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 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
Oil, stores, and 8 1 10 9 7 1
sundries
288 8 10 239 12 4

Tons of material hauled 6,067 5,986

No. days in steam 225 207
Tons hauled per day in 27 29
steam
The best Welsh smokeless coal is used, costing about £1 per ton.
From the above figures the following deductions may be drawn:—
The locomotive worked an average of 4 days per week, hauling an
average of 28 tons each day, and burning 1¾ cwts. of coal at a cost
of 1s. 9d.
Full particulars of the hauling powers of the locomotive are given at
the end of this section, where it will be seen that 70 tons a day can
readily be dealt with, and that, in an emergency, 100 tons would be
quite within reasonable compass.
It is required, at Eaton, that the engine should meet the wants of
several independent departments on the estate, and in different
directions, added to which only a limited number of men are usually
available for loading. In effect, instead of matters being arranged
primarily with a view to the economy of the working of the railway,
the railway is made an instrument for the economical working of the
various departments supplied by it. There is doubtless much to be
said for the view that, as the driver’s wages have to be paid, he may
as well have his engine in steam as often as required. But,
notwithstanding this easy mode of working the traffic, the cost of
haulage is 3d. per ton per mile less than the average cost of carting,
including interest on capital as well as working expenses.
I may say that the line is kept in the most admirable order, clean,
well packed, and neatly ballasted, and that, under the astute
direction of the Hon. Cecil Parker, the Duke’s agent, the painstaking
Superintendent of the line, Mr. Forster, records with the greatest
accuracy the weight of every truck load of goods hauled, and the
exact amount of all expenditure on the railway, thus giving a value
to this somewhat novel experiment which it would not otherwise
possess.
It should be mentioned that the amount expended on platelayers’
wages during 1896 exceeded the probably normal sum spent in
1897, on account of the road not having become till the latter year
properly consolidated. The cinder ballast, though admirably porous,
has proved somewhat deficient in solidity, and the sleepers have
required a good deal more packing than should have been
necessary.
Since the completion of the line in May, 1896, some additions have
been made to the rolling-stock, with a view of obviating the
necessity for the immediate unloading of every wagon. There was a
strongly expressed idea among the employes that tip wagons would
be more serviceable than the box wagons with loose “tops” supplied
by me. I have always felt that the greater dead-weight of the former
class of wagons in proportion to the load carried, and also their
increased cost, heavily discounted their only advantage: celerity in
unloading. In order, however, to bring the question to a definite
proof, I constructed six tip wagons entirely of steel and cast iron
which are fully described in Section VI. In practice these were found
to work as well as it is possible for a tip wagon to do, but,
nevertheless, the unloading advantages were wholly
incommensurate with the drawbacks of greater dead-weight and less
capacity. There was the further disability that a wagon of this class
could not be used, as can the others, for the conveyance of timber
or other bulky goods. In the end I removed all but two, which were
left as samples, and replaced them with wagons of the original type.
I conclude this account of the Eaton railway by giving particulars of
the trial trips of the small four-wheeled locomotive and of its hauling
powers, and also of a test day’s work on time line.
The trials of No. 4 locomotive at Eaton were carried out in Sept.,
1896, and the particulars were as follows (all weights being
accurately taken on the weighbridge):—
Weight of engine in working order, with two men on the footplate, 3
tons 5 cwt.; weight of brake-van, with two men and a boy, 14 cwt.;
pressure of steam throughout trials, 155 to 165 lbs. per sq. in.;
ruling gradient between Balderton (G.W.R.) and Eaton, 1 in 70 rise
from Balderton to Eaton, 51 ft.; rise from lowest to highest point, 63
ft.
Trip 1.—Balderton to Eaton, distance 3 miles exactly. To show that
engine could haul its guaranteed load of 15 tons gross, exclusive of
own weight. Coal train of thirteen wagons and van:—
Tons. cwt. qrs.
Coal 10 10 3
Thirteen wagons 4 18 1
Van 0 14 0
—
Gross load 16 3 0
Engine 3 5 0
—
Total weight of train 19 8 0
Time from start to stop, 17 mins.; speed. 10 miles per hour. In all
cases trains have to stop dead on a rising gradient of 1 in 100 before
crossing the high road one mile from Balderton.
Trip 2.—Eaton to Balderton. To test capacity of engine for fast
running. The same train as above, empty. Time from start to stop,
12 mins.; speed, 15 miles per hour.
Trip 3.—Balderton to Eaton. To determine maximum speed at which
average weight of train could be run. Gross load, exclusive of
engine, 14 tons; time from start to stop, 15 mins.; speed, 12 miles
per hour.
Trip 4.—Eaton to Balderton. To test power of engine to haul a long
train round the curve of 60 ft. radius on a gradient of 1 in 60, with
which the line starts from Eaton. Gross load, exclusive of engine, 14
tons, consisting of 33 vehicles. The gradient was surmounted
without difficulty. No time taken.
Trip 5. Balderton to Eaton. To test maximum capacity of engine.
Coal train of 20 wagons and van:— Tons. cwt. qrs.
Coal 14 6 2
Twenty wagons 7 13 0
Van 0 14 0
—
Gross load 22 13 2
Engine 3 5 0
—
Total weight of train 25 18 2

Time from start to stop, 21½ mins.; speed, 8½ miles per hour. The
first mile, fairly level, was run at 6¼ miles per hour only. The long
gradient up to Eaton was run at just under 10 miles per hour, the
steam blowing off freely with injector full on and damper three-
quarters closed nearly all the last mile-and-a-half.
Trip 6:—From 1¼ to 2¼ mile posts, chiefly up gradient of 1 in 80.
To test maximum running speed with light trains. Load: bogie
passenger-car and van only. The maximum speed was attained on
passing the 1½ mile post, but fell off slightly after passing the 1¾
post. Time by stop watch, from 1½ to 2 mile post, 1½ mins. exactly.
Average speed, 20 miles per hour.
It is to be noted, since the 15 in. gauge is almost precisely one-
quarter that of the standard railway gauge, and since possible speed
is in direct proportion to gauge, that 10, 15, and 20 miles on the one
equal 40, 60, and 80 on the other. Thus the average speed of 10 to
12 miles per hour usually maintained, including the road-crossing
stop, by the mineral trains on the Eaton line is considerably in excess
of the proportionate speed of similar trains on the standard railways.
In August, 1897, arrangements were courteously made at my
request by the Hon. Cecil Parker and by Mr. W. A. Forster, to enable
me to test the weight of minerals that could be transported in a full
day’s work, over the three miles of line from Balderton to Eaton.
