The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-08 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

RAILWAYS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

The report of the railway department of the Board of
Trade for the year 1855 states that the number of railway
bills which came before Parliament in the session of 1855
amounted to 104, and the length of new line proposed to be
authorised amounted to 655 miles. But of these bills only
73 were passed ; and the total length of line actually
authorisedwas 363 miles. Of the 73 acts passed in 1855 53
had reference to the construction of works ; the length of
new line authorised by these acts was as follows, viz.:-19i
miles in England and Wales, 76 miles in Scotland, and 91
miles in Ireland.

In 1846 270 railway acts were passed, authorising the
construction of 4,538 miles of railway, and the raising of
132,617,3681. of capital; in 1347 190 acts, authorising 1,350
miles, and 39,460,128/. ; in 1848 85 acts, authorising 371
miles, and 15,274,2371.; in 1849 34 acts, authorising 16
miles, and 3.911,3311. ; in 1850 34 acts, authorising 8 ni'lee
and 4,115,6321.; in 1851 61 acts, authorising 135 miles and
9,551,2751.; in 1852 51 acts, authorising 244 miles and
4,333,831•-/. ; in 1e53, 106 acts, authorising 940 miles and
15,517,601/. ; in 1854, 71 acts, authorising 482 miles and
9,211,6021. ; in 1855, 73 acts authorising 363 miles and
9,192,0331. ; making a total of 875 railway acts in 10 years,
authorising 8,446 miles of railway and 243,187,016/. of
capital to be raised. The report then adverts to the
nature of the bills promoted in the session of 1855,
and states that it would be recollected, that in 1853, the
London and South-Western Railway Company opposed
a bill promoted by the Great Western and Bristol
and Exeter Railway Companies far a railway termed the
Devon and Dorset Railway ; and that this bill was thrown
out by the House of Commons, upon a pledge being given
by the London and South-Western Railway Company that
they would introduce a bill in the following session foe a
continuation of their line to Exeter. But having obtained
their object, the London and South-Western Railway Com-
pany repudiated their pledge. Consequently, when the
company brought forward a bill for other objects in 1855,
the House of Commons referred the consideration of the
bill to a committee of nearly the same members to whom
the Devon and Dorset Railway Bill had been referred in
18)3. This committee inserted clauses into their bill, by
which the company were bound, under the penalty of a
stoppage of their dividends, to introduce into and use their
best endeavours to pass through Parliament a bill for a
narrow gauge line to Exeter.
With regard to level crossings proposed in railway bills,
the report states that in considering the subject it is neces-
sary to bear in mind that level crossings aro a source of
danger, and that as many as 35 persons unconnected with
the railways were killed at level crossings and six persons
were injured during the year 1855. It may also be observed
that level crossings entail a considerable permanent ex-
pense on a railway company, from the necessity of main-
taining signals, lodges, gates, and gatekeepers. It was,
however, impossible to frame any rules by which the in-
specting officers could be exclusively guided in making
their reports, as each case involved many special circum-
stances; but they endeavoured as far as possible to ad-
here to the following general principles, viz. :-1. That
in all cases where the engineering difficulties would be
slight, so that the expense of erecting a bridge would not
materially differ from the sum of the cost of providing
and the capitalisation of the annual cost of maintain-
ing signals, lodges, gates, and gatekeepers, the level cross-
ing should not be recommended, unless the erection of a
bridge would, from the general nature of the district, sens-
ibly interfere with the local traffic. 2.• That in cases of
unimportant roads, where the engineering difficulties and
expenses entailed by a bridge would be considerable, the
level crossing should be recommended. 3. That in the
case of important roads and streets, where the traffic
was large, the level crossing should not be recommended
unless the construction of a bridge involved very special
difficulties. The number of level crossings proposed by
the bills which became acts amounted to 237, add of
these 102 level crossings were authorised. In a few
cases of thoroughfares, along which a large number of
foot passengers passed, but where the traffic of vehicles,
&c., was small, the level crossing was retained for ve-
hicles, a bridge being erected for the foot pas-
sengers. The total length of line authorised by Parlia-
ment down to the end of 1855 amounted to 14,316 miles ;
but of this 1,495 miles have been abandoned by subsequent
acts or by warrant under the authority of the Commission-
ers of Railways, and consequently there remain 12,851
miles for which the Parliamentary powers which were ob-
tained have not been repealed. Of these; 8,280 miles were
open at the end of 1855, and 4,571 miles, which have re-
ceived the authority of Parliament, remain to be opened.
