The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-09-19
English Railroad Cars.
Julian Ralph. in Harper's Weekly.

English Railroad Cars.
Julian Ralph. in Harper's Weekly.
Those Americans who go abroad
to discover the short comings Of
Europe and to exaggerate their own
satisfaction with everything Ameri-
can are always happiest when they
are describing an English, French OF
German railroad. They are halt
wrong, as bigots usually are; but
then, again, they are half right. The
truest comparison and fairest state
ment of the facts concerning English
and American railroads is that if
they had our cars and we had ej
roads, both countries would enioy
railroading in perfection.
In order to present the completest
picture to the American reader, let
him or her imagine a summer horse
car with the sides boarded up-one
of those horse cars we New Workers.
ride upon Third Avenue in, with cross
seats facing one another in pairs.
Let him imagine the back of every
alternate seat carried up to the cell.
ing. That would divide the car into
three or four boxes. Then put a
window at each end of each seat. and
a door at each end of each passage.
The windows must be tight and i'm
movable, but there must be a sliding
window in every door, to hoist I'D
and down by means OF a broad leath-
er strap, worn black and soft bv
handling. Now mark "Third Glass;
on the boxes that are over the wheels
at either end of the car, and paint
First Class" on the boxes between
the wheels in the middle of the car.
Cushion the first class seats, and pad
their backs as high as ones head:
then carpet the third class seats, and
nail carpet on their backs, and You
have turned an open horse car into
an English railway carriage. There
is a narrow board Oh each side of
the horse car for the conductor to
walk upon, and that is there also ON
the English car; but the English rail-
road car is boarded up at eitherend,
whereas the American horse car is
glazed.
Now let the American think of all
the comforts and conveniences there
are in our railroad coaches-the
toilet stand, the closet, the heating
apparatus. the drinking water cylin-
der Not one of these is in an Eng
lish railroad car-not one. All those
things are at the station, not in the
cars. In the English cars there is an
Intellectual and timid light, half con-
cealed above a thick convex glass in
the roof OF each compartment, and
there is IL rack over each seat. This
is the fact whether you ride first
class or third class. In some of the
cars there is map of the railroad
over one bench, and an ADVERTISE
ment of the railroads hotels facing
it, in each compartment. The map
strikes me as a most excellent idea.
There is also posted in each COM
partment statement of the number
of persons it is designed to accomo-
date. "This compartment is for ten
PERSONS" was always posted in the
third class and second class compart-
ments; in the first class ones the
seats are divided by padded arms to-
accommodate three persons each, or
six to the compartment. That is a.
European custom. Even on ship
board on your way to Europe you.
will notice, cast in the iron door
frame of every room aboard the YES.
sci, a statement of the number Of
sailors or passengers or stewards or
stokers that may inhabit each apart
ment.