No invention of the present century has produced so great a social
change as Steam Locomotion on railways. Not only have places that were
formerly more than a day's journey from each other been made accessible
in a few hours, but the cost of travelling has been so much reduced,
that the expense has in a great degree ceased to operate as a bar to
communication by railway for business or pleasure.
Though the coaching system in this country had attained the highest
degree of perfection, a journey from London to Liverpool, previously
to the formation of railways, was considered a serious undertaking.
The "fast coach," which left London at one o'clock in the day, did not
profess to arrive in Liverpool till six o'clock the following evening,
and sometimes it did not reach there till ten o'clock at night; and the
fare inside was four guineas, besides fees to coachmen and guards. The
same distance is now performed in six hours, at one-third the expense,
and at one-fourth the fatigue and inconvenience.
Railway Locomotion, however, forms no exception to the rule, that
most modern inventions have their prototypes in the contrivances
of ages past. They were used upwards of two hundred years before
locomotive engines were known, or before the steam engine itself was
invented. The manifest advantage of an even track for the wheels
long ago suggested the idea of laying down wood and other hard,
smooth surfaces for carriages to run upon. They were first applied
to facilitate the traffic of the heavily laden waggons from the coal
pits; the "tramways," as they were called, being formed of timber
about six inches square and six feet long, fixed to transverse timbers
or "sleepers," which were laid on the road. These original railways
were made sufficiently wide for the wheels of the waggons to run upon
without slipping off; the plan of having edgings to the rails, or
flanges to the wheels, not having been adopted till a later period.
To protect the wood from wearing away, broad plates of iron were
afterwards fixed on the tramways.
Cast iron plate rails were first used in 1767. The flat plates on which
the wheels ran were made about three inches wide, with edges two inches
high, cast on the near side, to keep the wheels of the "trams" on the
tracks. These iron plates were usually cast in lengths of six feet, and
they were secured to transverse wooden sleepers by spikes and oaken
pegs. The tramways were laid down on the surface of the country without
much regard to hills and valleys, the horses that drew the trains being
whipped to extra exertion when they came to a hill, and in descending
some of the steep inclines, the animals were removed, and the loaded
waggons were allowed to descend the hills by their own gravity, the
velocity being checked by a break put on by a man who accompanied them.
The chief use of the tramways was to facilitate the conveyance of
coals from the pits to the boats; and as the level of the pit's
mouth was higher than that of the water, it was an object, in laying
down a tramway, to make a continuous descent, if possible, for the
loaded trains to run down, the dragging back of the empty ones being
comparatively easy. Thus, though "engineering difficulties" were
not much considered in the construction of those early railways,
engineering contrivances were adopted to diminish the draught, by
making the gradients incline in one direction.
Soon after the invention of the Steam Engine had been practically
applied to mining purposes, its power was directed to draw the coal
waggons on railways. This was done about the year 1808; and, in
the first instance, the application of steam power was limited to
drawing the loaded waggons up steep inclines. A stationary engine was
erected at the top of the incline, and the waggons were drawn up by a
rope wound round a large drum. This mode of traction was afterwards
extended, in many instances, along the whole railway, so as to
supersede the use of horse power. The employment of stationary engines
in this manner was continued, even after the invention of locomotive
steam engines, to draw the trains up inclines that were too steep for
the power of the small locomotives at first used to surmount; nor has
this plan been yet altogether abandoned.
The application of steam to the direct propulsion of carriages was
a comparatively slow process. It was, indeed, contemplated by Watt,
as a substitute for horse power on common roads, though he does not
seem to have contrived any means by which it might be done. The first
known application of the kind was made by Mr. Murdoch, an engineer in
the employment of Messrs. Boulton and Watt, who in 1784 constructed a
working model of a steam carriage, still preserved, and which formed
one of the most interesting objects in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The boiler of this model locomotive is made of a short length of brass
tube, closed with flat ends. The furnace to generate the steam consists
of a spirit lamp. The steam is conducted directly from the boiler to a
single cylinder, which is mounted on a pivot near the centre, so that
by the movement of the cylinder the piston-rod may adapt itself to the
varying positions of the crank. The two hind wheels are fixed to the
axle, and on the latter is the crank, attached to the piston-rod. A
single wheel in front serves to guide the carriage, which is propelled
by the rotation of the two hind wheels. The elastic force of the steam
is directly applied as the moving power; and after it has done its work
in the cylinder, it is allowed to escape into the air.
