The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-09-18
ENGLISH RAILROADS.
Here's an American Man who is Out OF
Patience With Them.

ballard Smith in New York World. }
Do not be deceived BY any pretense
that English railway transportation is
compared for moment fayorably with
our own, at least with the railways
from our metropolis as compared with
those of London. The roads running
northward and northw eastward to Liv-
erpool or Edinburgh do approximate in
speed and comfort to our own, but to
Dover and the continent, to Oxford and
Devonshire way, they are worse
equipped slower and more expensive
for travellers than any railroad I know
at home, even in the South or extreme
West.
The travel to Dover is, should think,
the most profitable and perhaps the most
extensive over any railway IN the world.
To say nothing of the vast company of
English who go abroad or continentals
who coma here. there must be so, 600 frat
cabin passengers annually OF Americans
landing in England who use this route
going to and coming from the conti-
nent, and all probably travelling first
class Then there is the suburban
traffic to the beautiful villages of KenB
Chiselhurst, Tunbridge and the rest
One would think that the managers of
the Southeastern or the London, Chat
ham and Dover would strain every nerve
to make the journey as pleasant, as short
and as cheap as possible to encourage
London business men to settle along
their route.
Yet the very fastest local schedule
time to Chiselhurst from ChaIing Cross,
q distance of twelve miles, occupies for
ty minutes, and recent official report
shows that an absolute majority of local
trains through the year on the South
eastern are late. have never yet in
quite frequent visits to this neighbour
hood made the journey within forty five
minutes. That is just the schedule time
between the Erie station In Jersey City
and Tuxedo for the daily fast trains,
and Tuxedo is tniFty-sight miles away.
An with the Chislehurst service, SO with
all the suburb ban trains on The South
eastern and the london, Chatham g.
Dover.
1t illustrates what I have said of the
extraordinary ppositiou-against self
interest, eyen-of the English to any
change. Every train leaving Oharing
Gross takes q V-shaped COURSE before
leaving the city limits in order to call
proper. There each train, going and
coming, stops from ten to- fifteen
minutes. 1t would be perfectly easy.
tie roadbed being there, to cross direct
from CharinR Cross to London Bridge.
avoiding the long Y and coupling at the
latter station Iby flying switch if nec-
essary) with shuttle train from Cannon
street, thus saving at least eighteen
minutes to Chiselhurst aud other subur-
ban towns. l happen to know the au-
perintendent of one of the great northern
lines, and once asked him why this sys-
tenn was not adopted on the Southeast
ern, to the manifest peouniary advantage
of the road and it's stockholders in build
ing up larger suburban traffic.
There would obviously be no extra cost
or trouble or danger and saving Of
eighteen minutes in the time of passen-
gers taking the trains at Charing Cross.
His o1ly answer was. after an entire ad-
mission of the truth of my premises. that
the directors would not think of making
SO radical departure from present meth
DDS.
Folkestone, the great seaside resort, is
seve nty three miles, from London-iess
by seventeen miles. think, than from
New York to Philadlephia. MY impress
sion Is that only the very slowest local
trains take more than two hours be-
tween New York and Philadelphia But
there is only one train day between
London and Folkestone, which makes
the distance within two hours, all the
rest taking three hours. And you have
to pay SO shillings (S9.50), nearly 100 per
cent. advance If you take this one fast
train, as against 20 shillinga ($5. SOY for
the crawleIs.
The road did try fast vestibule Pull.
man car train between London and
Paris, with q dining car, leaving at a
customs officials In Franco to examine
your baggage en- route, and thus saving
that dreamy wait at the Gard du Nord,
Paris. But the travelling English pub
lilo preferred the inoonyenient, danger
Gus apartment cars Of the regular moon
venient trains, and the "C1ub" train
was perforoo abandoned.
The English are peculiar peope.