N ARROW GAUGE
SPEEDIER /
THAN
AS WELL AS CHEAPER.
BY HERBERT S. MELVILLE, ESQ. .
~~~~
THIRD EDITION.
LONDON :
PRINTED BY JAMES HOLMES, TOOK'S COURT, CHANCERY LANI.
PUBLISHED BY W. STEPHENSON, 12 & 13, PARLIAMENT STREET.
1846.
Price 3d, with a coloured Map.

Transportation
Library
Tº
, M 53
N A R ROW G A U GE
s P E E DIER
THAN BROAD GAUG E.
Reprinted, with Additions, by permission, from the Railway Chronicle.
ENGLISHMEN, in judging of professions and pro-
mises, are always inclined to look at what has
been done rather than at what has been said.
Railways are now in a paroxysm of excitement
from variouscauses and their time-tables showsymp-
£oms of their febrile condition, the speed partakes
of the galloping nature of the disease to which
they are victims. I propose to examine the relative
speed on the two Gauges, and I therefore commence
by taking a period antecedent to the disease having
softstrongly set in; when, ºmoreover, the Broad
Gauge party did not feel themselves put so closely
4
upon their trial as they now must ; when, in short,
a more safe and natural state of things existed in
regard to railway speed and in regard to every-
thing else about railways. I take the time in
March 1845, this time last year. I find the fol-
lowing railways, where speed may be looked for,
(and perhaps some others, for I have not had time
to go through the whole list,) were running trains
at more than 25 miles per hour, and which I
will, for the sake of distinction, in the following
comparison, term “fast trains.”
Statement of the Speed of Fast Trains on several Railways,
Žn March 1845.

Number
-> Speed of Trains
Name of Railway. Gauge. i. miles daily at
* * * - a per hour. this speed.
London and South-Western . . .4 ft. 8% in. 27% - 4 +
London and Brighton . . . . . . . 4 ft. 8% in. 33# #4
Midland Counties . . . . . . . . . 4 ft., 8% in. 29# 2.
Great North of England . . . . . 4 ft. 8% in. 28% 2 -
Great western . . . . . . . . . . 7 ft. ºf 263 4
Now, it is to be remarked, that of these railways
the Great Western has infinitely the best gra-
dients; cost far the most per mile, that a large
portion of this outlay was incurred with the express
object of obtaining these gradients; and that, as the
Gauge Commissioners say, “one of the principal
motives for constructing the Great Western Rail-
5
way on the Broad Gauge, was the attaining of
high speeds, and the credit of the proposers and
defenders of that construction has therefore been
deeply engaged in maintaining them.” Neverthe-
less, we find that several Narrow Gauge railways
were working fast trains much quicker than, and at
the same time as frequently as, the fast trains of
the Broad Gauge; for instance, • - -
The London and Brighton (Narrow Gauge).
Railway was running four trains at 333 miles per
hour, while the Great Western (Broad Gauge) was
running only the same number of trains (four)
at 26% miles per hour, or seven miles per hour
slower than the Brighton Company.
The South-Western (a Narrow Gauge line)
was giving as many fast trains a day as the
Great Western (the Broad Gauge railway), and
those at a quicker rate.
The Great North of England and Midland
Counties were both running two fast trains a day,
each of these trains being considerably faster than
any of the Great Western (the Broad Gauge
company's) trains. - -
From these facts we cannot avoid drawing the
conclusion, that the rate of speed which has pre-
vailed on railways during the last year cannot be
regarded as the spontaneous and natural effect of
the Broad Gauge, for it certainly seems that until
6
the progress of events obliged the Broad Gauge
party to make exertions and sacrifices to obtain
great speed in order to justify their early profes-
sions, and to bring forward something to set off
against the many defects urged as inherent in
their system, their speed was very considerably
lower than on several of the Narrow Gauge
railways.
This by no means coincides with the impressions
which the Broad Gauge party have always endea-
voured to create on the subject of speed, nor with
the opinion of a large portion of the public, who
have always assumed that the Great Western was
the quickest railway because the Great Western
always said it was ; nevertheless, it was not by
any means the quickest railway, and this is a fact
of some importance at the present moment.
It is not then to be wondered at that the
Narrow Gauge companies should scoff a little, and
point to this fact, when they are told that it is to
the genius of Mr. Brunel and the liberality of the
Great Western Company that we are indebted for
the present rate of speed.
But let us see what the different railways are
doing in the way of speed at the present moment.