Care was taken to obviate any delays in loading and unloading, but
every truck had to be weighed separately on leaving Balderton, a
process occupying about ten minutes with each train. Six trips were
run during the day, and 69 tons of coal and road-metal were
transported. There were four loaders at Balderton, and two
unloaders at Eaton. The trains consisted of 12 wagons and van. The
average gross weight, exclusive of engine, was about 17 tons, and
the weight of minerals, or paying load, 12 tons. The speed was just
under 10 miles per hour for the loaded trains, and 11.5 miles per
hour for the empties. The engine left the shed at 8.15 a.m., and
returned at 5.45 p.m., with a delay of 55 minutes for dinner. The
weather was as bad as possible, slight showers all through the day
making the rails so greasy as to necessitate the constant use of sand
up the inclines. Time was also wasted in an extra journey for empty
wagons, and in other unavoidable delays. About 1 hour 10 minutes
was the average time taken over a trip out and back, reckoning to
the time of next start. It is thus apparent that, with a little more
arrangement, eight trips could have been run in the day. In the
earlier trips, the gross loads hauled were only about sixteen tons,
increasing later in the day to eighteen and nineteen tons. These
larger loads might just as well have been also hauled on the earlier
trips and it was apparent that, under less adverse conditions, 100
tons of paying load could have been transported in the day. Only 3
cwt. of coal was burned, including lighting up. The total distance run
was 41 miles, and the average consumption of coal per mile,
including that burned while standing, was 83 lbs. For Eaton Railway
Regulations see Appendix C.
 V.

LOCOMOTIVES.

The first locomotive put upon my line was completed in 1875. This
engine was constructed, not so much as a model of what a small
locomotive should be, as to provide the requisite motive power for
the experiments I desired to carry out. No great care was, therefore,
observed in the details, and in its construction a good deal of
material which happened to be at hand was utilized to save time and
expense; this much in excuse of the want of proportion in some of
the dimensions, which will be found in detail under the head of No. 1
in the table of locomotive dimensions on page 31.
The boiler was of the launch type, a cylindrical shell with a cylindrical
fire-box terminating in tubes. This pattern of boiler, though giving
less heating surface for its size than one of ordinary locomotive
design, has the great merit of having no fire-box projecting below
the barrel, thus enabling the over-hang of the frame beyond the
wheel-base to be equalised at each end, a matter of the first
importance in small tank engines. Its low first cost and the ease with
which it can be kept in order are additional advantages. So well was
I satisfied with the working, that in the four boilers since designed
for my locomotives I have adhered to the original plan, which was
copied from some shunting engines made by Mr. Ramsbottom for
the London and North Western Railway. I go so far as to think that,
without getting rid of a depending fire-box, no really satisfactory
tank engine can be constructed for a small gauge railway unless idle
wheels are introduced, a proceeding that cannot too strongly be
deprecated. The gradients, which are almost invariably the
concomitants of these small lines, make it essential that the whole of
the available weight should be utilized for adhesion.
The difficulty of carrying on four wheels a boiler of sufficient length
for a more powerful engine, and the unsuitableness of an ordinary
six-coupled engine to the sharp curves in which narrow-gauge lines
generally abound, led me, in 1877, to work out a design by which
the wheel-base of an engine of the latter type could be made to
accommodate itself to any required degree of curvature. At this time
I was in communication with officers engaged in promoting a
scheme for an army field railway, where great power conjoined with
perfect flexibility was essential. As the result, I constructed the
engine of which the dimensions are given under No. 2 in the table,
this being put to work in 1881. While avoiding the complication of
the double-bogie system, this engine possesses most, if not all, of its
advantages. It is six-coupled in the ordinary way, the axles having
outside bearings and cranks. The wheels, of cast steel, are not fixed
upon the axles, but each pair is keyed upon a cast iron sleeve,
through which the axle passes. The sleeve upon the middle axle is
capable of sliding 1 in. in each direction laterally, but cannot revolve
upon its axle thus, when the engine reaches a curve, the arc of the
rail draws the middle wheels on their sleeve to an amount equal to
the versed sine of the arc, without interfering with the rigid position
of the axle. The leading and trailing pairs are likewise mounted on
sleeves, but here the connection of the sleeve with the axle is by
means of a ball joint at the centre, so constructed as to leave the
sleeve free to radiate in any direction, but obliging it to revolve with
the axle. The middle sleeve is so connected by external hoops and
links with the leading and trailing sleeves that, when the former
makes a lateral diversion, the two latter are radiated precisely to the
required curve, providing it is within the limit of the travel of the
middle sleeve, which, in this case, is arranged for a radius of 25 ft.
This engine excited considerable interest among visitors to my
railway at the time of the Royal Agricultural Show in Derby in 1881,
but the opinion was expressed that the arrangement would not
stand hard work. A few years later, however, when some officers of
the Royal Engineers were trying the engine with a view to adopting
the plan on the military railway at Chatham, they subjected it to very
severe tests, loading it up steep inclines to its utmost capacity;
stopping it with the steam brake almost dead when travelling at
various speeds and over the most awkward places; and, finally,
giving it a fifty mile run with all the load that could be got together,
at an average speed of seven and a half miles an hour, stops being
made for water, &c., for twelve minutes in each hour. This was
followed, shortly after, by a continuous run with a similar load for an
hour and thirty-five minutes, the extreme limit to which the water in
the tanks would hold out.
There was no heating of any part during the trials, nor failure of any
kind. After eight years’ work, chiefly on gradients of 1 in 10 to 1 in
12, where sand has to be used freely, the engine came into the
shops to be overhauled. During this time there had been no mishap
or breakage whatever, nor had a wheel ever left the rails, except on
one occasion in descending the steep incline, when, owing to the
slippery state of the rails, and sand failing, the engine slid away and
left the road; less than an hour, however, sufficing to get it running
again.
On removing and examining, shortly after this, the working parts of
the radiating gear, they were found in perfect order, the tool marks
being still visible in the ball joints; and in August, 1895, the engine,
which was then sent over to do the ballast work on the Eaton
Railway, where it worked for thirteen months, showed still a clean
bill of health. The engine is now rebuilding, and it is proof of the
excellence of the radiating gear that this part is being put together
again without re-adjustment of any kind. There is thus no doubt of
the success of this radiating principle.
This engine is fitted, as already noticed, with a steam brake, which
can also be applied by hand but the latter alone is far too slow in
action for the abrupt stops necessary on a line like mine.
