Remunerative railways for new countries : with some account of the first railway in China

Contents

PAGE

CHAPTER I. — Existing Railways — Main Lines — Local or Branch Railways — Break of Gauge — Through

Carriages — Transhipment of Goods — True Business View of Railway Making . . . . . . . . 9

Preface

The present work has arisen from the constant inquiries, received by the Author, from persons anxious to make railways in new countries, or in new districts of old countries. There is a general outcry, on the one hand, for more railways ; and on the other hand, that many of the lines already made do not pay their way satisfactorily. The following pages have been written, in the hope of contributing somewhat towards a remedy ; at any rate as regards future undertakings.

The practice of relying on guarantees, for the interest of capital, has to answer for much of the present stagnation and difficulty in introducing new works. In proposed railways abroad, it has only been too common, for a State to be asked to guarantee a dividend, upon as large a capital as the authorities could be induced to sanction. Large capital powers, fortified by a Government guarantee, are pretty sure to be exercised; and thus, in many cases, the expenditure has been quite out of proportion to the needs of the locality. As a natural consequence, the earnings of such railways have not been equal to the guarantee ; and States, like individuals, soon become tired of guarantees when they are called on to pay them.

It seems probable that the next stage of railway development, throughout the world, will have to depend on the intrinsic merits of the undertakings, and their prospects of being able to earn their own living, rather than on any artificial support. It is therefore particularlyopportune to inquire as to the practicability of introducing cheaper railways.

There is always considerable unwillingness to deviate from established types, and the desire to have as big and as good railways as anyone else, has led many into extravagance and mischief, both in this and in other countries.

During the last few years, much has been done towards facilitating the introduction of railways in the Colonies, and other distant countries, at greatly reduced cost as compared with the earlier railways. Not only has experience brought about the natural result of improved production, but a new departure altogether has been taken in constructing railways of a lighter calibre, than was formerly deemed practicable.

The Author has appended a table, giving various useful particulars, as to lines already constructed, both of the ordinary and the lighter types. These particulars are not as yet very complete, but the Author hopes, in subsequent editions, to be able to add to this store of useful information. Details as to actual earnings, cost of maintenance, &c, &c, are scarcely yet forthcoming from such lines as have already been made on the lighter system, but our information as to actual results will now rapidly increase, and the assistance of friends in supplying corrected particulars from time to time is cordially invited, and will be gratefully acknowledged in future editions.

It is hoped that the publication of such tabulated particulars from time to time will be of great service in showing : —

i. What has already been done.

2. At what cost ; and

3. With what result.

Happily there is in the Engineering profession a constant recognition both of the duty and the policy of saving the client's money ; and, with this good spirit presiding, inquiry and ascertaining of facts must bear fruit to the real advantage of all.

In some of the chapters, incidental reference is made to the first railway in China. As that subject has become one of very general interest, the Author has given, in the form of an Appendix, a connected account of the various efforts which have been made, to add that vast empire to our field of engineering enterprise.

RICHARD C. RAPIER.

5, WESTMINSTER CHAMBERS, LONDON, December 21st, 1877.

FOR

NEW COUNTRIES.

Chapter I

The total length of railway in Great Britain and Ireland, open for traffic at the end of 1876, was as follows : —

Single lines 7,703 miles.

Treble „ 96 ,,

Quadruple 184 „

Nearly all these lines are on the 4 feet 8i inch gauge, and are laid for the most part with

rails of about 75 lbs. per yard, some of the main lines being laid with steel rails of 80 and 84 lbs.

per yard. Their cost has been at the average rate of ^39,000 per mile, including sidings and

rolling stock (items which year by year add to the cost of the railway, by reason of demands

for increased accommodation), and the average dividend on the cost has been at the rate of

4^ per cent. This dividend has been earned by an average receipt of ^68 per mile per week,

and 67 pence per train mile ; the average working expenses being 55 per cent, of the gross

receipts.

Per Mile.