This first known application of steam as a locomotive power is more
perfect in its general arrangements than many steam carriages that
were subsequently brought into operation; and in the plan of balancing
the cylinder on pivots, we perceive the origin of the oscillating
engines, which have been recently introduced with much success in Steam
Navigation. By that arrangement there is attained the most direct
application of the piston-rod to the crank, with the least loss of
power.
Mr. Murdoch's intention was to employ such carriages on common roads,
but he did not proceed to put his plan into operation. Several other
engineers, among whom was Symington--who, as we have before seen,
took an active part in the invention of Steam Navigation--afterwards
endeavoured to realize Mr. Murdoch's ideas on a working scale; but the
first who succeeded in making a locomotive engine, that ran with any
success, were Messrs. Trevethick and Vivian. In 1804 they constructed a
locomotive engine, which was employed on a mineral railway at Merthyr
Tydvil, in South Wales. The boiler of their engine resembled the one
in Mr. Murdoch's model, in having circular flat ends; but, to increase
the heating surface, a flue was introduced in the middle of the boiler,
which passed through it and back again, in the shape of the letter
U. The lower part of the tube formed the furnace, and the upper part
returned through the boiler into the chimney. The steam was admitted
into and escaped from the cylinder by the working of a four-way cock,
the contrivance of the slide-valve being then unknown. On the axle of
the crank a cog-wheel was fixed, and, by means of the usual gearing, it
communicated motion to the hind wheels, which were fixed to the axle,
so that when the wheels revolved the carriage was propelled.
It is a remarkable fact that this engine of Mr. Trevethick's presents
the first practical application of high-pressure steam as a motive
power. Watt had, indeed, suggested the application of the impulsive
power of steam, and Mr. Murdoch's model locomotive was necessarily
constructed on that principle; but until Mr. Trevethick's locomotive
engine was in action, no application of high-pressure steam had been
made on a working scale.
The projectors of locomotive engines were for many years possessed with
the notion that it was necessary to have some contrivance to prevent
the wheels from slipping on the road, as it was supposed that otherwise
the wheels would be turned without moving the carriage. Numerous plans
were devised for overcoming this imaginary difficulty; and though
experience proved that even on railways the adhesion of the wheels was,
in ordinary circumstances, sufficient, yet various schemes continued
to be tried for the purpose of facilitating the ascent of hills.
The imitation of the action of horses' hoofs was one of the means
attempted, but such additional aids were eventually found to be of no
avail, and were discontinued.
All the endeavours that were made, in the first instance, to apply
steam power to locomotion, had in view the propulsion of carriages
on common roads, the idea of constructing level railways through the
country, for facilitating the general traffic, being looked upon as
too visionary a project to be realized. The inventors of locomotive
engines consequently directed their attention almost exclusively to the
arrangement that would best apply steam power to overcome the varying
obstacles and undulations of common roads.
It is very curious and interesting, in tracing the progress of an
invention, to observe the different phases through which it has passed,
before it has been brought into the state in which it is ultimately
applied. It not unfrequently happens that the original purpose sinks
into insignificance, and is almost lost sight of, as the invention
becomes more fully developed. Other objects, that were not perceived,
or were considered altogether impracticable, present themselves, and
are then pursued; and the invention, when perfected, is very different
from its original design. Thus the endeavours of the first inventors of
Steam Navigation were confined to the construction of steam-tugs that
would propel the boats along canals, or take a ship into harbour, the
notion of fitting a steam engine into a ship to propel it across the
sea not having been thought of. In the same manner, the invention of
Steam locomotion on railways was either not contemplated in the first
instance, or was considered very subordinate to the construction of
carriages to be propelled by steam power on common roads.
