Railway economy : a treatise on the new art of transport, its management, prospects and relations, commercial, financial, and social : with an exposition of the practical results of the railways in operation in the United Kingdom, on the Continent, and in America

Front matter

OF THE

U N IVER.5ITY

Of ILLINOIS

Chapter I. Influence Of Improved Transport On Civilization

Art of transport essentia] to social advancement 25

Requisite* of transport 26

Advantages of transport *»

Transport confer* value on article* valueless and even nuisances 29

Transport stimulates consumption and production 29

Railway transport Increases demand for labor 30

Advantages of increased speed by railway transport 31

Railway transport affords superior advantages 3*

It increases the profit of the fanner, and the rent of the landlord 33

Importance of railway transport as regards persons 34

Its advantages to operative classes 34

Extends the area of supply of large cities and for residence of their population ... 35

Comparison of these advantages in England and on the Continent 36

Good means of communication advantageous in the diffusion of knowledge and

the increase of civilisation *

Electric telegraph, iu advantage* and results 3

Journalism in England supplies a striking illustration of the effects resulting from improved transport.

Chapter II. Retrospect Of The Progress Of Transport

Of the first construction and Improvement of roads and carriage* 41

Roads do not exist in more than two-sevenths of the inhabited parts of the globe. 4?

Roimn and Egyptian roads *

Roads constructed bv order of Setnlramis ? *3

Internal communication in ancient Greece . Roads of the Plienicinns and Carthaginians

Roman military roads **

401624 iT CONTENTS.

Commercial intercourse during the middle ages 45

Influence of the crusades on the art of transport 45

Roads and intercommunication on the Continent to the middle of the seventeenth

century 40

System of roads projected by Napoleon 46

Improvement in internal communication after the peace of 1815 4?

Roads of France 47

First roads in England, those made by the Romans 48

Watling-street— Ermine-street — Fosse-way and Ikenald 48

First attempts to improve roads in Great Britain in reign of Charles the Second. . 49

Transport in Scotland to the middle of the eighteenth century 49

Slowness of traveling in Scotland 49

Arthur Young's account of the roads in England in 1770 50

Comparison between cost and speed of former and present modes of transport. ... 51

Chapter III. The Organization Of A Railway Administration

Its four principal departments 52

Their respective services explained generally 58

Chapter IV. The Way And Works

Maintenance of way and works involves consideration of several kinds and

degrees of wear and tear 53

Wear and tear classified and explained 53

Annual repairs of new railway greater than at later period 54

Wear and tear not made good by annual repairs 56

Erroneous opinion of engineers as to durability of rails 56

Mode of calculating the average duration of rails 56

Circumstances hitherto attending railways throw difficulties in the way of such

inquiry 57

First English passenger railways laid with rails of 35 lbs. to the yard 57

Weight of engines successively augmented, carriages and goods wagons undergoing a corresponding increase 58

Rails originally laid thus rendered inadequate in strength 58

Speed and weight of trains also increased 59

From these circumstances, weight of rails increased . 59

Railways nt present lakl with rails varying from 65 to 85 lbs. a yard 59

Messrs. Stephenson and Locke recommend rails of 85 lbs. a yard . . . . , 59

Mode originally used for supporting rails 59

Now superseded for the most part by sleepers 59

Material of sleepers 60

Their preparation to insure durability 60

Distances between them 60

Their cubical magnitude 60

Wear of rails might have been ascertained 60

CONTENTS v

Pap

But their ultimate destination considered to remote — problem left without

solution 61

In Belgium circumstance* more favorable to investigation of questions more re

Official reports of Belgian railways throw considerable light on this point 01

Durability of sleepers depends solely on Intrinsic qualities 61

Duration of sleepers of white wood averages eight years, of onk not ascertained . 61

Average duration of sleepers on Belgian railways 61

On Belgian lines about 8 per cent, renewed annually 61

Calculations by Belgian engineers as to advantage of oak exclusively 61

Result, that cost nearly the same ultimately 61

Cost affected by local circumstances 61

Durability of rails independent of Ume, and exclusively consequent on quantity of

work 62

Observations of wear of rails on Belgian lines 63

Belgian engineers have endeavored to ascertain proportion of wear assignable to

engines, vehicles, and load 63

Have arrived at conclusion of quantities abraded from rails by engine, vehicles,

and load 62

Such quantities are in fact in the ratio of the weights of these objects 62

Directors of Northwestern directed investigation in 1849 63

Report of Captain Hulsh 63

Comparison of report of Captain Huish with conclusions of Belgian engineers ... 64