The English railways have been made at an average cost of . . .£39,000

Indian railways — Guaranteed lines 16,000

Indian State railways 9,000

Many colonial railways under 10,000

Some colonial railways as low as 7,000

Several steps further might be taken in the direction of cheaper railways, and very practicable lines may be made for ,£4000 per mile, and in some cases have been made for even less.

For^the speeds now required on our main lines in Great Britain, the ordinary gauge of 4 feet 8J- inches, with 80-lb. rail, may be considered as the least which can be expected to discharge the required duty with safety and certainty. There are, however, very many parts of England still in need of railway communication, which are not at all likely to demand any

speed higher than 20 to 25 miles an hour.

B

For such localities much may be done by making railways about half the ordinary size ; the word " size " is used because mere alteration of gauge will not make much difference — reduction to be of real use must be made throughout, especially in the weight of moving loads and in speed. .

In this country the value of land is always a serious element in railway construction ; and although there is no practical diminution in the quantity of land necessary for a narrow-gauge railway, as compared with an ordinary one, the sharper curves which are practicable, enable considerable saving to be effected, by laying out the line so as to avoid severance as much as possible, and by selecting the least expensive route, both as regards value of land and cost of works.

A light narrow-gauge line can be made at a saving of ^3000 to ^4000 per mile, as compared with the cost of the cheapest ordinary line, and when it is borne in mind that every thousand pounds per mile of cost requires £1 per mile per week of net revenue to pay 5 per cent, dividend, the importance of every saving is very striking; and when it is further taken into account that a light railway, with small trucks and engines, can be maintained and worked more cheaply than a full-sized line, a comparison somewhat as follows is soon arrived at.

Many local and branch railways earn no more than £10 to ^12 per mile per week gross revenue, and as the traffic is usually carried on with engines weighing about 30 tons, heavy wagons, and carriages out of all proportion to the number of passengers conveyed, the outgoings are £g or ^10 per mile per week, leaving only £2 to ,£3 per mile per week as a net earning for a capital outlay of perhaps ,£10,000 to ^15,000 per mile. Need it be wondered at that such lines are in a chronic state of difficulty, until they are at length swallowed up by some neighbouring large Company, at an enormous sacrifice to the shareholders of both undertakings !

If, on the other hand, the branch railway, earning ^12 per mile per week, had been made on a smaller scale, capable of being worked with 10-ton engines, small carriages, and manageable wagons, its working expenses would probably be only ,£5 or £6 per mile per week, leaving a net revenue of j£6 per mile per week. Now, such railways can be made even in England at a total cost of ^£5000 per mile, and the above net revenue would be 6 per cent, on this amount. There is no question as to the smaller railway being able to carry a traffic of four or five times the above amount, even on a single line of rails, and thus, from a revenue point of view, everything is to be gained by making the smaller railway at the lesser outlay.'""

The great bugbear in treating of this subject is "break of gauge." Let it then be examined. First, with reference to passenger traffic, it may be remarked that, in nearly all cases, passengers have to change carriages at the junction of the branch with the main lines,

* The Isle of Man Railway, made on a gauge of 3 feet, with 40-lb. rails, and at a total cost of ,£6500 per mile, is worked at 41 per cent, of its gross receipts. The Ballymena and Red Bay Railway, on the same gauge, is worked at 33 per cent, of the gross receipts. The cost of working the Westleigh Railway, 3 feet gauge, 30-lb. rails, trucks 30 cwt. laden, is less than 50 per cent, of the receipts.

even though they be of the same gauge ; and here it may be added that, in many cases " through " carriages are but very sparsely occupied, and the practice of running them is very much the reverse of economical.

