The Express.
London, England, 1868-09-10 00:00:00

MOIL WATER AT LONDONRRIDOL.

To-Dar —Monang. 111. ft,in. Anemone, n.
Tt.)-ila &sow —Montins, n. 6oti2 Alt kraals. 9h. 3;=.

NOTICE.
Forums of Ammo. MARRIAGZIP, and Droves, am resolved
until i 2 o'clock for insertion same evening. Prue re. dd.

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LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 10.

RAILWAY CHARGES AND Arcommo-
DATION.

Plnnkre the preeent disposition to fight tho
_ _

railway boards by travelling third class may mg-
. gest to the public other possibilities of improve-
. meat besides reduction of fares. It will certainly
demonstrate that tho differences in intrinsic con-
venience between first and third class is very
trifiing, and what the railway companies charge
so much for must cost them very little. The cheap
carriages are just as strong, and hung on as good
springs as the dear. This is proved by many car-
riages being " composite "—containing second
elass, and sometimes even third class, compart-
ments on the same wheels as fho first class. The
floors and ceilings are the same, except that there
is a strip of carpet or a rug on the former, and
paper or varnish instead of paint on the latter, in
the dearer compartments. The seats are the same,
with the sole addition of spring stuffing in very
dusty cloth linings, and sometimes of par-
titions
between each person. The doors are the
same, except a trifle of polished mahogany in the
first class. The windows of the first class fit better,
and they have, or ought to have, blinds. But on
the whole it is obvious that a first-class carriage
cannot cost originally above a pound per seat more
khan the corresponding second-class, and any one
who computes how many thousand passengers it
ought to carry during its life can tell us the in-
finitesimal fraction of a farthing which each ought
in justice to be charged for his superior accommo-
dation. The fact is that the railways charge us,
and we pay, for our gentility. We want a dif-
ference of grade, in order to separate us from the
vulgar, and the railways are kind enough to com-
ply by sticking on a higher price. But then,
might we not reasonably ask them to give us some
improved conveniences for so large a difference of
, money ? Is this dismal effort of upholstery all

that they can offer in return for ouch a difference
of price

It is a remarkable fact about railway carriages
that they never do undergo any improvement.
As the first-built carriage was, so is the last-built.
The original idoa, it must be confessed, is of the
simplest character. Three stage-coach bodies
fastened together back to back, and set upon four
wheels, is the ultimate conception of the railway
carriage architect. There is a little less cramping
of the legs and squeezing of the ribs than in the
old stage coach, but that is all the difference. As
of old, one person at each side has the absolute
command of the ventilation, and of the sunshine
or shade. The heat is greatly aggravated, for
there is no pile of luggage to protect the roof
from the sun's direct rays. The dust is worse, for
it is raised in dense clouds by the jar of the wheels,
and diversified by smuts and ashes from the

engine chimney. Is there no arrangement
of seats possible but that of the stage coach
body ? Is it impossible to provide ventilation
available to each passenger? Might not the car-
riages be warmed in winter, and kept a little
cooler in summer? Might not the dust be pre-
vented from rising, by a* different material being
used for " ballast," or by a different method of
laying the sleepers ? On this last head we may
cite in evidence the case of the Great
Western. The dust on that lino has boon
during summer notably less than on some
of the other lines, and the fact is that the rails on
that line are laid on heavy longitudinal beams,
instead of cross sleepers resting on the gravel.
As to the arrangement of seas, wo may point to
the carriages of Austria and Switzerland, which
have a passage for the guard down the middle,.
and provide to each passenger a table for his per-
sona convenience. Again, we may appeal to
America which for long journeys has introdued
sleeping cars. Would it not be worth the while
of the Groat Northern or the North Western to
establish such avowed conveniences at &slightly eh-
Wooed price forth° tourists who now manage topes*