Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1893-11-02
English Railroads.
BY HON. JOSEPH ALLEN. .

England has become within the last
twenty-five or thirty years a network
of railroads. They are all solidly built
and fenced on each side, mostly with
thorn hedges, which, with the grassy
slopes ranning down to the roadbed,
add very much to the pleasure of
travelling in that country. especially
IN the spring and summer, when
everything is so fragrant, fresh and
green. The public highways never
cross the track, they always go either
over it or under it, thus dispensing en-
tirely with our signboards; railroad
crossing, lookout for the cars, and
preventing many serious accidents and
loss of life. They are all double tracked,
necessitating two separate stations at
each stopping place, which are connect
ed by either a subway under the track
or bridge over it; passengers never
being allowed to cross on the rails. Ii
you are at the wrong side Of the sta
tion when your train comes in. ten to
one you will get left, as it appears to
be nobody's business but your own
whether you go or not. Glass distinc-
tions in England cause an immense
amount of expense in fitting up the
waiting and refreshment rooms at the
stations. In America we are satisfied
to get one, or at most, two; the "gents
waiting room" or the ladies waiting
room." but in England they have
about half a dozen on each side of the
track, at each station. This, though
very expensive, is 8 very necessary
precaution over there, and is rigidly
enforced; otherwise lord or duke
might find himself mixed up with fac
tory hands. or probably the duchess
might soil her silk against the calico
dress of some laborer's wife, SO they
have first-class waiting rooms for gen
tlemen and frst-class waiting rooms
for ladies, and so running down
through the second and third classes.
The same rule being observed with the
retreshment rooms. IT railroad build
ing in Dakota was as expensive as it is
over there doubt very much if we
would have had fifty miles in operation
during the Nineteenth century. They
have no general law there for the build
ing Gf railroads, each charter is OBJ
tained by special act of parliament.
AS had occasion several times to tell
the people that in America we can
build the road in one-fourth the time
and at no greater cost than it takes to
lobby bill through parliament.
/ was riding one night from Man
chester to Edinburgh and enquired of
a gentleman sitting near me if we had
to change cars at a certain station. He
smiled at me and said, "you are IRON
America" EYES," | answered, "but
how did you know it?" "Why,' he
said, 1--WE have no cars in this country
only coal cars, we ride in coaches" l
had never before noticed the distinc-
tion. So the cars, or rather the coaches
are pretty much the same in outward
appearance as our own. but are divided
into compartments opening at the side
and each containing two seats fronting
each other with accommodations for
five onseach side. The nearest approach
to our cars is what they call the saloon
coach. which is open through the cen
ter and is furnished to excursion par
ties to he used as a dining car, which
is literally filled at the commencement
of a journey with hampers and baskets
of eatables and drlnkables which keeps
the party in frolic and good humor un-
til they return at about midnight. The
regular coaches are divided into 1st, I'd,
and Sd class, all comfortably upholster-
ed, but with no accommodations or
conveniences whatever of drinking
water, or gents or ladies toilet The
frst-class compartments are finished
off with Il little more elegance and
style than the others, but the chief adj
vantage sought to be secured by the
extra price is the exclusiveness or pri-
vacy for which the aristocrat is willing
to pay, while nearly everybody else
travels in the third class, the fare Of
which is fixed by the government at
two cents per mile. Each train is in
charge of a .guard" who has no COM
munication whatever with any of the
compartments while the train is in
motion, and only occasionally with the
engine driver by rope running along
the outside. The engine has 40 bell
nor cow-catcher; there being no use for
cow-catchers as COWS do not pasture on
railroad tracks as they do here. The
guard starts the train by an ivory
whistle which he carries in his pocket.
1t may be truthfully said that the
English railroads are better built and
better equipped for business than any
other railroad system in the world; but
their method or system, or rather their
want of method or system OF operating
them is a disgrace not only to the rail
road officials themselves, but also to
the whole of the English people tor
tolerating or allowing any such state
of things to exist. 1t would not be
tolerated IN America for a single day.
The railroad employees at the stations
are generally as dumb as oysters unless
YOU open their mouths with tip OF
a sixpence or shilling. When a
stranger gets on board train he can
never tell where his destination Will be.
Trains are made up in sections hay-
ing different points of destination, but
nothing whatever to indicate what
place any particular section is going to,
and it appears to be nobody's business
to furnish you with the necessary IN
formation The chances are that you
Will get into the wrong section every
time and be carried to some point en-
tirely wide of where you wanted to go.
You can rarely tell what point or sta
tions it is that the train stops at on the
way. 1t is true that there is a board
snmewhnIe indicating the name of the