venture to think I can give a reliable
answer.
In the year 1874, after various preliminary trials, I determined to
construct a line of 15 in. gauge, as the smallest width possessing the
necessary stability for practical use, although I once laid down one of 9
in. gauge for my younger brothers, which proved by no means deficient in
carrying power.
The stability of this 9 in. line was perfect enough so long as persons
did not attempt to ride on the ends and edges of the carriages and
wagons, but man being an article of approximately standard size, it is
clear there must be a minimum gauge which will be stable enough to be
independent of such liberties.
Rolling stock properly proportioned to a 15 in. gauge seems the smallest
that will thoroughly insure safety in this respect, and indeed in France
the late M. Décauville, who did so much to develop lines of this class,
arrived at nearly similar conclusions in adopting a minimum width of 16
in.
It must not, of course, be understood that gauges of such small
proportions are to be advocated except where the traffic is unlikely to
increase beyond their capacity, and where the material to be moved can
conveniently be loaded in moderate sized wagons.
Feeling, however, convinced of the eventual recognition of the utility of
lines of minimum gauge, I took some pains to become acquainted with what
had been already achieved in this direction, with the result that,
excepting only the Festiniog railway, where every detail was most ably
worked out by the late Mr. Spooner, I found generally both road and
rolling-stock constructed as mere imitations of those of the standard
gauge, and showing a want of apprehension of the totally different
conditions to be satisfied. To endeavour to solve the various problems
involved in the successful design of engines, carriages, wagons, and
roadway for a minimum gauge is, therefore, the main object of my little
railway. The chief ends in view are the application of such lines to
agricultural or commercial purposes on large estates, or where quarries,
brick yards, and other industrial establishments need better connection
with the pier or railway station from which their productions are
forwarded. An excellent example of such a line is now to be found in the
one I have constructed at Eaton Hall, particulars of which are given in
Section IV. There were also problems relating to adhesion and friction,
particularly from the narrow-gauge point of view, which I was desirous of
solving, some remarks on which will be found in Section VIII.
III.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE DUFFIELD BANK LINE.
THE construction of my line of 15 in. gauge was commenced in 1874, and
various additions were made up to 1881, when the length laid amounted to
a little over a mile, inclusive of sidings. Since the latter date there
has been no material extension, but the permanent way and its accessories
have been gradually improved.
The line runs from the farm and workshops, up a gradient varying from 1
in 10 to 1 in 12 about a quarter-of-a-mile long, to a level 80 ft. above,
where the experimental course is laid out in the shape of a figure 8, so
as to admit of continuous runs. This part, somewhat more than half-a-mile
in length, has a level stretch of a quarter-of-a-mile, the remainder
consisting of gradients, of which 1 in 20 is the most severe. The minimum
curve on the main line is 25 ft. radius, but in the sidings some occur as
sharp as 15 ft. radius.
The permanent way was at first laid with 14 lb. rails, without
fish-plates, spiked to elm and Spanish chestnut sleepers fallen and sawn
on the premises, 5 in. wide, 2 in. thick, and 2 ft. 6 in. long, set at 1
ft. 6 in. centres. The maximum load did not exceed 12 cwt. per axle, but,
although the work was well done, the road was not equal to the weight,
and required incessant attention. The line was then re-laid on sleepers
6½ in. wide, 4 in. thick, and 3 ft. long, with various sections of rails,
12 lbs., 14 lbs., 18 lbs., and 22 lbs. per yard. These were all fitted
with fish-plates, the joints being on a sleeper. The spacing of the
sleepers was varied with the rails, from 1 ft. 6 in. for the 12 lb. to 3
ft. for the 22 lb. section. Any part of this road carries comfortably 25
cwt. per axle. The fish-plates and larger area of sleeper more than
doubled the original carrying power of the rails.
Six years being about the life of these small sleepers, it soon became
necessary to renew them. Seeing that the rails, owing to the light
traffic, remained perfectly good, to have to pull the road to pieces for
the sake of new sleepers only was a serious annoyance. I then determined
to try a light cast-iron sleeper with the same bearing area. After some
years of experiment, a thoroughly satisfactory one was perfected, in
which the rail is held to its place by a curved steel spring key that
cannot work out. The greater part of the line is now laid on these
cast-iron sleepers, which weigh 28 lbs. each, inclusive of the chairs,
which are cast on. This pattern has now had some eighteen years’ test,
and has proved entirely satisfactory. With a 14 lb. steel rail, the
sleepers being spaced 2 ft. 3 in., and at the suspended fish-joint 1 ft.