Among the most successful of those engineers, who constructed steam
carriages to run on roads, were Mr. Gurney, Mr. Birstall, Mr.
Trevethick, Mr. Handcock, and Colonel Maceroni. Mr. Gurney was one of
the first on the road. His steam carriage completed several journeys
very successfully, and proved the practicability of employing steam
power in locomotive engines many years before the first passenger
railway was brought into operation. This, like all other new
inventions, was, however, beset with difficulties, among which the
most annoying was the determined obstruction the plan met with from
the trustees of public roads, who levied heavy tolls on the carriages,
and laid loose stones on the roads to stop them from running, as the
driving wheels were found to be destructive to the roads. There was
also considerable danger in running steam carriages on the same roads
on which ordinary traffic was conducted, because the strange appearance
of the engines, their noise, and the issuing steam, frightened the
horses.
Notwithstanding these difficulties, the importance of applying steam
as a locomotive power for passenger traffic became so apparent, that a
Committee of the House of Commons was appointed in 1831, to consider
whether the plan could be adopted with safety on common roads, and
whether it should not be encouraged by passing an Act of Parliament for
regulating the tolls chargeable on such carriages, and for preventing
the obstructions to which they had been exposed. The evidence given
before the Committee was greatly in favor of steam carriages, and
tended to show that there was no insuperable difficulty to the general
adoption of them. The Committee accordingly reported as follows:--
"Sufficient evidence has been adduced to convince your Committee--
"1st. That carriages can be propelled by steam on common roads at an
average speed of ten miles an hour.
"2nd. That at that rate they have conveyed upwards fourteen passengers.
"3rd. That their weight, including engines, fuel, water, and
attendants, may be under three tons.
"4th. That they can ascend and descend hills of considerable elevation,
with facility and safety.
"5th. That they are perfectly safe for passengers.
"6th. That they are not (or need not be, if properly constructed)
nuisances to the public.
"7th. That they will become a speedier and cheaper mode of conveyance
than carriages drawn by horses.
"8th. That as they admit of greater breadth of tire than other
carriages, and as the roads are not acted upon so injuriously as by the
feet of horses in common draught, such carriages will cause less wear
of roads than coaches drawn by horses.
"9th. That rates of toll have been imposed on steam carriages which
would prohibit them being used on several lines of roads, were such
charges permitted to remain unaltered."
In defiance of this favourable report, experience proved that there
were defects in that system of locomotion greater than its advocates
were disposed to admit, and that the mechanism was frequently broken
or disarranged by the constant jarring caused by the roughness of
the road. The alarm of the horses drawing other carriages was also
calculated to produce fearful accidents.
So far, indeed, as regarded the power of locomotion, the steam
carriages were successful. The author was witness of this success
during a short excursion in Colonel Maceroni's carriage, which ascended
hills and ran over rough roads with great ease, and at a speed of
twelve miles an hour. The practical difficulties, however, were so
great, that steam carriages have not been able to compete with horse
power; for the original cost of the boiler and engine, the necessary
repairs, and the expense of fuel, amounted to more than the cost and
keep of horses. The plan was practically tried for several weeks, in
1831, by running a steam carriage for hire from Paddington to the Bank
of England. The carriage, of which the annexed diagram is an outline,
was one of those constructed by Mr. Handcock. The engine was placed
behind the carriage, which was capable of containing sixteen persons,
besides the engineer and guide. The latter was seated in front, and
guided the carriage by means of a handle, which turned the fore wheels.
The carriage was under perfect control, and could be turned within
the space of four yards. With this carriage, Mr. Handcock stated he
accomplished one mile up hill at the rate of seventeen miles an hour.
The carriage loaded very well at fares which would now be considered
exorbitant, but the frequent necessity for repairs rendered the
enterprise unsuccessful, and the steam carriage was taken off the road.
[Illustration]
The successful establishment of railways, and the great advantages
arising from them compared with the ordinary means of conveyance,
still further reduced the chance of establishing Steam Locomotion
on roads, and the plan is now in abeyance, at least, if it has not
been abandoned. It is very possible, however, that in the progress of
invention, modifications may be made in the steam engine, to adapt it
more successfully to the purpose; or more suitable motive powers may be
discovered, that may bring mechanical locomotion on roads again into
favour.
