has but 350 miles of railway to its 4,200,000 square miles and its
population of 420,000,000. Many lines are projected, but are all in
the eastern portion, and the twentieth century will be well advanced
before the railway opens up the heart of the country to civilization.
Japan, the very opposite of China, has encouraged railway construction,
and now has 3000 miles of railway to its 147,600 square miles and its
population of 45,000,000.
The most notable of all the railways in Asia is the great
Trans-Siberian railway, now being built by the Russian government. It
was commenced in 1891, and may be completed by 1903, the distance from
St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, or Port Arthur, being then about 5670
miles. There are several large cities on the route, and the line does
not pass through such a wild and uninhabited country as that through
which the Union Pacific Railroad was built thirty years ago. It is
now open to Lake Baikal, the trip of 3230 miles being made in about
12 days by the slow train, or 8 days by the less frequent fast train.
The road is roughly and lightly built in many respects, so that high
speeds cannot be maintained. The eastern end of the road will pass
through Chinese territory, thus giving Russia a firm foothold in that
empire. Hardly less interesting is the Trans-Caspian railway, from the
Caspian Sea to Samarcand, 885 miles, with a branch from Merv to within
95 miles of the Afghan city of Herat. An extension to the Persian Gulf
is also projected. As the Trans-Siberian railway has developed a new
wheat-growing region, so the Trans-Caspian railway is developing a new
cotton-growing region.
In Africa the railways already extend northward from Cape Town, through
the land of the Boers and up to Buluwayo, the old Zulu stronghold,
1400 miles. There is a picturesque project for carrying the line
on to the Mediterranean, a total distance of 5500 miles, but this
will not materialize for many years. The Congo railway, passing the
rapids, opens communication between the coast and a long stretch of
inland navigation. Several lines are being pushed from the east coast
into the interior, and a transcontinental railway from St. Paul de
Loando, on the west, has been commenced, but there is not now much
life in this latter project. The French have two favorite schemes for
railways,—from Algeria to Timbuctoo, and from Tunis to Lake Chad, the
latter line being about 1600 miles in length.
In Australia, the lines of the different colonies are gradually
extending and connecting to form a continuous system, which is
hampered, however, by differences of gauge. There is railway
communication between the capitals of Queensland (Brisbane), New South
Wales (Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), and South Australia (Adelaide).
The great stretch westward to the coast cities of Western Australia is
yet in the future, as is also the South Australian transcontinental
line from Adelaide northward across vast deserts (already crossed by
the telegraph) to Palmerston.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO ST. GOTHARD TUNNEL, SWITZERLAND.]
Great bridges and tunnels are among the prominent features of the
railways of the world, but space forbids entering into details of these
works. They are in principle similar to those required for highways,
but many of these great works would never have been undertaken for
such traffic as is carried by a highway. The only railway suspension
bridge ever built was the Niagara bridge, opened in 1855, and replaced
by a steel arch in 1898. The development of bridges and traffic may
be judged from the fact that the Victoria single-track tubular bridge
over the St. Lawrence, at Montreal, which was opened in 1859, was
replaced in 1897–98 by a double-track railway and roadway truss bridge
on the same piers. The steel arch bridge, 1700 feet long, across the
Mississippi, at St. Louis, cost $5,300,000. The tubular bridge, 6592
feet long, over the St. Lawrence, at Montreal, Canada, cost $7,000,000.
The cantilever bridge, 8925 feet long, over the Firth of Forth,
Great Britain, cost $13,000,000. The cost of the proposed suspension
bridge, 3000 feet long, over the Hudson, at New York, is estimated
at $13,000,000. The first railway tunnel was the Portage Tunnel, in
Pennsylvania, built in 1831. The longest railway tunnel is the Simplon,
in Switzerland. It is 12.25 miles in length, and is still under
construction. The next longest is the Gothard, Switzerland. It is 9.30
miles long, and was opened in 1881.
In track construction, cast-iron rails began to be superseded by
wrought iron in 1820, and many of the early American railways had
strap iron laid on timber stringers. Within the past twenty years steel
has been used almost exclusively. In place of rails weighing 25 to 35
lbs. per yard, and 3 to 15 feet in length, we now use rails of 80 to
100 lbs. per yard, 30 to 60 feet long. Stone blocks and wooden ties
were first used to support the rails, and the latter are now generally
used, although metal ties are extensively used and date back to 1846.