Next as to goods. In such circumstances as the junctions of the narrow with the broad gauge railways at Gloucester, Bristol, and Exeter, break of gauge has been found in the highest degree inconvenient, owing to the great extent of the goods traffic ; but still more to the fluctuations in the daily quantities requiring to be transferred, and the consequent uncertainty as to the amount of space, appliances, and labour required for accomplishing the transfer expeditiously. It is certain that a long system of railways with a break of gauge must always be at a disadvantage when it is in competition with other systems of continuous gauge ; but the case of short branch lines, of a purely branch or feeder nature, is essentially different. On such lines, heavy fluctuations in the quantity of traffic to be transferred are not likely, and on a branch of say 10 miles in length the additional staff required for transhipment purposes would not exceed a cost of .£8 or ;£io per week, or about jQi per mile per week; whereas the saving to be gained by the lighter railway is at least jQ$ per mile per week in working expenses, and another £3 per mile per week in interest payable on a reduced capital account. Further, it should not be forgotten that a transhipment charge of git. per ton is allowed (by the Railway Clearing House Regulations) in such cases, and this charge the trader is well able to pay, because it is only a fraction of the saving effected for him ly the railway conveying his goods at reduced cost as compared with his former modes of conveyance. The actual cost of transhipment is from 4</. to 6</. per ton.

It may, in short, be granted that a moderate traffic receipt can pay moderate expenses, and have something left for a remunerative dividend, whilst the same traffic, with heavier outgoings, would have less margin for dividend ; and when this is accompanied by the heavy capital account, too often incurred in making branch railways, that which might have been a dividend vanishes altogether.

If the expected traffic and the estimated cost of works will admit of a full-sized railway, by all means let the full gauge be adopted. Or if a proposed railway is likely to form a connecting link between existing railways, it should of course be made on the same gauge as the other lines ; but when a branch is not likely ever to be anything but a branch, then it may safely be averred that there are some positive advantages in the break of gauge. For instance, the light railway of narrower gauge cannot be trespassed upon by the heavy engines of an adjoining Company ; neither can the trucks belonging to the branch go astray on the main lines : the branch can thus carry on its business with a very moderate iupply of rolling stock, which may be not only moderate in quantity, but also in size and weight of vehicles, and therefore much more manageable and economical in working expenses.

It is often argued that a little railway may be all very well for a light traffic, but what is to be done when the traffic increases ? To this it may be replied, that one of the greatest blunders has been making railways with too great a regard for the future, and not sufficient consideration of the immediate present. No business can stand against a capital outlay which is out of proportion to the business to be done. It is familiar to all, that the successful manufactories and

R 2 trading enterprises of this country have been the result of small first outlay, and gradual development of business. In those instances where a new business has been commenced with a large capital and huge buildings, failure and disaster have been only too familiar, even in cases which had all the advantages of modern machinery, a skilled staff, and good business connections. The man of business who begins in a small way keeps his premises and capital fully occupied, and success is the outcome of the demand exceeding the supply. To build a railway many times too big in all its belongings, is simply to postpone the day of its becoming remunerative — a postponement which is for ever adding all sorts of burdens to the capital account.

In some of our colonies full-sized railways have been made with the effect that the beginning of dividend paying is still distant ; in others, railways have been made on a reduced scale of 3 feet 6 inch gauge and 45 lbs. per yard ; and in many of these, the reports are to the effect that the railways do not pay in themselves, but they contribute to the prosperity of the country! and the public revenue is able to pay the guaranteed interest. Of course, where the country is able to bear it, this is all very well, and no very great harm may result in a growing country from making railways too expensive to be self-supporting. But in the majority of cases it is a first necessity that the railways should pay as such ; and in the present work the author has specially in view cases where no Government guarantee is obtainable ; and in such instances the size of the railway to be made should be brought down to the level of the probable remuneration forthcoming at an early date.

No.

Railways.

Ballast.

Sleepers.

Weight of Engines

Great Britain and Irela<

Single lines, 77°3 ; generally gravel treble, 96 ; quadra

Festiniog

Isle of Man Gravel

Billymena, Cushendall

Westleigh .. , (Indian Railways, guara 6 \ Single lines, 5233; doi

Indian State Railways New South Wales Queensland..

