Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-10-29
TKAVrL In IND!A.
How They Manage Things ON the Madras
Railway.


The Madras railway. one of the prin-
cipal roads in India. has nearly eight
hundred miles of line, and is we'll built,
with good stations ail along the line 1t
Is broad-gCagc railway. and is sub
sidized by the Anglo-lndian govern
mcnt, 50 rs TO be controlled by it for
military purposes. The cars are built
much the shape us American freight
cars, only not quite so long. They
have 10 platforms at the ends. but are
coupled-togcther like an American
fire. ght-train. + CHI car is divided into
compartments, entered at the side of
the car and reaching across. The seats
face one another, and each single COM
purtment holds twelve persons when
tall, one half of them riding back
ward.
The train is made up of three kinds
OF passengcr-coacheS, besides freight
aud baggage cars. The tirst-class pas
sengcr-carriagcs, though OF the shape
described above, and with doors and
windows in the sides only, are better
built than the others, and are all ar
ranged so as to turn into seeping-cars
ut night. They are cushioned with
.eather-covcred cushions, but not usu-
ally with spring seats.
The second class carriages have no
cushions-simply board seats. Shelves
are made to raise up. like the shelves
of a pantry, three on each side, ono
above another, SO that six passengers
can Inc down comfortably, if they have
brought along their own mattresses
all
there are more than six in one CON-
partment, some must sit up. Tho third
Class carriages are, many of them, all
in one compartment, with fixed wood
en- benches, and with no glass windows
ut the sides-simply rough Venetians
to slide up and down; nothing to keep
out dust, and no double roof. The first
and second class carriages have double
roofs and both glass and Venetian win
dows TO protect passengers from sun
stroke on the Journey.
The fares are: First-class, Al cents;
second class, Il cents; third class, !
cent per mile. This last is not expen-
sive travelling. 1t would be equal to
| going through from New York TO Chi
cago for - 90; but, strange 10 say, this
railway makes all its profits, so far as
| passenger traffic Is concerned, from its
thlri-cliss passengers 1t half cent a
mic. For thir,l-class carriages are al
most always full and often crowded,
wniie us often the iirst and second class
are half or thrce-fourths empty, and
sometimes a first-class carriage will 90
| througlla hundred miles entirely emp
/ ", or with but one passenger in it.
Many trains run with but one iirst-class
carnage. one second, and from eight
10 twelve third. Tho old saying on the
cualIncat used 10 be that ''only lords,
Americans. aitd fools travel first-class.
II ~ tue higher English officials are
Obliged 10 travel first class to keep up
their dignity. A few wealthy native
nabobs Also go that way to ..cut n
swell. the majority of foreigners,
| however, and EurasianS (half-ea .tcs) 90
4 in the more democratic second class,
| and also fair number OF wcll-to-do
! natives. but they usually prefer lo take
a separate compartment from the Eu-
rupcans. The nlaltitude, consisting OF
the poorer + lr;tsians. and of Brahmins.
Sa .ras, aud Puishs, priests and peo-
p.c. artisans, trad Is, farmers. coolics,
crow,t INTO tnc csieaptr and more pop
ui;tr lulrd-cas CARRIAGES Beng tnus
huddici together is 4 great leycler OF
OH caste prejuliccs. and tho railway
thus Deco n,s somctning OF an educator
oil the peop.e. - hriStim Laiog.