In 1894 there were thirty-five thousand miles of railway laid with this
form of track. The next development will probably be a permanent and
continuous concrete bed for the rails; as the present construction,
with wooden ties laid in stone or other ballast, requires continual
attention and repair under the effects of heavy traffic.
[Illustration: RAILWAY SIGNALS.]
The semaphore signal was introduced in England by Mr. C. H. Gregory in
1841, and is now used in all parts of the world, to govern and protect
train movements. The first interlocking plant was erected in 1843, and
the complete plants—as used to-day—date from 1856. Now, practically
all important junctions are equipped with interlocking plants, which
prevent conflicting signals and switches being so set as to lead to
accident. The electric telegraph was patented by Cooke and Wheatstone
in 1837, and in 1839 they secured its introduction to govern the train
service on the Great Western Railway (England). The movements were
telegraphed from station to station, and a train was not allowed to
leave a station until the preceding train had passed the next station
in advance. This was the beginning of the “block system,” which is a
great element in the safe operation of traffic, since it maintains an
interval of space between trains. Mr. Edwin Clark’s telegraph block
system was introduced in 1853, and as traffic increased intermediate
block signal stations were established between the regular stations, so
as to shorten the distances between trains. This system is compulsory
in Great Britain and is already largely used in the United States.
It was at first held that it was not adapted to conditions in this
country, where so many lines have but a single track, but experience
has shown that it increases the facility as well as the safety of
operating traffic on single and double track lines alike.
[Illustration: AN AMERICAN EXPRESS LOCOMOTIVE.]
Steam locomotives were used on colliery railways in England as early
as 1804, when Trevithick built an engine, which was the first to haul
a train on rails. George Stephenson built his first locomotive in
1814, and in 1825 built the “Locomotion” for the Stockton & Darlington
Railway. Horses, stationary engines, and steam locomotives were all
proposed for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, and in 1829 the
directors offered a premium of $2500 for the best locomotive. Each
engine was to consume its smoke, weigh about 6 tons, cost not more than
$2750, and be capable of hauling a train of 20 tons at 10 miles per
hour. This led to the now historical trials at Rainhill, in October,
1829, between the “Rocket” (Stephenson), the “Novelty” (Braithwaite
and Ericson), and the “Sans Pareil” (Hackworth). The award was made
to the “Rocket” as the most practicable machine, although the
“Novelty” attained a higher speed, and the “Sans Pareil” was also a
good engine and continued in use for several years. Seguin introduced
the locomotive in France in 1827, having modified and rebuilt an old
Stephenson engine.
The first locomotive operated in the United States was the imported
“Stourbridge Lion,” on the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co.’s line, in
1829. Cooper’s “Tom Thumb” was run on the Baltimore & Ohio Railway
in 1830, and in 1831 the directors of this road offered premiums of
$4000 and $3500 for locomotives. Each engine was to weigh not more
than 3½ tons, to have four wheels, and to haul loads of 15 tons at 15
miles per hour for 30 days. Five engines were presented, by Davis,
Costell, Milholland, Childs, and James. The prizes were awarded to the
first two, the Davis engine “York” being rebuilt under the direction
of its inventor and Mr. Ross Winans, while the “Costell” was put in
switching service. In 1831 the “John Bull” was built by the Stephensons
in England, and was put in service on the Camden & Amboy Railway
(U. S. A.) in the same year. In 1893 this old engine was readjusted and
ran from New York to Chicago, 912 miles, under its own steam, hauling
two cars of the type of 1836.
In 1898 there were about 19,500 locomotives in Great Britain and 36,500
in the United States. As a comparison between the little engines of
early days and the huge and swift engines of to-day, it may be stated
that modern passenger locomotives are now constructed with as many as
six driving wheels, and ten wheels in all. Some of those in use on the
Great Northern Railway, Great Britain, have driving wheels of 97 inches
in diameter. On the Fitchburg Railway, U. S. A., locomotives are in use
which weigh 75 tons. Some modern freight locomotives have as many as
ten driving wheels, and twelve wheels in all, and a total weight of 115
tons.
