The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-02
ENGLISH RAILWAY TRAVEL.

| Glass Passenger Coaches.
From the London Times
Twenty years have elapsed-and In
railway history 20 years is a long time
since the Midland company abolished
second-class carriages all over it's wide
/ spread system. OF late years a num-
Der of other important companies have
followed the Midland example, and to-
day 1t may be said with rough accura-
| cy that north and east of a line drawn
from Carlisle through Leeds to London
and thence along the north bank OF
the Thames to the sea, second class
has entirely ceased to exist. For all
that. last year the railway companies
of the United Kingdom received no less
| than 92,790, 000-9 per cent that is, OF
] their total passenger revenue-from
second-class passengers, and second
| class passengers made no fewer than
| 60.0o0,000 journeys with ordinary tick
| cts, and probably not fewer than 100
| 100000 Of season ticket holders are in
| cluded.
In the circumstances Il is evident
that, though second-class traffic may
be dying, il is far from dead. 1t is
evident, too, that to attempt to kill 1t
right out by a stroke Of the pen would
be a bold step. What then, are we to
think of the boldness of the statement
iiieeNC III tilt autumn ny MI. y,
chairman Of the Cambrian company,
that the time has come seriously to
consider the desirability Of only having
one clasS"-in other words the time
for abolishing first-class carriages also?
For, If first-class passengers are less
numerous than second-they may be
reckoned, season ticket holders includ-
ed, as somewhere between 40, 000, 900
and 50.000,000 per annum,-they are
QflX In al
they contribute an even larger proper
ton of the companies revenue. Last
year they paid over $4,000, 00O say 10
per cent. of the entire passenger re-
ceipts. Yet Mr.. Buckley is a hard
headed Lancashire man of business,
chairman Of company which, though
small, has the reputation of being
very well managed and progressive
and his general manager. Mr.. Aslett,
is known to have made this question
special subject OF study for many
years past. We cannot therefore dis
miss Mr.. Buckley's proposition off,
hand as unworthy of consideration.
Let us look into the matter a little
more closely.
On the face of things IL does not seem
an extraordinary anomaly to read in
the board of trade returns that, where
as S21,000,000 ordinary passengers used
a single class, the remaining 90, 1000, 900
needed two other classes of carriage
for the accommodation. The anomaly
seems even greater when we find that
on many important lines the proportion
of passengers in the superior class or
classes is far lower than even this
average. On the Northwestern, for in
stance, first and second between them
carried only "a per cent. of the traffic.
on the Lancashire and Yorkshire they
carried only "a per cent, on the Great
Northern SO and on the Northwestern
60 per cent. AS for the lines which
have abolished second class already,
the Midland books all but 2S per
cent. of it's traffic third class, the
Sheffield all but 2 per cent, the Cam
brian itself all but 23 per cent. On
the Hull and Barnsley actually over 80
per cent. of the passengers are third
class. In fact, this company is supply
ing first-class accommodation by every
train. and on an average it carries one
first-class passenger for every two
trains.
But this state of things compares
with a very different state elsewhere.
Scotland and Ireland are quite unlike
Lancashire and Yorkshire. In Scotland
there is no second class, but, on the
other hand, people even of the lower
middle or tradesman class dislike Hav-
cling third. Consequently we find here
4 100000 out of s0,O0O.000 ordinary pas
sengers travelling first In Ireland.
again. none but the quite poor travel
third, and they travel hardly at all, 81
out of 24,500,000 ordinary passengers
l 100000 go first and 4.250.00o go second |
TO a different part Of the |
the district south of the |
we find that on the Brighton !
line the two superior classes carry IS /
per cent of the ordinary passengers, |
on the Southeastern they carry 10.4 per /
cent, on the Southwestern 1l.2 per |
cent, and on the Chatham 1874 per cent |
II we take purely urban lines the per-
run still higher. On the North |
London only SO per cent OF the traffic 4
Is third class. on the Mersey Tunnel 1
the figure is II per cent. and on the 4
District rs per cent And IL is to be /
that IL to these figures,
which refer only to ordinary ticket |
holders. we could add those for the
holders, who in the south
II England are practically all first and 4
second class. we should reduce the
third-class percentage a long way fur
her. OF the whole IL is evident from
his analysis OF the totals for the Uni
ed Kingdom that, even If Englishmen
sver did deal with large questions in
fashion according TO
broad general theories. this Is not a
question capable Of any such treat
nent. Mr.. Buckley may be right-he
is-in thinking that II would
)e better. from the point OF view both
u passengers and company. for the
-ambrian TO run nothing but third
lass carriages. but for the North Lon
lon to initiate its example Is obviously