Sto 16

"'broken sand- 10" X 5" X 9'l 'one and gravel. 9" x 4j" X S'J ~ •" . 3" sandstone 22 to 30

Adelaide to Glenelg .

Victorian Government ue stone metal 10" X 5" X 9'

15 10

'7

19 20

Cape Colony, Western

,, Eastern I

Cape Copper Mining <

Ceylon

New Zealand .. .J 5" various

Tasmania, Launcestoii Gravel

Tasmania, Main Line " ^f006 } 8" X 4£" x 6' 6"

Bolivar— South Amer Various.

Swedish

China, Shanghai, and eluding land and I „ penses amounting £

per mile) ..

Wrought iron 9" x 4J" X 6

Maximum Speed.

25 40

Maintained Running Speed.

5°

20 24

23 is

Journey

Speed,

including

Stoppages.

16 15

16 20

3° 23 15

18 15

Receipts

per

Train

Mile.

pence

General charactei

of Works.

Average

Heavy Heavy

Heavy

182 60

Light

I COMPARATIVE PARTICULARS OF DIFFERENT RAILWAYS.

in and Inland — linei, 7703 ; double, 888g

Fciliniog

fan

s W. itleigh

, ( [ndi in 1 lilway , ■ u

' \ Single lines, 5*33; double, 76;

[ndion ':t itc Railways New South \\ ales Queensland

Victorian Govcmmenl

Cnpc Colony, Wester 1 ■

,, Eastern District

1 Mining Company

1 ,i ylor

Ni w -i aland

Majorca Q cl ..

■ ■ ■ PC" n'ilc)

16,872

6, 000

Mit,

39.000

6,500

16,000

19.558

6,200

5-328 6,500

7 , 000 4,000 2,000

Gout*

«c

■ 875

68-07

32*0 17*06

8-72 27-0

Wet*, u

Radius (<r "nun1.

t L

3721 30 86

22-5 9-5

Traffic very good, and Working

1 , 53 pei cm of

eccipts.

■3'9 '6'3 4'36 on the average mile&ge open

I87S

No return except 22,000 tons conveyed ; this at id, hi ton |.ii mile, anil 50 per cent, tur working expenses = 5 per cent, dividend.

[86;

on t! ze open.

6'20 48

8-3

IS76

ll'O

IS77 iinl only a vi r) limited numlicr of ft.

Si

70 to S5

I

III So

3 3

0 0

■1 rSand3o

5 3

6 6

72 30,4<>,52

2 3

0 0

4 4

2' 5"

Si Si

20 „ 45

I"

40107

15105 5

IS to 16

Rating G radical*.

ft

I in 250 to 1 in 40

I in 63 anil I in 30 I in 50

1 in So to I in 40 l in 100 and l in 2<>

I in 100 and I in 45 l in 35

1 in 70 and 1 in 50

I in 40

1 in 25 empties I in 77

,8{

Generally gravel 10" x 5" x 9' 25 to 50

S to I-.

Gravel 9" x 4I" x 6' 17

1 8" broken sand' 10" x 5" x g'\

< 4I" X S'J 8" sand I

Blue stone mclal

Gravel

4 /

12" broken 9" X 4" X 5' shingle.

It tu 19 26 to 34

.

pence

IS

4^

■Si

S2

30 23 15

'5

Heavy

H< ivy

Light

FOR NEW COUNTRIES.

Chapter II

The most costly feature in all railway work is " speed." Both in first cost and in maintenance expenditure is indispensable if speed be demanded. In many new countries the prime necessity lies in being able " to go at all," and speed is quite a secondary consideration. In some cases there may be roads, or perhaps only mule tracks ; in such instances the travelling speed for passenger trains may well be limited to 1 2 miles an hour or even less.

The facilities now at command for enabling rolling stock to turn very sharp curves, render it possible to make surface lines with easy gradients ; and if these conditions be followed, and only a light load be imposed on each wheel, a very light permanent way will suffice. It is perhaps scarcely necessary to speak of the desirability of easy gradients, but a few words may here be added on this very important topic.

