The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-06-08
THE NARROW GAUGE.
cradle OF TIE.
NEW RAILWAY SYSTEM.
History Of the Initial Narrow Gauge
Road In Wales.

Road In Wales.
Correspondence OF the Philadelphia Press
FEsTIS1oG, North Wales, May II.
Wales, not TO be behind the rest of the world,
boasts lis seven wonders, but one Of the most
wonderful things which it contains is not in
cluded in the number i mean the :Festinlog
Railway.
This linie line has attracted visitors from al
most all parts of the habitable globe. wise
men from the B~6st"-Russiah counts, Egyptian
peys, Anglo Indian engineers, N%orwegians,
PrIasslans, Austrians, French, spahiards,
Italians-have been to see and eritictse the
miniature iron road. New World visitors, too,
from the States, the West Indies, the Brazlis,
have crossed the Atlantic and made their way
10 the Welsh Hills, TO inspect the Tom
Thumb Railway, as it has been called;
commission or some unauthorized seli-ap..
pointed inquisitor puts in an appearance, and
Mr. Spooner, the very courteous engineer and
manager Of the liue, must sometimes beGln 10
wonder whether he Is secretary or Snowman.
Having Just paid a visit to Festiniog and
had a full opportunity OF examining the iine,
I have thought that q brief description Of it
and a few remarks upon some points which 1t
brings up Tor consideration, would not DE un-
interesting to your readers.
Ii the Festiniog Railway were merely o
curiosity, l should need 10 apologize for propo-
sing to trouble you with anything on the SUP
ject, for you have curiosities. OF your IN
abundance, both natural and artificial, human
and mechanical. But the Festiniog Railway
is more than a curiosity; it is a practical Illus
tration of a most important principle IN rall-
wav construction. 1t is q fact-woTth more
than a Thousand theories-which demonstrates
that the railways OF the future need not De
- ~...N. --l nffap an npnInarQtIE works
which they have been in the past; q TACT
which. ] believe. is TO bring about a revolt
ton in all railway matters aud oil that apper-
tains thereto.
Any such fact, l Judge, will be OF supreme
interest in a country With vast eXpanses OF Ter
ritery still unpeopled, vast resources still I'M
developed; territory which must be peopled,
resources which must be developed mainly
through the agencies Of rallways;for railways,
originally the outcrop of civilization, the OH
spring oil that ever-fruitiul parent, Necessity,
have now become the very pioneers Oh CIVIL.
cation, The great plougE-shores which open up
the virgin lands that mankind III ma. nay T tSeV .r ~
waiting 10 produce. Like the outstretchlng
branches Of tree, railways, wherever they
| spread themselves abroad, carry with them
seeds like to those from which they sprang,
and thus population, Industry and
are made to cover the earth.
| 10 OTQlQuIN fISllOlS llS SSOidiOo 'N
begins at Portemadoc (Which is situated al
the northeast corner Of Cardigan Bay.) and
runs thence to uinas and Dnfros, villages situ-
ated between Noel Wyn and Manod, two slate;
bearing mountains in the FeStlniog DISTRICT.
More properly speaking, however, tae railway
| commences if the mountains, and ENDS a.
Portemadoc. tor its primary object was TO
! carry the states from the quarries which
| abound in the Fes,lniog District down to
! P%ortenaduc, whence they are shipped TO Inc
various markets. This still forms the greatest
| part OF the traffic on the line, although q large
| passenger traffic has been developed during
! The last eight years.
ally constructed in 1882 as a horse Lramway,
| and was made OF a nominally two.teet galge,
the exact gauge being half an inch less than
that. Eight years ago Mr. Spoo4er resolved
on the bold experiment OF converting LIMO u
locomotive passenger railway, retaining tne
old Wav. and thus setting at defiance the pre-
conceived theories Of engineers as to the width
Of gauge necessary Tor 4 line over which steam
enGjnes should run. Years before that The
| great 'sbattle Of the gauges" had been fought
in the country, and four leet eiSht anu q hali
inches had been adopted as the standard
gauge-!he narrowest which was at all consis-
| tent with the requirements OF railway tralnc.
| Even that was regarded by some as TOO narrow,
| and lines of seven-feet gauge were laid down
at enormous expense, for. the sake oil some
| fancied advantages which never resulted. HAD
| any one renlured to hint that a.large ralnc-
| equal to any which was then contemplate
| might be conducted on Il line OF tWo-feet
eauce, he would have been secuted as q mad
man. Facts, however, are stubborn things,
| and NOT easily convicted Of lunacy. A large
traffic, both passenger and goods, IS condncted
on a two-feet gauge, and, though l am inot
going TO say that such a gauge ls suitable 1of
Universal or ever general adoption, the tes-
tit, ovpar{poopf haQ mazda u clear TO 8u DnJ
! the mos pig-headsd that a mach narrower
gauge than that generally adopted 10 amply
SUFFICIENT for the accommodation OF al or1l-
nary traffic, and may be constructed anu
worked at far less cost than The "standard"
gauge.
Let us then take q trip along the interesting
little railway, and see what IL Is ana Wnat u.
does. arrived at Portemadoc station, we ind
the train in w%aitlng-a train which looks al
| most like a child's toy, so dimlnutive isit com
| nareC with what we are accustomed 10 see.
one might nearly sit astrlde the engine,.a
the carriages look as though push Wou4ld seI
| them going. The passenger carriages are OF
TWO kinds; In those OF the eldest make the
| seats are arranged lengthwise, the passengers
| sitting lack 10 back, rs in an Irish jauniing
car: 10 those of more recent build The seals
| are placed crosswise, as in ordinary railway
| carriages, and accommodate three passengers
10 each seat, or twelve TO a carriage .los sum
mer tOIriStS tnefe are Opeu CdTPiuScS, WILL
lengthwise seats and awnings overhead; and
for the quarrymen, large numbers Of whom
70 mp the line every Monday morning
| and return every Saturday, there are low.
omen cars. without coverings, which each car
nv a dozen workmen. TIE carriage floors
being raised very little above the ground Level,
there is no need for platforms at the stations,
and one step lands us in the tarriage. LeaV.
ing Portemadoc We pass along a straight and
nearly level ~enbanknen., almost a mile in
length, which carries the line over Trdeth
Mawr, OF the estuary OF the Reddgeprt river.
This being crossed we Immediately Commence
our ascent into the mountain country, the
line from this point rising the whole way until
it reaches its terminus; the gradients vary
from ! in G06S to l in 186-the average gradi-
ent being l in 90 for l24 miles. We can hardly
lrelp crediling The little engine with a con-
scious pluck and determination as it manfu!ly
climbs these steep ~inclines. and draws after
it its long train of carriages and wagons.
The line runs through the most encIant-
ing and romantic scenery, and at times
in our upward journey We look straight down
into the beautiful. fertile valley below, three
or four hundred feet beneath US, and along It
to the sparkling sea beyond, while the rugged
rocks rise high on the other hand, and we
gaze up 10 the mountain tops. On We go.
along our winding way, turning and twisting,
as the engine, like a thing OF life, seems to
choose lis mountain path with the incest dis
elimination. AT times the curves round which
We sweep are so small and follow each other