Centre Hall reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1868-1871, 1871-01-20
N.r4aw tiaage Railroads.

Madoc and Festlniog, IN Wales, seems tai
be- well worthy the attention Of small oom-1
munitics living In the interior of the coun-
try who desire to have cheap branch rail
roads to connect with main lines An the
clements that enter into the economy of
transportation are combined IN the Welsh
railroad. Ii has u narrow track, two.
foot gauge and light rhgincs and cars.
The rond in question runs through difl-
cult country, aud WIS originally built for
the purrose NJ tFAhsru,tlng slate and stone
frOln tho hills Of Mcrimcthshire 90 the sea
shore. The perfect adoption to this use,
and the excellent manner in which the
road and machinery withstood the enor-
NOUS strain that was put upon them, sug-
rcs,od the transformation of what was, at
arst, n simple tramway into railroad for
passengers and tratie, Since then the sue.
cess of the road has been remarkable
Whilst other roads, running for long dis
tances and constructed At great cost, have
been paying with difficulty annual diyi,
dends not exceeding five per cent, and fire.
quently less, this little Welsh road ha,
yielded net revenue of thirty per cent
The London Colliery Guardian explain,
quite lucidly the reason of this difference
at Is, says that journal because the
dead weight and the paying weight Is :,
much less than upon other railways. Tn,
engine and tender upon this line weigh ON
~ ten tons, against forty tons upon tn,
wider gauge of other lines, Instead of
first elass carriage, weighing seven and
half tons, 10 carry thirty-two passenger
and representing nearly FIVE hundre,
pounds Of dead weight for each passenger
the carriages on the Festiniog Railroat
weigh only a ton and half for twelve pas
sengers, or but two hundred and fft,
pounds dead weight for each passenge
carried
Ii will thus be observed that the suvin,
in dead weight alone is immense Rn
this is among the least Of the advantage
presented by narrow road of wide
gauge, and with rolling stock so heavy tina
by It's mere weight and friction aud jar it /
breaking the road to pieces.
The whole cost Of grading and bridg
ing narrow track road would be
under favorable circumstances, only fey
thousand dollars mile, while the ex
penses of engines and cars and the workinl
charges would be on an equally moderat
scale. I'VE do not go so far, says III
London Railway News, that two-fno
gauge win furnish the railway Of the fIi
turs, bat we are confident that IT, econo
my and efficiency will cause il to be exten
sively adopted"
The perfect success Of the Festinio
Road, its eheapness and the large livi
dends il has declared, Open up 10 our e,,un
try friends an example by which they ca
not only obtain facilities for reaching N
nearest market at cheap rate, but ca
make at the sane time the enterprise pro-
table to the stockholders.
BY adopting the Welsh plan they ca
have n railroad which will answer all thei
purposes. at one sixth the cost of ordinar
railways, save one-half the expenses {
dead weight, be far less taxed for wear an
tear, whilst the working expens cs woul
be reduced 10 the smallest amount that
compatible with safety and efficiency.
The gauge of the Festiniog Railroad
but two feet, or, to speak with extreme a,
curacy, only one foot eleven and ha
inches. The locomotives used on the ron
weigh about ten tons, eoaled and wateres
and the tenders little over ton. Tn
passenger carriages are, for the most par
seated longitudinally, the passengers sitiin
back TO back. This arrangement ofeours,
brings the centre Of gravity immedia.sl
over the rails, and renders the wide proje,
ton Of the carriages over the line on eac
side of comparatively little consequence
The carriages are about sax feet wide an
six feet six inches high in the centre an
each seated for fourteen passengers ID
minutive though these vehicles are, the
afford as ample and comfortable accou
mediation rs the enormous carriages upo
ordinary lines, and are in strong contra
with them in the much higher proportio
they afford of paying" TO dead weight
the dead weight hauled on the Fes,iniC
Railway j., indeed reduced % the utmo
minimum. The carring
wheels are Is inches in diameter, and II
floors of the vehicle only about Z inch,
above the roadway The trains have n trr
ly comical appearance; from the lowne
of the floors and the invisibility of Il
wheels, they are much more like box
upon short rollers than ordinary railway
other wheeled carriages"
So much for the road and It's carriage
II might, however, he supposed that sue
a road, so equipped, would not be capab
Of carrying on heavy traffic, and that
must be looked upon rather as curious q
than as adapted TO really useful praetic
everyday purpose. Nothing can be furth'
from the fact. Ii is a TO d which has bee
for GONE years past in active operation.
carries daily considerable number of pm
sengers to and from Port Madoc, and
large amount Of heavy freight-the latt,
consisting principally Of valuable slate an
building stone from the Festiniog quarrie
The cheapness with which this road WI
built, the peculiar lightness Of its equiv
ment and the handsome profits 1t has pal
TO its stockholders-not less than fifty p,
cent. annually-have led TO the construt
ton # similar roads In other parts
Wales. The attention ofa large number
capitalists and civil engineers has also bee
strongly attracted TO the subject. AboI
three weeks ago a party Of distinguishe
professional gentlemen left London fc
Port Madoc to be pre- mt at a series of e,
periments which was instituted for the pul
pose of testing the relative power Of III
engines in use on the Festiniog Road wit
a new locomotive which had been built fC
the same road by Mr.. Fairlie, The con
petition was to be between the Welsh Pt
ny"-that being the name Of the best loco
motive at work OH the road-and Mr. Fair
lies Little Wonder" The latter Is do
scribed as "a double bogie," being CON
posed of two engines on one frame bot
exercising tractive power. The little te
ton locomotive "Welsh Pony" was fir.
put to work, and after various tests il wa
found, Of the minimum Of its power, to b
capable OF draw ng easily thirty-one slAt
trucks, weighing seventy-seven tons, up
grade ofone foot in eighty-fve. The Lit
tie Wonder" weighing nineteen and a-hal
tons, was next tried. 1t was yoked tn