Formerly gradients of 1 in 300 were striven for, and should still be striven for, especially where high speed is required. Although, in recent years, gradients of 1 in 60 and even 1 in 40 have become frequent, it cannot be too often insisted on, that these severe gradients should only be adopted when they are absolutely unavoidable. An addition of 10 per cent, or more to the length of a railway may be very judicious, if by that means extreme gradients can be avoided. The ruling gradient is in fact one of the prime elements in the determination of the calibre of a railway. As a general rule the gradients of railways fall towards the seaboard, and the paying load is more frequently descending than ascending. Thus it sometimes happens that the measure of the duty of a railway consists in a certain number of empty trucks to be hauled up the ruling gradient ; sometimes, however, the whole load has to be taken up the worst gradient. In either case, if there be one or two gradients decidedly exceptional to the general course of the line, the plan may be adopted of dividing the train into two or more portions for the ascent of such gradient. This plan will do very well on railways not overcrowded with traffic ; it of course requires the construction of a loop siding at the summit, to enable the engine to return from the front of the train to bring up the remaining portions ; this method of course involves some delay, but as soon as such delays become inconvenient, the simple expedient of a pilot or auxiliary engine, allotted to the spot, will enable the train to be taken up whole, and so avoid the delay of dividing it.

There is certainly no simpler way of overcoming the difficulty of gradients. The laws of gravitation are inexorable and unalterable, and no invention of any particular kind of engine can alter the fact, that the duty to be done is to move the given load through a given height and distance, although some inventions may facilitate the performance of the duty in a slight degree.

For going up hill, as for travelling on the level, the simplest form of locomotive is to be preferred ; and the engine which best combines steadiness, maximum adhesion, fewness of parts, and greatest efficiency, is undoubtedly the ordinary six-wheel-coupled goods engine with wheels of moderate size.

REMUNERATIVE RAIL IV A YS

Heavy engines on many wheels are to be avoided, for although the insistent load on the rails may be distributed by having an increased number of wheels, the lateral blows on the road certainly depend, rather on the whole weight of the engine, than on its load per wheel. It is the mass and bulk of the engine which tears the road to pieces.

Of the various contrivances of recent years for facilitating the ascent of heavy gradients, the most practical is that in use on the Rigi Railway. This is a return to the old Blenkinsop system of a toothed rack, but with this difference, that the toothed rack is applied where it is really needed, and with a perfection of construction leaving little to be desired. Not the least difficulty in very severe gradients is the danger of descent, and the provision for this purpose on the Rigi Railway is most complete. Where gradients steeper than i in 25 may be a necessity, and where the trains are likely to be frequent, the experience gained on the Rigi Railway may be turned to good account. The average gradient on that line is 1 in 4 for a distance of about four miles, and the railway has been in successful operation for about seven years. A full account of it is to be found in Transactions of Inst. Civ. Eng. of London, vol. xxxvi., in a paper contributed by Dr. Pole, F.R.S. For such gradients the choice lies between the oldfashioned winding engine, and the Rigi type according to circumstances, the latter having the advantage of safety for passenger traffic, whilst the former may be more economical for mineral traffic.

The first section of the Rigi Railway was opened in May, 187 1, and the success attained by it has led Mr. Riggenbach, its designer, to continue his work in other directions. He has already constructed eight other railways on the same principle, with locomotives varying in weight from 10 tons to 30 tons. The latest example is an engine of 30 tons capable of taking four times its own weight up a gradient of 1 in 55 at a speed of 10 miles an hour when working as an ordinary engine, and the same load up 1 in 20 at a speed of 5 miles an hour with the assistance of the rack.*

RIGI LOCOMOTIVE.

Fig. 1. Six-ton engine. A favourite type is an engine weighing 6 tons, capable of drawing 40 tons at a speed of 12 miles an hour up 1 in 100; or 24 tons up 1 in 50 at a speed of

* For a fuller account of the Rigi system, see 'Die Drei Rigibahnen und das Zahmad-System,' published by Messrs. Orell, Fiissli, and Co., Zurich, 1877.