Financial expedient necessary '<> meet the exigency 65

Cost of relaying permanent way 63

Annual reserve necessary' to meet such cost 65

Extent of railways In United Kingdom 65

Distribution of railways between England, .Scotland, and Ireland 66

Rate of construction of railways 66

Table showing, for the railways authorized previously to the end of 1843 and in each succeeding year, the proportion opened lor traffic during each year, and the proportion remaining to be completed at the end of 1848; and also showing

the length of railway opened for traffic in each year since 1843 67

Railways sanctioned by parliament on January 1, 1849 67

Length likely to be constructed 68

Financial condition of railway companies to May 1, 1848 68

State of execution of recently opened railways 69

Probable cost of construction, stock, ttr 69

Tabular analysis of the number and description of persons employed on May 1,

1848, on 4253 miles of railway open, and 2958 in progress, by 170 companies ... 69

Railways then supplied means of living to two per cent, of population 70

State of railways sine* May 1, 1848, as to labor employed on them 70

CHAPTER V. LOCOMOTIVE rOWCI

Its economical Importance , 71

Slock divided into that of passenger and goods traffic 71

Passenger and goods engines .- 71

Register should be kept of locomotive engines 71 n CONTENTS.

Page

Kept by establishment of Belgian railways 72

Number of engines employed on Belgian lines at end of 1847 72

None had then been superannuated 72

Circumstances of locomotives on English railways 73

Mode of ascertaining the average mileage of each engine 73

Example deduced from Belgian railways 73

Although mileage might be augmented should not exceed certain limits 74

Expenses of cleaning, lighting, and raising steam should be charged on its

Important to ascertain proportion of mileage to times cleaned and lighted 74

Mode of determining average number of miles run by each engine after cleaning

and lighting 75

Examples deduced from official reports of Belgian railways 75

And of the Orleans railway 75

Expense incurred by engine standing with steam up 75

Reserve engines and assistant engines described 75

Separate account of reserve engines, &c, should be kept 76

Mode of ascertaining actual mileage of each working engine 76

Average distance run by each engine lighted and worked 76

Reserve engines, if included, would reduce this 77

A record of number of hours each engine has been lighted and standing should

be kept 77

Example of this deduced from Belgian railway, in 1846, 1847 77

For every 10 miles of practical work, each engine kept one hour standing 77

Fuel consumed in working 77

Its classification — in lighting and steaming — in standing with steam up, or in

reserve, and in drawing trains 77

Quantity of coke consumed in drawing trains depends on their magnitude,

weight, and speed 78

Economy of fuel on Belgian railways 78

Rules established on these railways for allowance of coke to engine drivers for

different purposes 78

Quantity consumed per engine per mile on Belgian railways 79

Register should be kept of fuel consumed under the three heads of lighting,

standing, and working, with hours standing, engines lighted, and mileage

worked 79

Statement of fuel consumed on Belgian railways 79

Sources from which economy of fuel may be expected 80

Manner of fabricating coke 80

Small coke unfit for locomotive engines 81

But useful for fuel 81

Quantities of large and small coke produced on Belgian railways 81

On English railways no data for similar calculations 81

Exirict from report of Great Western of coal and coke 81

Upturn of Northwestern of coke consumed by locomotives and mileage of engines

produced thereby 82

Sample* from Brighton and South Coast for 1848 and 1849 82

Inda of ascertaining the number of times per annum each engine lighted 82

E samples from Belgian railways 82

hree days a week required on average for rest, cleaning, and repair of engine . . 83

■->.. iking result of calculations. — Small amount of useful service of locomotives... 83

Table of service of engines, deduced from returns of several continental railways 84

Result of investigation 85

CONTENTS. vii

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Data supplied by English railways afford no means of comparison 84

But as to Northwestern, comparison instituted 64

Hence conclusion that engines worked, one with another, 14 hour a day 85

Distances worked by engine drivers and firemen on Northwestern line and lime

of their performance 85

Distance in each trip run by each engine on Northwestern line, and time of its

performance 85

Locomotive power worked more advantageously on these than on continental

line* generally 85

Comparisons between railway* sometimes instituted in reports on relation between

locomotive stock and length of line 86

Afford no consequence of importance 86

Quantity of locomotive |»wer does not depend on length of railway, but on quantity of traffic and its mileage 86