The space between the frames being occupied by the radiating
arrangements, the valve gear is necessarily outside, and, to avoid
overhung eccentrics, I designed a modification of one of Mr. Charles
Brown’s Swiss valve gears, which are also the parents of what is
known in this country as Joy’s gear. I venture to think that my plan,
in which nothing projects below the connecting-rod, is better suited
to small engines where the motion is almost always near the ground
than any yet produced. The gear is extremely simple, and has
worked without any trouble, the only setting required being the
adjustment to length of the valve spindles, and the setting of one
fixed centre on each side of the engine.
The springs consist of rubber pads placed between the axle-box and
the horn-block. They are simple to fit, take up no room, never get
out of order, and last many years. I have no steel-carrying spring on
any of my stock.
The safety-valve spring is entirely within the boiler, so that it cannot
be tampered with or injured by accident.
The connecting-rod brasses are peculiar. In order to avoid the twist
to the slide bar when the driving axle, owing to inequalities in the
road, fails to preserve its horizontal parallelism with the frame, the
brasses are shaped circular, so as to turn slightly in their straps, the
latter being bored out in the direction of their length instead of
slotted. This plan not only relieves both crank-pin and slide-bar of
torsion, but also forms a much more rigid union between the strap
and the rod end.
The steam jet is worked by the regulator handle, the valve being so
arranged that when the handle is moved beyond the point at which
steam is shut off, the jet is opened. A spring stop prevents the jet
being opened inadvertently. Thus when steam is put on, the jet is by
the same action closed, steam is saved, and two motions are
performed in one.
An important point in this, as in all the locomotives I have built, is
that the over-hang at the two ends is equal, and the weight also on
both leading and trailing axles practically the same, when the driver
is on the foot plate. A further arrangement of value is that in all my
engines the cranks are counter-balanced. It is impossible to effect
the counter-balancing on the wheels, nor, even if feasible, will the
result be so good, as counter-balance weights on the wheel are not
at the same distance from the axle centre as the disturbing weights,
and therefore not equable in their effect at different speeds.
This engine was built for tractive power, not speed, and eighteen
miles an hour is the highest rate registered over the short straight
course available. The previous engine, with 15½ in. wheels, reached
a speed equal to 23 miles an hour, the time being in both cases
taken over a measured distance with a stop watch. About 11 miles
an hour is the usual average speed with passenger cars, which,
owing to the severe curves, it is not deemed wise to exceed.
The net cost of the engine under consideration was £309, exclusive
of drawings and patterns. At the time it was built a joiner and
occasionally a labourer were my only assistants; the work
consequently proceeded but slowly, occupying altogether two years
and a half. Reducing the time to hours, the whole of my own labour
was almost precisely equal to that worked in one year by an artisan,
and that of my assistants together to about half the amount. This
includes the time occupied in moulding, for all the castings were
made on the premises, with the exception of the steel wheels.
The boiler, frame-plates, and some of the brass fittings, were
purchased, but the whole of the machine work and fitting was
executed on the spot. The cost of all material, the hours of labour
and engine power, interest on tools, &c., were all carefully booked,
and it will probably not be far from a fair trade price for the engine if
10 per cent, for drawings and patterns, and 20 per cent, for profit,
are added to the cost given above, thus bringing the amount to
about £400.
The working of the radiating gear of engine No. 2 proving so
satisfactory, I elaborated the principle so as to apply it to an eight-
wheeled locomotive. (No. 3 in the table.) In this case both of the
middle pairs of wheels have the traversing motion already described,
but, instead of the leading and trailing wheels being radiated from
one central pair, the second pair of wheels radiates the leading pair,
and the third pair of wheels the trailing pair, thus forming a
mechanism practically equal to a double bogie. By this arrangement
an eight-coupled engine is obtained capable of passing round curves
as severe as may be necessary. In the present instance, the travel is
constructed for a minimum radius of 25 ft. The details of the engine
are similar to those of No. 2, but numerous improvements have been
effected, into all of which it would be tedious to enter. It may,
however, be mentioned that the ends of all the crank pins are boxed
in by the connecting and coupling rod brasses, to exclude dirt. A
steam water-lifter has also been added, by which the tanks can be
filled without delay during frost.
The blast-nozzle is made adjustable by raising or lowering an
internal cone. Owing to the steep gradient before alluded to, it was
impossible to get a fixed size of nozzle that would keep up steam
with a light load on the level, without being so contracted as to lift
the fire off the bars on the incline.
The boiler fittings have been made as symmetrical as possible, and
circular nuts have been substituted for hexagon, as more easy to
clean. The water-gauge glasses are put in through the top cock and
fastened by a single cap nut, thus doing away with the usual
external glands. The steam brake has a 5 in. cylinder, and the
rigging is arranged to swing with the traversing wheels.
The locomotive for the Eaton Railway (No. 4 in the table) was built
as an example of a four-wheeled engine for use where the traffic
was small and the gradient reasonable. With the exception of radial
axles, it is fitted up precisely as No. 8. It has not, however, been
altogether a success. From the data of its hauling powers, it will
readily be seen that there is no deficiency in this respect; indeed,
the maximum load handled exceeded all my expectations. In its
working, for now nearly two years, nothing has gone amiss, nor has
there been any trouble. On the contrary, the engine has on all these
points given full satisfaction. But it is with regard to its effect on the
road that I have my doubts. The running is steady enough, and 20
miles an hour has been attained without undue oscillation, yet
nevertheless the road suffers as it never suffers under the six and
eight-wheeled engines. The long and short of my experience is that I
should not again recommend a four-wheeler except for very short
distances and low speeds. Nothing but the experience I have had
with this engine could have impressed so forcibly on me the very
distinct advantages of such a radial action as I have adopted in my
other locomotives, which enables them to go round a considerably
sharper curve than the four-wheeler with an ease and absence of
grinding quite remarkable, to say nothing of the saving to the road
by the distribution of weight over more points. The relief seems to
be by no means so much in the lessening of the weight per axle,
which is not very great, as in the increased number of points of
support. I am well aware this is not a new discovery, but it has come
home to me with a practical force that leads me to insist somewhat
strongly upon its importance.
The whole of the foregoing locomotives have been entirely made in
my workshops, with the exception of the boilers and steel castings.
The former have been chiefly supplied to me of excellent
workmanship by Messrs. Abbott and Co., of Newark, and the latter
by the Hadfield Steel Foundry Co., of Sheffield.