In order to ascertain this, I have made out the fol-
lowing table from “Bradshaw's Time-Tables,”
for February last. I divide the trains into Fast
7
trains, which are all above 25 miles per hour, and
Express trains: this is the result:- -
Table showing the Speed of Travelling on various
Railways.
Fast. Express.
on r=. to rº
ă ă 5 ; # 5 || 5 .
#3 || 3:3: 53 33
##| #3 || 3 || | #:
#"| ##| #" | #2;
South-Western, Narrow Gauge, 4 ft. 8% in 27 6 39 2
Grand Junction, ditto. . . . . . . . . . . . 27 5 31; 6
London and Brighton, ditto . . . . . . . . 25}| 6 || 33, 3
Manchester and Birmingham, ditto . . . . 25%. 3 33; 2
Great North of England, ditto . . . . . . . 26%| 4 30 2
Edinburgh and Glasgow, ditto . . . . . . . 27#| || 1 || – | —
f 1.
London and Birmingham, ditto . . . . . . 26#| 11 {; ;
- - - \ q = 4
Dublin and Drogheda, intermediate Gauge,
5 ft. 3 in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..| 21:#| 2 || 28 4
Great Western, Broad Gauge, 7 ft. . . . . 27#| 10 44 2
It has been already shown that the time-tables
of a company cannot, generally speaking, be
regarded as a test of the capacity for speed of any
given line or system of railway ; but, at the same
time, it cannot be disputed, that if ever a railway
was put to its trial on the plea of speed,—if ever
the managers of a railway, or the promoters of a
system, had occasion to show what their forte was,
and what they could do if they chose, the Great
Western Railway and the Broad Gauge system
are in that predicament. It cannot either be
denied that, whether as regards the excellence of
8
their line in respect of gradients and curves, the
order in which the rails are kept, the energy of
the management, or the character of their traffic,
which is all under their own control, no other line
joining them, or other company working on their
line, there never was a company in a better position
to make a good show of speed. These things
cannot be disputed, and should not be lost sight of.
But let us get to the facts. -
I find, in the first place, that as regards the
average rate of travelling at the admittedly safe
and proper speeds, the narrow gauge has still
decidedly the advantage. 4
I observe that, while the Great Western (the
Broad Gauge railway) has ten trains a day at 27%
miles per hour, the Edinburgh and Glasgow (a
Narrow Gauge railway) has 11 trains a day at 27%
miles per hour; and it is remarkable that this is
the only Narrow Gauge railway whose gradients
are at all comparable to those of the Great West-
ern Railway, although there is an incline upon it
of 1 in 42, which causes some delay in every
journey. This company has not thought it expe-
dient, it seems, to adopt the new fashion of an
express train ; but, with its ordinary fast trains, it
more than equals the Great Western. So also the
South-Western and Grand Junction lines, with
third-rate gradients and curves, equal within a
quarter of a mile per hour the Great Western.
9
The other lines, all of inferior gradients compared
with the Great Western, are within 1 and 2 miles
an hour of the Great Western fast trains.
I now come to the Express trains, and here I
find the Great Western are decidedly faster than
any other line. But I also find from Bradshaw's
time-table, that during the last summer, on the
Northern and Eastern—a Narrow Gauge railway
—there was an express train travelling at 44 miles
per hour, which was discontinued only when the
large piece of new line was opened for traffic, over
which it was dangerous to run at excessive speed.
Now it is worth remark that the Northern and
Eastern is the next best line in point of gradients
to the Edinburgh and Glasgow, although both
are inferior to the Great Western Railway :
and on one of these Narrow Gauge railways I find
an express train has been running as fast as that
on the Great Western Railway, while on the other,
which has not adopted the new fashion of express
trains, the ordinary trains above 25 miles an hour
go faster than, and as frequently as, those on the
Great Western.
The speed on the Dublin and Drogheda has
been given, because the line is on the Inter-
mediate Gauge, in which some people fancy such
magic lies: it will be seen that both the Narrow
and the Broad Gauge exceed it in speed.
10
I have now something to say as to the real effect
of express trains running at exceptional speeds on
the average speed and safety of the other trains,
which convey the great majority of the travellers
on every railway; but without stopping to dwell
upon this, an investigation of facts does compel us
to admit that even giving the Great Western the
advantage of its express train at 44 miles per
hour, the average speed of the trains above 25
miles an hour on the Grand Junction, is at this
moment within half a mile an hour of those on the
Great Western, and when all the facilities for, and
inducements to, obtaining high speed on the Great
Western Railway which I have recapitulated are
taken into account, there certainly seems no way
of escaping the conclusion that can be drawn from
the working hitherto of the Great Western Rail-
way, that the Broad Gauge, per se, has no advan-
tage in speed over the Narrow Gauge; but if any
inference can be drawn from the actual work-
ing, past and present, of the two systems, the
Narrow Gauge has proved itself, and is prov-
ing itself, the more speedy.