Test of comparison should be quantity of work executed by given power 86

Comparison between mileage of engines on Northwestern and North of France. . 86

Determination of number of engines necessary to work a given mileage 87

Amount of locomotive stock necessary may be assumed to be in direct proportion

to receipts 88

Number and Mileage of locomotives in the United Kingdom 88

Consumption of fuel for twelve months ending June 30, 1849 89

Quantity of coal consumed in its fabrication 89

Quantity of coal consumed annually on the railways 89

Chapter VI. Carrying Stock

Vehicles of two classes for passengers and goods 89

Trains propelled by different engines and under different circumstances 90

Doubtful whether separate lines of rails for each traffic would not have been

advantageous 90 •

Carrying stock of railways an important item in movable capital 93

Quantity on Belgian, North of France, and English Northwestern lines 93

In carrying department, register should be kept of mileage of each vehicle 94

Mode of ascertaining average mileage of each vehicle 94

Table of number and mileage of vehicles on Belgian railways 95

Daily duty of carriages smaller than expected 95

Table of mileages and quantities of carrying slock on five foreign railways 96

No data for similar calculations as to English railways 97

Table of vehicles of passenger traffic and their mileage on Northwestern railway

during half year ending December, 1848 VJ

Mode of calculating necessary amount of carrying stock 98

Table of goods-carrying stock and It* mileage on six continental railway* 98

Approximate estimate of mileage of goods carrying stock of Northwestern Company for half-year ending December, 1848 W

Pmall amount of daily useful mileage of goods-carrying stock explained 99

Average time of stock in carrying transport on continental line* about one hour

per day "

On English line* each vehicle worked one hour and a half dally •»

Necessary to ascertain composition of each train *• viii CONTENTS.

Fag"?

Mode of determining this, and ezamp es 90

Mileage account should be kept of passenger traffic carried with goods train 100

Table exhibiting the mileage of the goods vehicles, the average number of vehicles

per engine, and of vehicles per train, with their designation, on Orleans railway 101 Deductions of composition of trains, as to passenger coaches, on English railways

from data of Northwestern 101

But such data insufficient, and conclusions only approximate 10-2

Mode of obtaining number of wagons composing goods train, and results 103

In near accordance with the estimate of Captain Huish 102

Mode of exhibiting average extent to which railway has been used by rolling stock 103

As to locomotive stock 103

As to mileage of goods engines and other vehicles 103

Example from Belgian railways, for 1814 104

Table showing the quantity of locomotive and carrying stock which, being moved

the whole length of the Belgian railways, consisting of 347 miles, would have

the same mileage as the actual stock 104

Where traffic uniform, average distribution of traffic over entire line may be

adopted as basis of general reasoning 104

But different parts of line unequally used by traffic 104

Desirable to obtain estimate of extent of each section used by rolling stock ...*... 104

Weights of vehicles on Belgian railways 105

Mode of finding average amount of dead weight drawn by each engine 105

Table of average dead weight drawn by each class of engine 105

No satisfactory data to ascertain proportion of dead weight to profitable load on

English railways 106

Weights of passenger coaches on English railways 106

Chapter VII. Maintenance And Reproduction Of The Rollins Stock

Question raised as to wear and tear of rolling stock 107

Analogies suggested between this and permanent way 107

Only lately that question raised, whether rolling stock in condition analogous to

permanent way 107

Economical principles on which solution of question depends 107

First projectors of lines contemplated themselves only as mere proprietors of the

Intended to offer it to the public to be run upon, receiving a toil 108

Proprietors compelled to become carriers 108

Provide apparatus for transport, and erect works for fabrication of engines and

Establishments of Northwestern for fabrication of rolling stock 108

Capital absorbed in them 109

Factory at Wol verton 109

Establishment at Crewe 109

Stock of engines on Northwestern 110

Statement showing quantity and estimated actual value of articles included in

amount charged to capital for "working stock" of jC1.-4G-2.901 — January 1st.

1848 110

Number of passenger coaches in progress at Crewe Ill

CONTENTS ix

fv Statement of Captain Huish of carrying stock of railway! in England and Scotland, on 1st January, 1848 Ill

Former and present co»t of railway carriages 112

Estimate of total carrying stock used for working railway traffic in United Kingdom in 1848,9 113

Aggregate value of such slock 114

Question of annual reserve fund for future replacement of rolling stock discussed 114

Discussion of question between revenue and capital 115

Reported malpractices in railway management, by drafts of revenue on capital . . 116

Discussion of question as to closing capital account 110

Shown to be impracticable 116

Question as to taking annual valuation of stock discussed 117

Propriety of measure tested by examining its consequences 117

If made, must be on principle of estimating it by its quantity and efficiency only,

and not Us marketable value 119

Chapter VIII. Stations

Transport constitutes only a part of the railway business .' 119

Theatre of many operations preliminary, subsequent, and during transport — the

stations 1 19

They consist of four departments :