The last locomotive in the table (No. 5) is now being commenced,
and will combine all the advantages of the previous ones in a less
costly engine than No. 8 which was built specially with a view to see
how powerful and fast travelling an engine could be put on the 15
in. gauge. No. 5, with its smaller wheel, is not very inferior in hauling
power to No. 8, and the expense of the extra axle is saved. This is
the engine that, if I had to build another for the Eaton Railway, I
should certainly recommend in preference to the four-wheeled No. 4.
The wheels of such little locomotives, since speed is no object,
should be kept as small as possible, and the stroke should be of the
greatest length. The nearer the stroke can be extended to half the
diameter of the wheel, the more successful will the engine prove on
steep inclines. Good sand-boxes, front and back, of ample capacity
are essential, but it is not advisable to fit any steam sanding
apparatus, for, owing to the low position of the motion, a good deal
of the sand will rebound into the joints and bearings, as I found by
experiment.
Cabs on such small engines are to be avoided as unbearably hot in
summer, dangerous in case of emergency, and inconvenient at all
times on account of the contracted dimensions. A stout mackintosh
is cheaper and far better for the driver.
A steam water-lifter is a convenience in frosty weather when the
water supply above ground may be frozen up, but in summer the
engine tanks get so hot from their proximity to the boiler that the
water, which becomes lukewarm in the process of being raised by
the lifter, is then very soon at a temperature which makes the action
of the injectors precarious.
I may say that in all my locomotives I use Holden and Brooke’s
restarting injector, which, after experiment with many types, I find
takes the hottest water and is in all ways most reliable. I place brass
wire strainers in both steam and water-supply pipes close to the
injector, which is invaribly fixed below the tanks, so that when the
injector is overheated the water will run through by gravity and cool
it; a most important advantage.
Number, Date of Completion, No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5.
and Name of Engine. 1875. 1881. 1894. 1896.
“Effie.” “Ella.” “Muriel.” “Katie.”
Diameter of cylinders 4 in. 4⅞ in. 6¼ in. 4⅝ in. 5½
in.
Length of stroke 6 in. 7 in. 8 in. 7 in. 8 in.
Diameter of wheels 1 ft 3½ 1 ft 1 ft. 6 in. 1 ft. 3 1 ft. 4
in 1½ in in. in.
Length of wheel-base 2 ft. 6 4 ft. 6 6 ft. 3 ft. 5 ft.
in. in.
Number of wheels (all 4 6 8 4 6
coupled)
Length over framing 7 ft. 8 ft. 8 10 ft. 9 8 ft. 10 ft.
in. in.
Overhang at each end 2 ft. 3 2 ft. 1 2 ft. 4½ 2 ft. 6 2 ft. 6
in. in. in. in. in.
Width over framing 2 ft. 3 3 ft. 10 3 ft. 10 3 ft. 10 3 ft.
in. in. in. in. 10 in.
Length of boiler 4 ft. 6 6 ft. 6 8 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 8 7 ft. 8
in. in. in. in.
Diameter of boiler 1 ft. 10 2 ft. 1 2 ft. 1 in. 2 ft. 1 2 ft. 1
in. in. in. in.
Length of firebox (flue) 1 ft. 9 2 ft. 3 3 ft. 2 ft. 3 3 ft.
in. in. in.
Diameter of firebox 11 in. 1 ft. 1 ft. 3¼ 1 ft. 3¼ 1 ft.
3¼ in. in. in. 3¼
in.
Number of tubes (brass, 23 57 57 57 57
1⅜ in.)
Heating surface 23 sq. 70 sq. 91 sq. ft.
53 sq. 80 sq.
ft. ft. ft. ft.
Grate area 1.25 sq. 2.12 3 sq. ft.
2.12 sq. 3 sq.
ft. sq. ft. ft. ft.
Capacity of tanks 18 gals. 50 84 gals.
49 gals. 77
gals. gals.
Working steam pressure 125 lb. 160 lb. 160 lb.160 lb. 160
per sq. in lb.
Weight in working order 1 ton 3 3 tons 5 tons 3 tons 5 4 tons
cwt. 15 cwt. cwt. 5 cwt.
(?)
Co-efficient of adhesion at 3.6 4.7 4.5 4.9 lb 4.3
145 lb. mean pressure (?)
Tractive power per lb. 6.2 lb. 12.3 lb. 17.3 lb. 9.9 lb. 15.1
pressure in cylinders lb.
If diameter cylinder2 = 1, 207 425 336 356 381
ratio heating surface =
If diameter cylinder2= 1, 11.2 12.8 11.0 14.2 14.3
ratio grate area =
Load (exclusive of engine) 15 tons. 35 49 tons. 28 tons. 44
on level. tons. tons.
(These are average up 1 9 tons. 21 30 tons. 17 tons. 27
working loads which in tons. tons.
can be considerably 100
exceeded on the
easier gradients.)
up 1 6.4 14.6 21 tons. 11 tons. 18
in tons. tons. tons.
50
up 1 3.8 8.3 12 tons. 6.5 11
in tons. tons. tons. tons.
25
up 1 1.8 3.4 4.9 tons. 2.5 4.4
in tons. tons. tons. tons.
12
 VI.
WAGONS AND CARS

The wagons first put upon my line measured only 4 ft. by 2 ft. inside.
It soon became apparent, however, that a gauge of 15 in. could
carry with safety a much larger vehicle. In fact it may be taken as a
reasonable rule that the floor area of narrow gauge wagons should
not be less than four times the gauge in length and twice the gauge
in width. I have found such a wagon very handy for light work, but
on the Eaton Railway I adopted an over measurement of 6 ft. by 3
ft. with 1 ft. 3 in. depth of side. The wheel base is, in all cases, half
the length of the wagon. The larger wagon above described carries
16 cwts. of coal, and from 20 to 22 cwts. of sand, road metal,
bricks, etc., and weighs about 7½ cwts., or one-fourth of its total
gross loaded weight, i.e., it carries three times its own weight. The
axles in this case are 2 in. diameter. For heavier loads I have made
the wagons with 2¼ in. axles to carry 30 cwts. which is the standard
I have finally adopted; and also with 2½ in. axles to carry two tons.
Two of these last were built for the Eaton line, on which logs of
timber up to 30 in. square and 60 ft. long have to be conveyed from
the G. W. Railway to the Estate works. Each end of the log rests on a
“timber fork,” which can be fitted on to any wagon, and in this way,
not only timber, but any kind of lengthy goods can be carried with
the greatest ease. My resident engineer at Eaton gave me an
amusing account of the arrival from Messrs. Handyside & Co. of the
ironwork for the coal store at Eaton. This included a number of long
and awkward shaped pieces, and the foreman sent by this firm to
erect the shed was in despair at seeing the toy wagons provided for
the transport of pieces that with some difficulty had been loaded in
the main line wagons. To his surprise the 15 in. gauge handled them
with far greater facility than the 4 ft. 8½ in., owing to length being
no drawback.