9 miles an hour, when working as an ordinary engine ; and by means of die rack it can take the same load up 1 in 18 at a speed of 4 miles an hour. The cost of these engines is only about

10 per cent, more than the cost of ordinary engines of the same weight. The rack can be very strongly constructed in wrought iron and steel at a cost of £1 per yard run. This additional cost of course occurs only at the severe gradients.

For gradients from 1 in 20 to 1 in 25 a well-constructed ordinary engine can be depended upon to take a load equal to its own weight behind it, and for a test duty it will do even double that.

To work steep gradients cheaply, the way is to be content to deal with the load a little at a time, and on a passenger line the ruling load should be determined, if possible, by the usual weight of passenger train required to be taken up the steepest gradient without the delay of dividing the train ; goods trains being divided as indicated above.

If, however, the goods or mineral traffic is greatly in excess of the passenger requirements, the greatest load to be hauled at one time must be determined by the nature and quantity of traffic to be conveyed during the day. To move a given load per day from one place to another in the most economical manner, the aim should be to divide the work into as many trains per day as may be convenient with a minimum number of engines in steam, remembering always that the maximum load to be hauled at any otic time up the maximum gradient determines the size and weight of locomotives to be employed, and this again fixes the size and the general conditions of the railway.

A heavy railway with steep gradients should not be made, if, by taking a longer route, easier gradients can be obtained, and consequently a lighter railway can be made to suffice.

There are many heavy railways in different parts of the world, on which the whole traffic of the day is conveyed in one or two heavy trains ! Can such railways be said to be properly occupied ? Would not a smaller railway with four or six lighter trains be much more manageable, besides giving the advantage of more frequent communication? If a railway be small it will the sooner be fully occupied ; and if fully occupied, it will be highly remunerative ; and long before the time comes for making additional lines of rail, the financial position of the railway would be such that it would be able to command any required capital on easy terms.

i6

Chapter III

In very many countries abroad the soil is literally teeming with valuable products ; sometimes there is great trading wealth in ivory, skins, or other valuables. The difficulty of reaching the coast or a navigable river is usually the barrier to the general prosperity of the population. In such cases the smallest railway quickly executed would be an incalculable boon ; and when the products are valuable and of moderate weight, the smaller the railway and the less the expenditure upon it, the better will be the results for all concerned.

With this view the subjoined estimates have been prepared, showing the cost of materials for railway construction and equipment, for lines varying in size and calibre from 2 feet gauge and 12-lb. rails up to 3 feet 6 gauge and 45-lb. rails.

In this task the writer has been very much assisted by the incidental circumstances of his having for many years taken an active interest in the introduction of railways into China. That subject eventually resolved itself into a question of the smallest practicable locomotive,

PIONEER LOCOMOTIVE.

which might be sent to that country in the most unobtrusive and inoffensive manner. In the result a little engine was made weighing only 30 cwt. in working order, and capable of travelling 15 miles an hour (sometimes 20 miles), and able to draw two or three trucks of ballast each three times its own weight. The starting of the trucks was of course very severe work,

FOR NEW COUNTRIES.

i7 and the use of so small an engine with such trucks was never intended ; but it is mentioned as showing what has been done in this direction. This engine is shown in Fig. 2*

Again, having been called upon to design a means of conveying five or six passengers, at a speed of about 10 miles an hour, up rather steep gradients on one of our colonial railways, the author constructed for this purpose the unpretending but commodious steam carriage shown in Fig. 3. The chief condition was that the machine should be as inexpensive as

STEAM CARRIAGE.

possible, and an open carriage was deemed sufficient for the immediate object in view. This machine weighs three to four tons in working order ; it has room for six to ten passengers, and travels 20 miles an hour ; and, if required, it can take an ordinary carriage or wagon behind it. Although both of the above sizes are on a very small scale, they are not too small for