The successful application of Steam Locomotion on railways cannot be
dated more than thirty years ago; yet in that short period its progress
has been so rapid, that but few traces of the old mode of travelling by
stage coaches are now to be seen.
Some locomotive steam carriages had, indeed, been introduced on the
Stockton and Darlington coal railway, by Mr. George Stephenson, in
1825, but their results were not so satisfactory as to induce the
extension of the plan to the other railways that were then laid down
in the coal districts of England. The cylinders of those engines were
vertical, and each of the four wheels acted propulsively on the rails
by means of an endless chain running along cog-wheels fixed on the
axles. The utmost speed that could be obtained by this means was eight
miles an hour; and so little were these engines calculated to solve
the problem of the practicability of steam locomotive engines, that
when the first passenger railway was projected, from Liverpool to
Manchester, it was proposed to propel the carriages by the traction
of ropes, put in motion by stationary steam engines. The directors,
before finally determining on the system of locomotion to be adopted,
offered a premium of £500 for the best locomotive engine to run on that
line. The stipulations proposed, and the conditions which the required
engines were to fulfil, may be regarded as a curious exposition of the
limited views then taken of the capabilities of Steam Locomotion on
railways. The engine "was to consume its own smoke; to be capable of
drawing three times its own weight at 10 miles an hour, with a pressure
on the boiler not exceeding 50 pounds on the square inch; the whole to
be proved to bear three times its working pressure--a pressure guage
to be provided; to have two safety-valves, one locked up; the engine
and boiler to be supported on springs, and rested on six wheels, if
the weight should exceed 4½ tons; height to the top of the chimney not
to exceed 15 feet; weight, including water in boiler, not to exceed 6
tons, or less, if possible; the cost of the engine not to exceed £550."
An engine, called the "Rocket," constructed by Messrs. Booth and
Stephenson, was the successful competitor for the prize. It so far
exceeded the required conditions as to speed, that, when unattached to
any carriages, it ran at the rate of 30 miles an hour. The principal
cause of its successful action was the introduction of a boiler
perforated lengthwise by many tubes, through which the heated air of
the furnace passed to the chimney, and by this means a much larger
evaporating surface was obtained than in the boilers previously
employed, with a single flue passing through the centre. The tubes were
of copper, three inches in diameter, one end of each communicating with
the chimney, and the other with the furnace. There were twenty-five of
these tubes passing through the boiler, and fixed water-tight at each
end.
The boiler was 3 feet 4 inches in diameter, and 6 feet long; and it
exposed a heating surface of 117 square feet. There were two cylinders,
placed in a diagonal position, with a stroke of 16½ inches, and each
worked a wheel 4 feet 8½ inches diameter, the piston-rod being attached
externally to spokes of the driving wheels. The draught of the chimney,
aided by the escaping steam from the cylinders, which was admitted into
it, served to keep the fuel in active combustion. The "Rocket" weighed
41 tons; the tender, with water and coke, 3 tons 4 cwt.; and two loaded
carriages attached, 9½ tons; so that the engine and train together
weighed about 19 tons. The boiler evaporated 114 gallons of water in
the hour, and consumed, in the same time, 217 pounds of coke. The
average velocity of the train was 14½ miles per hour.
The accompanying woodcuts represent an elevation of the "Rocket,"
and a section of its boiler. In these figures, _a_ is the fire-box
or furnace, surrounded on all sides with water, with the exception
of the side perforated for the reception of the tubes; _b_ is the
boiler; _d_, one of the steam cylinders; _e_, the chimney; _h_ and _i_,
safety-valves; _f_, one of the connecting rods for communicating motion
to the driving wheels.
[Illustration]
Three other engines competed with the "Rocket," two of which had
attained great speed on previous trials. These were the "Novelty,"
constructed by Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericsson, which weighed only
2¾ tons; and the "Sans Pareil," manufactured by Mr. Arkworth, which
weighed 4½ tons. On the day of trial, the 6th of October, 1829, these
two locomotive engines were disabled by the bursting of some of their
pipes, and thus the field was left clear to the "Rocket," for the
fourth engine had no chance of winning the prize.