1. The passenger station :

2. The goods station :

3. The depot of the locomotive power:

4. The carriage depot 120

General description of passenger station 121

Quantity of baggage allowed on continental railways 122

Parcels, Important branch of traffic of passenger trains 123

Reception offices for parcels established at various places in large towns 123

Distinct department for parcels at chief stations 123

Mode of dealing with "light" parcels 194

Majority of parcels " light" 124

Heavier parcels generally sent by goods trains 124

Rates for transport of parcels vary 124

In England, charge for light parcels sometimes as low aa 6d. Including delivery. 124

Penny postage greatly reduced this branch of traffic 125

Not above one parcel In 400,000 lost 125

Horses and carriages also composed traffic of passenger station 12fi

Arrangement of passenger trains 196

Carriages forming train screwed together to avoid collision 196

And provided with buffers 126

Arrangement of platform for passengers 127

Fixed engines of the Northwestern and Liverpool Railways 127

Iiost luggage office liH

General description of goods stations 131

Goods wagons of the Northwestern, the York and Newcastle, the Belgian, and

North of France Railways, and their performance 131

a* x CONTENTS.

Pago Average number of goods wagons of Northwestern arriving and departing daily

at London station 132

Average load per wagon 132

And total weight of goods 132

Parcels of goods collected throughout capital by vans, and brought by them and

other vehicles to station 132

Mode of dealing with such goods at station 132

Change effected by railways in management of business of retail dealers 133

Rates for transport by goods trains 133

Goods trains on Northwestern 133

Description of engine stable 134

In larger class of railways, expedients adopted for economy in consumption of fuel 135

Water heated in reservoirs and introduced into boilers 135

Coke prepared by ignition, and thrown into fire-box 135

Workshops for smaller repairs attached to engine department 135

Larger repairs conducted in larger establishments 135

General description of carriage and wagon station 130

Construction of wheels in railway carriages explained 136

Yellow grease described 137

Its composition on English railways 137

On Belgian railways 137

Quantity used on Belgian railways in 1844 137

And cost 137

Sheds for reception of carriages 137

Workshops for smaller repairs of carriages 138

Number of stations on English railways 138

Railway refreshment rooms 138

Chapter IX. Clearing House

After several railways had been opened, inconveniences arose menacing railway

establishments with insurmountable difficulties 140

In consequence of separate railway administrations, passenger compelled to change

carriage 140

Trans-shipment of goods graver inconvenience 140

Inconvenience so enormous, and clamor so irresistible, that traffic of all descriptions carried without interruption from lines of one company to another 141

Produced great difficulties among companies 141

Difficulty removed by expedient suggested by London bankers' clearing house. . . 141

Analogy led M. K. Morrison to suggest railway clearing house 141

Description of operations in clearing house of London bankers 141

Reciprocal interchange of business creating mutual debits and credits between

railway companies explained 143

Number of companies which have combined their operations 143

Number of their stations 143

In adjusting accounts, clearing house regarded as common creditor and common

debtor of all the companies 146

Mode of adjustment as to goods, traffic, and live stock 146

From ench station, goods may be forwarded daily to all other stations 146

CONTENTS. xi

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Account of such goods forwarded daily to central clearing house 148

Account of goods received forwarded to central clearing house 148

Mode of rectifying errors 147

Debtor companies having liquidated balances, clearing house distributes them

between creditor companies 147

Mode of adjusting accounts of passenger traffic 1 47

Clearing house debit* companies for receipts, and credits companies Interested. . . 14«

Accounts balanced monthly, and dealt with as in case of goods 148

Separate account kept of government duty 148

Weekly abstract of accounts sent by clearing house to companies 149

Mode of adjusting accounts of carrying stock 149

Account as to rolling, stock opened with companies 149

Questions respecting lost luggage or parcels arranged by clearing house 150

Extent of transactions settled by agency of clearing house 150

Number of communications made daily from central clearing house to stations .. 150

Number of monthly accounts furnished to companies 150

Clearing house statistics for year ending June, 1849 151

Principle of clearing house admits of more extensive application 151

Interchange limited to vehicles of transport 151

Nothing to prevent same interchange of locomotive power 151

Clearing house may ultimately grow into establishment for maintenance of general locomotion and earning stock for all railways 151

Nothing to limit operation of clearing house to United Kingdom 152

Same reciprocal conveniences as to traffic booked through might be extended to entire continent of Europe 152