My standard wagons are constructed of pitch pine with angle-iron
rims, and the box sides are framed together independently of the
wagon itself, thus a flat wagon is converted into a box wagon by
merely placing this frame upon it. These sides, or “tops” as they
have come to be called, are about 15 in. deep, and the wagons
being constructed to a standard size, are interchangeable. An iron
rim on each enables two or three of the tops to be placed one above
another upon any wagon, to give an extra depth. To empty the
wagon, two men readily lift off the top, and, if necessary, turn it over
sideways, sufficiently to shoot off the contents; or the load may be
upset without removing the top. This mode is almost as rapid as
emptying a tip wagon, which, though convenient to unload, is a
fraud as to capacity, and cannot be designed to carry more than
one-and-a-half times its own weight; and even then there is the
objection that the centre of gravity is far higher than in the box
wagon.
For carrying timber or other lengthy loads swivelling carriers can be
placed on any two wagons; and if a greater length is required, these
two wagons can be set a distance apart, with or without other
wagons placed between them. By adopting the flat wagon as a
standard, it is possible to adapt each one to any class of work,
without the necessity of keeping a large variety for various purposes.
A narrow gauge is said not to lend itself advantageously to the
carrying of bulky material, but by loading a train of wagons without
break from end to end, I clear hay off land, to which it happens that
carts cannot have access, with great despatch. There is, therefore,
no valid objection on this score. The cost of these wagons is from
80s. to 85s. per cwt. In the two years the Eaton line has been at
work they have proved convenient in every way and show no signs
as yet of wear.
In addition to a number of wagons, some of which are fitted with
brakes, there are on my line seven bogie passenger cars and a bogie
van; also a variety of miscellaneous stock, such as workmen’s car,
screw and roller rail-benders, dynamometer car, and various small
trolleys. The dynamometer car is constructed to indicate the tractive
effort of the engine, the speed, and the distance travelled. The roller
rail bender is worked by three men, two of whom work the winch
which draws the rail through the rollers, while the third adjusts the
pressure to produce the required curvature. The screw bender has
two thrust blocks, opposite which works a horizontal screw, which
straightens or bends rails with great accuracy, but in long or sharp
curves the roller bender is more rapid and efficient, as elsewhere
noted.
The passenger stock, which, like everything else, was built on the
premises, requires a somewhat more detailed notice. There are four
open cars, holding sixteen persons each, two abreast. These are 19
ft. 6 in. long and 8 ft. 6 in. wide, and are carried on two bogies of 1
ft. 6 in. wheel base, the total wheel base being 16 ft. 6 in. A foot
brake is fitted to one bogie on each car. The weight of these cars is
20 cwt.; they therefore only weigh 1¼ cwt. per passenger seat, and
reckoning sixteen persons to the ton, the proportion of live to dead
weight is as 1 to 1. On the main lines it is more than 1 to 5. The cost
of these cars, stained, varnished, and lined with linoleum, was £37
each.
In order to demonstrate the capabilities of even so small a gauge, a
closed car of the same dimensions as those already described was
constructed, which has doors and windows of the usual kind. Lest it
should be supposed that the space is unduly cramped, I may
mention that a visitor 6 ft. 3½ in. in height, when seated, found
ample clearance for his tall hat. The cost of this car was £67, and
the weight is 24 cwt. Here the proportion of live to dead weight is as
5 to 6.
As a further test of the capacity of a 15 in. gauge, I have built a
dining car and a sleeping car of the same dimensions as the cars
already described. The former seats eight persons and carries a
suitable cooking stove in a compartment to itself. The latter contains
four berths 6 ft. 6 in. long and 1 ft. 10 in. wide, with a lavatory and
other fittings. This, though hardly an essential accompaniment to a
line under one mile in length, can be utilised as an overflow
bedroom for my boys when the house is full of guests. I am unable
to state the exact cost of these two vehicles, but exclusive of
fittings, it is little, if at all in excess of that of the closed car already
quoted. The weights are somewhat greater, owing to the bogie truck
frames being of cast iron instead of elm.
A closed luggage van, 15 ft. in length, but otherwise of the same
pattern as the cars, concludes the list, and is used to convey
luncheons, teas, etc., for large parties, to the station where
refreshments are served. The extreme height of the closed cars is 6
ft.
All the wagons and cars are carried on chilled iron wheels, 13½ in.
diameter, cast in my foundry. The axles, as has been stated, vary
from 2 in. to 2½ in. in diameter, and on to these the wheel on one
side is forced by a hydraulic pressure of about 15 tons, while the
opposite wheel runs loose to reduce the curve friction. The journals
run in cast-iron boxes, which are lubricated by sponges placed in oil
receptacles below. The horn-blocks and axle-boxes, with a rubber
block between them to form the spring, and a cover to the oil
reservoir, are secured together by a single bolt, after the insertion of
which no part can come loose. The castings are put together as they
come from the foundry, without machining or fitting of any kind, the
axle bedding well into the cast-iron box after a few days’ wear. For
the Eaton railway, however, I bored out the boxes, but have not
found any advantage to result. These bearings require oiling only at
intervals of several weeks, and although some of them have been in
use more than eighteen years, there has been no case of heating or
other failure. The cost of each complete bearing, including horn-
block box, cover, spring, and bolt, is only 5s., 1s. of which goes for
the rubber.
The buffers and couplings are central. A single east-iron buffer,
which in the case of the cars is mounted on a spring draw-bar, has a
coupler of the same metal hinged to it by a bolt. The latter is self-
coupling or not as desired; but, when turned back so as not to
couple, the driver can, by bringing the buffers smartly together,
cause it to fall and couple up. These couplers allow the wagons and
cars to be shunted out of the train, when the engine is either
pushing or drawing, by a quick manipulation of the points, the hook
sliding laterally from its hold as the vehicles diverge on different
lines. I designed some cast-steel coupler-buffers of this type lately
for the Royal Engineers’ 30 in. gauge experimental field railway, near
Chatham, which, though for reasons unconnected with their
construction not adopted, are reported as the only ones of several
types experimented with ‘which fulfilled the necessary requirements.
In the bogie stock the coupler-buffers are fitted to the bogie, and
not to the car frame, on account of the severe curves. In the
construction of the wagons and cars almost every part is made to
gauge, and put together without fitting.