The "Rocket," indeed, more than fulfilled all the conditions required
by the directors of the railway, who thereupon decided on employing
locomotive engines for the traffic on the line.
The "Rocket" has formed the model on which all subsequent locomotive
engines have been constructed; for, though numerous alterations and
improvements have been made in details, and though the size of the
engines has been greatly enlarged, the principle of construction
remains essentially the same. Among the improvements that have been
introduced by different inventors, is an increase in the number of
the tubes in the boiler, so as to facilitate the generation of steam,
some of the engines now made having upwards of 100 tubes, though of
smaller diameter than those of the "Rocket." The boilers have also been
elongated, to enlarge the evaporating surface and economize fuel. The
cylinders are placed horizontally, and they are generally fixed inside
the boiler, to prevent the cooling of the steam. The piston-rods are
attached to cranks on the axle, placed at right angles to each other;
and the engines are generally mounted on six wheels, four of which are
driving wheels, made of larger size than the two others, and they are
coupled together by connecting arms. The large and powerful engines on
the Great Western Railway have, however, only two driving wheels, which
are 8 feet in diameter. These engines weigh as much as 31 tons, which
is seven times more than the weight of the "Rocket." They are capable
of taking a passenger train of 120 tons at an average speed of 60
miles an hour on easy gradients; and the effective power, as measured
by a dynamometer, is stated to be equal to 743 horses.
The accompanying engraving of one of the recently constructed engines
on the Great Western Railway presents a remarkable difference in
point of size and general arrangement to the original prototype, from
which, however, it does not materially differ in the principle of its
construction.
[Illustration]
The complete success of the "Rocket" having settled the question of the
mode of traction, the Directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
made increased efforts to complete the line, and to open it for general
traffic. In September, 1830, all was ready for the opening, which it
was determined should take place with a ceremony indicative of the
importance of the great event. The principal members of the Government
consented to take part in the inauguration of the railway, and the
utmost interest was excited throughout the country for the success of
an undertaking that promised to be the commencement of a new era in
travelling. The 15th of September was the day appointed, and there
were eight locomotive engines provided to propel the same number of
trains of carriages, which were to form the procession. All along the
line there were crowds of persons collected to witness the ceremony.
The trains started from the Liverpool end of the railway; and, as they
passed along, they were greeted by the cheers of the astonished and
delighted spectators. On arriving at Parkside, seventeen miles from
Liverpool, the engines stopped to take in fresh supplies of fuel and
water. The passengers alighted and walked upon the line, congratulating
one another on the delightful treat they were enjoying, and on the
success of the great experiment. All hearts were bounding with joyous
excitement, when a disastrous event occurred, which threw a deep gloom
over the scene. The Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, and Mr.
Huskisson were among those who were walking on the railway, when one of
the engines was recklessly put in action, and propelled along the line.
There was a general rush to the carriages, and Mr. Huskisson, in trying
to enter his carriage, slipped backwards and fell upon the rails. The
wheels of the engine passed over his leg and thigh, and he was so
severely injured, that he expired in a few hours.
Notwithstanding this lamentable occurrence, the journey was continued
to Manchester, and the carriages returned to Liverpool the same
evening. On the following morning the regular trains commenced running,
and they were crowded with passengers, nothing daunted by the fatal
calamity on the opening day.
The immense advantages of this mode of travelling were at once
apparent, and lines of railway in different parts of the country
were quickly projected. The railway from London to Birmingham was
the first one commenced after the completion of the Liverpool and
Manchester line, and a connecting link with Manchester and Liverpool
was also begun by a separate company. The Birmingham Railway was opened
throughout on the 17th September, 1838.