The length of railway authorised iu England and Wales
was 9,486 miles, in Scotland 1,541 miles, and in Ireland
1,824 miles; making together 12,851 miles. The length
of railway open in England and Wales on the 31st of
December, 1855, was 6,210 miles, in Scotland 1,083
miles, and in Ireland 987 miles; together, 8,280 miles;
leaving the length of line authorised but not open iu Eng-
land and Wales 3,276 miles, in Scotland 458 miles,
and in Ireland 837 miles. The length of railway
opened in the United Kingdom previous to Deceee-
her, 1843, was 2,036 miles. In 1844, 204 miles of
railway were opened; in 1845, 296 miles; in 1846, 606
miles ; in 1847, 803 miles ; in 1848, 1,182 miles ; in 1819,
869 miles ; in 1850, 625 miles; in 1851, 269 miles; iu
14352C4116 wilds,- int 1853, 350 miles: in 16.54, 368 miles;
and hi' 1865, 226 miles • showing increase 0t6,244 Mines
in 12 years. Of the 4,571 miles antherieed but trot made,
the compulsory powers for the purchase of land have been
allowed to expire in respect of 2,497mi1e5, which it is pro-
bable will never be made. The total amount of money
authorised to be raised by railway companies by shares
and on loan, to the end of 1835 amounted to
374,971,9661., of which 2;)7,583,284/. had been raised,
leaving 77,3,8,682/. to be raised. There are no means
of - ascertaining how much of this sum is apportioned
to the lines of railway for which the Parliamentary
powers have expired, but it may be assumed approxi-
mately that from 30,000,0001. to 40,000,0001. of this
amount would have been applied to those portions of rail-
way, and that it will not, therefore, be now raised. Of
the 8,297 miles open for traffic, at the end of 1855, 6,445
miles were on the narrow gauge, 667 on the broad gauge
of 7ft.' eO6 on the mixed gauge of 7ft. and 4ft. eqe inches,
and 979 miles on the Irish gauge of sft. 3 inches. Tne
Humber of miles of single line was 1,345 in England, 254
in Scotland, and 570 in Ireland-tOtal, 2,169 miles. Of
these, 1,320 miles are on the narrow gauge, 209 miles on
the broad gauge, 72 miles on the mixed gauge, and 568
miles on the Irish gauge. It appears that the length of
the new lines opened for traffic during the year 1855, in-
cluding 17 miles of him belonging to private individuals,
amounted to 243 miles of these, 235 miles were laid with
only one line of rails. The single lines were only allowed
to be opened upon an understanding that not more than
time
engineo up in
theon
re
uponlovre d
defined
partsand t he
he
esrao
ome
f.
These regulations, if faithfully carried into effect, preclude
the possiility of collision on single lines, but at the same
time they prevent a large traffic from being carried on by
means of a single line.
r itsoe dwbo yr
kPtahre-
liaTmheen report twmh
ieenht i oonnso t h
companya agreementst
uod e
ratuaktheos
line of another company, or by which the interchanges of
traffic is facilitated, are becoming very numerous. In the
case of six distinct lines of railway opened during the year
1855, the lines were to be worked, under Parliamentary
authority, by a company owning a line in connection with
them ; and seven other companies appear to have entered
into working arrangements without the sanction of Parlia-
ment, viz., the East Grinstead Railway is worked by the
London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company,
without there being any special power in the company's
act. The Wimbledon and Croydon Railway is worked by
the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company,
the act having authorised tho company to enter into arrange-
ments with the London and South-Western Railway Com-
pany. The Bideford Extension Railway is worked by Mr.
