The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-11-18
ENGLISH RAILWAYS.
THEY ARE SLOW TO ADOPT IMPROVE
MENTs IN THE SERVICE.

American Wrinkles Are Adopted In Sort |
Of Half Hearted Way. and Very Little
Effort IL Made by the Managers 20 Pop
uiarize Them.
Two factors in English holiday travel
are obvious from these great piles Of
passengers baggage. One is that there
js no check system on the railways, and |
the other that II it cost as much to hire |
a cab in Liverpool or Manchester as in |
New York there would soon be dini-
mutton In the number Of packages. il not |
In the weight Of the baggage, which
English families take with them on
their holiday travels. Few 3 Saratoga
trunks are TO be seen ON the platform at
Crewe. Here and there may be seen a
trunk which it takes two men TO lift
but the address on il will almost GER
tainly show it 10 belong to an American
visitor. English people will not take
the trouble to pack all their belongings
into one or two large sized trunks.
Neither is there any need why they
should so long as the railway companies
will accept without demur 10 or 10
small trunks. hampers. bundles and
other miscellaneous packages AZ the
baggage entitled to 60 with one set Of
railway tickets, and 80 long as an Eng
lish cab driver will pile all this stuff
on the top or box seat Of his cab and
carry it and the family attached to 1t
from their home to the railway station
for half crown.
Every now and again an Englishman
who has been in America writes to The
Times concerning the advantages Of the
check system az it is worked on the
American railways, but all these letters
60 UNDECIDED. English railway managers
have q dread of innovations, especially
II the innovation comes from America,
and the English people. who are accus-
toned to the scramble for baggage at
the railway stations, are quite satisfied
with the existing system, or rather lack
of system. On the whole, they save o
little money by il. English railway
companies allow third class passenger
SO pounds of personal baggage. and q
first class passenger double that amount.
Any excess is supposed to be paid for.
but a tip of threepence to porter will
usually see the whole travelling impede
ments Of family carried straight from
the cab to the train and insure that no
questions as to weight are asked. 1t is
usually the lack Of q tip or q hostile
| hint from q cabman who is not satisfied
| with his fare that leads to call at the
| weighing machine on the way from the
| cab to the baggage van. Under the ex-
listing system English people have al
ways to watch over their own baggage
at every change, and sometimes to
scramble and struggle for it at the end
Of the journey, and to tumble over other
peoples baggage az they fight their way
into q crowded train. But then. as
have shown, it is q system under which
the passenger can nearly always get thu
best Of the railway company in the mat
ter Of excess of baggage, and nobod,
gives any heed to the frequent sugges
tions that the American system of check
should be adopted.
In one or two directions the English
companies are now following the exam
pie Of tho American railway companies
After years Of urging from the board
trade and the government department
which has the oversight OF railway
several Of the lines are gradually intro
ducing long cars for long distance travel
They have not boldly adopted the Amer
lean car The pattern Of car now bein
brought into use is compromise be
tween the American car and the Eng
lish compar tment carriage. The com
partment is retained, but each compart
} ment il connected with corridor whic
runs not down the middle, but alon
one side of the car. This has given tn
name of corridor train to the train mad
M of carriages built after this fashion
9 On some Of the trains all the Cal
0 riaQes are connected with vestibule
l like those on American railways. o
Z other trains there are two or three col
! ridor cars, while the rest Of the carriage
. arc of the old fashioned style. 1t
. characteristic Of the English people thu
Z there 10 seldom any scramble for place
d in the new cars. People seem to lii
8 the old compartments better, fa'
0 upon which the railway companies
d not fail to lay stress when. after SON
outrage in train, the companies al
Q pressed BY the board Of trade to NAL
!, the use of corridor cars moro genera
, The corridor trains are principally
/ use between London and Scotland. @
o scores Of tho long distance runs in EN-
land all the carriages are still OF Il
y old fashioned kind
70 Another fact concerning the corrid'
}. trains is typical Of the English cha
It scter. Newsboys are not carried
{. them. The English railway newsboy
1t still kept solely to the platforms at Il
n railway stations. And he Is likely to
10 kept there, for English people won
n vote it nuisance too great to be borl
to be pestered to buy books and COME
tionery they do not want. The uewsb'
who travels with the train has re
20 friends among Englishmen who ha
IL been in America. People grumble
2. the prices charged by the monopolis
70 who control all the railway news al
O. bookstalls in this country. But it
40 often put to the credit Of the monop
10 lists that their ncwsboys are always
r hand. but never make themselves
20 nuisance, nor worry passengers who
not want the books they are vending.
p One of the newest innovations fro
w America in the English railway servi
D. concerns mileage books. These are nc
In use on the Northeastern railway.
!" They are being tried In tentati
fashion, and 30 far are issued only
first class travellers. The reductions
fare are quite considerable, and the 90
70 ditions prescribed by the company