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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..397680c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #55793 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55793) diff --git a/old/55793-0.txt b/old/55793-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e7ae12b..0000000 --- a/old/55793-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9338 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Tube, Train, Tram, and Car, by Arthur H. Beavan - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Tube, Train, Tram, and Car - or Up-to-date locomotion - -Author: Arthur H. Beavan - -Contributor: Llewellyn Preece - -Release Date: October 22, 2017 [EBook #55793] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TUBE, TRAIN, TRAM, AND CAR *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - TUBE, TRAIN, TRAM, AND CAR - OR - UP-TO-DATE LOCOMOTION - - [Illustration] - - - - - TUBE, TRAIN, - TRAM, AND CAR - OR - UP-TO-DATE LOCOMOTION - - BY - ARTHUR H. BEAVAN - - AUTHOR OF “MARLBOROUGH HOUSE AND ITS OCCUPANTS,” “IMPERIAL LONDON,” - “CROWNING THE KING,” ETC. - - WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS - - And an Introduction - BY - LLEWELLYN PREECE, M.I.E.E. - - [Illustration: colophon] - - LONDON - GEO. ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD. - NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO. - 1903 - [_All rights reserved._] - - - - - “THE CHARIOTS RUN LIKE THE LIGHTNING” - - - - -PREFACE - - -The object of this work is to present the subject of Electrical -Locomotion to the public for the first time, the author believes, in a -popular form, giving interesting information about Tube, Train, Tram, -and Motor-car, but avoiding, as much as possible, technical and -scientific detail. - -Electrical traction is of national importance, destined perhaps -materially to abate the evil of overcrowding, by providing cheap and -rapid means of access from centres of industry to country districts and -_vice versa_. - -It was predicted by George Stephenson in 1825 that his system would -supersede all other methods of conveyance in this country. Similarly can -it now be prophesied that throughout the world electrical traction will -ultimately supplant all other forms. An age of electricity is dawning, -when “power” may be obtained direct from fuel or from the vast store of -energy existing in the heated interior of the earth, or even from the -atmosphere that surrounds us; when every mountain stream and gleaming -waterfall throughout Great Britain, and each tide as it rises and falls, -will help to generate the subtle fluid, which, produced on a vast scale -abroad, where giant cataracts and mighty rapids abound, may be imported -to supplement our home supply, and be utilised in every manufacturing -district; when all our main lines will be electric, and “light railways” -ubiquitous; when coal-less ships and aerial machines, with perfected -accumulators, may possibly traverse sea and ocean, and invade the domain -of condor and eagle; when farms will be cultivated by electrical -contrivances, and their produce expeditiously conveyed to market, and -the sanitation of our streets be ensured by the universal use of -horseless vehicles. An age that may witness “current” laid on for -domestic purposes to every house in the land as a matter of course; and -also as machine-power to village settlements, where artisans engaged in -certain kinds of trade may work amidst the pleasant surroundings of -home. And thus the abstract principle, “Back to the land,” may become an -accomplished fact. - -To bring the body of this work precisely up to the date of its -publication being obviously impossible, I take the opportunity of making -passing reference to the railway disaster on the Métropolitain of Paris, -when eighty-four passengers were killed, and which has caused the public -mind to be much disturbed by the possibility of danger in the London -Tubes. - -As regards trams, the London United Tramways Company established a -record of traffic during the August Bank Holiday period, the total for -the four days being 878,000, that on Monday alone being 330,000 -travellers. A serious electric tram accident occurred at Ramsgate in -August, when nineteen persons were injured by the colliding of one car -with another at a point where the lines converged. - -Then, as to motor-cars. The great Gordon-Bennett race in Ireland this -summer was won by a German. A tentative Act of Parliament for regulating -the traffic, to come into force January 1st next, and to continue for -three years, has received the Royal Assent, the speed limit being fixed -at twenty miles per hour. - -A service of motor hansom cabs is shortly to be established in London. -The Fischer “combination” omnibus has successfully passed through -repeated private trials, and will probably be adopted by one or both of -the metropolitan chief companies. - -Motor bath-chairs, to hold two people, and propelled by electricity, -will be accomplished facts at the World’s Fair, St. Louis, next year. - -I have now to acknowledge, with thanks, the assistance of Sir William H. -Preece, who kindly read through the proof-sheets of this volume just -before he fell seriously ill in August, and of his son, Mr. Llewellyn -Preece, who has written the Introduction, and I now leave “Tube, Train, -Tram, and Car” to receive the verdict of those who travel. - -ARTHUR H. BEAVAN - -_September, 1903._ - - - - -INTRODUCTION - -BY LLEWELLYN PREECE, M.I.E.E. - - -The object of this book is to give the public a general idea as to the -progress now being made in the application of electricity for transport -purposes, and it was intended that Sir William Preece should write the -introduction and correct the author so far as any technical -misstatements were concerned. Unhappily, Sir William Preece has fallen -victim to a very severe illness, which entirely incapacitates him from -any work, and will prevent him from doing anything for some months to -come. Just before his illness, however, he had gone through the proofs -and made certain corrections, all of which, the author tells me, have -been accepted, but owing to the great delay in the publication of this -book which has already been incurred, and to the impossibility of -discussing these matters with my father, I have not been able to check -the proofs since the alterations were made. - -The advances which, within the last few years, have been made in the -application of electricity for the purpose of transportation are shown -very clearly in this book, and if the author has made one or two flights -on the wings of fancy regarding the future which may be somewhat -startling to the reader, it must be remembered that if many things which -are of everyday occurrence had been suggested to any of us fifty years -ago, and if we had been told that it would be possible to travel at the -rate of a hundred miles an hour, we should have been somewhat inclined -to laugh. As the reader will learn, such travelling is to be very -shortly a fact. - -At the same time I do not believe that it will be so much with the -high-speed work as with the tramway and light railway work that -electricity will be of the greatest service to the public in the future. - -I look forward to the time when there will be a network of light -railways surrounding every town in the kingdom, enabling the population -to spread itself out once again in the country. - -Central power stations distributing electric current over a radius of -fifteen or twenty miles will enable these railways to work at very low -cost, and therefore carry passengers considerable distances at low -fares. - -The tendency at the present time being to reduce the hours of labour, -whether mental or manual, the time at the disposal of a workman for -travelling will increase, so that with an eight hours working day and -cheap electric light railways, there will be no reason why the poorest -labourer should not live in the country, and at least sleep in a pure -atmosphere. - -The adaptability of electricity to motor-car work has hardly yet been -sufficiently realised. People see the luxurious electric brougham, -described in this book, running on the streets of London and other large -cities, but few have any idea that not only the wealthy aristocrat, but -everyone will, before long, be able to ride in such carriages, possibly -not so luxuriousy fitted up, but equally comfortable and speedy. - -The usual cry at present is that electric cars are very nice, but the -owners have great difficulties with the batteries. Undoubtedly batteries -have given trouble in the past, and still do so to some extent. But if a -man buys a horse and gives it in charge of the gardener’s boy, he is -likely to have trouble with his horse. In the same way, if a man buys an -electric carriage and expects his coachman to look after it, he only -naturally does have considerable trouble. There are several companies -prepared to look after and maintain in continuous use, not only the -batteries, but the complete carriages, and this is greatly improving the -reliability of the electric car, and allaying the fears of those anxious -to have such carriages. - -Besides this, the battery itself is making great strides forward: its -capacity per cwt. has largely increased, its life is much longer, and -its reliability under great variations of discharge has considerably -improved. In fact, it may be safely said that even now the electric car -is more reliable than either the petrol or the steam car. At present it -will not do the same distance on one charge, nor will it do the great -speed other cars will, but this is the great reason why it should appeal -to the British public. The craze for high speeds does not affect the -majority of people. I believe that it is only a question of a few years -for the petrol and steam cars to be placed in museums and shown as -monstrosities of the past, like the mammoth elephant, and that every -cab, omnibus, and private carriage throughout the country will use -electricity as the motive power. - -In fact I do not think it unwarrantable to assert that, so far as this -country is concerned, many of us will see the day when the only form of -energy used for transportation will be that known as electricity. - -LLEWELLYN PREECE - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER I - PAGE - -THE OLD AND THE NEW ORDER OF RAILWAY LOCOMOTION 1 - -CHAPTER II - -SOME PIONEER ELECTRIC RAILWAYS 11 - -CHAPTER III - -SOME PIONEER ELECTRIC RAILWAYS (_continued_) 19 - -CHAPTER IV - -REMARKABLE ELECTRIC RAILWAYS 31 - -CHAPTER V - -REJUVENATING THE METROPOLITAN INNER CIRCLE 47 - -CHAPTER VI - -THE CENTRAL LONDON ELECTRIC RAILWAY 63 - -CHAPTER VII - -THE TUBULAR SYSTEM 74 - -CHAPTER VIII - -TOURING IN THE TUBES 90 - -CHAPTER IX - -LONDON’S TANGLED TUBES 107 - -CHAPTER X - -LONDON’S LATEST AND LONGEST TUBE 117 - -CHAPTER XI - -ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS GENERALLY 128 - -CHAPTER XII - -LONDON’S TRAMWAYS 141 - -CHAPTER XIII - -PROVINCIAL TRAMWAYS 162 - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE SHALLOW UNDERGROUND SYSTEM 186 - -CHAPTER XV - -HORSELESS VEHICLES--ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE 200 - -CHAPTER XVI - -HORSELESS VEHICLES--ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE (_continued_) 214 - -CHAPTER XVII - -HORSELESS VEHICLES--ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE (_continued_) 224 - -CHAPTER XVIII - -ELECTRICITY APPLIED TO NAVIGATION (A FORECAST) 230 - -CHAPTER XIX - -SOME ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION DRAWBACKS 250 - -CHAPTER XX - -SOME ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION DRAWBACKS (_continued_) 258 - -CHAPTER XXI - -ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION AND OUR NATIONAL LIFE 269 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -FIG. PAGE - -ELECTRICITY. BY H. L. SHINDLER _Frontispiece_ - -1. QUEEN VICTORIA’S TRAIN ON THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY 3 - -2. NINE WILLANS-SIEMENS DYNAMO SETS FOR ELECTRIC TRACTION, -700 H.P. EACH 7 - -3. THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY 12 - -4. WATERLOO AND CITY RAILWAY’S NEW PATTERN CAR 25 - -5. THE LIVERPOOL OVERHEAD ELECTRIC RAILWAY 29 - -6. PLAN OF A BEHR MONO-RAILWAY CAR 35 - -7. INTERIOR OF A BEHR MONO-RAILWAY CAR 44 - -8. ELECTRICAL POWER HOUSE (THE LARGEST IN THE OLD WORLD), -LOT’S ROAD, CHELSEA, TO SUPPLY THE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT -AND OTHER RAILWAYS WITH CURRENT 53 - -9. A 2,000 H.P. WESTINGHOUSE STEAM TURBINE, RESEMBLING THE -TURBO-GENERATORS (EACH OF 7,500 H.P.) IN THE CHELSEA -POWER HOUSE 55 - -10. A NEW METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAY CAR 56 - -11. A TYPICAL ELECTRIC POWER GENERATOR--TWO DYNAMOS, EACH OF -ABOUT 1,600 H.P. 69 - -12. A 3,000 H.P. TRIPLE EXPANSION CENTRAL VALVE ELECTRICAL ENGINE 76 - -13. SHIELD AT WORK IN A TUBE RUNNING TUNNEL 79 - -14. THE WESTERN APPROACH TO PICCADILLY 123 - -15. TRAM-CAR IN PARIS EQUIPPED FOR COMBINED OVERHEAD TROLLEY -AND SURFACE CONTACT SYSTEM 133 - -16. CROSS LANE JUNCTION, SALFORD. THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPLICATED -OVERHEAD TROLLEY CROSSING IN THE KINGDOM 135 - -17. BOILER ROOM, LONDON UNITED TRAMWAYS CO.’S POWER HOUSE AT -CHISWICK, FITTED WITH VICARS’ AUTOMATIC STOKERS 157 - -18. A LONDON UNITED TRAMWAYS COMPANY TRAM-CAR 159 - -19. FAÇADE OF QUEEN’S ROAD CAR-SHED, MANCHESTER CORPORATION -TRAMWAYS 170 - -20. VIEW NEAR DUDLEY STATION, SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE, SHOWING A -STEAM TRAM-CAR 175 - -21. VIEW AT CASTLE HILL, DUDLEY, SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE, SHOWING -AN ELECTRIC TRAM-CAR 181 - -22. CAMPS BAY, CAPE TOWN, AND SEAPOINT TRAMWAYS 183 - -23. BOSTON SUBWAY, SHOWING ENTRANCE AT THE PUBLIC GARDENS 193 - -24. NEW YORK SUBWAY IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION. CAR TRAFFIC -MAINTAINED 195 - -25. NEW YORK SUBWAY, SHOWING HOW IT WAS BUILT 197 - -26. ELECTRIC CARRIAGE ENTIRELY OF BRITISH CONSTRUCTION 201 - -27. A “CROWDUS” ELECTRIC CARRIAGE 205 - -28. AN ELECTRIC VICTORIA WITH BRITISH STORAGE BATTERIES 207 - -29. A “FISCHER” COMBINATION OMNIBUS 211 - -30. THE “HERCULES” TRACTION ENGINE, AS USED DURING THE -CRIMEAN WAR 217 - -31. A TEN-TON ELECTRIC TROLLEY 219 - -32. AN ELECTRIC TRADESMAN’S-VAN 220 - -33. ANOTHER TYPE OF THE “FISCHER” COMBINATION OMNIBUS 222 - -34. ELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERIES 237 - -35. ELECTRIC LAUNCH ON THE THAMES 248 - -36. WHERE THE POOR LIVE 280 - - - - -TUBE, TRAIN, TRAM, AND CAR - - - - -CHAPTER I - -_THE OLD AND THE NEW ORDER OF RAILWAY LOCOMOTION_ - -“The thinking minds of all nations call for change.”--CARLYLE. - - -STEAM--THE OLD ORDER - -An immutable law of nature has decreed that whatever attains to -perfection is doomed to perish, for - - “The world exists by change, and but for that - All matter would to chaos back, - To form a pillow for a sleeping god.” - -Thus it came to pass that in the period 1825 to 1835, when the main -roads of Great Britain were at their best, when the then mode of -travelling, though on a limited scale, had, as regards speed, -punctuality, and organisation, reached the highest possible pitch of -perfection, a little cloud like a man’s hand, presaging the new order of -locomotion, arose at the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, -and overshadowed the old method. So effective was the competition of the -“iron horse,” that in lieu of the fifty-four splendidly equipped -vehicles which in 1835 carried His Majesty’s mails throughout England, -not a single coach left the General Post Office, St. Martin’s-le-Grand, -in the year 1844; while the kings highways had become almost deserted. - -Though this was barely sixty years ago, railways have evolved themselves -out of their embryonic state into a condition approaching the fateful -one of perfect development. - -In early days, first-class passengers were boxed up in replicas of old -stage-coaches, the second-class in open carriages exposed to the -weather, and the third-class huddled together in seatless cattle-trucks. -Contrast this with our luxurious Pullmans, and our corridor and -vestibule trains for all classes, warmed throughout, lighted by -electricity, and provided with lavatories, dining-saloons, buffets, and -sleeping-cars. “With what further improvements can we allure the -public?” ask anxious directors. One answer only is possible. “By -bringing the mode of locomotion up to date.” - -This means, in the case of old-established railway companies, a complete -and costly transformation, or an independent mono-rail track for long -distances; under any circumstances entailing much hardship upon the -shareholders. For at the moment when railway-engineers--improving so -vastly upon George Stephenson’s venerable engine,[1] built in 1822, and -still at work for the Hutton Colliery, its weight only fifteen tons, its -speed ten miles an hour--have constructed such magnificent locomotives -as the “Greater Britain” for the London and North - -[Illustration: FIG. 1. QUEEN VICTORIA’S TRAIN ON THE GREAT WESTERN -RAILWAY] - -Western Railway, or the ten-wheeled giant[2] for the Great Northern -Railway, fifty-seven feet over all, weighing 100 tons, and capable of -reeling off its 65 miles an hour with ease, electricity steps into the -field, displaces the stately engine--resplendent in red, blue, green, or -chocolate paint, glossy as the coat of some highly trained racehorse, -and gleaming with polished brass and steel, finished in all its parts -with exquisite accuracy, the very embodiment of energy under perfect -control--and from some unpretentious-looking building afar off, drives -our trains with unseen but resistless force, at the rate, if desired, of -a hundred miles an hour! - -The construction of an ordinary steam locomotive is an intricate -operation, necessitating machine-shops, erecting-shops, foundries, -forges, etc., covering acres of ground, as at Crewe, Doncaster, Derby, -or Swindon. Not a hundred engines are exactly alike in pattern, and each -one is supposed to be composed of over five thousand different parts, -all of which have to be stowed away in a necessarily limited space. - -“How is steam utilised by the locomotive?” is a question asked again and -again (and not by children only) ever since Stephenson’s engine started -on its triumphant progress from Stockton to Darlington and back, and -which, I venture to affirm, only a small percentage of travellers, even -in 1903, can answer “right away,” as our American cousins would express -it. - -Briefly, then, as follows: Raised up on high is the mighty boiler. -Remove its plates, and running through its entire length will be seen a -cluster of some two or three hundred brass tubes, in diameter that of a -penny-piece. At the rear of the boiler, on a lower level, is the fuel -fire-box, with its grate and ash-pan, while in front is the smoke-box, -surmounted by the familiar chimney or funnel, called in the United -States the “smoke-stack,” in British engines reduced to a minimum of -height. Water from the tender surrounds the brass tubes, and when the -fire is burning, flames, smoke, and heated gases rush through them, -escaping _viâ_ the chimney, but in their passage converting the boiling -water into expanding steam, which, when the regulator is opened, is -directed by valves into the hollow cylinders--sometimes placed below the -boiler, but generally visible outside--forcing by its pressure the -pistons backwards and forwards alternately, and, by means of -intermediate machinery, transferring its energy to the driving-wheels. - -The exhausted steam, after accomplishing its work, joins the smoke in -the smoke-box, escaping up the funnel by jerks, which creates a forced -draught through the brass boiler-tubes, and hastens the generation of -steam. - - -ELECTRICITY--THE NEW ORDER - -Contrast this with electricity, the definition of whose exact nature is -a task I must of necessity leave to others, but its adaptation to the -purposes of traction can be thus broadly explained:-- - -Dynamos or generators are situated at some fixed station, more or less -distant, generating electrical energy, whence the current is transmitted -along a central steel rail, or, in the case of some tramways, _viâ_ -overhead wires, returning to its place of birth by another rail or -cable, and completing its circuit. It is “picked up” by a small -locomotive fitted with motors that work the driving-mechanism, and thus -propels the coaches or cars behind it at varying speeds. - -The rotation of the dynamos is effected either by a torrent, waterfall, -or swift-flowing river, absorbed by turbines, or by steam supplied from -ordinary boilers. - -In other words, we convert our water and coal into steam, and, -indirectly, the heat in the steam into electrical energy; and the heavy -locomotive that used to carry its own fuel, and manufacture its steam as -it tore along with the train behind it, now leaves tender and boiler at -home, and has its driving power, in the form of electric current, -forwarded to it per centre rail, to be drawn upon when wanted. - -The system is beautifully simple, and the machinery compact and -uncomplicated. Smoke defilement is unknown, and the trains are -comparatively noiseless. In short, electric traction is the refinement -of mechanically applied power. - -Now let us visit an electrical power station--a small one--and I have in -my mind that of the Waterloo and City Electric Railway. - -Hidden away behind a bewildering labyrinth of railway arches, in a -_cul-de-sac_, approached from a back street, not a hundred miles from a -great railway station, is a plain, very plain brick building, wherein, -for aught one knows to the contrary, such prosaic articles as pots and -pans, or cardboard boxes, may be in course of manufacture. Pass through -a door, always on the swing, and an unpretending office is reached, -furnished in the usual manner, and occupied by clerks engaged upon the -ordinary duties of their vocation. - -Access to the engineer-in-chief being granted, he courteously conducts -us to the power room, whence issues the energy that drives the trains. - -Imagination had pictured a great hall, filled with ponderous machinery -whose component parts are cranks, steel rods, shafts, and toothed -wheels, a wilderness of metal, moving with bewildering rapidity and -thunderous power, in an atmosphere redolent of lubricating oil, a vision -of whirling wheels, an Ezekiel vision of wheels in the midst of wheels, -instinct with life, such as the prophet saw 600 years B.C., by the River -Chebar, in the land of the Chaldean. - -[Illustration: FIG. 2. NINE WILLANS-SIEMENS DYNAMO SETS FOR ELECTRIC -TRACTION, 700 H.P. EACH. - -_By permission of_ _Willans and Robinson, Ltd., Rugby_] - -Nothing of the kind! One portion of a moderate-sized apartment is -devoted to the “fitting” of the motor locomotives, and at the other end, -enclosed within a low railing, resting upon a bed of great solidity, -and occupying but little space, is the machinery in duplicate, as a -safeguard against breakdowns. - -It consists of a vertical compound engine, supplied with steam from an -adjoining boiler-house, whose cylinder is coupled direct to the -fly-wheels of the revolving dynamos that are partly sunk into the -flooring. These, with their electro-magnets, are so shut in, and so -little can be seen of the working, that it all looks very mysterious and -incomprehensible to the uninitiated. - -In large power-producing machinery an iron staircase leads up to a -platform above the dynamos, giving access to the loftier parts of the -apparatus, which then, in its general appearance and compactness, -somewhat resembles a modern marine engine. On the walls are endless -dials, recording the amount of current generated, localising the exact -position of the trains on the line at any given moment, and checking the -quantity of current picked up by each engine. There is absolutely no -smell, no outward indication of resistless power, while almost Arcadian -quiet reigns in the neighbourhood of the machines. - -That these small dynamos are capable of driving heavy cars filled with -passengers at the rate of many miles an hour seems incredible; but -faith, “the evidence of things not seen,” must come into play. - -The craving for mere size, however, will be amply gratified when the -great power house at Chelsea, built to supply the Metropolitan, -District, and other railways, is completed (_vide_ Chapter V.). - -But what on earth is a kilowatt, or a volt, an ohm, or an -ampère?--expressions that are rapidly becoming as familiar as the word -horse-power. - -Well, “horse-power” was a term invented long ago by engineers, who -blandly asked one to imagine that an ordinary horse was capable of -lifting a weight of 33,000 lbs. (or some 14½ tons) one foot high per -minute. Now, electricity is a very exact science. There is no mere -theory about it; and a unit is a definite quantity of power, known in -that science as a “kilowatt hour.” Thus, a kilowatt, or 1,000 watts, is -the equivalent in measured work of 1⅓ horse-power, equal to the lifting -of 44,000 lbs. per minute, or the doing of so many units of work, either -electric lighting, heating, machinery driving, or traction. - - -VARIOUS FORMS OF ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION - -Electricity as a locomotive force is being presented to the public in -various forms. There is the ordinary railway, like the Underground, -that, cleansing itself, amending its ways, and becoming converted to the -new order of traction, has been granted a new lease of life. Then there -are new lines laid down, intended from the first to be electrical, with -specially designed cars, diving beneath the Thames, and connecting the -north and south of London. These are our metropolitan pioneer electric -railways. There is also the system of railways specifically and -popularly known as Tubes, most important factors in the travelling world -of modern Babylon. Another division is the system known as Overhead -Electric Railways; that is to say, rails laid upon iron girders -supported by columns above the roadway, a notable example of which is -the Liverpool Overhead Electric Railway. - -Electric tramways are with us in Greater London for good and all, with -their network of lines in every direction. Some are locally worked by -the various Borough Councils; others on a comprehensive scale by the -London County Council, who now strongly advocate also another system, -the Shallow-Underground, by which the cars run in a kind of open trench -just below the surface in the middle of the street. - -Next we have endless provincial and urban council electric tramways, -including some very extensive systems for feeding the enormous traffic -of cities and large towns in the Midlands and North of England. - -Electric Light Railways, originally intended to be worked on rails laid -down upon the ordinary highway, form a special class by themselves to -serve short-distance traffic in country districts; but to all intents -and purposes they are rural electric trams. - -Lastly, we have motor-cars, carriages, omnibuses, cabs, vans, and -cycles, that with electricity as their means of propulsion, will -possibly ere long supersede every other form of traffic in our streets -and along our roads and lanes. - -To individualise these various outcomes of electrical traction spread -over the length and breadth of Great Britain is impossible. Their names -and their statistics are enrolled in _Garcke’s Manual of Electrical -Undertakings_, a work that, like _Kelly’s London Directory_, grows -bigger and bigger every year. - -I propose, therefore, only to notice some of the principal ones; and, -naturally, the pioneer railway lines should have the place of honour. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -_SOME PIONEER ELECTRIC RAILWAYS_ - -“A worthy pioneer.”--SHAKESPEARE. - - -THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY RAILWAY - -In the month of March, 1883, by the opening of the Giant’s Causeway, -Portrush, and Bush Valley Railway, the sister island achieved the honour -and glory of showing the way to the “predominant partner” in the matter -of electrical traction enterprise; winning, however, only by a head, for -in August of the same year the Brighton Beach Electric Railway was -inaugurated. - -Who amongst us can say they know Ireland well? To the average tourist it -still remains an unexplored country. The travelling American, however, -as a rule, does it from end to end. Commencing with Dublin, “doing” -Killarney, and working round the magnificent west coast, he returns -_viâ_ the North Channel, always taking _en route_ on the coast of Antrim -the Giant’s Causeway, thundered upon by storms from the wild Atlantic. -There, almost within hail of Britain, are those strange groups of -basaltic columns so familiar to geological students, intensely -interesting, invested with many an old and mystic Celtic legend, yet -until recently difficult of access, as other striking regions in -Ireland--an island abounding not only in awe-inspiring scenery, but in -sequestered spots of sylvan beauty; a fair land of mountains and hills, -lakes and waterfalls, crystal streams, and splendid harbours; truly -called the Emerald Isle; where the grass is greenest, and rare coniferæ -flourish; where the myrtle needs no shelter, and the arbutus blooms and -fruits to perfection, and flowers are everywhere, for every little -enclosure in due season glows with the brightest of flax and potato -blossom; and lanes and open country are gay with star-like marigolds, -shamrock, violets, honeysuckle, meadowsweet, catsear, scabious, large -purple bugle, and such-like lowly but welcome plants. - -[Illustration: FIG. 3. THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY. - -_By permission of_ _Thos. Cook and Son, Ludgate Circus_] - -From Portrush it is easy to reach the Causeway, though once there, one -often has to wait for favourable weather before proceeding to explore -its cavernous wonders by water. - -The present length of the railway is 8½ miles of single line, its gauge -being 3 feet. It is worked partly by steam and partly by electricity on -the overhead system, the current being derived from a generating station -three-quarters of a mile away, where three hydraulic turbines, fed by an -adjoining waterfall, operate the dynamo. Although the railway is out of -the way and on a small scale, the attractions of the Causeway and the -surrounding district result in a respectable passenger traffic of over a -hundred thousand per annum. - - -THE BRIGHTON BEACH RAILWAY - -Under the sanction of the Brighton Town Council, the Magnus Volk Co., -Ltd., now work the Brighton Beach Electric Tram-railway, which at its -opening was regarded as a great novelty and curiosity, constituting an -additional attraction and amusement to “London by the sea,” and tens of -thousands must have taken a ride in its little open cars since it came -into existence twenty years ago. The gauge is but 2 feet 8½ inches, the -“feeders” are underground, the propelling system is electric, with a -third rail, and its speed is about 12 miles an hour. Starting from the -west pier, opposite the Royal Aquarium, it sets out on its one mile and -a half route of single line and dips beneath the level of the Marine -Parade to a level a little above the beach, passing _en route_, though -hidden from view, many landmarks of old Brighton, such as Park Place and -Gardens, Royal Crescent, Marine Square, and Lewes Crescent, and -terminating at a point near Black Rock. - -This was the eastern end of Old Brighton, noted for many an original -character in the “twenties” and “thirties,” not the least interesting of -whom were old Martha Gunn, queen of the bathing-machines, and Sak Deen -Mahomed, a native of the East, who introduced the art of shampooing into -the town, and lived to become a centenarian, his fame being enshrined in -verse by James Smith, one of the authors of _Rejected Addresses_, who -humorously predicted his longevity as follows:-- - - “Sprung doubtless from Abdullah’s son, - Thy miracles thy sire’s outrun, - Thy cures his deaths outnumber; - His coffin soars ’twixt heav’n and earth, - But thou, within that narrow berth, - Immortal, ne’er shall slumber.” - -Many have been the changes in Brighton since those days. Arundel -Terrace, Kemp Town, Ultima Thule in the east; Adelaide Crescent with -Palmyra Square, its western boundary. From the fields to the north of -that square could be seen, a mile or so off, the village of Hove, the -intervening space being dotted with farms. No one could have dreamt that -a great railway-station would be built there, with minor ones at Kemp -Town, West Brighton, and Hove. Old residents could not have pictured a -Grand Aquarium, a Western and Eastern Pier, nor the destruction of their -familiar Chain Pier. They would be amazed at the spread of Brighton in -every direction, the springing up of palatial hotels like the -“Métropole” and “Grand,” and the increase of the population to some -hundred and fifty thousand; while the coaching world, headed by the -popular Sir St. Vincent Cotton, prince of amateur whips, and all the -confraternity of coachmen and hackney-coach drivers, would have thought -anyone a lunatic who had dared to prophesy that one day a conveyance -drawn without horses or steam power would carry passengers along the -Brighton beach! - - -THE CITY AND SOUTH LONDON RAILWAY - -For many years prior to 1890, in Gracechurch Street, at a point near its -junction with Eastcheap, could be seen every day of the week numerous -omnibuses arriving between nine and eleven a.m., and departing between -five and eight p.m., for the suburbs over the water. These ’buses -regularly plied between London and Kennington, Walworth, Camberwell, -Stockwell, Clapham, and Brixton (a few journeying to Dulwich and -Peckham), for the special accommodation of dwellers in those favourite -localities engaged in business during the day. Wealthy “principals” of -mercantile and brokers’ firms drove to and from their comfortable Surrey -villas in well-equipped carriages, the junior members in smart traps or -dog-carts; but the small merchants and smaller brokers, the head clerks -and the rank and file who do all the hard work, had to make use of these -omnibuses, and when exceptionally bad weather prevented the vehicles -running, they had to get to and from their offices as best they could on -foot. To the working man, living, say, at Brixton, and engaged upon a -City job, the fares--4_d._ to 8_d._--were prohibitive. The time wasted -in these conveyances was great, and at the best it was an unpleasant way -of travelling; overcrowding was common, and the “fight for the trams” in -1903 is as nothing compared to the frantic rush for those omnibus seats; -while on wet days the sight was piteous. - -It is true that City men could use the London, Chatham, and Dover -Railway, to reach these suburbs, but this involved a walk to Blackfriars -Station, and the facing of the crush on its dangerous platforms. There -were also the alternatives of crossing Blackfriars Bridge and using the -London Tramway Company’s horse-cars, or of forcing one’s way over -London Bridge, tramping or “bussing” it along the Borough High Street, -and, emerging at the “Elephant and Castle,” there tapping the trams. - -As a matter of fact, these ingenious alternative routes were seldom made -use of. At the close of business, men of all ranks want to get home as -fast as they can, and from some station not far from their -counting-houses. Therefore, in the days I am describing, how could any -of those gentlemen clad in irreproachable frock-coats and new glossy -hats, who each day of the week issued from snug offices in Austin -Friars, Drapers’ Gardens, or Copthall Court, whose business was -transacted over the way at the “House”; how could the brokers of Mark -Lane and Mincing Lane, the underwriters at Lloyd’s, the ship-brokers and -ship-owners round about Fenchurch Street and Leadenhall Street, the -flourishing bill-brokers of Broad Street, and the smaller mercantile -fry; how could any of these, if resident on the Surrey side, be expected -to go to and from business by way of Blackfriars? - -However, this unsatisfactory means of communication was hardly likely to -escape the notice of such astute experts as Mr. J. C. Mott, doyen -director of the Great Western Railway, and his far-seeing friends. They -took counsel together, and, after the usual hard task of _persuading_ -people, plans were matured, and in 1884 an enterprise was organised and -incorporated as the City of London and Southwark Subway Company, to -construct a line of railway from King William Street to the “Elephant -and Castle,” with an intermediate station at Marshalsea Road. - -This was the initial stage of the present well-known railway. - -At the outset, three points had to be considered. How was the subway to -be constructed? What motive power should be employed? And how was the -deep level to be reached by the passengers? A subway under the Thames -was no novelty. The directors of the new line were not the “first that -ever burst into that silent sea” of mud and gravel at the bottom of the -swift-flowing river. Brunel had been long before them with his costly -Thames Tunnel, and Barlow had years ago laid upon its oozy bed the Tower -Subway of iron. - -It was decided that a tube, or, rather, two independent tunnels of -cast-iron rings, should be driven side by side beneath the bottom of the -stream, a little to the west of London Bridge, and continued on the -Surrey side. - -On this system the work was begun by the contractors, Siemens Brothers -and Mather and Platt, and proceeded with quite out of public sight. It -was accompanied with many disheartening delays and seemingly -insurmountable difficulties; but they were all successfully overcome, -and the tubes were brought to a temporary end at the “Swan,” Stockwell, -to which charming retreat, by an Act of Parliament, 1887, an extension -of the line had been sanctioned, making its length a little over three -miles. - -The motive power eventually selected was electricity, steam being -impracticable, and the funicular or cable system considered unreliable. -Access to and from the trains was to be obtained at the stations by -means of capacious twin-lifts capable of holding many people at a time. - -Then the problem of how best to utilise the ample “power,” generated at -the Stockwell Station, for hauling the cars, had to be seriously -tackled. It was not a question of a toy line like that on the Brighton -beach, but of the driving at fair speed, say 15 miles an hour, of -comparatively heavy coaches laden with passengers, and at frequent -intervals. Altogether it was a new departure in electric traction. - -How the motor locomotives were effectually to pick up the current was -the puzzle which had to be solved, or the enterprise might at the last -moment collapse and the subscribed capital be lost. - -After an infinite amount of anxious experimenting on the part of Mr. -Mott and his scientific advisers--the narrative of which, as told me by -that veteran, sounded like a romance--by a happy inspiration _the_ way -was hit upon; and all other technical difficulties overcome, the line -was pronounced to be in working order (1890), after a series of trial -trips, at one of which the writer had the privilege of being present. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -_SOME PIONEER ELECTRIC RAILWAYS_ (_continued_) - - -A TRIAL TRIP IN THE CITY AND SOUTH LONDON RAILWAY - -One o’clock saw a large party of us, chiefly City men, amongst whom were -numerous civil engineers, waiting at King William Street booking-office -to descend into the bowels of the earth by one of the semicircular -lifts, a novelty in point of size. Our turn having come, we duly filed -into the elevator. The telescopic doors clashed upon us, and we stood -for a second or two silently expectant, feeling like a batch of -condemned criminals on a gigantic scaffold waiting for the hangman to -draw back the fatal lever that would launch them into the other world. - -Noiselessly the lift descended to an apparently fathomless depth, but in -reality, I believe, some 90 or 100 feet. When released by the janitor, -we found ourselves in a small, well-lighted, cool, and spotlessly clean, -white-tiled station, whence was discernible a couple of small tunnels -side by side, leading to unknown regions, seemingly all too narrow to -accommodate even the miniature cars waiting for us at one of the narrow -platforms. - -Inspecting the tunnels, the classical man of our party, a wag in his -way, who had hitherto made no remark, was heard to mutter something in -Latin, which, on being coerced, he admitted was out of Virgil, and was -translated thus: “This is the spot where the way divides in two -branches.” In vain we pointed out that the quotation was inappropriate, -as the ways were _parallel_. He was obdurate, so we left him to his own -reflections. - -To most of us accustomed to roomy Pullmans and commodious railway -carriages, the cars, though comfortable, seemed cramped, especially in -height. The signal given, off we started, when we noticed that the cars -fitted the tube with such nicety and economy of space that, could the -windows have been let down, we could easily have touched the iron plates -of the tunnel. We realised, too, that although there was no smoke or -smell, the railway was by no means noiseless; neither, in the opinion of -several of the experts present, was the running as steady as on the -“Underground.” - -A hint had been given us that at some point where the line dipped and -rose again the cars might come to a temporary standstill. As we rather -uneasily recalled this, the speed gradually slackened, and finally the -train stopped altogether, and simultaneously the incandescent lights -began to pale, and at last subsided into filaments of sickly red. The -situation was not a pleasant one. There we were; many of us with -important engagements awaiting us later in the day; most of us with -wives and children who would expect us home as usual when evening -arrived, and grow anxious at our absence. There we were sealed up in a -tube, for all we knew, at a point beneath the Thames. Not a sound -reached us from the locomotive, or, indeed, from anywhere. Were we thus -to remain indefinitely? For walk out we could not, there being no room -outside the carriages. Would some memorial tablet let into the side of -London Bridge, months hence, recall the fact that near it a goodly -company of highly respectable citizens had perished in a living tomb? - -I don’t think we talked much. It was luncheon-time; we were hungry, and -we felt like the occupants of the snowed-up cars in one of Mark Twain’s -stories, who gloomily eyed one another as starvation threatened, -calculating upon whom, by an ingenious and complicated system of voting -previously agreed to, would next fall the lot of being sacrificed for -the benefit of the rest, and I believe I found myself unconsciously -speculating on the plumpness of a youthful stockbroker standing by my -side. But after a very few moments of suspense the train rattled on -again, the lights reappeared, and presently we drew up at the Borough, -the first station on the Surrey side. - -Railway booking-offices are not usually things of beauty, least of all -those on the Metropolitan, District, and suburban lines. Here, however, -was a surprise, for we found quite a picturesque stone-and-brick -building on the ground-floor, a cupola surmounting the prettily designed -entrance, and a small dome with lantern by way of roof. And this was a -sample of all the stations along the line. - -The Borough recalled the Marshalsea that once stood close by; and there -opposite was St. George’s, Southwark, where Little Dorrit, accidentally -locked out of the prison, was allowed by “the sexton, or the beadle, or -the verger, or whatever he was,” to take refuge in the vestry, where, -years afterwards, she signed the marriage register when wedded to Arthur -Clennam. - -The next stoppage was at the Elephant and Castle--not the tavern of that -name, where in the past on Derby Day the superabundant holiday traffic -usually became hopelessly congested, but the City and South London’s new -station, close to Spurgeon’s Tabernacle, Rabbits’ great boot warehouse, -and Tarn’s vast emporium, that seems to occupy most of Newington -Causeway. Onwards to Kennington Common, once the place of public -executions for Surrey, now a well-kept miniature park. Beyond it, -Kennington Oval, associated with cricket all the world over; and finally -we arrived at Stockwell, the then terminus of the line, since extended -to Clapham, where Tom Hood used to go to school at a house “with ugly -windows ten in a row, its chimney in the rear,” a style of architecture -of which many specimens still exist round and about the Common. - -At Stockwell we visited the generating station, recently much extended, -and provided with entirely new plant, and, wondering at and admiring all -we saw, learned from the chief engineer that the contretemps _en route_ -was due to a slight defect in the new and untried power-machinery; and -thus at the point where the dip in the line was greatest, the cars -stopped. - -An excellent luncheon restored us all to eloquence and equanimity, -extinguishing the cannibalistic feeling of half an hour ago, and, -returning without any incident worth recording, we emerged once more in -the City, to be greeted by the noise of the traffic that ever surges -around King William the Fourth’s statue. - -Those were the “green salad” days of London’s Pioneer Electric Railway -Line. Now it runs without a hitch, and has been extended north as far as -the historic “Angel,” thus giving a direct route between Clapham and -Islington. It has powers to exchange traffic with the Great Northern and -the City Railway _viâ_ Old Street, and also to connect itself with the -Baker Street and Waterloo Electric Railway at the Elephant and Castle -Station; and in a new building at Finsbury Pavement it now has -commodious head offices. - -At the last half-yearly general meeting the chairman, Mr. C. G. Mott, in -the course of his speech, stated that the Board aspired to have a -thoroughly first-class terminus in the City of London, and had deposited -plans with this view. They proposed to construct this station between -the present Bank Station and the King William Street statue. - -That the City and South London Railway is most useful and popular is -shown by the number of passengers it has carried--some ninety millions -since its opening--the returns for last year showing about eighteen -millions, over a total route of about seven miles. For the convenience -of travellers, it eventually will have subways, connecting its Lombard -Street Station with the Bank Station of the Central London Railway, and -it already has them from its new London Bridge Station to the London, -Brighton, and South Coast Railway. Finally, it can boast of possessing a -station below a church--a unique position, I believe. St. Mary -Woolnoth’s foundations were completely removed, the vaults cleared out, -and the whole replaced by huge iron girders, whereon the sacred edifice -now rests, with the booking-office below. - - -THE WATERLOO AND CITY RAILWAY - -The month of August, 1898, was unusually warm, and the heat was felt as -much in the City as anywhere. Straw hats were universal; the shady side -of the street, if there happened to be one, was thronged; secluded -alleys and courts were resorted to by the knowing ones who could afford -the time to linger there; and even highly respectable merchants were to -be found sitting in shirt-sleeves at their writing-tables and wishing, -with Sydney Smith, that they could “sit in their bones.” - -At the junction of the Poultry with Victoria Street, shadowed by the -Mansion House, from each side of the road a mysterious hoarding had just -been removed, revealing an iron railing enclosing a small area with a -mysterious staircase bearing the announcement that it led to the subway -to the new electric railway, connecting the City with Waterloo Station. -Descending a few steps, and emerging into a tunnelled incline, the -perspiring pedestrian quickly found that here, if anywhere, was a refuge -from the heat, the coolest place in London, and that it was well worth -while, on the pretence of urgent business across the water, to pay -twopence each way, merely to drink in the refreshing air wafted -backwards and forwards along subway, platform, and tube. - -This was the Waterloo and City Railway, a short deep-level line on the -tube principle, nearly 1¾ miles long, burrowing under the Thames’ bed. -At the terminus, by rather prolonged inclines and staircases, passengers -could walk to the main or suburban platforms of Waterloo Station and -catch the trains for Wimbledon, Hampton Court, Surbiton, etc. - -Like the City and South London, this railway meets a great want. Before -its opening, City men living down the London and South Western line had -no alternative but to catch a South Eastern train from Cannon Street or -Charing Cross; to take an omnibus _viâ_ the Strand across to Waterloo -Bridge; or to cab it by devious routes _viâ_ Blackfriars Bridge. Now -they can reach Waterloo with ease, comfort, and economy. - -Under agreement, the line is worked by the London and South Western -Railway Company. The electrical equipment is by the famous firm of -Siemens Brothers, the generating station being up a blind alley -adjoining - -[Illustration: FIG. 4. WATERLOO AND CITY RAILWAY’S NEW PATTERN CAR - -_By permission of the_ _“Tramway and Railway World” Publishing Co., -London_] - -the dismal arched entrance to Waterloo from York Road. Each train seats -208 passengers; the average speed is 18 miles an hour, and its -usefulness is proved by the fact that over two and a half million -ordinary passengers were carried by it in one half-year, _i.e._ to -December 31st, 1902 (not counting season-ticket holders), while the -receipts for that period were £17,400. - -During the busy hours of morning and evening the large trains are used -and always fill up rapidly, but in the slack times of midday single -motor-cars, each carrying 50 passengers, are sufficient to cope with the -traffic. The cars are rather stuffy, and, like the train cars, are -narrow and low. At each end is a small partitioned-off “cab,” where sits -a motor-man. No tickets are issued from the booking-office; but, as in -an omnibus, the conductor comes round and collects the fares, giving a -punched voucher in return, which is retained by the traveller. - - -THE LIVERPOOL OVERHEAD ELECTRIC RAILWAY - -There are few overhead, or, rather, elevated, railways in the world. -Somehow they do not seem to be popular, and the tendency, in England at -least, is rather towards burrowing like the mole, than soaring above the -street level. - -In Germany there is a wonderful instance of electrically driven overhead -line between Elberfeld and Barmen, on the mono-rail principle, the -trains hanging from tracks suspended high above rivers and public roads. -At the great Beckton gas works there has been in use since 1894 an -iron-built miniature railway elevated on pillars, and it is a curious -sight to witness busy little engines incessantly hauling coal trucks -from the pier to the retort houses. An ingenious example of the -elevated principle is to be seen at the Victoria Station, Manchester, -where a railway on a very reduced scale conveys passengers’ luggage from -one platform to another, and idlers are never tired of watching it. The -track, a double one, is suspended from the roof and runs between -platforms five and six. The motive power is electricity, and the motor -is placed between the wheels and the track, and it lifts and lowers a -basket which holds about 15 cwt. of luggage. - -A wonderful instance of a _very_ elevated railway existed at Beachy Head -while the new lighthouse was being built 600 feet distant from the base -of the cliff, at that point 400 feet high. It conveyed material to the -site, the descending load drawing up the ascending empty “skip” on the -overhead suspension principle. - -Our New York cousins have, in their elevated steam railway, long been -familiarised with the system, but for Londoners it possesses the fatal -objection that the occupants of the cars as they pass along can look -into the front windows of the houses and spy upon the occupants. Running -along docks, however, elevated railways are not objectionable; and the -earliest example, in this or any other country, of electricity applied -to overhead traction is at Liverpool. - -Extending along the Mersey--that noble river whose tidal movement is -said to be four times the outfall of the Mississippi--for a distance of -6½ miles are the Liverpool Docks, in importance undoubtedly the first in -the world, but, until the Overhead Railway was opened, exasperatingly -inaccessible to business men whose time was valuable, and bewildering to -strangers by reason of their immensity. - -Along the line of dock, it is true, ran broad-wheeled omnibuses built to -run on the low-level dock railway, but so slow, in consequence of the -pressure of traffic and the necessity for frequent shuntings for the -passage of goods trains, that to reach the farthest dock usually -occupied over an hour. To improve upon this it was proposed, as far back -as 1852, to construct a high-level railway; but nothing practical came -of it until 1888, when the Liverpool Overhead Railway Company took over -the parliamentary powers obtained by the Dock Board, and setting -steadily to work, created their line for passengers only, and, from the -first, achieved a great success, the number of travellers amounting to -many millions annually. - -On the 4th of February, 1893, the railway was appropriately opened by -the ex-Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, whose devotion to the science of -electricity is well known. Pressing a button at the base of a silver -inkstand (subsequently presented to the Marquis as a memento), the -engines that generated the electric current were set in motion, and by -special train his lordship was conveyed over the seven miles of line, -and afterwards entertained at a banquet by the Mayor, when, in an -excellent speech, he dilated upon the prospect of electricity becoming -the motive power of the age. - -In the following month the railway was opened for public traffic, and, -with its thirteen stations, its five minutes’ service, and its cheap -fares, practically extinguished the omnibuses, light or heavy. - -From the Overhead Railway a splendid view is obtained of the busiest -locality perhaps in the empire. Below are the railway trucks packed -close with imported merchandise of all kinds: cotton from America and -the East; grain from the ends of the earth; beef, bacon, cheese, butter, -flour, and fruit from the New World; wool and tallow from Australia and -Argentina. Waggons - -[Illustration: FIG. 5. THE LIVERPOOL OVERHEAD ELECTRIC RAILWAY - -_By permission of the_ _Liverpool Overhead Electric Railway Co._] - -and carts filled with Manchester goods, hardware, machinery, chemicals, -and every imaginable kind of manufactured goods are alongside the big -liners that come into port, discharge their cargoes, load up, and are -out in the Mersey and off to sea again in a few days. Truly Liverpool is -a wonderful place, and although her greatness as a seaport has been -threatened by the opening of the Ship Canal to Manchester, it will be a -long day before she surrenders her claim to be the chief marine approach -to Great Britain. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -_REMARKABLE ELECTRIC RAILWAYS_ - -“Behold they shall come with speed swiftly.”--ISAIAH v. 26. - - -MONO-RAILWAYS - -A one-rail railway! What kind of novelty can that be, emanating no doubt -from the prolific brain of some enthusiastic engineer possessed with an -idea, a fad, a craze--call it what you will! We are accustomed to highly -respectable trains running in an orthodox manner on double rails. A -projected, many-railed track we have also heard of to carry ships bodily -across the Isthmus of Panama. But the idea of a single-rail “Flying -Dutchman” or “Wild Irishman” seems chimerical. - -It is not so, however, and the system has been solemnly and deliberately -sanctioned by Act of Parliament. - -Nowadays one need not be astonished at anything. Take cycling, for -instance. Long ago, when velocipedes--three or four-wheeled, uncanny -machines--were mere toys wherewith youths loved to dislocate their -joints on the lower terraces of the Crystal Palace, no one dreamt that -bicycles, outraging all the laws of gravitation and practically -mono-wheeled, would ere long be used on road and field and moor, on -mountain-side, on steppe and desert, over barren Asiatic tundras and -snow-clad Yukon plains--in short, wherever adventurous mankind has -penetrated. - -The mono-rail train, like a bicycle, runs on one linear track, but, -unlike that hopelessly collapsible machine, requires no balancing, and -cannot capsize, and under proper conditions is the safest known method -of travelling at very great speed. - -“_Faire prose sans le savoir_” is a familiar aphorism of Molière, but -perhaps it would astonish most of us to be calmly told by modern -engineers that all our lives we have, _without knowing it_, been -travelling on mono-railways! They assert that although it is true that -the ordinary engine with its coaches rests on a _pair_ of rails, the -fact that the space between the rails is cut away is immaterial, as it -is rendered a single track by the rigidity of the carriage axles, and if -these were loose, of course the train would overturn. - -Nature has no example of mono-railwayism (to coin an expression), unless -it be the gossamer or shooting spider, that upon a single invisible -thread spun from its body ascends to aerial heights on a kind of -self-manufactured mono-rail, Dame Nature being too lavish and too wise, -in the perfect freedom she accords to birds, beasts, fishes, and -insects, to restrict their movements to one undeviating path. - -In the moral world there have always been mono-railists, men of one -fixed idea, from which they could not, or would not, budge--apostles of -an ambition, a creed, a theory, a political conviction. The world has -had its Alexander the Great, its Napoleon, Buddha, St. Paul, Mahomet, -Martin Luther, Ignatius Loyola, Wycliffe, its Palissy, George -Stephenson, Mungo Park, John Bright, and Cobden. - -It has been left to the inventive mechanical genius of the nineteenth -century to develop the mono-rail system. Doubtless those inscrutable -people, the Chinese, knew of it, and applied it in some way long ago; -and perhaps the yet more mysterious dwellers in ancient Egypt--whence -all wisdom seems to have descended--utilised it after some unknown -fashion. - -Blondin, in his marvellous feat of trundling a wheel-barrow containing -a man along the high-level rope, used a hempen mono-rail; and the wire -cables stretching across the Thames at the reconstructed bridges at Kew -and Vauxhall, acting as travelling ways to convey the excavated soil -from the coffer-dams in large iron “skips” or buckets, were another -species of mono-rail; while at home in brickfields, and in mines, and on -plantations in distant lands, miniature railways have been used for -years to carry clay, ore, and produce, over plain and hill and dale. - -In India a peculiar kind of tramway truck has been in use for some time, -with two or three flanged wheels which run on a single rail, and a large -balance-wheel on one side of the truck to prevent it toppling over. -Produce of all kinds can easily be drawn upon it by a couple of coolies, -and its efficiency on country roads has been highly spoken of. - -Germany presents us with a recent and curious example of the application -of the principle to locomotion. In the Wupper Valley near Dusseldorf and -Cologne there are two towns, Barmen and Elberfeld, about eight miles -apart, mutually engaged in chemical and textile industries, and this -separation of the sister-towns was an obvious disadvantage to both. But -now they are joined by a wonderful railway, constructed on an elevated -line running six miles of its course above the River Wupper, a tributary -of the Rhine, some sixty to a hundred feet wide. The carriages are -suspended, and work upon a single rail, a development of the travelling -cable-way system. This rail is rigidly fastened to an iron framework of -girders, and supports the cars hanging therefrom by means of two steel -“bogies” with two wheels. Thus they can pass round sharp curves without -slackening speed and with the greatest safety, its motive power, -electricity, being applied by two motors on each carriage which drive -both wheels with equal force at a speed fixed at thirty-one miles an -hour, and attainable fifteen seconds after starting. - -As elevated railways of this type are somewhat costly, and a simpler and -cheaper form would be a desideratum, a short line across country was -built as an experiment at Cologne-Deutz. The stays, measuring from 9·6 -feet to 28·5 feet, were made either of wood, or of iron tubes, and met -at the top in a cap, from which was jointed the sheet-iron supports that -carried the mono-rail. By means of this jointed connection, the strain -was always of a central character, and, therefore, more easily borne. At -intervals of about 660 feet a couple of stays were firmly braced -together, in order to give stability to the overhead structure and to -take up the longitudinal thrust. In consequence, even with light -locomotives, the traction power was very high, and on the line at Deutz -it was found that a locomotive drawing two carriages full of passengers -could ascend a gradient of 1 in 6 with perfect safety. - -But a means of adapting a mono-rail to every condition had some time -before been thought out. In 1883-4 Charles Lartigue, the eminent French -engineer, developing the principle conceived by the great Telford, -constructed some small lines in Tunis and Algeria for carrying esparto -grass. The cars were drawn by animals in a special form of mono-rail, -the model upon which Mr. F. B. Behr, ASS. INST. C.E.--who modestly -disclaims all originality in the matter--has worked for years, greatly -improving in practical details the original design, and constructing for -the first time mono-rail trains that have been successful in the -carriage of both goods and passengers by steam and electricity. - -[Illustration: FIG. 6. PLAN OF A BEHR MONO-RAILWAY CAR - -_By permission of Mr. F. B. Behr, Ass. Inst. C.E._] - -The Lartigue single-rail system, as perfected by Mr. Behr, is as -follows, but of necessity my description is a mere outline. - -Dismissing all preconceived ideas of rails laid down upon the ground, we -must imagine a heavy double-headed steel rail firmly bolted on to the -summit of a girder supported by trestles, the whole rigidly framed upon -massive sleepers. We thus have a permanent way somewhat resembling a -continuous A-shaped metal viaduct, raised about five feet from the -surface, or a succession of iron barriers--such as road-menders make -use of to divert the traffic--set ends on, secured to each other and to -the ground. Now take an ordinary railway car with seats arranged as in -an omnibus, but with two additional rows back to back in the centre. -Remove the axles and wheels, extending the sides and ends of the car -almost down to the ground level, thus providing beneath the flooring an -enclosure with ample room for the locomotive machinery. All along the -bottom of this enclosure is an opening or space, about five feet -high--extending between the middle rows of seats--that fits the A-shaped -viaduct, so that the car is suspended, or, as it were, sits upon the -mono-rail, whereon roll six vertical grooved wheels that, when set in -motion by the electric current, propel the cars. Thus we have a train -apparently without wheels, these together with the apparatus being -completely hidden away between and beneath the passengers’ seats. On -each side of the A-shaped trestle are fixed two guide-rails fitting -close into horizontal grooved wheels effectually checking all -oscillation. In front is the bogie locomotive motor with a pointed bow, -the stern of the car also being pointed, so that the entire arrangement -resembles when seen from above a great stickless rocket with a sharp and -flexible snout. - -As the sister isle was the first to adopt electricity to a railway -(_vide_ Chapter II.), so was she the pioneer of mono-railism. In County -Kerry, Munster, near the Shannon’s mouth, stands the little town of -Listowel, and 9½ miles distant is Ballybunion. To connect these a -mono-railway for passenger and goods traffic was opened on March 1st, -1888, and has worked ever since without any difficulty. The trains are -drawn by a steam locomotive divided in two, one on each side of the -mono-rail--a kind of twin-screw arrangement--and with their smoke-stacks -and giant lantern between them, present a strange and rather comical -appearance, while the track meandering at its own sweet will across -country without fencing of any kind, adds to the novelty of the little -line. - -Its great safety has been amply demonstrated by the only mishap that has -occurred to it. Some miscreant had deliberately removed the fastenings -from over thirty yards of the line at a critical point where a reverse -curve began, and close to a bridge. At full speed, a train carrying 200 -passengers came up to the loosened rail, which gave way, breaking the -coupling chains and, luckily, bringing into action the automatic -Westinghouse brake. The permanent way was ruined by the shock, but the -fall absorbed the force of the reaction, and deposited the carriages -quietly on the ground without injury to anyone, and without even -breaking a window. On an ordinary line the train would have been thrown -off the metals into the river with terrible consequences. Shortly after -the line was opened, the Lartigue system was adopted in France, from -Tours to Pannissieres in the Loire Department. - -The Ballybunion and Listowel Railway is the indirect father of a -modified form of mono-rail which is expected to appear this year at the -Crystal Palace. It is called the Electric Mid-Railway, the invention of -Mr. W. R. Smith, and as the line is to connect the existing railway -station with various points in the grounds, it should be well patronised -at the modest penny fare which is to be charged. Being an entire -novelty, it has a specially good chance of success in this particular -situation. The single rail is placed below the carriage, the weight of -which is balanced upon it after the fashion of a bicycle. On each side -of this single track runs a trestle carrying a rail on a level with the -centre of gravity of each carriage. This rail serves the necessary -purpose of supporting the carriage and of also preventing derailing. - -A similar device had been suggested--and possibly has been carried into -effect on the New York and Washington D. C. Line--when it was proposed -to elevate a track above the earth on a single line of upright beams, -the trains to be kept steady by an auxiliary rail on either side, but -which would only come into play on rounding curves. - - -HIGH-SPEED ELECTRIC RAILWAYS - -In Belgium, Mr. Behr, who throughout his labours there received the -personal encouragement and patronage of King Leopold II., successfully -built an experimental high-speed mono-rail line at Tervueren in the -neighbourhood of Brussels, as an annexe to the Exhibition of 1897. To -find suitable ground was the great difficulty. The line had to cross ten -public roads, and in the absence of compulsory powers, leases for the -land had to be arranged with grasping occupiers and owners. The soil was -bad, big cuttings and embankment were unavoidable, and finally the line -consisted of nothing but steep, up-and-down gradients. In fact, all the -conditions were most unfavourable, notwithstanding which, the result of -the experiment was conclusive in showing that with the mono-rail and -perfected electrical traction, very high speed, double that of existing -passenger express trains, could be attained with absolute safety, a -principle which Mr. Behr had for a long time past been particularly -impressed with, but which he maintains is not possible on the ordinary -two-rail track, even with electricity as a motive power. - -In November, 1901, Mr. Behr went to Berlin, and investigated the -experiments carried out during forty days by a number of engineering -experts on a military track laid down between the German capital and -Zossen. It was hoped that a speed of 160 miles an hour would be attained -and maintained, and, as a matter of fact, starting from a low speed, the -train gradually reached that of 87 miles; then, for a moment only, 95 -miles; and for an instant of time, 100 miles per hour; but it was at -once discernible that the ordinary two-rail permanent way, though -straight, could not bear the terrific strain imposed upon it; the rails -bent at many places, while the hundred-miles-an-hour rate had so -destructive an effect as to render impracticable any attempt to create a -higher record. The air resistance was found to be considerable. With a -square-fronted instead of a pointed coach, it was appreciable, and the -suction behind the train resembled the pressure of the water at the -stern of a mail steamer, and was calculated to equal two-thirds of the -“bow” resistance. These experiments went to prove that for excessive -velocity an ordinary railway was absolutely unsafe. - -A year before this, a steam locomotive train had been tried in America -by the Baltimore and Ohio Railway Company, on the Adams principle of -reducing the atmospheric resistance to a minimum. It consisted of six -cars, a tender, and an engine of fifty-seven tons. The entire train was -sheathed down to within eight inches of the track. There were no -projections, and all the windows were flush; the cars were coupled close -together, and the rear one was run off to a point, the train resembling -one long sinuous and flexible carriage. - -With this comparatively light engine it is said that the forty miles -between Baltimore and Washington were covered in thirty-seven and a half -minutes. But it was claimed that with a more powerful locomotive the -train could have been easily run at the rate of one mile in thirty-five -seconds, or nearly two miles a minute. - -These speeds appear tremendous, but custom would soon reconcile us to -them. Our forefathers thought fifteen miles an hour terrific; and one of -the objections to Stephenson’s ideas was, that at such a speed, not to -mention a twenty-or twenty-five-mile rate, no human being could draw -breath. - -Since then we have quietly acquiesced in and equally welcomed a style of -travelling varying from 35 to an average of 58 miles an hour, and even -consider it no great feat to run a special viceregal train from Euston -to Holyhead--263½ miles--in five hours without stopping, and are not -astonished to read of last year’s record run of the mail express from -Boulogne to Paris--168 miles--at an average speed of 68 miles an hour! - -Still, 120 miles every sixty minutes without stopping is a large order, -and in practice would give some remarkable results. For instance, a -resident at Putney could be whisked from the station nearest to him, and -thence to a point adjoining his office--say in Seething Lane, some seven -miles off--in less than five minutes. Brighton could be reached from -town in twenty-five minutes; Dover, in forty; Edinburgh, in three hours -twenty minutes. Inverness--663 miles away--could be arrived at from -Euston in six hours twenty minutes, instead of the fifteen hours -thirty-five minutes of the ordinary express; and Paris--allowing one -hour thirty minutes for the Channel passage--in three hours forty-two -minutes. - - -THE MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL ELECTRIC EXPRESS RAILWAY - -Now, the contention of the advocates of the monorail principle is, -that only by that system can very high speed be safely attained; and -when one comes to closely examine the cars in which this -hundred-and-ten-miles-per-hour travelling is achieved, confidence is at -once inspired, because of their low centre of gravity and consequent -unlikeliness of derailment. - -There remains only one question--_Cui bono?