Railway enterprise was not checked by the great cost of the
undertakings, nor by the miscalculations of the engineers, who, in the
first instance, frequently greatly under-estimated the expenditure
requisite for the cuttings, embankments and tunnels, which were thought
necessary to attain as perfect a level as possible. The original
estimate for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was £300,000, but
the amount expended on the works at the time of opening was nearly
£800,000. The original estimate of the London and Birmingham Railway,
including the purchase of land, and the locomotives and carriages,
was £2,500,000, whilst the actual cost amounted to £5,600,000, the
cost of the works and stations being about £38,000 per mile. The Grand
Junction Railway, from Birmingham to Liverpool, was more economically
constructed, because the difficulties to be surmounted were not so
great, and less attention was paid to maintain a level line. It was
estimated to cost, including all charges, £13,300 per mile, though the
actual cost was £23,200.
The plan adopted for laying down and fixing the rails on all the
railways in England, with the exception of the Great Western, is
nearly similar to that on which the original coal-pit railways were
constructed. Pieces of timber, called "sleepers," are laid at short
distances across the road, and on to these sleepers are fixed cast iron
"chairs," into which the rails are fastened by wedges, the sleepers
being afterwards covered with gravel or other similar material, called
"ballast," to make the timbers lie solidly, and to keep the road dry.
The railway system of Great Britain was commenced without sufficient
attention to the determination of the best width apart of the rails.
In forming the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the guage of the
railways in the collieries was adopted, and the width between the rails
was made 4 feet 8½ inches. The same width of rails was adopted on the
London and Birmingham and Grand Junction Railways; and as uniformity of
guage was essential to enable the engines and carriages on one line to
travel on another, the other railways connected with the grand trunk
line were made of the same width of guage. Mr. Brunel, the engineer
of the Great Western Railway, departed from that uniformity, and laid
down the rails 7 feet apart. The increased width of guage possesses
many advantages, of which greater steadiness of motion and greater
attainable speed, without risk, are the most important; but, at the
same time, the additional space incurs a greater expense in laying out
the line. As branches from the Great Western Railway spread into the
districts where the narrow guage railways had been laid down, much
inconvenience has arisen from the break of guage, as it occasions the
necessity for a change of carriages. On some railways, to avoid this
inconvenience, narrow and broad guage rails have been laid down on the
same line.
If the railway system of Great Britain were to be recommenced, after
the experience that has now been acquired, the medium guage would most
probably be adopted; and in commencing to lay down railways in Ireland,
the Irish Railway Commissioners recommended 6 feet 2 inches as the most
desirable width, and that standard has been advantageously adopted in
the sister country.
Travelling experience tells greatly in favour of the broad gauge. There
is no railway out of London whereon the carriages run so smoothly, and
on which the passengers are so conveniently accommodated, as on the
Great Western. The speed attained on that railway also surpasses that
on any other. The express train runs from London to Bristol, a distance
of 120 miles, in less than three hours. The author accompanied an
experimental train, when one of the large engines was first put upon
the line, and during some portion of the journey a rate of 70 miles an
hour was accomplished without any inconvenient oscillation.
It must be observed, with regard to the action of locomotive engines,
that as the piston-rods are attached directly to cranks on the axle,
each piston makes a double stroke for every revolution of the driving
wheels; consequently, when the engine is running at great speed, the
movement of the piston is so rapid, that there is neither time for
the free emission of the waste steam, nor for the full action of the
high-pressure steam admitted. There is, therefore, a great waste of
power occasioned by the admitted steam having to act against the steam
that is escaping; and an engine, calculated to have the power of 700
horses, will not exert a tractive force nearly equal to that amount.
With a driving wheel 6 feet in diameter, a locomotive engine will be
propelled 18 feet by each double stroke of the piston, if there be no
slipping on the rails; consequently, in the space of a mile, the piston
must make 300 double strokes. When running, therefore, at the speed of
30 miles an hour, the piston makes 150 double strokes per minute.
The success of the great experimental railway from Manchester to
Liverpool not only stimulated similar works in this country, undertaken
by private enterprise; but the Continental Governments quickly
perceived the importance of that means of communication, and commenced
the formation of railways at the national cost, and placed them under
governmental control. Belgium was peculiarly adapted, by the general
level state of the country, for the formation of railways; and long
before any connected system was completed in this country, the _chemins
de fer_ formed a complete net-work in that kingdom, and the system of
conducting the traffic was brought to a much higher state of perfection
than was attained in this country. The rate of travelling, however, was
slower.
