Bridgeton pioneer., 1885-12-24
TRAVEL IN INDIA.
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 all along the line. 1t
is broad-guagc railway, and is sub
sidzed by the Anglo-Indian govern
ment, so as to be controlled by it for
military purposes. The cars are built
much the shape rs American freight
cars, only not quite so long. They
have no platforms at the ends, but are
coupled together like an American
freight-train. Each car is divided into
compartments, entered at the side of
the car and reaching across. The seats
face one another, and each single COM
partment holds twelve persons when
full, one half of them riding back
ward.
The train is made up of three kinds
OF passenger-coaches, besides freight
and baggage cars. The tirst-class pas
senger-carriages, 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 sleeping cars
at night. They are cushioned with
leather-covered 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 pantry, three on each side, one
above another, so that six passengers
can lie down comfortably, if they have
brought along their own mattresses
and pillows, in each compartment. If
there are more than six in one COM
partment, some must sit up The third
class carriages are, many of them, all
in one compartment, with fixed wood
en- benches, and with no glass windows
at 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. a 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 81. so; but, strange to say, this
railway makes all its profits, so far as
passenger traffic is concerned, from its
third-class passengers at half cent
mile. For third-class carriages are al
most always full and often crowded,
while as often the first and second class
are half or three-fourths empty, and
sometimes tirst-class carriage will 90
through hundred miles entirely emp
ty, or with but one passenger in it.
Many trains run with but one tirst-class
carriage, one second, and from eight
to twelve third. The old saying on the
continent used to be that ''only lords,
Americans, and fools travel tirst-class." "
Here the higher English officials are
obliged to travel first class to keep up
their dignity. A few wealthy native
nabobs also go that way to "cut
swell" The majority of foreigners,
however, and Eurasians (half-castes) 90
in the more democratic second class,
and also fair number of well-to-do
natives, but they usually prefer to take
separate compartment from the Eu-
ropeans. The multitude, consisting of
the poorer Eurasians, and of Brahmins,
Sudras, and Pariahs, priests and peo-
pie, artisans, traders, farmers, coolies,
crowd into the cheaper and more pop>
ular third-class carriages. Being thus
huddled together is great leveler of
old caste prejudices, and the railway
thus becomes something of an educator
OF the people. - Christian Union.