_ What useful purpose can be -served by being able to get from Liverpool to Manchester in twenty -minutes instead of over an hour? On an emergency, such as a sudden -necessity for the services of a medical specialist, a matter of life or -death perhaps, or on the occasion of any crisis in domestic or -mercantile life when the instant presence of some one distant individual -is imperative, it might be of immense service. But in the usual course -of business, do not existing railways bring merchant and broker, -importer and manufacturer, face to face quickly enough, and are not -telephones and telegraphs and the post sufficient to carry through big -transactions between the centre of the cotton trade and the great city -on the banks of the Mersey? Public opinion, which demands increasing -speed in every phase of life, especially in travelling, declares they -are not sufficient; for we live in an impatient age when every hour of -detention on a transatlantic passage is begrudged. - -Therefore it is not to be wondered at that in 1900-1, after the most -exhaustive inquiries and criticisms, the royal assent was given August -17th, 1901, to the Manchester and Liverpool Electric Express Railway, -which was duly authorised by Act of Parliament. It must be premised that -the line, like our London Tube, does not provide for goods traffic; that -the time occupied by the journey being so short, neither luggage-van, -lavatory, or refreshment buffet is required, and that all trains consist -of a single car, couplings being a source of danger at so great a rate -of speed. But as the trains run every ten minutes, and carry about forty -persons each time, a large passenger traffic is provided for. - -Well--a broker has been telephoned for by his client, a wealthy -cotton-spinner in Manchester, anxious to consult with him personally; so -he at once leaves the flags of the Exchange, and after an eight minutes’ -walk arrives at the Express Railway Station, near the entrance gate of -the Blue Coat Hospital in School Lane. He considers that in getting into -and out of the lift he has lost two minutes, but he just catches his car -and starts for a run of 34½ miles to Manchester, and since it is his -first experience of lightning travelling, he notices everything -connected with the new line. There are many curves, he finds, all -necessary in order to avoid conflict with the vested interests of other -railway companies; the gradients, he observes, at points about -three-quarters of a mile from the Liverpool and Manchester stations, are -steep--1 in 25, and 1 in 30--but of service in accelerating and breaking -the trains. - -Unlike the Listowel mono-rail line, the Manchester and Liverpool express -is fenced from end to end with an unclimbable barrier, and as there are -no level-crossings and no means of access, there is no possibility of -trespassing. Also, for the security of the workmen employed in -maintaining the track as on an ordinary railway--the system of “packing” -the sleepers and inspecting the various parts being common to all -railways--a clear space of three feet is left between the passing -trains, and strong posts, ten feet apart, are fixed along the centre of -the space for the labourers to hold on by when an express rushes by. -Collisions, our broker quickly perceives, are impossible, there being no -switches, and notwithstanding the multitude of passengers (some twenty -thousand per day) there are never more than two cars on the line at a -time, and there are no stoppages between the two termini. - -For signalling purposes, the line is divided into four sections of about -five miles each, and as the train passes by, its electric motor -automatically operates the signal and immediately “blocks” the section -behind it, so that the train following cannot advance until its leader -has cleared the five-mile division. - -The driver and conductor are both together in the front part of the -train, so that the conductor has ample time to look out for the signals, -to apply the brakes, and assist his mate. The brakes are of the -Westinghouse pattern, and the two combined can stop the cars in about -800 yards, even at the speed of 110 miles an hour. These can be aided by -Mr. Behr’s ingenious device, which Sir William H. Preece considers quite -practicable, viz. louvres or shutters, which, when opened, materially -increase the air resistance. - -Past Toxteth Park, Garston, Halewood, Widnes (whose only rival in sheer -ugliness is perhaps London’s Stratford-by-Bow), and exactly half-way, -Warrington, conspicuous for the inkiness of its river Mersey, and noted -for its glass, wire, and chemical industries; famed for its network of -waterways, especially for the great but evil-smelling ship-canal; noted -in history--when but a hamlet, with a clear trout-yielding stream--as -the camping-ground of the young Pretender when on his march to Derby in -1745; and associated with Mrs. Gaskell (whose “Cranford” is identified -with Knutsford, a neighbouring village), the two Bishops Claughton, -Viscount Cross, Luke Fildes, R.A., and “Warrington” Wood, the sculptor. - -Close by, in the parish of Great Sankey, is the power-generating -station of the railway, the current obtained being 15,000 volts on the -triphase alternating system, converted in five sub-stations placed along -the line, into a continuous 650 volt current. Every car has four -traction motors arranged in pairs, each with a full-speed capacity of -160 h.p., equal to 110 miles an hour. The cars are comfortably -upholstered; the seats are separated and placed back to back in the -middle, those along the sides facing inwards, as in the Twopenny Tube. -The lighting is, of course, excellent, and the ventilation perfect, -though to prevent accident the windows are fixed, and the doors, while -the train is in motion, are automatically locked. - -[Illustration: FIG. 7. INTERIOR OF A BEHR MONO-RAILWAY CAR - -_By permission of_ _Mr. F. B. Behr, Ass. Inst. C. E._] - -As regards the cost of this novel undertaking, our Liverpool friend had -beforehand ascertained that the capital had been fixed at £2,800,000, -and that an average of eight persons per train would more than cover the -expense of the enterprise. - -Swiftly leaving Warrington in the distance, the express shoots -onwards--past Eccles, Pendleton, and Salford--and reaches the terminus -at the west side of Deansgate, in the busiest part of Cottonopolis, -where, again using the lift, our honest broker speeds to the Exchange in -another eight minutes, and in forty-five minutes after leaving Liverpool -is in deep business conference with his principal at Manchester. - -Contrast this with the existing facilities of the old system for rapid -transit between the two places; and those who know their Manchester and -Liverpool well, will at once be able to decide whether or not the -electric express better meets the requirements of those to whom every -minute is of consequence. - -The London and North Western Railway (which has a perfectly straight bit -of track to Manchester, unequalled, except on the Great Eastern between -Littleford and Lynn--21 miles--and on the South Eastern between Nutfield -and Ashford--32 miles) runs expresses without stopping from Lime Street -and Edge Hill to the Exchange Station, Manchester, doing the journey in -forty minutes. - -The Great Central Railway, by an indirect route, _viâ_ Garston and -Widnes, runs expresses from their Liverpool station (St. James’s) direct -to the Manchester Central, in from forty to forty-five minutes; but on -neither line is there such a thing as a ten minutes’ service, the -intervals between the direct expresses ranging from forty-five minutes -to so much as four hours. - -Plans, it is said, have been submitted to the Board of Trade for a -mono-railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The proposed construction is -similar to that of the Behr mono-railway between Liverpool and -Manchester. It is quite unlike the canny Scot to rush into sensational -experiments for a speed of 117 miles per hour, especially as a few -years’ waiting for the completion of the Liverpool line would prove or -disprove the possibility of the scheme. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -_REJUVENATING THE METROPOLITAN INNER CIRCLE_ - -“So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”--Ps. ciii. 5. - - -CONSTRUCTION OF THE METROPOLITAN AND METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAYS - -Can anything be satisfactorily rejuvenated? Is there any truth in the -Medean story that old age can revert to the vigour of young manhood? - -In 1903 the usual reply is “No.” If a theatre becomes dilapidated, it is -pulled down. If a railway-station gets much out of repair, the company -proceeds to reconstruct, and not to patch up. If a macadamised -thoroughfare gives signs of too much wear and tear, it is broken up and -relaid with wood blocks. - -In fact, rejuvenation on a large scale is so seldom attempted that the -scheme for renovating and electrifying the Inner Circle Railway may be -regarded as something remarkable. - -For convenience we will call it the Inner Circle, but, as we all know, -it is a dual concern controlled by the Metropolitan and the Metropolitan -District, both of them old enough to have a respectable history. - -Fifty years ago railways within the boundaries of Inner London were -non-existent, the nearest points approached by the country lines being -at Battersea, Euston, St. Pancras, Shoreditch, Paddington, London -Bridge, and Waterloo--miles away from the central districts. - -It was an ideal time for omnibus companies, who charged pretty well what -they liked: and for cabmen, whose fare was nominally restricted to -eightpence a mile, but who were masters of the situation when passengers -with luggage had to be conveyed from the termini. Yet, although many -suggestions were made, including that of a great central station where -all the lines might converge, the travelling world was considerably -startled in 1854 by a proposition laid before Parliament to construct an -underground line from Farringdon Street to Bishop’s Road, Paddington; -and so astonished were capitalists that although the bill passed, the -money was so slow in coming in that work could not be begun until six -years later! - -In planning the route a golden opportunity was lost of anticipating the -Twopenny Tube; but the opposition of Oxford Street was so fierce that -the line had to be poked away beneath the Marylebone Road in the -north-west of London, convenient for residents in Paddington and -Bayswater, but useless to other districts, and, what was more important, -it did not go to the Bank, the centre of the business world. - -However, we, then as now, were but a slow people, therefore really -comprehensive schemes found little favour in the “fifties” and -“sixties.” For three years the Marylebone and Euston roads were closed -to traffic, and presented the appearance of a besieged city’s outskirts -where deep trenches and fortifications were being made. The roadway was -removed to a great depth; pipes and sewers were taken away and replaced; -foundations were underpinned, and a series of solid brick tunnels were -slowly and laboriously constructed and covered up. The plank pathways, -the noise, and the smells, drove householders along the route to -desperation; and, on nearing the City, the problem of dealing with the -old Fleet Ditch was at one period thought insoluble. No wonder that, -what with compensation to owners of damaged property, the acquisition of -necessary land, and engineering difficulties, the cost of the line at -some points mounted up to a million sterling per mile! - -At last the first section was completed; and in September, 1862, a trial -trip was made. A contemporary picture represents the train passing -Portland Road Station, its open trucks in the rear full of enthusiastic -guests waving flags and tall hats--after luncheon probably--evidently -delighted with the success of the undertaking. But at the formal -opening, January 9th, 1863, a grand banquet was given in the Farringdon -Street Station, three long tables occupying the rail and platform space, -with a [ shaped table on a daïs for the principal guests. - -The following day thirty thousand passengers journeyed over the line, -and everybody in London talked about the Underground as somewhat of a -marvel. But people exhibited strange ignorance on the subject, nervous -people preparing for wonderful possibilities, imagining that the cellars -would collapse as the trains thundered by, or that the houses would -tumble through on to the line, flinging their occupants before some -passing engine! - -Yet, after all, the Underground was only an ordinary tunnel (such as -pierce a score of hills), placed in an exceptional position in the midst -of London. - -Bit by bit, as years went by, the Metropolitan Railway extended itself -eastward and westward to High Street, Kensington, whence the District -Railway that had sprung into existence went ahead and got as far as -Westminster, its line being partly open and partly tunnelled. There the -District stuck for three years, and then found its way into the City (a -great boon as an alternative route). At the Mansion House Station it -seemed determined to rest for a long period; the Metropolitan showing -the same propensity at the Moorgate Street sheds, until City men began -to give up all hope of the two ends ever meeting. - -It came about at last, however, and the year 1884 witnessed the -completion of the irregular Inner Circle--a total length of about 12½ -miles--by way of Bishopsgate, Aldgate, Mark Lane, the Monument, and -Cannon Street, without any serious disturbance of the traffic, but with -much wonderful underpinning of warehouses and offices (a notable -instance of this operation being beneath King William the Fourth’s -statue, which weighs over 250 tons!). - -At first there were no smoking-carriages, but the numerous complaints on -the subject induced the directors to alter their rules, and they went to -the other extreme, so that now non-smokers think there seem to be more -smoking-carriages than any others. - -In its young days the Metropolitan was clean and its atmosphere -tolerable. In fact, it had been proposed to use smokeless engines, but -for some reason the idea was abandoned, and, as the main railway lines -began to send out feelers towards the inner districts of London, they -sought for, and obtained, running powers over the Underground, junctions -being made with the Great Northern Railway and Great Western, the London -and North Western, and the Midland. Consequently, the number of trains -immensely increased, and the smoke nuisance was intensified. Ventilating -shafts were adopted, and afforded some relief, but the imprisoned fog of -winter precipitated the “blacks,” and summer weather only made the -atmosphere still more stifling; while Baker Street, Gower Street, and -King’s Cross stations and tunnels were positive infernos, and for how -many deaths from asthma and bronchitis they were responsible no one -knows! - -The rolling-stock of the Metropolitan became dirtier and dirtier, grime -and disfigurement settled down upon it, and everybody’s experience of it -resembled that of Mrs. Lilian Rosamond, described in Chapter VIII. - - -THE NEW DISTRICT RAILWAY - -Just opposite St. Mark’s College, Chelsea, is a narrow thoroughfare -called Lot’s Road, leading to a creek that separates the Borough from -Fulham. Tradition says that the locality was formerly known as “The -Lots” (about four acres in extent), and was granted to a Sir Arthur -Gorges by the lord of the manor, in lieu of certain rights over land -which he gave up for the formation of the Kensington Canal; but -incredulous old folk dismissed this tradition with contempt, and -maintained that there was a Chelsea personage named Lot, very distantly -related to the patriarch’s nephew, who pitched his tent in the fertile -Jordan Valley, and that the dismal Chelsea wastes so much resembled the -desolateness of the fatal plains, that diligent search therein might -even result in the discovery of the Pillar of Salt, brought over to this -country at some remote period by a pious descendant! But whoever, or -whatever, the name Lot may represent, it is now associated with one of -the greatest electrical undertakings of the age--the huge generating -station of the Underground Electric Railway Company of London, Limited, -who, as at present arranged, will supply the District and other railways -with power. - -At the bottom of Lot’s Road, and at a point on the Middlesex bank of -Battersea Reach, facing the ugly parish church of St. Mary, is the -mouth of Chelsea Creek, filled twice a day by the muddy waters of the -Thames, and here the Electrical Works are being erected. They are in -sight of an obscure cottage in Cheyne Walk where the painter Turner -lived in concealment, and where he died. The building, with its four -great chimney-shafts, is unæsthetic to a degree, and Turner would -probably have thought it ruined his favourite landscape. But it -represents something more valuable than æsthetic effect. - -When Matthew Doulton, in the infancy of steam, took the Russian Prince -Potemkin round the works at Soho, Manchester, the distinguished visitor -inquired, “What do you sell here?” “We make and sell here,” replied -James Watts’ partner, “that which all the world wants--_Power_.” And -this, on a scale undreamt of by the famous engineer, is what the -Underground Electric Railway Company of London will produce, in view of -the river scenery so much admired by the chief of impressionists, and -which he never wearied of depicting. - -This temple of electric force will be the largest in the Old World. In -New York, the Manhattan and the Metropolitan companies both have power -stations slightly smaller. The Rapid Transit Commission have projected -one that will be bigger, while the Waterside station of the Edison -Illuminating Company (partially completed) is on a still larger scale. -It has, however, been stated that the biggest power scheme on earth will -be at Massena, on the St. Lawrence River, Canada, where there will be -fifteen Westinghouse machines, equal to a total of 75,000 kilowatts. - -Within the temple there will be turbo-generators fifty feet in length -and ten feet high, constructed by the British Westinghouse Company at -their Trafford Park - -[Illustration: FIG. 8. ELECTRICAL POWER HOUSE (THE LARGEST IN THE OLD -WORLD) LOT’S ROAD, CHELSEA, TO SUPPLY THE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT AND -OTHER RAILWAYS WITH CURRENT - -_By permission of the_ _Underground Electric Railways Co. of London, -Ltd._] - -Works, Manchester, capable of producing the prodigious quantity of -60,000 electrical kilowatts, at a pressure, or force, technically -speaking, of 11,000 volts. In other words, about 100,000 horse-power -could be sent out, theoretically equal to the lifting of over 1,000,000 -tons a foot high every minute.[3] Six such power stations could, -therefore, move the great pyramid of Cheops (over 6,000,000 tons -weight), and carry it bodily off on colossal rails, and dump it down -anywhere to order. - -For condensing purposes, an enormous quantity of water will be required, -and every twenty-four hours 19,000,000 gallons of water (at times -mounting up to 40,000,000 gallons) will be drawn from the creek for use -in the power house. - -The force of 11,000 volts will be much too powerful for direct -application to the purposes of locomotion. It requires reducing by -transformers and rotary converters into the safe and ordinary current of -about 550 volts, which will be effected at sub-stations--Earl’s Court, -South Kensington, Victoria, Charing Cross, Mansion House, and other -places along the line. To these the current will be sent from the power -house, and reduced by the transformers into ordinary low-pressure -voltage, and the fiery O.P. spirit tamed to a pleasant and portable -“under-proof” standard! The current will then be distributed to two -conductor-rails, one located between the present running rails, and the -other outside them. The motors on the trains will receive the current -from one rail by means of a sliding contact-shoe, and return it to the -other rail in the same manner. In passing through the motor the -electricity causes the armature to revolve, which motion, by means of -gearing, is communicated to the carriage axle. - -So much for the driving-power of the trains. But what kind of trains do -the public expect? - -[Illustration: FIG. 9. A 2,000 H.P. WESTINGHOUSE STEAM TURBINE, -RESEMBLING THE TURBO-GENERATORS (EACH OF 7,500 H.P.) IN THE CHELSEA -POWER HOUSE. - -_By permission of the_ _Westinghouse Companies, Ltd., London_] - -Surely not the old carriages cleaned up and re-upholstered--made “to -last a little longer,” until broken up for firewood and old iron. The -public will not be disappointed in the new cars, nothing as yet having -been seen in London to equal them. - -The trains will be run on the principle of the multiple unit. That is, -each will be made up of seven coaches--three long motor-cars and four -trail-cars--with a motor-man’s cab at each end, and one in the centre. -These eight-wheeled coaches will be rectangular at the sides--not -sloping like those of the Waterloo Tube Company--and very roomy, 52 -feet long and about 8 feet 2 inches wide inside, and about 8 feet 7 -inches from the floor to the middle of the roof. - -[Illustration: FIG. 10. A NEW METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAY CAR - -_By permission of the_ _Underground Electric Railways Co. of London, -Ltd._] - -The arrangement of the seats will be somewhat different from that of the -Tube. There will, of course, be corridor cars, which will be entered -from the platforms, through telescopic doors; there will be also sliding -doors. The gain in leg-space will be great, the centre gangway giving a -clear 4 feet, and there will be fewer cross seats. Each train will hold -about 338 passengers; the ventilation of the cars will be perfect; and -the height sufficient for a giant. As the District tunnels are 25 feet -in diameter, and 15 feet 9 inches from the rail level to the crown of -the arch, there will be about 2 feet of head-room, about 2 feet 6 inches -between each train, and the same between the trains and the sides of the -tunnels. - -Compare this with the present Inner Circle trains that carry about three -hundred passengers, with gangways that, even in the first-class -compartments, leave no room for incomers to avoid a leg entanglement, -and whose height will hardly admit a tall man in a tall hat to stand -upright. Also compare it with the dimensions of the Central’s cars, -which are 39 feet long, 8 feet wide, and whose height to the middle of -roof is only 7 feet 5 inches, the gangway narrow, with seats in each car -for forty-eight people. The space in the cars of the City and South -London, and the Waterloo and City, is still more exiguous. - -It is proposed to run about twice as many trains as at present, each -journey to be made in about two-thirds of the time now required; that is -to say, the trains that now run about ten miles an hour will, it is -anticipated, work up to at least fifteen miles; the total carrying -capacity being estimated at 70,000,000 per annum, increasable, if -necessary, to 100,000,000. There may be an all-night service, for the -convenience of people engaged at Covent Garden market, and for -journalists and others whose work lies in the vicinity of Fleet Street. -A somewhat novel and economical feature will be that the trains, during -the stock hours of the day, can be run in short lengths, as in the City -and Waterloo Railway, and, with their triple motors divided, will -resemble those strange Naidæ worms of the Annelida class that possess -the power of increasing by mechanical division. They will also be able -to go forward and backward without reversing the motor engines. - -Brilliant will be the lighting of the cars and stations; the tunnels, -too, are to be illuminated. Fresh air will be obtained by the frequent -movements of the trains through the tunnels, while smoke and smuts will, -of course, become things of the past. The stations, with their wide and -roomy platforms, will in some cases be lengthened by fifty feet to -accommodate the three-hundred-and-fifty-feet-long trains, and be -thoroughly cleansed and repainted, and the tunnels may possibly be -whitened by means of “spraying”--the principle adopted at the Chicago -Exhibition for the finials of the pavilions. - -The question of classes, fares, and tickets has not yet been settled, -but we may assume that the system adopted will be somewhat like that of -the Tube. The entire project closely resembles the Metropolitan -Underground Railway of Paris, and the Boston Subway. Lifts are not at -present contemplated, and probably their absence will be no great loss -to active travellers, nor even to the “old, subdued, and slow,” for -trains will so quickly succeed one another that the missing of one will -involve no serious delay. Possibly, however, as time goes on, some new -and convenient form of sloping footway may be adopted. - -But alas! for the lovers of the beautiful, the directors, we are told, -“have not decided that they will be warranted in sacrificing, on -æsthetic grounds, the revenue derived from advertisements.” - -Then, again, as there will be little or no waiting, even the most -impatient of _voyageurs_ will hardly need the diversion obtained by a -trial of the omnipresent penny-in-the-slot machines, or the -contemplation of the numerous works of art displayed on the station -walls. They will not even need the bookstalls, much less to gape at the -contents-bills of the daily paper. - -And, provided the glass roofs be kept clean, and the atmosphere innocent -of smoke and gas, might not the stations--sheltered as they are from the -vagaries of weather, and brilliantly lighted--be transformed into -modified winter gardens, with sturdy flowers and shrubs filling up nooks -and corners, and bold paintings (frequently renewed) of distant lands, -seascapes, and historical subjects, in the recesses now covered by -“Reckitt’s Blue,” etc.? The frequent stopping of trains would be -actually welcomed, and people would travel by the “Circle” for the sake -of seeing the novelties! In fact, every station might be converted into -a thing of beauty. - -One other suggestion for the directors of the new Inner Circle. Cannot -something be contrived in the new cars to effectually deaden the sound -of the closing and opening of doors, so irritating to modern nerves, and -unpleasantly associated with the “banging” in the old carriages, and the -“clashing” of the telescopics in the Tubes. - - -THE NEW METROPOLITAN RAILWAY - -The Metropolitan Railway will be electrified in a very similar manner to -the District Railway, the system being the same, _i.e._ alternating -three-phase, converted at sub-stations into continuous current. Access -to the platforms will be by short staircases, and not by lifts. It is -said that when steam is abolished the appearance of the stations may -possibly be improved, but the advertisements are too important a source -of revenue to be removed, and, as the Company says, “they act as a -relief to the bare walls, and their withdrawal would answer no good”! An -effort will be made to cleanse the tunnels, but it has not yet been -decided what method will be adopted. - -There exist an abundance of open spaces, ventilating-shafts, and holes, -and the frequent passing of trains in contrary directions will -necessarily keep the air in motion, and thus, as in the District, the -problem of ventilation will solve itself. - -The cars will be of the corridor type, seven to a full train, each end -car and the middle one having a motor, and if the contingencies of the -traffic do not require a large train, it will thus be possible to divide -it and run it in two parts. The seating will be both transverse and -longitudinal, and considerably over four hundred passengers it is said -can be accommodated in each full train. As to day and night services, -their frequency, the fares, and the distinction of classes, nothing has -yet been decided. - -About a mile from Wembly, where “Watkins’ Folly,” as it is locally -called--at one time aspiring, like Babel’s, to “reach unto -heaven”--shows gauntly against the skyline its first stage of only 150 -feet, is Neasden, where, on land belonging to the Metropolitan Railway, -is being erected its power house (the most extensive in the kingdom -owned by a single railway company), capable of producing some 14,000 -kilowatts. Water in abundance will be obtained by means of artesian -wells now being bored in the chalk; and coal can be readily supplied. -The current will be applied to cars, as on the District, by a -conductor-rail placed in the near side of the permanent way, with a -return fixed in the centre of the running track. By the end of 1903 it -is hoped that the work will be sufficiently advanced for some trains to -be run by electricity. Finally, as the Metropolitan’s engineer-in-chief -remarks, there will be no marked novelties, but “the very conversion -from steam to electric traction will prove a great novelty and an -attraction. New cars of the latest type will be introduced, the stations -will be bright and cheerful, the atmosphere pure; travel will be -undertaken with a greater degree of comfort, and freedom from -disagreeable odours. In short, nothing that can reasonably be expected -to be performed in the interests of the public will be left undone.” - - -AMERICAN CAPITAL - -A good deal has been said in reference to the source whence the -necessary capital has been obtained for rejuvenating the Inner Circle, -patriotic people objecting to the so-called Americanising of this great -undertaking, though it is hardly a logical objection. - -If British capitalists are lacking in enterprise, there is no reason why -London should wait until they evince it. The world will not go to sleep -while Lombard Street hesitates. As Mr. Perks, M.P., Chairman of the -District Company has said, out of the five millions sterling invested in -the new Underground Electric Railway Companies of London, Limited, less -than two millions were held in America, and three millions on this side -the Atlantic. “I do not care,” he said, “where the money comes from, so -long as it is good money”--a wise remark, like the _non olet_ of -Suetonius. What matters it whence the materials of a sovereign have -come? They cannot be ear-marked, and whether its gold is Brazilian, -Australian, South African, or American, is of no consequence. It is a -legal tender, and worth twenty silver shillings. - -Another matter that has engaged public attention is the apparent -difference of opinion between the Metropolitan and the Metropolitan -District Companies, as to the control of the Inner Circle. Nature has -designed them to be one, and but for vested and promoters’ interests, -they probably would have been one from the first. They are not merely -brother and sister, but are united by a closer tie, therefore their -motto surely ought to be _Quis separabit_! - -Let us hope that long before the scheme is completed there will be a -reconciliation, and a satisfactory working arrangement made “out of -court” between these two parties to an unnecessary divorce suit. - -The two lines have carried their millions of passengers, and the -rejuvenated Inner Circle during its new and beneficent career is -destined to carry very many millions more, and prove a great boon to the -metropolis. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -_THE CENTRAL LONDON ELECTRIC RAILWAY_ - -“Tell by what paths, what subterranean ways.”--BLACKMORE. - - -HISTORY OF THE RAILWAY AND ITS CITY SUBWAYS - -When those electric traction pioneers, the City and South London, and -the Waterloo and City Railways, were opened respectively in 1890 and -1898, they were regarded by the public with a certain amount of apathy. -But when, in July, 1900, the Central London Railway, inaugurated by the -Prince of Wales, was opened for traffic, and it was realised that the -line was laid literally in the centre of London, beneath one of the -greatest street routes in existence, viz. Cheapside, Newgate Street, -Holborn, Oxford Street, Bayswater and Uxbridge roads, and was capable of -dealing with a gigantic stream of passengers at a uniform fare for any -distance, it arrested universal attention, and for a time nothing was -talked about but the deep-level system for metropolitan railways; and by -general approbation the Central was forthwith dubbed “The Twopenny -Tube,” a name it will always retain. - -Like most great enterprises, the Tube Railway had to contend against -considerable opposition before legislative sanction could be obtained -for its construction. It was incorporated on August 5th, 1891, after a -great battle with Parliament and local authorities, in which affray the -late Mr. J. H. Greathead, M. INST. C. E. (deviser of one of the methods -of shield-excavating for driving tunnels), took a conspicuous part, and -the principle of a “free-way-leave” beneath the streets was successfully -confirmed. - -The original directors were Mr. Henry Tennant (at one time General -Manager of the North Eastern Railway Company), Lord Colville of Culross -(Director of the Great Eastern Railway Company), Sir Francis Knollys -(Director of the Great Northern Railway Company), the Hon. A. H. Mills -(of Glyn, Mills, Currie, and Co.), and the Right Hon. D. R. Plunket -(Director of the North London Railway Company). Thus the railway element -was strongly represented; the financial to a small but very important -extent, and Court influence by two prominent members of the households -of the Prince and Princess of Wales. - -The Company was authorised to construct a double underground line from -Liverpool Street to Shepherds Bush (about 6½ miles); but the plan was -modified, and the Bank of England became the City starting-point. In -their prospectus the directors modestly predicted an annual passenger -traffic of some forty-two millions (or seven millions per mile of line); -but this estimate has been largely exceeded, the average being about -fifty-two millions per annum, or one million per week. - -The Company’s capital ultimately reached the sum of nearly four millions -sterling, so the line can hardly be called a cheap one in point of -construction; for, although the “way-leave” beneath the streets was -free, land had to be bought for the surface booking-offices, costly -shafts had to be sunk to the requisite depth, and tunnels driven, and -numerous subterranean stations had to be built. Thus, apart from the -cost of the rolling-stock and installation of a large current-generating -station, the initial expenses soon mounted up. - -All the booking-offices and stations are built on one principle, each -with its great electric lift; but special interest attaches to the City -terminus. - -It was necessary to make use, somehow, of the open space between the -Mansion House, the Bank, and the Royal Exchange--an ideal spot for a -central railway station. But how was it to be effected? For years the -Civic Fathers had contemplated the construction of subways for the -safety and convenience of foot-passengers at this, which has been termed -the busiest--as it is almost the most dangerous--spot in the world, -though I doubt whether in the year 1903 Piccadilly Circus does not run -it hard. - -The Central Railway Company approached the Corporation on the subject, -and eventually it was agreed between the parties that the Railway -Company, in return for being allowed the privilege of constructing their -station beneath the open space, without payment, should make the public -subways, and hand them over in perpetuity to the City. - -So for many months the pavement in front of the Royal Exchange was -disfigured by a lofty wooden hoarding, which completely concealed a -shaft, wherein some mysterious work was progressing. But beyond this -there was no outward indication of what was going on below; and, -although the entire roadway in front of the Mansion House was being -undermined, the vast traffic continued as usual. - -Arranging this station proved to be one of the stiffest bits of -engineering work ever attempted. Drain-pipes were ubiquitous--a perfect -tangle that had to be diverted. There were old disused and -long-forgotten pipes, electric cables, hydraulic power pipes, pneumatic -tubes, gas and water mains--a maze and wilderness of underground -communications. These were all rearranged in a special pipe-tunnel, 14 -feet wide. Then, at a depth of about 20 feet, the booking-office was -built, bit by bit, of steel-work, which had previously been temporarily -put together in a field to ensure its fitting exactly into the -excavation prepared for its accommodation--an area 145 feet one way and -75 feet the other, its outline being on the curve. Its roof, consisting -of girders supporting steel troughing, was filled up with concrete, and -finally with asphalte, upon which thousands of people pass daily without -realising what is below them. Access to the booking-office is gained by -numerous entrances _viâ_ the public subway: two on the Royal Exchange -pavement, two at the bottom of Mansion House Place, one at the Poultry -corner, and one at Walbrook, one in front of the Safe Deposit City -buildings, two each at the corners of Princes Street and Cornhill, and -one at St. Mary Woolnoth Church. The entire arrangement reminds one of a -mole’s subterranean fortress, with its galleries for entrance and exit -branching off in various directions. - -These subways, immense conveniences which should be adopted at every -_rond-point_ in London--though it is a strange fact that _habitués_ of -the City seldom use them, they being patronised chiefly by the -“work-girl” and by casual visitors to the central “square mile”--are 15 -feet wide and 9 feet high, are lined with glazed brick, and have -electric-lighted stairways at the above-mentioned places. - - -DESCRIPTION OF THE RAILWAY - -Some fifty feet below the Bank of England Station are the twin-tunnels -and their platforms, approached by five lift shafts of twenty feet, and -one stairway shaft of eighteen feet diameter; at a deeper level still -are the tubes of the City and South London Railway, crossing the City -_en route_ to Islington. - -These great passenger lifts work with wonderful smoothness (_facile -descensus Averno est_), and without them no fewer than ninety-three -steps would have to be painfully descended. - -We are all familiar by this time with the other ten surface stations of -the Twopenny Tube (at the Post Office, Marble Arch, etc.). They are -nearly all alike, and look as if they were waiting for a substantial and -lofty building to be erected upon them, and have little claim to -architectural beauty. The platforms, necessarily rather contracted in -area, are clean and bright, owing to the extensive use of opalite tiling -and glazed bricks, ever spotless, and practically indestructible. Each -train consists of six eight-wheeled bogie-cars, 45½ feet long, with -well-upholstered seats, arranged longitudinally and crosswise, for -forty-eight passengers. The lighting is effected by means of eight -sixteen-candle-power incandescent lamps, supplemented by small shaded -electric lights, excellent for reading by. The windows, of course, do -not open, but practicable ventilating louvres are arranged above them. -Entrance is obtained at each end of the car, and the telescopic gates -are cleverly and expeditiously manipulated by the attendants. Straps are -placed along rods on each side of the roof to aid passengers in -traversing the cars, and above the seats are racks for parcels, etc. - -The electric locomotives[4] are curious in shape, with the driver’s -cabin in the middle, and a backward and forward slope for the apparatus -looking like gigantic coal-scuttles back to back. They have eight -wheels, and are fitted with motors, one for each axle. The current is -collected from a central third rail by means of two cast-iron shoes -which rub along it, and is led through an automatic circuit-breaker and -switched to the controller in the driver’s cabin, thence to the motors, -returning to the track rails through the wheels. The total weight of a -locomotive is about forty-four tons, and the average speed is about -fourteen miles an hour, the running time from the Bank to the western -terminus being twenty-four minutes. - -At Shepherd’s Bush--once, as its name implies, a rural suburban hamlet, -suggestive of pastoral pursuits, flocks of sheep and lambs, washings and -shearings of fleeces--is the chief power station of the Central, -sub-stations being situated at the General Post Office, Marble Arch, -and Notting Hill Gate. - -The premises cover sixty-eight acres, with plenty of room for locomotive -and car sheds, shunting tracks, boiler and engine houses, the latter -most impressive from the size of their six Corliss compound horizontal -engines, each rated at 1,300 horse-power, though, as in so much American -machinery, the somewhat rough exterior detracts from the appearance, -especially in the eyes of British engineers, accustomed not only to -internal mechanical perfection--as in the Central’s engines--but to -nicety of finish throughout. These giants are coupled direct to -Thomson-Houston dynamos, with the capacity, if required, of 5,100 -kilowatts, or 6,800 indicated horse-power. - -Amongst other contemplated improvements is that of loop-lines between -Liverpool Street and the Bank, which will materially help to accelerate -the traffic. - -[Illustration: FIG. 11. A TYPICAL ELECTRIC POWER GENERATOR--TWO DYNAMOS, -EACH OF ABOUT 1,600 H.P. - -_By permission of_ _Dick Kerr and Co., London_] - -Some remarkable results, not very satisfactory to those interested in -vehicular traffic, have arisen from the opening of the Twopenny Tube. -The standard of travelling has gone up steadily; improvements in ’buses -are constantly demanded (garden seats, spiral spring cushions, etc.) -and--somewhat slowly--conceded. Yet, to quote the words of an omnibus -official, “_they (the public) want more!_” And this at a time when fares -have steadily decreased, and the cost of fodder and maintenance have -seriously increased. Worse still, the Tube’s existence has been keenly -realised all along the line of its route, ladies especially preferring -to go on a shopping expedition by means of the well-lit Tube than by the -not over-clean, and decidedly slow and stuffy, omnibus. The London Road -Car Company’s returns along Oxford Street and Holborn showed last year a -decrease nearly equivalent to the Tube’s increase, and the London -General Omnibus Company’s report for the half-year--December 1st, -1901--was so disappointing, owing to dear forage and decreased passenger -traffic, that its stock fell at one bound ten points, from 105 to 95--a -grave depreciation in value. - -The Tube, during the six months ending December 31st, 1902, carried -22,425,776 passengers, a daily average of 121,879, out of which big -total 2,770,854 were workmen at a penny per traveller. On Coronation Day -202,000 people journeyed by the Central. - - -ITS VENTILATION - -At the commencement of its career the Tube’s atmosphere and temperature -were remarkably sweet and equable, not varying much from 62° either in -summer or winter. During a spell of hot weather it felt delightfully -cool, and when east winds blew it was warm compared with the atmosphere -outside. - -Trips in the Tube were at one time seriously suggested for the cure of -various maladies as a modification of that usual last resource of the -medical profession, “change of air.” - -Before the advent of the Tube, however, many fond mothers with little -faith in the pharmacopœia regarded the Underground as a sanatorium -for children’s complaints. Tunnel air, they affirmed, was good for -croup, whooping-cough, and various other ailments. A doctor travelling -on the Metropolitan once noticed a woman in the same compartment pull -down the window upon entering a tunnel and hold outside a child she was -carrying, so that the youngster might get the full benefit of the foul -atmosphere. When the doctor inquired the reason for this extraordinary -performance, she told him that “tunnel air” had been found to be a -complete cure for croup. And only the other day an East End mother was -discovered by a guard giving her baby two rounds on the Inner Circle -because she had been told by a herbalist and bone-setter that a -sulphurous atmosphere was good for whooping-cough. - -But the ideal state of things in the Tube did not continue, and -accusations respecting its ventilation began to be whispered about and -finally proclaimed from the housetops (_vide_ Chapter XIX). However, -practical steps were taken to ensure its efficiency, and at the last -meeting of shareholders the chairman said that the Company had now a -better character for ventilation than any other company in London. - -At Bond Street Station a powerful fan has been placed at the base of the -lift shaft, which, under ordinary pressure, removes the vitiated -atmosphere from the permanent ways, fresh air taking its place at the -various halting-places. The fan, forty-eight inches in diameter, and -electrically driven, displaces 30,000 cubic feet of air per minute, and -is capable of entirely exhausting the tunnels in a fraction over three -minutes. The fan is worked every night after the trains have ceased -running, and travellers by the early trains literally breathe the -freshest of fresh air. - -If a train in the Central should break down and come to a stop in the -tunnel, though it would not, of course, be run into--the block system -making that all but impossible--it might be necessary for the passengers -to get out. The question naturally asked is, “How shall they alight? And -where shall they go when they have alighted?” A fact that not every -traveller knows is that a narrow path at the side of the rails leads to -the nearest station, which cannot be more than a quarter of a mile off, -so that no serious athletic feat is required to get out at the rear of -the train and walk along the Tube. - - -ITS ANNUAL SALE OF LOST ARTICLES - -Like the great trunk-lines, the Central has an annual sale of articles -left in the carriages and not claimed; but the collection differs -considerably from the miscellaneous assortment brought together by, say, -the Great Northern or Great Western. Heavy impedimenta are, as might be -expected, absent; but who could have been the owners of the 25 bottles -of whisky, the 13 boxes of cigars and cigarettes, the 300 ladies’ -umbrellas, and the 264 gentlemen’s umbrellas, the walking-sticks -innumerable, the 150 pairs of spectacles and eyeglasses (showing that -the light is so good that reading is a favourite way of passing the -time), the 44 fur necklets, 920 pairs of gloves and 14 muffs, the 166 -empty purses, and the multitude of books, chiefly fiction? While every -week someone very mysteriously leaves behind a spirit-bottle--evidently -recently emptied of its contents--enclosed in cardboard and done up in a -neat parcel. - -How the Twopenny Tube, and others like it, were constructed will be -described in the next chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -_THE TUBULAR SYSTEM_ - - “Thy arts of building from the bee receive; - Learn of the mole to plow, the worm to weave.”--POPE. - - -ORIGIN OF THE SYSTEM - -Last year there were sounds of strife in that financial atmosphere where -dwell Titan capitalists, who think and talk and dream in millions; a -battle of giants, like the conflict imagined by Milton, when the satanic -host levelled “triple-mounted rows” of deadly tubes with such effect -against seraph and seraphim, “that whom they hit none on their feet -could stand, though standing else as rocks.” But the conflict now past, -concerned tubes of another kind--iron railway tubes, that seem to be the -destiny of underground metropolitan travellers. The Morgan group, the -Yerkes’ combination, and other great coalitions, mustered their -battalions for the fray. The London County Council, following the policy -of Lord Stanley’s army at Bosworth field, hovered aloof ready to take -advantage of the defeat of either; the Corporation of London anxiously -watched from afar; the great suburban railway companies shivered in -their shoes; a parental Legislature held the balance impartially between -the combatants; while the people whom the matter most concerned--some -six millions of Londoners--had to sit down with folded hands and, -patiently or impatiently, await their fate. - -Recollecting this tangle and uproar of conflicting interests, it behoves -everybody to have some notion of the subject of the Tubes and their -construction. - -Like many other things in the world, there is nothing new in the idea of -boring a hole through the earth and lining it with brick or iron. As -Pope suggests, mankind doubtless learnt the art from Nature, though the -correctness of the poet’s zoological knowledge is hardly shown in the -examples heading this chapter. For ages past--before London -existed--that skilful excavator, the mole, tunnelled through the earth, -making roads and galleries, the friction of his fur, set perpendicularly -on his skin, lining his tube so that the soil did not fall in. The larvæ -of the humble caddis-fly covered the inside of their cases with fine -silk; and the trap-door spider lined its 12-inch long shaft with similar -material to prevent the tumbling in of loose particles and to afford -itself a foothold in climbing up; while the ant constructed her -galleries and stuccoed them with the finest grains of soil, so that the -inner walls presented a smooth, unbroken surface. - -With the advent of man and his civilisation came the extensive use of -furs, and in these the grubs of the moth--in the abstract the most -engaging of creatures--made galleries whenever they got a chance, lining -them with their own silk, wherein to undergo their transformation into -the pupa stage. - -Well-experienced engineers, such as the vine, beech, pine, and -bark-boring beetles, are all tube-makers; but it is the pholas, or -_teredo navalis_, who is the arch-borer, so skilled an expert in lining, -that, though only the size of a quill and “soft in body,” he pierces the -hard timbers of ships and quay-piles, lining the tubes as he proceeds -with a saliceous substance as hard as china. The body of the Teredo is -like a long white worm, varying from a foot to two inches and a half in -length, and about the width of a finger. From him, it is said, the elder -Brunel took his idea of the shield which he employed in constructing the -tunnel beneath the Thames after the shaft had been excavated. - -[Illustration: FIG. 12. A 3,000 H.P. TRIPLE EXPANSION CENTRAL VALVE -ELECTRICAL ENGINE - -_By permission of_ _Willans and Robinson, Rugby_] - -But his clever system was crude, and not calculated to cope with porous -or aqueous soil; therefore, when the stratum of clay, through which the -work was being carried forward, broke off abruptly, a serious influx of -water took place. The work had to be abandoned, and was only completed -after much delay and ruinous expense. In a commercial sense, it was an -utter failure. - -Since Brunel’s time, engineering has developed its resources _pari -passu_ with the development of science. Hydraulic force displaces the -primitive screw power, and steel plates the cumbersome timber works used -in the Thames tunnel. - -Tunnelling through rock, like the Mont Cenis and St. Gothard mountains, -is a comparatively simple engineering feat, as no lining is required; so -also is the ordinary railway tunnel, carefully bratticed and propped -inside, and securely cased with brick or stone. But it is, as the Great -Western Railway knows to its cost, in dealing with water-bearing strata, -_vide_ the Severn Tunnel, that a system is required, not only to protect -the men as they bore with a gigantic centre-bit through clay, chalk, or -gravel, but, pholas-like, to line the tunnel simultaneously. This is -obtained by the use of the famous shield invented by the late Mr. J. H. -Greathead, and employed by him in the construction of the City and South -London and Waterloo and City Railways, though he did not live to witness -the adoption of his principle in the Twopenny Tube. - - -RAILWAY TUBES, HOW THEY ARE BORED - -A revolution in tunnelling has been brought about in constructing Tube -railways. By the new process a great cylinder or shield at the bottom of -a shaft is pushed forward by hydraulic power into the soil ahead of it. -The navvies work inside, excavating the earth in front of them, and fit -up iron segments at the rear of the tail end of the cylinder, or shield. -Thus, on the one hand, the exact size and shape of the tunnel is -ensured, and the workers are fully protected from the risk of the roof -falling in. - -This arrangement of shield and iron tube resembles an old-fashioned -single-drawn telescope; the outer case being the shield, and the inner -tube the lining of the tunnel. These shields have fronts that bear a row -of steel knives forming a true cutting edge, and are so arranged that -they can, if required, bore a circle slightly larger than the iron -segments of the tube. As the shield slides away from the inner tube, the -space it occupied is filled in with what is called “grout,” a kind of -porridge of water and lime, which soon sets as hard as stone. This is -ingeniously blown in through apertures in the iron lining by means of -compressed air, and effectually fills up cracks accidentally formed in -the soil, which might otherwise extend to the surface and cause -subsidence in the foundations of buildings. Theoretically, therefore, no -disturbance of the ground below or above the tubular lining is possible. - -In the pioneer Tube railways, the City and South London for instance, -the diameter of the tunnels was only 10 feet 6 inches, that of the -Central 12 feet, but the Great Northern and City Company made a new -departure by fixing the width at 16 feet. For the construction of this -railway, the shield was designed by Mr. E. W. Moir, M. INST. C. E., and -varies in some important respects from the Greathead shield. A -remarkable photograph, which, by the courtesy of the _Tramway and -Railway World_, I am able to present to the readers of this book, shows -this shield at work in the construction - -[Illustration: FIG. 13. SHIELD AT WORK IN A TUBE RUNNING TUNNEL - -_By permission of the_ _“Tramway and Railway World” Publishing Co., -London_] - -of a running tunnel, 16 feet in diameter, on the above line. The Great -Northern shield is much more powerful than any hitherto employed. -Greater hydraulic force is applied, and the “jacks” are more numerous, -and considerably larger. The shield used for the sixteen-foot tunnel may -be taken as typical of others up-to-date. Its cylindrical skin is -composed of half-inch steel plates riveted together at the bottom of the -indispensable shaft, which may be, in the future, anything from 50 to -500 feet beneath the surface. In length, the shield from the rear to the -cutting edge in front is 8 feet 9 inches, half of this being used by the -excavators (as in Brunel’s Thames tunnel), the after part for the -erectors of the metal segments of the tube. Round the shield front are -mounted ten heavy cast-steel cutters, the pressure upon them being no -less than two tons to the square inch, the hydraulic rams exerting this -pressure direct upon the back of the cutters, and the purchase is taken -off the edge of the nearest tunnel segment already in position. The -excavated soil is taken away in trolleys, which, as in a mine, are drawn -by ponies on a miniature track, and afterwards sent up to the surface by -the nearest shaft. - -London clay is generally the kind of soil thus bored through in the -metropolitan tubes. The Central, while sinking the shafts, met with it -29½ feet below the surface; but before this was reached, 12 feet of made -ground, 18 inches of loam, and 16 feet of gravel, had to be pierced. - -The London clay ran almost without a break between the Bank and -Shepherd’s Bush, the only hiatus being at a point between Red Lion -Street and Berner’s Street, where the Woolwich and Reading strata -cropped up, which proved to consist of hard, red, streaky clay, some -beds of white sand, and, strangely enough, beds of hard limestone rock, -whose presence had not been anticipated. - -Tube railways are carried out at considerably varying depths; the -Central running in places 100 feet (_i.e._ the height of Westminster -Abbey’s nave) below the road, and at the Bank only 65 feet. - -Some of the proposed tubes burrow much deeper; for instance those of -Charing Cross and Hampstead Railway will be from 120 to 216 feet below -the surface. Apparently, there is no reasonable limit to the depth at -which engineers are prepared to lay their railway tubes. - - -THE TUBE MOLE AT WORK - -By an instinct--the heritage of years--of a kind that prompts -gamekeepers to slaughter indiscriminately eagles, hawks, crows, magpies, -owls, and even squirrels, classing them with such vermin as pole-cats, -stoats, weasels, and rats, ignorant farmers and gardeners wage war -against the mole, asserting that in driving his tunnels he throws up -unsightly heaps of soil, and, worse still, loosens and destroys the -roots of plants and grass, totally ignoring the fact that Mr. _Talpa -Europæa_, though he may occasionally disturb the earth around, acts as a -very efficient surface drainer, and still better, is a persistent chaser -and devourer of his natural prey, the wire-worm, and other injurious -insects. - -Our Tube mole throws up no hillocks, but he is accused of being the -source of much mischief, and of endangering the houses on the -surface--damaging, as it were, their roots--by the vibration arising -from the continual passage of trains along the iron galleries and the -consequent subsidence of the ground. This has given rise to numerous -complaints, so pronounced as to become the subject of an official -inquiry. - -Some foolish objections have been raised to deep-level railways, and -equally unreasonable claims for injury done by them have been brought -into court. Where a vibration clause is inserted in any Tube Railway -Bill, there might be ingenious claims manufactured for compensation. For -instance, a watchmaker might come forward and say that the vibration -caused by the railway prevented him from setting his chronometers, or a -wine merchant might say that his wines were shaken up; and in this way -the company might be subject to endless litigation. - -When it was proposed to bore tunnels 70 feet below the royal demesnes of -Hyde Park, St. James’s Park, and the Green Park, and as much as 216 feet -below Hampstead Heath, approximating in the former case to the height of -Queen Eleanor’s memorial at Charing Cross, and in the latter to that of -the twin towers of Westminster Abbey, it was at once urged by the -representatives of a certain Preservation Society that the trees, -plants, and flowers of the three parks would be detrimentally affected -by the Tube, and that the Hampstead Heath tunnels would “very probably -drain the upper surface of the soil and destroy vegetation all round.” -To which unthought-out contention Mr. R. E. Middleton, a well-known -civil engineer, replied that “at the depths proposed for the parks the -tunnels were to be constructed through a stratum, not of loose soil, but -of stiff London clay, so that any question of destroying trees, plants, -or flowers was rather absurd; in fact, vegetation would in no way be -affected.” He might have added the argument that, although ordinary -railway tunnels abound, no one had ever heard of the overlying fields -and woods being deleteriously affected by them. - - -CLAIMS FOR DAMAGE BY TUBING - -Now, in dealing with the matter of alleged injuries to buildings from -vibration set up by Tube railways, I quote the following case to show -how visionary are some of the claims brought against Tube Companies. - -On the 14th of October last, at the Lambeth County Court, an action was -brought against the Great Northern and City Railway Company by an -individual living in Hoxton for damage alleged to have been done to his -premises by the construction of the tunnels. The plaintiff stated that -in consequence of this the repairs of his house had cost him £62, and -that in another house of his, cracks had appeared. A photograph, taken -twelve months before the tunnels were made, which showed a crack in -front of one of the houses, was pointed out to the witness, who said -that he had never noticed it. - -For the defence Mr. Douglas Young stated that he acted for the Company -when the tunnels were about to be constructed, and, anticipating claims -of this nature, he caused photographs to be taken of all houses which -showed cracks on the line of route. The cracks shown in the photos then -taken were practically in the same condition now. The repairs necessary -were not caused by damage done by the tunnels, and came entirely within -the repairing clauses of the leases. The jury returned a verdict for the -defendant Company on the ground that no damage had been done by them. - -On the other hand, among the Tube Railway cases brought into court last -year and this, was the following, which illustrates the contention that -though there may be a certain amount of truth in the plaintiff’s -arguments, exaggerated ideas prevail as to the sums that can be claimed -for injury, present or prospective. It also shows the uncertain state of -the law on the subject of ownership of the subsoil--a hard legal nut. - -In the London Sheriff’s Court, 17th April, 1902, Mr. Under-Sheriff -Burchell sat, with a special jury, to consider a claim for compensation -brought by Mr. William Howard, of 11, Cornwall Terrace, Regent’s Park, -against the Baker Street and Waterloo Electric Railway. - -Mr. Morton, K.C., said that in August, 1900, Mr. Howard became aware -that a subsidence was taking place, and that the walls of his house were -cracking, this being unmistakably due to the borings for the railway -which were being made underneath the property. In the course of these -borings the Company had taken away part of the subsoil of the claimant’s -premises without having given notice to treat, and this, counsel -submitted, constituted a distinct trespass. The value of the property, -counsel contended, had been deteriorated to the extent of at least £50 -per annum. Mr. Howard’s lease had ten years to run, the rental being -£200 a year. - -After expert evidence had been given, the Hon. A. Lyttelton, K.C., for -the railway company, said it was ridiculous to assert that the Company -had committed an act of trespass. They disputed the claimant’s alleged -ownership to land sixty-five feet below his premises, and were -determined to fight the question in the courts, inasmuch as it was one -which affected the whole of the electric tube railways in London. - -One witness called on behalf of the Company said that the damage to the -property could be remedied by the expenditure of a ten-pound note. - -The Under-Sheriff said that an important feature of the case which the -jury had to decide was whether the claimant was the owner of the -subsoil. As such he would be entitled to compensation for any vibration -that might occur when the railway commenced to run in about two years’ -time. He left it to the jury to decide their verdict under two heads, -namely, “what damages had at present been sustained,” and, “what damage -was likely to accrue through vibration.” - -After a brief deliberation the jury awarded £357, in one sum, as -damages. - -On the 6th of February of the present year, before Mr. Justice Ridley -and a special jury, the hearing was resumed of the case in which Mrs. -Dawson, a widow, carrying on the business of a draper at the junction of -City Road and East Street, sued the Great Northern and City Railway for -£10,000 damages, alleged to have been caused by the tunnelling -operations in the vicinity of her premises. The claim included some -£4,000 which it is estimated it would cost to put the buildings in a -proper state of repair, and £5,000 representing loss of business during -the time it would take to complete the work of reinstatement. - -The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff under the following heads: -Amount for taking the subsoil occupied by the tunnel, £50; structural -damage, £2,000; damage to trade and stock, £2,100; total, £4,150. - -Mr. Dobb asked that judgment should be entered. - -Mr. McCall thought the judge had no power to enter a judgment of the -High Court because the proceedings were in the form of an interpleader -action. - -Mr. Justice Ridley said he would give judgment in the sense in which the -word was used in the Lands Clauses Act. - -Judgment was given accordingly. - -At a meeting of the Auctioneers’ Institute held last year, Mr. G. M. -Freeman, K.C., speaking on this subject, pertinently remarked that -various questions were likely to arise between the promotors of the new -order of underground railway and the owners of adjacent property, and he -gave it as his opinion that the assertion that no possible damage would -be caused, had not been wholly verified, and that the rights of -compensation to persons equally injured ought not to depend upon whether -a piece of the subsoil under the street was or was not appropriated. In -his judgment, all owners who could prove damage done by the construction -or working of an underground railway, should have the same title to -compensation. - - -VIBRATION - -The outcome of the Board of Trade inquiry last year into the vexed -question of tube vibration was interesting. It showed that alleged -annoyance from vibration has not been altogether imaginary, and some -novel facts were produced. Fourteen meetings were held, and evidence was -given by some of the residents along the line of the Central Railway -route, their habitat ranging from Bucklersbury in the City to Kensington -Palace Gardens in the west. A large number of the witnesses represented -householders having “frontages,” and among others, the Holborn Borough -Council. They all deposed as to annoyance caused by the vibration, and -were of opinion that the shaking was most perceptible when the trains -first began running in the morning; between five and eight p.m.; and -shortly after midnight, just before the trains ceased running. - -Had any of these gentlemen resided on the north side of Victoria Street, -near its western end, they would hardly have complained about mere -vibration. In that delectable locality the backs of the houses overlook -the Metropolitan District Railway, and if the dining-room happen to be -in the rear, as in many of the flats it is, every wine-glass and tumbler -on the table quivers in a fearful manner, all the ornaments tremble, and -the whole apartment is agitated as each train thunders by. - -But even this is nothing, contrasted with the daily experience of -dwellers in suburban side streets, where passing of steam-rollers, -pantechnicon-vans, and other elephantine vehicles, not only shakes the -tenements to their basements, but forces out the mortar that is supposed -to bind together the brickwork, dislocates the window-frames, turns -askew the pictures on the walls, and would eventually, if not seen to, -reduce the “eligible villas” to ruin. - -However, the Board of Trade Committee, as in duty bound, personally -investigated the Tube complaints and satisfied themselves that -vibrations, sufficient to cause vexation to the inmates, were really -felt in some of the houses near the Central, and the result of the -inquiry was as follows:-- - -That it was a matter of chance whether any given train caused a slight, -or a severe, vibration; also that trains which produced much _tremblór -de tiérra_ in one house, as likely as not caused but little in another, -and that apparently different apartments in the same residence were not -similarly affected by one and the same train. It was demonstrated that -the locomotives, and not the cars, were responsible for the greater part -of the disturbances, the reason assigned being that too great a -springless load was carried on each axle of the engines, a method of -construction adopted to obviate the necessity for gearing. - -Acting upon the Committee’s representation, the Central Railway Company -ordered two new types of locomotives, in one of which the -“unspring-borne” load was much reduced by gearing. The other was not -distinct from but attached to the train, the motors being carried at one -end of two or more coaches--the motor-car system of electric traction in -fact. The difference in weight was remarkable; the original gearless -engines being 44 tons, the new geared pattern 33 tons, while the -motor-cars only came up to 20 tons. - -Some novel experiments were made, and in order to identify the trains, -the houses in which the observers took their places with recording -instruments were connected by telephone with the signal-boxes at the -adjoining stations. Quite satisfactory were the results, and it was -found that, during some two hours, the passing of every train drawn by -the heavy gearless locomotive was distinctly felt, but was not -discernible when the new engines were attached. Therefore the Committee -concluded that, so far as the Central was concerned, the adoption of -motor-cars would so reduce the _tremblement de terre_ as to cause all -real annoyance to cease, though the sound of the trains, particularly at -night, might still be detected. As to the oscillation of the cars--a -rather marked feature in the Tube--it was attributed by the Committee’s -experts to the unevenness of the surface of the rails. As these leave -the rolling-mills they are usually slightly curved, and the process of -straightening them _in situ_, however skilfully carried out, inevitably -leaves a certain amount of waviness. When the speed is high, a condition -of things soon arises whereby the irregular impulses produced by the -uneven rail surfaces establishes a rocking movement of the rails and the -road-bed, converting both into an elastic instead of a rigid support. -This is increased and maintained by the pounding of the gearless -locomotives in the narrow tubes, intensified by the hard unyielding -material of which they are composed. - -Another fact to which the Committee called attention was, that in -consequence of the small diameter of the tunnels (12 feet), the fit was -too close, and the pressure in front of the trains necessitated greater -power to overcome it than if more space had been left between the roofs -of the carriages and the tubes. - -In the agitation respecting damage alleged to have been done by the -construction of the Tubes, it was proved that provided the apertures are -made of sufficient size, and suitable locomotives used, and the -permanent way properly laid with stiffer and deeper rails, the chance of -injury to houses by the _moviéndo la tiérra_, as the Spaniards call it, -can be reduced to a minimum. - -Modern science tells us that earth tremblings are with us at all times -and in all places to an extent not realised. We are assured that, by -Professor J. Milne’s instruments, quiverings, and slopings of the -earth’s crust, insensible to the most delicate spirit-levels, can be -detected. It is now known that earthquake movements can be felt right -through the earth, and all round its surface. Latterly, Professor Milne -has also discovered that his observatory in the Isle of Wight sinks -slowly during a part of the year, and rises as slowly during another -part--as if the breast of the earth were heaving. For five months in the -year, the tall buildings in a city may be heeling over towards the west; -then they come back with extreme slowness to the perpendicular, and -finally cant a little to the east. - -Surely, then, we need not complain about an occasional mild earth-shake -produced by the passing of the useful Underground, or Tube trains, -seeing that the good they do so far outweighs their defects. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -_TOURING IN THE TUBES_ - -A SKETCH - -“She doth stray about.”