The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1870-11-03
The Gauge of the Railways of the Fu-
ture. 4t.. .

Iures
Under this head Mr. r. T. Fairlie, one
of the ablest of English civil engineers,
publishes an important article in the
Engineer for September 20, in which he
argues with great force and clearness
that "every inch added to the width of
q gauge beyond what is absolutely nee
essary for the traffic adds to the cost of
construction, increases the proportion of
dead weight, increases the cost and dan
ger of working, and in consequence in
creases the tariffs to the public, and by
SO much reduces the useful effect of rail-
ways" and that, taking the average of
the circumstances under which railways
are built, the cost will be found to vary
nearly as the gauge" He asserts that
English railways have been built in fla
grant violation of these principles, and
illustrates his argument in favor of mar
rover gauges by an analysis of the bust
ness of the London and Northwestern
Railway, the good management of which
is universally admitted" He shows
that eff the gauge of this road were 3
feet instead of feet 81 inches, its goods
traffic could be hauled at half the pres
ent cost, with half the present motive
power, and in such a way as to reduce
the present tonnage by one-half, and to
remove the necessity for the heavy ex-
pense that is now being incurred in the
construction of third line of rails
The goods traffic on this road is estima-
ted at ten million tons per annum, re-
quiring seventy million tons of train
weight to haul it; but in order to avoid
all risk of exaggeration, Mr.. Fairlie es-
Inmates the dead weight at forty million
tons, and the whole gross weight hauled
by the engines at fifty million tons, at
an average speed of twenty-five miles
an hour. The average distance trav-
ersed by each ton is about thirty-eight
miles, at an average cost of l Id. per ton.
The cars employed average four tons in
weight, and carry one ton for every mile
run.
1.-The speed in each case up to forty
miles per hour is assumed as being equal.
The cars for line of three t, u gauge
weigh each one ton, and carry q maxi
mum load of three tons. Supposing
that the same number of cars and trains
were run on the narrow as on the broad
gauge, it follows that the average one
ton of merchandise now carried could
easily be taken in car weighing one
ton instead of four tons, and that the
gross load passing over the line for one
year would be only twenty million tons
instead OF fifty million, while the same
amount of paying load would be carried
i'll either case. The haulage cost being
the same whether the tons hauled con-
sist of paying or non-paying loads, it
follows that the expense would be re-
duced to two-ffths of what it now is.
This does not include the enormous saw
ing in wear and tear which would arise
from hauling twenty million tons in
stead of fifty million. From the fore
going the fact is established that the 8
feet gauge can produce twenty-five mil
lions net out of a gross tonnage of fifty
millions, while the 4 feet 81 inch gauge
ito produce the same result, would have
TO haul one hundred and twenty-five
millions, and at cost increased in the
same proportion
If Mr.. Fairlie's conclusions are cor
rect and they seem to be, they are OF
great Importance not only to this coun-
try, but to South America, Asia, and
Australia-in fact, to all countries not
fully supplied with railways. He claim:
that these indispensable adjuncts Of
commerce and intercommunication in.
stead of costing 100000 per mile, a:
they have in England, India, and the
British colonies generally, "can be made
cheaply and at the same time thorough.
ly efficient; and those who aver to the
contrary are, in fact, enemies to pro.
gress and to civilization. There is NJ
country too poor to have railways sufii.
cient for its requirements, and railways
furnish the cheapest possible mode o
transportation when they are not borne
down by the results of that incompe
tence and extravaganza which we so of.
ten see associated together. ."--Ne'O Yord
iS1tR.