Brassey, the act having authorised the company to enter
into arrangements with the North Devon Railway Com-
pany. The Coleford, Monmouth, Uak, and Pontypool
Railway is worked by the Newport, Abergavenny, and
Hereford Railway Company, the act having authorised
the company to use a portion of the Newport, Aberga-
venny, and Hereford Railway. The object of these work-
ing arrangements is to create that identity of interest be-
tween the several companies which' is caused by an amal-
gamation ; but while they place the working cif the small
line under the control of the larger company, they appear
, to provide a better security that the local traffic of the
smaller line will be more cared for and developed than
if it were entirely merged into the larger concern.
These agreements are generally framed in such a manner
as to render it the direct interest of the company
working the line to develope the traffic. There is en-
other class of agreements between railway companies
which do not sem° before the Legislature, and which have
been devised with a view to produce the same effect as
amalgamation, in preventing competition between railway
companies. Under this class of agreement the railway
companies parties to them divide in fixed portions the re-
ceipts from the traffic between certain specified places, after
deducting a sum for working expenses ; and since each
railway company that is a party to the agreement derives
its share of the receipts, although another company may
have done the work, this arrangement possesses the evils of
a monopoly without furnishing to the railway companies
that stimulus to continued exertion in developing the traffic
which exists in the case of companies working the traffic
on their own account, and the absence of which is in the
end injurious both to the public and to the proprietors.
Some agreemerts of this nature hese contained a clause
binding one of the parties to discourage traffic brought by
an independent railway, which might compete with the
traffic of one of the other parties to the' agreement. An
important agreement of this class recently entered into is
one between the London and North-Western, the Lancas-
ter and Carlisle, the Caledonian, the Midland, the Great
Not them, the North-Eastern, and the North British Rail-
wtwaeyeCnoLmorinadno:n and certain which the receipts from all traffic be-
certain towns in England, and Edin-
burgh, Glasgow, and other districts in Scotland to the
north of these towns, are paid into one fund, and divided
in certain fixed proportions.
The length of new line reported to be in course of con-
struction on the 30th June, 1855, was 880 miles ; of these
about 170 miles were opened before the 31st December,
1855. The number of persons employed on the 30th June,
1855, upon the railways its course of construction amounted
to 38,546, being on the average 43.8 per mile. In June,
1849, when 1,504 miles of railway were in course of con-
struction, 103,816 persons were employed upon them, or 69
persons per mile; in June, 1850, 864 miles were in course
of construction, and 58,884 persons were employed on them,
or 68.15 per mile ; in June, 1851, 734 miles were in course
of construction, and 42,938 persons were employed, being
at the rate of 55.49 persons per mile ; in 1854, 889
miles were in course of construction, and 45,401 persons
wore employed upon them, being at the rates of 51.07 per
mile. The money raised by shares and loans for the con-
struction of railways in 1849 amounted to 29,574,719/. ; in
1850, to 10,522,967/. ; in 1851, to 7,970,1711. ; in 1852, to
15,924,783/. ; in 1853, 9,158,835/. ; in 1854, to 12,452,374/;
to 11,514,4901., making together in seven
anderairn
period. le t
97,118,3191., being at the rate of 32,0001.
per
eotheength of railway opened during that
P
oBThe number of persons employed on railways
opened
traffic in the United Kingdom was, in 1851,
53,563, being at the rate of 9.49 per mile ; in 1852, 67.601
persons, or 9.55 per mile ; in 1853, 80,409, or 10.6 per mile;
in 1854, 0,409, or 11.59 persons per mile ; and in 1855,
97,952 persons, or 12.07 per mile. The number of stations
in 1851 was 2,107, and in 1855, 2,798; showing an increase
rmile
ia
forlf
of 691 stations and of 1,418 miles of railway,