The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-24
RAILROADS
IN ENGLAND.
How Travellers Can Secure a First.
Glass Passage.
An American Who Was Instructed How to
Place Four shillings Where 1t Would Do
the Nest Good and Secure Seats.

sssAHoSE Americans who go abroad to
Ss discover the shortcomings of Europe
CASS and to exaggerate their own sat-
isfactiOn with everything American. are
always happiest when they are de-
scribing an English, French or Ger
man railroad. They are half wrong,
as bigots usually are; but then again
they are half right. The truest comparison
and faireststatement of the facts concern
ing English and American railroads is that
if they had our cars and we had their roads
both countries would enjoy railroadlng to
perfection.
In order to present the completest picture
to the American reader, let him or her
imagine summer borse-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 ceiling, That would divide the
car into three or four boxes. Then
put window at each end OF each seat,
and door at each end OF each passage.
The windows must be tight and immOv-
able, but there must be sliding window IN
every door, 10 hoist up and down by means
of a broad leather strap, worn black and
soft by handling. Now mark Third Glass"
ON the boxes that are over the wheels at
either end of the car. and paint First
Glass" 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 thrd-class seats and nail carpet
on their backs and you have turned an
open horse-car into an English railway car
riage. There is narrow board on each
side of the hOrse-car for the conductor to
walk upon, and that there is also on the
English car; but the English railroad-car
is boarded up at either end, whereas the
American horse-car is glazed.
COMFORTS AND CoNVENIENCEs.
Now let the American think OF all the
comforts and convenieneeS there are in our
railroad coaches - the toilet stand, the
closet. the heating apparatus. the drink
ing-water cylinder. Not one Of these is in
an English railroad car-D0t one. All
those things are at the station, not in the
cars. In the English cars there is an in
etfectual and timid light, half concealed
above thick convex glass III the roof OF
each apartment, and there Is a rack over
each seat. This is the fact whether you
ride first class or third class. In some OIL
the ears there is map OF the rail-
road over one bench. and an advertise
ment Of the railroads hotel facing il, in each
compartment. The map strikes me as Il most
excellent idea. There is also posted in each
com partment a statement OF the mum Der OF
persons 1t is designed to accommodate:
This cOmpai fluent is Tor ten persons,
WAS always posted in the third-clasS and
SecOnd-ciaSs compartments; IN the nrSt-
class ones the seats are divided by padded
arms to accommodate three persons each,
or six to the compartment That is a Eu-
ropean custom. Even on sbipboard on your
way to Europe you will notice, cast In the
iron door-frame Of every room aboard the
vessel, a statement OF the number OF sailors
or passengers or stewards or stokerS that
may inhabit each apartment.
n
about railroad riding in England. and some
of them give third-class passenger greater
privacy than firSt-elass one secures. For
instance, having met two friends at Liver
pool for the purpose of jOurneying back to
London with them, l was told by shrewd
Englishman to take a third-clasS c0mpart-
ment, and make it right with the guard"
so as to have the box all to ourselves. We
purchased three third-class tickets, aud
promised the guard who showed us to our
seats four Shllings, or 81, If we were not
disturbed by stranges on the journey to
London. He entered into the splrltof the
unjust arrangement heartily.
LOOK OUT.
1.-TWO of you be Iookin' out of the win
dows, as ii it was crowded, said he; ''and
one of you stand before the door on the
platform"
We ala so, and he ran off, to return in a
minute with long, narrow strip OF paper
drtnnico with paste. This he put upon one
printed form that he had filed up with
writing in pencil, and it read as follows:
ENGAGED.
From Liverpool
To London
JtI,, 10 go