3 in., the road, under the load of 25 cwt. per axle, requires very little
repair, some parts having stood for five or six years without being
touched, though constantly run over.
The length of the sleeper is a very material point. It should project
beyond the rail a distance of rather more than half the gauge of the line
thus the rail is equally supported inside and out. When the projection is
reduced, the centre of the sleepers cannot be packed up solid, because
the support would then be greatest between the rails, with the result
that the ballast below would assume a convex form lengthwise of the
sleepers, and thus produce an unstable road. On lines of the standard
gauge, if sleepers of this proportion were adopted, and of sufficient
thickness to distribute the load more widely without bending, a great
saving in repairs would be effected; but it is not likely that any
permanent way official will be bold enough to suggest such a radical
change. On the Festiniog Railway of 23½ in. gauge, a sleeper 4 ft. 6 in.
long has been adopted with excellent results.
A detail of importance in laying rails is that the joints should be
opposite one another. For this purpose it is necessary to order a
proportion of the rails 3 in. to 6 in. shorter than the rest, according
to the gauge and radius of curves. In this way the joints can be kept
practically square. A cross-jointed road is not only unpleasant to travel
on, but is also exceedingly difficult to set up true, particularly on
sharp curves.
Steel rails are now almost universally employed, but it is worth
attention that on any part of a line that is either very damp or rarely
used, iron rails will long outlast steel ones, as every mining engineer
knows.
In regard to the most suitable length of rail, I have found 15 ft. very
convenient for weights up to 18 lbs. per yard. A good deal depends upon
whether the rails come from the makers properly straightened. The longer
the rail, the more difficult it is to straighten; as a rule even the most
careful specification will fail to bring them on the ground in a fit
condition for use. It is a very usual thing to look at rails only in
regard to their horizontal truth, but in reality the vertical correction
is of far more importance, and, to detect this, the rail must be turned
on its side. I cannot too strongly insist on the vital importance of
laying only straight and level rails. A good running road can never be
made if any humpy rails are laid, and it is quite impossible to
subsequently rectify the defect without taking up such rails and treating
them under the press. Rail-straighteners should be directed to level a
rail before straightening it, that is, to correct it vertically first,
then horizontally; the reason being that vertical pressing disturbs the
horizontal truth, while the horizontal pressing does not affect the
vertical accuracy.
I have employed a rail-press fitted up on a wagon, specially arranged
with drilling machine for fish bolt holes, with tool boxes, and a brake.
The screw works horizontally, and the rail runs on adjustable rollers at
each end of the wagon. The amount of curve is thus readily appreciated by
the eye as the process proceeds, while with a vertical screw it is
scarcely possible to judge correctly. For sharp curves I use a roller
bender of a type I designed many years ago for the use of the Royal
Engineers in their field railway experiments. In this machine, which
consists of the usual three rollers with the centre one adjustable by a
screw, two men wind the rail through, and, except at the extreme ends,
effect a perfect curve. This machine, however, is of little use for the
ordinary straightening, and, though saving some time on a long curve, is
laborious to work. A curve made under the ordinary screw-press is of
course really a succession of what are technically termed “dog-legs,”
but, unless it be of smaller radius than one chain, these are
imperceptible if the successive pressures are not applied more than about
14 ins. apart. By pressing at still smaller intervals it is possible to
produce sharper curves of reasonable truth, but I find the rails on such
curves work smoother and wear better if bent with the roller machine.
Rails can be laid round moderate curves without requiring to be bent, by
screwing up the fish plates tight and then springing the rail. The extent
to which this can be effected depends on the weight of the rail and on
its length; the longer rail being the more accommodating. It is not
advisable to attempt to spring a 14 lb. rail round a sharper curve than
five chains, or an 18 lb. rail beyond ten chains radius.
The result of attempting too much springing is that the rails, under the
traffic and changes of temperature, work outwards at the joints and make
“dog legs” more or less serious. Where the ballast is of a loose dry
nature very little, if anything, can be done with springing. I have
enlarged upon this subject of rail-laying because it is of prime
importance to a good road, and a matter that, on narrow-gauge lines, does
not receive the attention it requires.
To return to a description of my line, there are on it three tunnels, two
bridges, and a viaduct 91 feet long and 20 feet high. The latter was
erected in 1878, as an improvement upon one at Aldershot, put up by a
gentleman who induced the War Office to sanction a short experimental
line for army transport upon a hopelessly inconvenient and ridiculous
plan.