--SHAKESPEARE. - - -Mrs. Rosamond was a pleasant, chatty, little woman, and a universal -favourite. Her abundant hair was brown, her eyes, shaded by long dark -lashes, were deepest blue, and above them rose, not the “bar of Michael -Angelo,” but a low, smooth, and pretty forehead, where, however, a -phrenologist would have looked in vain for the faintest trace of the -“bump of locality.” She was a shrewd judge of character in men and -women, especially the former. She loved beautiful scenery and everything -refined in art and literature. She had great sympathy with the suffering -and distressed; but her ability to take mental notes of things and -places, and to find her way about towns and cities, as some do by -instinct, was utterly wanting in Lilian Rosamond; yet, with the strange -perversity that impels people with bad eyesight to drive dog-carts or -motor-cars, or to steer yachts, she persisted in going about strange -localities unaccompanied, and when any expedition was planned, -audaciously posed as an authority on quickest and best routes. But she -was a native of the fair “North countree,” and, lying _perdu_ beneath -her sweet disposition, was a vein--a thin one--of self-will. - -“Why,” she argued, “should she not find her way about like other people? -Had she not from childhood lived at Lymm, Cheshire, and roamed about -that district without difficulty? Had she not frequently travelled to -the old county city? Had she not braved the terrors of the Great Central -Station at Manchester _en route_ for Halifax--changed carriages there, -in fact? And had she not once actually journeyed all by herself to -London on a visit, returning safely to her own town?” All of which was -perfectly true, but she omitted to add that, in going up to town, her -parents had, as it were, to see her “labelled and consigned” through the -medium of a fatherly guard, while her friends in town had been strictly -enjoined on no account to miss meeting her at Euston, and never to let -her go anywhere in the metropolis unaccompanied. In fact, her family -were in an agony of suspense until she was back again. - -Mrs. Rosamond had married a gentleman-farmer of Welsh extraction, and -her life had fallen on pleasant lines in a remote Radnorshire village -bearing an unpronounceable name made up of consonants. The year 1902 -arrived, and with it, in June, an invitation from her sister-in-law to -spend Coronation week with her in Edith Road, West Kensington; and off -she started, her easy-going husband, who had seldom tested his wife’s -sense (or absence) of locality, and had no suspicion of how much it was -lacking, merely remarking as he saw her into the train, “Now, my dear, -mind you wait at Paddington a reasonable time to see if Annie is there -to meet you. She is not always punctual, and if she does not turn up, -take a cab. Don’t attempt to get to Edith Road by omnibus or Underground -Railway. You don’t know London, and a four-wheeler will be cheaper in -the long run. Now, don’t forget this, there’s a dear little woman, or I -shall worry all day long about you.” - -In the same carriage with her was a lady of uncertain age, whom Mrs. -Rosamond quickly guessed to be unmarried and an “organiser”--one of -those assertive, independent, “heel-less” women of the genus -_plantigrade_, who know everything and want no assistance from anybody. -Falling into conversation, Lilian Rosamond remarked that she hoped to -see the King’s procession to the Abbey, a seat having long ago been -secured for her, and that she had been told she would have to go a very -long distance from the West End and might have to start by the first -train on the Twopenny Tube to the Bank, and that then by _another_ Tube -she somehow would get to the Borough High Street (where her “stand” was -situated) by way of the “Elephant and Castle.” - -This led to the subject of West Kensington, her destination, and how she -proposed reaching it from Paddington. “Why,” said the plantigrade lady, -“what on earth made your husband tell you to take a cab? It is two miles -off at least, and you are sure to be over-charged. Never mind what he -said. Men are always extravagant in these matters. Besides, you can -think for yourself; you are a woman, not a baby. Now, I’ll tell you what -to do. If your sister is not at the station, book your luggage--you say -you have not got much with you--to be sent on by the railway parcel van, -cross the road to the Praed Street District Railway Station, get out at -Notting Hill Gate, cross the road there to the Tube station, and for -twopence you will be at Shepherd’s Bush in a few minutes.” - -This suggestion seemed to Mrs. Rosamond good and attractive, but she -bravely resisted the allurements of a journey by an unfamiliar route; -and, recalling her husband and his injunction, after waiting a quarter -of an hour at Euston and finding that no one came for her, she allowed -herself to be stowed away by an attentive and sympathetic porter into a -stale, straw-smelling four-wheeler, and arrived safely at No. 28, when -cabby promptly asked, and received, half a crown--a moderate -eighteenpence more than his legitimate fare; but cabmen, like -everybody else, must live somehow! - -The longest day recorded in the almanac dawned clear and fair, and Mrs. -Rosamond, rising at an unearthly early hour, started for Islington, -where she had promised to breakfast with a relative--an unusual kind of -feat to attempt, but easy of accomplishment by leaving Shepherd’s Bush -very early for the Bank of England, where, as it was explained to her in -an off-hand, businesslike manner by her sister’s husband, all she had to -do was to hit the right subway, book afresh at the Bank Station of the -City and South London Electric Railway, and “in a jiffy, as easy as A B -C” (so he put it) she would find herself at the “Angel,” Islington, and -be with her aunt in time for the coffee and rolls. - -Mrs. Rosamond was delighted at the prospect, and no happier woman than -she stood outside the Tube’s terminus that bright summer morning. - -The booking-office was full of people--of the working class, thought -fair Mrs. Rosamond, who, observing that each person paid the sum of -three-halfpence through the glass partition that screened the clerks -from too close contact with the public, tendered that modest sum like -the others, without specifying her destination. But though plainly, she -was too daintily dressed and too self-evidently a lady to escape notice, -and was rather surprised at being asked if she wanted a workman’s -ticket. “Oh no!” she hastily exclaimed. “I am only going to the Bank, -and then to Islington on a visit.” “Well, then, your fare is twopence.” -And she received in return a small slip of paper and not the familiar -pasteboard ticket covered with undecipherable letters and figures. - -Following the crowd, Mrs. Rosamond dropped the document into a sloping -box fixed at the side of the gate and presided over by a railway -official, the process suggesting to her lively imagination the method by -which votes are recorded at a School Board election. - -Wide open stood the door of a gigantic lift, the like of which she had -never seen, which quickly filled with a compact mass of some fifty men -and a sprinkling of women. There were upholstered benches at the sides; -and a civil young artisan offered her his seat, but Lilian preferred to -stand and look about her. The electro-lighted apartment was not -æsthetic, and the unsightly advertisements, and notices warning -travellers against smoking, spitting, or standing too near the doors, -did not add to its beauty; and when the telescopic gates were clashed -together and fastened, the whole thing reminded Mrs. Rosamond of a great -cage full of specimens of the British _Homo Sapiens_ packed for -conveyance and exhibition to inhabitants of other regions. - -Suddenly, gently, and noiselessly the lift began to descend, and it -seemed as if it would never stop. But stop it did, at a depth of seventy -feet, which might have been seven hundred so far as Mrs. Rosamond’s -sensations were concerned. Once again the iron gates clashed, and the -wild animals--I mean the passengers--streamed forth, our fair traveller -following, to the platform. - -Was she dreaming? Had she, like Alice in Wonderland, suddenly become -diminutive, and was she waiting for a well-groomed little white rabbit, -with gold watch and chain, to emerge from what resembled a burrow at the -end of the station? It was so _very_ small. Everything was on a reduced -scale, the standing-room was a mere strip of planking, the tube like a -pea-shooter. Surely it would not take in the train! However, it was -deliciously cool and light, and the tiles that lined the station were, -as she found by touching them with her gloved hands, perfectly free from -smuts. - -In a few moments, from the open cutting at the opposite end of the -platform, where lay the shunting tracks, a bright light and metallic -clattering heralded the strange-looking chimneyless locomotive. Behind -it came five attractive-looking cars joined together, and gleaming with -light. At their point of junction were telescopic gates, flung open as -soon as the train stopped, and Mrs. Rosamond, who had just time to -observe that there were not _two_ rails only on the track, but a _third_ -in the middle, hurried into the first car she could find, and the -earliest train on the Tube glided into the tunnel _en route_ for the -Bank. - -Lilian Rosamond at once discovered that the cars just fitted the Tube. -She would like to have touched the sides, but as the windows were sealed -up this was impossible. - -Everything looked delightfully clean, and, considering the crowd, she -was lucky to find a seat next to an intelligent and quiet-looking, -middle-aged man, who turned out to be a foreman engaged upon great -building works proceeding in the City. The speed increased, and the -noise and the rattling of the cars increased in proportion--a condition -of things she had not expected, and it was a relief when the train -slowed down and made its first pause at Holland Park. Here a few workmen -got in, but not a soul got out! Mrs. Rosamond, looking about her, -noticed that her _companions de voyage_ were not in appearance such as -she had expected at so early an hour. It is true they nearly all -smoked--cigarettes mostly--some sticking to the old-fashioned short clay -pipe charged with most pungent tobacco; but they did not swear or use -strong language, they were not all dressed in corduroy, nor were their -clothes dirty, neither did they universally carry huge “bass-bags” -containing saws, and other sharp and nasty tools. Her neighbour, the -foreman, with whom she soon got into a lively conversation, told her -that most of the men (masons chiefly) were employed on a “big job” at -Finsbury, and would travel to the Bank. He also volunteered the -information that he lived in Caxton Road, close to the Shepherd’s Bush -Station of the Tube; that he had to get his own breakfast at 4.30 or -thereabouts, or wait until he got to the City, when he had it at a snug -little coffee-shop in Moorfields; that he had used the Tube ever since -its opening in 1900 day after day, starting by the first train in the -morning, and returning, as his place and work suited, along the route at -all hours, from five o’clock to eight, and sometimes (though seldom) by -the last train from the Bank at 12.30 p.m.; and that the cars between -the former hours--when people were leaving the City for the day--were -more crowded than in the early morning, in fact crammed, with not even -standing room. - -At Notting Hill Gate there was a rush of operatives. By this time the -cars were packed, and the little woman perceived the uses of the sliding -leather straps suspended overhead, to which the unlucky seatless ones, -who filled up the whole of the gangway, held on like grim death, to -avoid tumbling about as the train oscillated. - -At the Marble Arch some few persons, a dozen or so, tried to push in, -but the five cars were _complet_, and so they continued, until, at the -British Museum Station, a section of the passengers alighted, as also at -Chancery Lane and the General Post Office. Then, after a run of 6½ miles -from Shepherd’s Bush in twenty-four minutes, the Central “early workmen” -pulled up at the Bank terminus at a platform resembling the others all -along the line. - -Mrs. Rosamond went up in a big lift, not to the surface as she expected, -but found herself landed in a broad asphalted, bewildering subway lined -with white bricks. Brilliantly lighted white passages seemed to stretch -away in all directions, full of people tearing about here, there, and -everywhere in the utmost confusion, some ascending steps that appeared -to lead to the daylight, others descending slopes that ended in more -brick-lined passages. At once she recalled her host’s injunction “to hit -the right subway” for the Islington Tube Line, but becoming a trifle -excited and confused, she went up the staircase that looked the -shortest, and found herself in Cornhill, along which she strayed a short -distance, and came to St. Michael’s, when she thought she had reached -the station, because she had been told it was underneath a church. But -there was no City and South London Railway, and her host had omitted to -say that the subway between it and the Bank was contemplated only. So -Lilian asked her way, and quickly found what she was seeking close by at -the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street. And now, growing -confident by experience, and perceiving that the booking-office and -general arrangements resembled those of the Two-penny Tube, though on a -smaller scale, she went to the booking-office window and tendered -twopence. The clerk politely inquired, “All the way, miss?” and on her -replying in the affirmative, demanded, and received, fourpence, giving -her an ordinary ticket in return. She thought this strange, being -different from the Tube system, the more so when she saw no glass box -wherein to drop it. But there was the lift, and so she descended. Alas! -when she got to the bottom, she forgot to make inquiries, being absorbed -in meditation about her husband. “What was he doing at that particular -hour?” she wondered. “Had he gone out fishing? Was he making the rounds -of his farm, and looking after his pet livestock, the pigs?” A train -came up, and without giving the matter a second thought, she got into -it, and found the cars pretty nearly empty. They were narrow and low, -and the atmosphere was close. - -Away they sped, by London Bridge, the Borough, the “Elephant and -Castle,” Kennington Park Road, the Oval, and Stockwell, but the guard -did not call out the names of these stations, and only when the terminus -was reached did Lilian rouse herself from her reverie, and stepping out -of the station after giving up her ticket, gazed aghast, not at the -“Angel,” Islington, which she knew was a locality nearly all bricks and -mortar, but upon a large open space--Clapham Common! In fact, the poor -_voyageuse_ had gone down the wrong lift at the Bank Station, and had -failed to notice the names of the stations as she came along. - -To recover her equanimity, Mrs. Rosamond thought she would stroll about -a little before going back to Islington, which, it was explained to -her, was at the other extremity of the line. Much refreshed by an hour’s -walk and the novelty of the _terra incognita_, she booked again, and -resumed her pilgrimage, determined that this time there should be no -mistake. - -What was it? Was it fatality? or was it some mischievous whispering -spirit that caused her to keep mentally repeating the words, “Bank -Station”? An echo, perhaps, of the instructions received the evening -before. Anyhow, she did not go straight on, but as soon as the train -reached the City, she alighted at the Bank, and found herself once more -in the maze of subways branching off from the Central’s booking-office. -The little woman was in despair. What must she do? It was no use asking -her way, everybody seemed in too violent a hurry to attend to other -people; so she walked mechanically down a disagreeably steep asphalted -incline and along a wood-paved, white-tiled tunnel, and saw at the end -an electric Tube station. There was the usual narrow platform, the -glazed tunnel, the electric light, and the four-car train, but no -queer-shaped engine, and the carriages looked smaller than those of the -Central and of a different build, the glazed sides sloping inwards -towards the low roof. There was no booking-office, so she stepped into -the train, where, as in an omnibus, tickets were issued and punched for -the sum of two-pence. The cars were narrow and stuffy, and she did not -like them, but looking up, she caught sight of a brass plate giving the -name of the engineers at Preston, Lancashire, and this quite cheered -her. - -In about five minutes the train stopped, and everybody got out and -streamed up stairways and along passages into what proved to be a vast -railway terminus--Waterloo; and she realised the dismal fact that by -inadvertence she had taken the Waterloo and City Railway, instead of the -City and South London! It was the word “City” running in her head that -had done the mischief. - -Nothing was left but to return, and so, through lofty cavernous regions -beneath the terminus, over bridges, and down endless slopes of -wood-paving, she managed to reach the up-platform. - -Now came the rush of early City-bound men, season-ticket holders, who -had travelled by the London and South Western line from all parts of -Surrey served by it. They came pelting down the inclines as if their -lives depended upon catching a particular train. Most of them carried -neat hand-bags, suggestive of legal documents or company prospectuses, -and nearly all had a morning paper. The bulk of them were well dressed, -with an indefinable air indicative of the suburban resident. Mrs. -Rosamond found them exceedingly pleasant, and was soon chatting with a -military-looking gentleman, irreproachably groomed, with a lined and -shrewd face, and old enough to be her father. He was, in fact, an -eminent solicitor in Tower Royal, Cannon Street, who, hearing of her -adventures, appeared to sympathise very deeply. “A little _too_ deeply,” -said her husband, on hearing her narrative, not that he was distrustful -or jealous, but he preferred to do most of the sympathising himself. The -man of law tried to be facetious, and in explaining at some length the -difference between metropolitan “tubes” and the “Underground,” so -confused Mrs. Rosamond that she ended by thinking they were one and the -same thing--a fatal error on her part, as we shall see. Dilating upon -the subject, and upon the trials she had endured that morning, he -remarked that he was sure her friends and the world in general would be -great losers were so pleasant and vivacious a lady as herself to remain -underground. At which fair Rosamond smiled--she had beautiful teeth, and -a smile became her; but she grew somewhat reserved in manner when he -insisted upon escorting her along the right subway, and felt decidedly -relieved when he courteously left her on the pavement at the “Poultry,” -by Mappin and Webb’s. - -It was getting on towards eleven o’clock, and Mistress Rosamond, who, -beyond a cup of coffee hastily swallowed before she started, had tasted -nothing for six hours, began to feel faint, experiencing that -distressing sensation which makes one think the ground is about to rise -up and strike one, and that hearing and vision are about to fail. She -_must_ have something to eat and drink, but _where?_ Dimly she recalled -how in the old days a very dear brother, who knew his London well, was -fond of expatiating upon the merits of certain reliable places -in the City where the inner man could be most satisfactorily -refreshed--Birch’s, Sweeting’s, Pimm’s in the “Poultry.” Why, she was -actually standing in the “Poultry”! So, following the curt, but -respectful, directions of a civic policeman, who must have been at least -six feet two inches in his stockings, she, without crossing the road, -easily discovered the haven of refuge in question, and being shown up to -the ladies’ dining-room, sat down at a table near a window which looked -upon busy Cheapside. - -Though rather too early in the day for the regular menu, consultation -with a grey-headed waiter--who strongly reminded her of some Church -dignitary (a dean for choice) in layman’s attire, and who became -immensely interested in his client, partly because her blue eyes -recalled to him those of a daughter “lost awhile”--resulted, within -twenty minutes, in a dainty repast, some scalloped oysters, a “portion” -of the choicest Scotch salmon cold, with cucumber, and dainty roll and -butter, followed by a cheese soufflé, and--by the “dean’s” -advice--neither tea, coffee, nor wine, but a glass, just one glass, of -Pimm’s “particular” stout, a beverage our traveller was unaccustomed to, -but found an admirable accompaniment to her fish luncheon. The bill was -paid with a handsome _douceur_, which the “dean” condescended to accept; -and refreshed, and with renewed determination to carry out her original -line of march, Mrs. Rosamond stepped out and walked along Cheapside. - -There the shops at once attracted her attention: the jewellers, the -hosiers--in one of which latter she bought some neckties and collars for -her spouse--the print-sellers, and the London Stereoscopic Company’s -seductive window. Here she looked up at the church clock far above her -head, and finding the time getting on, and becoming just a little -flurried at the discovery, started at once to resume her wanderings. “If -you please, constable, can you tell me the nearest way to the -Underground Railway?” “Straight as you can go, miss, down the lane, Bow -Lane, in front of you, and you will find the station across the road at -the bottom.” “Thank you very much,” and, mentally, “What a fine set of -fellows the City policemen are! I wonder if they are all married; where -do they live, and what are their wages?” - -Straight down the narrow lane she went, and at the Cannon Street end -asked another policeman the way to the Underground. He pointed to the -opposite side of the road, and, stopping the traffic, conveyed her -across, and she found herself in the Mansion House Station of the -District Railway. - -There were no officials to be seen, only the booking-clerks, one of -whom, with the professional instinct for turning an honest penny for his -employers, instead of advising her to return to the Bank close by, up -Victoria Street, promptly recommended her to book by the District -Railway to Bishopsgate Street, get across Finsbury Circus to Moorgate -Street, and then take the City and South London Tube Railway to the -“Angel.” - -By this time Mrs. Rosamond had become too tired to discuss the matter, -and was disinclined to go back by the way she had come. So she got into -a first-class carriage of a Circle train, and, with a sigh of relief, -settled down snugly into the far corner. - -Whether it was the reaction, or the effect of the glass of stout, was -never known, but after passing Cannon Street Mrs. Rosamond began to feel -drowsy and dreamy, imagining she was nearing home in the local train, -and wondering if her husband had received her telegram, and would come -to meet her. She fell asleep, and a lovely picture she made, with lips -slightly parted, and her long, curved eyelashes resting, like a child’s, -on her soft cheeks. There was revealed just a few inches of well-fitting -black silk clocked stockings, neatly-turned ankles, and a charming pair -of very small dark tan shoes. - -Time sped on, and, with it, the Circle train, past Bishopsgate, -Farringdon Street, and King’s Cross, with its maze of metropolitan -underground lines; through dismal tunnels, black with smoke; through -brick-lined cuttings, foul with sooty deposit; past stations, each one -hung, by way of adornment, with the same monotonous, highly-coloured -“works of art,” drawing attention to Colman’s Mustard, Reckitt’s Blue, -Nestle’s Milk, Bovril, Oxo, Lemco, Globe Polish, Ogden’s Cigarettes, -Bird’s Custards, and Stephen’s Inks, and provided with -penny-in-the-slot machines, with bookstalls bearing a strong family -likeness, and with here and there a refreshment bar, where buns and -sandwiches of the Mugby Junction type might be had. - -At High Street, Kensington, where the engine was changed, the guard -looked in, admired the sleeping beauty, and discreetly withdrew in -silence. - -In the middle of the tunnel between Sloane Square and Victoria, the -train pulled up with a jerk, the signal having been suddenly put against -it. Mrs. Rosamond woke, and looking at her watch, found that she must -have been slumbering nearly an hour, and a fellow-passenger told her -that by the time the train reached the Mansion House Station she would -have completely traversed the circle of the Underground! “Well, I _will_ -see this matter through,” she said to herself, “and I will not go again -into that horrid Bank Subway. After all, I shall soon be at Bishopsgate -Street.” So she went on. - -How, on her arrival there, she escaped having to pay the full fare, no -one knows. She kept her own counsel; but the ticket collector and the -guard probably thought she was too nice to be worried with -interrogations. - -Her brief impressions of the Underground were that only in a few -respects was the Tube an improvement upon it. The Inner Circle Trains, -she thought, ran more smoothly; there was less rocking of the carriages, -and less rattling noise; but they were badly lighted; the banging of -doors was awful; the atmosphere sulphurous and stifling; and carriages, -stations, staircases, and tunnels looked as if they had not been cleaned -for months. Worse than all was the mode of pulling up the train with a -jerk, which, at each stopping-place, almost invariably threw the -alighting passengers into their fellow-travellers’ laps. - -Resolved now to ask her way at every step, she contrived, by minutely -following directions, to find and to cross Finsbury Circus, whence she -was quickly in Moorgate Street, and at once discovered the City and -South London Railway Station. Continuing to seek information for the -Islington lift, the Islington platform, and the Islington train, she -would not budge an inch until she had been thoroughly posted up. Once -more in a Tube car, and by way of Old Street, and the City Road, she at -last arrived at the “Angel,” and felt as if she had indeed reached the -gates of heaven! - -Milner Street was close by, and she was soon at her aunt’s house, but, -alas! not to breakfast, for it was nearing twelve o’clock. That -relation, an impatient woman, tired of waiting, had gone out for the -day, and had left no message! This was too much for the little woman, it -was the last straw, and flinging herself on the sofa, she thought -sympathetically of how in the past - - “A north-country maid up to London had strayed, - Although with her nature it did not agree; - She wept and she sighed, and she bitterly cried, - I wish once again in the north I could be.” - -Quickly she returned to Shepherd’s Bush, _viâ_ the Bank and the Twopenny -Tube, in the latter finding a totally different class of people from -those she had travelled with in the morning, and plenty of room for -everybody. She went back home the next day, sacrificing her seat for the -Coronation procession; and she registered a vow that if ever she came to -London again she would study closely the route for any proposed -expedition as carefully as if she were on an “unaccompanied” Continental -tour. - -She kept her vow; and, I believe, eventually, her “bump of locality” -became considerably developed. - -The moral of this practically true sketch is, that in view of the -complicated system of metropolitan Tubes and Undergrounds, no one -without an experienced escort, unless endowed with a talent for -locality, can hope to get about London without trouble and difficulty. -In fact, a _Metropolitan Bradshaw_, or _Metropolitan Guide to -Underground London_ is urgently needed. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -_LONDON’S TANGLED TUBES_ - -“Tangled in the fold of dire necessity.”--MILTON. - - -THE TANGLE - -To inflict upon the readers of this book a map of existing and projected -railways in London would be cruel; and for them to try to master it -would be torture worthy of the Inquisition, with loss of reason as the -inevitable result. - -Roughly speaking, the lines above and below ground stream inwards from -the outskirts, after the fashion of the tramways; with this marked -difference that there is a direct communication from east to west by the -Central Railway, and an Inner Circle route engirdling the middle portion -of Greater London. - -As with the tramways, the routes of nearly all these lines appear to -have been adopted happy-go-luckily. “Here are Highgate, Walthamstow, -Beckenham, Kew, Hendon,” say the promoters; “what we have to do is to -make a railway from these suburbs, and, somehow or other, get as near -the metropolitan centres as possible, and dump down our passengers. The -problem of intercommunication is not our business. We leave that to -others.” So the lines of the various companies meander away, often by -the most indirect routes, and finally arrive more or less near their -objective destinations, Charing Cross, or the Bank of England. - -If Napoleon the Great with prophetic glance could have foreseen London -linked to distant villages in every direction, these hamlets growing -into towns, and as population increased, being irresistibly drawn into -Greater London’s maelstrom of brick and mortar, even he would have been -appalled by the problem of how to give ready means of access from one -part to the other. Anticipating railways and electric tubes, he would -probably, with the marvellous fertility of resource that distinguished -him, have formulated a plan whereby a given circular space in the -metropolis would be divided into sections, a mile square, with a station -in the centre and at each corner, so that all within that area would -have access to a railway, at no point more than half a mile distant, the -tube railways below the surface, and others above, converging at a great -central depôt. On reaching the limit of the circle, the lines (that -would necessarily cross under and over one another) would, by means of -loops, return and keep up a continued circulation of traffic from rim to -rim of the circle, which, as the city grew bigger and bigger, could be -enlarged, and the lines extended, the process continuing _ad infinitum_. - -This, of course, would have been an impossibility; the characteristic -British love of half measures and of temporising being opposed to any -really comprehensive and imperial scheme, and local jealousy would not -have tolerated the necessarily masterful, though wise, domination of a -One Man Power in carrying out the plan. - -Therefore the great railways and the suburban railways were allowed to -do pretty much as they liked, as seen in the entire absence of system in -approaching London, and in dealing with its vast traffic. - -To meet the difficulty a central station has often been mooted, and much -good would ensue therefrom if it accommodated _all_ the lines. -Recently, in connection with the Great Western Railway, the idea has -been revived, and the site of Christ’s Hospital suggested. In fact, it -is an open secret that overture upon overture has been made on the -subject, but the enormous price demanded by the old school authorities -has always been the bugbear. - -The feasibility of an Inner Circle Tube, however, linking together all -the lines, with ramifications to serve the suburbs, worked jointly under -a pooling arrangement by the various companies, has commended itself to -certain experts. - -It is true that four of the great trunk lines are already connected by -subways with the Inner Circle Railway--the Great Eastern at Liverpool -Street; the Great Western at Praed Street; the London, Brighton, and -South Coast at Victoria; and the South Eastern and Chatham at Cannon -Street, Blackfriars, and Victoria. The Brighton Company has already a -subway connection between London Bridge and the City and South London -Tube Station there, and the Mansion House subway will by-and-by be -similarly connected with the City and South London Bank Station. - -Also there are the purely suburban lines to be considered, such as the -South London Railway, worked by the Brighton Company; the Metropolitan -Extension, a part of the Chatham Company’s local system; the West London -Railway, which gives a north-to-south connection at Chelsea for several -companies; the Hammersmith and City Railway; the Hampstead Junction -Railway (from Willesden to Tottenham); and the local services of the -London and North Western; the Great Northern Railway (already committed -to a tube); and the Midland Railway, which, with the Great Northern, -has access to the south of London, _viâ_ Ludgate Hill. - -But the matter now engaging public attention is not Subways, but -Tubes--how to disentangle the different schemes, and evolve order out of -chaos. - -The Tubes open for traffic are the Waterloo and City Railway; the City -and South London Railway; Clapham Common to the “Angel,” Islington; and -the Central London from the Bank to Shepherd’s Bush. While those in -progress more or less advanced, are the Great Northern and City Railway; -the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway; the Bank to Finsbury Park; -the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway; Paddington to Waterloo, and -thence _viâ_ St. George’s Circus, Southwark, to the Elephant and Castle. - -All last session members of the House of Commons were, so to speak, -overwhelmed with Tubes. - - Tubes to the right of them, - Tubes to the left of them, - Tubes in front of them, - Volley’d and thundered! - -But the Select Committees fared worse, the task before them being even -more arduous. There were promoters who sought for powers to construct -Tubes to cross and recross proposed and existing lines, and even to bore -parallel with others, while some wanted to create isolated and -disconnected sections, leading apparently nowhere. Petitions and -protests against the various schemes poured in from innumerable sources; -from every quarter petitions in favour were also laid down at their -feet. Truly, the members of the Committees found that of making many -Tubes (as of books) there was no end, and that much railway promoting -was a weariness of the flesh. - -Long and loud waged the conflict of the various aspirants to bore -through the foundations of London. The smaller promoters’ attention -finally became fixed upon the financial and legislative duel of two -magnates, each representing a similar and important scheme for joining -together the existing unlinked metropolitan tube lines. - -It was as if through some narrow gorge leading to desirable pasturage, -the smaller denizens of wood and forest tumultuously endeavoured to -force a passage, and falling out by the way, their strife was suddenly -arrested to watch the single combat of two rival antlered monarchs of -the glen, who fought to the death to obtain the sole right of way. - -Out of the Parliamentary hurly-burly emerged triumphant the well-known -Yerkes group with its comprehensive scheme (the first in the list given -below) the only very important one sanctioned. - -Thus closed the session of 1902, and in the Railway Committee Rooms, for -a time at least, the - - “Fiery fight is heard no more, - And the storm has ceased to blow.” - -The following Tube Railways were authorised:--Brompton and Piccadilly -Circus Railway (Acts 1897, 1899, 1902), that of 1902 authorising _inter -alia_ its amalgamation with the Great Northern and Strand. The Charing -Cross, Euston, and Hampstead Railway to be continued to Edgware by a -previously authorised line (Acts 1893 to 1900 and 1902). The City and -Brixton Railway, to cross the Thames independently of the City and South -London Tube, and to have stations at St. George’s Circus, Southwark, and -at Kennington Oval (Act 1897), with a new City station communicating -with the South London Railway (electric). The Great Northern and City -Railway, Finsbury Park to the Bank. The Metropolitan District Railway -(Act 1897), a Deep-level Electric to work with the Brompton and -Piccadilly Tube. The North West London Railway (Act 1899) from the -Marble Arch to Cricklewood. - - -THE ROYAL COMMISSION - -For some time past it had been made clear that no Select Committee of -the Houses of Parliament, however efficient, could be expected to cope -with the problem of metropolitan combined tubes, tramways and vehicular -street traffic; and in view of the probability of other Tube Bills being -promoted during the session of 1903, it was strongly urged upon the -Government to consent to a Royal Commission on the matter. - -So, before the meeting of this year’s Parliament, a Royal Commission was -appointed with a most comprehensive programme of arduous work. - -General satisfaction seems to have been expressed with the composition -of the Commission. No better chairman could have been found than Sir -David M. Barbour, whose acquaintance with official inquiries is probably -greater than that of anyone else in Great Britain, he having been -associated with several Royal Commissions. Special knowledge bearing on -the peculiar problems to be solved, characterises most of the members. -Sir John Wolfe Barry is perhaps the best-known consulting railway -engineer in the country, having acted in this capacity to many of the -leading railway companies, and, in 1901, having taken part in the -inquiry respecting vibration on tube railways. Sir George Trout Bartley -has represented North Islington in the House of Commons for nearly -eighteen years, and from lifelong residence in London has a wide -knowledge of its needs. Earl Cawdor has been Chairman of the Great -Western Railway for the last eight years. Viscount Cobham has been a -Railway Commissioner since 1891, and prior to that, was temporarily -Deputy-Chairman of the Great Western Railway. Sir Joseph Dimsdale, being -a banker, has had wide experience as a financier. Ex-Lord Mayor, and -City Chamberlain, he represents in the House of Commons the City of -London, which is vitally concerned in the question of efficient transit. -Mr. G. S. Gibb, the General Manager of the North Eastern Railway for the -past twelve years, is a railway expert of great experience. As Permanent -Secretary of the Board of Trade, Sir Francis J. S. Hopwood has a -specially trained mind, and an intimate acquaintance with railway -matters, having been formerly Secretary of the Railway Department. Mr. -C. S. Murdoch, C.B., has been for many years in the Government service, -and has acted, since 1896, as Assistant Under-Secretary of the Home -Department. Sir John P. Dickson-Poynder is a member for the Chippenham -Division of Wiltshire, and represents St. George’s, Hanover Square, at -the County Council. Sir Robert T. Reid, K.C., member for Dumfries since -1886, was Attorney-General in the last Liberal Government, and may be -regarded as the official representative of the Opposition on the -Commission. Lord Ribblesdale, a member of the London County Council, was -Chairman of the Joint Committee of the Lords and Commons on Tube -Railways in 1901. - -Soon after the appointment of the Commission it was suggested that the -labour would be considerably lightened if the subject of pedestrian and -vehicular traffic included in their programme were eliminated or, at any -rate, indefinitely postponed, and attention concentrated upon Tubes and -Railways, making--as they have the power to do--an interim report; and -thus avert disastrous delay in the realisation of the Tube Schemes -before the Parliament of 1903. - -Early in the session a somewhat significant announcement was made in the -House of Commons, in reference to these schemes; only two of which were -very important, viz., the Central London’s proposal to complete the -circle; and the North-East London Railway scheme, which (if passed) will -embrace twenty-two miles--nine being in tubes--tapping the traffic -between the City and Leyton and Walthamstow, whose combined population -is over two hundred thousand people. - -The following is the statement made on the 2nd of March by Mr. Jeffreys, -as Deputy-Chairman of Committees, who said he had had the advantage of a -conference with the Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords and the -President of the Board of Trade, and they had come to the conclusion -that certain of the bills connected with London traffic ought to be -postponed until the result of the Commission dealing with this matter -had been reported. The deep-level railways which they thought ought to -await the completion of this inquiry were the Central London Railway; -Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton (New Lines and Extensions) -Bill; North-West London (Marble Arch to Victoria) Railway Bill; Clapham -Junction to Marble Arch Railway (Nos. 1 and 2) Bill; Metropolitan -District Railway Works Bill. There were certain other Bills which they -thought might go to Committees, viz.: Charing Cross, Euston, and -Hampstead Railway Bill; Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton Railway -(Various Powers) Bill; Baker Street and Waterloo Railway Transfer Bill; -and the City and North-East Suburban Electric Railway Bill. - -There were, besides, certain other railway measures which were doubtful, -and these, they thought, ought to be held over until the Chairman of -Committees of the House of Lords, the President of the Board of Trade, -and himself had considered them. These Bills were the City and South -London Railway (Angel and Islington) Bill, and the Metropolitan District -Railway (Various Powers Bill). - -But the Royal Commission is, after all, only a temporary expedient; and -the question remains, as to what shall be the Governing Power of -London’s railway traffic; for it must be taken for granted that both the -City Corporation and the London County Council frankly admit that the -underground locomotion of the metropolis has become so complicated that -the general supervision of some great public department is necessary. Is -it to be the London County Council, the Board of Trade, some new body -resembling the Light Railways Commission, or a joint committee of -members of both Houses of Parliament, appointed each session, to -consider all questions affecting locomotion in or near London? - -Here we are reminded that the London County Council has been considering -whether or not to apply for parliamentary powers to take over the burden -of linking together the various districts of London by a series of -tubes. A colossal undertaking, involving, it is said, a capital of fifty -millions! - -Whether it be advisable for the Council, in addition to its other heavy -responsibilities, to extend its municipal trading on so vast a scale, is -doubtful; for it has the ratepayers to consider. - -If it be the fact that mercantile enterprise cannot grapple with the -task, then there would be good and sufficient reason for the Council or -the Government to attempt it. But private capital is generally -obtainable for a really promising scheme. - -Besides, such gigantic undertakings obviously require men of good -business capacity and considerable railway experience to devote their -time exclusively to the work. One would think that county councillors -(as such), efficient as they may be, have already as much work as they -can readily get through, from one week’s end to another. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -_LONDON’S LATEST AND LONGEST TUBE_ - -“Green pastures and Piccadilly.”--W. BLACK. - - -Sanctioned by the Legislature as one of the most comprehensive schemes -laid before it last year for linking together existing underground, as -well as trunk, lines, the Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton -Railway, now under construction, has attracted such universal attention, -and traverses such hitherto exclusive quarters, that it deserves more -than a passing reference. - -From a traveller’s point of view, the effect of this new railway will be -far-reaching. Dwellers near District Railway termini, such as Wimbledon, -New Cross, Bow Road, South Harrow, Hounslow Barracks, Richmond, and -intermediate stations, will have, by means of exchange--at Earl’s Court -Station with the Metropolitan District Railway; at Gloucester Road and -South Kensington Station with the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District -Railway; at Piccadilly Circus Station with the Baker Street and Waterloo -Railway; at Cranbourn Street Station with the Charing Cross, Euston, and -Hampstead Railway; and at King’s Cross and Finsbury Park Stations with -the Great Northern Railway--ready access to practically all centres and -quarters of our big city; its own immediate objective from Earl’s Court -being Finsbury Park, a distance of 7½ miles. It is similar in -construction to the Central. The cars, built at Loughborough, will -resemble those of the new Inner Circle, and the driving force will come -from the Power House at Chelsea. - -Truly, under pleasant scenes will the new Tube be carried--as -fashionable, romantic, and historical a route as any in London. Here is -Earl’s Court, where, in the midst of market gardens far away from town, -once stood John Hunter’s house, where the great anatomist kept a -menagerie of wild beasts to experiment upon, and in the dead of night -boiled down the body of O’Brien, the Irish giant, to obtain the -skeleton, which now adorns the museum of the College of Surgeons. The -well-known Edmund Tattersall lived close by for many years at Coleherne -Court, on the site of one of either Fairfax’s or Lord Essex’s redoubts -(they appear to have had a good many), thrown up after the battle of -Brentford, when the victorious Royalists were expected to cross the -river (which they never did) and besiege London. - -Gloucester Road, the next station, recalls the fact that when the -District Railway came there, it was still a mere lane with hawthorn -hedges, a blacksmith’s forge somewhere near, while pleasant paths right -and left led to orchards, in the midst of which was St. Jude’s Church, -so famous later on for its fashionable congregation and its eloquent -preacher, the Rev. Dr. Forrest, now Dean of Worcester. - -From Gloucester Road the Tube runs under pleasant Stanhope Gardens and -part of Harrington Road with its fine mansions, to South Kensington. The -ground about the Hoop and Toy Tavern close by was, so tradition says, -designated in the draft Parliamentary Bill for the Great Western -Railway terminus. At that time the site was sufficiently countrified to -satisfy those who would banish railway stations to Jericho or to the -uttermost verge of London, and remained so for a long time; and I have -been told by an old Bromptonian that he has seen a covey of partridges -put up where the Natural History Museum now stands. - -At this point the new Tube--leaving its course parallel with, but at a -far deeper level than, the District Railway--proceeds unaccompanied to -Piccadilly, and, so to say, enters the Brompton Road at the Oratory of -St. Philip Neri, formerly a very plain brick edifice erected by the -Oratorian Fathers, who had begun their good work on a humble scale in -King William Street, Charing Cross, in a building subsequently occupied -by Woodin, the ventriloquist, and later on by Toole, as his own peculiar -theatre. - -The present conspicuous basilica is at last completed, all but the -towers. Adjoining it, down an avenue of trees, recalling the approach to -Shakespeare’s last resting-place, is Holy Trinity Church, Brompton, -reminiscent of Dr. Irons, its vicar, who ultimately became Rector of St. -Mary Woolnoth, beneath which is the City station of the City and South -London Electric Railway. - -Brompton Square is close by, associated by many of us with a once -popular song, “Ada with the golden hair,” composed and sung by G. W. -Moore, of the Christy Minstrels. In this Square have dwelt many actors -and actresses: Wigan, Buckstone, Robert Keeley, etc.; and also Shirley -Brooks. At one corner used to be a house standing a little back from the -road, occupied by an eccentric individual whose craze was to have -several clocks in every room, and the task of keeping them in order -encouraged a watch-and-clock-maker to settle down in a small shop next -door. Another feature of his craze was to present a watch of some kind -to every lady he knew; so that his neighbour must have done a fair -business. A bank now occupies this site, and the author recollects -watching the strong-room being built deep down in the gravelly soil -peculiar to South Kensington. Next door will be located the -unpretentious Brompton Station of the new railway. An official of the -bank was heard to remark facetiously that he trusted the Tube would not -bore into the strong-room aforesaid--a new possibility and grievance to -be duly noted. - -Directly underneath Brompton Road goes London’s latest Tube, passing -“Harrod’s,” the most palatial General Store in the metropolis, if not in -the world. It originated some years ago in a narrow little shop, where -good tea, excellent butter, and, rumour says, jam made by Mr. Harrod’s -mother, were the chief articles sold to the customers, the bulk of whom -were of the working-class. - -Now Knightsbridge is reached, in olden times called Kingsbridge, when it -was represented by a bridge only (on the site of the modern Albert -Gate), built by Edward the Confessor over a brook, or bourn, rising, -like the Tybourn and the Oldbourn, in the Hampstead Hills, and flowing -thence to the Thames. - -No part of London has so completely changed in appearance as this; lofty -modern buildings having taken the place of small old-fashioned houses. -These improvements culminate at Sloane Street, where anyone approaching -town by way of Kensington, meets the first of the numerous metropolitan -“rond-points,” surrounded by mansions and shops so tall as to put into -the shade the French Embassy and the houses at Albert Gate, which for -many years were considered the highest in town. At the equestrian -statue of Field-Marshal Lord Strathnairn, four thoroughfares -converge--Kensington Road, Brompton Road, Sloane Street, and St. -George’s Place--pouring around it a continual stream of traffic day and -night. Three of these thoroughfares are perfect paradises to ladies who -delight in such alluring shops as Harrod’s, Harvey Nichols and Co., and -Woolland Brothers, whose prolonged and magnificent frontages are -unequalled in Modern Babylon. - -A few doors from the “rond-point” in Brompton Road is a Tube station; -and the workmen, as they bore close to the triangular grass-covered -enclosure in front of Tattersall’s, are probably unaware that a -comparatively slight deviation would take them through a pit beneath the -enclosure, which, tradition avers, was used, during the Great Plague of -London, for the dead. It is likely enough; for centuries ago there -existed, a little to the east of Albert Gate, a hospital belonging to -the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, which in 1665 was given up for the -use of infected patients; and as this little piece of ground has never -been disturbed, it probably was originally the burying-place attached -to the hospital, and was converted into a plague-pit. - -A house close to Hyde Park Court was once occupied by Charles Reade, the -novelist. At a house close by (long since pulled down), Horace Smith, -joint-author of _Rejected Addresses_, lived from 1810 to 1818, and drove -himself daily to and from the City--he was then a stockbroker--in a -vehicle called a “whisky.” A little farther on, where the London and -County Bank is dwarfed by the late Sir Herbert Naylor Leyland’s great -mansion, used to stand the “Fox and Bull,” a quaint old tavern dating -back to Queen Elizabeth’s time, and a favourite resort of Sir Joshua -Reynolds, George Morland, and other painters. Holy Trinity Chapel, St. -George’s Place, no longer wedged in between two public-houses, replaces -an old church where the celebrated Prime Minister--then plain Robert -Walpole--was married in 1700 to a Lord Mayor’s daughter, who became the -mother of Sir Horace Walpole. In St. George’s Place, where it faces the -Park--surely one of the most desirable of situations, the first -intimation that we are approaching “Green pastures and Piccadilly”--is -the Hyde Park Corner Station of the new railway, next door to No. 8, -conspicuous as the residence of the Baden-Powell family, on the site of -which house, in an old-fashioned tenement, lived for many years John -Liston, the comedian identified with the character of “Paul Pry.” Being -freehold--a unique feature in the neighbourhood--this small plot of -ground has cost the Company dear. It had to pay £30,750 for its -acquisition. - -It is hard to believe that at this point London once terminated, -Lanesborough House, where St. George’s Hospital stands, being described -in Pennant’s days as a “country mansion,” and thus it remained until -little more than a century ago. While in the time of Charles the Second, -near Hamilton Place was an inn, bearing the sign of the “Hercules -Pillars,” signifying that, like the “First and Last House” at Land’s -End, no habitation existed beyond it. - -All sorts and conditions of people, mostly distinguished, live, and have -lived, along this part of the route, which has its Tube stations at Down -Street and Dover Street. There is Apsley House, and next to it Baron -Rothschild’s mansion. At No. 1 Hamilton - -[Illustration: FIG. 14. THE WESTERN APPROACH TO PICCADILLY.] - -Place lived the great Lord Chancellor Eldon. From 139, Piccadilly (Lord -Glenesk’s) Lady Byron, after one of her quarrels with the poet, fled -with her infant daughter. At Nos. 138 and 139, formerly one building, -the Marquis of Queensbury (the notorious “Old Q.”) used, when an -octogenarian, to sit at a certain window for hours, and ogle the passing -fair sex. Gloucester House adjoining, is the residence of the Duke of -Cambridge, occupied, when it was Elgin House, by the Earl of Elgin, who -brought over to England the famous marbles that bear his name. Nearly -opposite Down Street, on the park side of Piccadilly, stands a curious -reminder that once upon a time, parcels and packages of all kinds had to -be conveyed all over London, not by train or by Carter Paterson’s speedy -vans, but on the shoulders of stalwart porters. It is a “bulk,” -replacing an old timber one. A “bulk,” it may be explained, is a kind of -shelf supported by two posts at a convenient height for the bearers of -burdens to temporarily dispose of them and rest awhile. On the site of -No. 106 (the St. James’s Club) was formerly the “Greyhound,” a very old -inn, which, with the “White Horse” close by, and the “Half Moon,” a -little further on, was a favourite pulling-up place for the numerous -carriers, tranters, and market-gardeners who were incessantly coming -from the country to town; for Piccadilly was one of London’s great -highways westward. In a house (now a club) at the corner of White Horse -Street, Sir Walter Scott sometimes stayed when in town. Cambridge House -(the Naval and Military Club) recalls Lord Palmerston and the notable -political receptions of his accomplished wife. At the corner of Clarges -Street, where lived Edmund Kean and also Lady Hamilton, is the Turf -Club, and at No. 84 the Imperial Service Club, the last of Piccadilly’s -line of clubs that, commencing with The Bachelors’, at the corner of -Hamilton Place, forms a kind of approach to the real club-land of St. -James’s Street and Pall Mall. Bath House, at the corner of Bolton -Street, was the residence of the late millionaire, Baron Hirsch. No. 80, -Piccadilly, and No. 1, Stratton Street together form the town house of -the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, and it was from No. 80 that her father, Sir -Francis Burdett, M.P., was, in 1810, amidst serious rioting, taken to -the Tower for having made use of bad language in the House of Commons. -From the roof can be obtained a splendid view of the Westminster and -Pimlico district, across the Park, rightly called “Green,” with its -beautiful stretches of turf and graceful trees, and far away to the -Surrey Hills and the Crystal Palace. - -Devonshire House, seen through its fine old iron gates--brought here -from Chiswick--is plain enough externally, but its saloons are very -handsome, and here the lovely Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, reigned -as Queen of Fashion long ago. Arlington Street reminds us of the Marquis -of Salisbury, of Earl Nelson, who lodged here, and of Sir Horace Walpole -and his father. In Albemarle Street, Percy Bysshe Shelley once had -quarters at Cooke’s Hotel. - -The Tube now carries its passengers ninety feet below the beautiful -Piccadilly shops, past St. James’s Street and Bond Street, the -Burlington Arcade and Burlington House, past the Egyptian Hall, past -Fortnum and Mason’s--so universally associated with hampers, long-necked -bottles, and race-meetings; past the Albany, where lived Byron, Lytton, -and Lord Macaulay; past the Prince’s Restaurant, and its neighbour, St. -James’s Church, where there are some splendid specimens of Grinling -Gibbons’ wood-carving, and where, in 1762, occurred a singular thing. In -some unexplained manner the vaults caught fire, and two hundred coffins -with their inmates underwent an uncontemplated process of cremation; -past St. James’s Hall opposite (eventually to be enlarged and converted -to purposes other than harmony only). And now Piccadilly Circus, where -six roads meet, and where, next to Spiers and Pond’s Restaurant, is the -Piccadilly Circus Station of this, the longest Tube. Subways should -certainly be arranged for access to this station, to avoid the very -dangerous crossings from each of the six roads. Why does not the London -County Council, emulating the City Fathers and their Mansion House -subterranean passages, undertake this beneficent work in the West End? - -We are now in the region of music-halls, theatres, cafés, dining-places, -and Scott’s, the famous shell-fish shop. - -“What is the origin of the name _Piccadilly_?” is a question asked again -and again. It is difficult to decide. Was it from the ruffs called -“peckadils” (from the Spanish _pica_), whose stiffened points were like -diminutive spearheads, worn by the mashers or dudes of the early -Carolean period, who gathered here at a gaming-house, Piccadilly Hall? -Or was it, as Pennant thought, from the “piccadills” (cakes) which may -have been sold in the surrounding fields? Who in the year 1903 can -decide? - -Here I pause. The rest of the new Tube’s route to Stamford Hill is -useful but prosaic, and none of the remaining ten stations, except -Cranbourn Street, Covent Garden, and Holborn are surrounded with any -remarkably interesting associations, either historical or modern. - -From South Kensington to Piccadilly this railway is certainly an -aristocratic one. Daintily-clad ladies will, doubtless, use it largely -for shopping and paying visits. The rank and fashion of London will -patronise it. Countesses, marchionesses, even duchesses, may condescend -to travel by it; nay, royalty may even give it a trial! Nobody would be -surprised to see its booking-office æsthetically designed; the officials -well-groomed and decorous as bank clerks; the lifts luxuriously -upholstered with seats for all; the _cars-de-luxe_ (for which an extra -charge would be made) beautifully decorated, warmed in winter and -delightfully cooled during summer heats, with fresh flowers provided, -and perfumes sprayed at intervals to remove the least trace of bad -smell; copies of the _Court Guide_ and the most fashionable magazines at -the disposal of the passengers; umbrella and parasol stands; special and -comfortable quarters for pet dogs; the smoking-cars models of elegance -and comfort; and the guards’ uniform scarlet and gold. - -Seriously, however, is there or is there not, “one little rift within -the lute”? Will the size of the tunnels--11½ feet in diameter--suffice -for maintaining an equable and pure atmosphere throughout the year? -Doubtless it will; for special attention has been given to this matter -by the distinguished consulting engineer, and inlets for fresh, and -up-cast shafts for foul air, together with fans worked by machinery, -will be liberally provided. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -_ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS GENERALLY_ - -“And I have taken away your horses.”--AMOS iv. 10. - - -HISTORY OF TRAMWAYS - -Nearly fifty years ago there arrived in this country an enterprising -citizen of the United States bearing the name of George Francis Train, -with whom will always be associated the first attempt to introduce -tramways into Great Britain. - -Like many other innovators, Train was ahead of his time, and after -vainly struggling against indifference, and, in London, against the -strongest opposition voiced by the Chief Commissioner of Works, he -returned home a wiser and a sadder man, having failed to launch his -great enterprise. - -Not unreasonably he complained that his system had not been given a fair -trial, and that his nationality was against him, pointing out that in -Ireland he had, on the contrary, received sympathy and encouragement -from the fact that he was an American. - -The truth was, his ideas were immature, and his tram-lines utterly -unsuited to the street traffic of great cities. - -His first attempt was at Birkenhead, in 1860; and three years later he -laid down a line, four miles long, from Hanley to Burslem, in -Staffordshire, and also a short one at Darlington. In the year 1861 he -constructed a line from the Marble Arch along the Uxbridge Road, and -another from Westminster Bridge to Kennington Park. The track was -ballasted, not paved, and the macadam very soon “rutted” on each side of -the rail; but the worst feature was that the tread of the rail being an -inch below the road surface, the wheels of vehicles were seriously -injured and sometimes wrenched clean off as they endeavoured to leave -the lines. - -A tremendous agitation ensued against the tramway system. Train’s rails -were compulsorily taken up, and his ideas were dismissed as -impracticable. - -Yet the bread had been cast upon the waters, destined to be found much -later on, but not by George Francis Train. For ten years after the -Birkenhead line was laid down, tramways remained in a very primitive -condition, the sole aim being to obtain a smooth track, and so lessen -the wear and tear caused by the uneven macadam. The rolling-stock was -crude in the extreme, and the rails were fastened down to longitudinal -sleepers, so that the spikes invariably worked up, but this defect was -remedied when steel girders came into use. The trams were, of course, -drawn by horses, for until 1880 no better means of traction appears to -have been thought of. Nobody was a bit interested in the tramways, and -carriage-folk detested them, so they were banished to the outskirts of -the City and “over the water.” - -The West End recognised them not, except to sign petitions against their -introduction. The “poor man’s street railway,” it affirmed, must keep -its proper place in the south, the far north, and the far east of -London. - -It was left to private enterprise to run the lines, and practically -four companies--the North Metropolitan, the London Street Tramways, the -South London Company, and the London Tramways Company--monopolised the -business, there being no enterprising London County Council to compete -with. - - -VARIOUS METHODS OF HAULAGE - -For a decade--up to 1890--all kinds of improved methods of haulage were -tried: compressed air, coiled springs, underground cables (a well-known -example of which was the Highgate line, which was always breaking down), -and, lastly, gas traction and steam traction. - -To all these methods there are serious objections. Horse traction is -expensive, besides being distressingly trying to the animals themselves. -It is necessary to keep up a large stud for each car, and the horses -when idle are eating their heads off. Their fullest speed with the heavy -cars is necessarily low. Starting is a slow process, and at the best the -rate of progress (including stoppages) does not exceed four miles an -hour. - -Compressed air and coiled springs may both be consigned to pigeon-holes, -labelled respectively “doubtful” and “impossible,” there being of the -former scarcely half a dozen examples in Great Britain, though in -America it is said to have worked well and on an extensive scale. - -Cable traction has many advantages, and for a long time was successfully -adopted in America, but is now abandoned. With the funicular system, in -vogue in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Paris, and Melbourne, travellers have -long been familiar. Where a large number of cars are employed, it has -the advantage of cheapness in working, and the machinery does not easily -get out of order. But the initial cost is very heavy, and it is not -suitable for complicated lines, or for tramways with several branches; -and therefore extensions, unless straight, are almost impracticable, -though it is superior to all others, save that of electricity, for very -severe gradients. As the cable moves at a uniform rate, a car can -neither vary its speed nor reverse its course. Then there is a -difficulty in dealing with the gas and water-pipes during construction -(that is, if they are near the surface), and the conduit forms a -receptacle for street refuse, and becomes insanitary. But the chief -defect is that three-fourths of the total power required to haul the -cars is absorbed in driving the cable. - -On a small scale, and with but little success, gas traction has been -recently tried. There is a difficulty in starting the engines, therefore -they have to work continuously, which causes the unpleasant noise -familiarised to us by petrol-driven motor-cars when standing still. -There is a decided smell from the “exhaust” of the engine; the vibration -is considerable; and, as at present designed, the cars cannot mount a -moderately steep hill. - -Steam traction has been in use for some time, but has not improved, and -is not popular. Great wear and tear of the track is caused by the weight -of the locomotive, and the public object to the long intervals of -service, consequent upon the necessity, for economical reasons, of using -large cars. Steam involves sulphurous gases and general dirtiness, -besides the apprehension, fanciful or real, of an occasional “blow up.” - - -VARIOUS METHODS OF ELECTRIC TRAMWAY TRACTION - -Dismissing all these systems, we turn to electricity, as admittedly the -best agent for tramway traction, and, until some marvellous discovery -displaces it as a force, likely to remain and to become universally -adopted. - -Blackpool was first in the field with an electric tramway in 1883. -Several other provincial districts followed suit, including Bristol and -Stockton-on-Tees. London, in 1900, welcomed the completion of Mr. J. -Clifton Robinson’s great scheme for electrifying that portion of the -London United Tramways running between Hammersmith and Kew. - -The year 1903 sees metropolitan and suburban electric trams in every -direction; while in the provinces they will soon cover the face of the -land, so extraordinarily rapid has been their acceptance. On every hand -signs are evinced of the direct influence upon the general prosperity, -comfort, and pleasure of all classes of people by a cheap and rapid -electric tramway service. - -The electric system admits of an easy extension of routes, and is of all -systems the simplest to work. The cars can be readily backed or diverted -in any direction. They are roomy, clean, well lighted and ventilated, -and, if necessary, can be heated; the seats are comfortable; and the -speed is double that of horses, while, without any fuss, gradients of 1 -in 8 can be tackled. Of its popularity none can doubt, especially in hot -weather, when exhausted town-dwellers swarm on the roof of the cars for -a breath of fresh air as they travel merrily along at the rate of twelve -miles an hour. - -Existing tramways can be adapted to this system with rapidity, and all -experts bear testimony to the fact that electric haulage is -comparatively so cheap, and the development of traffic on its adoption -so great, that horse traction has no chance against it. - -There are four kinds of electric-tramway traction which, though -apparently rather puzzling, are readily explained. These are the -Conduit; the Surface Contact; the Overhead (or trolley); in each of -which the current is conveyed to the line--as in an electric -railway--from a power house; and the Accumulator, or Self-contained Car, -the motive power being obtained from storage batteries carried on the -car itself, and these supply the current direct to the motor on the car. - -[Illustration: FIG. 15. TRAM-CAR IN PARIS EQUIPPED FOR COMBINED OVERHEAD -TROLLEY AND SURFACE CONTACT SYSTEM - -_By permission of the_ _Dolter Electric Traction Co., Ltd., London_] - -In the conduit system the main conductors (or feed-wire), always in this -country placed underground, are carried in a conduit or tube under the -track, which has a narrow longitudinal slit on its upper surface level -with the road. Through this slit passes a bracket carried by the car in -such a manner as to make contact with the two conduit-conductors. The -objections to this system are the heavy cost of construction, its -liability to derangement from floods, the expense of cleaning the -conduits, and its tendency to accumulate filth. - -The closed conduit, or surface contact system, consists of a series of -plates or studs placed along the track a few feet apart and flush with -the road, and insulated from each other. Under ordinary circumstances -these are disconnected with the conductor, which is laid entirely below -the surface, but when a car passes over them they become, by means of -switches, automatically connected with it, so that the current can be -conveyed through them to the car motors. In other words, the studs are -“alive” while the car is over them, and “dead” as soon as it has passed. -This is a very practicable method, and in certain cases is preferable to -the open conduit. Defects, however, there are, but the Dolter apparatus -claims to have overcome them, and it is greatly in its favour that the -system has been successfully worked in Paris for more than two years. It -has the merit of readily lending itself to a combination with the -overhead trolley system. - -Of all systems, by far the best known to the public is that of -“overhead,” recognised immediately by the tall iron poles inseparable -from its adoption. Ninety-five per cent. of the world’s electric -tramways are worked on the overhead principle. The distribution of -electric energy is by means of a wire, called the trolley wire, upheld -by insulated brackets on poles twenty feet above the ground, along the -entire track, which is divided into sections, each section taking its -current from the main conductor-wire, which is laid underground, through -the iron poles. Should any one section of the trolley wires meet with -mishap, only the cars working on that section are stopped; those on the -remaining divisions, having an independent source of current, continue -to run - -[Illustration: FIG. 16. CROSS LANE JUNCTION, SALFORD. THE LARGEST AND -MOST COMPLICATED OVERHEAD TROLLEY CROSSING IN THE KINGDOM - -_By permission of_ _Geo. Hill & Co., Manchester_] - -without interruption. At the upper end is a small deeply grooved wheel -which, by means of springs at the base of the trolley pole, is pressed -against the under side of the trolley wire overhead, and in that -position remains as the car proceeds. From the wire the electric current -passes through the grooved wheel and down the trolley pole to the -motors, of which there is one at each end of the car. - -In all three systems the motor itself is suspended from the axle, which -it turns; and the armature of the motor is parallel to the axle and -nearest to the centre of the car. On the end of the armature is a small -cogwheel which gears into the teeth of a larger wheel keyed to the axle, -and this turns round the wheels of the car. A coiled spring supports the -field-magnet of the motor, and when the driver turns the lever on to the -top of the controller (which is a high box in front of each platform -containing a series of wires connected with the motor), and switches on -the current, the motor is lifted up on the first revolution of the -armature, the coiled spring takes up the motion of the motor, and -prevents the car starting with a jerk. The current, when done with, -returns to the source of supply by the ordinary tram rails, which are -specially connected at the joints for this purpose. It is maintained -that for cheapness of construction, simplicity of operation, reliability -in action, and flexibility in adaptation, this method is superior to all -others. - -There was at one time a certain objection to it on æsthetic grounds. The -earlier examples, when clumsy wooden posts and festoons of wire -obstructed the view and seemed to choke up the street, undoubtedly -justified the protest against the “overhead”; but now that slender iron -poles, ornamental rather than otherwise, and, in some cases, rosettes -attached to the houses, are used for the suspension of the trolley wire, -people have become reconciled to the appearance of the thoroughfares, -and no longer object to the apparatus. - -One more system, an ideal one, remains to be considered. It is that of -the “Self-contained Car,” which carries a battery of secondary cells, -whence the current for working the motors is taken as required. But, for -the present, there are serious obstacles against its general -application. The great weight of the accumulators leads to a -disproportionate consumption of power, and involves heavy expenditure on -the permanent way and in rolling-stock. The batteries must be recharged -at frequent intervals, and must either be removed from the car--a -troublesome process--or the car must be kept idle while the cells are -revivified. Accumulators as a rule do not live long, and have to be -renewed. - -Thus the working expenses are so heavy that, ideal as the system is, and -delightful the smooth running of the cars, it does not pay commercially -to adopt it, and we must wait patiently in the hope that one day a -perfect and practical secondary battery will appear on the scenes. Great -improvements in lightness and durability are in the air. - -Tramcars have become luxurious compared with the makeshifts that did -duty in George Francis Train’s day, and each new line endeavours to make -its rolling-stock superior to the others. Some cars are double-decked, -_i.e._ have seats outside; some are single-decked, _i.e._ have no -outside seats. They are roomy and comfortably upholstered, and the -windows are curtained, or provided with louvre shutters to keep the sun -out. Those of the London United Tramways are models of comfort, and -people who recollect only the early examples, mostly of foreign -construction, would be surprised at the advance made. They seat thirty -inside and thirty-nine outside passengers, have spring cushions covered -with plush moquette, and ceilings panelled in bird’s-eye maple. There -are electric push-buttons for signalling the motor-man; electric light -is provided, and ventilators extend the whole length of the car, -ensuring an abundant supply of fresh air. - -No cars, however, in Great Britain have reached the pitch of perfection -attained in America by the palace and parlour tramcars; the former -fitted up like a Pullman, with little tables and easy-chairs, and -windows prettily curtained. Of this type, perhaps the most superb is in -Buenos Ayres. Decorated in early French style, it is beautifully -finished; while inside it resembles a drawing-room, with windows -separated by carved pilasters and draperies of white silk and gold -damask. A fine Wilton carpet covers the parquetry floor, whereon stand -woven cane fauteuils with gold plush seats. At each end of the car is a -buffet, and one of the platforms is provided with an ice chest, while an -electric heater produces tea and coffee when required. - -I cannot close this chapter introducing the subject of tramways, without -reference to the “Rush for the Trams” that attracted so much attention -last year. The rushes in the Blackfriars Bridge Road began shortly after -five o’clock and continued until seven p.m., and were described in the -daily journals as follows: “South London, thanks to the L.C.C., rejoices -in an excellent tram service. There are many trams going everywhere -within a reasonable distance--Streatham, Greenwich, Tooting, New Cross. -Now, however hard or however fast you rush at a tram, it is not to be -bullied into holding more than a certain number. If, however, you rush -sufficiently fiercely and with sufficient violence, you may either -knock or frighten out of the way a girl who has been waiting longer than -you. Some genius discovered this and rushed; others, not to be beaten, -rushed also. The result is that every evening the Blackfriars Road is -the scene of a savage fight for the incoming trams, where men and women -meet in unequal strife.... All notions of chivalry, of ‘ladies first,’ -are thrown to the winds, apparently, on these occasions, with the result -that many young girls, weak women and children, rather than share in the -unequal strife, are content to walk all the way home.... Long before the -trams arrive at the starting-point, they are boarded at either end, and -a jovial crowd, knocking off one another’s hats, poking out one -another’s eyes, swarms on to them. As an entertainment, this is not -without merit; as an exhibition of the passions, it is undoubtedly -interesting. But if you happen to be weak or a woman and want to get on -one of these cars, it is possible you will fail to consider these -things. Only a day or two ago a fatal accident occurred in the rush for -the trams. Such a serious case is, no doubt, rare, but small injuries -must be of frequent occurrence, torn clothes and bruises part of the -daily round, the common talk of those who struggle for the trams. It is -unpleasantly common to see women knocked off their feet and dragged in -the road. Nor is the Blackfriars terminus the only battlefield. The -Westminster Bridge Road is no whit better, and there, with a roadway -somewhat narrower and a somewhat larger quantity of quick traffic, the -danger is even greater.” - -The remedy for this state of affairs was thus significantly pointed -out:-- - -“When electricity is fully adopted the service will be able to deal with -a larger traffic, for, although the same number of cars will be -running, they will run faster, and each will carry 50 per cent. more -passengers, so that the carrying capacity of the line will be much -increased. Till then there is no hope of improvement. It is impossible -with horse traction to run more cars, or run them faster.