It is a question that has been often mooted, whether it is better
to allow the system of communication throughout the country to be
conducted by independent companies of enterprising individuals, or
to place it entirely under the control of the Government. The want
of system manifested in the formation of the railways in England
has proved a serious inconvenience, and has occasioned wasteful
expenditure, besides having led to a fearful destruction of life,
owing to the want of careful attention to the means of safety, and to
ill-judged parsimony in the management of the traffic. There can be
no doubt that if the Government had undertaken the work zealously,
and with the view of establishing a complete system of railway
communication, many of the inconveniences now experienced might have
been avoided, and the railways might have been laid down and worked
at considerably less cost, and with a large addition to the national
revenue. There is, however, so strong a disinclination in this country
to the centralization of Government power, and to the extension of
Government influence, that the people generally had rather submit
to considerable inconvenience and expense, than tolerate the system
of railway management which has been adopted on the Continent. The
necessity of interference, to protect the interests of the public, has
nevertheless compelled the Government, though late, to adopt measures
for controlling the management of the railway companies, and stringent
regulations are now imposed with a view to prevent unnecessary danger
to railway passengers.
The railway system of Great Britain, though established entirely by
private enterprise, represents an amount of capital equal to one-third
of the national debt, and nearly 100,000 individuals are directly
employed in conducting the traffic on the various railways in this
kingdom. An idea of the vastness of these undertakings, and the
important interests involved in them, may be formed from the following
facts, stated by Mr. Robert Stephenson, at the Institution of Civil
Engineers:--
"The railways of Great Britain and Ireland, completed at the beginning
of 1856, extended 8,054 miles, and more than enough of single rails
were laid to make a belt round the globe. The cost of constructing
these railways had been £286,000,000. The working stock comprised 5,000
locomotive engines and 150,000 carriages and trucks; and the coal
consumed annually by the engines amounted to 2,000,000 tons, so that
in every minute 4 tons of coal flashed into steam 20 tons of water.
In 1854 there were 111 millions of passengers conveyed on railways,
each passenger travelling an average of 12 miles. The receipts during
1854 amounted to £20,215,000; and there was no instance on record in
which the receipts of a railway had not been of continuous growth,
even where portions of the traffic had been abstracted by new lines.
The wear and tear of the railways was, at the same time, enormous. For
instance, 20,000 tons of iron rails required to be annually replaced,
and 26 millions of wooden sleepers perished in the same time. To supply
this number of sleepers, 300,000 trees were felled, the growth of which
would require little less than 5,000 acres of forest land. The cost of
running was about fifteen pence per mile, and an average train will
carry 200 passengers. Without railways, the penny post could not have
been established, because the old mail coaches would have been unable
to carry the mass of letters and newspapers that are now transmitted.
Every Friday night, when the weekly papers are published, eight or ten
carts are required for Post Office bags on the North-Western Railway
alone, and would hence require 14 or 15 mail coaches."
Adverting to other advantages derived from railway locomotion, Mr.
Stephenson noticed the comparative safety of that mode of travelling.
Railway accidents occurred to passengers in the first half of 1854 in
the proportion of only one accident to every 7,194,343 travellers.
As regards the saving of time, he estimated that on every journey,
averaging 12 miles in length, an hour was saved to 111 millions of
passengers per annum, which was equal to 38,000 years, reckoning eight
working hours per day; and allowing each man an average of 3s. a day
for his work, the saving of time might be valued at £2,000,000 a year.
There were 90,000 persons employed directly, and 40,000 collaterally,
on railways; and 130,000 men, with their families, represent 500,000 so
that 1 in 50 of the entire population of the kingdom might be said to
be dependent for their subsistence on railways.
Every year adds to the extent of the railway system, and to the
increase of the traffic, so that considerable addition should be made
to the amounts stated by Mr. Stephenson to represent the state of
railway enterprise and railway traffic at the present day. The traffic
returns for the week ending the 25th of September, 1858, amounted
to £502,720; and the gross receipts of the railways in 1857 were
£24,174,610. The railways now open for traffic in England, Scotland,
and Ireland extended to upwards of 9,000 miles, and the lines reported
to be in the course of construction amount to one-ninth the length of
those completed.