The aim throughout has been to make the details of all the rolling-
stock as simple, cheap, and efficient as possible, which has been
principally achieved by adopting designs and modes of construction
largely at variance with commonly accepted notions. The totally
different conditions under which minimum-gauge lines work, as
compared with ordinary railways, renders this possible without any
sacrifice of safety or durability.
In Section IV. mention was made of tip-wagons supplied as an
experiment to the Eaton line. These consist of steel tubs, U shaped
in section, hung at each end on two trunnions riding in cast-iron
pedestals, the latter being bolted to an under-frame of channel steel
fitted with cast iron ends rivetted in, and so formed as to carry a
drawbar with rubber cushions, to the end of which the coupler-
buffer is attached. These wagons cost £20 as against £12 for the
standard box wagon. They weigh 11½ cwts., and carry about this
weight of coal, or a little more. Loaded with coal, they average a
trifle under 24 cwt., exactly the same as the box wagon, which
weighs 7½ cwt., and carries 16 to 17 cwt. of coal. Thus the paying
loads of the two are as 3 to 4 for the same hauled weight. For short
distances, where the emptying bears a greater proportional relation
to the running time, or where the load must be got rid of in a
particularly short space of time, tip-wagons may answer. For such
purposes as my experience has had to deal with, they are a
drawback, which, as I have previously pointed out, is increased by
their inadaptability to the carriage of bulky goods. One of my strong
contentions is that, on a small line, to avoid expense in rolling stock,
every vehicle should be available for every purpose.
 VII.
THE DUFFIELD BANK WORKSHOPS.

A brief account of my little works will be of some interest to

engineers. I have already, in Section I., given an outline of my
progress as a mechanic.
I will now describe the machinery by which the locomotives, carriage
and wagon stock, and permanent way fittings have been
constructed.
The machine-shop contains an 11 in. lathe for wheel turning,
cylinder boring, and the heavier work; an 8 in. lathe for surfacing,
sliding, and general work; a 7 in. lathe for screw-cutting and fine
work; a 4 in. Pittler universal lathe, with a variety of automatic and
other fittings, chiefly used for the smaller brass work, such as cocks,
glands, lubricators, &c.; a 3 in. sliding and screw-cutting lathe, for
very light work; a planing machine to take work 4 ft. by 1 ft. 6 in. by
1 ft 6 in.; an 8 in. stroke double-table shaping machine, fitted for
hollow and circular shaping, specially used for machining coupling
rods, &c.; a 4½ in. shaping machine with circular motion, for light
work; a milling machine; a 9 in. stroke slotting-machine with
compound table, for heavy work; a 2½ in. spindle drilling and boring
machine; a 1¾ in. drilling machine, for general work; a screwing
and tapping machine, to 1½ in. for bolts and to 2 in. for pipes; a
cold-sawing machine, to cut iron up to 2¼ in. square; a slot drilling
machine; a twist-drill grinding machine; two grindstones, three
bench vices, and complete sets of screwing tackle and fitters’ tools.
The smith’s shop contains two fires, of which one is blown by a fan,
and is suited for the heavier work; anvils for ordinary purposes and
also for the treatment of angle iron, &c.; a 2½ cwt. gas hammer; a
punching and shearing machine; a bench vice, and complete set of
smiths’ tools.
The erecting shop contains an overhead travelling crane; an engine
pit; a 30-ton hydraulic press for putting axles into wheels, crank pins
into cranks, testing samples, &c.; a hand screwing and tapping
machine to ¾ in. for bolts and to 1 in. for pipes; standards for fitting
up frame-plates; a rivet heating forge; two bench vices, and tools for
tube extracting and other special processes connected with the
construction and repair of locomotives.
The iron-foundry contains a 16 in. cupola worked through a double
tuyère by a “Root’s” blower; an overhead travelling crane; a core
stove; charge-weighing scales; a large supply of boxes for general
purposes, and special ones for cylinders, chilled-wheels, sleepers,
gutters, &c., with all ladles and other appliances suitable for
producing castings up to half-a-ton weight. Especial pains have been
taken to turn out chilled wheels (13½ in. diameter), for the rolling
stock, of perfect smoothness and of even depth of chill.
The brass foundry contains a furnace, a metal moulding bench, and
the usual fittings.
The carriage shop has two lines of 15 in. gauge formed of cast
plates bolted together and bedded in concrete, and contains a wood-
morticing and boring machine; fitters and joiners’ vices, with every
convenience for erecting, finishing, and painting two of the long 20
ft. bogie cars simultaneously, or eight of the standard wagons,
according to requirements; all bulky joiners’ and carpenters’ work is
also done in this shop.
The pattern and joiners’ shop contains a 5 in. Holtzappfel lathe; and
a small circular saw; 2 instantaneous-grip vices; saw tooth-setting
machine; and a variety of other special appliances, in addition to a
full set of joiners’ tools.
The saw-shed contains a 30 in. circular saw bench; a band saw; a
small general joiner; an 11 in. planing machine, and a small emery
grinder.
The engine house contains an 8 horse-power Otto gas-engine, of
which the water circulation is effected by a small centrifugal pump.
The drawing office is fitted up with the usual appliances, and is in
telephonic communication with my house and two of the stations on
the railway.
The general stores comprise timber; foundry sand of various
qualities; five kinds of pig iron; copper, spelter, tin, &c.; bar, rod, and
angle iron; wrought-iron tubing up to 2 in.; bolts, rivets, nuts, and
pins; steam fittings of all kinds; every sort of requisite needed in the
construction of small railways and rolling stock, and also for meeting
house and farm requirements.
The pattern store contains patterns for all the locomotive, carriage,
wagon, signal, permanent way, and general experimental work; and
for drain grates, gutters, &c. which are supplied from Duffield for my
other estates.
The shops are lit by gas, and the 15 in. gauge line runs throughout.
The construction, both in wood and iron, is done as far as possible
to template, and every endeavour is made to turn out the very best
work, which is perhaps the more easily attained in that there are no
profits to be considered. At the same time it should be explained
that the shops and machinery are, throughout, though good and
sufficient for their purpose, in no way models of excellence. Their
object is only to turn out the chiefly experimental work required, and
the gradual additions that have been made during the twenty-five
years of their existence have been done as cheaply as was
consistent with efficiency.
Outside the shops are a weigh-bridge for weighing rolling-stock and
loads, and a six-ton crane to tranship heavy goods from drays to the
15 in. railway.