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -_LONDON’S TRAMWAYS_ - -“When all is done, the help of good counsel is that which setteth -business straight.”--BACON. - - -THE L.C.C. AND LONDON’S TRAFFIC - -All tramways within the boundaries of the County of London--an area of -some 16½ by 12 miles--will eventually be controlled and worked by the -London County Council, who, under the Tramways Act of 1870, have the -power of purchasing, either compulsorily at the expiration of twenty-one -years from the passing of the Act, or by agreement, any tramway -undertaking within their official territory. A heavy responsibility -truly; but whether for good or for evil, municipal trading has come to -stay, and the principle as applied to tramways seems to be particularly -appropriate in this, our great metropolis, with whose locomotive system -none but a very powerful and experienced governing body can ever hope to -successfully cope. - -Mr. J. Allen-Baker, the vice-chairman of the L.C.C.’s Highways -Committee, reporting on the subject of our congested highways, said: -“Even though there should be no future increase in street traffic, I -believe it to be the imperative duty of the Council to seek a remedy, -and how much more when we feel assured that London will keep growing, -and that within the next thirty years both a water and locomotive -service will have to be provided for an estimated population (in Greater -London) of probably not less than ten or twelve million people; and -whatever the growth _outwards_ may be, the best system of rapid transit -for the central districts will always become more and more essential. -If, therefore, we are to cope with either our present or our future -requirements, and prevent our streets from becoming really impassable, -it is, in my judgment, our duty to take up the subject at once, and seek -from His Majesty’s Government those additional powers and amendments to -existing Acts of Parliament that will enable the Council, as the central -authority, to carry out these improvements in the interests of the whole -metropolis.” - -I doubt if anybody realises the gigantic scale of Greater London’s -street traffic, so much of it being hidden away. It is estimated that in -one year travellers by cabs and omnibuses number 580,000,000, and by -tramways 400,000,000. By Underground, Tube, and suburban railways -890,000,000 travel; and should the metropolis increase at the rate -expected by Mr. J. Allen-Baker, in thirty years’ time there will be -something like 4,000,000,000, or 11,000,000 human beings per diem, -moving about on wheels or on foot. - -All these facts will doubtless be carefully considered, and, if -possible, the problem of London’s traffic solved, by the Royal -Commission--Sir David Miller Barbour, K.C.S.I., K.C.M.G., in the -chair--appointed in February last to deal with the subject. (_vide_ -Chapter IX.). It is authorised to report:-- - -(1) As to the measures which they deem most effectual for the -improvement of the same (the street traffic) by the development and -interconnection of railways and tramways on or below the surface, by -increasing the facilities for other forms of mechanical locomotion, by -better provision for the organisation and regulation of vehicular and -pedestrian traffic or otherwise; and - -(2) As to the desirability of establishing some authority or tribunal to -which all schemes of railway or tramway construction of a local -character should be referred, and the powers which it would be advisable -to confer upon such a body. - - -THE L.C.C. AND REHOUSING - -The tramway policy of the L.C.C. is so connected with the housing, or, -rather, with the rehousing question, that although this book is purely -on the subject of electrical traction, I cannot avoid making some -reference to it. - -For fifteen years, since, under the Local Government Act of 1888, the -Council was constituted, it has slowly been winning the confidence of -Londoners. Aggressive at first, it has relinquished the altruistic -theories of youth, and it now realises the fact that it is a body of -trustees acting not for one class only, but that it must administer its -heritage in the interests of the community at large. Jealousy of its -powers is dying out, and by comprehensive and energetic action it -justifies itself as the one central privileged body able to deal with -the highway, and with the housing problem of Modern Babylon. - -One of its provinces, in fact its statutory obligation, is to provide -new accommodation--not necessarily in the same locality--in place of all -houses destroyed as unfit for human habitation. It also takes upon -itself voluntarily (where no such legal obligation exists) in certain -instances to provide for rehousing, and, wherever possible, this is -effected in the same districts. But this cannot as a rule be done when -rehousing is compulsory, and to meet the difficulty, estates have been -acquired, and blocks of houses and cottages erected at Croydon, Wood -Green, Brixton Hill, Holloway, Hammersmith, and other more or less -suburban spots. The Model Dwellings built on the site of Millbank -Prison, and inspected by the King and Queen on February 18th last, -accommodate 4,500 men, women, and children. At Tooting, the L.C.C. -scheme provides for 8,600 people; at Norbury, for 5,800; while at -Tottenham there will be quite a new town of 40,000 artisan inhabitants. - -Encouragement is given by the Council to the idea that working-men and -women--since they cannot, in so many cases, live chock-a-block with -their employment--should be provided with homes upon, or a little -beyond, the Council’s boundaries, and be brought backwards and forwards -by train, for the popular 1_d._ Being practical men, the Councillors -know that any transference on a large scale of London factories to the -country, however desirable, cannot be effected yet awhile. And even if -they could acquire sites in the centres of industry, and erect gigantic -lodging-houses, the cost would be prohibitive. They have to deal with -the present necessity. Their ideal is probably the workshop as it exists -in London, with the heads of firms at Belsize Park, Bayswater, and -Dulwich, the clerks at Wandsworth, Chelsea, and Fulham, and the workmen -at Tottenham, Wood Green, and Hammersmith. - -On the other hand, figures quoted by Mr. Troupe, of the Home Office,[5] -show to what a large extent it might be possible to relieve congestion -by the removal of factories to the country. He said that there were 748 -factories in London classified, in the following proportions, viz. 50 -for machine-making, 30 for bread and biscuit-baking, 14 for -cabinet-making, 11 for turning out fruit preserves, 16 breweries, 47 -book-binding establishments, 72 printing houses (not including -newspapers), and 19 saw-mills. In these 748 factories close upon 200,000 -people were employed, representing with their families some 600,000 -human beings, and if, following the recent example of the largest -cabinet-makers in London, the bulk of these removed into the country, -which they might do if suitable railway arrangements could be made, a -considerable number of the 600,000 men, women, and children would be -rehoused amidst “fresh woods and pastures new,” greatly to their -benefit. - -This is a dream at present, as factories cannot without great loss be -summarily transferred from suitable urban quarters where water-frontages -and locomotive facilities exist. They have grown up with, and in many -cases created the district in which they are situated. Bermondsey has -for years been the home of the leather trade, Lambeth of the pottery -industry, and although Mr. Justice Grantham instances Doulton’s as an -awful example of an uneconomical delinquent London manufactory--their -clay in Dorsetshire, their coal in the Midlands, their salt in Cheshire, -and their works on the banks of the Thames--it is no light matter to -break with long business ties and take up with fresh ones, not so easy -to leave the old love and take up with the new. - -It will be granted, however, that Mr. William L. Magden was right when -he maintained that “no manufacturer about to commence business at the -present day would fix upon London as a suitable position. He would -choose rather a district in which land was cheap, and in which he could -obtain cheap power for his machinery and transport for his goods. He -should not in future be limited to the colliery districts or to the main -lines of railway. Light railways serving as feeders to the main lines, -and the supply of electrical energy over large areas from main power -stations, could provide for both these requirements, giving the -manufacturer ample assurance that his works could be run cheaply, and -that the raw material and manufactured products could be efficiently -handled. By such means electrical science is capable of opening up -thousands of square miles in England for manufacturing purposes, the -native population of which has been languishing under the chronic -complaint of agricultural depression.” - - -THE L.C.C.’S TRAMWAY SYSTEM - -Whether, as regards tramways, the L.C.C. will be the central authority -recommended by the Royal Commissioners, time will show; but meanwhile it -has already established its tramway system, which can be seen at work in -our midst. In order to understand it the more easily, it should be -assumed that all the lines, including those of the London United -Tramways Company, are in the hands of the Council, that they are more or -less linked together, that powers for new lines have been granted, and -that electrical traction in some form has been adopted throughout. - -On studying a tramway map, one is struck by the fact that, starting from -the central area of London, all the tram-lines meander towards the -Council’s boundaries, where they will eventually no doubt join and -interchange through traffic with the vast light railway or rural tramway -systems of various companies in the direction of north and south, -north-east, south-east, north-west, and south-west; but that “through” -(or cross-country) communication from west to east, practically does -not exist. - -In the north-west there are huge areas of brick and mortar as destitute -of tram-lines as Central Australia, so that anyone living in the -Regent’s Park districts has to “train” it eastward, or, if he be bent on -“tramming” it, has to go by an inconvenient and awkward route to Hackney -or Bow. - -Another notable feature of the map is that, although there are almost as -many tramways on the south as on the north side of the river, there is -no access from one to the other, the bridges being looked upon as sacred -thoroughfares, along which tramcars--certainly not as unæsthetic as -omnibuses, or waggons laden with vegetables--may not pass, although -Westminster is the widest bridge in the world, 85 feet; Blackfriars, 80 -feet; and Vauxhall and Lambeth will be equally wide, and broad enough to -accommodate the trams without inconvenience. - -At present the lines are painfully disunited, without starting-point or -terminus. The gaps in the lines require to be filled up, and where this -is impracticable, shallow underground tracks should be made use of. The -great defect, however, would at once disappear if the lines could cross -the Thames at Westminster and Blackfriars; but if this be persistently -refused, light bridges or tubes ought to be specially provided at -convenient points with four tracks for the use of tramways only. - -The history of the London County Council’s work towards the improvement -of metropolitan highways dates back to the early nineties, when the -Council began to acquire tramway companies. A most important step was -taken in 1897, when the whole of the lines and depôts belonging to the -North Metropolitan and London Street Tramways Companies in the County of -London were purchased, the purchase-money being £800,000. In 1899 the -Council acquired the South London Tramways at a cost of £882,043, and -still more recently the control of the South Eastern Metropolitan -Tramways Company and the South London Company has been effected. -Negotiations for other acquisitions are pending, and, as a matter of -fact, there are now not a dozen miles of tramway lines within the county -which the Council has not already purchased. - -The North Metropolitan lines have been leased by the Council to the -Company for fourteen years from 1896. The South London lines are worked -directly by the Council, and in the year 1901-2 no fewer than -119,880,559 passengers were carried over the system, 53,639,489 being at -halfpenny fares and 50,913,036 at penny ones. The traffic receipts for -the year amounted to over £439,000, and the mileage run was over -10,000,000. About 4,500,000 workmen’s tickets were issued during the -year. - -Thus our metropolitan Councillors have, after due deliberation and much -searching of hearts, launched a prodigious undertaking. Whether it will -or will not prove too costly is another matter. Dr. Alexander B. W. -Kennedy, their consulting engineer, in his report, said: “I hope, -therefore, that the Committee will find themselves able to believe that -the enterprise in which they are about to embark is one which will not -only be for the benefit of Londoners generally, but one also which will -pay its way, and on which, therefore, there would seem to be no reason -for grudging such expenditure as to make the whole scheme one of a kind -suitable for and worthy of the greatest city in the world.” - -Not long ago the Council decided to adopt electrical traction on all -their lines, involving an ultimate cost of £9,000,000 which will -include the necessary generating stations, rolling-stock, purchase of -smaller undertakings, and extensions. The result attained will be a -splendid system, equivalent in length to two hundred miles of single -track, though not larger than that of some big provincial cities. -Wherever possible the system will be that of the conduit underground; -more expensive than the trolley method, but in the crowded streets of -London--where every inch of space is valuable--advantageous, and from a -severely æsthetic point of view, preferable, because it dispenses with -poles and wires. But on lines acquired by the Council where already -exists the overhead principle, there will be no difficulty in arranging -the cars so that they can be run from one system to the other, either -with no stopping at all at the point of change, or with a delay of but a -second or two. The cars, except the trucks, will be made in England by -British firms, and are to be double-decked, double-bogied, and -thirty-two feet long; they are to hold twenty-eight passengers inside, -and forty-two on the roof, and will be in two compartments. They will -resemble the Liverpool cars, described in Chapter XIII, and will be -painted a chocolate colour. The speed will be a maximum of twelve miles -an hour, with an average of about seven. - -Supposing, therefore, that all the L.C.C. parliamentary Bills are -carried through, and that all the disunited lines are properly and -harmoniously linked together, and through communication established in -every direction, it will be feasible to take some such day’s business -journey within the Council’s boundaries as that of Benjamin Short which -I am about to relate. But before doing so I think the very important -decision of the Lord Chancellor in an appeal case, November 27th, 1902, -on the subject of the maintenance of tramway tracks should be -recorded:-- - - -THE MAINTENANCE OF TRAMWAY TRACKS - -On March 4th, 1900, Mr. Fitzgerald was driving a horse and Ralli car in -Grafton Street, Dublin, when the horse stumbled and fell, and the -respondent was flung out of the cart and sustained serious injuries. On -the ground that the surface of the paving at the place where he was -driving was unsafe for horses and in a condition which was a danger and -annoyance to the ordinary traffic, he brought an action against the -tramway company, and was awarded £1,000 damages, the jury holding that -the part of the roadway for which the company was responsible was at the -time slippery and unsafe, and that this was the cause of the horse -falling. They, at the same time, found that the misfortune was not -caused by the fabric of the pavement being improperly constructed or -maintained. - -The Lord Chancellor, at the conclusion of the arguments, moved that the -appeal should be dismissed. The tramway company had been permitted the -use of the public highway subject to certain obligations, which -practically meant that while they were to use it they must take care -that the safety and convenience of the public were consulted. They were -not to have a monopoly of the highway, and it was their duty to take -care of the public convenience in respect to that part of the roadway -over which they were permitted to exercise a kind of subordinate -dominion. It was not denied that the surface of the roadway became, in -certain states of the weather, a danger and a nuisance to the public, -and it was a strong contention to say that, having received -instructions from the road authority to do that which would have -prevented the accident, there should be no liability upon them. The -obligation, as he read the statute, was to keep the pavement in a fit -and proper condition for public traffic. How that was to be done was a -question of mechanical engineering, and neither the Legislature nor the -Court was called upon to enter into the question as to how it could best -be done. All the judges without exception seemed to agree that the best -and most proper mode of doing it was to do what the road authority -directed them to do, and that they had deliberately disobeyed. - - -A BUSINESS JOURNEY BY L.C.C. TRAMS - -Benjamin Short was born and brought up in London, and if any man living -knew its ins and outs he did. He was a jovial-looking little man, always -called Ben, for, said his father, “We christened him Benjamin for long, -but as he grew so slowly, we called him Ben for short; for _short_ he -is, and short he always will be--except of cash!” - -Short the elder was a small tobacconist in the days when the fragrant -weed was first put up and sold in packets--a paying idea, as he soon -discovered--and to effectually put it into practice, he used a -fast-trotting mare and a roomy, comfortable trap. - -Ben, as he grew up, was allowed to accompany his father on these -journeys, and having abundant powers of observation and natural -quickness, he came to know more about Greater London than most men of -double his age. He was cut out for a commercial traveller’s career, and -a traveller, in due course, he became, inheriting from his father a snug -bit of capital. - -At the time of which I am writing, Ben lived at Stamford Hill, close to -the London County Council boundary, in a well-built house with a bit of -land at the back, in which he had invested his inheritance. He called it -“The Watchmaker’s Rest,” and it faced the tramway line. Its front garden -was the envy and admiration of the neighbours. There appeared in their -season the choicest bulbous flowers, lovely annuals, herbaceous plants, -chrysanthemums, and asters, all of irreproachable quality, for Short, -being a sober and steady man, devoted his spare time to horticulture, at -which he was an adept. - -Ben Short travelled for a large wholesale firm of watchmakers and -jewellers in Clerkenwell, whose ware-house was not far from the -junction of Goswell Road and Old Street. Thither Short went to business -every day at eight o’clock from Stamford Hill, not by a Tube (“Toob” he -called it), but by the tram which passed his door. He was a first-rate -salesman, working on salary and commission, as active and enduring as a -bee, but as no travelling expenses within the London district were -allowed him, he had to get about as cheaply as possible. - -Hitherto he had been in the habit of working a single section of town -until it was exhausted, and then taking up another. But one July morning -the head of the firm asked him if he could vary the plan and take the -pick of several districts in one day as an experiment. This was done to -test Short’s capacity as against that of an English-speaking German -traveller, a protégé of his partner, who had already tried his best by -train and ’bus to cover a large area in one day, but had blundered over -the job. Ben Short, who had noticed a “foreigner” hanging about the -place a good deal, drew his own conclusions therefrom, and promptly -acquiesced in the proposition, and replied that he was quite willing to -show how much could be done in twelve hours by one who knew his London -well and how best to make use of its locomotive facilities. Ben intended -to make a record! - -To save time he took home with him from the sample-room his bag, an -inconspicuous, well-worn old companion. It was easily carried, as the -contents, though valuable, were light. Next morning at 7.30 to the -minute he was at breakfast, clean as a new pin, thoroughly well groomed, -a man of peace, but if you had put your hand into the side pocket of his -coat you would have found a smooth ivory handle, suspiciously like that -of a neat six-shooter--in case of accidents! At eight o’clock he was in -a comfortable electric tram bound on his first stage to far-off -Hammersmith. - -The route was _viâ_ Stamford Hill, High Street, Stoke Newington Road, -and Kingsland Road, and, branching off at Hackney Road, by way of Old -Street and Clerkenwell Road, to the western end of Theobald’s Road. -Thence, a long stretch by way of Hart Street, Bloomsbury, along part of -New Oxford Street, into Oxford Street, past the Marble Arch, along the -Uxbridge Road, past Notting Hill Gate, and down the beautifully paved, -broad incline towards Shepherd’s Bush, then to the left through Brook -Green, and so to the Broadway, Hammersmith--one of the most interesting -rides in London, and but recently added to the London County Council -system, after tremendous agitation and opposition on the part of the -“Tube” and others, but absolutely necessary to complete the linking of -other and disjointed sections. - -Here, at Hammersmith, Ben Short transacted some very satisfactory -business in King Street. It was early; his “clients” had just finished -their breakfasts, their shops had been but a few minutes opened, and -they had leisure to attend to his persuasive arguments. He was a -favourite wherever he went, and as he carried exactly the kind of goods -to attract, he quickly booked orders and was free to proceed. - -On board once more, at good speed Ben was rolled along Fulham Road, -leaving on the right the big convent jealously guarded by high walls, -which made Ben fall to wondering how any sane young woman could -voluntarily cut herself off from a world about which she probably knew -practically nothing. On went the tram, past the big buildings of the -Fulham Workhouse, past the entrance to Fulham Palace and the Bishop’s -Park, along the widened High Street of Fulham, over Putney Bridge, and -by way of Putney Bridge Road and West Hill, Wandsworth (a new route), to -Lower Tooting--altogether a pleasant trip at that time of the year, for -gardens, at which he critically and eagerly gazed, greeted Ben in every -direction. - -Wasting no time, Short called upon all the most likely customers, and -again he was in luck, for whether they wanted watches and jewellery or -not, orders were booked. - -Now the energetic little man had to get to the “Elephant and Castle.” -Along the Balham Hill Road, with its pleasant shops and lively -pedestrians, was plain sailing enough, past umbrageous Clapham Common on -the left, edged with sedate and comfortable mansions recalling the old -days when prosperous Evangelicism dwelt exclusively in Clapham; then by -way of Clapham Road and Kennington Park Road to the far-famed “Elephant -and Castle.” Here a less sharp-witted man than Short might well be -bewildered by the wonderful concentration of tram lines converging from -Walworth Road, New Kent Road, Newington Causeway, London Road, St. -George’s Road, and the road he had come by. Here, if anywhere, as at the -Mansion House, well-arranged passenger subways are needed. - -Our “commercial” did much business round about, for it was one of his -best districts for cheap goods, and then he thought it was time to -refresh the inner man. In a neighbouring cool, clean little crib--“a -close borough of his own,” he called it--he rested, and made intimate -acquaintance with a noble piece of silver-side, some crisp lettuces, and -any amount of piccalilli--he was a lover of cold meat and pickles--but, -in accordance with a rule he never broke in business hours, he -restricted himself to coffee as a beverage. - -Short, braced up by his luncheon, was now ready to set out for the wilds -of Plumstead--a somewhat long journey. He started by train from the -“Elephant and Castle” _viâ_ the New and the Old Kent Roads, New Cross -Road, Greenwich Road, Trafalgar Road, Greenwich and Woolwich Lower Roads -to Woolwich, and by the Plumstead Road to Plumstead itself. He worked -the two districts together, but his luck had deserted him, and orders -were fewer and farther between than he altogether liked; but he was not -going to “chuck the thing up” yet. He would do a bit of the East End, -and thus complete the circuit of London. - -He took the same route back from Plumstead as far as Blackwall Lane, -then _viâ_ the Blackwall Tunnel to East India Dock Road, Burdett Road, -and Mile End Road to its junction with Cambridge Road. In this -neighbourhood he did his only extensive bit of walking. The district, -though poor, was large, and he did a fair amount of business, but as -time was getting on he decided to return home; so by Cambridge Road, -along Cambridge Heath, Mare Street, Lower and Upper Clapton Roads, he -got back to Stamford Hill, and was put down almost at his own house. - -He had travelled by electric tramway some fifty miles at a cost of about -2_s._ 1_d._ (or a halfpenny a mile). He had done a lot of business, and -had been absent just twelve hours! - -In the bosom of his family he found ample compensation for his -exertions. A hearty welcome and a savoury supper, accompanied by -something that was _not_ coffee, awaited him, and the following day the -firm received him with acclamation. The Teuton was not “in it,” and Ben -Short reigned supreme as its chief and highly appreciated traveller. - - -LONDON UNITED TRAMWAYS COMPANY - -Want of space forbids more than the mere mention of the South -Metropolitan and the London Southern, the Woolwich and South Eastern, -the West Ham, and the Northern Middlesex Tramways. But this chapter -would be incomplete without some reference to the useful and popular -organisation, the London United Tramways Company, that takes up the -running at the London County Council’s boundary. - -Forty million passengers were conveyed last year over its original route -of twenty-two miles, extending from Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith to -Southall, Hounslow, and Twickenham. In one week alone over a million -were carried. - -Last April an important extension was inaugurated from Twickenham, which -brought the trams through Teddington and Hampton Wick right to the gates -of - -[Illustration: FIG. 17. BOILER-ROOM, LONDON UNITED TRAMWAYS CO.’S POWER -HOUSE AT CHISWICK, FITTED WITH VICARS’ AUTOMATIC STOKERS - -_By permission of T. and T. Vicars_, _Earlstown, Lancashire_] - -Hampton Court Palace, and from Richmond Bridge to Hampton Court. In the -near future these extensions will be connected with new lines running to -Uxbridge, Thames Ditton, Surbiton, Hook, Kingston, New Malden, -Wimbledon, and Tooting; while eventually these western and southern -tracks will, by the system of tubes, rejuvenated underground railways, -and the L.C.C.’s electric tramways, be joined to those of northern and -eastern London. In three years’ time, when its extensions are completed, -the London United will have 100 miles of tram lines in operation. - -The gauge is the standard 4 feet 8½ inches. Throughout the route the -overhead trolley system has been adopted. At Chiswick is the power -house, and the mains convey the electricity to sub-stations, six miles -apart, where rotary converters change the alternating into direct -current, and transform down the high voltage of 5,000 into the Board of -Trade limit of 500. In the fine boiler-room T. and T. Vicars’ automatic -stokers are used, and very interesting it is to watch the machines -continually pushing small charges of coal into the furnaces without any -direct human agency. - -Mounted on two four-wheeled bogie trucks, with two 25 horse-power -motors, the handsome cars seat thirty-nine passengers outside and thirty -inside. On the Sunday after the opening of the extension no fewer than -200,000 people journeyed from Hammersmith, Shepherd’s Bush, and -Richmond, to Kew, Twickenham, Teddington, and Hampton Court; and on Whit -Monday, 1903, the number reached 400,000, thus establishing a record. So -great was the rush during some part of those days that a two minutes’ -service of cars had to be provided. - -The extension from Twickenham to Hampton Court was opened by Mr. C. T. -Yerkes, the Chairman, and author of the happy alliance of train, tube, -and tram, which may possibly enable many toilers in the East End to live -in the country. At the least, it will give them the chance, when -possessed of a little leisure and a few pence, to quickly exchange their -sordid environment for one of the numerous sylvan spots which surround -London, especially in the west. - -[Illustration: FIG. 18. A LONDON UNITED TRAMWAYS COMPANY TRAM-CAR - -_By permission of the_ _London United Tramways Co., Ltd._] - -Alluding to this, Mr. C. T. Yerkes, at the inauguration, significantly -remarked that it was a strange fact that London was particularly behind -in transportation, being the most backward of all cities. Though during -the last twenty years in London, 900 miles of streets had been made, and -340,000 houses had been built, it was only within the past few years -that intramural transportation had been even spoken of. The London -United Tramway Company, he said, expected to join very intimately with -the Metropolitan District, forming a continuous line to Hampton Court -from the City; and they anticipated connecting with the Great Northern, -Brompton, and Piccadilly Circus Railway. People would be carried very -cheaply, and when the District was electrified the mileage rates would -be abolished in favour of uniform fares, which were far the best. Poor -people who were living in an unenviable condition should have the chance -of getting into the country. - -On the much-debated question of American capital and American enterprise -in Great Britain,[6] Mr. Speyer spoke no less to the point. He said that -those who undertook to provide the metropolis with an up-to-date system -of locomotion should be encouraged, for they performed a task that -should have been done twenty years ago. English capital had had every -opportunity of investment in underground lines, and if only half of the -five millions had been subscribed in this country it was not the fault -of the promoters. They would have preferred that the Underground Company -should have English shareholders only, but unfortunately they had had to -allot half of the shares of the Company to Americans and foreigners. One -would have thought, he said, that there would have been more keenness in -London to build its own underground railways, which would so materially -add to the well-being of the masses. If either of the proposed lines -were situated in South Africa, Australia, or Klondyke, London investors -would have been tumbling over each other to subscribe. But the fault of -these lines was that they were at our own doors. It was a fact, -incredible though it might seem, that the richest city in the world did -not appear able or willing to provide the funds for what was really a -public necessity--_quicker transit_. So let them hear nothing more of -American invasion, if people here stood with folded arms and allowed -others to do the work which they ought to have done themselves; for -while they persisted in this _non possumus_ attitude, no one could blame -the Company if they went elsewhere. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -_PROVINCIAL TRAMWAYS_ - -“They shall measure to their cities round about.”--DEUTERONOMY xxi. 2. - - -THE LIGHT RAILWAYS ACT OF 1896 - -In the year 1896 an Act of Parliament was passed which, it is no -exaggeration to say, revolutionised tramway locomotion, and was destined -to produce consequences undreamt of by the promoters of the measure. - -Under the Tramways Act of 1870, Municipal Corporations had been -exercising their powers of buying up existing tramways, working them in -the interests of the ratepayers, and of generally entering into the -business of providing a cheap and efficient means of traversing the area -within their boundaries. They used the new Light Railways Act of 1896 -occasionally, but only for the promotion (by two or more combined local -authorities) of certain lines running through several districts. - -Prior to 1870, tramways, like railways and canals, had to be promoted by -special Bills, and the Tramways Act of that year was intended to -facilitate their construction, and to cheapen and simplify the method of -obtaining parliamentary powers, either by Bill or by the alternative of -an application to the Board of Trade for a Provisional Order authorising -the construction of the tramway, the said Order being subsequently -confirmed by an Act of Parliament introduced by the Board. - -The Act of 1870 provided that no tram line should be sanctioned without -the consent of the district local authority, and that the local -authority might buy up the undertaking at the end of twenty-one years at -its then value--practically only the worth of the rolling-stock and -plant, without any allowance for the goodwill of a going concern. - -In either case (that of a private Bill in Parliament or a Board of Trade -Provisional Order), if a tramway was planned to run through two or more -districts, the consent of the local authorities having jurisdiction over -two-thirds of the length of the line was sufficient. But this condition -gave the local authorities owning just over a third of the route, power -to veto the whole scheme. - -Under the same Act, land, otherwise than by mutual agreement, could not -be acquired by tramway promoters. - -Up to 1896, electric tramway schemes had remained in abeyance, but -though the Light Railways Act removed many obstacles to their increase, -and made electric traction commercially possible, it did not bestow -perfect liberty of action. But the fresh legislation on the subject, -anticipated during this year’s session of Parliament, will doubtless -result in such amendment of the Act as will abolish all ground of -complaint on the part of the advocates of the industry. - -At the time the 1896 measure became law, hardly any Tramway Company in -Great Britain, whether horse-drawn or steam-propelled, paid its way, -except in a few large centres. The companies knew that the time was -drawing near when they could be bought out by corporations; so they had -no inducement to make expensive reforms; and only by charging high -fares, and by avoiding every possible form of capital-expenditure, -could they keep their heads above water. Their undertakings, one and -all, sank into a state of inefficiency, and a strong public feeling -arose in favour of their being reformed, and worked with improved cars -and at popular tariffs by local authorities. So, one by one, these -bodies absorbed the private companies, placed new rolling-stock on the -lines, and adopted electrical traction, to the advantage of the public, -and in one notable instance--that of Glasgow--it is claimed, at great -pecuniary benefit to the ratepayers also. - - -MUNICIPAL TRAMWAY UNDERTAKINGS - -Throughout the British Isles these municipal tramway undertakings now -flourish and increase in number. Take a map, and we shall see that the -coast line from the North Foreland to Plymouth is dotted with towns -provided with electric trams, while inland, Camborne, a Cornish -tin-mining centre, marks their western English limit. Then round Land’s -End along the Bristol Channel it is the same. South and North Wales show -a blank until Llandudno is reached. Then up-to-date towns provided with -electric traction thicken on the Lancashire coast as far as Fleetwood. -In the Isle of Man there are no fewer than four electric tramways. -Except at Glasgow and district, the west of Scotland is bare of any kind -of tram, and continues so round the North Cape and the East Coast until -we come to Aberdeen, Dundee, and Kirkcaldy. Next are clusters reaching -from North Shields to Middlesbrough. After this, electric trams are to -be found at Hull, Great Grimsby, and Yarmouth. - -Inland are three great centres--Liverpool, Manchester, and -Birmingham--around which “electrified” towns gather thickly. Isolated -Guernsey and the Isle of Wight each possess an electric tram, the -latter being on Ryde pier. - -In Ireland there is a wide stretch of country, empty and desolate from -an electric tramway point of view, _i.e._ from the Giant’s Causeway to -Cork, except at Newry, Dundalk, Lurgan, and Dublin. By far the greater -number of these British and Irish tramways are on the overhead trolley -system. - -The 1896 Act provided for the establishment of a Light Railways -Commission of three members, whose special work was to facilitate the -construction and working of tramways or light railways in Great Britain -and Ireland, the Commissioners being appointed by the Board of Trade. - -Application for a Light Railway Order may be made for a county, borough, -or district council by any individual, corporation, or company, or -jointly by councils, individuals, corporations, or companies. -Applications have to be referred to the Commissioners in the first -instance, and, if approved of, are placed before the Board of Trade for -confirmation. Provision is made by the Act for the purchase of land -under certain conditions specified in the Lands Clauses Act. Provision -is also made for enabling local authorities to acquire any undertaking -whose route passes through their district, the time and terms of -purchase being arranged by agreement between the promoters and the -municipalities, the terms of sale, usually thirty-five years’ purchase, -being settled on the basis of a fair market value of the line in full -work, but with no allowance for compulsory acquisition. - -Local authorities, landowners, and adjacent railway companies have the -right to object to proposed lines. The local authorities, however, -possess no power of veto, but generally the Commissioners refuse -applications from promoters if their schemes are strongly protested -against by the municipalities concerned. - -To what extent this Act has been taken advantage of may be judged by the -fact that last year no fewer than forty-seven municipalities were stated -to have disbursed, or to have decided to disburse, eleven millions -sterling in their electric tramways. In several instances the -municipality owns the tramways and leases them on certain conditions to -large companies or syndicates, a kind of compromise between absolute -urban control and unrestricted private enterprise. - -How it works in the provinces can be understood by taking as examples -four of the largest cities in Great Britain, viz., Glasgow, Liverpool, -Manchester, and Birmingham. - - -THE GLASGOW TRAMWAYS - -Glasgow, with a population of some seven hundred thousand, possesses the -most successful and lucrative system of municipal tramways in the world, -the working for the year ending May, 1902, on a capital expenditure of -nearly two millions, showing a gross revenue of £614,413, with a gross -balance of £200,371; and so large was the reserve fund in consequence, -that it was applied to the writing off of all expenditure on the old -horse-traction plant and equipment, so that the capital account included -only the expenditure relating to the new (electrical) system of -locomotion. In the language of the bookmakers, the city of Glasgow’s -tramways stood, financially, on velvet. In 1894 the Corporation began -the service of tramways (heretofore leased by it to a private company) -with everything new--buildings, horses, and cars--their policy being a -very frequent service at low fares. Not satisfied with horses, they -soon began to search about for some better method of traction, and in -1899 resolved to substitute electricity on the overhead trolley system, -and accordingly the change was effected; new lines were from time to -time constructed, until at the present moment Glasgow possesses, -including leased lines, 140 miles of single track and nearly six hundred -double and single-deck cars. - -Unlike the somewhat haphazard fashion of London, the Glasgow tramway -lines have been planned in a skilful manner and on a definite system, to -give means of transit from the north and south and east and west of the -city. It is divided into five separate and independent areas, each -supplied with current from its own sub-station, but these areas can be -interconnected if necessary. - -On a convenient side of the Clyde, with ample facilities for obtaining -coal and water, is the main generating station, built with a steel -framing clothed with Glasgow plastic clay, two great chimney-shafts, 263 -feet high, towering above it. In this fine building is contained a -mighty specimen of what is called the three-phase distribution of -electrical energy, the system being to create the power at one centre -and distribute it over a wide area; that is, electricity is produced in -the form of three-phase alternating current at a pressure of 6,500 -volts, and sent on to five outlying sub-stations, where it is -transformed to a potential of 310 volts, and then converted from -alternating into continuous current at 500 volts, for working the cars. -The total capacity of the main station is:-- - - Three-phase plant, 10,000 kilowatts. - Direct-current plant, 1,200 kilowatts. - -The engines used to produce this are of 16,000 h.p. capacity, while each -of the generators is of the great weight of ninety tons, almost the -largest in existence for traction work. - -Altogether, the tramway enterprise of Glasgow is in its magnitude and -its good management almost unique. The size of its power-house will be -surpassed by that which supplies the Electrified Metropolitan District -Railway; but the wise and economical arrangement of its traffic can -hardly be beaten, and is a model to other large cities and towns -contemplating the adoption of electric tramway traction. - - -THE LIVERPOOL TRAMWAYS - -On a large scale are the Liverpool Corporation Tramways, the total -mileage being 127 of single track, the rolling-stock 451 cars, and the -capital a little over a million. - -When the Corporation acquired the Liverpool United Tramways and Omnibus -Company’s undertaking, in 1897, they at once decided to use electricity -on the overhead trolley system, instead of horses. Singularly graceful -centre and bracket poles with arched arms and scroll-work were adopted -in the wide thoroughfares, and in the narrow streets the overhead -conductor-wire was upheld by rosettes attached to buildings on each -side. - -The new cars are remarkably fine and comfortable, and include the -Continental single-deck, with a side entrance, and the double-deck, -about 27 feet long, with doors at the ends, and with three large, -well-curtained plate-glass windows on each side. A special kind of -staircase is fitted to these double-deckers to enable people, the aged -and infirm in particular, to descend in safety even when the cars are in -motion. They are also fitted with useful revolving route-indicators, -which, being illuminated, light up the upper deck as well. No one can -grumble at the fares charged, which are at the rate of one penny per -stage of two miles. That these tramways are a great boon is shown by the -enormous number of passengers--nearly 100,000,000--carried last year. - -At Pumpfields, near the Exchange and Waterloo Goods Stations, and at -Lister, near Newsham Park, are the power stations, each housing plant of -15,000 horse-power (up to 7,500 kilowatt capacity). The energy is -distributed to sub-stations, and thence to the cars at the safe orthodox -pressure of 500 volts. - -The Liverpool tramway routes necessitate many twistings and turnings. -The junction of lines at the intersection of the London Road and Lime -Street is a sight worth seeing, there being at that place special -trackwork with sixteen points. - - -THE MANCHESTER TRAMWAYS - -Manchester--fifth largest city in the empire--has a wide district to -serve, as the Corporation works certain tramways in such districts as -Stockport, Heaton-Norris, etc. Thus its track consists of 150 miles of -single line, and its rolling-stock of 600 cars, worked on the overhead -trolley system. - -These cars are of three sizes, and carry respectively 67, 43, and 20 -passengers, the smallest cars being single-deck. The larger ones have -six nicely-draped plate-glass windows on each side, and the upholstery, -fittings, and lighting are excellent. - -The estimated capital expenditure is the same as at Glasgow, two -millions sterling. A speciality of the Manchester Tramways undertaking -is its splendid car depôt, the site covering three acres, two and a -half of which is roofed over. The façade to Boyle Street is 700 feet -long, and reminds one of some large and picturesque public school, a -tramway-car depôt being the last thing one would take it to be. It is -claimed to be the largest car-shed area in Europe, and the covered-in -portion is the most extensive in the world. In this and three other -similar sheds and a few smaller ones elsewhere all the cars are stabled. -Formerly they were concentrated in one place. - -[Illustration: FIG. 19. FAÇADE OF QUEEN’S ROAD CAR-SHED, MANCHESTER -CORPORATION TRAMWAYS - -_By permission of the_ _Manchester Corporation Tramways._] - -The cars are of the British Thomson-Houston Company type, -double-motored, and are fine examples of elegance and solidity combined, -and fitted with all the latest improvements for the comfort of -travellers. - - -THE BIRMINGHAM TRAMWAYS - -Birmingham, as regards tramways, stands in a peculiar position. Its city -area is restricted; it has only short lengths of tram lines, and these -require to be linked up with outlying districts. The lines were leased -to the City of Birmingham Tramways Company, but whether the Corporation -will or will not take them over now, has not yet been decided. However, -by a majority of fourteen votes it has sanctioned the substitution of -electricity on the overhead method, and this is being proceeded with; -and when the transformation is complete Birmingham and district will -have an electric tramway system of nearly a hundred and ten miles. Its -tramways have always been popular, and at a charge of a penny for a -three-mile ride--a record for cheapness--56,000 passengers made use of -them on Mafeking Day, no small proportion of a city of 522,182 -inhabitants! - -Before quitting the subject of tramways, it will be interesting to note -the fares charged in different parts of the world. In London they begin -at a halfpenny. On the Continent they vary; for example, in Berlin the -fare is 1¼_d._ for two miles, and a halfpenny for each additional mile; -in Paris it is 3_d_. inside, with transfer ticket, and 1½_d._ on the -platforms, or outside the car; in St. Petersburg 1¼_d._ and 1½_d._ is -the fare; in Stockholm it is the curious sum of 1⅜_d._; in Florence it -is 1_d._ from the suburbs to the city, and 1½_d._ across the city; in -Cape Town it is 3_d._ for three miles; and in Canada the fare averages -2½_d._, and 5_d._ after midnight. - - -PROVINCIAL RURAL TRAMWAYS - -The memorable question once put to the House of Commons, “What is a -pound?” to this day has not met with a strictly accurate reply. The same -may be said of the frequent inquiry, “What constitutes a Light Railway?” - -Under the Act of 1896 a Tube should officially be described as a Light -Railway. So should a Shallow Underground, an Urban Tramway, and a Rural -Tramway. So, too, should a Brighton Beach Line, or any short train -running along a pier. So also should any railway line for the carrying -of minerals, worked by heavy sixty-ton locomotives, and hauling five or -six hundred tons of ore at a time! _Reductio ad absurdum._ - -The originators of the Act did not define what a Light Railway really -is, but they evidently had in their minds, _inter alia_, that railways, -unrestricted by Board of Trade regulations as to fencing, sidings, -gradients, and permanent stations, should be permitted to run along the -high roads, acting as feeders to the existing lines, to the benefit of -the small towns, villages, and farms near which they passed. Thus a -pleasing vision unfolded itself of revived agricultural prosperity, of -handy little trams peacefully steaming along the highways, stopping, -when hailed, at some convenient corner, where the farmers’ waggons would -be in waiting with produce to be taken away to market in exchange for -goods delivered to them. - -It was a promising idea, for the cost of construction per mile would -necessarily bear no comparison with that of ordinary heavy railways. But -in this form Light Railways were not developed. Agriculturists abandoned -the hope of any immediate relief, and it came to be recognised that the -Act meant a development, not of goods, but of passenger traffic, and -that, so far as extra-urban districts were concerned, Light Railways -meant Tramways, just as they did in town or city. - -It may be asked, “Do not local railways answer all requirements of the -ever-increasing population and already congested districts? Whereabouts -are these country tramways that we hear so much about? and in what -respects are they so useful and necessary?” - -For goods the network of local railways covering the country is no -doubt fairly sufficient, and eventually, when well-organised services of -electric-motor waggons aid in feeding them with merchandise collected -and delivered at the very doors of consignor and consignee, they will -fully answer their purpose; but for linking together city, town, -village, and hamlet in the interests of working-men--in many districts -the chief customers--they are almost useless. For this class, wishing to -get about quickly--going to and from their daily toil, paying visits to -their sporting pals, attending dog shows, football matches, etc., taking -their wives and children shopping, and on holidays going some distance -afield--a local railway, even if close by, is of little use, with its -rigid time-table, its fixed stopping-places, its high fares, and its -general formality. What they wanted, and what, until the introduction of -electric traction, they waited patiently for, was a service of -comfortable cars, that would pass their houses every few minutes, and -would take them long stages for, at the utmost, a twopenny fare. - -To meet this want, in various parts of rural England, more especially in -Staffordshire, horse and steam tramways were tried, but the latter -method, from mechanical reasons, proved to be a failure. The rails -weighed but 45 lbs. to the yard; they were set in iron chairs and laid -on wooden sleepers, and the engines were of the locomotive vertical -boiler type. Soon it was found that the weight of the water damaged the -locomotive, and the incessant vibration and pounding shook the track so -much as to necessitate constant renewal, and the expenditure became so -great that many private Steam Tram Companies either wound up, were -reconstructed, or were taken over by the local authorities. - -Unattractive was the appearance of these old-style tramcars--great -cumbersome, top-heavy, two-storied structures, drawn by what looked like -a big iron box with a black funnel poking through its lid. They were -dirty, they smelt, the service was irregular and slow, and the fares -were too high. - - -MANUFACTURING CENTRES--GREAT BRITAIN - -Studying an up-to-date map of Great Britain, one is struck by the fact -that in the distribution of cities, towns, and villages it resembles the -stellar system, with London as the governing central body, while lesser -planets, each surrounded by groups of satellites (not very bright ones, -it is true), varying in size and importance, represent subordinate star -centres. These have grown, and still grow bigger and bigger, the suburbs -of a large town reaching out farther and farther until they touch the -outskirts of the next town, so that in some districts an overgrowth of -houses and factories covers many a square mile. - -In the quiet old days that are gone, a working-man, particularly if a -weaver, could labour far away in the country in some miniature workshop -or in his own little room at home. But for years past he has been -compelled to trudge backwards and forwards to some big factory or mill, -where steam-power was concentrated, and run upon so economical a -principle, that outside of it the individual workman had no chance of -gaining even the barest livelihood. With the advent of steam the -villages in certain parts of England were abandoned for the town, where -clusters of great workshops had sprung up. A new order of things arose, -and operatives, if they could, lived within the town boundaries. But as -rates, taxes, and rent increased, they concentrated in outlying hamlets, -within walking - -[Illustration: FIG. 20. VIEW NEAR DUDLEY STATION, SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE, -SHOWING A STEAM TRAM-CAR] - -_By permission of the_ _Manual of Electrical Undertakings, Ltd., -London_] - -distance of their work. Thus these hamlets gradually became townlets, -and eventually towns, which in their turn developed into centres of -industries--lesser lights revolving round the greater. - -All over the kingdom manufacturing industries have a natural tendency to -settle down in particular localities favoured by the proximity of the -raw material, and by railway or water facilities. Thus Dundee, Aberdeen, -and the North of Ireland are associated with linen and strong textiles; -the Eastern counties and Lincolnshire with agriculture; Warwickshire and -Yorkshire with machinery; Burton-on-Trent with beer; Coventry and -Nottingham with cycles; and so on. Any intelligent schoolboy could reel -off a list of such towns and their products. - -Swansea, with its great works for smelting copper and tin ore--the -former brought from South Australia, Chili, and Cornwall; the latter -from the Straits Settlements and Cornwall--and its manufactories of tin -plates, bolts, and zinc goods, is the centre for neighbouring towns -associated with its industries, such as Porth, Pontypridd, and Penarth, -which, together with the Mumbles, are partially linked together by -tramways. - -Glasgow, where shipbuilding, armour-plate rolling, and locomotive -constructing flourish, has around it the towns of Gourock, Greenock, -Rothesay, Coatbridge, and Bridge of Allan, all more or less commercially -interested in the great northern city. - -Newcastle-on-Tyne and Sunderland, headquarters of England’s -shipbuilding, are surrounded by places connected with or engaged in -kindred industries, as Tynemouth, Stockton, the Hartlepools, Gateshead, -Jarrow, and North and South Shields--the last four practically suburbs -of Newcastle--a fine field for electric tramways. - -Then in Yorkshire we have such centres of the linen and woollen -interests as Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, etc., begirt with -townlets which are in process of being interconnected; and further -south, in South Lancashire, Burnley, Oldham, Ashton, Blackburn, Preston, -Rochdale, Bolton, Manchester, and Liverpool, together with endless -smaller places--every one of them engaged in our gigantic cotton -trade--cover large thickly populated areas, supplied with tramway means -of intercommunication. - - -THE BLACK COUNTRY AND THE POTTERIES - -A remarkable instance of the localisation of special industries, and of -a city begirt with good-sized towns, is to be found in the South -Staffordshire Black Country, its central sun being the city of -Birmingham. While in the Potteries are a number of small towns almost -touching one another--star clusters, destined maybe eventually to -coalesce into a single planet of the first magnitude. Here humanity -swarms. - -Alighting from a train at any wayside station in the South or West of -England, if one walks along the main road, and avoids the villages, one -may go for miles without meeting a soul. The Londoner, whose nerves have -been unstrung and jarred by incessant contact and friction with his -fellow-citizens for months at a stretch, has only to journey a few -miles, say to Chertsey, Ewell, Epsom, or anywhere in Herts or Surrey, -and in a few moments he finds a peaceful solitude not likely to be -disturbed save by passing cycles or motor-cars. But in the Midlands, and -for that matter anywhere in the North, it is different. There the bulk -of Britain’s population is concentrated. One cannot go for a stroll -without coming across individuals of all ages, who, although accustomed -to see many people, stare at every stranger after a fashion unknown in -the home counties, as if he or she were a wanderer from another planet. -And should it be a child whose curiosity is thus aroused, he will -probably follow the stranger for miles, gaping at nothing! - -In the past, the manners and customs of the Black Country folk were -decidedly rough, based on the principle of a blow first and an -explanation afterwards. But this little trait has, under the modern -influence of inter-communication with the outer world, been -considerably modified. They work hard and “play” hard, and are given to -week-end excursions and an annual “outing” to Blackpool, Southport, -Lytham, or other favourite seaside resort. They earn good wages and, if -steady, quickly save money and live in comfortable houses of their own; -but if otherwise, their “good pay” only accelerates the wretchedness of -their surroundings. Lavish with their cash, they are hospitable in the -extreme; great consumers of plain beef and mutton, sweets and kickshaws -they relegate to the women and children; but they no longer--as was -affirmed of puddlers and miners during the boom of many years ago--drink -champagne and feed their bull-pups on loin-chops and rump-steak. They -are keen on dogs, pigeons, and singing-birds. Dog-fights are a thing of -the past, of course, but it is whispered that suspiciously high-bred -gamecocks are still to be seen sub-rosa throughout the district! - -Altogether they are not half as black as they are painted; neither is -the aspect of their country, though except in the neighbourhood of -Birmingham it can hardly be called picturesque. They represent the -sturdy old Midland English, independent and brusque, whose confidence -once gained will not be betrayed. - -Here, then, in the country called “Black,” is a concentration of -industrial centres, each possessing great natural wealth of coal and -iron, and turning out in enormous quantities cutlery, anvils, bolts, -buttons, ironwork of all kinds, guns, hinges, locomotives, nails, pens, -pins, rails, rifles, screws, tin and zinc-lined goods, tools, tubes, -etc. - -In its eighty-square-mile area, between Wolverhampton and the -headquarters of “Chamberlainism” on the one side, and Stourbridge and -Walsall on the other, dwell over a million people, distributed among -some twenty-one towns ranging in size and population from Quarry Bank -(8,000 inhabitants) to Wolverhampton (94,000), and including such -familiar places as Handsworth (38,000), Stourbridge (17,000), Tipton -(33,000), Wednesbury (29,000), and West Bromwich (68,000), all busily -engaged in the industries before mentioned. - -Such in a few words is the Black Country district, which the adjoining -Potteries closely resembles. A more promising field for tramway -enterprise could hardly exist. No wonder that George Francis Train in -1860 selected North Staffordshire for one of his earliest, though -unsuccessful, ventures--a two-mile tramway from Hartley to Burslem, in -the very heart of the Potteries. - - -THE NEW ORDER OF RURAL TRAMWAYS - -Subsequently tramway companies came on the scene, with horses and steam -traction, and--in one instance--with electricity. There were five -distinct enterprises: the South Staffordshire Tramways Company, the -Birmingham and Midland Tramways Company, the Dudley and Wolverhampton -Tramways Company, the Wolverhampton Tramways Company, and the Dudley, -Stourbridge, and District Electric Traction Company (a short line of -about four miles). - -Not only were these lines entirely separated and disconnected, involving -tedious changing of cars, but two of the five were actually of different -gauge from the rest, making through communication impossible. It was no -system, merely a conglomeration of _disjecta membra_. The tramway -condition of the district became thoroughly unsatisfactory, utterly -inadequate to the needs of the travelling public. Matters gradually went -from bad to worse, and a financial Lord Kitchener was urgently needed to -remodel everything. - -He appeared in the form of a powerful organisation, the British Electric -Traction Company, with a share capital of £4,000,000, which entered into -negotiations with the various companies and with the local authorities -controlling no fewer than twenty-two districts, into which the Black -Country area is divided. The proposition was to combine all the Black -Country tramways into one great system to be worked by electricity in -the most up-to-date manner, to give frequent service, to ensure rapid -and comfortable communication between all parts, to straighten things -out well, and to adopt this motto, “One management, one method, one -gauge,” provided the local authorities would for some years suspend -their rights under the Acts of 1870 and 1896 to buy the tramways for -practically the worth of old iron. - -Some of the local authorities thought well of it. Others did not, -contending that they, and not the Company, ought to undertake the -reform; while the rest saddled their adherence to the scheme with such -impossible conditions, that the negotiations dragged wearily on, and it -was some time before the great scheme was finally carried through at the -cost of much trouble with the local authorities in the matter of routes -selected for the requisite extensions. In one instance the line, -instead - -[Illustration: FIG. 21. VIEW AT CASTLE HILL, DUDLEY, SOUTH -STAFFORDSHIRE. SHOWING AN ELECTRIC TRAM-CAR - -_By permission of the_ _Manual of Electrical Undertakings, Ltd., -London._] - -of being carried in the natural way direct to the urban boundaries of a -large town, was compelled by the authorities of the area involved to -turn off at an angle and to gain access to the town in an utterly -roundabout fashion, much as if in London, one was obliged in approaching -St. Paul’s by Ludgate Hill to deflect up the Old Bailey, and to reach -the cathedral by way of Newgate Street. - -One thing only is still wanted to make this Light Railway scheme -(typical of other similar ones) perfect, and this is that its cars -should have running powers right into Birmingham and other large towns, -and it is to be hoped that before this book is published they will be -granted. Travellers do not want to change cars when they arrive at the -municipal boundary. They want to move from one centre of population to -the other, to get in at the Birmingham starting-point, and to get out in -the centre of Walsall, West Bromwich, or Wolverhampton, as the case may -be, or even to go without changing as far as Kinver, on the edge of the -Black Country, a favourite holiday resort hitherto inaccessible to the -manufacturing population. - -In the North Staffordshire Potteries the British Electric Traction -Company has pursued the same policy as in the Black Country with -excellent result, as may be judged by the number of passengers in 1901. -In the Potteries and the Black Country many millions made use of the -tramways, the system throughout being that of the overhead trolley, and -the combined length of track about 75 miles. - - -LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND RURAL TRAMWAYS - -The whole question of local authority in its relation to rural tramways -needs settling on a sound common-sense - -[Illustration: FIG. 22. CAMPS BAY, CAPE TOWN, AND SEAPOINT TRAMWAYS - -_By Permission of_ _Dick Kerr & Co., London._] - -basis, making the requirements of travellers the dominating object to -the exclusion of petty differences and local aspirations and -jealousy.[7] - -If Great Britain is to be networked with these handy means of transport, -and the interspaces of town and village bridged over with cobweb lines -of trams, an Act of Parliament should settle a universal gauge, and on -equitable terms provide for free running powers, whether in town or -country, and encourage an interchange of traffic. - -It is constantly urged that it is better for cities and great towns to -create tramway lines of their own, and work them within their own -boundaries, and that the task of dealing with the rural interspaces -should be left to the small towns and areas, and not to private -enterprise. The opponents of this principle argue that one great -objection to municipal trams is that they are compelled to work within -artificial local boundaries, and that there are grave drawbacks to -municipal trading in any form. As to the interspaces, to work them by -themselves would never pay, and any interspaced tramway system would be -almost useless without intimate connection with urban centres as -feeders, which is only obtainable by the uniform control afforded under -joint stock enterprise. Besides--say the objectors to municipal or rural -council control--if private working is the most economical way of -running tramways in interspaces, it should be still more economical in -towns. - -Surely, therefore, there would be no hardship in restricting the -development of urban and rural tramways to local authorities wielding -power over areas of a certain size and importance, and the loss to small -communities of the power of objection or veto to large schemes ought not -to be felt by them. They and the landowners should take warning from the -history of railways, and encourage in every way the introduction and -extension of tramways, which in remote districts would vastly relieve -the tedium of existence, enabling labourers and others to temporarily -exchange some dull little village for the comparatively lively market -town at a nominal cost. Whereas, in many instances, instead of welcoming -this herald of a brighter and less monotonous life, too often is -repeated the scene immortalised in _Punch_ some years ago. A brickfield: -“Bill, who’s that chap?” “Do’ant know. A stranger, I should think.” -“Then heave ’arf a brick at his ’ed.” - -Capitalists should be encouraged to embark in tramway enterprises that -are bound to be beneficial to everybody, and in which they would be -entitled to a fair return of interest; for truly the labourer is worthy -of his reward. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -_THE SHALLOW UNDERGROUND SYSTEM_ - - “Through the faithless excavated soil - See the unweary’d Briton delves his way.” - BLACKMORE. - - -IN LONDON - -Hitherto we have been considering Metropolitan Electric Railways -constructed at considerable depths below the surface, or lifted up on -high, as at the Liverpool Docks. - -There is another system, however, and one that is strongly advocated by -the London County Council, at present chiefly as a means of linking -together existing tram lines by taking the cars underground through -congested areas and bringing them to the surface again where the traffic -is less dense. - -In its ever-increasing congested condition, London reminds us of a -patient afflicted with dropsy of long standing, susceptible to -occasional alleviation, but hopelessly incurable. In Tudor, Stuart, and -Hanoverian days the town gave no signs of this malady; but with Queen -Victoria’s reign the germs of it became evident, and now the giant city -lies prostrate in a state of helplessness that has baffled the most -skilful engineering physicians, whose remedies, trains and trams and -tubes, have been successful only in giving temporary relief to the -sufferer, who forthwith resumes and even increases his original bulk. - -For ages the ocean, without breaking its bounds, has absorbed the rivers -and streams running into it; but imagine the process reversed, and the -English and Irish Channels and the North Sea unrestrictedly pouring -their torrents into the Thames, the Forth, or the Liffey! Only one -result could ensue. The channels thus gorged with water, their currents -would cease to flow. A similar fate threatens London, into whose narrow -and inelastic fairways an Atlantic of traffic is ever pouring. One day -the current will be unable to flow, and there will be a permanent -condition of “block.” Then, and only then, perhaps, will a partial -migration of town to country bring about a more natural state of things, -and save this colossal city from utter collapse. - -These shallow tramways of the London County Council are a novelty in -England, but on a large scale have been successfully adopted in Paris, -Buda-Pesth, Boston, and New York. At present the shallow subway which -the Council has been authorised to construct at a total cost of -£279,000, commences at Theobald’s Road, Holborn, where it forms a -junction with an existing surface tramway, the property of the Council. -Thence the line falls in level, until, in Southampton Row, it runs -beneath the street, whence, in a trench of inconsiderable depth, it -passes along the new thoroughfare, Kingsway, from Southampton Row to the -new Strand crescent, Aldwych. There it turns towards the Embankment, on -gaining which near Waterloo Bridge it again comes out to the surface. In -its total length of about five-eighths of a mile it has four stations. -Its motive power is electricity on the underground conduit third rail -system. The cars, running singly, and at frequent intervals, are -single-decked. It claims for its principle that the station platforms -are readily accessible, so that instead of having to descend a great -number of steps, or to enter a lift to reach the cars, passengers arrive -there by means of a short well-lighted stairway; that the ventilation of -the tunnels is perfect, and the speed of the cars equal to that of the -trains, and as they run singly and close together, long waits are -avoided, and thus they are specially suited for short-distance -travelling. It also claims a general immunity from vibration. - -To thoroughly understand how a complete system of shallow underground -works we must go abroad to Paris, Buda-Pesth, Boston, and New York. I -may remark that in describing this system a certain amount of repetition -is inevitable. - - -PARIS - -Paris has its “Twopenny Tube,” or rather its equivalent. On July 30th, -1900, Londoners for the first time travelled by a deep-level line from -the City to Shepherds Bush, a distance of 5·77 miles; and a few days -earlier, on the 19th of the same month, the Electrical Chemin de Fer -Métropolitain de Paris--the main channel of an elaborate system that -links together every district of the capital--was opened for traffic. -This chief artery connects at the fortifications, the Porte Maillot with -the Porte de Vincennes, a distance of 6·6 miles. In other words, it -crosses Paris diagonally from north-west to south-east; from a point at -the north of the Bois de Boulogne to another at the north of the Bois de -Vincennes; the eighteen stations (including terminals) on the main line -being Porte Maillot, Rue D’Obligado, Place de L’Etoile (Arc de -Triomphe), Avenue de L’Alma, Rue Marbœuf, Champs Elyseés, Place de la -Concorde, Tuileries, Palais Royal, Louvre, Châtelet, Hotel de Ville, -St. Paul, Place de la Bastille, Gare de Lyons, Rue de Reuilly, Place de -la Nation, and Porte de Vincennes. - -On the Métropolitain there is a three-minutes’ service of trains during -the day, and a six-minutes’ service at night. On the London Tube the -intervals vary from two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half minutes in the -day, while at night they are the same as in Paris, both railways being -open for some twenty hours out of the twenty-four. - -In Paris two classes of passengers are provided for: first and second. -The former are called upon to pay 2½_d._, the latter 1½_d._, for any -length of journey. Up to nine a.m., second-class, or workmen’s tickets, -are issued for 2_d._, the return half being available for the remainder -of the day. - -Thus, as regards date of opening, length of line, service of trains, and -average fares, there is a close similarity between the English and -French lines; but the system is widely different. In London we burrow -deep; in Paris they go just beneath the surface, the authorities after -much hesitation having adopted the shallow underground system. Our Tube -trains are shot through huge iron pipes penetrating the subsoil at -depths varying from sixty to a hundred feet, and to get at the rail -level, passengers must take a perpendicular journey in a big lift. But -their Parisian counterparts trip down a few steps and along a -brightly-lighted, white-tiled tunnel, so beautifully ventilated and -smokeless--electricity being the motive power--that an enthusiastic -expert declares its atmosphere to be “perfectly clean and sweet.” The -tunnels are as near the surface as possible, and on the greater part of -the line the keystones of the masonry arches are only about 3 feet 6 -inches below the street level. The excavations were at first attempted -by means of shields, as in “tubular” work; but this had to be abandoned -in favour of the time-honoured “cut and cover” plan employed in the -construction of our early underground railway. - -When the great Parisian scheme is completed upon a twentieth-century -model, much more finished and convenient in many ways than any of ours -in London, it will comprise a total length of 38·86 miles of track, -seven-tenths being laid in shallow covered trenches, the remainder in -open cuttings or on viaducts, the entire cost being estimated at twelve -million sterling. An interesting feature of the scheme is that each -section is self-contained and ends in loops, so that shunting is -obviated. No trains run from any one distant strip of line into another, -but where there are crossings, or where the termini touch, there are -stations to facilitate changing. This arrangement ensures a rapid -service, maintained with regularity and punctuality on each section. -Like our “Tube,” the success of the Parisian Métropolitain was from the -first immense, and at the end of ten months showed a return of over -forty million passengers. - - -BUDA-PESTH - -Along the Boulevard Andrassy at Buda-Pesth there is a shallow electric -tramway built upon similar principles, a few feet under the main -thoroughfare, which is by no means a failure, financially or otherwise. - - -BOSTON - -Now let us cross the Atlantic, and note what has been effected at Boston -and New York. - -The former--the picturesque old-world capital of the State of -Massachusetts, with its population of over a million--is familiarised -to every schoolboy who knows anything of history and the War of -Independence, with the city where the tea was thrown into the harbour by -Colonials disguised as Mohawks, an incident that indirectly brought -about the creation of the United States. It is a city also sacred to -literati as being the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is so -old-fashioned--or so excessively up-to-date, whichever you please--that, -until recently, neither cabs, omnibuses, tubes, or underground railways -were to be found within its boundaries. What with the uneven surface and -the labyrinth of the streets, Boston is picturesque in spite of itself, -and its old buildings emphasize this. There are the two New England -meeting-houses. The “Old South” has been proudly preserved in its -ancient state, although the ground on which it stands is almost as -valuable as that in the City of London. Architecturally, it is a brick -barn, with a pretentiously ugly steeple. “Old North” has an equally -plain body, but from its steeple, as a tablet affixed to it sets forth, -“the signal lantern of Paul Revere warned the country of the march of -the British troops to Lexington and Concord.” King’s Chapel, another -ecclesiastical antiquity of Boston, was, for a quarter of a century -after 1749, the place of worship of the official British colony, and -accordingly became an eyesore to the earnest puritanical Bostonians. - -But Boston cannot, like Charlestown, South Carolina, boast of a St. -Michael’s Church, famous for its beautiful steeple, so greatly -resembling that of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields as to suggest that -probably they were both designed by the same architect, Gibbs, one of -Wren’s pupils. - -In the Act passed by the State Legislature authorising the construction -of the Boston subway, it was stipulated that its length should be some -five miles, and its total cost not more than one and a half million -pounds sterling. - -The construction of the subway was begun at the Public Gardens, where an -incline, a hundred yards long, carries the surface lines into the -tunnel, passing under the edge of Boston Common to Tremont Street. It is -joined by a branch subway from Pleasant Street, where another incline -leads to the surface. From this junction the subway proceeds beneath the -Tremont Street side of the Common to Park Street, which is the central -point of the system. Thence it is carried directly beneath Tremont -Street to Scollay Square, and by means of a bifurcation under Hanover -Street on the one hand and Cornhill on the other to a junction under -Washington Street. The tunnel continues under Washington Street to -Haymarket Square, and immediately rises by an incline to Causeway -Street, where it connects with both the surface and the elevated lines. -Wherever possible, the subway was carried out by open excavations, and, -as in the Paris Métropolitain, by the old-fashioned “cut and cover” -method. The roof of the tunnel is generally about three feet below the -surface, though in some places considerably lower. At and near the -stations the subway sides are lined with white glazed bricks, whitewash -being used elsewhere. - -There are five stations in the Boston shallow underground, viz. at -Boylston Street, Park Street, Adams Square, Scollay Square, and -Haymarket Square. These are approached by short stairways, protected -from the weather by neat clock-surmounted kiosks, or small iron -structures, in shape resembling our cab shelters, and placed at -convenient points, either on the sidewalks or--where there is sufficient -width--in the centre of the - -[Illustration: FIG. 23. BOSTON SUBWAY, SHOWING ENTRANCE AT THE PUBLIC -GARDENS - -_By permission of the_ _London County Council_] - -roadway. Passengers can thus, by about twenty-five steps, go to and from -the platforms in a few seconds. The ticket-offices are at the bottom of -the stairways. The passenger returns at Park Street (the busiest -station) are among the largest in the world, being 28,000,000 per annum. - -The Boston surface street cars adopt the overhead trolley principle of -electric traction, and the elevated railway-cars the third rail system, -both these systems being continued throughout the subway. - -The subway is illuminated electrically, but a considerable amount of -natural light is also obtained, especially at the stations; and Captain -Piper, deputy of the New York Police, when on a visit to London last -February, discussing the question of ventilation in tube railways, gave -it as his opinion that the freshest air he had “struck” in an -underground railway was at Boston. “The air,” he said, “is excellent.” - -The subway is, of course, perfectly clean, smokeless, and comparatively -quiet; neither in the streets can any noise be heard from the cars that -are continually passing close beneath. By an extension of the subway -under Boston harbour, the surface lines in the district of East Boston -are connected with the main system, thus making the entire length eight -miles of single track. - - -NEW YORK - -In New York, after much careful consideration of the advantages and -disadvantages of deep tunnels (tubes) and shallow railways, the Rapid -Transit Commissioners decided upon the latter as being likely to give -the best facilities for quick travelling. On account of its peculiar -peninsular shape, admitting of extension in one direction - -[Illustration: FIG. 24. NEW YORK SUBWAY IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION. CAR -TRAFFIC MAINTAINED - -_By permission of the_ _London County Council_] - -only, the problem of transportation in the Empire City is comparatively -easy, the routes being straight, and no necessity existing for -intercommunication as in London. But, on the other hand, the number of -persons to be carried morning and evening is greater. - -Instead of the arched roof and masonry side-walks of the ordinary -underground, there is a rectangular structure with a framework of steel -beams riveted together, concrete enclosing the erection completely at -the top and sides, and forming the bottom, rows of steel columns helping -to support the roof between the tracks--in other words, a kind of -Britannia Bridge let into the surface of the earth. The line has four -tracks, the two centre ones being reserved for an express service (30 -miles an hour), with stations 1½ miles apart. On the other tracks the -stations are closer together, about four to the mile. So that there are -two kinds of stations; one with platforms on the outside of the outer -(or slow) track (at which only local trains stop), and another with -platforms for fast trains only, and island platforms for either local or -express trains. At the former stations the subway is sufficiently deep -to allow of a bridge over the entire four tracks, with staircases -leading to the various platforms. By means of loops, and, in places, by -the lowering of the express track beneath the local tracks, crossings -and switchings at the termini are, as in the Paris Métropolitain, -eliminated, and the cars run continuously without any shunting whatever. - -Its general scheme is as follows. Starting with a loop round the General -Post Office, a four-track route is taken direct to the Grand Central -Station in 42nd Street. It then turns west along 42nd Street to -Broadway, and proceeds under Broadway to 104th Street, a distance of -seven miles. Here the four tracks divide, a - -[Illustration: FIG. 25. NEW YORK SUBWAY, SHOWING HOW IT WAS BUILT - -_By permission of the_ _London County Council_] - -double track continuing along Broadway to Kingsbridge, and another -double track going in an easterly direction under the Harlem river to -the Bronx district. Each of these branches is seven miles long, making a -total length, for the whole system, of twenty-one miles, seven being for -four track and fourteen for double track. The northerly ends of the -double-track line are on the surface for a combined distance of about -five miles, the remainder being shallow underground. At convenient -points inclines lead to the surface from the subway, and are linked to -street trams and elevated railroads. Electricity is exclusively used for -traction and lighting, and the cost of the entire scheme was originally -estimated at £7,000,000. - -Now, what is the conclusion to be come to as to the adaptability of the -shallow underground system to our vast metropolis, whose station at -Liverpool Street is the busiest in the world, with its “turnover” of -forty-five millions of passengers per annum; St. Lazare, at Paris, -coming next with forty-three millions? - -In newly-constructed thoroughfares provision for shallow subways, and -for sewers, pipes, cables, etc., can be easily made; but in -old-established streets the difficulty and expense in making them would -be formidable, as vaults and cellars used for business purposes -frequently extend right across the narrow carriageways, and a perfect -network of conduits would have to be displaced and moved either below or -alongside the subway. - -Some idea of the cost of interfering with sewers may be gathered by the -fact that in constructing the New York subway an entirely new outfall -sewer, over six feet in diameter, had to be built one mile in length! On -the other hand, labour is cheaper in this country than in America, and -in London there is no rock to be removed as in New York. - -In conclusion, I would quote from the report of Lieutenant-Colonel -Yorke, who was sent over to Paris two or three years ago by the Board of -Trade to inspect the Métropolitain. He thinks that as regards -convenience for passengers and economy of working, the balance of -advantage lies with the shallow tunnel or subway as compared with the -deep-level tube. But he hesitates a little when confronted with the -thought of what would happen to London while its roadways were in -process of being undermined. The difficulties in the way of adopting the -subway would, he says, be great, though he does not emphatically declare -that he considers them prohibitive; and he approves of the attempt made -to introduce the system in the manner adopted by the London County -Council beneath the new street between Holborn and the Strand. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -_HORSELESS VEHICLES--ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE_ - -“Cars without horses will go.”--MOTHER SHIPTON. - - -PRIVATE MOTOR-CARS - -The above prediction, constantly quoted at the advent of railways, is -being realised with the utmost exactness. Except the late craze for -cycling, nothing is more remarkable than the boom in the motor-car. - -Prior to the passing of the “Locomotives on Highways Act” in 1896, -motoring was an impossibility. Even then its advance was slow, and until -about three years ago motor-cars were decidedly unpopular. The London -street boys--miniature representatives of public opinion--derided them, -and, with their usual fiendish lack of sympathy, rejoiced when they came -to grief; while ’bus-drivers and cabmen ironically likened all -automobiles to traction engines, cherishing the delusion that they -continually broke down, cost a small fortune to maintain, and, worse -than all, dislocated every bone in their occupants’ bodies. - -This contempt reached a climax when certain lemon-coloured electric cabs -were seen plying for hire, ugly to look at and limited in speed; while -simultaneously a line of steam omnibuses, so cumbersome and weighty - -[Illustration: FIG. 26. ELECTRIC CARRIAGE ENTIRELY OF BRITISH -CONSTRUCTION - -_By permission of_ _Henry F. Joel & Co., London_] - -as to really merit comparison with traction engines, began to run to -Victoria Station. - -But an extraordinary and rapid change has come over popular taste, and -nothing is needed to bring motor-cars into universal use, save a -lowering of their cost; for even the cheapest are rather beyond the -means of people with moderate incomes. This may be one reason why they -are so fashionable, though the King’s marked predilection for travelling -by them has done much to make “motoring” the correct thing; and His -Majesty has recently consented to become a patron of the Automobile -Club. - -Before the advent of the motor-car, Society, though tired of “biking” -and craving for a novelty, could not tolerate the notion of being seen -in any other than a well-horsed vehicle. Society now thinks differently, -as evidenced by a stroll in the Park during the season. There, in the -midst of graceful landaus and other equipages drawn by the most splendid -horses in the world, may be seen endless electric and steam barouches, -broughams, victorias, and cars, all perfectly noiseless, and magnificent -petrol motor-cars (_not_ noiseless!), resplendent with brass and -oxidised silver fittings and upholstered in morocco, whose fair -occupants are smartly dressed in tailor-made motoring gowns or, on warm -days, in ordinary carriage toilettes. - -Some of the fashionable hotels own big cars and run them in lieu of -coaches for their customers’ benefit to various places near London; -while, to the vexation of omnibus companies, motor waggonettes, duly -authorised by Scotland Yard, ply to and from Putney and Piccadilly -Circus, always “full up” with people, no longer the butt (as they used -to be), but the envy, of pedestrians. And these public cars, though not -perfect, are an advance upon omnibuses, and do not break down more -frequently than horsed conveyances. - -In the country motor-cars have become indispensable, more especially to -landed proprietors, with houses always full of visitors who, with their -luggage, have to be conveyed to and from the station. They are much used -for race-meetings and for conveying shooting parties to the covert side, -stubble, or moor, in comfort, golfers to the links, and fishermen to the -riverbank; picnics would be failures without them; and delightful -excursions to all kinds of outlying places are arranged by the host, -proud of “motoring” his guests, who thus are made acquainted with bits -of beautiful scenery they would otherwise have remained ignorant of; as -in the case of the King’s and Queen’s visit to Chatsworth last January, -when a feature of the programme was a series of motor-car tours in North -and West Derbyshire. In fact, the motor is a most important factor in -English country life, and the art of managing it is gradually -superseding that of riding, driving, and four-in-hand coaching. Eheu! - -Horseless vehicles are not actual novelties. They have merely been in -abeyance while the perfecting of our iron roads has proceeded. The -earliest practical specimen emanated from an inventor named Guyniot a -hundred and thirty years ago, but nothing commercially serious came of -it, and the idea slept. In 1786 William Symington produced his -steam-engine, to run upon an ordinary road. It had the condenser and the -ratchet-motion used in his steamboat, an invention of which he was the -originator. The boiler and funnel were in the front, a coach on -C-springs between them, and the steering gear, with a kind of bicycle -handle-bar, at the rear. The machine, it was said, worked well. - -Then, in 1821, a steam-coach by Griffiths attracted much attention, -being the first self-propelled vehicle to ply for passengers on British -roads. It had a boiler with water-tubes as now used in the Serpollet and -Belleville systems for motor-cars. In appearance it somewhat resembled -the Symington, but carried a double coach mounted on railway springs. - -Walter Hancock’s three-wheeled steam-coach of 1828 looked like a -tricycle with a big funnel, and was propelled by a pair of oscillating -cylinders working the double-cranked axle of the steering-wheel. - -In 1859 the Marquis of Stafford had a steam-coach built that weighed -less than a ton. With its chain-action it anticipated the modern -bicycle: in front it had a kind of bath-chair seat facing the steering -gear. In this vehicle Lord Stafford and party of three made trips at -from nine to twelve miles an hour over heavy roads without any -difficulty, it being easy to guide and remarkably steady. In these steam -coaches the funnels appear to have been placed in the rear. - -All these ideas, though from one point of view crude, undoubtedly -represented - - “...such refraction of events - As often rises ere they rise.” - -The motor-car industry in Great Britain is flourishing, and it is -estimated that out of a total of some ten thousand horseless carriages -in the country one-tenth are of home manufacture (the remainder being -French or American), a small proportion, truly, but a great increase -upon the number built in 1890; and at the Reliability Trials of the -Automobile Club last September (1902), thirty-five of British make took -part in the contest, and only twenty-six of Continental or American -origin, a most satisfactory feature to those who are eager to see -British makers second to none in motor-car construction, especially, as -the aim of the competition was to encourage the building of machines -that would be thoroughly dependable in all conditions of road and -weather. - -[Illustration: FIG. 27. A “CROWDUS” ELECTRIC CARRIAGE - -_By permission of the Fischer Motor Vehicle Syndicate, London._] - -At the last Crystal Palace Automobile Show, national vanity was -certainly gratified. Not only was the exhibition the largest ever held -in the country, but was a concrete example of the remarkable progress of -an industry which, so far as these islands are concerned, started -lamentably late in the day. There were brought together at the Crystal -Palace about seven hundred and fifty motor-propelled vehicles of every -class, ranging from the powerful steam lorry, capable of transporting a -load of 7½ tons, to the latest “flier,” light and elegant of -construction, and costing anything up to some £3,000. Motor tricycles -and bicycles formed a strong section. The cosmopolitan character of the -exhibition is shown by the fact that among the two hundred or so -exhibitors were the leading English, French, Dutch, Italian, and German -firms. - -By general consent the show was regarded to have made plain the fact -that in efficiency and reliability the English maker has drawn at least -level with his foreign rival, while, so far as the production of motors -for _commercial_ purposes is concerned, he still stands far ahead. - -Automobiles are of all sizes up to magnificent 40-or 60-horse-power -racers. For town use there are broughams, victorias, landaus, and -landaulettes (open or closable for country work), the phaeton with four -seats, placed two by two, looking forward, and the tonneau--a kind of -small omnibus with a movable back--with the two rear seats in the -corners. - -Sometimes cars are run with six seats arranged in three pairs, with -plenty of room both for the driver and the coveted box-seats. Most cars -of either pattern have a glass front screen, while some have a fixed -roof as well. The greater number are driven by the use of petrol, the -machinery being in front under what is called the “bonnet,” and the ease -with which the oil can be obtained has great advantages for a touring -expedition. - -Steam is also employed for motor-cars, and is practically noiseless, but -there are obvious objections to its use, however skilfully the working -parts are constructed. - -In London, electromobiles are extremely popular, and no wonder, for -there is no smell, no vibration, and no noise; the speed attainable is -great, and they are under perfect control, advantages involving the use -of storage batteries, the recharging of which is a lengthy operation, -seldom taking less than five hours. But, as Mr. Llewellyn Preece -observed about twelve months - -[Illustration: FIG. 28. AN ELECTRIC VICTORIA WITH BRITISH -STORAGE-BATTERIES - -_By permission of the_ _Electric Power Storage Co., Ltd., London_] - -ago, “this condition of affairs is gradually disappearing; private -electric carriages are now to be seen in London, and their number is -increasing. Cars can be obtained capable of running to Brighton, -Portsmouth, and other places within seventy or eighty miles of the -metropolis.” (_i.e._ on one charge. They may be called “short-tour -cars.”) - -Electric town-cars are generally of the landaulette type--for -theatre-going, and for paying visits in such inaccessible suburbs as -Stoke Newington, Balham, and Hampstead. They carry from two to four -passengers, can attain a speed of fourteen miles an hour, and will run -forty miles without recharging. - -A long-distance electric car, to compete with petrol, has yet to be -made, but it will shortly be possible to obtain one of moderate weight -at a reasonable price that will cover one hundred and twenty miles on a -single charge; and, as a matter of fact, tours of more than a thousand -miles (from London to Glasgow and back) have been satisfactorily -accomplished. - - -PUBLIC CONVEYANCES - -The perfect motor-omnibus, and, for that matter, the perfect ’bus of any -kind, has yet to arise, and is suggestive of Darwinism in the length of -time required for its evolution. But can London and the long-suffering -traveller wait ten million years or so--putting up meanwhile with the -inconvenience of existing vehicles--until the omnibus companies wake up, -or are superseded by more enterprising business adventurers? - -Why, for instance, should all omnibuses be stuffy? There was a reason -for it when their floors were covered with straw and they were shut in -with doors. But now there are no doors, and there is nothing to harbour -damp; yet even when the passengers sitting at the entrance of the -omnibus are assailed by icy blasts, those at the far end are in an -atmosphere of mustiness strongly suggestive of stables. Then, on days -when the roads are greasy, these vehicles crawl along, often taking an -hour and a half to travel from Fulham to Liverpool Street (a distance of -about six miles). Upon such minor nuisances and annoyances as the -exiguous space (about 2 feet 6 inches) between the seats, ticket-giving -and ticket-examining, the jarring of brakes, the rattling of loose -coach-bolts, the lurching of the top-heavy structure, the windows that -will not open, the glare and dust in summer, the Cimmerian darkness in -winter and at night, the stout people who take up too much room, the wet -umbrellas and odoriferous waterproof cloaks, the exasperating and often -unnecessary stopping every few hundred yards to the distress of the poor -animals, it is needless to dilate. We experience them every day of our -lives. - -But better times are in store for the horses, and better times for our -children (perhaps even for ourselves), who will see in London’s streets -electric omnibuses in which it will be a delight to travel. - -Between Oxford Circus and Cricklewood (not far from Hendon) are now -running improved motor-omnibuses built in Scotland for a London -syndicate, to the requirements of the Chief Commissioner of Police. It -will be remembered that some years ago a very large Thorneycroft steam -’bus plied for custom. It carried thirty-six passengers, but, turning -the scale at three tons, it was of illegal weight as a vehicle, and -should have come under the definition of a traction engine with speed -limited to four miles an hour, and preceded by a man with a red flag. So -it was ultimately withdrawn. - -But the new “Stirling” steam omnibuses are only 32 cwt. when empty. The -engine is of 12 horse-power, and is geared for three forward speeds of -4½, 9, and 14 miles per hour, with one slow reversing speed, while by a -clever contrivance the driving machinery ceases to act if 14·2 miles be -exceeded, both steering gear and brakes being under perfect control. -Handsomely fitted up, with large windows that can be taken bodily out in -hot weather, and with comfortable leather-covered spring seats, the new -’buses are a decided step in the right direction. - -At the last meeting of the London General Omnibus Company the -deputy-chairman stated that there was no kind of motor traction that -would pay the company to take up. If anything was done in that direction -it would be in the use of petrol. Steam was of no use, because of the -great vibration, and he doubted if the Government would permit 15,000 -such omnibuses to run over the streets. In his opinion the time to take -up motor omnibuses had not yet arrived. - -But the London Road Car Company has taken a different and more -far-sighted view of the situation, and a combination of petrol and -electricity is now to be tested by it. - -Cars of the Fischer combination pattern have arrived from America. Each -has a 10 horse-power petrol engine which drives a dynamo, the current -from which is used to work a motor acting directly on the wheels. - -This may, perhaps, seem a needless complication, but there is much -method in it. A 10 horse-power engine is not sufficiently powerful to -drive a fully-laden ’bus up a hill at any reasonable pace, but there are -many places where a ’bus will run by its own weight, and needs no -engine. The new car is provided with accumulators. When little or no -power is required by the motor, the current is switched on to the -accumulators, so as to store up a reserve for hill-climbing. So when -necessary, the car draws on the reserve in the accumulators, and with -them and the dynamo develops not 10 but 20 horse-power, enough to take -it up and over any hill that ’buses climb. - -[Illustration: FIG. 29. A “FISCHER” COMBINATION OMNIBUS - -Capacity fifteen passengers; weight, 2 tons 13 cwt.; speed, 12 miles an -hour - -_By permission of the Fischer Motor Vehicle Syndicate, Ltd., London_] - -The manager of the Road Car Company is of opinion that the new vehicles -will carry from twelve to twenty passengers. Owing to the greater speed -of the motors, however, the passenger accommodation provided by, say, -half a dozen such cars would be greater than that of a similar number of -omnibuses, for the service would be more frequent. Not much increase of -speed can be hoped for in congested areas, but outside these the motor -should be able to run half as fast again as the horsed ’bus. - -There exists, however, no reason why a still more improved and refined -omnibus service should not be started, electricity alone being adopted, -instead of steam, petrol, or a combination. Runs of seventy and eighty -miles without recharging are perfectly feasible by using standard -long-distance batteries, and would suffice for the daily journeys of the -omnibus, while the recharging could be effected with little or no -trouble after working-hours. - -Motor-omnibuses, besides working on the regular routes, can be run on -the tramway time-table system on tramway sections where there is little -traffic; while for developing scantily-populated districts and -accustoming people to travel, automobile public conveyances are perfect -agencies, the very fact that they can choose their own route -accentuating this great advantage; and on special occasions, for -instance when exhibitions are held in places inaccessible by tramways, -they will be a source of considerable profit. - -Our provincial towns (take Eastbourne and Hastings for example) are -beginning to wake up on the subject, and many of them have adopted or -contemplated the starting of some form of horseless omnibus, in several -cases the motive power being electricity. Across the Atlantic automobile -’buses are run by the Fifth Avenue Stage Company of New York City down -Fifth Avenue, and have proved most popular; while in Chicago there are -three lines of electric omnibuses successfully competing with the street -cars for patronage. They are double-decked, seating forty passengers, -and when they are “full-up” express speed is put on, and there are no -more stoppages until the down-town district is reached. - -As to four-wheeled cabs, they are hopelessly behind the times, though -excellent ones may be evolved out of the landaulette type of -electromobiles. During sixty-two years of sullen toleration on the part -of the public, the growler has improved but little, and it remains a -mystery why in the streets of the world’s metropolis comfortable and -comely private vehicles cannot be hailed for hire, as in other cities. - -New and improved cabs, such as the “Brougham,” the “Clarence,” and the -“Chesterfield,” from time to time appear in our streets, and inspire -hope that a general reformation is about to take place, and that neat -little coupés will be universal. But in some unaccountable manner, after -a brief season they disappear from public view--as did the -lemon-coloured electric broughams of a few years ago--relegated to some -mysterious region where vehicular failures find employment when banished -from Modern Babylon. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -_HORSELESS VEHICLES, ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE (continued)_ - - -MOTOR-CARS IN WARFARE - -The question of mechanical traction in war is of the gravest importance, -the increasing size of armies and the large area they cover when in -action, necessitating the employment of some form of haulage other than -that of railways or horses. - -For bringing up guns and their ammunition at a critical moment -automobiles are of the greatest value. At the Motor-car Reliability -Trials last autumn there was present a military officer of considerable -experience who was much impressed with the possibilities of the motor in -battle. If, he argued, sixty cars could run down from London to the -South Coast easily in three hours carrying an average of four passengers -each, the same number of horseless vehicles could convey sixty -machine-guns to Brighton in a similar time. A corps of these might, he -said, have proved extremely handy in the late South African campaign. To -illustrate this, he pointed out that quick-firing guns carried on -automobiles might possibly have ended the Boer War after the action of -Poplar Grove. He was present on that occasion, and could speak with -authority. All the enemy had been routed out of their far-reaching -trenches and were in full flight. Then was the time to push home the -attack, but cavalry and infantry were thoroughly done up by the great -flanking movement and were unable to follow up their advantage. In full -sight of our army, the Boers scuttled away along the plain with only a -few desultory shells fired after them. “Now,” said the officer, “if we -had only possessed a few automobiles with guns on that occasion we -should have scored very heavily. The veldt was level enough for the -purpose. A big victory at that critical moment might have thoroughly -demoralised the Boers, already much disheartened by Cronje’s defeat a -short time before at Paardeberg, and so caused them to surrender without -much ado.” - -No doubt the gallant soldier took rather a sanguine view of the -situation; but of one thing he might have been certain, viz., that at -that time neither an unenterprising War Office, nor a Colonial -Department capable of requisitioning ordinary infantry from Australia to -act against the wily mounted Boer, would for one moment have thought of -sending motor-cars out for the purpose he suggests! - -Not only for light artillery, but for heavy guns, motors can now be used -in warfare, and Lord Roberts had a road-train constructed for South -Africa sufficiently armoured to withstand rifle-fire, and powerful -enough to draw a couple of heavy guns with their crews and ammunition, -the motive power being steam. - -In the prosaic work of conveying stores, motor-tractors with lorries -are fast becoming integral parts of our complicated war-system, and the -report of the trials held at Aldershot in December, 1901, is decidedly -in favour of their employment on a large scale. The tests were severe, -and included two days’ running (with full loads) of thirty miles a day, -and a march of 197 miles (also with full loads) in six consecutive, days -on roads both hard and soft, and even over boggy ground, the gradients -being various, and in places very stiff. The first prize was awarded to -the Thorneycroft Steam Waggon Company, but although the committee -believed that these steam lorries were serviceable and useful for the -present, they were much struck with the great possibilities of machines -burning heavy oil. Their observations were as follows:-- - -“Compared with horse-draught, these trials have shown that -self-propelled lorries can transport five tons of stores at about six -miles an hour over very considerable distances on hilly, average English -roads under winter conditions. The load transported by each single lorry -(five tons) if carried in horse-waggons of service pattern would -overload three G.S. waggons, requiring twelve draught horses, besides -riding horses, whose pace would not ordinarily exceed three miles an -hour. Moreover, the marching of 197 miles in six consecutive days would -not have been accomplished by horses even at that speed without the -assistance of spare horses.” - -To this report appeared the following appendix of considerable -importance:-- - -“The committee, in carrying out the tests, travelled in motor-cars, and -as a result of their experience they remark, ‘The committee desire to -bring to special notice the incidental demonstration afforded by these -trials of the great possibilities for staff work, and for work in -connection with the command of long transport trains, of the motor-car. -No vehicles drawn by horses could have possibly covered the distances or -kept up the speeds required; portions of the roads, sometimes miles in -length, had to be traversed and retraversed several times, and at speeds -beyond the capabilities of horse-flesh. Riding horses would have been -knocked up to an extent necessitating large relays. The staff officer, -moreover, instead of being fatigued, is always comparatively fresh at -the end of the day.’” - -No wonder that the Army, from the Commander-in-Chief downwards, is -quickly becoming devoted to motoring. The quantity of work that can be -got through by means of the automobile is a revelation to those who have -been used to travelling by means of horses. - -[Illustration: FIG. 30. THE “HERCULES” TRACTION ENGINE, AS USED DURING -THE CRIMEAN WAR - -_By permission of_ _Sampson Low, Marston, & Co., London_] - -During the Crimean War, Boydell’s traction machine was used to haul open -trucks on the road and across country. Its engine, the “Hercules,” was -fitted with a curious arrangement, which, by means of rails attached in -six sections to the wheels, enabled it to lay down and take up its own -track as it went along. - -In the South African campaign the military traction engines did some -excellent work, and, as they rolled over the plains, startled the -Kaffirs out of their senses at the unwonted sight of what they probably -thought was some new and monstrous form of rhinoceros. - -It has yet to be decided what is the best motive power for lorry cars in -warfare, both oil and steam motors having, as compared with those driven -by electricity, the disadvantage that the machinery moves by a series of -shocks. Doubtless the ideal power would be one that acted evenly. The -electric motor is superior to all others in the regularity of its -action, and its steering is most readily effected. All that is wanted to -adapt electric traction to military purposes is a perfected storage -battery, and the day may not be far distant when extensive use will be -made of light accumulators capable of being safely carried and of being -recharged as readily as a steam engine can be supplied with fuel. - - -MOTORS IN AGRICULTURE - -In England the use of steam for agricultural machinery has hitherto been -confined to the purpose of ploughing and threshing. But coal in some -districts is dear, and farmers are beginning to find that oil engines -are more economical, there being no loss of fuel in the sudden stopping -of work during wet weather; but petrol has a nasty trick of not -vaporising readily when it is frosty, and here electricity steps in with -an admirable _force-motif_. - -With a dependable electro-motor, the farmer may work his self-binder all -day long in the harvest-field, and at-night send it up to market with -produce. Moreover, the motor may help to plough and harrow in the -winter, and when there is no work to be done it costs nothing, -having--unlike the horse--no stomach to fill. - -In fact, the successful adaptation of the motor to farming may solve the -ever-present labour problem, and do much to resuscitate the agricultural -industry, while fruit and vegetable growers may find it invaluable, -making them independent of high railway rates and bad train service. -But, although the application of the automobile to agriculture is only -in the experimental stage, it cannot be doubted that, in some shape or -other, it will come to the cornfield, the orchard, and the market -garden, while the modern farmer will welcome it gladly. - -[Illustration: FIG. 31. A TEN-TON ELECTRIC TROLLEY - -_By permission of the_ _Anglo-American Motor Car Co., Ltd., London_] - -Probably it will begin, as was suggested by Mr. Rider Haggard before the -Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture at Norwich, in the shape of an -agricultural post. His plan was to enlarge the present system of -parcel-post so that one hundred packages, each of 100 lbs. in weight, -should be carried in the same way as parcels of only 10 lbs., and that -produce of any sort, such as a crate of apples, the carcase of a sheep, -a basket of flowers, etc., should be delivered the next morning to -whatever part of England the goods were consigned. - - -MERCANTILE MOTORS - -The prosaic use of motors is increasing rapidly. In our streets are -frequently seen steam or petrol lorries for the heavy goods of brewers, -stone-merchants, builders, contractors, engineers, asphalt-paving -companies, etc.; substantial vans for wholesale manufacturing houses and -great establishments, such as Bryant and May’s, Maple’s, Harrod’s, -Whiteley’s, and Barker’s; lighter vehicles for smaller tradesmen, carts -for county council and borough council work; a few fire-engines and -ambulance waggons; while in the country any number of motors are used by -shopkeepers to deliver their goods for miles around. - -[Illustration: FIG. 32. AN ELECTRIC TRADESMAN’S-VAN - -_By permission of the Automobile Co. of Great Britain, London_] - -In fact, the mercantile use of motors has grown so much, that before -long we may even see “Black Maria” delivering and picking up its daily -quantum of _détenus_ through the medium of stored-up electricity. - -We must just glance at the subject of motor-bicycles, driven by petrol -and “sparked” by electricity. They are beginning to be much used for -getting about quickly, for trailers, and as sporting machines for -“breaking the record.” In September last year, at the Crystal Palace, -some extraordinary results were obtained by them in the matter of speed, -one of them covering no less than fifty miles in an hour and eight -minutes! - -Sir Martin Conway’s opinion, humorously delivered this year to the -Society of Arts, respecting “stupid cyclists” and motor-cycles, is worth -recording. He said that the first thing on which he desired knowledge -concerning motor-cycles was how he was to fall off, as he fell off every -machine on wheels some time or other; next, how long it would take a man -to understand the parts in a motor-cycle, or whether they were -hopelessly removed from the range of the ordinary stupid person; then, -how the thing vibrated; and, finally, which of them did not break down. -He said that he had been told that the pleasure with a motor-car was -considerable when it went, and the annoyance even more considerable when -it did not go. - -Motors are everywhere, and are used for every purpose. There are motors -in the Equatorial Free States of the Congo, where there is no energetic -policeman, stop-watch in hand, to time the “driver” and summon him; and -one day--who knows?--there may be motor-cars in use at the North Pole. - -The motor has even been the indirect cause of political upheavings, for -it is said that the revolution in Morocco came to a head because the -fanatical tribal allies of the Pretender resisted, amongst other -European articles, the introduction of automobiles into the country, and -opposed their use by the enlightened emperor, as too progressive, and -not in accordance with the Mussulman faith. - -[Illustration: FIG. 33. ANOTHER TYPE OF THE “FISCHER” COMBINATION -OMNIBUS - -_By permission of the_ _Fischer Motor Vehicle Syndicate, London_] - -Meals are sent out in motor-vans by the London Distributing Kitchen -Company from its well-equipped premises near the Army and Navy Stores, -the breakfasts, luncheons, and dinners being placed in air-tight baskets -in aluminium receptacles. In Manchester, for some time past, “meals by -motor” have been an accomplished fact, and most popular and lucrative -the scheme has proved. - -Motoring has its romantic side. For instance, in France--the birthplace -of the automobile--abduction by motor has been initiated, and our lively -neighbours may possibly contemplate the revival of that mediæval custom -of wedlock by force. This young lady, however, seems to have been a not -unwilling party to the transaction. - -Going to school by motor has also been made practicable across the -Channel. For some months the Ecole Lacordaire, in Paris, has been -running a Serpollet steam omnibus, which collects the pupils and conveys -them to and from the school. The day’s run gives a total of sixty miles. -Monsieur Serpollet has lately carried out an interesting test with the -vehicle. He made a run of sixty miles with twelve passengers, and the -cost for petrol was 1_s._ 2_d._ per passenger, or rather more than four -miles for a penny. The omnibus averaged eighteen miles an hour.[8] - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -_HORSELESS VEHICLES, ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE_ (_continued_) - - -SPEED OF MOTOR-CARS - -To motorists the pressing question of the day is _speed_. In England the -motor-car was in its infancy when the present law came into force. -Before its birth, no mechanically propelled carriage could travel along -the highway faster than four miles an hour; but six years ago a -determined attempt was made to adapt the law to the exigencies of modern -traffic. Fourteen miles an hour was decided upon as the maximum speed, -and the Local Government Board subsequently reduced the limit to twelve -miles. But these regulations are now out of date. - -A few years ago there was a great outcry against cycle speeds. That has -died out, not because cyclists ride more slowly, but because the public -has come to realise that, with a readily controllable vehicle like the -bicycle, the greater speeds are not dangerous. Similarly the public is -now much exercised in mind concerning speeds of twenty to twenty-five -miles an hour by motor-cars. It will not be long before they realise -that these velocities are quite safe under certain conditions, and that -the motor-car might almost under any circumstances be allowed to travel -twice as fast as a horse, indeed even faster. It is said that this year -the speed of the motor-car is expected to approach a hundred miles an -hour. The Hon. C. S. Rolls came very near to attaining it at Welbeck -last February, when he made an attempt on the flying kilometre record. -The best of four runs gave the time of 27 seconds, which is a speed of -82⅘ miles per hour, and 1⅕ seconds better than Mr. Jarrott’s run over -this course last year. Whether it will rank as a world’s record is not -certain, as the road in the Duke of Portland’s park has a slight -favouring gradient. The French official record on the Dourdan road is -twenty-nine seconds, a speed of seventy-seven miles per hour, -accomplished by both Fournier and Augières. Mr. Rolls drove an 80 -horse-power Mors, which he entered for the Paris-Madrid race. - -Estimates of speed differ in the most extraordinary degree, and the Hon. -J. Scott-Montagu gave to the _Car_ the following humorous table, the -result of an inquiry at a police court:-- - - Miles. - “Private opinion of mechanic in charge 12 - His opinion when talking to his friends 20 - His opinion when in court 8 - Policeman’s private opinion 14 - Policeman’s opinion in court 28 - Farmer’s opinion when a pony was frightened 50 - Maker’s guaranteed speed 16 - Actual speed 10” - -Motorists are evidently assumed to be made of money, if we may judge by -the following statement made by a correspondent of _Motoring -Illustrated_ this year. He says, “One curious result of a car case, in -which I was fined £10 for ‘scorching,’ is that in less than a week I -have received upwards of seventy begging letters from charitable -societies or individual beggars. Motor owner and millionaire are -apparently one and the same thing in the popular mind.” - -Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, who is entitled to speak with authority on -the subject, frankly admits that there is much justification for the -irritation in the public mind against motor-cars. He strongly condemns -rash driving, but, at the same time, maintains that when motor-car -owners obey the law and observe the courtesy of the road, they ought not -to be looked upon by coachmen, cyclists, and pedestrians, as the enemies -of mankind.[9] Nevertheless, he firmly believes that the dislike of -motor-cars will die away in due time, just as did the dislike of cycles. -The utmost caution ought, he concedes, to be exercised by drivers in the -crowded thoroughfares of large towns. - -On the question of their importance generally in relation to British -industry Mr. Leopold de Rothschild says, “We should foster them by every -means in our power. At the beginning not a single one was produced in -this country, but at the present moment some of the machines turned out -in English workshops rival those of the very best French make. In recent -contests on the Continent, too, English cars have more than held their -own. It is sometimes complained that the machines make a great noise. -That defect is being gradually cured. Then it is urged that they raise a -tremendous dust as they speed along. That evil is also being remedied, -and will disappear altogether if the experiment of pouring petroleum on -the roadways should prove successful. Where the motor-car is extremely -useful, I consider, is in enabling people to go across country to attend -hunt meets and visit distant golf links. Then, again, see what -encouragement is given to wayside inns. When in Scotland the other day I -visited a friend who lived twenty-five miles off, and did it comfortably -between luncheon and dinner, and that, too, without endangering the life -of myself or anybody else. I regard the motor-car as a source of intense -enjoyment. Allow the owners greater freedom, but take care that in -return they loyally observe the regulations which are framed by -competent authorities for the safety of the public.” - - -MOTOR-CARS AND PUBLIC HIGHWAYS - -Who can place a limit to the development of motors! The time may arrive -when tram lines will disappear, the roads themselves being of steel and -forming a broad rail upon which self-propelled coaches, omnibuses, cabs, -and cars will ply in every direction, and far and wide into the suburbs. -This is the idea of Mr. A. A. C. Swinton, who also thinks that -eventually motor-cars will drive tram-cars out, because, as he says, -“Tramways are merely a smooth place on a rough road, with a groove to -keep the wheel in a smooth place,” and as one day the whole road will be -smooth the tram-rails will disappear. - -Something similar, I take it, was in Mr. Balfour’s mind when, in 1901, -writing to the Warden of the Browning Settlement in Camberwell on the -subject of homes for the workers, he said:-- - -“What I am anxious people should bear in mind is that trams, railways, -and ‘tubes’ by no means exhaust the catalogue of possible improvements -in transit; indeed, I am not sure that they are the means of -communication for relatively short distances which some years hence will -find most favour. What I should like to see carefully thought out by -competent authorities would be a system of radiating thoroughfares, -confined to rapid (say, fifteen miles an hour or over) traffic (that is -absolutely essential), and with a surface designed, not for carts or -horses, but for some form of auto-car propulsion. If the local authority -which designed and carried out such a system chose to run public -auto-cars along them, well and good. But this would not be necessary, -and private enterprise would probably in time do all that was wanted. In -such a thoroughfare there would be none of the monopoly inseparable from -trams, the number of people carried could be much larger, the speed much -greater, the power of taking them from door to door unique, while there -would be none of the friction now caused when the owners of the tram -lines break up the public streets. It may be urged--and, perhaps, with -truth--that at present the auto-car industry has not devised an -absolutely satisfactory vehicle; but we are, I believe, so near it that -the delay ought not to be material.” - -“It is, of course, obvious,” he continued, “that the present difficulty -of locomotion in our streets is almost entirely due to want of -differentiation in the traffic. We act as the owners of a railway would -act if they allowed luggage trains, express trains, and horse-drawn -trams to run upon one pair of rails. The radiating causeways, as I -conceive them, would be entirely free from this difficulty. Neither the -traffic of cross streets, nor foot passengers, nor slow-going carts and -vehicles would be permitted to interfere with the equable running of -fast cars. There would be no danger and no block; and as the causeway -would be connected at intervals with the ordinary road and street system -of the district, and would melt into that system at either end, every -village in which there were enough residents who had to be in London at -a fixed hour every day could have a motor of its own. It might be well -worth a manufacturer’s while, I should suppose, to lodge his workpeople -out of London, and to run them to and from his works.” - -No electrician living can predict with certainty what the motor-car may -_not_ result in. - -One thing only is probable--that our metropolitan streets will soon be -congested with vehicles to such an extent as to leave no space for -horses. And then will come the complete victory of the automobile. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -_ELECTRICITY APPLIED TO NAVIGATION (A FORECAST)_ - - “And knowledge shall be increased.”--DANIEL xii. 4. - - -DEVELOPMENT IN SIZE OF SHIPS AND STEAMERS - -“Don’t give yourself away,” shrewdly remarked an eminent engineer, as I -discussed with him the outline of this work, and the probability that in -the near future, gigantic ships, as long as the Crystal Palace, and -propelled solely by electricity, would traverse the seas. “I have not -yet come across any form of accumulator that could be adapted to such a -purpose, though I admit that the next quarter of a century may produce -some startling results. Still, I would not, if I were you, write about -it.” - -My friend, like many scientists, was cautious, and did not like to -commit himself; but I am not professionally restricted, and may freely -indulge in a dream containing many elements of reality, and “take the -wings of fancy,” nay, may also “take the wings of foresight,” and try to -describe a mail-packet of the future. - -But before entering into particulars of that phenomenon, the _Princess -Ida_, and to prepare ourselves for the contemplation of her large -proportions, we should note the evolutionary process which has gone on -steadily for the last seventy years, and rapidly during the close of -the Victorian Era, in regard to the size and tonnage of ocean steamers. - -To go far back for the purpose of comparison--_i.e._ to the days when -Britain as a maritime nation was in her infancy, or even to Tudor and -Stuart times, when the _Great Harry_ floated proudly in English waters, -and Elizabeth’s _Ark Royal_ defied the Spanish Armada, or when Phineas -Pett reconstructed Charles the Second’s navy and planned those famous -men-of-war, the _Royal Sovereign_, _Royal Charles_, and _Royal -Prince_--is misleading, because up to Nelson’s time the practice of -building ships with an extravagant amount of “sheer” (the forecastle -and stern towering upwards to protect the fighting men, and producing -the outline of a doubled-up old shoe), together with the pronounced -“tumbling in” of the ship’s sides, rendered it difficult to arrive at -any correct estimate of length and beam. Approximately, 1,500 tons might -represent the _Great Harry’s_ measurement, and 150 feet her length, the -Carolean _Royal_ being about the same. - -This method of shipbuilding began to be modified while Pepys was at the -Admiralty, but it was very gradually abandoned, and had almost -disappeared at the beginning of the century, the _Victory_, slightly -over 2,000 tons, and some 152 feet in length, showing but a slight trace -of it in her high poop. - -In 1834 a merchantman of 1,000 tons was considered a big craft, the -largest on Lloyd’s register for that year being 1,500 tons, upon which -there was not much advance until the “fifties” and “sixties,” when all -the adventurous of England’s manhood were irresistibly attracted to the -goldfields of Australia, and vessels of large tonnage began to be laid -down on the stocks. Of such were the _British Empire_, 2,676 tons; the -_Donald McKay_, 2,636 tons; _Red Jacket_, 2,000 tons; and many others -of from 1,000 to 1,800 tons registered tonnage. These in their turn gave -place to iron “sailers” of immense capacity, the tendency being to build -them bigger and still bigger--“five-masters” of from 3,000 to 4,000 -tons--it having been found that they are worked more economically than -smaller craft, and are able to compete with the larger vessels of other -countries, and with the syndicates that threaten to monopolise the -nation’s carrying trade. Foreign examples are _La France_, 3,624 tons, -and the _Preussen_ (biggest in the world), 4,700 tons. - -In steamers the development of size has been great, and astonishingly so -since the universal adoption of the screw-propeller. For instance, the -paddle-wheel _William Fawcett_, that pioneered the P. and O. Company, -built in 1829, was but 74 feet long; the Cunard _Britannia_, that took -Charles Dickens to Boston, was a paddle-boat of 1,154 tons, and 207 feet -long; the _Great Britain_ (1843) was 3,400 tons register, and regarded -as phenomenal. - -Presently the shipping world arrived at the awakening period of its -history, when steamers of from 350 to 500 feet long, and of from 4,000 -to 7,000 tons, began to be common; but old stagers shook their heads, -and asked where and when this enlargement was going to stop. Time went -on, and splendid mail boats, such as the Cunard _Scotia_ and _Persia_, -in their day considered perfect, were looked upon as obsolete, and even -their successors, the _Servia_, 7,392 tons and 515 feet long, the -_Etruria_, 7,718 tons and 502 feet long, and others of similar -dimensions, soon ceased to be wondered at. This was eighteen years ago. -Then, by leaps and bounds, so great was the competition between the -different Atlantic liners, and so strong the demand for speed, that -10,000 tons was soon reached in the White Star Company’s _Majestic_ and -_Teutonic_, and exceeded by the Cunarders, _Campania_ and _Lucania_ -(1893), of 13,000 tons each, 620 feet in length, and over 65 feet in -beam. - -But Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, who had been building 12,000 ton -boats, metaphorically without “turning a hair,” were determined not to -be beaten, and produced their new _Oceanic_ (1899), 704 feet by 68 feet, -_i.e._ nearly as long as the Haymarket, and about as broad as one -portion of Piccadilly. In her, it was thought, finality had been -reached; but last year Belfast witnessed the launch of a still bigger -vessel, the _Cedric_, 21,000 tons gross register, 700 feet long, and 75 -feet wide--the largest steamer afloat! Even she is destined to take -second place, as ere long two ships belonging to the Cunard Line will -dispossess the _Cedric_ of her premier position. These wonderful -creations will be 750 feet by 76 feet, with an estimated sea-speed of 25 -knots. - -Thus we clearly see how enormously the dimensions of steamers have -increased; for instance, the _Britannia_ (1840) was 1,154 tons, and 207 -feet long, and had accommodation for 115 cabin passengers, no “steerage” -being carried. But the _Cedric_ is nearly 3½ times longer, and carries -3,000 people across the Atlantic, besides her crew of 350 hands. In the -same ratio of progression, ships (they will not be called _steamers_, -but _electrofers_) 2,500 feet long, with comfortable quarters for 75,000 -human beings, will be the order of the day! - -I have not referred to the poor old _Great Eastern_--or _Leviathan_ as -she was originally named--680 feet long, and of 16,000 tons register. -She was before her time, and, like other big steamers of that day, far -too heavy in her plating to be driven economically at even moderate -speed. - -Great dimensions and swiftness have been rendered possible by improved -engines, but chiefly by the employment of steel in their construction, -which so materially reduces the _vis inertia_, that in the case of the -_Pennsylvania_, built by Harland and Wolff for the Hamburg-American -Line, although a mighty carrack of something like 585 feet, and 62 feet -by 42 feet, her actual dead-weight is only 8,000 tons. Still more -remarkable will be the reduction--about one-half--when aluminium with -some form of alloy--copper, perhaps--comes into general use. -Torpedo-boats have been built with this metal, and have run with great -smoothness. It exists in every clay and shale formation, and is -scattered throughout the world in immense profusion, our London clay -consisting principally of silicate of alumina. Electricity is used in -manufacturing this beautiful metal, that requires no paint to defend it -from rusting; and, although it has hitherto been a costly article, the -time is not far off--so it is said--when the price will come down to £19 -a ton, or less. - -A recent and novel application of aluminium to building purposes is to -be seen at Chicago, where a house sixteen stories high is fronted on -both sides with it, instead of bricks or terra-cotta. - -Berthing the monstrous ships of the future is a problem met by a radical -and world-wide alteration in the dimensions of docks, supplemented by -quays running out into deep water, which in London would extend on both -sides of the Thames, on the north from Tilbury to the Albert Docks, thus -converting the old river, like the Clyde, into a long water-street lined -by sea-walls, and kept constantly dredged, and connected with London by -special lines of railway. - -But what is to be the propelling power of the future leviathans? Not -steam; but electricity, applied to the machinery from storage batteries. -Why not? - - -ELECTRIC STORAGE AS A MOTIVE POWER - -Sceptics in the past argued that it was manifestly impossible that -vehicles would ever be horseless, or that communications would one day -be transmitted by telegraph, not to speak of the time when even the -wires for that purpose would be dispensed with; while the suggestion -that artificial light would be obtained through any other agency than -candles or oil-lamps, and that sail-less ships would be propelled -against wind and tide, seemed savouring of Bedlam! - -Yet all these seeming impossibilities, and many more, have become -realities. So, too, will electrical marine propulsion, and, although we -live in a more enlightened era than our ancestors, few persons even now -perhaps realise that ships will be navigated without either sail or -steam power. - -By this time, however, the public have become so familiarised with -scientific marvels, that they have ceased to wonder at anything. For -instance, there is nothing really more marvellous than that hundreds, or -even thousands, of horse-power should be borne by a copper wire, or a -moderate cable, and despatched to a distant point with the speed of -lightning for traction purposes; but, without knowing what the nature of -the force is, we cease to be astonished at it. In point of fact, it is -not more occult than heat or light, the attraction of gravity or -cohesion. - -Therefore when it was announced last year that Edison had solved the -problem of how to store electrical force effectually, everybody took it -for granted that he had been, or would eventually be, as successful in -this direction as in multiplying electric light and applying it to a -thousand new purposes. - -The “Wizard of Llewellyn Park” is necessarily a sanguine inventor, but -he has taken the right and only satisfactory way to determine the -question--that of varied and long-continued experiment. Electricity -differs from all other forms of power in two respects--it can be stored, -and transmitted to a distance. The task of transmission has been, and is -being, rapidly achieved. The far greater object of light and efficient -storage, the most momentous problem awaiting solution in the whole range -of practical physics, may very shortly be solved. - -In brief, Edison’s storage battery cells are composed of tiny bricks of -specially-prepared iron and nickel. In charging and discharging, oxygen -is driven from one metal to the other and back again through the action -of a potash solution, and without corrosion or waste. Renewal of the -water supply is all that is needed to keep the cells in good condition, -and a process of recharging has been improved, so that less time is -consumed than for the recharging of other batteries. No wonder he -believes that the application of storage batteries will ultimately be -extended to trains, and especially to ships. - -The claim of the Edison Accumulator is that it will occupy about the -same space as the present battery, and that it will weigh only about -seventy per cent. as much, and will be more durable. Men conversant with -the theory of electrical science are not so thoroughly impressed with -the work accomplished as is Mr. Edison. The tests that have been made -have been more than duplicated, it is said, by the batteries now on the -market. We may assume, then, that either Edison’s or somebody else’s -method of storing up electricity for the propulsion of sea-going vessels -will be perfected. - -[Illustration: FIG. 34. ELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERIES - -_By permission of the_ _Electric Power Storage Co., Ltd., London_] - - -THE “PRINCESS IDA” IN THE YEAR A.D. 19-- - -Early one morning in the spring of 19--a small party of ladies and -gentlemen, anxious to avoid the east wind fiend by flying from their -native shores to milder regions, travelled by the electric railway -towards the mouth of the Thames, and, branching off at a point near -Barking Junction, traversed the new line, running for miles alongside -the splendid quays recently completed between Galleon’s Reach and -Tilbury, where special berths were reserved for the leviathan liners -that had begun running from the port of London to Cape Town. - -Long before the station was reached inquiring glances had been cast -riverwards for the first glimpse of the giantess _Princess Ida_. - -“That cannot be the _Princess Ida_,” said an unbelieving and -short-sighted member of the party to his sharp-eyed friend, who was -pointing to something which in the distance looked like a couple of -White Star _Cedrics_ linked together and towering above the roofs of the -warehouses that commanded the quays. - -“Well, you will see for yourself presently,” he retorted. “Seeing is -believing, isn’t it?” And as the train got nearer and nearer, wonder and -admiration increased, and when a break in the line of warehouses gave -them a clear view of the great vessel, her beautiful proportions, her -polished hull gleaming in the sunlight, and her exquisite cleanliness, -their excitement and enthusiasm rendered them speechless. - -The _Princess_ was berthed close alongside the river wall, and through a -great sliding port in her side over a short, stout gangway like a -drawbridge, neat motor-cars laden with luggage, and with passengers who -had made the run direct from their London homes, passed in continually, -emerging later from a corresponding port-hole some distance away. Of -cargo there was none, the only resemblance to it being mails, sufficient -in quantity, however, to fully load an ordinary small steamer. As these -were not timed to arrive alongside from the General Post Office until -two o’clock, the party had plenty of leisure to look around, and from -what they had read about this wonderful ship, supplemented by much -information supplied by a courteous and communicative official detailed -as cicerone, they were able to give the following history and -particulars of that interesting up-to-date creation of shipbuilding--the -fair giantess _Princess Ida_. - -She was constructed by the Thames Ironworks Company, a flourishing -concern that worthily represented the marked revival of the shipbuilding -industry in the world’s metropolis. The material used throughout, except -for the lower masts, machinery, propellers, and rigging, was aluminium -alloyed with copper. Her dimensions were as follows: length over all, -1,600 feet; breadth amidships, 164 feet; depth from upper deck, 110 -feet; estimated gross registered tonnage, 33,500; but her lines were so -perfect and graceful as to mask these enormous measurements.[10] She had -an “entrance” forward like a clipper ship, and a “clearance” aft of the -utmost fineness, the stem being rounded off in most beautiful curves. -Her floor in the midship sections was flat, and resembled the letter U, -and deep bilge keels helped to keep her steady, and enabled her to -settle down upon her shore cradle without risk of canting or straining. -Her horizontal outline revealed to nautical eyes just that amount of -“sheer,” and no more, necessary for strength, rising almost -imperceptibly to a graceful overhanging bow, from which pointed a -tapering bowsprit, apparently short, but in reality a single massive -spar of Oregon pine. - -This style had been adopted by the owners because, as they argued, it -added considerably to the beauty of the great ship, and as she probably -would never enter a dock--using a shore cradle when it was necessary to -cleanse the hull--a few score feet added to her length would make but -little difference in the room she took up at the quays. The figure-head, -of oxidised silver, was a beautiful half-draped representation of -Tennyson’s fair Princess-- - - “All beauty compass’d in a female form.” - -Five magnificent pole-masts, set up with thick wire shrouds and -backstays, rose aloft from her deck, their lower part of steel, the -upper section of polished and varnished American fir, terminating in -gilded globes, one of them being specially set apart for the wireless -telegraph apparatus. These masts, with a graceful “rake,” could not have -been much less than three hundred feet high, but were in accurate -proportion to the length of the _Princess Ida_, giving her the -appearance of a Brobdingnagian five-masted fore-and-aft schooner. In an -emergency, sails could be put up from them to keep the ship’s head to -the wind and sea. No ventilators showed their unsightly mouths above the -very broad teak top-rail, for they were not needed; but more than the -regulation number of boats--about eighty, all hoisted electrically--hung -from massive davits, some being electric launches. No great forty-feet -wide funnels to hold the wind; no top-hampering superstructures broke -the deck area, save the deck stairway houses and the wide bridge, with -its chart-room, captain’s sanctum, and binnacle house, in which a wheel -that a child could turn operated the steering-gear, consisting of a -great toothed pinion wheel keyed to the enormous rudder, and worked by -two electric motors used alternately. - -From end to end was a double striped and fringed awning. The _Princess_ -carried a search-light of enormous range and power on her foremast, and -her sidelights were disposed without any disfiguring effect on her -starboard and port bows, and not in miniature Eddystones. Her anchor -gear, worked by electricity, was the heaviest ever made, and resembled -that of the largest battleship. - -Over all floated the red merchant flag of Great Britain, 40 feet by 24 -feet, the flag of the South African Commonwealth, the Blue Peter at the -fore, and above the taffrail the beautiful blue ensign of the Royal -Naval Reserve, while in honour of this her maiden voyage she was dressed -rainbow-fashion with innumerable pennons. - -The hull was built on the cellular principle, divided into water-tight -compartments up to above the waterline, the decks or floors being ten -in number. The mighty hold, and the space where bunkers would have been -in an ordinary steamer, were filled with storage batteries; so that an -immense area was at disposal for electric power, renewed daily by a -wonderful chemical process, the weight of the batteries--in this case an -advantage--taking the place of ballast, keeping the _Princess Ida_ at an -almost unvarying draught. - -Relatively the machinery of the _Princess Ida_ was simplicity itself. -She had three propellers that _looked_ inadequate to move so vast a -bulk. There were no quadruple expansion-balanced engines with cylinders -of 28, 41, 58, and 84 inches in diameter, and no bewildering gathering -of cranks, pistons, rods, and levers, but the shafts were coupled direct -to enormous electric motors which turned them with resistless force, -without the loss involved in the use of a long propeller-shaft. There -was no escaping steam, no heat, no stuffy stokehold and fierce -boilers, no smell of oil and waste, and the ventilation was almost as -perfect as on deck. - -Going on board by the central gangway reserved for foot-passengers, one -entered a splendid hall fifty feet high and a hundred feet square, -resembling the lounge saloon of a big hotel, with glass dome-shaped -skylight above--a winter garden with beds of flowers and groups of -sea-loving palms at the side, kept-renewed throughout the voyage; -seductive easy-chairs and couches scattered about; tables here and -there, covered with periodicals and writing material; while at one end -of a platform, used by the ship’s band, and forming a miniature stage, -was a grand piano backed by a handsome curtain of peacock-blue plush, -and, facing it, a fine organ, both instruments strictly reserved for -public entertainments, theatrical and otherwise. The walls of this -beautiful saloon were of polished New Zealand woods, Kauri pine -predominating, than which a lighter and more elegant wainscot can hardly -be imagined. Fireplaces with ornate overmantels burnt logs of wood--a -sacrifice to conventionality and sentiment, as they were not required -for warmth, the ship being lighted and heated throughout by electricity. - -In general arrangement the interior of the ship reminded one of a modern -hotel, and the illusion was heightened by the port-holes on the main or -second deck being so arranged as to resemble plate-glass windows set in -frames of great strength, and when the vessel began to move on the -waters it was as if a section of the Cecil Hotel had floated off into -the river. But, though beautifully furnished, the ship was not overdone -with meaningless decoration. Mirrors were restricted in number, and -there was but little gilding. Rare paintings of ships, birds, and -flowers were on the walls, while wood-carvings in the style of Grinling -Gibbons and delicate French bronzes beautified unsightly corners. All -the decks were covered with india-rubber laid over fireproof planking, -reducing noise to a minimum, those below the upper deck being carpeted; -and as all the doors were sliding and shut noiselessly, the general -effect of quietude was delightful, even the electric gongs being subdued -in tone. - -The style of upholstery throughout was that of the latest Victorian Era, -modified to meet the requirements of life at sea. There was, of course, -a very grand dining-saloon, and smaller ones for private parties; also a -principal drawing-room, boudoirs, tea-rooms, and in the transoms (_i.e._ -the aftermost part of the ship) one small and purely ornamental parlour -in imitation of Princess Ida’s in her college-- - - “.... a court - Compact of lucid marbles, boss’d with lengths - Of classic frieze with ample awnings gay - Betwixt the pillars, and with great urns of flowers”-- - -where a statue of that divinity, seated on a throne, with a couple of -tame leopards on each side, was placed as a kind of tutelary genius, to -which the sentimental ladies on board made weekly offerings of the -choicest flowers they could get. - -Then there had been skilfully provided in this wonderful ship a small -oratory for the use of Roman Catholic passengers, several libraries, -reading and lecture rooms, a music-room, a cardroom, smoking saloons of -course, a billiard-room, (available in very fine weather), swimming or -rather plunge baths, and electric and ordinary baths in abundance made -of aluminium; besides massage-rooms, coiffeurs’ and barbers’ saloons, a -shooting-gallery, a post and telegraph office, a gymnasium, a -skating-rink, a bowling-alley, a photographic room, an amateur’s -workshop, an apartment specially set apart for ping-pong and similar -games, American bars, and a miniature cafe for the pleasure of those who -would make believe they were still ashore; a tennis-court, a miniature -golf-link, a small running, walking, and cycle track (quoits, cricket, -hockey, and even football could always be enjoyed on the upper deck), an -aviary (parrots prohibited), a natural history room, an aquarium, a -servants’ hall, a nursery (a remote locality) with tracks for -perambulators; small shops for confectionery, millinery, hosiery, and -tobacco; also a printing-press, a dispensary, and a hospital; a cell for -insubordinates, and, alas! a mortuary.