Since the application of electric traction to street railways, it has
frequently been said that it would eventually supersede the steam
locomotive. In no instance, however, has it yet been applied to regular
railway service, with heavy trains and long runs, nor is there yet
any indication of increased economy or efficiency due to its use in
such service. It is successfully used for local and suburban lines,
but these form a class in themselves, and the conditions of operation
are very different from those which obtain in ordinary service. The
Baltimore & Ohio Railway has some heavy electric locomotives, but these
are for hauling trains through a tunnel, to avoid the trouble and
discomfort from the smoke and gases from the steam engines.
The early passenger cars were either open cars with cross seats, or had
coach bodies on four-wheel platform cars. The coach-body cars on the
Mohawk & Hudson Railway, in 1831, were 7 ft. 4 in. long and 5 ft. wide.
In 1836 the American type of car was introduced on the Camden & Amboy
Railway, having a long body mounted on two four-wheeled trucks. These
cars seated 48 passengers, and cars for 60 passengers were in use in
1839, their cost being $2400. American day cars are now 60 to 80 ft.
long, seating 60 to 84 passengers, and weighing from 30 to 47 tons. The
standard day car of the Pennsylvania Railway is 60 ft. 7 in. long over
all, and seats 66 passengers. Dining and sleeping cars weigh from 45 to
65 tons, much of the weight being due to the special equipment for the
comfort and convenience of passengers, and consequently so much dead
weight to be hauled. It can be said without dispute that in no other
country have the railways done so much for the comfort and convenience
of their passengers, and have charged so little therefor.
In Europe, the cars developed into the compartment system, with side
doors, there being high transverse partitions with seats on each side,
so that in a full compartment half the passengers must ride backward.
The cars are usually short, with two or three axles, but about 1872 the
American system of mounting cars on trucks was introduced, and longer
cars on trucks are now somewhat extensively used. Within later years
corridor cars have been introduced, with a corridor connecting the
compartments. Such details as steam heat, toilet arrangements, ample
light, luxurious finish, etc., which have long been a matter of course
in this country, are quite “end of the century” improvements in Europe,
and generally below the standards observed in this country.
[Illustration: AN AMERICAN FREIGHT LOCOMOTIVE.]
Sleeping cars were used on the Cumberland Valley Railway (U. S. A.)
in 1836. In 1856, Mr. T. L. Woodruff built a sleeping car, and in
1857 two were built by Mr. Webster Wagner and operated on the New
York Central Railway. Mr. George M. Pullman began his experiments in
1859, and in 1864 he put in service on the Chicago & Alton Railway the
first sleeping car with the berth arrangements now almost universally
used. He pushed the business more vigorously than his predecessors
and acquired many of their patents. The Pullman Palace Car Co. was
organized in 1867, and in 1879 its various works were all concentrated
in a new industrial town—called Pullman—near Chicago. In 1898 the
company owned 2,428 cars, which were operated on 121,236 miles of
railway, ran 190,562,758 miles, and carried 4,852,400 passengers.
Most of the cars are in the United States, but some are in Europe and
Australia. The Wagner Palace Car Co. owns 560 sleeping cars and 143
parlor cars. In Europe most of the long distance sleeping and dining
car service is operated by the International Sleeping Car Co., which
runs cars between Paris and Constantinople (72 hours), Paris and St.
Petersburg (120 hours), Calais and Brindisi (25 hours).
Passenger cars are now usually lighted by oil, the mineral oil used in
America being superior to the vegetable oils commonly used in Europe.
Oil gas, compressed in tanks, is very extensively used, and gives an
excellent light. The system was invented by Mr. Julius Pintsch, and was
introduced in Germany in 1873, and in the United States in 1881. It is
now applied to about 85,000 cars in 22 countries; 32,000 of these cars
being in Germany, 17,000 in Great Britain, and 15,000 in the United
States. The electric light is as yet used only on a few of the finest
express trains, the current being generated either from a steam engine
and dynamo in the baggage car, or from a dynamo on each car, driven
from one of the car axles. Storage batteries maintain the light when
the cars are at rest. American cars were heated by stoves at a very
early date, and this developed into the hot water system, with a stove
and circulating pipes in each car. Steam from the locomotive, however,
is now generally employed, and its use is compulsory in some States.
In Europe the passengers have to rely largely upon their own wraps and
rugs.
[Illustration: EXTERIOR OF LATEST SLEEPING CAR.]