Adjoining the workshops is the locomotive shed, with rails raised 30
in. above the floor, so as to get more easily at the lower parts of
these small engines. It is arranged for two locomotives, and is fitted
with an air jet for raising steam, and with a water supply.
The carriage and wagon stock is, for the most part, housed in three
sheds at various stations on the main part of the railway, 80 ft.
above the workshops.
 VIII.
SCIENTIFIC CONSIDERATIONS.

The present section contains the result of experiments and

experience on points which, for the most part, are of interest only to
those who study the scientific side of railway work. I here take the
opportunity of placing on record various considerations, more or less
connected with the subject of narrow-gauge railways, of too
technical a nature to be mixed up with the descriptive pages. This
explanation will account for the somewhat disjointed nature of the
statements which follow.
The fact that narrow gauge locomotives are usually required to
surmount much steeper gradients than are generally to be found on
standard railways, makes adhesion a question of the first
importance. It is very generally supposed that the co-efficient of
adhesion between a wheel and a rail is a constant fraction of the
insistent weight, varying slightly with the molecular structure of the
metals in contact. There is, however, reason to believe that it
decreases considerably with an increase of weight. In locomotives of
the standard gauge, with from 12 to 18 tons per driven axle, it is
generally held that a co-efficient of adhesion of one-sixth is all that
can be counted on with certainty. From a number of experiments on
the Festiniog Railway, with the results of which the late Mr. Spooner,
who himself supported the theory, was good enough to supply me, I
found that the load there per driven axle was five tons, the co-
efficient averaging about one-fifth. Again, with my small engines
that have a load on each axle of from 1.2 to 1.6 tons, the calculated
co-efficient is two-ninths, in support of which I give the following
experiment, conducted in the presence of two gentlemen belonging
to a firm of locomotive builders, when it was under consideration to
build for military purposes some engines on the plan of the No. 2
described in Section V.
I guaranteed that the locomotive referred to should take a load
equal to its own weight up a gradient of 1 in 10 a quarter of a mile
long, which then was, in parts, as steep as 1 in 9, with a short curve
of half-a-chain radius at the severest part. This was satisfactorily
accomplished. The day being dry, I was requested to ascertain what
was the maximum load that could be hauled. On reaching four tons,
when the start had to be made on a less gradient, the engine barely
struggled up, and this was evidently all it could do. When full up
with coal and water it weighed at that time 3 tons 6 cwt. During the
experiment, however, there were but 3 tons 2 cwt. on the three
axles, all of which were coupled. The boiler pressure was 145 lbs.
exactly, and, the gross weight of engine and train being 7 tons 2
cwt., the gravity resistance on the gradient of 1 in 10 was equal to
14.2 cwt. The weight of 3 tons 2 cwt. available for adhesion,
reduced by a tenth part, which the gradient converts into gravity
resistance, was equal to 56 cwt. Thus, without reckoning the curve
friction of the whole train and the journal friction of the wagons,
both uncertain quantities, the proportion of developed tractive power
to load was as 1 to 3.9. This result confirms the probability of the
truth of the above assertion. Assuming its correctness, which
appears beyond doubt, what is the explanation of increased
proportionate adhesion with a decreased weight on the driven
axles? The reduced diameter of wheel in the smaller engines might
seem to offer a solution of the problem. Experience, however, goes
to prove that, if there is any difference, a larger wheel has, with
equal insistent weights, a better grip of the rail than a small one. I
am of opinion that the weight is directly responsible for the
difference. A wheel rests upon a rail on one point, or possibly on a
transverse line of which the length is equal to the width of the rail.
With a small insistent weight the molecules of the wheel and rail
interlock without injury, and adhesion, on the principle of an
infinitesimal rack and pinion, is the result. As the weight is increased
on the fine bearing area, the molecules become disturbed, and fail
to offer so firm a fulcrum. Ultimately they become displaced, and
move as rollers between the two surfaces, materially reducing the
adhesion. If this theory be the correct one, as is not improbable, the
graduated reduction in the adhesion would be accounted for.
That the rolling wheel and rail do actually interlock was
demonstrated by Sir Douglas Galton in his experiments on the
retarding power of brakes, when he pointed out that, on a wheel
becoming skidded, the rack and pinion motion was converted into a
series of jumps of the wheel across the microscopic teeth of the
rack, with a consequent reduction in adhesion proportionate to the
sliding speed. In confirmation of this statement I detailed, during the
meeting of the British Association at Sheffield, an experiment I made
by reversing a locomotive so as to skid the wheels, and ultimately to
cause them to revolve in a contrary direction, while descending an
incline. With skidded wheels the descent was at a certain speed with
backward revolution of the wheels the speed increased rapidly, the
effect of the reversal being to cause the wheel to slip over the rail at
a speed greater than that at which the engine was moving, thus
showing that Sir Douglas Galton’s theory of the adhesion diminishing
in proportion to the extent of departure from the interlocking or
rolling motion of the wheel on the rail remained consistent even
beyond sliding contact, and disposing of the old theory that the loss
of adhesion with a skidded wheel was due to the creation of a
polished point of contact on the wheel.
Another somewhat curious point in connection with adhesion is the
slip of the driving wheels, which is naturally in the direction of
causing a greater number of revolutions of the wheels than would be
due to the length of rail travelled over. Occasionally, however, I have,
in experimenting, noticed that fewer revolutions are made than
would suffice to travel the distance as measured on a centre line
between the rails. That is, the wheels slipped forward instead of
back. This freak is probably due to the outer wheel on a curve
slipping forward when, owing to considerable superelevation and a
low speed, the inner wheel is the more heavily weighted, the
distance then travelled being the reduced length of the inner rail.
I now proceed to explain the basis of calculation of the net loads
hauled on various gradients, as appended to particulars of each
locomotive described in Section V. The resistance on the level
consists of journal friction, tire friction, and locomotive internal
friction. Tire friction is practically nil, except on curves and in strong
side winds. Journal friction I find, in the case of my small rolling
stock, to be covered by an allowance of 10 lbs. per ton. Owing to
the numerous curves another 10 lbs. per ton must be added to cover
tire friction. A tractive power of 20 lbs. per ton proves quite sufficient
to keep the train in motion on the level. It is not, however, enough
to start the train on a curve, nor to overcome the inertia due to
journal friction when, as on an incline, there is no slack between the
wagons, and the whole train must be started at once. After
considerable experience I find it necessary to add a further 20 lbs.
per ton to the required tractive power. A total of 40 lbs. per ton is
thus allowed as a good working equivalent of the frictional resistance
of the train.