[11] - -On the upper deck--so great was the distance from stem to stern, twice -up and down being more than a mile--small electric trolley-chairs were -at the disposal of the old or infirm to enable them to take open-air -exercise. A wide shelter-promenade ran round the ship’s sides between -two of the decks, looking out on the sea through spacious port-holes, -and when wind and rain were too pronounced there were the roomy -stairway houses on deck wherein to take refuge. - -On every floor there were lifts for those who cared to use them. The -telegraph and telephone made intercommunication easy, and at every -corner of the ship, with its maze of corridors and staircases, -direction-tablets indicated one’s whereabouts. - -Families were accommodated with furnished suites of private rooms, which -could be rented or even leased. Here they could bring their own -servants, and be boarded independently of the other travellers. These -suites varied in size from a modest sitting-room and bedroom for -solitary couples, to flats suitable for a large number. There were -bedrooms (not cabins) for spinsters and bachelors, and double-bedded -rooms. The familiar two, four, and six open-berthed staterooms were -conspicuous by their absence. - -Of regulations there were few, and these were framed for the general -good and were strictly enforced. No dogs or cats were allowed in any -part of the ship; the playing upon any instrument, except in the -music-room, was prohibited, and this applied even to the private suites; -small children and babies were kept absolutely separate from the adults, -and smoking was forbidden except in saloons set apart for that purpose -and in private rooms. - -All cookery was done by electricity,[12] supplemented by charcoal, and -the scale of provisions that had to be dealt with, apart from the ship’s -stores for the crew, was Gargantuan, while fresh fruit, fish, etc., were -always obtained in addition at the various stopping places. For the -round voyage, with allowance for accidents, say forty-two days in all, -there had to be put on board for the passengers: of fish, 36,000 lbs.; -fresh meat (beef, mutton, lamb, veal, and pork), 367,700 lbs.; fowls and -chickens, 16,000; ducks, 1,800; geese, 950; turkeys, 1,500; partridges, -grouse, etc., 3,600 brace; 260 tons of potatoes; 560 hampers of -vegetables; 4,000 quarts of ice-cream; 18,000 quarts of milk; 215,000 -eggs; also canned goods, butter, flour, and groceries in proportion. Of -champagne, 18,000 bottles; 15,000 of claret; 110,000 of ale; 45,000 of -stout; 87,000 of mineral waters; and 10,000 bottles of various spirits. -All these, except the stimulants, were preserved in chilled rooms, the -ice being made on board. - -At a pinch the _Princess Ida_ could accommodate--besides her crew of -four hundred, a small army of servants, the stewards, and stewardesses -(there were no stokers or firemen)--six thousand souls; but to ensure -comfort, only 3,500 passengers were as a rule booked, necessarily at -high rates. All were of one class, the only difference, as in an hotel, -being in the price paid for position. - -The officers were comfortably quartered in the forward part of the ship -in a manner equal to the first class of many a steamer; the crew -beneath, in the so-called forecastle, palatial in comparison with the -old-fashioned sailing ship. - -By the time the handy-man had taken these notes H. M.’s mails arrived -alongside, and were put on board by electric trolleys through the -central side port. There was no stupefying, deafening escape of steam, -and no maddening ringing of great bells. The Blue Peter--some fifteen -feet square--fluttered down from the foremast, and a megaphone in -sonorous tones announced that the hour of departure had arrived, and -that visitors must leave for the shore. - -The _Ida_ began to show that she could move, and majestically and slowly -shifted her position, until her bow pointed seaward, a mighty cheer -going up from quay and ship. An unseen orchestra gave forth “Auld Lang -Syne,” and in the fading light the _Princess Ida_, glowing with -incandescents, her syren sounding at intervals, disappeared in the river -fog on her maiden voyage. - -Going down channel at an easy fifteen knots, it was immediately -noticeable how remarkably steady the great ship was in the choppy sea. -There was an entire absence of vibration, partly attributable to the -metal of which she was constructed, and to the perfect balancing of her -machinery and nice adjustment of weight throughout her holds. Even in -the Bay of Biscay, which was wavelessly heavy in long, sullen rollers -after a mighty storm from the west had died away, the _Princess_ behaved -like a real sea-lady, yielding slowly, but steadily, to the _force -majeur_ of the Atlantic; and no one dreamt of being sea-sick except one -very bilious-looking gentleman, a heavy eater, hailing from Brazil. - -In short, she proved herself to be a splendid sea-boat. Not a drop of -water could reach her upper decks; pitch she hardly could, as her great -length enabled her to ride quietly across the valleys between oncoming -waves. - -A few hours’ detention at beautiful Madeira, and shortly afterwards -Teneriffe was reached, where it began to be warm; but the ship was so -spacious, and was kept so cool by means of refrigerators, electric fans, -and--when necessary--punkahs, that no one felt in the least -inconvenienced by the heat. There were no smuts, no smoke, and, better -still, no smell of oil or paint (neither of these being used on the -ship), no cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, or rats! - -[Illustration: FIG. 35. ELECTRIC LAUNCH ON THE THAMES - -_By permission of the_ _Immisch Electric Launch Co., Ltd., London_] - -Here she began to put on speed, working up to eighteen knots an hour, -her maximum (very great speed being no special consideration), and it -was then observed that so smooth and tapering were her lines, that she -slipped through the water raising but little bow wave, and almost as -frictionless as a swift ocean-fish. - -An hour or so at lonely Ascension, and the same at St. Helena--in each -case to deliver and receive mails, and to keep up telegraphic -communication with London--a voyage altogether of wondrous beauty and -enjoyment, nights of solemn loveliness, and days that broke in perfect -splendour, cloudless, save for little patches of white here and there, -and the ocean a dazzling radiance of deep blue. - -Cape Town--six thousand miles in sixteen days out from Tilbury--and, -greeted by thousands who had flocked from far and near to witness the -sight, the _Princess Ida_ glided to her berth inside the great -breakwater. - -And there for the present I must leave her. - -I think I have demonstrated that, theoretically at least, the tiny -electric launches, put on the Thames in 1889 by the Immisch Company, one -of which, the _Lammda_, took the then Prince of Wales through Boulter’s -Lock, was the forerunner of the ocean steamer of the twentieth century. - -But there is no absolute novelty under the sun; for it is stated that in -1838 a distinguished Roman scientist, Jacobi, invented an electric motor -which drove a small boat on the Neva at two miles an hour. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -_SOME ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION DRAWBACKS_ - - “Perfection is attained by slow degrees; she requires the - hand of time.”--VOLTAIRE. - - -THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE - -Little more need be said as to the advantages of the new order of -things, for however technical opinions may differ about the relative -advantages of steam or electricity, there cannot be any doubt that the -public fully recognise the immense superiority of the latter in details -of cleanliness and general comfort. - -Tube railways are intensely disliked by some people, and as heartily -appreciated by millions of others. That they are an advantage in many -ways is unquestionable, though they are not yet without defects. -Motor-cars (electric or petrol), to those who use them, appear to be the -safest and most delightful of vehicles, but here again perfection has -not been reached. - -With these four well-known forms of traction I must now deal, and not -eulogisticallv. In the old days when some recluse renowned for his -holiness--which he had instanced by living unwashed for years in a hair -shirt until it fell to pieces--died, his admirers frequently put in a -claim for his canonisation. This necessitated the appointment of an -individual called the _Advocatus Diaboli_, a leader of the opposition, -whose duty it was to raise all kinds of objections to the granting of -the sacred honour, and to recall everything possible to the detriment -of the candidate. Not a pleasant task, certainly, but not altogether -unnecessary. - -After this fashion it is fair to bring up some sort of a case against -electric traction. - - -ELECTRIC RAILWAY ACCIDENTS AND BREAKDOWNS - -As regards electric railway accidents and blockings of tubes, the -_Advocatus Diaboli_ is able to quote rather too many examples. -Commencing with the United States, where in July, 1902, a car, -descending the mountain on the Mountain and Lake Electric Railway, near -Gloversville, where the grade is a thousand feet in four miles, became -uncontrollable, and, acquiring frightful velocity, collided with another -car which was ascending the slope. Both cars rushed down several feet, -and then ran off the rails. Each car contained seventy passengers, and -of these fifteen were killed and injured. Ten bodies, mangled beyond -recognition, were taken from the wreckage. Most of the victims were -women. - -At home there is the disastrous Liverpool Electric Overhead Railway fire -of December 23rd, 1901. The trains are run on the multiple control -principle, a motor at each end, and the accident was due to a defect in -the rear one. But as it is a typical case, I will quote in full the -cause of the accident, as assigned by Lieutenant-Colonel H. A. Yorke, -the Board of Trade Inspector. He says: “A gale of wind was blowing from -the west, that is, from the mouth of the tunnel towards the station, -which caused the fire to spread from carriage to carriage until the -whole train was enveloped in flames. It is estimated that the train was -well alight about twelve minutes after the stoppage. There were -twenty-nine passengers, who, when the train first came to a stand, were -urged by the driver and guard to keep their seats, as there was no -danger. The driver and guard seem to have made some futile attempts to -put out the fire; but it soon became apparent that the fire had obtained -the mastery, and the passengers found it necessary to alight. They had -only eighty yards to walk in order to reach the station, and the -majority of them appear to have gone to their homes without any delay, -and to have suffered no ill-effects from the fire. It appears, however, -from the evidence that a few remained behind, presumably to watch the -progress of the conflagration and the result of the effort to control -it.” - -The inspector went on to say that in his opinion it would have been -productive of no serious danger had only the driver acted with a -moderate degree of prudence. When this man discovered that his rear -motor had failed his duty was to disconnect his rear motor by means of -the plug provided for the purpose in his apartment. He should then have -run into the station with one motor, as is often done. For some reason -or other, which cannot be conjectured, the driver, instead of -disconnecting the defective motor, and in disregard of the warning of -the guard, made repeated efforts to bring it into use, the result being -that before long the woodwork of the rear carriage was ignited by the -flashes produced by the electric arc when the current was switched on to -the defective motor. While the driver was so employed both he and the -guard appear to have told the passengers to keep their seats, as there -was no danger. Both these men and the station foreman seem to have -exhibited a lamentable lack of judgment in this respect. It is -impossible not to feel that the sacrifice of life might have been -easily avoided. If the passengers had been hurried out of the train as -soon as it became evident that it had broken down, and if none of them -had been permitted to loiter about the station, their safety would have -been secured. And if the train men and station foreman, who deserve -credit for their efforts to prevent the fire from spreading, had only -realised sooner that the train was doomed, they too had ample time to -escape. The cutting off of the current did no good, but, by putting the -place in darkness, rather increased the difficulties and danger of the -situation. - -The lesson of the disaster is, that all woodwork should be removed as -far as possible from the electric machinery of the railway carriages, -and that for the purpose of insulation material should be employed which -is uninflammable. - -Of blocks or stoppages on tube railways the following are examples. - -Serious inconvenience was caused on December 30th, 1901, by a mishap on -the Central London Railway. It appeared that just before five o’clock in -the morning a motor was being shunted into the Bank Station to take the -first train to Shepherd’s Bush, when, though going dead slow, some of -the gear apparently fouled the current rail, and it jumped the points -just where the two tunnels join, and effectually prevented any train -entering or leaving either. The nearest “cross-over,” by which trains -could be shunted from one to the other, was at the British Museum -Station, but even timely notice did not make the walk through the wet -any the more attractive to business men, the rain having caused all the -omnibuses to be filled long before they got to the station gates. When -the line was constructed it was proposed to make a second siding at the -Bank as at Shepherd’s Bush, and had this been done there would have -been no dislocation of traffic, but fears for the effects of vibration -on buildings above vetoed the proposal. On an ordinary railway a -powerful crane would probably have been run alongside, but the space in -the tube is so circumscribed that it was with the utmost difficulty that -the engine, which weighed forty-four tons, and was resting against the -side of the tunnel, could be moved. As the afternoon wore on, crowds of -City men gathered in the subway in the hope that the obstruction would -soon be removed, but it was not till five o’clock that the line was -cleared and the traffic resumed. - -Once more the Twopenny Tube distinguished itself by a stoppage. It was -on December 30th, 1902, the anniversary of the precisely similar mishap -in 1901, but fortunately with less serious results. Then the engine fell -against the side of the tube, and the workmen could only get at one -side of it; but this one settled itself in such a position that jacks -could be got to work under both sides. The points at the terminus very -much resemble those at the ends of the tram lines, and with the -tremendous traffic passing over them (engines 1,200 times a day) the -only wonder is that accidents of this kind do not occur more often than -once a year. With a curious perversity, the engine chose the time--four -o’clock in the afternoon--when it would cause the maximum of -inconvenience, and the thousands of City men and women going home -realised more fully than ever the advantage of the tube. The nearest -cross-over is between the British Museum and Chancery Lane, and notice -was at once given that trains were running between the former station -and the western terminus. As soon as possible gangs of men got to work, -and within an hour and a half the wheels were got on, but unfortunately -it was very difficult to see what had caused the mishap, as in getting -the motor back the evidences of the cause were removed. Some little -delay was occasioned by straightening the bent rails, but at half-past -eight an engine was run to and fro over the points to see that they were -all right again, and a few minutes later the message was sent to all -stations: “Resumed bookings and ordinary working.” - -These mishaps showed how necessary it was that, instead of cross-overs, -loops should be provided, round which trains could be run. - -January 16th, 1902, witnessed an accident on the City and South London -Electric Railway, happily unattended with serious consequences. A train -left the Elephant and Castle Station shortly after seven a.m., and had -proceeded some two hundred yards towards the Borough when what is -technically known as a “short” occurred in the switch. This means, -roughly, that the current had chosen to go a way of its own instead of -through the insulated wires to the motor. Hence, an “arc” was -produced--that is, an arc lamp on a large scale. The insulating material -began to burn and smell and smoke. Small defects of this kind are common -enough, and the flame is frequently put out with the driver’s hand or -cap. On this occasion the flame resisted all efforts to put it out, and -the driver had to stop the cars and send back for assistance. The -following trains came on slowly, and the engine pushed the broken-down -predecessor on to the Borough Station. It was found necessary to ask the -passengers (fortunately numbering only about thirty or forty) to leave -the train, and the fire was then easily extinguished, though it was -found necessary to cut off the current from the generating station for -a short time. The line was only blocked for about an hour, and the -accident was of little importance except as illustrating one advantage -which, it is said, the “engine” system of electric traction possesses -over the “multiple unit.” - - -MEDICAL OBJECTIONS TO TUBE TRAVELLING - -But apart from accidents and breakdowns, a terrible indictment is -brought against tube railways in general, and the Central London in -particular, which, if true, constitutes a veritable drawback. The -accuser is Dr. L. C. Parkes, Medical Officer of Health for Chelsea, who -says: “Tube railways are still such a comparative novelty, that the -question of the healthiness of this mode of travel has not yet been -fully determined. Dr. Wynter Blyth, in an address a year ago, gave the -results of some experiments on the ventilation and condition of the -atmosphere in the tubes and stations of the Central London Railway. The -chief cause of the movements of air in the tubes and stations, lifts and -stairways, is the passage of the trains along the tubes, which the -carriages nearly fill, thus acting as a piston in a cylinder, driving -air before them and sucking it in from behind in their progress from one -station to another. The condition of the atmosphere, was not excessively -foul, the largest amount of CO ascertained to be present, being 11·9 -parts per 10,000 vols. This sample was taken in a carriage containing -twenty-seven people between the Lancaster Gate and Marble Arch Stations. -The amount of CO present in the air of the station’s lifts and stairways -varied between 8 and 11 parts per 10,000. In no case, then, did Dr. -Wynter Blyth find the amount of CO in the air of the tube to be more -than three times the amount usually present in the outer atmosphere of -the London streets (average 4 parts per 10,000). Contrasted with the -tunnel of the Metropolitan Railway between Gower Street and King’s Cross -Stations, where a sample of the air taken showed that CO was present to -the extent of 25·9 parts per 10,000, the air of the tube railway is -comparatively pure.” - -Dr. Parkes continues: “It may be safely asserted that constant -travelling day after day, even if only for a limited period each day, in -an atmosphere containing 15 to 20 parts per 10,000 of CO, such CO being -derived solely from a human source, must eventually tend to injure -health. There are two other dangers in tube-travelling which require -notice. First, the danger in the warm summer and the cold winter months -alike of bodily chill. In the hot weather the traveller passes suddenly -from the warm street into a much colder atmosphere below the ground -level. In the winter the reverse happens--the passenger who has been -warmed and enervated by the devitalised air below meets the chilly -wintry blast on emerging into the street. Secondly, the air of the tube -being very dry, and constantly in movement, there must be much organic -dust of human origin floating in it. The dangers of tubercular -expectoration are no doubt intensified in such a dry and shifting -atmosphere as that of the tube, and the cautionary notices to prevent -spitting are wisely exhibited in every carriage.” - -On the whole, Dr. Parkes favours open air to other methods of -travelling. He recommends that as far as possible travelling should be -by routes open to the air of heaven. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -_SOME ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION DRAWBACKS (continued)_ - - -TRAMWAY ACCIDENTS - -When the Chiswick High Road tram-line was being made the tradesmen -petitioned the London County Council against it. They complained of the -annoyance as well as of the danger of the trams. They said that the -trams, being large (carrying seventy people in all) and running on eight -wheels, made considerably more noise than the light horse-car; that the -motor was not silent, and the progress of the trolley along the -shivering overhead wire made a continuous, most unmusical, and -penetrating din; while the brake--of necessity powerful--also had a -harsh note quite its own. To this was added the noise and flash of -electric sparks and a singularly sonorous and imperative bell in place -of the usual whistle; and as the cars came along every two and a half -minutes in each direction, they who dwelt along the route did not find -them altogether lovely. - -Some people maintain that electric trams are not merely unlovely, but -are decidedly dangerous to travel in. There have been electric tram -accidents, of course, and very serious ones. For instance, at -Huddersfield, one June night in 1902, a car, as it approached the town -and was half-way down an incline of a mile in length, got out of -control. The trolley arm left the wire, plunging the conveyance into -darkness. By this time the pace of the car was too great to permit of -anyone getting off. It went whizzing past the car standing in the next -loop; but failing to negotiate a sharp curve at the bottom of Somerset -Road, ran straight across the street, smashing the pavement and dashing -with great force into a grocer’s shop, the wooden front of which -collapsed. The front of the car was also driven in. Three persons were -killed and six seriously injured. - -At Chatham a catastrophe, resulting in four deaths and many injuries, is -still fresh in people’s minds. It occurred on October 30th, 1902, and -was extraordinary in many respects, the tram being completely wrecked. -The Chatham and District Light Railway is worked as an electric tramway -on the overhead trolley system, and has been in operation about twelve -months. The scene of the mishap was at the foot of Westcourt Street, Old -Brompton, in the parish of Gillingham, close to the main entrance to -Chatham Dockyard, where there is a very steep gradient. A workmen’s car, -filled with mechanics and labourers on their way to work, suddenly -bolted in descending the hill, notwithstanding that the brakes had been -duly applied. The weight of the heavily laden vehicle increased the -velocity every yard of the way, and a terrific pace was obtained. - -There is a sharp curve in the railway at the end of the road. The -passengers screamed as they realised their danger. The driver shouted to -them to jump off the car, which many did; and the driver and conductor -themselves took a leap for their lives, and thus avoided serious injury. -As anticipated, the curve proved fatal to the safety of the car. The -heavy vehicle toppled over on its side with a terrific crash, and the -passengers, projected in all directions, made a confused heap in the -highway. - -Those who were not seriously injured struggled to their feet, but others -remained prostrate, unable to move, shrieking or groaning with pain, and -several more were rendered insensible. Assistance was speedily -forthcoming, and the sufferers were removed to the Royal Naval Hospital, -which is within a stone’s-throw of the scene of the accident. - -In September of the same year a remarkable accident took place at -Glasgow, also with fatal results. About half-past nine one Saturday -night, when the streets were at their busiest, a Possilpark car got out -of the driver’s control, and began to move down a slope of Renfield -Street, which is the main car artery of Glasgow. Where Renfield Street -cuts Sauchiehall Street, the principal thoroughfare of the city, the -vehicle dashed into a Pollokshields car, standing at the junction. Both -cars left the rails, and the runaway, without perceptible interruption, -continued on its career, driving the other before it, the conductors’ -platforms being interlocked. A few yards further on a Dennistown car was -encountered. The two locked cars swept down, and, driving the third in -front of them, continued their course down to Argyle Street, a distance -of about six hundred yards. A long succession of cars was moving -upwards, and with the momentum the three heavy cars had then attained a -disaster seemed imminent. However, where the Dennistown line, coming out -of St. Vincent Place, joins Renfield Street, the foremost of the three -runaways took the branch points, swerved with such speed that it failed -to keep the rails, and plunged headlong across the street, being -eventually brought up by the wall of a shop. The second and third cars, -still locked together, followed the former, striking the shop almost at -the same point. - -At Devonport another accident, resulting in death, occurred the same -month. About nine o’clock in the morning, a car containing eight -passengers, six of whom were on the top, got beyond the control of the -driver on the incline leading to the South-Western Railway Station. The -powerful brakes were promptly applied, but failed to check the progress -of the car, which rapidly gathered momentum, although the reversing gear -was also applied at full pressure. - -At the foot of the slope, where the line takes a sharp curve into one of -the main roads to Devonport, the vehicle, which had by this time -attained a terrific pace, jumped the rails, crossed the road, and dashed -into a wall enclosing the carriage entrance to the station. The force of -the impact broke the wall, and caused the car itself partly to topple -over. Some of the terrified passengers on the top jumped into the -roadway, and others were thrown off. One young man, in jumping off, -succeeded in clearing the car and the wall, but as he alighted in the -roadway, which slopes down to the entrance of the station, a piece of -granite coping, weighing several hundredweight, dislodged by the force -of the collision, fell on his head, death being instantaneous. Other -injured persons were lying in the roadway some distance from the wrecked -car, the upper part of which was a shapeless mass of broken seats and -twisted rails. The position of the car enabled it to be seen that the -brakes were gripping the wheels lightly, while the wooden brakes, which -act on the lines, appeared to be down to the utmost extent. - -In this case the verdict of the coroner’s court coincided with the Board -of Trade’s subsequent report, to the effect that the accident was -brought about by the negligence and incapacity of the driver of the car, -the Board of Trade adding that the cause was excessive speed on a steep -gradient and sharp curve, that the driver was responsible for the -accident in failing to use the brake-power, and in disobeying the -company’s orders by leaving the stopping-place without a signal. - -These runnings away of electric trams called for increased attention to -the question of brakes, which, though they will always hold a car on a -stiff incline on dry rails, yet when the track is greasy they introduce -an element of danger by reason of their very power. They skid the -wheels, which is always a source of great danger. In such cases safety -lies in relaxing the pressure, but it needs a wary brain and firm nerves -to ease off the brake at all when the car has already bolted. - -Then there are collisions, which luckily seldom occur. In October last -one took place between two electric tramcars between Middleton and -Rhodes, near Manchester. The cars were carrying workmen, and the -accident occurred near what is known as the Parkfield loop. The vehicles -were travelling in opposite directions, and owing to some cause, at -present unexplained, they both got on the same line, instead of one -waiting on the loop. About twelve of the passengers were more or less -hurt by broken glass, and one of the drivers was injured about the leg. - -Cars can be completely overturned, as was proved by an incident that -happened in December last year to one of the London County Council -trams. It left the metals at St. George’s Circus, and after jolting -along for a few yards slowly toppled over into a ditch three feet deep, -which had been dug on the near side for the purpose of laying the -electrical connections. There were about ten passengers on the top and -twelve inside, and the tram was already overturning before they had -fully realised their danger. Fortunately they retained their presence of -mind, and those on the top, by clinging to the rails, prevented -themselves from being hurled into the roadway. Two small boys, who were -unable to retain their grip of the rail when the side of the car struck -the ground, were thrown off into the gutter, but escaped with little -more than a few cuts and a severe shaking. The cause was difficult to -discover, but probably as the lines were being rearranged some piece of -iron or other hard substance eluded the observation of those put to -watch, got into the groove of the metals, and caused the car to jump the -rail at a spot where excavations were being made. - -In our climate tramway traffic is not exposed to any very inclement -weather, so that electric traction is not likely to prove a failure by -reason of heavy snowfalls, as in New York last winter during a blizzard. - - -ELECTRIC SHOCKS - -There is a serious feature in the overhead trolley system which ought -not to be overlooked, as the following will show. In the centre of -Sunderland four principal streets cross, and here, about eight o’clock -one Saturday night in August, 1902, when the thoroughfares were -congested with people, the trolley-arm of a tram-car became entangled, -and no fewer than three live electric wires snapped. A woman received a -severe shock through one of them striking an iron handrail on the tram -which she was boarding; but the promptitude of a motor inspector in -turning off the current averted further personal injury. - -The Fulham Public Baths tragedy at the beginning of this year -exemplified the fact that it does not require a high alternative current -to kill. Under certain conditions 200 volts are sufficient. Criminals -are electrocuted at a voltage of 2,000, the current passes in at the -skull. The murderous elephant, Topsy, in New York paid the penalty of -her misdeeds by having a current of 6,600 volts passed through her, and -died in ten seconds; but a minute before, she had swallowed 460 grains -of cyanide of potassium! - -My own personal experience somewhat resembles that of the woman at -Sunderland. It was at Ramsgate on a rainy day, and, the car being full -inside, I had to travel outside, seats, metal-work, and everything being -naturally very wet, and in taking hold of the iron framing of a seat I -experienced so strong a shock that I called up the conductor. He -ridiculed the idea, but while he was arguing the matter out, contending -that it was an impossibility, he inadvertently grasped the wet -trolley-pole, which gave him such an electric sensation that he yelled -and fell flat on the roof. The car had to be stopped, and until the rain -ceased no passengers were allowed outside. - - -MOTOR-CAR ACCIDENTS - -By those who dislike them, every imaginable evil is laid at the doors, -or, rather, the wheels of motor-cars, whether propelled by petrol or -electricity, and recorded accidents are quoted, chapter and verse being -given to show that they are the enemies of pedestrian, driving, and -cycling mankind. Here are some examples. - -On a steep hill in the neighbourhood of Grimsthorpe, near Bourne, on May -25th, 1902, a motor-car got out of control and overturned. The driver, -employed by Lord Willoughby de Eresby, M.P., for whom the vehicle had -been built at Birmingham, was instantaneously killed, his skull being -fractured. He had brought the car to Grimsthorpe Castle only the -previous evening, and was out with a party of friends, mostly Lord -Ancaster’s employés, when the accident happened. One man was badly -injured, and two others of the party received slight injuries, but a -child, who was flung over a hedge, escaped unhurt. - -The following day a motor-car was being driven down a steep hill just -outside Stroud, when the brake failed to act, and the car ran violently -into a stone wall, carrying part of it away. One of the occupants, a -local cloth manufacturer, was seriously injured, and a gentleman who -accompanied him escaped with some ugly bruises. - -An accident occurred near Rearsby, Leicestershire, on August 9th, 1902, -whereby the master of the Quorn Hunt, Captain Burns Hartopp, and Mr. A. -Burnaby were injured. The party were motoring from Little Dalby Hall to -Quorn, when, near Rearsby, the car ran into a cow, with the result that -the occupants were pitched out and the car was wrecked. Captain Burns -Hartopp was picked up in a semi-conscious condition, Mr. Burnaby was -more seriously injured, while Mr. Dashwood escaped with a shaking. - -A curious escape was witnessed the same day at Monmouth. General Sir -Evelyn Wood, who was accompanied by Colonel Grierson, acting Q.M.G., and -Captain Wood, A.D.C., had been inspecting the Monmouth Royal Engineers -(Militia) under the command of Lord Raglan. Afterwards the General and -staff proceeded in a motor-car to Abergavenny. While the machine was -being reversed towards the entrance of the Angel Hotel a brake refused -to work, and the car mounted the pavement and ran into the wall of a -shop, just missing a plate-glass window. Captain Wood, who had alighted, -narrowly escaped being caught between the motor and the wall. - -The following month a motor-car accident occurred at Barnet, when the -Hon. C. S. Rolls was returning home in a motor-car from Barnet Fair. Mr. -Rolls saw a trap containing three or four persons approaching him, and -he steered his car into the hedge, but a collision could not be avoided. -One of the occupants of the trap--a youth--was thrown to the ground, and -the horse was cut on the leg. Mr. Rolls escaped with a slight shaking. - -On the 17th of October last, while motoring from Chester, the Rev. -Arthur Guest, vicar of Lower Peover, with his wife and a friend, had a -startling experience. In steering past a milkcart near Lostock Chemical -Works, the car ran into a brick wall and was overturned and badly -smashed. The vicar, strange to say, escaped without injury, but his wife -and friend were not so fortunate. - -A lamentable catastrophe occurred in February this year in London, when -Mr. George Edward Colebrook, an Australian merchant, of St. Mary Axe, -E.C., lost his life. It appeared that on the previous Sunday the -deceased went for his first motor-car ride with his brother-in-law, -accompanied also by the owner of the car and a professional driver. -There had been a sharp fall of snow and hail, and the roads were in a -bad state. When attempting to pass at a moderate pace another car in the -Finchley Road, near the Royal Oak at Hendon, the hind wheels skidded. -The car turned round and ran against a raised footpath and then -overturned. Mr. Colebrook was fatally injured, and died on Tuesday -night from concussion of the brain, having been unconscious from the -time of the accident. His brother-in-law received a fractured arm and -other injuries. - - -THE GENERAL VERDICT - -Thus much for the opposition, and the _Advocatus Diaboli_ now resumes -his seat. His accusations appear formidable; but it might be justly -pointed out that if a catalogue were compiled of the serious results -caused by the shortcomings of the horse, motor-car accidents would be -found few in comparison. It might be demonstrated that in twelve days 17 -persons had been killed and 143 injured in accidents attributable to -that noble animal. - -When the foregoing tram and motor casualties are analysed, it will be -found that the majority were due to lack of control over the brake -power, to ignorance, or to careless driving. - -As I have observed before, many evils have been laid to the charge of -electric traction. Last year it was reported in the papers that a young -woman had been instantaneously killed at Shepherd’s Bush by the -overhead wires. The fatality was attributed to one of the guide-wires -breaking at the extreme end (an accident which had really occurred on -the line), but it had been replaced _before_ the young lady fell down in -the road, and it was proved at the inquest that she died in the normal -way of heart disease. - -In the old coaching days the dire forebodings of evil arising from -travelling by steam were much more comprehensive than those of the -present day from electric travelling. Horse-breeding, it was said, would -cease and farmers become ruined, their crops perhaps destroyed by -sparks from passing engines; human beings would be asphyxiated while -rushing through the air at tremendous speeds; high roads would fall to -rack and ruin; and every innkeeper on coach routes would be bankrupted! -In fact, a lamentable social revolution was bound to be brought about by -Stephenson’s pestilential proposals! - -Of electrical traction, its greatest detractors can only urge--and with -truth--that it is not yet without drawbacks, not yet so perfected as -to render accidents impossible. And the _Advocatus Diaboli_, after due -consideration of his own arguments, generously acknowledges that he has -failed to make out his case. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -_ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION AND OUR NATIONAL LIFE_ - - “Long sleeps the summer in the seed; - Run out your measured arcs, and lead - The closing cycle rich in good.”--TENNYSON. - - -HOW IT AFFECTS EXISTING RAILWAYS - -Thomas Alva Edison is reported to have said, “Electricity will displace -steam,” and, taking his prediction as a text, I will begin by quoting a -few figures; for Britishers, though they may affect otherwise, dearly -love statistics. - -Well, in the year that Queen Victoria ascended the throne the capital -invested in railways might have been expressed in a few figures. When -she died, the “iron horse” represented the vast sum of twelve hundred -millions sterling. - -Twenty years ago investments in electric traction enterprises amounted -to not more than £100,000. To-day they involve immense sums, the County -Council’s scheme for London alone running up to £50,000,000! But this is -nothing to the probabilities of the near future, as Mr. Percy Sellon -pointed out to the London Chamber of Commerce. “Within the next ten -years,” he said, “electric supply and traction may be expected, with a -fair field, to engage at least 250 millions of capital”; and this -estimate seems to be by no means exaggerated; in fact, it is -underrated. As one of the leading “dailies” observes, “Apart from such a -large project as the electrification of the District and Metropolitan -Railways, there is scarcely a municipal authority in Great Britain which -has not in hand some scheme of electric railway, tramway, or lighting. -It is as well to think that electricity is not the agent of the future, -but of the present, and an era which has already dawned. In displacement -of steam, electricity is evidently destined to be one of the products of -the first quarter of the twentieth century.” - -It may be surmised that by the time Mr. Sellons ten years have expired -all the great railway companies in the kingdom will have adopted -electricity as motive power, certainly on their suburban lines, and for -the passenger traffic on the main lines. - -With what effect, and at what cost? - -The latter question can hardly be answered, but the former may be -guessed at. For a long time the railway companies will naturally be -reluctant to bring about such a revolution as the substitution of -electricity for steam. Engines of enormous power, such as the new Great -Eastern “Decapod” or ten-wheeler, will be requisitioned to accelerate -the working of trains; and, to save fuel, petroleum will be extensively -adopted on others. - -But electricity the public will have, if it is shown to be more -economical in the long run. - -Still, to entirely dispense with a great stock of costly locomotives, -substituting up-to-date motor engines--with the possibility looming in -the future that these, too, in their turn, by the perfecting of storage -batteries, may be displaced--to, perhaps, build new cars, or completely -remodel existing rolling-stock; to erect new buildings (in many cases) -for power stations; to lay down third rails; all this would involve an -expenditure that even long-suffering shareholders would rebel against. -While, if the steam locomotives were retained to work an accelerated -goods service on separate tracks, the widening of bridges, cuttings, and -viaducts, the duplication of tunnels on many lines, and the enlargement -of stations and sidings, would entail disastrous expenditure. However, -the change will doubtless be made gradually, perhaps commencing with the -suburban lines, probably as a direct result of the electrification of -the Inner Circle Railway, over whose system several main lines have -important running powers, and which will then be compelled to abandon -steam. Or should some enterprising Socialistic Government come into -power with no such trifling matters as Education, Water, Gas, or Tube -Bills on its hands, it might by the year 1913, in its anxiety to carry -theory into practice, decide to nationalise and electrify our railways -wholesale, and at any cost--to the ratepayers! - -The effect, anyhow, would not be so very startling, for by that time -electric travelling would be a matter of course, and disused locomotives -of the type so familiar on the “Underground” would be inquired for by -relic hunters and presented as curios to every big town. - -Already the change on the great lines has begun, and it is a significant -fact that the North Eastern have decided to adopt electricity on some -thirty-seven miles of their system in the neighbourhood of -Newcastle-on-Tyne, and a modified form of it in the shape of auto-cars -with petrol engines and dynamos generating the current, on the short -line between Hartlepool and West Hartlepool. - -Of electric lines in progress or projected, we have the Manchester and -Liverpool, the London and Brighton, the Edinburgh and Glasgow, and -others. - -In London all the big termini will be linked together, and connected -with the metropolitan Tube systems, whatever form the latter may -ultimately assume. This may have the effect of increasing the crowding -and bustling of our big stations, but, on the other hand, a vast number -of wealthy people will use motor-cars from “house-to-house,” dispensing -altogether with the railway. - -Trains, more speedily and more economically run, will start more -frequently. Goods traffic will be on entirely separate lines, and -passenger trains will be able to follow one another in rapid and safe -succession. - -Exteriorily all the termini will look as they do now, minus the presence -of horsed four-wheelers and hansoms. But Victoria will be greatly -enlarged along Buckingham Palace Road; while Euston, nearly doubled in -size, will have its frontage brought forward to Euston Square. Within, -there will be less confusion, as either the American check system of -booking luggage will be adopted, or that of collecting it beforehand by -the railway company’s swift motor-vans, and there will be less -steam. On the whole, however, the old stations will probably be -unchanged--Paddington, with its familiar transept roof, impressive as in -1854, when the late Queen, travelling from Windsor, paid it her first -visit; the Midland, remarkable for its noble span roof, soaring one -hundred feet above the level of its eleven lines of rail and its four -platforms; the Great Eastern, the largest terminus in the kingdom, under -five great spans--four parallel and one transverse--of glazed roofing, -with its eighteen arrival and departure platforms; and Waterloo, once a -mere shed propped up by arches, but now second in size only to -Liverpool Street, a maze to the uninitiated. - -The large provincial stations will most likely remain much as they are -at present--Bristol, Exeter, York, Glasgow, Liverpool, all splendid -specimens of important termini and junctions; Swindon, Crewe, -Manchester, and Warrington, greatly improved, if not entirely rebuilt. - -Power machinery will be housed in existing railway buildings when -practicable, and intermediate sub-stations will be marked features along -the railway routes. Pumping-houses, water-tanks, coalyards, stages, and -sidings will have disappeared. - -Sleepy wayside stations, with their pleasant gardens and rural -surroundings, will probably remain untouched by the new order of things, -save that the rapid delivery of farm produce by horseless vehicles or by -light railways, acting as feeders, will wake them up. - - -THE IMPROVEMENT OF STREET TRAFFIC - -The general use of horseless vehicles will do more--at any rate in -London--towards the sanitation of great cities than all the enactments -of county or borough councils. Medical experts are agreed that the -condition of the roads, however well kept, in dry weather particularly, -is highly conducive to the spread of all kinds of throat diseases, not -to mention influenza; while if the roads are neglected, the peril is -increased and every sense is offended. Horses, as beasts of burden, -should have no place in crowded thoroughfares, and their presence in -numbers produces on wood-paving a pernicious and offensive ammoniacal -result which anyone can test in, say, Broad Street, after the omnibuses -have ceased running for the day, or, rather, for the night. All over -London, and even in the suburbs, the streets are Augean stables, which -no effort of the Hercules of Spring Gardens or the Guildhall can -effectually cleanse. It is estimated that at the present time there are -over 16,000 licensed horse carriages in London, besides tradesmens vans -and other vehicles, and that 200,000 horses are stabled every night, -necessitating the removal of thousands of tons of manure and refuse -daily. - -Noise, too--that distracting rattle and rumble of vans, light carts, -omnibuses, and cabs--will be done away with, and how much this will help -to restore the nervous system of Londoners who can tell? Horses having -almost vanished, the space each one would occupy--some seven feet in -length--will be saved on each vehicle, and thus the increase of traffic -will be partly provided for. Collisions and the running-down of cars -will be unheard of, the steering and stopping powers of the electric -motors being perfect. - - -ITS SOCIAL RESULTS - -The effect of universal electric traction on our social life may be -far-reaching and prodigious. It may result in a partial decrease in the -resident population of London, the working-classes living largely in the -country and travelling up and down at uniform penny fares, clerks and -others doing the same; while the wealthy and the well-to-do may use -their motor-cars to such an extent as to habitually sleep outside the -town boundaries, as may also members of both Houses. Only those persons -whose duties compel them, will live within hearing of Big Ben. - -Society will be still more restless, but its members will be healthier, -as fresh air will readily be obtainable. There will be even less time -for reading than now. Formal calls will largely cease; friends in -luxurious electro-cars will “pop in” _en route_ on short surprise -visits, and hospitality will, on the whole, diminish. - -In these vehicles, touring parties (_without_ Cook and Son, or Gaze and -Co.) will be constantly arranged to traverse the world. House rents -generally will be lower, save at the seaside and other health resorts, -where they may actually become higher. So that for those who elect to -remain in town, it will be possible to live on a moderate income, rates -and taxes, it is to be hoped, also being lessened. - -The cost of living will be reduced, produce of all kinds being more -extensively home-grown and more economically brought to market. - -Horses, being discarded for draught purposes, will be plentiful and -cheap; cavalry remounts will be readily obtained, and all over Europe -mounted forces may be the order of the day. The smallest farmer will be -able to employ several horses on his farm, and everyone in the country, -grown tired of cycling and motoring, will have their stables full at low -cost, while in the season Rotten Row will be more crowded than ever with -equestrians. - -Wages will be higher, and there will be a wider field and less -competition. - -Lastly, hygienic conditions being vastly improved, and smoke abolished, -the death-rate of London and all large cities will be reduced. But the -greatest boon electrical traction can bestow, will be reserved for the -working and poorer classes. Take London, for example. - - -THE EFFECT ON OVERCROWDING - -“Overcrowding! Why, everybody knows what that means!” said the Hon. John -Middlemass. “Only the other day I had to travel to town from -Southampton, and the first-class compartment actually filled up--a -beastly nuisance, for we could not play whist as we had hoped. And in -the afternoon, when on my way to pay a visit at Lancaster Gate, I -couldn’t get a seat in the Twopenny Tube, but had to stand all the way, -holding on by one of the straps in the roof! Overcrowding! Why, the last -time I dined at the Gresham Club in the City, there was not a table to -be got to one’s self. They were all packed, and the waiters could hardly -move about. And that evening at Lady Danby’s reception in Piccadilly we -couldn’t even stir, I can assure you, once we were in her big -drawing-room. While as for supper, it was a fight to get near the -buffet, and when I did manage to get some consommé for Sybil Clare, who -was positively starving, just as I was piloting it out of the crush, -some fool jobbed my elbow, and sent the lot of it right into old Colonel -Curry’s face, and made him swear like a trooper! To make matters worse, -I stepped upon the Dowager Lady Harvey’s train, which had no business on -the floor at all, and, I am told, tore three breadths out of it, -whatever that may mean. Anyhow, I was not asked to any of her dinners -again that season. - -“Overcrowding! Yes! You should have been stopping with me at Rookfort -Castle the Christmas after young Lord Staunton had come of age! Two in -each bedroom, I assure you, and they actually had the cheek to ask some -of us to put up with the box-room at the top of the house, as every -square foot of the place was occupied. Oh, yes, I know what trying to -put too many eggs in one basket means! I went through it all on board -the P. and O. _Arabia_, from Bombay. Six in a cabin; no room to dress, -had to take it by turns; all the grub served in double relays; baths out -of the question, unless a fellow sat up all night to grab one; and the -promenade-deck like the enclosure at Ascot on Cup Day; which reminds me -that I never was at any of the big races when the grand stand wasn’t -crowded out. - -“Then, as to overcrowding in small houses, used I not to call upon poor -Bristowe, my chum at Eton, who became a lawyer’s clerk at £300 a year, -got married, had eleven children, and lives in a poky little house down -Fulham way--only eight rooms--and I believe some of them sleep in the -bathroom and the kitchen, and the slavey in the scullery!” - -Evidently the Hon. John did not know much about the social problem of -overcrowding amongst the poor, and how it has arisen. - -“It is not good that man should be alone,” and ever since that divine -maxim was enunciated, man has taken good care to act upon it, in more -senses than one. His nature is gregarious, and as the world he was sent -into ceased to give him its fruits spontaneously, he was obliged to take -to a country life to obtain the means of existence by the sweat of his -brow. He did not readily adapt himself to the new conditions, and, as -the history of Babel shows, there was always a tendency to congregate, -build great cities, and get as much agricultural work done as possible -by slaves. - -Nowadays the dislike of solitude is more marked than ever. Who does not -know of beautiful country vicarages whose inmates would give their souls -to go and live in towns; of farms where wife and daughters pass their -time in grumbling because it is so dull at the old house; of squatters -far away in Gipp’s Land or Maneroo Plains, who, as soon as they make -their pile, leave the roomy verandahed station, and, importuned by an -impatient family, settle down at St. Kilda, Toorak, Darling Point, in -Melbourne, or Sydney? Even peasants, country born and bred, seeking to -“better themselves” in Canada, often cannot, or will not, bear the -absence of such small excitement as falls to their lot in their native -village. - -This is illustrated by a case known to myself, where a labouring lad, -assisted out to the far West, and there obtaining good wages, and--what -to him was luxury indeed--unlimited eggs to eat, threw up his situation -and came back to his home in Kent and to his wretched wages, simply -because, as he said, “It was too lonely in Manitoba; there was no -amusement and no village inns.” - -As Mr. Rider Haggard has remarked, “Some parts of England are becoming -almost as lonesome as the veldt of Africa.” - -Therefore there is the danger ahead that Goldsmith’s foreboding may be -realised:-- - - “Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, - Where wealth accumulates and men decay. - Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade, - A breath can make them as a breath has made, - But a bold peasantry, their country’s pride, - When once destroyed can never be supplied.” - -Hodge, as a class, cannot emigrate. He has muscle, he has a wife and -usually several children, but he has no capital, and the colonies, with -the exception of Canada, do not encourage him or want him without. His -advent also means a disturbance in the labour market and lowers the wage -rate. So millions of acres of fertile land in our dependencies where -there is room, and more than room, for all, remain untilled, -dependencies created by British capital, defended from invasion by -British fleets, helped by British taxpayers, but allowed by a succession -of Governments, with the precedent of the American colonies in their -minds, to surround themselves with _chevaux-de-frise_ of exclusiveness. - -No longer do great clipper ships leave these shores crowded with hopeful -emigrants, the refrain of “Cheer, boys, cheer,” on their lips, and speed -across wide oceans to the Antipodes. A new order of things prevails. -Workmen’s wages in Australasia must be maintained at a fixed standard, -come what may. Heavy duties must be levied to effect this, and -everything must be “protected,” except the interests of Great Britain. - -But Hodge wants to move somewhere and earn more money, so he and his -belongings migrate to London, side by side with other kinds of -impoverished labourers; but, alas! for them, side by side also with the -poor alien, who is unquestionably one great cause of the congestion in -certain districts. Russians, Poles, and Germans swarm into the world’s -metropolis, whose streets, they have been told, are paved with gold that -only requires picking up! They are willing to pay almost any price for -wretched accommodation near their work, where they herd together under -conditions as low as they can well be. - -The following illustrates this. At the London Hospital in December of -last year Mr. Wynne E. Baxter held an inquest on the body of Mary -Moretsky Libermann, aged nine, who was accidentally burnt to death. The -coroner said the only articles in the room where the fatality took place -were a small bed and a broken chair, and that the mother and two -children slept in the bed, and four other children on the floor. The -woman, it appeared, came from Russia, and had only been in England seven -weeks. For the small room she paid 3_s._ 6_d._ a week. A juryman urged -that there ought to be some sort of supervision over the kind of house -in which this woman and her family existed. - -[Illustration: FIG. 36. WHERE THE POOR LIVE - -Original drawing by Hanslip Fletcher - -_By permission of Mr. Hanslip Fletcher_] - -The presence of aliens and their competition also lowers the already -sufficiently low rate of wages. Houses, therefore, in these -localities--once tenanted by a single family--are let off at exorbitant -rates to as many as can be crammed into them. Lucky, indeed, is the -married labourer who can anywhere secure a single room for 4_s._ to -6_s._ a week. And such a room! No means of preparing a real meal, the -family fare generally consisting of tea, “two-eyed steaks” (herrings), -and a “couple of doorsteps” (two slices of bread) per head. - -But, as “General” Booth says, “A home is a home be it ever so low, and -the desperate tenacity with which the poor cling to the last wretched -semblance of one is very touching. There are vile dens, fever-haunted -and stenchful crowded courts, where the return of summer is dreaded -because it means the unloosing of myriads of vermin which render night -unbearable, which (the dens) nevertheless are regarded as havens of rest -by their hard-working occupants. They can scarcely be said to be -furnished. A chair, a mattress, and a few miserable sticks constitute -all the furniture of the single room in which they have to sleep and -breed and die; but they cling to it as a drowning man to a -half-submerged raft.... So long as the family has a lair into which it -can creep at night, the married man keeps his footing, but when he loses -that solitary foothold, there arrives the time, if there be such a thing -as Christian compassion, for the helping hand to be held out to save him -from the vortex that sucks him downward, aye, downward to the hopeless -under-strata of crime and despair.” - -Truly in such cases one realises the truth of these lines:-- - - “God made the country, and man made the town, - What wonder then that health and virtue, gifts - That can alone make sweet the bitter draft - That life holds out to all, should most abound - And least be threatened in the fields and groves.” - -Booth writes chiefly of the East of London; but of all overcrowded vile -dens, perhaps none are so bad as those in the West End, frequently not a -stone’s-throw from fashionable thoroughfares and luxurious residences. - -At Notting Dale, Kensington, is a district comprising five streets, -consisting entirely of common lodging-houses and “furnished rooms,” -whose occupants are thieves, rogues, professional beggars, hawkers, and -“unfortunates.” It has been rightly named the “West End Avernus,” and so -offensive are the habits of its unwashed crowds, that the policeman on -his beat is often compelled to hold his handkerchief to his nose as he -passes by. - -Still lower in the grade of accommodation for a married labourer is the -“part of one room” system; and, lowest of all, the common lodging-house, -where over-crowding is inevitable. - -In one alley in Spitalfields there were last year ten houses in whose -fifty-one rooms (none of them more than 8 ft. by 9 ft.