My structure is of pitch pine, and stood for 16 years without repair. It
is a trestle bridge, the trestles being so designed that each member is a
multiple of the height. The roadway is carried on four timbers; formerly,
for a 8 ton engine, 11 in. deep and 8 in. wide; now, for one of 5 tons,
13 in. deep and 3½ in. wide. These are bolted together in pairs, one pair
under each rail, the two being kept parallel by stretchers and through
bolts at every 5 feet. In each pair the timbers break joint with one
another on alternate trestles, the latter being 15 ft. apart, and each
timber 30 ft. long. The advantages of this arrangement are two-fold, the
timbers can be run forward from trestle to trestle as the work advances
without scaffolding or lifting tackle, and, should one trestle sink out
of line, the continuity of the upper work checks it, and obviates the
dangerous “dog legs” to be almost invariably observed in this class of
bridge. The original cost with the lighter timbers was £30, including
every item of expenditure—equal to £1 per yard. The average height is 15
ft. The details are arranged to require but little skilled labour, the
connections being made entirely by bolts and cast angle-plates. Two
carpenters, in five days framed the five trestles including cutting the
timber to length; and in three more days, with the assistance of three
labourers, the whole was erected and the rails laid ready for traffic. A
platform and railing were, however, subsequently added for the
convenience of foot passengers, thus materially increasing the cost. When
rebuilt in 1894 with stronger timbers, the original trestles were
retained.
Where the line crosses field-fences a dyke is dug about 5 to 6 ft. square
and 3 ft. deep, across which the rails are carried on two narrow girders,
thus effectually preventing the passage of cattle, and avoiding both the
delay of gates and the expense of side fencing.
The line is properly equipped with interlocking signals and points on a
very simple plan. These are for the most part worked from two
signal-boxes in telephonic communication.
Particulars of the cost of such a line will be found in Sections IV. and
IX. On my experimental course there are six stations, at three of which
are sheds for the accommodation of the rolling stock. When the line is
used on the occasion of a garden party, a regular service of passenger
trains is run, and several times trains of eight long bogie cars,
carrying 120 passengers, have been hauled up the gradient of 1 in 20, and
up the still more trying one of 1 in 47 situate on a three-quarter-circle
curve of 40 ft. radius.
In the year 1894 I exhibited the line to the engineering public during
three days. On this occasion a variety of experiments in haulage and
shunting were shewn, and for part of each day two trains were run
concurrently.
IV.
DETAILS OF THE EATON HALL LINE.
DURING the exhibition of my railway at Duffield in 1894, one of the
visitors was the Hon. Cecil Parker, agent to the Duke of Westminster, who
was desirous of laying some sort of light railway from Eaton Hall to the
Great Western Railway, three miles distant. It was necessary that the
line should be unobtrusive in appearance, of a thoroughly permanent
character, yet moderate in cost. The traffic was, as it proved, correctly
estimated at from 5,000 to 6,000 tons annually. Here was a perfect
opportunity for a practical experiment with the 15 in. gauge, which was
ample for five times that amount. I was asked to inspect the route, and
subsequently roughly estimated the cost, exclusive of buildings, at about
£6,000. I had some doubt at first whether it was possible for me to find
time to lay out and construct the whole line and rolling stock myself,
but the difficulty of getting special designs effectively carried out by
commercial firms at a reasonable cost decided me to undertake everything.
It was at my desire eventually agreed that I should have a free hand in
regard to all the designs, doing the work at cost price and without
charge for my own time.
The line will now be generally described, after which some of the more
interesting details will be enlarged upon.
The Eaton estate railway connects the Hall with the Great Western Railway
at Balderton, 3 miles distant. The total length of line laid is 4½ miles,
which includes, besides the main line, a branch ¾ mile in length to the
estate works near Pulford, together with several shorter branches to the
estate brickyard and other points. The traffic to be dealt with,
consisting chiefly of coal, road metal, and building material, was
computed at about 6,000 tons per annum. As it was desired that the line
should be as inconspicuous as possible, since it had to cross the park
and the three principal drives, and the required capacity being small, it
was decided to adopt the 15 in. gauge.
The line is laid with steel flat-bottomed rails, weighing 16½ lbs. per
yard, and, to reduce repairs to a minimum, these are carried throughout
on cast-iron sleepers, 3 ft. long, 6½ in. wide, weighing 28 lbs., and
coated with anti-corrosive. Steel spring-keys secure the rails in jaws
cast on the sleepers, which are spaced at 2 feet 3 inches centres, and,
at the joints, at 1 ft. 4 in. Steel girders, on cast-iron foundation
plates, are used for all the bridge-work. Thus no timber whatever is
employed in the permanent way, and the depreciation is practically
limited to wear of rails.