So much for what has been done and is doing :
what can or ought to be done hereafter, and main-
tained, is a matter, as I have said, of purely
speculative engineering opinion; and the autho-
rities, although I do not place much faith in them
11
on such a point, are certainly against the Broad
Gauge. •
A word now as to Express trains, their origin,
and use:—They were the first-fruits of the Battle
of the Gauges of last year, put on by the Great
Western at Easter, just as the railway committees
met. They were, I believe I may say, started
rather at the instigation of the managers of the
Parliamentary season than of the engineers, and
they may be regarded something in the same
light as feats of tight-rope dancing—very wonder-
ful, and not a little dangerous, -at least, I cannot
think that such men as Stephenson and Locke—
not accustomed to be frightened by trifles—should
shake their heads at them without cause; and the
results, I think, justify their apprehensions. -
The Gauge Commissioners state in their Report,
that it appears from the returns of accidents made
to the Board of Trade, that more accidents from
trains getting off the rails, have occurred in seven
months since the express trains came into vogue,
than occurred from that cause during the preceding
four and a half years, and that of these accidents
the Broad Gauge has had more than its share.
It must also be remarked that the danger from
these trains is not over when the train has passed ;
but the injury to the road, from the fearful
momentum of the engine, remains while the heavy
12
engine must be used to generate sufficient power
for such speeds. This injury is of such a nature
as not to be easily detected, but it will continually
be the cause of accident to succeeding trains. The
rails shaken, the chairs displaced, the line thrust
out of gauge, we hear of as the common cause of
accidents on railways—how often is the origin of
such evils to be traced to the injury done to the
road from the hammering of an express engine
and train. Nor does the danger of such trains
stop here. The driving an express train along a
line with much traffic, such as, for instance, the
London and Birmingham, is a feat little short of
driving a coach and four horses at 20 miles an
hour from Charing-Cross to the Bank—to do it at
all, everything must be got out of the way and
kept waiting until the express passes; and if this
is not done, a fearful accident must ensue, such as
took place recently on the Midland Railway, when
an express train, travelling at the least 25 miles
in 25 minutes, ran into a luggage train, which
could not get out of its way. So much for safety:
now as to convenience. To make way for the fa-
voured train, very often four or six trains of goods
or passengers are kept waiting for minutes, and
even hours, on sidings and at stations; if you look
out of the window of an express train there you may
see them: to accelerate one person who pays you
13
a little higher fare, or is to be conciliated because
he belongs to the class of members of Parliament
and their friends, you incommode twenty persons,
whose time may be just as valuable to them, but
who cannot, perhaps, afford to pay for your express
train. . . . . . . . .
The importance of this view of the question can
scarcely be overstated—it is now an established
fact that the great bulk of railway travellers are
second and third class passengers, who wish to
travel cheaply and safely, to save their pockets
and their limbs. The second and third class
passengers, it appears from the returns to the
Board of Trade, are now more than 80 per cent.
of the whole number of railway travellers, and the
average distance travelled by each passenger is
less than 15 miles. All these parties suffer from
the introduction of express trains. These express
trains cannot, therefore, be regarded, however
useful to a few persons they may be, as real addi-
tions to the safety and convenience of railway
travelling: if allowable at all, they must be so as
rare exceptions. Such is the judgment which, in
my opinion, must be passed upon the express
trains, quite independently of the Gauge question.
14
N A R ROW G A U.G. E.
cheaper
THAN BROAD GAUG E.
Broad Gauge. •
From London to Didcot, 53 miles, the Great
Western charges 13s. by express, 12s. by ordinary
first-class, 8s, by second-class. . . . . . . . ;
Narrow Gauge.
From London to Wolverton, 52% miles, the
JLondon and Birmingham, a Narrow. Gauge line,
charges 11s. 6d. by express, 9s. 6d., or 20 per
cent...cheaper, by ordinary first-class, 6s; 6d., or
Broad Gauge.
From Birmingham to Crewe, 54 miles, the
Grand Junction charges 11s. by express, 9s. 6d.,
| 5
or 20 per cent. cheaper, by ordinary first-class,
and 7s.6d., or 6 per cent. cheaper, by second-class.