--about the size -of a biggish bathroom) no fewer than 254 human beings were distributed; -from two to nine in each apartment, but nine in the room was not the -maximum. - -There is an old story to the effect that a district visitor, -sympathising with an occupant of some such lodging as the above in St. -Giles’-in-the-Fields, where four families respectively _tenanted_ the -four corners, was met with the philosophic reply, “Oh, yes, we should -have been comfortable enough if the landlord hadn’t gone and let the -middle of the room to a fifth family.” - -Think of all this, fathers and mothers, who jealously guard your -children from every possible source of moral contamination, whose -daughters’ modesty would be startled if accidentally a bedroom window -momentarily revealed their toilettes, whose children at boarding-schools -feel sensitive about dressing and undressing before others. - -Yet this is nothing! A well-known rector in the East End says: “From -one of my parochial buildings I have seen through the thinly-veiled -windows of a house, four men and six women retiring for the night in one -room, all of them respectable, hard-working people, and the majority of -them sleeping in beds on the floor,” the rent per week being eight -shillings. - -As to the alleged dislike of the very poor to the use of soap and water, -it is chiefly because the privacy essential for tubbing is simply -non-existent. - -Probably the lowest depth is attained, as I have said, in the common -lodging-house, where all kinds of characters assemble under conditions -which make innocence and decency impossible, children looking without -any emotion upon sights they ought never to see, and listening to -language they ought never to hear. - -The victims of this result of overcrowding are human beings like -ourselves, “fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject -to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the -same winter and summer.” - -It is not from choice that men, women, and children are thus herded -worse than cattle. Necessity compels them to dwell within a certain -area, especially the “docker,” who cannot afford to take a journey in -search of work, while the smallness and uncertainty of their earnings, -together with the high rent they pay, deprive them of the power to exist -otherwise. - -Figures prove little, but it is a fact that for all London the average -population per acre is fifty-seven; and an idea of the extent of -overcrowding in certain localities may be gathered by comparing this -with that of St. George the Martyr, Southwark, which is 210; with -Whitechapel, 225; and with Spitalfields, 330; the latter equivalent to -crowding into the area of Grosvenor Square (six acres), tenements -containing 1,980 souls, instead of 342! On the other hand, in the -wealthy parts of London there is far too much room, great mansions that -could comfortably accommodate scores of people being habitually left -almost empty. - -The moral effect of it all is terrible. Thousands of infants, ill-born, -tainted, ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, are growing up under -conditions where purity of thought is impossible, growing up to taint -future generations and undo the good work effected elsewhere in social -regeneration. Why keep the main stream pure if foul rivulets be allowed -to arise and pollute it again? Why make clean the outside only of the -cup and platter? - -But, as Cervantes says, “there is a remedy for everything but death.” -And for the “submerged tenth,” who cannot move away to the suburbs, no -doubt in time vast barracks built of steel with garden roofs, unsightly -but utilitarian, will be created in every poor quarter, resembling the -Park Row Buildings in New York, 380 feet in height, and consisting of -thirty stories; or the Fisher, the Marquette, and the Champlain blocks -in Chicago, of seventeen stories each. - -These buildings would accommodate thousands of lodgers--British subjects -only--at low rentals, under decent and sanitary conditions. While for -workmen and others in receipt of fair wages cheap electric traction, -enabling them to go to and from their daily task, will solve the problem -of overcrowding so far as they are concerned. - -Overcrowding, however, is only one out of a host of problems and -questions that characterised the closing decades of the last century, -and beset the opening of the present one. - -We are haunted with problems, and if none existed we should probably -regret it, and try to invent them. There are endless political and -economic problems, the naval and military, the religious and -educational, the national food supply, and with it the land and -agricultural question, the labour question, and the relief of the poor, -who are always with us. - -Social problems bristle on all sides, and every active lady appears to -belong, not to one, but to many of the societies for the reform or -abolition of this, and for the bringing about of that, which abound. Mr. -Jellyby’s little project for civilising the natives of Borrioboola-Gha -on the left bank of the Niger, and providing them with blankets, would -be but a drop in the philanthropic ocean of to-day! - -Temperance, morality, smoking, marriage laws, vaccination, funeral -customs and cremation, early closing, domestic service, cooking, dress, -hygiene, our boys and girls and what to do with them, in fact, -everything in life, seems to have been converted into a “Question,” and -provides a text upon which more or less eloquent sermons are preached. - -Everyone seems to work hard, and has no time for anything. Everyone, -too, is restless and expectant, eager for excitement and change, while -miracles of discovery and invention are wrought so frequently as to be -almost unnoticed. - -All nations are being chained together by iron roads or lines of swift -steamers, and everybody travels. Locomotion is the order of the day, a -sign of the times, and electricity is the great factor that has brought -it about. - -Just as in the building of some vast cathedral unsightly scaffolding -conceals the graceful proportions of the uprising building, so in what -is going on around us may appear much confusion and absence of purpose. -But out of it is being evolved a state of readiness for the coming era, -when wars shall cease and vexed problems be finally solved. - -Meantime the world’s feverish workers might well despair, were it not -that they - - “...see in part - That all, as in some piece of art, - Is toil co-operant to an end.” - - - - -INDEX - - -Accidents on electric railways, 251-256 - --- to motor-cars, 264-267 - --- tramway, 258-263 - -Adaptability of shallow underground system to London, 198, 199 - -Advance of motoring, 202 - -Agricultural motor vehicles, 218, 219 - -Agriculture, Decay of, 277, 278 - -Aldershot trials of motor vehicles, 215-217 - -Aliens and overcrowding, 279, 280 - -American capital and London’s railways, 61, 160, 161 - - -Balfour’s, Mr., views on motor-cars and public highways, 228, 229 - -Ballybunion and Listowel Railway, 36, 37 - -Barnet motor-car accident, 266 - -Birmingham electric tramways, 170, 171 - -Black country, Facts and statistics respecting the, 177-179 - -Board of Trade Committee upon vibration in Tubes, 87 - --- -- Report of upon shallow underground system, 199 - --- -- -- -- vibration in Tubes, 87-89 - -Boer war and motor-cars, 214, 215 - -Boston shallow underground railway, 190-194 - -Brighton Beach Electric Railway, 13, 14 - -British Electric Traction Co.’s tramways, 180-182 - -Brunel’s shield and Thames Tunnel, 76, 77 - -Buda-Pesth shallow underground railway, 190 - - -Cabs, new and old, 212, 213 - -Cars, Curious uses of motor, 221-223 - --- Description of various motor, 206 - --- -- electric tram, 137, 138 - -Central London Electric Railway, The, 63-73 - --- -- -- -- Description of, 66-68 - --- -- -- -- Effect on omnibus traffic of, 70 - --- -- -- -- History of, 63-65 - --- -- -- -- Its annual sale of lost articles, 72, 73 - --- -- -- -- Its City subways, 65, 66 - --- -- -- -- Means of exit from cars of, 72 - --- -- -- -- Ventilation of, 70-72 - -Centres of Great Britain, Manufacturing, 174-177 - -Chatham electric tramway accident, 259, 260 - -Chester motor-car accident, 266 - -City and South London Railway, The, 15-18, 22, 23 - --- -- -- -- A trial trip in, 19-22 - -Claims for damage by railway tubing, 83-86 - -Combination omnibus (electricity and petrol,) 210, 211 - -Conveyances, Public, 208-213 - -County Council, The London, 143 - --- -- -- and rehousing, 143, 144 - -County Council’s, The London, design for shallow underground railway, 187, 188 - --- -- -- tramway system, 140-150 - --- -- -- tramways, Business journey on, 151-156 - -Country, Changes produced by electric locomotion in the, 273 - -Crimean war and traction engine, 217 - - -Devonport electric tramway accident, 261, 262 - - -Earth tremblings, 89 - -Electric haulage on tramways by accumulators, 137 - --- -- -- closed conduit, 134 - --- -- -- open conduit, 133, 134 - --- -- -- overhead trolley, 134-137 - --- locomotion, Devil’s Advocate and, 250, 251 - --- -- Drawbacks of, 250-267 - --- -- our national life and, 269-286 - --- -- Various forms of, 9, 10 - --- motor-cars, 206, 208 - --- -- vehicles, 214, 219 - --- omnibuses, 211, 212 - -Electric railway accident in United States, 251 - --- -- -- on Liverpool Overhead, 251-253 - --- -- accidents, official report upon causes of, 251-253 - --- -- breakdown on City and South London, 255, 256 - --- -- breakdowns on Central London, 253-255 - --- railways, Accidents on, 251-256 - --- -- Pioneer, 11-30 - --- -- Remarkable, 31-46 - --- traction undertakings, Investment of capital in, 269, 270 - --- tramcars, Description of, 137, 138 - --- tramway accidents, Official report upon causes of, 261, 262 - --- -- traction, Various methods of, 131-138 - --- tramways generally, 128-140 - --- -- Objections to, 258 - -Electricity, amount required to cause death, 264 - --- Definition of terms used in, 8, 9 - --- for traction, how produced, 7, 8 - --- Signs of the times and, 285 - --- Storage of, 235 - --- -- applied to navigation, 230-249 - --- -- Edison’s system, 235, 236 - -Emigration and overcrowding, 278, 279 - - -Factories, Removal from London of, 144-146 - -Flourishing state of motor-car industry in Great Britain, 204-206 - - -General verdict upon drawbacks of electric locomotion, 267, 268 - -Giant’s Causeway Electric Railway, The, 11-13 - -Glasgow electric tramway accident, 260, 261 - --- tramways, 166-168 - -Great Northern, Brompton, and Piccadilly Circus Railway, The, 117, 118, 127 - --- -- -- -- -- -- Advantages of, 117, 118 - --- -- -- -- -- -- Aristocratic character of, 126, 127 - --- -- -- -- -- -- Route of, 118-126 - -Grimsthorpe motor-car accident, 264, 265 - - -Haulage on tramways, Various methods of, 130, 131 - -High-speed railways, 38-40 - -History of tramways, 128-130 - -Horseless vehicles, electrical and otherwise, 200-229 - --- -- in the past, 203, 204 - -How railway Tubes are bored, 77-81 - -Huddersfield electric tramway accident, 258, 259 - - -Improvements in railway travelling, 2-4 - -Inner Circle, Rejuvenating the Metropolitan, 47-62 - -Introduction of tramways by G. F. Train, 128, 129 - -Investment of capital in electric traction undertakings, 269, 270 - - -Legislation respecting motor-cars, 226 - -Light Railway Act of 1896, 162-166, 171, 172 - --- -- -- -- Effect on rural tramways of, 163, 164 - -Liverpool electric tramways, 168, 169 - --- Overhead Railway, The, 26-30 - -Local authorities and rural tramways, 182-185 - -Locomotion, Electric, Changes in the country produced by, 273 - --- -- -- at London termini produced by, 272, 273 - --- -- Devil’s Advocate and, 250, 251 - --- -- Drawbacks of, 250-267 - --- -- -- General verdict upon, 267, 268 - --- -- Improvement of street traffic arising from, 273, 274 - --- -- Its effect upon existing railways, 270, 272 - --- -- Our national life and, 269-286 - --- -- overcrowding, Effect of, on, 257-286 - --- -- Social results of, 274, 275 - --- -- Various forms of, 9, 10 - --- New and old order of, 1-9 - -Locomotives, Steam railway, 2, 4 - --- Steam in railway, 4, 5 - -London County Council, The, 143 - --- -- -- and rehousing, 143, 144 - --- -- Council’s tramway system, 146-150 - --- -- -- tramways, Business journey on, 151-156 - --- Motor-car accident in, 266, 267 - --- Overcrowding in, 279-284 - --- Removal of factories from, 144-146 - --- termini, Changes at, produced by electric locomotion, 272, 273 - --- tramcar overturned, 262, 263 - --- tramways in the past, 129, 130 - --- United Tramways Company, 156-160 - --- -- -- -- Extension to Hampton Court, 156, 159 - -London’s congested traffic, 186, 187 - --- latest and longest Tube, 117-127 - --- railways and American capital, 61, 160, 161 - --- -- Royal Commission on, 112-116, 142, 143 - --- -- Selection of central authority respecting, 115, 116 - -London’s street traffic, 141, 142 - --- tangled Tubes, 107-116 - --- congested traffic, suggested remedy for, 108, 109 - --- tramways, 141-161 - - -Maintenance of tramway tracks, 150, 151 - -Manchester and Liverpool Electric Express Railway, The, 40-46 - --- -- -- -- -- -- Advantages of, 41, 42, 45 - --- electric tramways, 169, 170 - --- tramcar collision, 262 - -Manufacturing centres of Great Britain, 174-177 - -Medical objections to railway travelling in Tubes, 256, 267 - -Mercantile motors, 220-223 - -Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways, Construction of, 48-51 - --- -- -- -- Differences of opinion between the New, 61, 62 - --- -- -- -- Chelsea power house of, 51-54 - --- District Railway, New, Driving power of trains on the, 54, 55 - --- -- -- rejuvenated, Rolling stock of, 55-57 - --- -- -- Rejuvenation of, 51-59 - --- -- -- -- Stations and tunnels of, 57-59 - --- Inner Circle, Rejuvenating the, 47-62 - --- Railway, Rejuvenation of the, 59, 60 - --- railways fifty years ago, 47, 48 - -Modern social questions, 284, 285 - -Mole, Tube at work, The, 81 - --- -- -- -- Objections to, 82 - -Monmouth motor-car accident, 265, 266 - -Mono-railway, Ballybunion and Listowel, 36, 37 - --- -- Behr’s, 35, 36 - --- -- Manchester and Liverpool Electric Express, 40-46 - --- railways, 31-38 - -Motor-car accident at Barnet, 266 - --- -- at Chester, 266 - --- -- at Grimsthorpe, 264, 265 - --- -- in London, 266, 267 - --- -- at Monmouth, 265, 266 - --- -- at Rearsby, 265 - --- -- at Stroud, 265 - --- industry, Flourishing state of British, 204-206 - -Motor-cars, Accidents to, 264-267 - --- Boer War and, 214, 215 - --- Curious uses of, 221-223 - --- Description of various, 206 - --- Electric, 206, 208 - --- Private, in country, 203 - --- -- in town, 202, 203 - --- Public highways and, 227-229 - --- -- -- Mr. Balfour’s views on, 228, 229 - --- Speed of, 224-226 - -Motor-cars, Speed of, Legislation respecting,226 - --- Unpopularity of, 200-202, 226 - --- Usefulness of, 226, 227 - -Motor-cycles, 220, 221 - -Motor vehicles, Agricultural, 218, 219 - --- -- at Aldershot, Trials of, 215-217 - --- -- Rider Haggard and, 219 - --- -- Warfare in, 214, 217, 218 - -Motors, Mercantile, 220-223 - -Motoring, Advance of, 202, 203 - -Municipal tramways in the British Isles, Extent of, 164-166 - - -Navigation, Electricity applied to, 230-249 - -New and old order of locomotion, 1-9 - --- order of locomotion, 5-8 - -New York shallow underground railway, 194-198 - - -Official report upon causes of electric railway accidents, 251, 253 - --- -- -- -- tramway accidents, 261, 262 - -Old and new order of locomotion, 1-9 - --- order of locomotion, 1-5 - -Omnibuses, Advantages of horseless, 212 - --- Combination (electricity and petrol), 210, 211 - --- Electric, 211, 212 - --- Existing, 208, 209 - --- Steam, 209, 210 - -Overcrowding and aliens, 279, 280 - --- and emigration, 278, 279 - --- Effect of electric locomotion on, 275-286 - --- in London, 279-284 - --- -- -- Facts and statistics relating to, 283, 284 - --- -- -- Possible remedy for, 284 - --- What it is like, 280-283 - --- What it is not like, 275-277 - - -Paris shallow underground railway, 188-190 - -Parliament, Tube Bills in (1902), 110, 111 - --- -- -- (1902), Authorised, in, 112 - --- -- -- (1903), Postponed, 114, 115 - -Piccadilly, Associations of, 122-126 - -Pioneer electric railways, 11-30 - -_Princess Ida_, The, 230-249 - --- -- Construction of, 239-243 - --- -- Description of, 239 - --- -- Provisioning of, 245, 246 - --- -- Recreations and conveniences on board, 243-245 - --- -- Visit to, 238, 239 - --- -- Voyage to the Cape of, 247-249 - -Private motor-cars in country, 203 - --- -- in town, 202, 203 - -Provincial tramways, 162-185 - --- rural tramways, 171-174 - -Public conveyances, 208, 213 - --- highways and motor-cars, 227, 228 - --- -- -- Mr. Balfour’s views on, 228, 229 - - -Questions, Modern social, 284, 285 - - -Railway accident on Liverpool Overhead Electric, 251-253 - --- -- in United States, Electric, 251 - --- breakdown, City and South London Electric, 255, 256 - --- breakdowns, Central London Electric, 253-255 - --- Electric, Brighton Beach, 13, 14 - --- -- Central London, 63-73 - --- -- City and South London, 15-18, 22, 23 - --- -- Giant’s Causeway, 11-13 - --- -- Great Northern, Brompton, and Piccadilly Circus, 117-127 - --- -- Liverpool Overhead, 26-30 - --- -- Manchester and Liverpool Express, 40-46 - --- -- Metropolitan, 59, 60 - --- -- -- District, 51-59 - --- -- Waterloo and City, 23-26 - --- Light, Act of 1896, 162-166, 171, 172 - --- -- -- Rural tramways effect on, 163, 164 - --- Metropolitan, Rejuvenation of, 59, 60 - --- -- District, Rejuvenation of, 51-59 - --- -- -- New, Driving power of trains, 54, 55 - --- -- -- -- Power house at Chelsea, 51-54 - --- -- -- -- Rolling Stock of, 55-57 - --- -- -- -- Stations and tunnels of, 57-59 - --- Mono, Behr’s, 35, 36 - --- travelling, Improvements in, 2-4 - --- -- in Tubes, Medical objections to, 256, 257 - --- Tubes, Annoyance from vibration in, 86-89 - --- -- -- -- Official Commission upon, 87 - --- -- -- -- -- -- Report of upon, 87, 89 - --- -- Depths of, 81 - --- -- How they are bored, 77-81 - --- Tubing, Claims for damage by, 83-86 - -Railways, Construction of Metropolitan and Metropolitan District, 48-51 - --- Differences of opinion between the Metropolitan and Metropolitan - District, 61, 62 - --- Electric, Accidents on, 251-256 - --- -- Remarkable, 31-46 - --- Existing, Effects of electric locomotion upon, 270-272 - --- High-speed, 38-40 - --- London’s, Royal Commission on, 112-116, 142, 143 - -Railways, London’s, Selection of Central authority respecting, 115, 116 - --- Metropolitan, fifty years ago, 47, 48 - --- Mono, 31-38 - --- Tube, open for traffic in London, 110 - -Ramsgate tramcar shock, 264 - -Rearsby motor-car accident, 265 - -Rider Haggard and motor vehicles, 219 - -Rural tramways, 162-185 - --- -- and local authorities, 182-185 - --- -- New order of, 179-182 - --- -- Old order of, 173, 174 - --- -- Provincial, 171-174 - --- -- Usefulness of, 172, 173 - -Rush for the London tramways, 138-140 - - -Shallow underground railway, Boston, 190-194 - --- -- -- Buda-Pesth, 190 - --- -- -- London County Council’s design for, 187, 188 - --- -- -- New York, 194-198 - --- -- -- Paris, 188-190 - --- -- -- system, The, 186-199 - --- -- -- -- Board of Trade report upon, 199 - --- -- -- -- Its adaptability to London, 198, 199 - -Ships and steamers, Development in size of, 230-235 - --- -- Use of aluminium in building, 234 - -Signs of the times and electricity, 285 - -Social results of electric locomotion, 274, 275 - -Speed of motor-cars, 224-226 - --- -- Legislation respecting, 226 - -Steam railway locomotives, 2, 4 - --- in railway locomotives, 4, 5 - --- omnibuses, 209, 210 - -Storage of electricity, 235 - --- -- Edison’s system, 235, 236 - -Street traffic, Improvement in, arising from electric locomotion, 273, 274 - -Stroud motor-car accident, 265 - -Subways and suburban lines, 109, 110 - -Sunderland tramcar shock, 263 - - -Thames Tunnel and Brunei’s shield, 76, 77 - -Touring in the Tubes (a sketch), 90-106 - -Traction engine used in Crimean War, 217 - -Traffic, London’s congested, 186, 187 - --- -- street, 141, 142 - -Tramcar collision at Manchester, 262 - --- overturned in London, 262, 263 - --- shock at Ramsgate, 264 - --- -- Sunderland, 263 - -Tramcars, Electric, Description of, 137, 138 - -Tramway accidents, 258-263 - -Tramway tracks, maintenance of, 150, 151 - --- traction, various methods of electric, 131-137 - -Tramways, Birmingham, 170, 171 - --- British Electric Traction Co.’s, 180-182 - --- Electric, Accident at Chatham, 259, 260 - --- -- -- Devonport, 261, 262 - --- -- -- Glasgow, 260, 261 - --- -- -- Huddersfield, 258, 259 - --- -- Accidents, Official report upon causes of, 261, 262 - --- -- accumulators, Haulage of by, 137 - --- -- closed conduit, Haulage of by, 134 - --- -- generally, 128-140 - --- -- Municipal, Extent of, in British Isles, 164-166 - --- -- Objections to, 258 - --- -- open conduit, Haulage of by, 133, 134 - --- -- overhead trolley, Haulage of by, 134-137 - --- Glasgow, 166-168 - --- haulage on, Various methods of, 130, 131 - --- History of, 128-130 - --- Introduction of, by G. F. Train, 128, 129 - --- Liverpool, 168, 169 - --- London County Council’s system of, 146-150 - --- -- in the past, 129, 130 - --- -- United Company, 156-160 - --- -- -- -- Extension to Hampton Court, 156-159 - --- London’s, 141-161 - --- Manchester, 169, 170 - --- Provincial, 162-185 - --- -- rural, 171, 174 - --- Rural, Effect of Light Railways Act, 1896, on, 163, 164 - --- -- Local authorities and, 182-185 - --- -- New order of, 179-182 - --- -- Old order of, 173, 174 - -Tramways, Rural, Usefulness of, 172, 173 - --- Rush for the London, 138-140 - -Trial trip in the City and South London Railway, 19-22 - -Tube Bills in Parliament (1902), 110, 111 - --- -- -- -- Authorised, in, 112 - --- -- -- (1903), Postponed, 114, 115 - --- London’s latest and longest, 117-127 - --- mole at work, The, 81, 82 - --- -- -- Objections to, 82 - --- Railway, Central London, 63-73 - --- -- City and South London, 15-18, 22, 23 - --- -- Great Northern, Brompton, and Piccadilly Circus, 117-127 - --- -- Waterloo and City, 23-26 - --- railways, Depths of, 81 - --- -- How they are bored, 77-81 - --- -- open for traffic in London, 110 - -Tubes, London’s tangled, 107-116 - --- -- -- Suggested remedy for, 108, 109 - --- Railway travelling in, Medical objections to, 256, 257 - --- Touring in the (a sketch), 90-106 - -Tubing, Claims for damage caused by railway, 83-86 - -Tubular system, The, 74-89 - --- -- Origin of, 75, 76 - - -Unpopularity of motor-cars, 200-202, 226, 227 - -Usefulness of motor-cars, 226, 227 - --- of rural tramways, 172, 173 - - -Vehicles, Electric motor, 206, 208 - --- Horseless, electrical and otherwise, 200-229 - --- -- in the past, 203, 204 - -Vibration of railway Tubes, Annoyance from, 86-89 - --- -- -- -- -- Board of Trade Committee upon, 87 - --- -- -- -- -- Report of Board of Trade Committee upon, 87-89 - - -Warfare, motor vehicles in, 214-218 - -Waterloo and City Railway, 23-26 - - PLYMOUTH - WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON - PRINTERS - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [1] This is by no means the oldest steam-engine at work in the - kingdom, the doyen being one built as far back as 1767, and used - continuously ever since at Charles Clifford and Sons’ Metal-rolling - Mills, Birmingham. It is of beam type, and the oak beam was only - replaced at the end of last year by one of iron. In 1812 a new - cylinder was put in, but the rest of the engine remains as it was 136 - years ago, even to the connecting-rod for rolling-mill purposes. It - is said that this G.O.M. is more economical than many of the modern - engines used in the trade. - - [2] The biggest and most powerful locomotive in the world is stated to - be the “Bessemer,” built in 1900 at the Pittsburg Locomotive Works, - U.S.A., weighing with its tender 175 tons. Its height is 16 feet from - rail to top of smoke-stack, and it is capable of easily drawing a - train of 4,000 tons at 25 miles an hour, or 8,000 tons at 15 miles - an hour. Its hauling power is therefore enormous, and so it ought to - be, as the diameter of the smallest ring of the boiler is 7 feet 10 - inches. The nearest approach in size to this monster was constructed - in Great Britain for the Santa Fé Railway in Argentina, and weighed - 150 tons. - - [3] See Chapter I. - - [4] These have since given place to motor-cars built in America. - - [5] Report of Parliamentary Committee on Housing of the Poor, 1902. - - [6] _vide_ Chapter V. - - [7] One of the largest tramway schemes ever promoted is contained - in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Bill, which came - before Parliament in March last. The routes have a total length of - 80 miles, and pass through a district with a population of close - upon three-quarters of a million. The idea is to connect, by means - of electric tramways, the towns of Nottingham, Long Eaton, Derby, - Ilkeston, Ripley, Alfreton, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Pleasley, Mansfield, - Eastwood, Bulwell, and Hucknall Torkard. - - [8] In England the motor-car is beginning to play an important part - in country parliamentary elections. Motor-cars are used by commercial - travellers, and are being tried for the official work of the police - about the metropolis. The General Post Office is also giving motor - carriers a trial for letters and parcels; and motors are utilised for - dust-carts. - - [9] A very curious and, to the superstitious, significant coincidence - was recently reported from Ireland. - - Last year, when permission was asked to repair the road between - Newcastle and Kilcoole, a member of the rural council opposed, - declaring that it was good enough for farmers, and they did not want - to encourage “galoots in motor-cars” and “go-boys on bicycles” in - their neighbourhood. This councillor was, not long since, killed - through the wheel of his cart catching in one of the ruts complained - of! - - [10] Both Brunel and Scott Russell, the eminent shipbuilder, argued - that from scientific theory and actual experience there need be no - limit to the size of a ship when constructed on the tubular principle, - except that which the quality of the material imposed. - - [11] The Hamburg-American Line’s luxurious yacht _Prinzessin Victoria - Luise_ has a splendidly-equipped gymnasium, where the passengers can - indulge in horse-riding, cycling, and rowing, on the various apparatus - installed. On one of the decks is a first-class “cricket-pitch,” a - tennis-court, and an archery ground. - - [12] A heater devised by Mr. E. G. Rivers, chief electrical engineer - to the Office of Works, brings the problem of electric heating for - domestic purposes well within the bounds of practical utility. It - renders possible the employment of electricity for heating buildings, - for cooking, and for other uses in a manner hitherto impossible. Mr. - Rivers is engaged in developing his invention in the direction of - applying it to cooking-ranges, and expects very shortly to adapt it to - that use. - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -safeguard against breaksdown=> safeguard against breakdowns {pg 8} - -Motor tricycles and bicylces=> Motor tricycles and bicycles {pg 205} - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Tube, Train, Tram, and Car, by Arthur H. 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Beavan. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;} - -.csml {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-size:80%;} - -.eng {font-family: "Old English Text MT",fantasy,sans-serif;} - -.sans {font-family:sans-serif, serif;} - -.lftspc {margin-left:.25em;} - -.letra {font-size:250%;float:left;margin-top:-1%;} - @media print, handheld - { .letra - {font-size:250%;margin:auto auto;padding:0%;} - } - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - -.nonvis {display:inline;} - @media print, handheld - {.nonvis - {display: none;} - } - -.r {text-align:right;margin-right: 5%;} - -.rt {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -big {font-size: 130%;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;} - - h3 {margin:2% auto 1% auto;text-align:center;clear:both; -font-size:90%;font-weight:normal;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - table {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;} - - body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -th {padding-top:.5em;} - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:100%;} - - img {border:none;} - - sup {font-size:75%;vertical-align:top;} - -.caption {font-weight:bold;font-size:80%;} - -.figcenter {margin-top:3%;margin-bottom:3%;clear:both; -margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - @media handheld, print - {.figcenter - {page-break-before: avoid;} - } - -.footnotes {border:dotted 3px gray;margin-top:5%;clear:both;} - -.footnote {width:95%;margin:auto 3% 1% auto;font-size:0.9em;position:relative;} - -.label {position:relative;left:-.5em;top:0;text-align:left;font-size:.8em;} - -.fnanchor {vertical-align:30%;font-size:.8em;} - -div.poetry {text-align:center;} -div.poem {font-size:90%;margin:auto auto;text-indent:0%; -display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poem .stanza {margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom:1em;} -.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i1 {display: block; margin-left: .45em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i3 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i8 {display: block; margin-left: 7em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i15 {display: block; margin-left: 10em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - -.pagenum {font-style:normal;position:absolute; -left:95%;font-size:55%;text-align:right;color:gray; -background-color:#ffffff;font-variant:normal;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0em;} -@media print, handheld -{.pagenum - {display: none;} - } -</style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Tube, Train, Tram, and Car, by Arthur H. Beavan - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Tube, Train, Tram, and Car - or Up-to-date locomotion - -Author: Arthur H. Beavan - -Contributor: Llewellyn Preece - -Release Date: October 22, 2017 [EBook #55793] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TUBE, TRAIN, TRAM, AND CAR *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 327px;"> -<a href="images/cover_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="327" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="border:4px outset gray;padding:1em;"> - -<tr class="c"><td><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a><br /> -<a href="#LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">List of Illustrations</a> -<span class="nonvis">(In certain versions of this etext [in certain browsers] -clicking on the image, -will bring up a larger version.)</span><br /> -<a href="#INDEX">Index</a>: -<a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#G">G</a>, -<a href="#H">H</a>, -<a href="#I-i">I</a>, -<a href="#L">L</a>, -<a href="#M">M</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#O">O</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#Q">Q</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>, -<a href="#U">U</a>, -<a href="#V-i">V</a>, -<a href="#W">W</a>.<br /> -Some typographical errors have been corrected; -<a href="#transcrib">a list follows the text</a>.<br /> -(etext transcriber's note)</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c">TUBE, TRAIN, TRAM, AND CAR<br /> -<small><small>OR</small></small><br /> -<small>UP-TO-DATE LOCOMOTION</small> -</p> - -<p><a name="front" id="front"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 323px;"> -<a href="images/i_frontis_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_frontis_sml.jpg" width="323" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<h1> -<span style="margin-right: 3em;">TUBE, TRAIN,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">TRAM, AND CAR</span><br /> -<small><small>OR</small></small><br /> -<small>UP-TO-DATE LOCOMOTION</small></h1> - -<p class="c"> -BY<br /> -ARTHUR H. BEAVAN<br /> -<small>AUTHOR OF “MARLBOROUGH HOUSE AND ITS OCCUPANTS,” “IMPERIAL LONDON,”<br /> -“CROWNING THE KING,” ETC.</small><br /> -<br /> -<span class="sans">WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS</span><br /> -<br /> -<span class="eng">And an Introduction</span><br /> -BY<br /> -LLEWELLYN PREECE, M.I.E.E.<br /> -<br /><br /> -<img src="images/colophon.jpg" -width="100" -alt="colophon" -/><br /> -<br /><br /> -LONDON<br /> -GEO. ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD.<br /> -<small>NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.<br /> -1903<br /> -[<i>All rights reserved.</i>]</small><br /> -<br /><br /><br /> -<small>“THE CHARIOTS RUN LIKE THE LIGHTNING”</small></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii"></a>{vii}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE object of this work is to present the subject of Electrical -Locomotion to the public for the first time, the author believes, in a -popular form, giving interesting information about Tube, Train, Tram, -and Motor-car, but avoiding, as much as possible, technical and -scientific detail.</p> - -<p>Electrical traction is of national importance, destined perhaps -materially to abate the evil of overcrowding, by providing cheap and -rapid means of access from centres of industry to country districts and -<i>vice versa</i>.</p> - -<p>It was predicted by George Stephenson in 1825 that his system would -supersede all other methods of conveyance in this country. Similarly can -it now be prophesied that throughout the world electrical traction will -ultimately supplant all other forms. An age of electricity is dawning, -when “power” may be obtained direct from fuel or from the vast store of -energy existing in the heated interior of the earth, or even from the -atmosphere that surrounds us; when every mountain stream and gleaming -waterfall throughout Great Britain, and each tide as it rises and falls, -will help to generate the subtle fluid, which, produced on a vast scale -abroad,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii"></a>{viii}</span> where giant cataracts and mighty rapids abound, may be imported -to supplement our home supply, and be utilised in every manufacturing -district; when all our main lines will be electric, and “light railways” -ubiquitous; when coal-less ships and aerial machines, with perfected -accumulators, may possibly traverse sea and ocean, and invade the domain -of condor and eagle; when farms will be cultivated by electrical -contrivances, and their produce expeditiously conveyed to market, and -the sanitation of our streets be ensured by the universal use of -horseless vehicles. An age that may witness “current” laid on for -domestic purposes to every house in the land as a matter of course; and -also as machine-power to village settlements, where artisans engaged in -certain kinds of trade may work amidst the pleasant surroundings of -home. And thus the abstract principle, “Back to the land,” may become an -accomplished fact.</p> - -<p>To bring the body of this work precisely up to the date of its -publication being obviously impossible, I take the opportunity of making -passing reference to the railway disaster on the Métropolitain of Paris, -when eighty-four passengers were killed, and which has caused the public -mind to be much disturbed by the possibility of danger in the London -Tubes.</p> - -<p>As regards trams, the London United Tramways Company established a -record of traffic during the August Bank Holiday period, the total for -the four days being 878,000, that on Monday alone being 330,000<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ix" id="page_ix"></a>{ix}</span> -travellers. A serious electric tram accident occurred at Ramsgate in -August, when nineteen persons were injured by the colliding of one car -with another at a point where the lines converged.</p> - -<p>Then, as to motor-cars. The great Gordon-Bennett race in Ireland this -summer was won by a German. A tentative Act of Parliament for regulating -the traffic, to come into force January 1st next, and to continue for -three years, has received the Royal Assent, the speed limit being fixed -at twenty miles per hour.</p> - -<p>A service of motor hansom cabs is shortly to be established in London. -The Fischer “combination” omnibus has successfully passed through -repeated private trials, and will probably be adopted by one or both of -the metropolitan chief companies.</p> - -<p>Motor bath-chairs, to hold two people, and propelled by electricity, -will be accomplished facts at the World’s Fair, St. Louis, next year.</p> - -<p>I have now to acknowledge, with thanks, the assistance of Sir William H. -Preece, who kindly read through the proof-sheets of this volume just -before he fell seriously ill in August, and of his son, Mr. Llewellyn -Preece, who has written the Introduction, and I now leave “Tube, Train, -Tram, and Car” to receive the verdict of those who travel.</p> - -<p class="rt"> -ARTHUR H. BEAVAN<br /> -</p> - -<p><i>September, 1903.</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_x" id="page_x"></a>{x}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xi" id="page_xi"></a>{xi}</span> </p> - -<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION<br /><br /> -<small>BY LLEWELLYN PREECE, M.I.E.E.</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE object of this book is to give the public a general idea as to the -progress now being made in the application of electricity for transport -purposes, and it was intended that Sir William Preece should write the -introduction and correct the author so far as any technical -misstatements were concerned. Unhappily, Sir William Preece has fallen -victim to a very severe illness, which entirely incapacitates him from -any work, and will prevent him from doing anything for some months to -come. Just before his illness, however, he had gone through the proofs -and made certain corrections, all of which, the author tells me, have -been accepted, but owing to the great delay in the publication of this -book which has already been incurred, and to the impossibility of -discussing these matters with my father, I have not been able to check -the proofs since the alterations were made.</p> - -<p>The advances which, within the last few years, have been made in the -application of electricity for the purpose of transportation are shown -very clearly in this book, and if the author has made one or two flights -on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xii" id="page_xii"></a>{xii}</span> wings of fancy regarding the future which may be somewhat -startling to the reader, it must be remembered that if many things which -are of everyday occurrence had been suggested to any of us fifty years -ago, and if we had been told that it would be possible to travel at the -rate of a hundred miles an hour, we should have been somewhat inclined -to laugh. As the reader will learn, such travelling is to be very -shortly a fact.</p> - -<p>At the same time I do not believe that it will be so much with the -high-speed work as with the tramway and light railway work that -electricity will be of the greatest service to the public in the future.</p> - -<p>I look forward to the time when there will be a network of light -railways surrounding every town in the kingdom, enabling the population -to spread itself out once again in the country.</p> - -<p>Central power stations distributing electric current over a radius of -fifteen or twenty miles will enable these railways to work at very low -cost, and therefore carry passengers considerable distances at low -fares.</p> - -<p>The tendency at the present time being to reduce the hours of labour, -whether mental or manual, the time at the disposal of a workman for -travelling will increase, so that with an eight hours working day and -cheap electric light railways, there will be no reason why the poorest -labourer should not live in the country, and at least sleep in a pure -atmosphere.</p> - -<p>The adaptability of electricity to motor-car work has hardly yet been -sufficiently realised. People see the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xiii" id="page_xiii"></a>{xiii}</span> luxurious electric brougham, -described in this book, running on the streets of London and other large -cities, but few have any idea that not only the wealthy aristocrat, but -everyone will, before long, be able to ride in such carriages, possibly -not so luxuriousy fitted up, but equally comfortable and speedy.</p> - -<p>The usual cry at present is that electric cars are very nice, but the -owners have great difficulties with the batteries. Undoubtedly batteries -have given trouble in the past, and still do so to some extent. But if a -man buys a horse and gives it in charge of the gardener’s boy, he is -likely to have trouble with his horse. In the same way, if a man buys an -electric carriage and expects his coachman to look after it, he only -naturally does have considerable trouble. There are several companies -prepared to look after and maintain in continuous use, not only the -batteries, but the complete carriages, and this is greatly improving the -reliability of the electric car, and allaying the fears of those anxious -to have such carriages.</p> - -<p>Besides this, the battery itself is making great strides forward: its -capacity per cwt. has largely increased, its life is much longer, and -its reliability under great variations of discharge has considerably -improved. In fact, it may be safely said that even now the electric car -is more reliable than either the petrol or the steam car. At present it -will not do the same distance on one charge, nor will it do the great -speed other cars will, but this is the great reason why it should appeal -to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xiv" id="page_xiv"></a>{xiv}</span> British public. The craze for high speeds does not affect the -majority of people. I believe that it is only a question of a few years -for the petrol and steam cars to be placed in museums and shown as -monstrosities of the past, like the mammoth elephant, and that every -cab, omnibus, and private carriage throughout the country will use -electricity as the motive power.</p> - -<p>In fact I do not think it unwarrantable to assert that, so far as this -country is concerned, many of us will see the day when the only form of -energy used for transportation will be that known as electricity.</p> - -<p class="r"> -LLEWELLYN PREECE<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xv" id="page_xv"></a>{xv}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></th></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Old and the New Order of Railway Locomotion</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_001">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Some Pioneer Electric Railways</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_011">11</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Some Pioneer Electric Railways</span> (<i>continued</i>)</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_019">19</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Remarkable Electric Railways</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_031">31</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Rejuvenating the Metropolitan Inner Circle</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_047">47</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Central London Electric Railway</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_063">63</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Tubular System</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_074">74</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Touring in the Tubes</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_090">90</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">London’s Tangled Tubes</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_107">107</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">London’s Latest and Longest Tube</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_117">117</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Electric Tramways Generally</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_128">128</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">London’s Tramways</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xvi" id="page_xvi"></a>{xvi}</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_141">141</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Provincial Tramways</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_162">162</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Shallow Underground System</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_186">186</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Horseless Vehicles—Electrical and Otherwise</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_200">200</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Horseless Vehicles—Electrical and Otherwise</span> (<i>continued</i>)</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_214">214</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Horseless Vehicles—Electrical and Otherwise</span> (<i>continued</i>)</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_224">224</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Electricity applied to Navigation</span> (<span class="smcap">a Forecast</span>)</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_230">230</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Some Electric Locomotion Drawbacks</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_250">250</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Some Electric Locomotion Drawbacks</span> (<i>continued</i>)</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_258">258</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Electric Locomotion and our National Life</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_269">269</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xvii" id="page_xvii"></a>{xvii}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td class="rt"><small>FIG.</small></td> -<td> </td> -<td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td> -<td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Electricity. By H. L. Shindler</span></td> - <td class="rt"><a href="#front"><i>Frontispiece</i> </a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_1">1.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Queen Victoria’s Train on the Great Western Railway</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_003">3</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_2">2.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Nine Willans-Siemens Dynamo Sets for Electric Traction, 700 h.p. each</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_007">7</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_3">3.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Giant’s Causeway</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_012">12</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_4">4.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Waterloo and City Railway’s New Pattern Car</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_025">25</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_5">5.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Liverpool Overhead Electric Railway</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_029">29</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_6">6.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Plan of a Behr Mono-Railway Car</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_035">35</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_7">7.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Interior of a Behr Mono-Railway Car</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_044">44</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_8">8.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Electrical Power House (the largest in the Old World), Lot’s Road, Chelsea, to supply the Metropolitan District and other Railways with Current</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_053">53</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_9">9.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">A 2,000 h.p. Westinghouse Steam Turbine, resembling the Turbo-Generators (each of 7,500 h.p.) in the Chelsea Power House</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_055">55</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_10">10.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">A New Metropolitan District Railway Car</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_056">56</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_11">11.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">A Typical Electric Power Generator—Two Dynamos, each of about 1,600 h.p.</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_069">69</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_12">12.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">A 3,000 h.p. Triple Expansion Central Valve Electrical Engine</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_076">76</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_13">13.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Shield at Work in a Tube Running Tunnel</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_079">79</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_14">14.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Western Approach to Piccadilly</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_123">123</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_15">15.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Tram-Car in Paris equipped for Combined Overhead Trolley and Surface Contact System</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_133">133</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_16">16.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Cross Lane Junction, Salford. The Largest and most Complicated Overhead Trolley Crossing in the Kingdom</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_135">135</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_17">17.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Boiler Room, London United Tramways Co.’s Power House at Chiswick, fitted with Vicars’ Automatic Stokers</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_157">157</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_18">18.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">A London United Tramways Company Tram-Car</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_159">159</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_19">19.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Façade of Queen’s Road Car-Shed, Manchester Corporation Tramways</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_170">170</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_20">20.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">View near Dudley Station, South Staffordshire, showing a Steam Tram-Car</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xviii" id="page_xviii"></a>{xviii}</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_175">175</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_21">21.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">View at Castle Hill, Dudley, South Staffordshire, showing an Electric Tram-Car</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_181">181</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_22">22.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Camps Bay, Cape Town, and Seapoint Tramways</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_183">183</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_23">23.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Boston Subway, showing Entrance at the Public Gardens</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_193">193</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_24">24.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">New York Subway in course of Construction. Car Traffic maintained</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_195">195</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_25">25.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">New York Subway, showing how it was built</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_197">197</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_26">26.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Electric Carriage entirely of British Construction</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_201">201</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_27">27.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">A “Crowdus” Electric Carriage</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_205">205</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_28">28.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">An Electric Victoria with British Storage Batteries</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_207">207</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_29">29.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">A “Fischer” Combination Omnibus</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_211">211</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_30">30.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The “Hercules” Traction Engine, as used during the Crimean War</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_217">217</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_31">31.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">A Ten-ton Electric Trolley</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_219">219</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_32">32.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">An Electric Tradesman’s-Van</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_220">220</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_33">33.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Another Type of the “Fischer” Combination Omnibus</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_222">222</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_34">34.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Electric Storage Batteries</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_237">237</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_35">35.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Electric Launch on the Thames</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_248">248</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#fig_36">36.</a></td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Where the Poor Live</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_280">280</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a>{1}</span></p> - -<h1><span class="smcap">Tube, Train, Tram, and Car</span></h1> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -<small><i>THE OLD AND THE NEW ORDER OF RAILWAY LOCOMOTION</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“The thinking minds of all nations call for change.”—<span class="smcap">Carlyle.</span></p> - -<h3>STEAM—THE OLD ORDER</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span>N immutable law of nature has decreed that whatever attains to -perfection is doomed to perish, for</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The world exists by change, and but for that<br /></span> -<span class="i1">All matter would to chaos back,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To form a pillow for a sleeping god.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Thus it came to pass that in the period 1825 to 1835, when the main -roads of Great Britain were at their best, when the then mode of -travelling, though on a limited scale, had, as regards speed, -punctuality, and organisation, reached the highest possible pitch of -perfection, a little cloud like a man’s hand, presaging the new order of -locomotion, arose at the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, -and overshadowed the old method. So effective was the competition of the -“iron horse,” that in lieu of the fifty-four splendidly equipped -vehicles which in 1835 carried His Majesty’s mails throughout England, -not a single coach left the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a>{2}</span> General Post Office, St. Martin’s-le-Grand, -in the year 1844; while the kings highways had become almost deserted.</p> - -<p>Though this was barely sixty years ago, railways have evolved themselves -out of their embryonic state into a condition approaching the fateful -one of perfect development.</p> - -<p>In early days, first-class passengers were boxed up in replicas of old -stage-coaches, the second-class in open carriages exposed to the -weather, and the third-class huddled together in seatless cattle-trucks. -Contrast this with our luxurious Pullmans, and our corridor and -vestibule trains for all classes, warmed throughout, lighted by -electricity, and provided with lavatories, dining-saloons, buffets, and -sleeping-cars. “With what further improvements can we allure the -public?” ask anxious directors. One answer only is possible. “By -bringing the mode of locomotion up to date.”</p> - -<p>This means, in the case of old-established railway companies, a complete -and costly transformation, or an independent mono-rail track for long -distances; under any circumstances entailing much hardship upon the -share-holders. For at the moment when railway-engineers—improving so -vastly upon George Stephenson’s venerable engine,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> built in 1822, and -still at work for the Hutton Colliery, its weight only fifteen tons, its -speed ten miles an hour—have constructed such magnificent locomotives -as the “Greater Britain” for the London and North<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a>{3}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_1" id="fig_1"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_003_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_003_sml.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 1. QUEEN VICTORIA’S TRAIN ON THE GREAT WESTERN -RAILWAY</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a>{4}</span></p> - -<p>Western Railway, or the ten-wheeled giant<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> for the Great Northern -Railway, fifty-seven feet over all, weighing 100 tons, and capable of -reeling off its 65 miles an hour with ease, electricity steps into the -field, displaces the stately engine—resplendent in red, blue, green, or -chocolate paint, glossy as the coat of some highly trained racehorse, -and gleaming with polished brass and steel, finished in all its parts -with exquisite accuracy, the very embodiment of energy under perfect -control—and from some unpretentious-looking building afar off, drives -our trains with unseen but resistless force, at the rate, if desired, of -a hundred miles an hour!</p> - -<p>The construction of an ordinary steam locomotive is an intricate -operation, necessitating machine-shops, erecting-shops, foundries, -forges, etc., covering acres of ground, as at Crewe, Doncaster, Derby, -or Swindon. Not a hundred engines are exactly alike in pattern, and each -one is supposed to be composed of over five thousand different parts, -all of which have to be stowed away in a necessarily limited space.</p> - -<p>“How is steam utilised by the locomotive?” is a question asked again and -again (and not by children only) ever since Stephenson’s engine started -on its triumphant progress from Stockton to Darlington and back, and -which, I venture to affirm, only a small percentage of travellers, even -in 1903, can answer “right away,” as our American cousins would express -it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a>{5}</span></p> - -<p>Briefly, then, as follows: Raised up on high is the mighty boiler. -Remove its plates, and running through its entire length will be seen a -cluster of some two or three hundred brass tubes, in diameter that of a -penny-piece. At the rear of the boiler, on a lower level, is the fuel -fire-box, with its grate and ash-pan, while in front is the smoke-box, -surmounted by the familiar chimney or funnel, called in the United -States the “smoke-stack,” in British engines reduced to a minimum of -height. Water from the tender surrounds the brass tubes, and when the -fire is burning, flames, smoke, and heated gases rush through them, -escaping <i>viâ</i> the chimney, but in their passage converting the boiling -water into expanding steam, which, when the regulator is opened, is -directed by valves into the hollow cylinders—sometimes placed below the -boiler, but generally visible outside—forcing by its pressure the -pistons backwards and forwards alternately, and, by means of -intermediate machinery, transferring its energy to the driving-wheels.</p> - -<p>The exhausted steam, after accomplishing its work, joins the smoke in -the smoke-box, escaping up the funnel by jerks, which creates a forced -draught through the brass boiler-tubes, and hastens the generation of -steam.</p> - -<h3>ELECTRICITY—THE NEW ORDER</h3> - -<p>Contrast this with electricity, the definition of whose exact nature is -a task I must of necessity leave to others, but its adaptation to the -purposes of traction can be thus broadly explained:—</p> - -<p>Dynamos or generators are situated at some fixed station, more or less -distant, generating electrical energy, whence the current is transmitted -along a central steel rail, or, in the case of some tramways, <i>viâ</i> -overhead<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a>{6}</span> wires, returning to its place of birth by another rail or -cable, and completing its circuit. It is “picked up” by a small -locomotive fitted with motors that work the driving-mechanism, and thus -propels the coaches or cars behind it at varying speeds.</p> - -<p>The rotation of the dynamos is effected either by a torrent, waterfall, -or swift-flowing river, absorbed by turbines, or by steam supplied from -ordinary boilers.</p> - -<p>In other words, we convert our water and coal into steam, and, -indirectly, the heat in the steam into electrical energy; and the heavy -locomotive that used to carry its own fuel, and manufacture its steam as -it tore along with the train behind it, now leaves tender and boiler at -home, and has its driving power, in the form of electric current, -forwarded to it per centre rail, to be drawn upon when wanted.</p> - -<p>The system is beautifully simple, and the machinery compact and -uncomplicated. Smoke defilement is unknown, and the trains are -comparatively noiseless. In short, electric traction is the refinement -of mechanically applied power.</p> - -<p>Now let us visit an electrical power station—a small one—and I have in -my mind that of the Waterloo and City Electric Railway.</p> - -<p>Hidden away behind a bewildering labyrinth of railway arches, in a -<i>cul-de-sac</i>, approached from a back street, not a hundred miles from a -great railway station, is a plain, very plain brick building, wherein, -for aught one knows to the contrary, such prosaic articles as pots and -pans, or cardboard boxes, may be in course of manufacture. Pass through -a door, always on the swing, and an unpretending office is reached, -furnished in the usual manner, and occupied by clerks engaged upon the -ordinary duties of their vocation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a>{7}</span></p> - -<p>Access to the engineer-in-chief being granted, he courteously conducts -us to the power room, whence issues the energy that drives the trains.</p> - -<p>Imagination had pictured a great hall, filled with ponderous machinery -whose component parts are cranks, steel rods, shafts, and toothed -wheels, a wilderness of metal, moving with bewildering rapidity and -thunderous power, in an atmosphere redolent of lubricating oil, a vision -of whirling wheels, an Ezekiel vision of wheels in the midst of wheels, -instinct with life, such as the prophet saw 600 years B.C., by the River -Chebar, in the land of the Chaldean.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_2" id="fig_2"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_007_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_007_sml.jpg" width="500" height="344" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 2. NINE WILLANS-SIEMENS DYNAMO SETS FOR ELECTRIC -TRACTION, 700 H.P. EACH.</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of</i> <i>Willans and Robinson, Ltd., Rugby</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Nothing of the kind! One portion of a moderate-sized apartment is -devoted to the “fitting” of the motor locomotives, and at the other end, -enclosed within<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a>{8}</span> a low railing, resting upon a bed of great solidity, -and occupying but little space, is the machinery in duplicate, as a -safeguard against breakdowns.</p> - -<p>It consists of a vertical compound engine, supplied with steam from an -adjoining boiler-house, whose cylinder is coupled direct to the -fly-wheels of the revolving dynamos that are partly sunk into the -flooring. These, with their electro-magnets, are so shut in, and so -little can be seen of the working, that it all looks very mysterious and -incomprehensible to the uninitiated.</p> - -<p>In large power-producing machinery an iron staircase leads up to a -platform above the dynamos, giving access to the loftier parts of the -apparatus, which then, in its general appearance and compactness, -somewhat resembles a modern marine engine. On the walls are endless -dials, recording the amount of current generated, localising the exact -position of the trains on the line at any given moment, and checking the -quantity of current picked up by each engine. There is absolutely no -smell, no outward indication of resistless power, while almost Arcadian -quiet reigns in the neighbourhood of the machines.</p> - -<p>That these small dynamos are capable of driving heavy cars filled with -passengers at the rate of many miles an hour seems incredible; but -faith, “the evidence of things not seen,” must come into play.</p> - -<p>The craving for mere size, however, will be amply gratified when the -great power house at Chelsea, built to supply the Metropolitan, -District, and other railways, is completed (<i>vide</i> Chapter V.).</p> - -<p>But what on earth is a kilowatt, or a volt, an ohm, or an -ampère?—expressions that are rapidly becoming as familiar as the word -horse-power.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a>{9}</span></p> - -<p>Well, “horse-power” was a term invented long ago by engineers, who -blandly asked one to imagine that an ordinary horse was capable of -lifting a weight of 33,000 lbs. (or some 14½ tons) one foot high per -minute. Now, electricity is a very exact science. There is no mere -theory about it; and a unit is a definite quantity of power, known in -that science as a “kilowatt hour.” Thus, a kilowatt, or 1,000 watts, is -the equivalent in measured work of 1⅓ horse-power, equal to the lifting -of 44,000 lbs. per minute, or the doing of so many units of work, either -electric lighting, heating, machinery driving, or traction.</p> - -<h3>VARIOUS FORMS OF ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION</h3> - -<p>Electricity as a locomotive force is being presented to the public in -various forms. There is the ordinary railway, like the Underground, -that, cleansing itself, amending its ways, and becoming converted to the -new order of traction, has been granted a new lease of life. Then there -are new lines laid down, intended from the first to be electrical, with -specially designed cars, diving beneath the Thames, and connecting the -north and south of London. These are our metropolitan pioneer electric -railways. There is also the system of railways specifically and -popularly known as Tubes, most important factors in the travelling world -of modern Babylon. Another division is the system known as Overhead -Electric Railways; that is to say, rails laid upon iron girders -supported by columns above the roadway, a notable example of which is -the Liverpool Overhead Electric Railway.</p> - -<p>Electric tramways are with us in Greater London for good and all, with -their network of lines in every direction. Some are locally worked by -the various Borough<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a>{10}</span> Councils; others on a comprehensive scale by the -London County Council, who now strongly advocate also another system, -the Shallow-Underground, by which the cars run in a kind of open trench -just below the surface in the middle of the street.</p> - -<p>Next we have endless provincial and urban council electric tramways, -including some very extensive systems for feeding the enormous traffic -of cities and large towns in the Midlands and North of England.</p> - -<p>Electric Light Railways, originally intended to be worked on rails laid -down upon the ordinary highway, form a special class by themselves to -serve short-distance traffic in country districts; but to all intents -and purposes they are rural electric trams.</p> - -<p>Lastly, we have motor-cars, carriages, omnibuses, cabs, vans, and -cycles, that with electricity as their means of propulsion, will -possibly ere long supersede every other form of traffic in our streets -and along our roads and lanes.</p> - -<p>To individualise these various outcomes of electrical traction spread -over the length and breadth of Great Britain is impossible. Their names -and their statistics are enrolled in <i>Garcke’s Manual of Electrical -Undertakings</i>, a work that, like <i>Kelly’s London Directory</i>, grows -bigger and bigger every year.</p> - -<p>I propose, therefore, only to notice some of the principal ones; and, -naturally, the pioneer railway lines should have the place of honour.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a>{11}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -<small><i>SOME PIONEER ELECTRIC RAILWAYS</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“A worthy pioneer.”—<span class="smcap">Shakespeare.</span></p> - -<h3>THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY RAILWAY</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>N the month of March, 1883, by the opening of the Giant’s Causeway, -Portrush, and Bush Valley Railway, the sister island achieved the honour -and glory of showing the way to the “predominant partner” in the matter -of electrical traction enterprise; winning, however, only by a head, for -in August of the same year the Brighton Beach Electric Railway was -inaugurated.</p> - -<p>Who amongst us can say they know Ireland well? To the average tourist it -still remains an unexplored country. The travelling American, however, -as a rule, does it from end to end. Commencing with Dublin, “doing” -Killarney, and working round the magnificent west coast, he returns -<i>viâ</i> the North Channel, always taking <i>en route</i> on the coast of Antrim -the Giant’s Causeway, thundered upon by storms from the wild Atlantic. -There, almost within hail of Britain, are those strange groups of -basaltic columns so familiar to geological students, intensely -interesting, invested with many an old and mystic Celtic legend, yet -until recently difficult of access, as other striking regions in -Ireland—an island abounding not only in awe-inspiring scenery, but in -sequestered spots of sylvan beauty; a fair land of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a>{12}</span> mountains and hills, -lakes and waterfalls, crystal streams, and splendid harbours; truly -called the Emerald Isle; where the grass is greenest, and rare coniferæ -flourish; where the myrtle needs no shelter, and the arbutus blooms and -fruits to perfection, and flowers are everywhere, for every little -enclosure in due season glows with the brightest of flax and potato -blossom; and lanes and open country are gay with star-like marigolds, -shamrock, violets, honeysuckle, meadowsweet, catsear, scabious, large -purple bugle, and such-like lowly but welcome plants.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_3" id="fig_3"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_012_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_012_sml.jpg" width="500" height="376" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 3. THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY.</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of</i> <i>Thos. Cook and Son, Ludgate Circus</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>From Portrush it is easy to reach the Causeway, though once there, one -often has to wait for favourable weather before proceeding to explore -its cavernous wonders by water.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a>{13}</span></p> - -<p>The present length of the railway is 8½ miles of single line, its gauge -being 3 feet. It is worked partly by steam and partly by electricity on -the overhead system, the current being derived from a generating station -three-quarters of a mile away, where three hydraulic turbines, fed by an -adjoining waterfall, operate the dynamo. Although the railway is out of -the way and on a small scale, the attractions of the Causeway and the -surrounding district result in a respectable passenger traffic of over a -hundred thousand per annum.</p> - -<h3>THE BRIGHTON BEACH RAILWAY</h3> - -<p>Under the sanction of the Brighton Town Council, the Magnus Volk Co., -Ltd., now work the Brighton Beach Electric Tram-railway, which at its -opening was regarded as a great novelty and curiosity, constituting an -additional attraction and amusement to “London by the sea,” and tens of -thousands must have taken a ride in its little open cars since it came -into existence twenty years ago. The gauge is but 2 feet 8½ inches, the -“feeders” are underground, the propelling system is electric, with a -third rail, and its speed is about 12 miles an hour. Starting from the -west pier, opposite the Royal Aquarium, it sets out on its one mile and -a half route of single line and dips beneath the level of the Marine -Parade to a level a little above the beach, passing <i>en route</i>, though -hidden from view, many landmarks of old Brighton, such as Park Place and -Gardens, Royal Crescent, Marine Square, and Lewes Crescent, and -terminating at a point near Black Rock.</p> - -<p>This was the eastern end of Old Brighton, noted for many an original -character in the “twenties” and “thirties,” not the least interesting of -whom were old Martha Gunn, queen of the bathing-machines, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a>{14}</span> Sak Deen -Mahomed, a native of the East, who introduced the art of shampooing into -the town, and lived to become a centenarian, his fame being enshrined in -verse by James Smith, one of the authors of <i>Rejected Addresses</i>, who -humorously predicted his longevity as follows:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Sprung doubtless from Abdullah’s son,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy miracles thy sire’s outrun,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Thy cures his deaths outnumber;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">His coffin soars ’twixt heav’n and earth,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But thou, within that narrow berth,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Immortal, ne’er shall slumber.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Many have been the changes in Brighton since those days. Arundel -Terrace, Kemp Town, Ultima Thule in the east; Adelaide Crescent with -Palmyra Square, its western boundary. From the fields to the north of -that square could be seen, a mile or so off, the village of Hove, the -intervening space being dotted with farms. No one could have dreamt that -a great railway-station would be built there, with minor ones at Kemp -Town, West Brighton, and Hove. Old residents could not have pictured a -Grand Aquarium, a Western and Eastern Pier, nor the destruction of their -familiar Chain Pier. They would be amazed at the spread of Brighton in -every direction, the springing up of palatial hotels like the -“Métropole” and “Grand,” and the increase of the population to some -hundred and fifty thousand; while the coaching world, headed by the -popular Sir St. Vincent Cotton, prince of amateur whips, and all the -confraternity of coachmen and hackney-coach drivers, would have thought -anyone a lunatic who had dared to prophesy that one day a conveyance -drawn without horses or steam power would carry passengers along the -Brighton beach!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a>{15}</span></p> - -<h3>THE CITY AND SOUTH LONDON RAILWAY</h3> - -<p>For many years prior to 1890, in Gracechurch Street, at a point near its -junction with Eastcheap, could be seen every day of the week numerous -omnibuses arriving between nine and eleven a.m., and departing between -five and eight p.m., for the suburbs over the water. These ’buses -regularly plied between London and Kennington, Walworth, Camberwell, -Stockwell, Clapham, and Brixton (a few journeying to Dulwich and -Peckham), for the special accommodation of dwellers in those favourite -localities engaged in business during the day. Wealthy “principals” of -mercantile and brokers’ firms drove to and from their comfortable Surrey -villas in well-equipped carriages, the junior members in smart traps or -dogcarts; but the small merchants and smaller brokers, the head clerks -and the rank and file who do all the hard work, had to make use of these -omnibuses, and when exceptionally bad weather prevented the vehicles -running, they had to get to and from their offices as best they could on -foot. To the working man, living, say, at Brixton, and engaged upon a -City job, the fares—4<i>d.</i> to 8<i>d.</i>—were prohibitive. The time wasted -in these conveyances was great, and at the best it was an unpleasant way -of travelling; overcrowding was common, and the “fight for the trams” in -1903 is as nothing compared to the frantic rush for those omnibus seats; -while on wet days the sight was piteous.</p> - -<p>It is true that City men could use the London, Chatham, and Dover -Railway, to reach these suburbs, but this involved a walk to Blackfriars -Station, and the facing of the crush on its dangerous platforms. There -were also the alternatives of crossing Blackfriars Bridge and using the -London Tramway Company’s horse-cars,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a>{16}</span> or of forcing one’s way over -London Bridge, tramping or “bussing” it along the Borough High Street, -and, emerging at the “Elephant and Castle,” there tapping the trams.</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, these ingenious alternative routes were seldom made -use of. At the close of business, men of all ranks want to get home as -fast as they can, and from some station not far from their -counting-houses. Therefore, in the days I am describing, how could any -of those gentlemen clad in irreproachable frock-coats and new glossy -hats, who each day of the week issued from snug offices in Austin -Friars, Drapers’ Gardens, or Copthall Court, whose business was -transacted over the way at the “House”; how could the brokers of Mark -Lane and Mincing Lane, the underwriters at Lloyd’s, the ship-brokers and -ship-owners round about Fenchurch Street and Leadenhall Street, the -flourishing bill-brokers of Broad Street, and the smaller mercantile -fry; how could any of these, if resident on the Surrey side, be expected -to go to and from business by way of Blackfriars?</p> - -<p>However, this unsatisfactory means of communication was hardly likely to -escape the notice of such astute experts as Mr. J. C. Mott, doyen -director of the Great Western Railway, and his far-seeing friends. They -took counsel together, and, after the usual hard task of <i>persuading</i> -people, plans were matured, and in 1884 an enterprise was organised and -incorporated as the City of London and Southwark Subway Company, to -construct a line of railway from King William Street to the “Elephant -and Castle,” with an intermediate station at Marshalsea Road.</p> - -<p>This was the initial stage of the present well-known railway.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a>{17}</span></p> - -<p>At the outset, three points had to be considered. How was the subway to -be constructed? What motive power should be employed? And how was the -deep level to be reached by the passengers? A subway under the Thames -was no novelty. The directors of the new line were not the “first that -ever burst into that silent sea” of mud and gravel at the bottom of the -swift-flowing river. Brunel had been long before them with his costly -Thames Tunnel, and Barlow had years ago laid upon its oozy bed the Tower -Subway of iron.</p> - -<p>It was decided that a tube, or, rather, two independent tunnels of -cast-iron rings, should be driven side by side beneath the bottom of the -stream, a little to the west of London Bridge, and continued on the -Surrey side.</p> - -<p>On this system the work was begun by the contractors, Siemens Brothers -and Mather and Platt, and proceeded with quite out of public sight. It -was accompanied with many disheartening delays and seemingly -insurmountable difficulties; but they were all successfully overcome, -and the tubes were brought to a temporary end at the “Swan,” Stockwell, -to which charming retreat, by an Act of Parliament, 1887, an extension -of the line had been sanctioned, making its length a little over three -miles.</p> - -<p>The motive power eventually selected was electricity, steam being -impracticable, and the funicular or cable system considered unreliable. -Access to and from the trains was to be obtained at the stations by -means of capacious twin-lifts capable of holding many people at a time.</p> - -<p>Then the problem of how best to utilise the ample “power,” generated at -the Stockwell Station, for hauling the cars, had to be seriously -tackled. It was not a question of a toy line like that on the Brighton -beach,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a>{18}</span> but of the driving at fair speed, say 15 miles an hour, of -comparatively heavy coaches laden with passengers, and at frequent -intervals. Altogether it was a new departure in electric traction.</p> - -<p>How the motor locomotives were effectually to pick up the current was -the puzzle which had to be solved, or the enterprise might at the last -moment collapse and the subscribed capital be lost.</p> - -<p>After an infinite amount of anxious experimenting on the part of Mr. -Mott and his scientific advisers—the narrative of which, as told me by -that veteran, sounded like a romance—by a happy inspiration <i>the</i> way -was hit upon; and all other technical difficulties overcome, the line -was pronounced to be in working order (1890), after a series of trial -trips, at one of which the writer had the privilege of being present.