The rails for the points are rivetted on to flat-topped cast-iron
sleepers, and were built up in my workshops, and forwarded ready for
laying down. A set of points with seven sleepers carrying them, and with
lever, counterweight, base plate, and the necessary rods, weighs about 4
cwts., and costs £7 15s. 0d. All the switches are planed out of the
solid, and the crossings are of cast steel. Special cast-iron sleepers
are employed on the girder bridges. These are of bar form, having below a
cross-piece which is tightened up to the sleeper by two bolts, and which
grips the inner flange of each girder. It is thus possible to set the
rails to any moderate curve, on straight girders. For crossing roads a
short and very strong sleeper, only 2 feet in length, is employed, with
jaws fitted to take a second rail on each side to act as a guard-rail to
the running one. These sleepers have a concrete foundation, and are
packed to the required level with tarred macadam. The spaces are then
filled in with the same material, and the road finished to a surface
level with the top of the rails with a mixture of tar, pitch, and
screenings. The flange space is of course left free; this is 1½ in. wide
so as to avoid any chance of the shoes of draft horses jamming therein.
The field crossings, to permit of carts crossing the line at convenient
points in the various fields, are arranged with a similar double rail,
but on a specially strong sleeper of the standard length, packed with
ordinary ballast.
The ballast is red furnace cinder, 5 to 6 in. in depth below the
sleepers. The surface width is 4 ft., and through the park the top of the
ballast is level with the turf, the drainage here being effected by a
central 4 in. pipe. The appearance is thus that of a narrow garden walk.
For the remainder of the route, which is entirely over grass land with a
stiff clay subsoil, the ballast is above ground.
The railway is unfenced throughout, and passes from field to field on
short open girders with a dyke excavated below, thus preventing the
passage of cattle. Two high roads besides the three drives are crossed on
the level, and several brooks by girder bridges, the longest span being
28 ft. The line is practically a surface one, there being few noticeable
cuttings and embankments. The cost of the earthwork has been £205 per
mile. The maximum gradient against the load is 1 in 70, the highest point
of the line is 63 ft. above the lowest, and the Eaton terminus is 51 ft.
above the junction with the Great Western Railway. The curves on the main
line do not run below 300 ft. in radius, but curves of 60 ft. radius,
and, at difficult points, of still less, occur at some of the termini and
on the branches. At Eaton a large covered coal stove 80 ft. long and 33
ft. wide has been erected, so arranged that the little wagons run in at a
high level and readily discharge their contents.
The rolling stock, which is all capable of traversing a minimum curve of
25 ft. radius, is fitted throughout with self-acting coupler-buffers, and
all similar parts are interchangeable. It comprises the following:—
One four-coupled locomotive weighing 3 tons in working order, and
carrying enough water and fuel for an hour’s running.
Thirty wagons 6 ft. long, 3 ft. wide, 1 ft. 3 in. deep, weighing each 7½
cwts., and holding 16 to 17 cwts. of coal, or 20 to 22 cwts. of bricks
and road metal. The sides are of box form and removable, so that the
floors can be used as flat wagons for the conveyance of large stones,
castings, &c. Fittings are attachable to any wagon for carrying long
timber. Also one bogie passenger car 20 ft. long and 3 ft. 6 in. wide,
weighing 23 cwts. and seating 16 persons, and one parcel van, to carry 2
tons, of approximately similar construction.
Various other vehicles; among which are a brake van, 6 wagons capable of
carrying 1½ tons each, and 2 for 2 tons each. Full particulars of the
construction of the rolling-stock, now increased, will be found in
Sections V. and VI.
The gross load which the engine, exclusive of its own weight, will haul
in regular work is 40 tons on the level, and 20 tons up the ruling
gradient of 1 in 70; the speed being about 10 miles per hour. In an
experimental trip, however, a speed of 20 miles per hour was attained
without undue oscillation. This weight of train is by no means the limit
which can be hauled on the line, for, on the Duffield Bank railway, the
eight-wheel-coupled engine draws far more than this load, and on one
occasion took eight bogie passenger cars carrying 124 persons up a
gradient of 1 in 47 on which is a half-circle curve of only 40 ft.
radius.
The entire cost of construction has been £1,095 per mile, exclusive of
sheds. This figure would have been materially less but for the
considerable expense attending the extra levelling and turfing required
to avoid undue prominence. The cost of rolling stock has been £214 per
mile, thus bringing the total outlay to £1,309 per mile.