Chapter X. Passenger Traffic

Movement of passenger traffic expressed by mileage 158

Mileage easily calculated from records of booking office 158

Tabular nnalysls of the movement of passengers on the railways of the United

Kingdom during the six years and a half terminating December 31, 1848 153

Mode of ascertaining average distance traveled by each passenger booked In the

successive periods 154

Mode of determining average number of passengers booked per dny 154

Tabular analysis of the daily mileage distance traveled and numbers booked on

the railways of the United Kingdom 1^4

Average distances traveled much smnller than might have been supposed 155

Through traffic produces little effect 157

Passengers generally travel short distances 157

Tabtilnr analysts of the passenger traffic of the railways of the United Kingdom,

during the twelve months which terminated on June 30. 1847 158

Tabular nnalysls of the proportion of business supplied to the railways of the

United Kingdom by the several classes of passengers respectively, during the

seven years ending June 30, 1849 •*

Second and third classes supply chief business of railway I™

Bu?ine*s of stations proportional to number of passengera booked, irrespective of distance

Business of the road proportional to mileage, Irrespective of number booked 160 xii CONTENTS.

P»ge

Ratio of business supplied to stations by several classes of passengers 160

Causes of augmentation of third class passengers from 1845 to 1847 160

Necessary to classify passengers according to distances 161

Tendency to augmentation in numbers and mileage of lower classes 162

Comparison between railway and stage coach traveling 162

Table showing the rate at which the average daily passenger traffic has augmented on the railways of the United Kingdom during the sis years and a half

ending December 31, 1848 163

Tabular analysis of the progressive development of the railways of the United Kingdom, and of the movement of passengers upon them during the seven years

ending June 30, 1849 166

Increase of passenger traffic has not kept pace with increase of railways 166

Tabular analysis of the passenger traffic per mile of the railways during 1846, 7 . . 167 Tabular comparison of the annual rates of increase of the railways in operation,

the total traffic in passengers, and the average traffic per mile of railway 167

Cause of decreased traffic per mile 168

Mode of ascertaining the average load of each carriage 163

Estimate of Captain Huish 168

Average on some French and Belgian railways 160

Estimate of carriages on English railways 169

To estimate the necessary carrying stock of railways 170

Table showing the average number of passengers of each class carried by each

passenger train on the Belgian and North of France railways 171

Tabular analysis showing the relation between the movement of the engines and the movement of the passengers on the Northwestern, Great Western, and

London, Brighton, and South Coast Railways 172

Average composition of trains 173

To compute average load of horse boxes and carriage trucks 174

Advantages of frequency of departure 174

Departures from London stations 175

Expedition depends more on few stoppages than speed 175

Reflections on the enormous speed of locomotion on railways 176

Tabular analysis of the movement of the passenger traffic on the principal lines of railway diverging from London showing the average speed, stoppages, &c.,

of each class of trains 177

Damage to railway and stock by extreme speeds 179

Danger of express trains • • • 190

Necessity of checking tendency of public to demand excessive speed 181

Chapter XI. Goods Traffic

Importance of goods traffic 183

Subject to more difficult conditions than passenger traffic 182

Graduations of tarifT. 182

Data necessary for complete analysis of goods business 183

Tabular analysis of the quantity of goods and live stock traffic on the railways of

the United Kingdom for twelve months ending June 30, 1847 184

Tabular analysis of the daily traffic in goods, and of the distance carried on the

railways of the United Kingdom for twelve months ending June 30 1847 181

CONTENTS. xiii

Tabular analysis of the average distance* which each ton of goods wsis transported on the railways of the United Kingdom during twelve months ending

Tnbular analysis of the goods traffic on the railways of the United Kingdom

during the six years and a half ending December 31, 1848 186

Table showing the comparative rates at which the average daily traffic in passengers and goods has augmented on the railways of the United Kingdom

during the six years and a half ending December 31, 1848 186

Striking results of this table 186

Captain Huish's estimate of loads of goods wagons 187

Tnlmlar analysis showing the total dally mileage of the goods wagons, and of the goods engines of the English railways for six years and a half ending December 31, 1848 187

Estimate of equivalent business by goods wagons on common roads 188

Tabular comparison of the progressive development of the railways of the United Kingdom and of the movement of goods upon them during the six years and a

half ending December 31, 1848 . 188

Increase of goods greater than passengers 189

Tabular analysis showing the average daily mileage of tons of goods, and the average number of tons carried dally per mile, on the railways of the United

Kingdom during the twelve months ending June 30, 1847 100

Numerical estimate of men and horses employed by Northwestern 190