The friction of the locomotive is a much more complicated question.
There seems very little information available on this point. It has
been said, in the case of full sized engines, to absorb thirty per cent.
of the tractive power, but this is a vague estimate, out of all reason
excessive, unless it be intended to include gravity resistance on a
steep incline. It is desirable to consider the nature of the various
causes of resistance to motion separately. Viewed as a carriage only,
the journal and tire friction of the locomotive may be taken at the
same amount per ton of its weight as in the case of the trains,
namely, 40 lbs. The additional resistance due to friction of the
moving parts of the mechanism cannot be calculated as a constant.
If the engine is developing but a small portion of its power, the
amount will be small; when loaded to its full capacity there will be a
large increase of internal resistance, varying, however, in proportion
to the accuracy with which it is put together, and the stiffness of the
framing.
Such experiments as I have made show clearly that, when exerting
approximately its full power, the total frictional resistance of the
engine does not exceed 100 lbs. per ton, and when running light is
much less, but in what proportion less I have as yet failed to
ascertain satisfactorily. Of this 100 lbs. per ton, from 20 to 40 lbs. is
due to journal and tire friction, leaving from 60 lbs. to 80 lbs. per ton
as the deduction for internal friction.
I thus conclude that an allowance of 40 lbs. per ton for train
resistance, and 100 lbs. per ton for engine resistance, is a basis for
calculating the tractive power required on the level that is sufficient
under all possible narrow-gauge conditions. In the case of gradients
there must, of course, be added the gravity resistance of the engine
and train, which is, on a gradient of 1 in 100, one-100th of the gross
weight; on a gradient of 1 in 50, one-50th, and so on.
In calculating the tractive power of the engine, the effective pressure
in the cylinders may be reckoned at fully nine-tenths of the boiler
pressure, on account of the low piston speed.
The above particulars are not to be taken as representative of what
can be got out of a narrow-gauge engine in a few isolated
experiments only, but of what is well within the compass of daily
work.
 IX.
REMARKS ON NARROW GAUGE
RAILWAYS.

Up to this point I have merely detailed the particulars of the

construction of my experimental railway and of the line at Eaton,
giving at the same time the reasons that have led me to adopt
certain methods and designs. I now propose, in conclusion, to offer
a few remarks upon the application, in this country and abroad, of
small railways of 2 ft. gauge and under to do work at present done
by means of horses and carts.
The cases in which such lines can be profitably applied may be
classed under two heads; the one, where, in a country possessing
ports or a system of railways, large establishments, private, public,
or industrial, might be connected therewith by a narrow gauge line
so as to reduce the cost of transport below that which has to be paid
for haulage by animal power on roads; the other, when no roads
worthy of the name are available, and the choice is a light railway or
nothing. The chief condition of success in both cases is a sufficient
traffic between two or more definite points. Military railways,
however, must be regarded from a somewhat different standpoint,
as the object here is to supply a movable centre as expeditiously as
possible with the vast commissariat requirements of an army rather
than to study economy. It is not my intention to enter into the pros
and cons of small railways for war purposes. Suffice it to say that
some countries are ahead of us in the matter, which is one that has,
in England, been allowed to drop rather into the background.
Returning to the consideration of cases where a fairly large traffic
has to be delivered to a port or railway system, the first question
that arises is that of transhipment. Material of any kind can be as
effectively delivered on ship-board by narrow gauge railway wagons
as by horses and carts, if not better. In reckoning up the cost of
transhipment from small wagons on to a railway system—no great
matter with proper appliances—it must not be lost sight of that,
even if a branch of standard gauge were constructed to many
establishments, the large wagons cannot, as a rule, be got up to the
point where the material lies, and a preliminary transference in
barrows or carts is necessary. With the little wagons it is usually
possible to get right up to the place and to load direct, in which case
there is clearly no additional expense incurred. It is, further, often
forgotten that there is on the standard railways endless
transhipment for the sake of economical transport, in no way
connected with a break of gauge.
Again, a small line can be carried round curves, up gradients, and
through confined premises, where a wider line would be
inadmissible. In many places the unsightliness of the standard gauge
would be objected to, nor can such a line be made very light if it has
to carry, as it must, the 7 or 8 tons per axle of a full sized coal
wagon (see Appendix A).
The narrow gauge has also the advantage in first cost, and by
bringing the small wagons on to a level with the floors of the large
ones, or, in the case of minerals, by erecting a simple shoot, the
transhipment difficulty may be reduced to a minimum.
It is not well to have gradients steeper than 1 in 40 where avoidable,
as difficulty will be experienced in slippery weather; but it is quite
possible with suitable engines to work inclines of moderate length,
as steep as 1 in 12. The diminution of the power of the locomotive
on gradients is also a matter for consideration, the importance of
which will be clear when it is stated that if an engine will haul, as it
should, in addition to itself, ten times its own weight on the level, it
will haul, speaking roughly, only four times its weight up 1 in 50,
twice its weight up 1 in 25, and once its weight up 1 in 12. More
work can be done if adhesion does not fail, but the above is an
approximate working average.
The speed on small lines is not generally a matter of much moment,
owing to their usually moderate length. A locomotive that is
sufficiently powerful to start a given load, will without difficulty get it
along at from 8 to 10 miles an hour. It has occurred to me that a
very fair approximation to the reasonable running speed of which
any gauge is capable is to be found in estimating that the speed of
passenger trains is equal to as many miles per hour as the gauge is
inches wide, and, for goods trains, to half that amount.
The permanent way should be made a thoroughly sound job, as it
will then cost but little for repairs. Particulars of what is
recommended will be found in Sections III. and IV. I am no advocate
of portable railways, which may be well enough for hand trains, or
even for horse traction, but a locomotive requires a solid and clean
road if it is to work to advantage.
It is often possible to carry a narrow gauge railway by the roadside
or, as at Eaton, over pasture lands without the necessity of fencing
the line in. Fences can be crossed as described in Sections III. and
IV., so long as arable land is avoided. Where the route is not wholly
the property of the projector of the railway, the requisite way-leave
may frequently be leased by paying an annual acknowledgment of
from 3d. to 6d. per yard run.
It now remains to show what traffic is required in order that a line of
this description may repay the outlay upon it. This may best be
effected by drawing a comparison between the cost of locomotive
traction on rails and horse traction on roads. The cost of loading and
unloading will not be included, as these are the same in both cases.
(See also Section IV.)
Taking the minimum distance apart of two points, between which
haulage may be supposed to be required, as one mile, the smallest
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