From London to Cambridge, 574 miles, the
Eastern Counties charges 10s. 6d. by first-class,
and 7s.6d. by second-class; or 213 per cent.
cheaper by ordinary first-class, or 5% per cent.
cheaper by second-class.
From Yarmouth to Brandon, 58 miles, the
Norfolk charges 10s. by first-class, and 6s. 6d. by
second-class ; 14% per cent. cheaper by ordinary
first-class, or 10 per cent. cheaper by second-
class.
From Manchester to Chester, 52 miles, the
Manchester and Birmingham charges 8s. 6d. by
first-class, and 6s. by second-class; or 16% per
cent. cheaper by ordinary first-class, or 9% per cent.
cheaper by second-class.
From Hull to Leeds, 54 miles, the Hull and
Selby charges 9s. 6d. by first-class, and 7s.6d. by
second-class; or 133 per cent. cheaper by or-
dinary first-class, or 3% per cent. cheaper by
second-class.
Printed by JAMES THOLMES, 4, Took's Court, Chancery Lane,
M A P OF THE DISTRICTS
000UPIED BY BROAD AND NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS RESPECTIVELY,
sHow ING ALso THE BREAKs of GAUGE, !
Where Passengers and Goods must be shifted from one Carriage to another.
[Reprinted, by permission, from the Railway Chronicle.]
- /
ºr.
{-- ( * * * * *.*.* *
**** § ..The district in which the gauge of the
Railways is not yet determined is left white.
--
- Aº". ºn-ºnemou& The green lines in this district are those on
ſº f_* -- * **** . º: A 3.5/ºr which the BROAD, or ExceptionAL GAUGE,
\\ 2.\º - iº Sunderland white are sanctioned, and their promoters (the
~ º º & Great Western Railway Company) propose to
\\ N__ M º pllartlepool the decision of Parliament whether they shall be
4.º.º.” --
All THE . REST 9F THE COUNTRY,
coloured red, is that into which the broad
--- 2-7 N UNIFORM or NARRow GAUGE is to be found.
º / fºrtray \º"; º; # 3-dºº ſººn.-N The BREAKs OF GAUGE
i. s. a. º. A o p * w
#.
- Cºcº lºonkharzout'. already exists. Other lines in the district left
º ---
make them on the broad gauge, but they await
ºw/º: K º º JRedcar on the broad or narrow gauge.
* † - - - - a rºº -º- -
º ! - Zºº Arre *º º - - ºhitby gauge has not penetrated, and where only the
- #& * - T-
Scarborough are represented by round
7
dots, and show the number
which will result from the
linessanctioned in 1845 only,
if made on the broad gauge.
They will be 10 in number.
If the lines of 1845 are made
5׺zz
*% ºº: R_*Aº
ºzºzzº-sºº Yº --~~~~ on, the narrow gauge there
º . £º *ſº...? will be only 5 breaks; but if
arºxi, ºzºº-º-º-º: Parliament sanction the pro-
º §º º ------ jected lines of 1846 of both
#". * number of º:
- of break of gauge w e
&. Spurn Ild enormously multiplied.
º & er. 3.2% -
&a
º
w
Liverpoon
º
-
Caern a 2 v on
Zºº.
7 ºzzº
*- Lºoszczº
B a y
-ººrººze -
ºr zºº
3'trunzøze ºz º - º: "Nº N
- recou.
r Me Rºnk
fºr:rºyº. tº: -
F. Brºbay - - - - --------------
ººza - - - - - -** º -- --- Azerner
-Lawda ~~~-- º, . ...tºrº º º: º #12 ºzºate
es %. - - wa - - - o - whitºtº2. wº
ºzmºzzie
- *
Dungences
º
Fº º:
! -- …; º
RS º Kºr”
ººzara B.A.
º,*g £zºylſd
C-O R Nº. 7&vºstock:
Złºtate-º/
ſº Nº. - - 2E **
Bodnº. poºrºº -ºº: fºrtrand ºf $.
W A L &Plymouth N
\!. tº
200amanº H A.
4. ºne. I S. 11 C
ºver
Zºzard fº N -
Yº,
The proportions of the Broad to Narrow Gauge are as follows:–
Broad cºgs ... ** º Length.
--- : 1-ºn- road. . . . . . ,704, -- 4t Railways authorized n Broad...... 7,432,000 577
Existing Railways K.W. 57,186,137 ... 1593 but . opened Narrow.... 31:36.6% ... 1216
The Mineral Railways—all Narrow Gauge—are not included in this total; reckoning them at about 300 miles, they make the total of existing Narrow Gauge Lines above 1,900 miles.
2