In American freight cars, great improvements have been introduced,
increasing the carrying capacity while reducing the weight. The
capacity has been increased from 10 tons of load in 1870, to 30, 40,
and even 50 tons in 1899 (an increase of 300 to 500 per cent). The
weight has increased only from 10 to 15 or 17 tons (or 50 to 70 per
cent). Cars are now being built entirely of steel, and while their
first cost is greater, the cost per ton and the expenses of maintenance
are less than for wooden cars of similar capacity. As sleeping, dining,
parlor, tourist, and other special cars have been introduced for
passenger traffic, so refrigerator, stock, horse, fruit, poultry, and
furniture cars have been introduced for special requirements in freight
traffic. In other countries, however, the use of such special equipment
is much more limited. The ordinary foreign freight cars are the same
as those of 30 or 40 years ago, being short four-wheel cars, weighing
5 tons, and carrying 8 to 10 tons. These are not well adapted to the
handling of bulk freight, and greatly increased economy and facility
in such traffic would result from the introduction of the American
system, as has been done in Australia. In modern American practice,
too, the cars are equipped with automatic couplers and power brakes,
thus greatly increasing the safety and facility of operating heavy fast
trains. In 1893, Congress passed a law requiring that by January 1,
1898, all freight cars should be equipped with automatic couplers and
enough cars equipped with power brakes (operated from the engine) to
put the trains entirely under the control of the enginemen. The date
was afterwards extended to January 1, 1900.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A PULLMAN SLEEPING CAR.]
As the speed and weight of trains increased, the dangers due to lack
of brake power soon became alarmingly apparent, and numerous forms
of continuous brakes were devised, to be applied to the wheels of
every car, under the control of the engineman. In 1889, the British
government passed the Railways Regulation Act, making compulsory the
use of the block system, the interlocking system, and continuous
brakes. In England and some other foreign countries, the vacuum brake
(introduced about 1871) is largely used, but it is slower in action
than the compressed air brake, and is therefore less efficient for
long, heavy, and fast trains.
The Westinghouse brake is one of the most important factors in the
safe and efficient handling of heavy and fast trains. Mr. George
Westinghouse patented his straight-air brake in 1869, his plain
automatic brake in 1872, and his quick-action freight train brake in
1887, while in 1892 he introduced his high-speed brake for express
trains. Up to the opening of 1899, the Westinghouse brake had been
applied to about 55,500 locomotives and 912,000 cars, of which 34,300
locomotives, 50,000 passenger cars and 750,000 freight cars were on
American railways. With this brake, a passenger train of 300 tons,
traveling at 60 miles per hour, can be stopped in about 4500 feet
and about 90 seconds, or in 1200 feet and 31 seconds in case of
emergency. A freight train of 800 tons, running at 30 miles per hour,
can be stopped in about 950 feet in 32 seconds, or in 300 feet and 11
seconds by an “emergency” application. Very few countries have applied
continuous brakes to freight cars, except the United States and Canada,
and (to some extent) Russia and New South Wales.
The improvement in train service has been even greater than that in
train equipment, and this improvement has been in speed, accommodation,
and number of trains. Among the notable runs are those across the
American and European continents. The Canadian Pacific Railway starts
a train daily from each end of the line for a through run of 2900
miles. In 1888, a through train service (with sleeping and dining
cars) was instituted between Paris and Constantinople, about 1800
miles, and through trains are run twice a week between Paris and St.
Petersburg, 1600 miles. There is also a similar service between Calais
and Brindisi, 1200 miles, in connection with the mail steamers between
England and India. In 1898, the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed to
Irkutsk, and a through train service between St. Petersburg and that
city, 3230 miles, was commenced.
Railway trains were at first intended to have speeds of about 10 to 20
miles per hour, the latter being looked upon as almost excessive, but
much higher speeds were very soon attained. There has been almost from
the earliest days a public demand for higher and higher speeds, with
consequent rivalry between the railways. The United States and Great
Britain (and France within the past few years) have the fastest trains
and by far the greater number of fast trains. The highest recorded
train speed is that of the Exposition Flyer, 270 tons total, upon the
New York Central Railway, May 10th, 1893. It ran a distance of one
mile at the rate of 112 miles per hour, and again, on the same date,
maintained a speed of 100 miles per hour, through a distance of five
miles. As a daily train between New York and Chicago, it maintained
a rate of 60 to 75 miles an hour, throughout the entire 980 miles of
distance.