In estimating the importance and advantage of railway travelling, there
must not be omitted its cheapness and comfort, compared with travelling
by stage coach. There are some persons, indeed, who look back with
regret to the old coaching days; and it must be admitted that railways
have taken away nearly all the romance of travelling, and much of the
exhilarating pleasure that was experienced when passing through a
beautiful country on the top of a well-horsed coach in fine weather.
The many incidents and adventures that gave variety to the journey were
pleasant enough for a short distance; but two days and a night on the
top of a coach, exposed to cold and rain, or cramped up inside, with
no room to stir the body or the legs, was accompanied with an amount of
suffering which those who have experienced it would willingly exchange
for a seat, even in a third-class railway carriage. In a national and
in a social point of view, also, railways have produced important
improvements. They tend to equalize the value of land throughout the
kingdom, by bringing distant sources of supply nearer the points of
consumption; they have given extraordinary stimulus to manufacturing
industry; and by connecting all parts of the country more closely
together, railway communication has concentrated the energies of the
people, and has thus added materially to their wealth, their comforts,
and to social intercourse.
Nor must we, in noticing the grand invention of locomotion on
railways, omit to mention some of the many subsidiary works which
have been created during its progress towards perfection, and which
have contributed to its success. Tunnels, of a size never before
contemplated, have penetrated for miles through hard rocks, or through
shifting clays and sands; embankments and viaducts have been raised
and erected, on a scale of magnitude that surpasses any former similar
works; bridges of various novel kinds, invented and constructed for
the special occasions, carry the railways over straits of the sea,
through gigantic tubes; across rivers, suspended from rods supported by
ingeniously devised piers and girders; and over slanting roads, on iron
beams or on brick arches built askew. As to the locomotive engines,
though the principle of construction remains the same, the numerous
patents that have been obtained attest that invention has been active
in introducing various improvements in the details of construction,
to facilitate their working, and to increase their power. The various
plans that have been contrived for improving the structure of the
wheels and axles, for the application of breaks, for deadening the
effect of collisions, for making signals, for the forms of the rails,
and for the modes of fastening them to the road, are far too many to be
enumerated.
In addition to the innumerable contrivances that have been invented
for the improvement of the working of ordinary railways, several
distinct systems of railway locomotion have been introduced to public
notice, some of which seemed very feasible, though they have nearly
all gradually disappeared. Of these, the Atmospheric railway was the
most promising, and for a time it bid fair to supersede the use of
locomotive engines. The propulsion of the carriages, by the pressure
of the atmosphere acting on an attached piston working in a vacuum
tube, possessed many theoretical advantages, and if it could be
applied economically, railway travelling would become more pleasant
and more free from danger than it is. On several lines of railway the
atmospheric plan was put into operation, but owing to the expense of
working, it was gradually abandoned. The short line from Kingston to
Dalky, in Ireland, up a steep incline, was favourable to the working of
the atmospheric railway, and there it continued to linger for some time
after it had been abandoned elsewhere.
It is to be regretted that the atmospheric railway should have failed
in economical working, for it possessed greater advantages for general
traffic than the ordinary locomotive railway trains; and it is probable
that if the same amount of inventive power and industry, which have
been bestowed in improving locomotive engines, had been directed to
overcome the difficulties of atmospheric traction, it might have proved
economically successful.
The facility of travelling by railway has excited a spirit of
locomotion before undreamed of. Instead of the diminished demand for
horses which was apprehended when railways displaced stage coaches,
public conveyances have increased a hundredfold. We can now scarcely
conceive the time when there was not an omnibus in the streets of
London, yet, scarcely more than thirty years ago, they were unknown,
and travelling by stage carriages from one part of the town to another
was prohibited by law! On their first introduction, omnibuses were
considered absurdities, and were ridiculed as "painted hearses." The
present omnibus traffic in London alone amounts to nearly £20,000 per
week.