The annual expenses were computed thus:— £ s. d.
Interest at 4 per cent, on gross 285 0 0
expenditure
Renewal of permanent way, 4 per cent 80 0 0
on £2,000 (25 years life)
Renewal of rolling stock, 8 per cent, 72 0 0
on £900 (12½ years life)
Working expenses £ s. d.
Driver 91 0 0
Brakesman (boy) 26 0 0
Two Platelayers 99 0 0
Fuel and oil 39 0 0
255 0 0
Total annual cost 642 0 0
The cost of loading being the same for railway wagons as for carts is not
considered. With a minimum traffic of 5,000 tons per annum over an
average distance of 2½ miles—equal to 12,500 ton-miles—the cost of
transport is almost precisely 1s. per ton per mile; which is materially
less than the cost of the cart haulage. The same rolling-stock and staff
could readily deal with 40 tons per working day of eight hours—equal, at
five days per week, to upwards of 10,000 tons a year. If the traffic were
to reach this amount, the cost per ton of transport would be greatly
reduced With a more powerful engine and additional rolling stock, such a
line is capable of conveying an annual traffic of 40,000 tons.
There are probably many localities in which a diminutive railway like
that at Eaton, ample in its capacity for estate requirements and
extremely flexible in threading existing buildings, would well repay
construction. The unobtrusiveness of so small a line and rolling stock,
the relief to the roads, and the convenience of constant connection with
the nearest railway, are points which are deserving of consideration
where the conditions make such an installation possible.
The laying of the line was begun in August, 1895. The earthwork was
already well advanced. On account of the large amount of game in the
neighbourhood of the line, it was considered wiser to employ no
contractor, nor were any men obtainable with a knowledge of such
diminutive platelaying. For the first fortnight I worked away myself with
beater, rammer, and crowbar, till I had taught a proportion of my staff
of 16 the use of these tools, and how to put the permanent way together.
My assistant engineer, new to railway work, soon picked up the right
ideas of what was required, and in a month, when I had to leave,
everything was going nicely. A bonus was paid on every rail-length beyond
a quarter-of-a-mile per week completed. This, compared with the fine work
done by the Royal Engineers in the Soudan, appears a poor performance,
but it must be remembered that we had to bring not only rails and
sleepers from our base, but also all the ballast, and that we left our
work thoroughly packed, the banks soiled and turfed, the road crossings
laid in concrete and asphalte with double rails and special sleepers, the
field-crossings for carts made good, the girder bridges and fence bridges
(cattle stops) erected, and all points and crossings permanently finished
off. About Christmas we reached Eaton Hall, and in the following May
(1896) had pretty well finished all the branches.
Of course work done with such care and by the day was costly, and it
would doubtless be possible to construct a similar line by contract at
two-thirds of the price. But it is a question whether much would have
been saved in the long run, for, except the usual platelayers’ work, no
repairs of any sort have been necessary since completion, nor has any
part of the mechanism failed or given trouble; a result not usually
attained in contract work.
It may interest those who have similar work to deal with if I explain
that in making this line all our material had to be hauled from our base
on the Great Western Railway at Balderton. The procedure was as
follows:—At the rail-end four 15 ft. lengths of light timber framing 9
in. deep were laid on the bare formation. A train then backed up with
eight wagons of ballast, and on top of them four lengths of rail ready
keyed to sleepers. The rails were lifted off alongside where they were to
be laid, the “tops” of the wagons were removed and the ballast shovelled
off on each side. The train then drew away to refill. The length of
framing next the rail-end was lifted forward to the end of furthest
framing, and so consecutively with the other three, thus leaving between
the rail end and the fresh laid framing a space of 60 ft. with the loose
ballast lying thereon. Four men with shovels and four with rammers then
put the ballast in shape and rammed it solid, and also true to a level
given by the engineer. The rails and sleepers were next lifted into
place, and the fish plates affixed. The sleepers next the joints were
temporarily packed, by which time a fresh train had arrived. The process
was then repeated. In this manner, with a staff of ten men at the
rail-end, a driver and boy with the train, six men loading ballast, three
men straightening and bending rails, and three fixing them in sleepers,
60 ft. were laid in about forty minutes, including delays for field
crossings and cattle-stop bridges. After a day or two of this work the
men were set to packing and finishing what had been laid. With a larger
staff the two processes might, but less conveniently, have proceeded at
the same time.