[Illustration: RAILWAY SUSPENSION BRIDGE, NIAGARA FALLS.]
It will be seen that the speed of “100-miles-an-hour,” which is
popularly looked upon as a sort of ideal, has been more than once
exceeded, but it may be well to explain that such spectacular bursts
of speed are really less important and less wonderful than the trips
of 50 to 1000 miles at speeds averaging 50 to 65 miles per hour for
the entire journey. Taking into account the loss of time by stops at
stations, by changing engines, by the resistance of long grades,
etc., it will be easily understood that in order to maintain the
average speed from start to finish, the actual speeds must often
range from 60 to 75 or even 80 miles per hour. The regular daily
transcontinental train of the Canadian Pacific Railway has an average
speed of 30 miles per hour, but maintains this for the trip of 2906
miles, which occupies 94½ hours. This is a train and a record of which
railway men in general, and those of the Canadian Pacific Railway in
particular, may well be proud. There are no such through trains in the
United States, but in 1876 a special theatre train was run from New
York to San Francisco in 3 days 7⅔ hours. In 1889, the time of the
transcontinental mails was 5 days 8¼ hours, but that same year it was
reduced to 4 days 12¾ hours, which schedule continued in force until
1899. On January 1, 1899, a new mail service was inaugurated, making
the 3408 miles in 98½ hours, or at an average of 34½ miles per hour,
including all stops, and the transfer of mail bags across Chicago by
wagon from one station to another. The actual running speed is often 60
to 75 miles per hour for long stretches. Engines are changed 18 times
and postal crews 7 times.
Fast passenger trains are a popular attraction, but only railway men
can fully appreciate the advantages and economies of heavy trains for
handling freight traffic. In Europe coal trains weigh from 300 to 400
tons, but in the United States the weight of coal, ore, and freight
trains is from 800 to 2000 tons. Automatic couplers and power brakes
enable the freight trains to be run as fast as passenger trains, with
entire safety; improved cars carry greater loads, and more powerful
locomotives are continually being put in service to haul heavier
trains. The heaviest trains on record are as follows: (1) Pennsylvania
Railway, 130 cars, 5213 tons, or 5560 tons with engine and tender; (2)
New York Central Railway, 81 cars, 3478 tons, or 3595 tons with engine
and tender. Both these were run in 1898, the length of journey being
160 and 140 miles.
The mails were carried by rail between Baltimore and Washington in
1834, on recommendation of the Postmaster-General. The U. S. railway
service was instituted in August, 1864, between Chicago and Clinton,
and the following figures indicate its wonderful development:—
-------------------------------+------------+-------------
| 1880 | 1898
-------------------------------+------------+-------------
Mileage run by mail cars | 65,763,993 | 187,483,187
Number of mail cars | —— | 3,649
Number of mail clerks | 2,946 | 7,999
Miles of railway operated over | 85,320 | 174,777
Tons of mail carried | 368,000 | 1,432,050
-------------------------------+------------+-------------
The railway express business was started in 1838 by Mr. W. F. Harnden,
on a suggestion from Mr. Josiah Quincy, who had to travel weekly from
Boston to New York, and was in the habit of taking small packages for
business acquaintances. Mr. Alvin Adams became associated with Mr.
Harnden, and in 1845 formed the Adams Express Co. In Great Britain,
this business is conducted by the parcels-post and the railway
companies, but in other European countries it is mainly in the hands of
the post-office department.
A very remarkable feature of railway development is that from the
beginning there has been a tendency to increased traffic, better
service, and a steady reduction in rates. In the United States the
average rates per mile since 1867 have been as follows:—
-----+------------+----------
| Passenger, | Freight,
Year | cents | cents
-----+------------+----------
1867 | 1.994 | 1.925
1870 | 2.392 | 1.889
1875 | 2.378 | 1.421
1880 | 2.442 | 1.232
1885 | 2.216 | 1.011
1890 | 2.167 | 0.941
1895 | 2.040 | 0.839
1896 | 2.019 | 0.806
-----+------------+----------
[Illustration: HAGERMAN PASS ON COLORADO MIDLAND R. R.]