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a>{19}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -<small><i>SOME PIONEER ELECTRIC RAILWAYS</i> (<i>continued</i>)</small></h2> - -<h3>A TRIAL TRIP IN THE CITY AND SOUTH LONDON RAILWAY</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">O</span>NE o’clock saw a large party of us, chiefly City men, amongst whom were -numerous civil engineers, waiting at King William Street booking-office -to descend into the bowels of the earth by one of the semicircular -lifts, a novelty in point of size. Our turn having come, we duly filed -into the elevator. The telescopic doors clashed upon us, and we stood -for a second or two silently expectant, feeling like a batch of -condemned criminals on a gigantic scaffold waiting for the hangman to -draw back the fatal lever that would launch them into the other world.</p> - -<p>Noiselessly the lift descended to an apparently fathomless depth, but in -reality, I believe, some 90 or 100 feet. When released by the janitor, -we found ourselves in a small, well-lighted, cool, and spotlessly clean, -white-tiled station, whence was discernible a couple of small tunnels -side by side, leading to unknown regions, seemingly all too narrow to -accommodate even the miniature cars waiting for us at one of the narrow -platforms.</p> - -<p>Inspecting the tunnels, the classical man of our party, a wag in his -way, who had hitherto made no remark, was heard to mutter something in -Latin, which, on being coerced, he admitted was out of Virgil, and was -translated thus: “This is the spot where the way divides<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a>{20}</span> in two -branches.” In vain we pointed out that the quotation was inappropriate, -as the ways were <i>parallel</i>. He was obdurate, so we left him to his own -reflections.</p> - -<p>To most of us accustomed to roomy Pullmans and commodious railway -carriages, the cars, though comfortable, seemed cramped, especially in -height. The signal given, off we started, when we noticed that the cars -fitted the tube with such nicety and economy of space that, could the -windows have been let down, we could easily have touched the iron plates -of the tunnel. We realised, too, that although there was no smoke or -smell, the railway was by no means noiseless; neither, in the opinion of -several of the experts present, was the running as steady as on the -“Underground.”</p> - -<p>A hint had been given us that at some point where the line dipped and -rose again the cars might come to a temporary standstill. As we rather -uneasily recalled this, the speed gradually slackened, and finally the -train stopped altogether, and simultaneously the incandescent lights -began to pale, and at last subsided into filaments of sickly red. The -situation was not a pleasant one. There we were; many of us with -important engagements awaiting us later in the day; most of us with -wives and children who would expect us home as usual when evening -arrived, and grow anxious at our absence. There we were sealed up in a -tube, for all we knew, at a point beneath the Thames. Not a sound -reached us from the locomotive, or, indeed, from anywhere. Were we thus -to remain indefinitely? For walk out we could not, there being no room -outside the carriages. Would some memorial tablet let into the side of -London Bridge, months hence, recall the fact that near it a goodly -company of highly respectable citizens had perished in a living tomb?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a>{21}</span></p> - -<p>I don’t think we talked much. It was luncheon-time; we were hungry, and -we felt like the occupants of the snowed-up cars in one of Mark Twain’s -stories, who gloomily eyed one another as starvation threatened, -calculating upon whom, by an ingenious and complicated system of voting -previously agreed to, would next fall the lot of being sacrificed for -the benefit of the rest, and I believe I found myself unconsciously -speculating on the plumpness of a youthful stockbroker standing by my -side. But after a very few moments of suspense the train rattled on -again, the lights reappeared, and presently we drew up at the Borough, -the first station on the Surrey side.</p> - -<p>Railway booking-offices are not usually things of beauty, least of all -those on the Metropolitan, District, and suburban lines. Here, however, -was a surprise, for we found quite a picturesque stone-and-brick -building on the ground-floor, a cupola surmounting the prettily designed -entrance, and a small dome with lantern by way of roof. And this was a -sample of all the stations along the line.</p> - -<p>The Borough recalled the Marshalsea that once stood close by; and there -opposite was St. George’s, Southwark, where Little Dorrit, accidentally -locked out of the prison, was allowed by “the sexton, or the beadle, or -the verger, or whatever he was,” to take refuge in the vestry, where, -years afterwards, she signed the marriage register when wedded to Arthur -Clennam.</p> - -<p>The next stoppage was at the Elephant and Castle—not the tavern of that -name, where in the past on Derby Day the superabundant holiday traffic -usually became hopelessly congested, but the City and South London’s new -station, close to Spurgeon’s Tabernacle, Rabbits’ great boot warehouse, -and Tarn’s vast<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a>{22}</span> emporium, that seems to occupy most of Newington -Causeway. Onwards to Kennington Common, once the place of public -executions for Surrey, now a well-kept miniature park. Beyond it, -Kennington Oval, associated with cricket all the world over; and finally -we arrived at Stockwell, the then terminus of the line, since extended -to Clapham, where Tom Hood used to go to school at a house “with ugly -windows ten in a row, its chimney in the rear,” a style of architecture -of which many specimens still exist round and about the Common.</p> - -<p>At Stockwell we visited the generating station, recently much extended, -and provided with entirely new plant, and, wondering at and admiring all -we saw, learned from the chief engineer that the contretemps <i>en route</i> -was due to a slight defect in the new and untried power-machinery; and -thus at the point where the dip in the line was greatest, the cars -stopped.</p> - -<p>An excellent luncheon restored us all to eloquence and equanimity, -extinguishing the cannibalistic feeling of half an hour ago, and, -returning without any incident worth recording, we emerged once more in -the City, to be greeted by the noise of the traffic that ever surges -around King William the Fourth’s statue.</p> - -<p>Those were the “green salad” days of London’s Pioneer Electric Railway -Line. Now it runs without a hitch, and has been extended north as far as -the historic “Angel,” thus giving a direct route between Clapham and -Islington. It has powers to exchange traffic with the Great Northern and -the City Railway <i>viâ</i> Old Street, and also to connect itself with the -Baker Street and Waterloo Electric Railway at the Elephant and Castle -Station; and in a new building at Finsbury Pavement it now has -commodious head offices.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a>{23}</span></p> - -<p>At the last half-yearly general meeting the chairman, Mr. C. G. Mott, in -the course of his speech, stated that the Board aspired to have a -thoroughly first-class terminus in the City of London, and had deposited -plans with this view. They proposed to construct this station between -the present Bank Station and the King William Street statue.</p> - -<p>That the City and South London Railway is most useful and popular is -shown by the number of passengers it has carried—some ninety millions -since its opening—the returns for last year showing about eighteen -millions, over a total route of about seven miles. For the convenience -of travellers, it eventually will have subways, connecting its Lombard -Street Station with the Bank Station of the Central London Railway, and -it already has them from its new London Bridge Station to the London, -Brighton, and South Coast Railway. Finally, it can boast of possessing a -station below a church—a unique position, I believe. St. Mary -Woolnoth’s foundations were completely removed, the vaults cleared out, -and the whole replaced by huge iron girders, whereon the sacred edifice -now rests, with the booking-office below.</p> - -<h3>THE WATERLOO AND CITY RAILWAY</h3> - -<p>The month of August, 1898, was unusually warm, and the heat was felt as -much in the City as anywhere. Straw hats were universal; the shady side -of the street, if there happened to be one, was thronged; secluded -alleys and courts were resorted to by the knowing ones who could afford -the time to linger there; and even highly respectable merchants were to -be found sitting in shirt-sleeves at their writing-tables and wishing, -with Sydney Smith, that they could “sit in their bones.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a>{24}</span></p> - -<p>At the junction of the Poultry with Victoria Street, shadowed by the -Mansion House, from each side of the road a mysterious hoarding had just -been removed, revealing an iron railing enclosing a small area with a -mysterious staircase bearing the announcement that it led to the subway -to the new electric railway, connecting the City with Waterloo Station. -Descending a few steps, and emerging into a tunnelled incline, the -perspiring pedestrian quickly found that here, if anywhere, was a refuge -from the heat, the coolest place in London, and that it was well worth -while, on the pretence of urgent business across the water, to pay -twopence each way, merely to drink in the refreshing air wafted -backwards and forwards along subway, platform, and tube.</p> - -<p>This was the Waterloo and City Railway, a short deep-level line on the -tube principle, nearly 1¾ miles long, burrowing under the Thames’ bed. -At the terminus, by rather prolonged inclines and staircases, passengers -could walk to the main or suburban platforms of Waterloo Station and -catch the trains for Wimbledon, Hampton Court, Surbiton, etc.</p> - -<p>Like the City and South London, this railway meets a great want. Before -its opening, City men living down the London and South Western line had -no alternative but to catch a South Eastern train from Cannon Street or -Charing Cross; to take an omnibus <i>viâ</i> the Strand across to Waterloo -Bridge; or to cab it by devious routes <i>viâ</i> Blackfriars Bridge. Now -they can reach Waterloo with ease, comfort, and economy.</p> - -<p>Under agreement, the line is worked by the London and South Western -Railway Company. The electrical equipment is by the famous firm of -Siemens Brothers, the generating station being up a blind alley -adjoining<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a>{25}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_4" id="fig_4"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a>{26}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_025_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_025_sml.jpg" width="500" height="248" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 4. WATERLOO AND CITY RAILWAY’S NEW PATTERN CAR</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>“Tramway and Railway World” -Publishing Co., -London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the dismal arched entrance to Waterloo from York Road. Each train seats -208 passengers; the average speed is 18 miles an hour, and its -usefulness is proved by the fact that over two and a half million -ordinary passengers were carried by it in one half-year, <i>i.e.</i> to -December 31st, 1902 (not counting season-ticket holders), while the -receipts for that period were £17,400.</p> - -<p>During the busy hours of morning and evening the large trains are used -and always fill up rapidly, but in the slack times of midday single -motor-cars, each carrying 50 passengers, are sufficient to cope with the -traffic. The cars are rather stuffy, and, like the train cars, are -narrow and low. At each end is a small partitioned-off “cab,” where sits -a motor-man. No tickets are issued from the booking-office; but, as in -an omnibus, the conductor comes round and collects the fares, giving a -punched voucher in return, which is retained by the traveller.</p> - -<h3>THE LIVERPOOL OVERHEAD ELECTRIC RAILWAY</h3> - -<p>There are few overhead, or, rather, elevated, railways in the world. -Somehow they do not seem to be popular, and the tendency, in England at -least, is rather towards burrowing like the mole, than soaring above the -street level.</p> - -<p>In Germany there is a wonderful instance of electrically driven overhead -line between Elberfeld and Barmen, on the mono-rail principle, the -trains hanging from tracks suspended high above rivers and public roads. -At the great Beckton gas works there has been in use since 1894 an -iron-built miniature railway elevated on pillars, and it is a curious -sight to witness busy little engines incessantly hauling coal trucks -from the pier to the retort houses. An ingenious example of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a>{27}</span> -elevated principle is to be seen at the Victoria Station, Manchester, -where a railway on a very reduced scale conveys passengers’ luggage from -one platform to another, and idlers are never tired of watching it. The -track, a double one, is suspended from the roof and runs between -platforms five and six. The motive power is electricity, and the motor -is placed between the wheels and the track, and it lifts and lowers a -basket which holds about 15 cwt. of luggage.</p> - -<p>A wonderful instance of a <i>very</i> elevated railway existed at Beachy Head -while the new lighthouse was being built 600 feet distant from the base -of the cliff, at that point 400 feet high. It conveyed material to the -site, the descending load drawing up the ascending empty “skip” on the -overhead suspension principle.</p> - -<p>Our New York cousins have, in their elevated steam railway, long been -familiarised with the system, but for Londoners it possesses the fatal -objection that the occupants of the cars as they pass along can look -into the front windows of the houses and spy upon the occupants. Running -along docks, however, elevated railways are not objectionable; and the -earliest example, in this or any other country, of electricity applied -to overhead traction is at Liverpool.</p> - -<p>Extending along the Mersey—that noble river whose tidal movement is -said to be four times the outfall of the Mississippi—for a distance of -6½ miles are the Liverpool Docks, in importance undoubtedly the first in -the world, but, until the Overhead Railway was opened, exasperatingly -inaccessible to business men whose time was valuable, and bewildering to -strangers by reason of their immensity.</p> - -<p>Along the line of dock, it is true, ran broad-wheeled omnibuses built to -run on the low-level dock railway,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a>{28}</span> but so slow, in consequence of the -pressure of traffic and the necessity for frequent shuntings for the -passage of goods trains, that to reach the farthest dock usually -occupied over an hour. To improve upon this it was proposed, as far back -as 1852, to construct a high-level railway; but nothing practical came -of it until 1888, when the Liverpool Overhead Railway Company took over -the parliamentary powers obtained by the Dock Board, and setting -steadily to work, created their line for passengers only, and, from the -first, achieved a great success, the number of travellers amounting to -many millions annually.</p> - -<p>On the 4th of February, 1893, the railway was appropriately opened by -the ex-Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, whose devotion to the science of -electricity is well known. Pressing a button at the base of a silver -inkstand (subsequently presented to the Marquis as a memento), the -engines that generated the electric current were set in motion, and by -special train his lordship was conveyed over the seven miles of line, -and afterwards entertained at a banquet by the Mayor, when, in an -excellent speech, he dilated upon the prospect of electricity becoming -the motive power of the age.</p> - -<p>In the following month the railway was opened for public traffic, and, -with its thirteen stations, its five minutes’ service, and its cheap -fares, practically extinguished the omnibuses, light or heavy.</p> - -<p>From the Overhead Railway a splendid view is obtained of the busiest -locality perhaps in the empire. Below are the railway trucks packed -close with imported merchandise of all kinds: cotton from America and -the East; grain from the ends of the earth; beef, bacon, cheese, butter, -flour, and fruit from the New World; wool and tallow from Australia and -Argentina. Waggons<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a>{29}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_5" id="fig_5"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a>{30}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 308px;"> -<a href="images/i_029_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_029_sml.jpg" width="308" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 5. THE LIVERPOOL OVERHEAD ELECTRIC RAILWAY</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Liverpool Overhead Electric Railway Co.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">and carts filled with Manchester goods, hardware, machinery, chemicals, -and every imaginable kind of manufactured goods are alongside the big -liners that come into port, discharge their cargoes, load up, and are -out in the Mersey and off to sea again in a few days. Truly Liverpool is -a wonderful place, and although her greatness as a seaport has been -threatened by the opening of the Ship Canal to Manchester, it will be a -long day before she surrenders her claim to be the chief marine approach -to Great Britain.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a>{31}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -<small><i>REMARKABLE ELECTRIC RAILWAYS</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“Behold they shall come with speed swiftly.”—<span class="smcap">Isaiah</span> v. 26.</p> - -<h3>MONO-RAILWAYS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span> ONE-RAIL railway! What kind of novelty can that be, emanating no doubt -from the prolific brain of some enthusiastic engineer possessed with an -idea, a fad, a craze—call it what you will! We are accustomed to highly -respectable trains running in an orthodox manner on double rails. A -projected, many-railed track we have also heard of to carry ships bodily -across the Isthmus of Panama. But the idea of a single-rail “Flying -Dutchman” or “Wild Irishman” seems chimerical.</p> - -<p>It is not so, however, and the system has been solemnly and deliberately -sanctioned by Act of Parliament.</p> - -<p>Nowadays one need not be astonished at anything. Take cycling, for -instance. Long ago, when velocipedes—three or four-wheeled, uncanny -machines—were mere toys wherewith youths loved to dislocate their -joints on the lower terraces of the Crystal Palace, no one dreamt that -bicycles, outraging all the laws of gravitation and practically -mono-wheeled, would ere long be used on road and field and moor, on -mountain-side, on steppe and desert, over barren Asiatic tundras and -snow-clad<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a>{32}</span> Yukon plains—in short, wherever adventurous mankind has -penetrated.</p> - -<p>The mono-rail train, like a bicycle, runs on one linear track, but, -unlike that hopelessly collapsible machine, requires no balancing, and -cannot capsize, and under proper conditions is the safest known method -of travelling at very great speed.</p> - -<p>“<i>Faire prose sans le savoir</i>” is a familiar aphorism of Molière, but -perhaps it would astonish most of us to be calmly told by modern -engineers that all our lives we have, <i>without knowing it</i>, been -travelling on mono-railways! They assert that although it is true that -the ordinary engine with its coaches rests on a <i>pair</i> of rails, the -fact that the space between the rails is cut away is immaterial, as it -is rendered a single track by the rigidity of the carriage axles, and if -these were loose, of course the train would overturn.</p> - -<p>Nature has no example of mono-railwayism (to coin an expression), unless -it be the gossamer or shooting spider, that upon a single invisible -thread spun from its body ascends to aerial heights on a kind of -self-manufactured mono-rail, Dame Nature being too lavish and too wise, -in the perfect freedom she accords to birds, beasts, fishes, and -insects, to restrict their movements to one undeviating path.</p> - -<p>In the moral world there have always been mono-railists, men of one -fixed idea, from which they could not, or would not, budge—apostles of -an ambition, a creed, a theory, a political conviction. The world has -had its Alexander the Great, its Napoleon, Buddha, St. Paul, Mahomet, -Martin Luther, Ignatius Loyola, Wycliffe, its Palissy, George -Stephenson, Mungo Park, John Bright, and Cobden.</p> - -<p>It has been left to the inventive mechanical genius of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a>{33}</span> the nineteenth -century to develop the mono-rail system. Doubtless those inscrutable -people, the Chinese, knew of it, and applied it in some way long ago; -and perhaps the yet more mysterious dwellers in ancient Egypt—whence -all wisdom seems to have descended—utilised it after some unknown -fashion.</p> - -<p>Blondin, in his marvellous feat of trundling a wheel-barrow containing -a man along the high-level rope, used a hempen mono-rail; and the wire -cables stretching across the Thames at the reconstructed bridges at Kew -and Vauxhall, acting as travelling ways to convey the excavated soil -from the coffer-dams in large iron “skips” or buckets, were another -species of mono-rail; while at home in brickfields, and in mines, and on -plantations in distant lands, miniature railways have been used for -years to carry clay, ore, and produce, over plain and hill and dale.</p> - -<p>In India a peculiar kind of tramway truck has been in use for some time, -with two or three flanged wheels which run on a single rail, and a large -balance-wheel on one side of the truck to prevent it toppling over. -Produce of all kinds can easily be drawn upon it by a couple of coolies, -and its efficiency on country roads has been highly spoken of.</p> - -<p>Germany presents us with a recent and curious example of the application -of the principle to locomotion. In the Wupper Valley near Dusseldorf and -Cologne there are two towns, Barmen and Elberfeld, about eight miles -apart, mutually engaged in chemical and textile industries, and this -separation of the sister-towns was an obvious disadvantage to both. But -now they are joined by a wonderful railway, constructed on an elevated -line running six miles of its course above the River Wupper, a tributary -of the Rhine, some sixty to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a>{34}</span> hundred feet wide. The carriages are -suspended, and work upon a single rail, a development of the travelling -cable-way system. This rail is rigidly fastened to an iron framework of -girders, and supports the cars hanging therefrom by means of two steel -“bogies” with two wheels. Thus they can pass round sharp curves without -slackening speed and with the greatest safety, its motive power, -electricity, being applied by two motors on each carriage which drive -both wheels with equal force at a speed fixed at thirty-one miles an -hour, and attainable fifteen seconds after starting.</p> - -<p>As elevated railways of this type are somewhat costly, and a simpler and -cheaper form would be a desideratum, a short line across country was -built as an experiment at Cologne-Deutz. The stays, measuring from 9·6 -feet to 28·5 feet, were made either of wood, or of iron tubes, and met -at the top in a cap, from which was jointed the sheet-iron supports that -carried the mono-rail. By means of this jointed connection, the strain -was always of a central character, and, therefore, more easily borne. At -intervals of about 660 feet a couple of stays were firmly braced -together, in order to give stability to the overhead structure and to -take up the longitudinal thrust. In consequence, even with light -locomotives, the traction power was very high, and on the line at Deutz -it was found that a locomotive drawing two carriages full of passengers -could ascend a gradient of 1 in 6 with perfect safety.</p> - -<p>But a means of adapting a mono-rail to every condition had some time -before been thought out. In 1883-4 Charles Lartigue, the eminent French -engineer, developing the principle conceived by the great Telford, -constructed some small lines in Tunis and Algeria for carrying esparto -grass. The cars were drawn by animals<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a>{35}</span> in a special form of mono-rail, -the model upon which Mr. F. B. Behr, <small>ASS. INST. C.E.</small>—who modestly -disclaims all originality in the matter—has worked for years, greatly -improving in practical details the original design, and constructing for -the first time mono-rail trains that have been successful in the -carriage of both goods and passengers by steam and electricity.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_6" id="fig_6"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_035_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_035_sml.jpg" width="500" height="101" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 6. PLAN OF A BEHR MONO-RAILWAY CAR</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of Mr. F. B. Behr, Ass. Inst. C.E.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>The Lartigue single-rail system, as perfected by Mr. Behr, is as -follows, but of necessity my description is a mere outline.</p> - -<p>Dismissing all preconceived ideas of rails laid down upon the ground, we -must imagine a heavy double-headed steel rail firmly bolted on to the -summit of a girder supported by trestles, the whole rigidly framed upon -massive sleepers. We thus have a permanent way somewhat resembling a -continuous A-shaped metal viaduct, raised about five feet from the -surface, or a succession of iron barriers—such as road-menders make -use of to divert the traffic—set ends on, secured<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a>{36}</span> to each other and to -the ground. Now take an ordinary railway car with seats arranged as in -an omnibus, but with two additional rows back to back in the centre. -Remove the axles and wheels, extending the sides and ends of the car -almost down to the ground level, thus providing beneath the flooring an -enclosure with ample room for the locomotive machinery. All along the -bottom of this enclosure is an opening or space, about five feet -high—extending between the middle rows of seats—that fits the A-shaped -viaduct, so that the car is suspended, or, as it were, sits upon the -mono-rail, whereon roll six vertical grooved wheels that, when set in -motion by the electric current, propel the cars. Thus we have a train -apparently without wheels, these together with the apparatus being -completely hidden away between and beneath the passengers’ seats. On -each side of the A-shaped trestle are fixed two guide-rails fitting -close into horizontal grooved wheels effectually checking all -oscillation. In front is the bogie locomotive motor with a pointed bow, -the stern of the car also being pointed, so that the entire arrangement -resembles when seen from above a great stickless rocket with a sharp and -flexible snout.</p> - -<p>As the sister isle was the first to adopt electricity to a railway -(<i>vide</i> Chapter II.), so was she the pioneer of mono-railism. In County -Kerry, Munster, near the Shannon’s mouth, stands the little town of -Listowel, and 9½ miles distant is Ballybunion. To connect these a -mono-railway for passenger and goods traffic was opened on March 1st, -1888, and has worked ever since without any difficulty. The trains are -drawn by a steam locomotive divided in two, one on each side of the -mono-rail—a kind of twin-screw arrangement—and with their smoke-stacks -and giant lantern between them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a>{37}</span> present a strange and rather comical -appearance, while the track meandering at its own sweet will across -country without fencing of any kind, adds to the novelty of the little -line.</p> - -<p>Its great safety has been amply demonstrated by the only mishap that has -occurred to it. Some miscreant had deliberately removed the fastenings -from over thirty yards of the line at a critical point where a reverse -curve began, and close to a bridge. At full speed, a train carrying 200 -passengers came up to the loosened rail, which gave way, breaking the -coupling chains and, luckily, bringing into action the automatic -Westinghouse brake. The permanent way was ruined by the shock, but the -fall absorbed the force of the reaction, and deposited the carriages -quietly on the ground without injury to anyone, and without even -breaking a window. On an ordinary line the train would have been thrown -off the metals into the river with terrible consequences. Shortly after -the line was opened, the Lartigue system was adopted in France, from -Tours to Pannissieres in the Loire Department.</p> - -<p>The Ballybunion and Listowel Railway is the indirect father of a -modified form of mono-rail which is expected to appear this year at the -Crystal Palace. It is called the Electric Mid-Railway, the invention of -Mr. W. R. Smith, and as the line is to connect the existing railway -station with various points in the grounds, it should be well patronised -at the modest penny fare which is to be charged. Being an entire -novelty, it has a specially good chance of success in this particular -situation. The single rail is placed below the carriage, the weight of -which is balanced upon it after the fashion of a bicycle. On each side -of this single track runs a trestle carrying a rail on a level with the -centre of gravity of each carriage. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a>{38}</span> rail serves the necessary -purpose of supporting the carriage and of also preventing derailing.</p> - -<p>A similar device had been suggested—and possibly has been carried into -effect on the New York and Washington D. C. Line—when it was proposed -to elevate a track above the earth on a single line of upright beams, -the trains to be kept steady by an auxiliary rail on either side, but -which would only come into play on rounding curves.</p> - -<h3>HIGH-SPEED ELECTRIC RAILWAYS</h3> - -<p>In Belgium, Mr. Behr, who throughout his labours there received the -personal encouragement and patronage of King Leopold II., successfully -built an experimental high-speed mono-rail line at Tervueren in the -neighbourhood of Brussels, as an annexe to the Exhibition of 1897. To -find suitable ground was the great difficulty. The line had to cross ten -public roads, and in the absence of compulsory powers, leases for the -land had to be arranged with grasping occupiers and owners. The soil was -bad, big cuttings and embankment were unavoidable, and finally the line -consisted of nothing but steep, up-and-down gradients. In fact, all the -conditions were most unfavourable, notwithstanding which, the result of -the experiment was conclusive in showing that with the mono-rail and -perfected electrical traction, very high speed, double that of existing -passenger express trains, could be attained with absolute safety, a -principle which Mr. Behr had for a long time past been particularly -impressed with, but which he maintains is not possible on the ordinary -two-rail track, even with electricity as a motive power.</p> - -<p>In November, 1901, Mr. Behr went to Berlin, and investigated the -experiments carried out during forty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a>{39}</span> days by a number of engineering -experts on a military track laid down between the German capital and -Zossen. It was hoped that a speed of 160 miles an hour would be attained -and maintained, and, as a matter of fact, starting from a low speed, the -train gradually reached that of 87 miles; then, for a moment only, 95 -miles; and for an instant of time, 100 miles per hour; but it was at -once discernible that the ordinary two-rail permanent way, though -straight, could not bear the terrific strain imposed upon it; the rails -bent at many places, while the hundred-miles-an-hour rate had so -destructive an effect as to render impracticable any attempt to create a -higher record. The air resistance was found to be considerable. With a -square-fronted instead of a pointed coach, it was appreciable, and the -suction behind the train resembled the pressure of the water at the -stern of a mail steamer, and was calculated to equal two-thirds of the -“bow” resistance. These experiments went to prove that for excessive -velocity an ordinary railway was absolutely unsafe.</p> - -<p>A year before this, a steam locomotive train had been tried in America -by the Baltimore and Ohio Railway Company, on the Adams principle of -reducing the atmospheric resistance to a minimum. It consisted of six -cars, a tender, and an engine of fifty-seven tons. The entire train was -sheathed down to within eight inches of the track. There were no -projections, and all the windows were flush; the cars were coupled close -together, and the rear one was run off to a point, the train resembling -one long sinuous and flexible carriage.</p> - -<p>With this comparatively light engine it is said that the forty miles -between Baltimore and Washington were covered in thirty-seven and a half -minutes. But it was claimed that with a more powerful locomotive the -train<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a>{40}</span> could have been easily run at the rate of one mile in thirty-five -seconds, or nearly two miles a minute.</p> - -<p>These speeds appear tremendous, but custom would soon reconcile us to -them. Our forefathers thought fifteen miles an hour terrific; and one of -the objections to Stephenson’s ideas was, that at such a speed, not to -mention a twenty-or twenty-five-mile rate, no human being could draw -breath.</p> - -<p>Since then we have quietly acquiesced in and equally welcomed a style of -travelling varying from 35 to an average of 58 miles an hour, and even -consider it no great feat to run a special viceregal train from Euston -to Holyhead—263½ miles—in five hours without stopping, and are not -astonished to read of last year’s record run of the mail express from -Boulogne to Paris—168 miles—at an average speed of 68 miles an hour!</p> - -<p>Still, 120 miles every sixty minutes without stopping is a large order, -and in practice would give some remarkable results. For instance, a -resident at Putney could be whisked from the station nearest to him, and -thence to a point adjoining his office—say in Seething Lane, some seven -miles off—in less than five minutes. Brighton could be reached from -town in twenty-five minutes; Dover, in forty; Edinburgh, in three hours -twenty minutes. Inverness—663 miles away—could be arrived at from -Euston in six hours twenty minutes, instead of the fifteen hours -thirty-five minutes of the ordinary express; and Paris—allowing one -hour thirty minutes for the Channel passage—in three hours forty-two -minutes.</p> - -<h3>THE MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL ELECTRIC EXPRESS RAILWAY</h3> - -<p>Now, the contention of the advocates of the monorail principle is, -that only by that system can very high<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a>{41}</span> speed be safely attained; and -when one comes to closely examine the cars in which this -hundred-and-ten-miles-per-hour travelling is achieved, confidence is at -once inspired, because of their low centre of gravity and consequent -unlikeliness of derailment.</p> - -<p>There remains only one question—<i>Cui bono?</i> What useful purpose can be -served by being able to get from Liverpool to Manchester in twenty -minutes instead of over an hour? On an emergency, such as a sudden -necessity for the services of a medical specialist, a matter of life or -death perhaps, or on the occasion of any crisis in domestic or -mercantile life when the instant presence of some one distant individual -is imperative, it might be of immense service. But in the usual course -of business, do not existing railways bring merchant and broker, -importer and manufacturer, face to face quickly enough, and are not -telephones and telegraphs and the post sufficient to carry through big -transactions between the centre of the cotton trade and the great city -on the banks of the Mersey? Public opinion, which demands increasing -speed in every phase of life, especially in travelling, declares they -are not sufficient; for we live in an impatient age when every hour of -detention on a transatlantic passage is begrudged.</p> - -<p>Therefore it is not to be wondered at that in 1900-1, after the most -exhaustive inquiries and criticisms, the royal assent was given August -17th, 1901, to the Manchester and Liverpool Electric Express Railway, -which was duly authorised by Act of Parliament. It must be premised that -the line, like our London Tube, does not provide for goods traffic; that -the time occupied by the journey being so short, neither luggage-van, -lavatory, or refreshment buffet is required, and that all trains consist -of a single car, couplings being a source of danger at so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a>{42}</span> great a rate -of speed. But as the trains run every ten minutes, and carry about forty -persons each time, a large passenger traffic is provided for.</p> - -<p>Well—a broker has been telephoned for by his client, a wealthy -cotton-spinner in Manchester, anxious to consult with him personally; so -he at once leaves the flags of the Exchange, and after an eight minutes’ -walk arrives at the Express Railway Station, near the entrance gate of -the Blue Coat Hospital in School Lane. He considers that in getting into -and out of the lift he has lost two minutes, but he just catches his car -and starts for a run of 34½ miles to Manchester, and since it is his -first experience of lightning travelling, he notices everything -connected with the new line. There are many curves, he finds, all -necessary in order to avoid conflict with the vested interests of other -railway companies; the gradients, he observes, at points about -three-quarters of a mile from the Liverpool and Manchester stations, are -steep—1 in 25, and 1 in 30—but of service in accelerating and breaking -the trains.</p> - -<p>Unlike the Listowel mono-rail line, the Manchester and Liverpool express -is fenced from end to end with an unclimbable barrier, and as there are -no level-crossings and no means of access, there is no possibility of -trespassing. Also, for the security of the workmen employed in -maintaining the track as on an ordinary railway—the system of “packing” -the sleepers and inspecting the various parts being common to all -railways—a clear space of three feet is left between the passing -trains, and strong posts, ten feet apart, are fixed along the centre of -the space for the labourers to hold on by when an express rushes by. -Collisions, our broker quickly perceives, are impossible, there being no -switches, and notwithstanding the multitude of passengers (some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a>{43}</span> twenty -thousand per day) there are never more than two cars on the line at a -time, and there are no stoppages between the two termini.</p> - -<p>For signalling purposes, the line is divided into four sections of about -five miles each, and as the train passes by, its electric motor -automatically operates the signal and immediately “blocks” the section -behind it, so that the train following cannot advance until its leader -has cleared the five-mile division.</p> - -<p>The driver and conductor are both together in the front part of the -train, so that the conductor has ample time to look out for the signals, -to apply the brakes, and assist his mate. The brakes are of the -Westinghouse pattern, and the two combined can stop the cars in about -800 yards, even at the speed of 110 miles an hour. These can be aided by -Mr. Behr’s ingenious device, which Sir William H. Preece considers quite -practicable, viz. louvres or shutters, which, when opened, materially -increase the air resistance.</p> - -<p>Past Toxteth Park, Garston, Halewood, Widnes (whose only rival in sheer -ugliness is perhaps London’s Stratford-by-Bow), and exactly half-way, -Warrington, conspicuous for the inkiness of its river Mersey, and noted -for its glass, wire, and chemical industries; famed for its network of -waterways, especially for the great but evil-smelling ship-canal; noted -in history—when but a hamlet, with a clear trout-yielding stream—as -the camping-ground of the young Pretender when on his march to Derby in -1745; and associated with Mrs. Gaskell (whose “Cranford” is identified -with Knutsford, a neighbouring village), the two Bishops Claughton, -Viscount Cross, Luke Fildes, <small>R.A.</small>, and “Warrington” Wood, the sculptor.</p> - -<p>Close by, in the parish of Great Sankey, is the power-generating<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a>{44}</span> -station of the railway, the current obtained being 15,000 volts on the -triphase alternating system, converted in five sub-stations placed along -the line, into a continuous 650 volt current. Every car has four -traction motors arranged in pairs, each with a full-speed capacity of -160 h.p., equal to 110 miles an hour. The cars are comfortably -upholstered; the seats are separated and placed back to back in the -middle, those along the sides facing inwards, as in the Twopenny Tube. -The lighting is, of course, excellent, and the ventilation perfect, -though to prevent accident the windows are fixed, and the doors, while -the train is in motion, are automatically locked.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_7" id="fig_7"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_044_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_044_sml.jpg" width="500" height="378" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 7. INTERIOR OF A BEHR MONO-RAILWAY CAR</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of</i> <i>Mr. F. B. Behr, Ass. Inst. C. E.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>As regards the cost of this novel undertaking, our<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a>{45}</span> Liverpool friend had -beforehand ascertained that the capital had been fixed at £2,800,000, -and that an average of eight persons per train would more than cover the -expense of the enterprise.</p> - -<p>Swiftly leaving Warrington in the distance, the express shoots -onwards—past Eccles, Pendleton, and Salford—and reaches the terminus -at the west side of Deansgate, in the busiest part of Cottonopolis, -where, again using the lift, our honest broker speeds to the Exchange in -another eight minutes, and in forty-five minutes after leaving Liverpool -is in deep business conference with his principal at Manchester.</p> - -<p>Contrast this with the existing facilities of the old system for rapid -transit between the two places; and those who know their Manchester and -Liverpool well, will at once be able to decide whether or not the -electric express better meets the requirements of those to whom every -minute is of consequence.</p> - -<p>The London and North Western Railway (which has a perfectly straight bit -of track to Manchester, unequalled, except on the Great Eastern between -Littleford and Lynn—21 miles—and on the South Eastern between Nutfield -and Ashford—32 miles) runs expresses without stopping from Lime Street -and Edge Hill to the Exchange Station, Manchester, doing the journey in -forty minutes.</p> - -<p>The Great Central Railway, by an indirect route, <i>viâ</i> Garston and -Widnes, runs expresses from their Liverpool station (St. James’s) direct -to the Manchester Central, in from forty to forty-five minutes; but on -neither line is there such a thing as a ten minutes’ service, the -intervals between the direct expresses ranging from forty-five minutes -to so much as four hours.</p> - -<p>Plans, it is said, have been submitted to the Board of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a>{46}</span> Trade for a -mono-railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The proposed construction is -similar to that of the Behr mono-railway between Liverpool and -Manchester. It is quite unlike the canny Scot to rush into sensational -experiments for a speed of 117 miles per hour, especially as a few -years’ waiting for the completion of the Liverpool line would prove or -disprove the possibility of the scheme.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a>{47}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -<small><i>REJUVENATING THE METROPOLITAN INNER CIRCLE</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”—Ps. ciii. 5.</p> - -<h3>CONSTRUCTION OF THE METROPOLITAN AND METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAYS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">C</span>AN anything be satisfactorily rejuvenated? Is there any truth in the -Medean story that old age can revert to the vigour of young manhood?</p> - -<p>In 1903 the usual reply is “No.” If a theatre becomes dilapidated, it is -pulled down. If a railway-station gets much out of repair, the company -proceeds to reconstruct, and not to patch up. If a macadamised -thoroughfare gives signs of too much wear and tear, it is broken up and -relaid with wood blocks.</p> - -<p>In fact, rejuvenation on a large scale is so seldom attempted that the -scheme for renovating and electrifying the Inner Circle Railway may be -regarded as something remarkable.</p> - -<p>For convenience we will call it the Inner Circle, but, as we all know, -it is a dual concern controlled by the Metropolitan and the Metropolitan -District, both of them old enough to have a respectable history.</p> - -<p>Fifty years ago railways within the boundaries of Inner London were -non-existent, the nearest points approached by the country lines being -at Battersea, Euston, St. Pancras, Shoreditch, Paddington, London -Bridge, and Waterloo—miles away from the central districts.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a>{48}</span></p> - -<p>It was an ideal time for omnibus companies, who charged pretty well what -they liked: and for cabmen, whose fare was nominally restricted to -eightpence a mile, but who were masters of the situation when passengers -with luggage had to be conveyed from the termini. Yet, although many -suggestions were made, including that of a great central station where -all the lines might converge, the travelling world was considerably -startled in 1854 by a proposition laid before Parliament to construct an -underground line from Farringdon Street to Bishop’s Road, Paddington; -and so astonished were capitalists that although the bill passed, the -money was so slow in coming in that work could not be begun until six -years later!</p> - -<p>In planning the route a golden opportunity was lost of anticipating the -Twopenny Tube; but the opposition of Oxford Street was so fierce that -the line had to be poked away beneath the Marylebone Road in the -north-west of London, convenient for residents in Paddington and -Bayswater, but useless to other districts, and, what was more important, -it did not go to the Bank, the centre of the business world.</p> - -<p>However, we, then as now, were but a slow people, therefore really -comprehensive schemes found little favour in the “fifties” and -“sixties.” For three years the Marylebone and Euston roads were closed -to traffic, and presented the appearance of a besieged city’s outskirts -where deep trenches and fortifications were being made. The roadway was -removed to a great depth; pipes and sewers were taken away and replaced; -foundations were underpinned, and a series of solid brick tunnels were -slowly and laboriously constructed and covered up. The plank pathways, -the noise, and the smells, drove householders along the route to -desperation;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a>{49}</span> and, on nearing the City, the problem of dealing with the -old Fleet Ditch was at one period thought insoluble. No wonder that, -what with compensation to owners of damaged property, the acquisition of -necessary land, and engineering difficulties, the cost of the line at -some points mounted up to a million sterling per mile!</p> - -<p>At last the first section was completed; and in September, 1862, a trial -trip was made. A contemporary picture represents the train passing -Portland Road Station, its open trucks in the rear full of enthusiastic -guests waving flags and tall hats—after luncheon probably—evidently -delighted with the success of the undertaking. But at the formal -opening, January 9th, 1863, a grand banquet was given in the Farringdon -Street Station, three long tables occupying the rail and platform space, -with a [ shaped table on a daïs for the principal guests.</p> - -<p>The following day thirty thousand passengers journeyed over the line, -and everybody in London talked about the Underground as somewhat of a -marvel. But people exhibited strange ignorance on the subject, nervous -people preparing for wonderful possibilities, imagining that the cellars -would collapse as the trains thundered by, or that the houses would -tumble through on to the line, flinging their occupants before some -passing engine!</p> - -<p>Yet, after all, the Underground was only an ordinary tunnel (such as -pierce a score of hills), placed in an exceptional position in the midst -of London.</p> - -<p>Bit by bit, as years went by, the Metropolitan Railway extended itself -eastward and westward to High Street, Kensington, whence the District -Railway that had sprung into existence went ahead and got as far as -Westminster, its line being partly open and partly tunnelled. There the -District stuck for three years, and then found its way into the City (a -great boon as an alternative route).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a>{50}</span> At the Mansion House Station it -seemed determined to rest for a long period; the Metropolitan showing -the same propensity at the Moorgate Street sheds, until City men began -to give up all hope of the two ends ever meeting.</p> - -<p>It came about at last, however, and the year 1884 witnessed the -completion of the irregular Inner Circle—a total length of about 12½ -miles—by way of Bishopsgate, Aldgate, Mark Lane, the Monument, and -Cannon Street, without any serious disturbance of the traffic, but with -much wonderful underpinning of warehouses and offices (a notable -instance of this operation being beneath King William the Fourth’s -statue, which weighs over 250 tons!).</p> - -<p>At first there were no smoking-carriages, but the numerous complaints on -the subject induced the directors to alter their rules, and they went to -the other extreme, so that now non-smokers think there seem to be more -smoking-carriages than any others.</p> - -<p>In its young days the Metropolitan was clean and its atmosphere -tolerable. In fact, it had been proposed to use smokeless engines, but -for some reason the idea was abandoned, and, as the main railway lines -began to send out feelers towards the inner districts of London, they -sought for, and obtained, running powers over the Underground, junctions -being made with the Great Northern Railway and Great Western, the London -and North Western, and the Midland. Consequently, the number of trains -immensely increased, and the smoke nuisance was intensified. Ventilating -shafts were adopted, and afforded some relief, but the imprisoned fog of -winter precipitated the “blacks,” and summer weather only made the -atmosphere still more stifling; while Baker Street, Gower Street, and -King’s Cross stations<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a>{51}</span> and tunnels were positive infernos, and for how -many deaths from asthma and bronchitis they were responsible no one -knows!</p> - -<p>The rolling-stock of the Metropolitan became dirtier and dirtier, grime -and disfigurement settled down upon it, and everybody’s experience of it -resembled that of Mrs. Lilian Rosamond, described in Chapter VIII.</p> - -<h3>THE NEW DISTRICT RAILWAY</h3> - -<p>Just opposite St. Mark’s College, Chelsea, is a narrow thoroughfare -called Lot’s Road, leading to a creek that separates the Borough from -Fulham. Tradition says that the locality was formerly known as “The -Lots” (about four acres in extent), and was granted to a Sir Arthur -Gorges by the lord of the manor, in lieu of certain rights over land -which he gave up for the formation of the Kensington Canal; but -incredulous old folk dismissed this tradition with contempt, and -maintained that there was a Chelsea personage named Lot, very distantly -related to the patriarch’s nephew, who pitched his tent in the fertile -Jordan Valley, and that the dismal Chelsea wastes so much resembled the -desolateness of the fatal plains, that diligent search therein might -even result in the discovery of the Pillar of Salt, brought over to this -country at some remote period by a pious descendant! But whoever, or -whatever, the name Lot may represent, it is now associated with one of -the greatest electrical undertakings of the age—the huge generating -station of the Underground Electric Railway Company of London, Limited, -who, as at present arranged, will supply the District and other railways -with power.</p> - -<p>At the bottom of Lot’s Road, and at a point on the Middlesex bank of -Battersea Reach, facing the ugly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a>{52}</span> parish church of St. Mary, is the -mouth of Chelsea Creek, filled twice a day by the muddy waters of the -Thames, and here the Electrical Works are being erected. They are in -sight of an obscure cottage in Cheyne Walk where the painter Turner -lived in concealment, and where he died. The building, with its four -great chimney-shafts, is unæsthetic to a degree, and Turner would -probably have thought it ruined his favourite landscape. But it -represents something more valuable than æsthetic effect.</p> - -<p>When Matthew Doulton, in the infancy of steam, took the Russian Prince -Potemkin round the works at Soho, Manchester, the distinguished visitor -inquired, “What do you sell here?” “We make and sell here,” replied -James Watts’ partner, “that which all the world wants—<i>Power</i>.” And -this, on a scale undreamt of by the famous engineer, is what the -Underground Electric Railway Company of London will produce, in view of -the river scenery so much admired by the chief of impressionists, and -which he never wearied of depicting.</p> - -<p>This temple of electric force will be the largest in the Old World. In -New York, the Manhattan and the Metropolitan companies both have power -stations slightly smaller. The Rapid Transit Commission have projected -one that will be bigger, while the Waterside station of the Edison -Illuminating Company (partially completed) is on a still larger scale. -It has, however, been stated that the biggest power scheme on earth will -be at Massena, on the St. Lawrence River, Canada, where there will be -fifteen Westinghouse machines, equal to a total of 75,000 kilowatts.</p> - -<p>Within the temple there will be turbo-generators fifty feet in length -and ten feet high, constructed by the British Westinghouse Company at -their Trafford Park<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a>{53}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_8" id="fig_8"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a>{54}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_053_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_053_sml.jpg" width="500" height="320" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 8. ELECTRICAL POWER HOUSE (THE LARGEST IN THE OLD -WORLD) LOT’S ROAD, CHELSEA, TO SUPPLY THE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT AND -OTHER RAILWAYS WITH CURRENT</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Underground Electric Railways Co. of London, -Ltd.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Works, Manchester, capable of producing the prodigious quantity of -60,000 electrical kilowatts, at a pressure, or force, technically -speaking, of 11,000 volts. In other words, about 100,000 horse-power -could be sent out, theoretically equal to the lifting of over 1,000,000 -tons a foot high every minute.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> Six such power stations could, -therefore, move the great pyramid of Cheops (over 6,000,000 tons -weight), and carry it bodily off on colossal rails, and dump it down -anywhere to order.</p> - -<p>For condensing purposes, an enormous quantity of water will be required, -and every twenty-four hours 19,000,000 gallons of water (at times -mounting up to 40,000,000 gallons) will be drawn from the creek for use -in the power house.</p> - -<p>The force of 11,000 volts will be much too powerful for direct -application to the purposes of locomotion. It requires reducing by -transformers and rotary converters into the safe and ordinary current of -about 550 volts, which will be effected at sub-stations—Earl’s Court, -South Kensington, Victoria, Charing Cross, Mansion House, and other -places along the line. To these the current will be sent from the power -house, and reduced by the transformers into ordinary low-pressure -voltage, and the fiery O.P. spirit tamed to a pleasant and portable -“under-proof” standard! The current will then be distributed to two -conductor-rails, one located between the present running rails, and the -other outside them. The motors on the trains will receive the current -from one rail by means of a sliding contact-shoe, and return it to the -other rail in the same manner. In passing through the motor the -electricity causes the armature to revolve, which motion, by means of -gearing, is communicated to the carriage axle.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a>{55}</span></p> - -<p>So much for the driving-power of the trains. But what kind of trains do -the public expect?</p> - -<p><a name="fig_9" id="fig_9"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_055_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_055_sml.jpg" width="500" height="399" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 9. A 2,000 H.P. WESTINGHOUSE STEAM TURBINE, -RESEMBLING THE TURBO-GENERATORS (EACH OF 7,500 H.P.) IN THE CHELSEA -POWER HOUSE.</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Westinghouse Companies, Ltd., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Surely not the old carriages cleaned up and re-upholstered—made “to -last a little longer,” until broken up for firewood and old iron. The -public will not be disappointed in the new cars, nothing as yet having -been seen in London to equal them.</p> - -<p>The trains will be run on the principle of the multiple unit. That is, -each will be made up of seven coaches—three long motor-cars and four -trail-cars—with a motor-man’s cab at each end, and one in the centre. -These eight-wheeled coaches will be rectangular at the sides—not -sloping like those of the Waterloo<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a>{56}</span> Tube Company—and very roomy, 52 -feet long and about 8 feet 2 inches wide inside, and about 8 feet 7 -inches from the floor to the middle of the roof.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_10" id="fig_10"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_056_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_056_sml.jpg" width="500" height="189" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 10. A NEW METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAY CAR</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Underground Electric Railways Co. of London, -Ltd.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>The arrangement of the seats will be somewhat different from that of the -Tube. There will, of course, be corridor cars, which will be entered -from the platforms, through telescopic doors; there will be also sliding -doors. The gain in leg-space will be great, the centre gangway giving a -clear 4 feet, and there will be fewer cross seats. Each train will hold -about 338 passengers; the ventilation of the cars will be perfect; and -the height sufficient for a giant. As the District tunnels are 25 feet -in diameter, and 15 feet 9 inches from the rail level to the crown of -the arch, there will be about 2 feet of head-room, about 2 feet 6 inches -between each train, and the same between the trains and the sides of the -tunnels.</p> - -<p>Compare this with the present Inner Circle trains that carry about three -hundred passengers, with gangways that, even in the first-class -compartments, leave no room for incomers to avoid a leg entanglement, -and whose height will hardly admit a tall man in a tall hat to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a>{57}</span> stand -upright. Also compare it with the dimensions of the Central’s cars, -which are 39 feet long, 8 feet wide, and whose height to the middle of -roof is only 7 feet 5 inches, the gangway narrow, with seats in each car -for forty-eight people. The space in the cars of the City and South -London, and the Waterloo and City, is still more exiguous.</p> - -<p>It is proposed to run about twice as many trains as at present, each -journey to be made in about two-thirds of the time now required; that is -to say, the trains that now run about ten miles an hour will, it is -anticipated, work up to at least fifteen miles; the total carrying -capacity being estimated at 70,000,000 per annum, increasable, if -necessary, to 100,000,000. There may be an all-night service, for the -convenience of people engaged at Covent Garden market, and for -journalists and others whose work lies in the vicinity of Fleet Street. -A somewhat novel and economical feature will be that the trains, during -the stock hours of the day, can be run in short lengths, as in the City -and Waterloo Railway, and, with their triple motors divided, will -resemble those strange Naidæ worms of the Annelida class that possess -the power of increasing by mechanical division. They will also be able -to go forward and backward without reversing the motor engines.</p> - -<p>Brilliant will be the lighting of the cars and stations; the tunnels, -too, are to be illuminated. Fresh air will be obtained by the frequent -movements of the trains through the tunnels, while smoke and smuts will, -of course, become things of the past. The stations, with their wide and -roomy platforms, will in some cases be lengthened by fifty feet to -accommodate the three-hundred-and-fifty-feet-long trains, and be -thoroughly cleansed and repainted, and the tunnels may possibly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a>{58}</span> be -whitened by means of “spraying”—the principle adopted at the Chicago -Exhibition for the finials of the pavilions.</p> - -<p>The question of classes, fares, and tickets has not yet been settled, -but we may assume that the system adopted will be somewhat like that of -the Tube. The entire project closely resembles the Metropolitan -Underground Railway of Paris, and the Boston Subway. Lifts are not at -present contemplated, and probably their absence will be no great loss -to active travellers, nor even to the “old, subdued, and slow,” for -trains will so quickly succeed one another that the missing of one will -involve no serious delay. Possibly, however, as time goes on, some new -and convenient form of sloping footway may be adopted.</p> - -<p>But alas! for the lovers of the beautiful, the directors, we are told, -“have not decided that they will be warranted in sacrificing, on -æsthetic grounds, the revenue derived from advertisements.”</p> - -<p>Then, again, as there will be little or no waiting, even the most -impatient of <i>voyageurs</i> will hardly need the diversion obtained by a -trial of the omnipresent penny-in-the-slot machines, or the -contemplation of the numerous works of art displayed on the station -walls. They will not even need the bookstalls, much less to gape at the -contents-bills of the daily paper.</p> - -<p>And, provided the glass roofs be kept clean, and the atmosphere innocent -of smoke and gas, might not the stations—sheltered as they are from the -vagaries of weather, and brilliantly lighted—be transformed into -modified winter gardens, with sturdy flowers and shrubs filling up nooks -and corners, and bold paintings (frequently renewed) of distant lands, -seascapes, and historical subjects, in the recesses now covered by -“Reckitt’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a>{59}</span> Blue,” etc.? The frequent stopping of trains would be -actually welcomed, and people would travel by the “Circle” for the sake -of seeing the novelties! In fact, every station might be converted into -a thing of beauty.</p> - -<p>One other suggestion for the directors of the new Inner Circle. Cannot -something be contrived in the new cars to effectually deaden the sound -of the closing and opening of doors, so irritating to modern nerves, and -unpleasantly associated with the “banging” in the old carriages, and the -“clashing” of the telescopics in the Tubes.</p> - -<h3>THE NEW METROPOLITAN RAILWAY</h3> - -<p>The Metropolitan Railway will be electrified in a very similar manner to -the District Railway, the system being the same, <i>i.e.</i> alternating -three-phase, converted at sub-stations into continuous current. Access -to the platforms will be by short staircases, and not by lifts. It is -said that when steam is abolished the appearance of the stations may -possibly be improved, but the advertisements are too important a source -of revenue to be removed, and, as the Company says, “they act as a -relief to the bare walls, and their withdrawal would answer no good”! An -effort will be made to cleanse the tunnels, but it has not yet been -decided what method will be adopted.</p> - -<p>There exist an abundance of open spaces, ventilating-shafts, and holes, -and the frequent passing of trains in contrary directions will -necessarily keep the air in motion, and thus, as in the District, the -problem of ventilation will solve itself.</p> - -<p>The cars will be of the corridor type, seven to a full train, each end -car and the middle one having a motor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a>{60}</span> and if the contingencies of the -traffic do not require a large train, it will thus be possible to divide -it and run it in two parts. The seating will be both transverse and -longitudinal, and considerably over four hundred passengers it is said -can be accommodated in each full train. As to day and night services, -their frequency, the fares, and the distinction of classes, nothing has -yet been decided.</p> - -<p>About a mile from Wembly, where “Watkins’ Folly,” as it is locally -called—at one time aspiring, like Babel’s, to “reach unto -heaven”—shows gauntly against the skyline its first stage of only 150 -feet, is Neasden, where, on land belonging to the Metropolitan Railway, -is being erected its power house (the most extensive in the kingdom -owned by a single railway company), capable of producing some 14,000 -kilowatts. Water in abundance will be obtained by means of artesian -wells now being bored in the chalk; and coal can be readily supplied. -The current will be applied to cars, as on the District, by a -conductor-rail placed in the near side of the permanent way, with a -return fixed in the centre of the running track. By the end of 1903 it -is hoped that the work will be sufficiently advanced for some trains to -be run by electricity. Finally, as the Metropolitan’s engineer-in-chief -remarks, there will be no marked novelties, but “the very conversion -from steam to electric traction will prove a great novelty and an -attraction. New cars of the latest type will be introduced, the stations -will be bright and cheerful, the atmosphere pure; travel will be -undertaken with a greater degree of comfort, and freedom from -disagreeable odours. In short, nothing that can reasonably be expected -to be performed in the interests of the public will be left undone.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a>{61}</span></p> - -<h3>AMERICAN CAPITAL</h3> - -<p>A good deal has been said in reference to the source whence the -necessary capital has been obtained for rejuvenating the Inner Circle, -patriotic people objecting to the so-called Americanising of this great -undertaking, though it is hardly a logical objection.</p> - -<p>If British capitalists are lacking in enterprise, there is no reason why -London should wait until they evince it. The world will not go to sleep -while Lombard Street hesitates. As Mr. Perks, M.P., Chairman of the -District Company has said, out of the five millions sterling invested in -the new Underground Electric Railway Companies of London, Limited, less -than two millions were held in America, and three millions on this side -the Atlantic. “I do not care,” he said, “where the money comes from, so -long as it is good money”—a wise remark, like the <i>non olet</i> of -Suetonius. What matters it whence the materials of a sovereign have -come? They cannot be ear-marked, and whether its gold is Brazilian, -Australian, South African, or American, is of no consequence. It is a -legal tender, and worth twenty silver shillings.</p> - -<p>Another matter that has engaged public attention is the apparent -difference of opinion between the Metropolitan and the Metropolitan -District Companies, as to the control of the Inner Circle. Nature has -designed them to be one, and but for vested and promoters’ interests, -they probably would have been one from the first. They are not merely -brother and sister, but are united by a closer tie, therefore their -motto surely ought to be <i>Quis separabit</i>!</p> - -<p>Let us hope that long before the scheme is completed there will be a -reconciliation, and a satisfactory<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a>{62}</span> working arrangement made “out of -court” between these two parties to an unnecessary divorce suit.</p> - -<p>The two lines have carried their millions of passengers, and the -rejuvenated Inner Circle during its new and beneficent career is -destined to carry very many millions more, and prove a great boon to the -metropolis.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a>{63}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -<small><i>THE CENTRAL LONDON ELECTRIC RAILWAY</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“Tell by what paths, what subterranean ways.”—<span class="smcap">Blackmore.</span></p> - -<h3>HISTORY OF THE RAILWAY AND ITS CITY SUBWAYS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>HEN those electric traction pioneers, the City and South London, and -the Waterloo and City Railways, were opened respectively in 1890 and -1898, they were regarded by the public with a certain amount of apathy. -But when, in July, 1900, the Central London Railway, inaugurated by the -Prince of Wales, was opened for traffic, and it was realised that the -line was laid literally in the centre of London, beneath one of the -greatest street routes in existence, viz. Cheapside, Newgate Street, -Holborn, Oxford Street, Bayswater and Uxbridge roads, and was capable of -dealing with a gigantic stream of passengers at a uniform fare for any -distance, it arrested universal attention, and for a time nothing was -talked about but the deep-level system for metropolitan railways; and by -general approbation the Central was forthwith dubbed “The Twopenny -Tube,” a name it will always retain.</p> - -<p>Like most great enterprises, the Tube Railway had to contend against -considerable opposition before legislative sanction could be obtained -for its construction. It was incorporated on August 5th, 1891, after a -great battle with Parliament and local authorities, in which affray the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a>{64}</span> -late Mr. J. H. Greathead, <small>M. INST. C. E.</small> (deviser of one of the methods -of shield-excavating for driving tunnels), took a conspicuous part, and -the principle of a “free-way-leave” beneath the streets was successfully -confirmed.</p> - -<p>The original directors were Mr. Henry Tennant (at one time General -Manager of the North Eastern Railway Company), Lord Colville of Culross -(Director of the Great Eastern Railway Company), Sir Francis Knollys -(Director of the Great Northern Railway Company), the Hon. A. H. Mills -(of Glyn, Mills, Currie, and Co.), and the Right Hon. D. R. Plunket -(Director of the North London Railway Company). Thus the railway element -was strongly represented; the financial to a small but very important -extent, and Court influence by two prominent members of the households -of the Prince and Princess of Wales.</p> - -<p>The Company was authorised to construct a double underground line from -Liverpool Street to Shepherds Bush (about 6½ miles); but the plan was -modified, and the Bank of England became the City starting-point. In -their prospectus the directors modestly predicted an annual passenger -traffic of some forty-two millions (or seven millions per mile of line); -but this estimate has been largely exceeded, the average being about -fifty-two millions per annum, or one million per week.</p> - -<p>The Company’s capital ultimately reached the sum of nearly four millions -sterling, so the line can hardly be called a cheap one in point of -construction; for, although the “way-leave” beneath the streets was -free, land had to be bought for the surface booking-offices, costly -shafts had to be sunk to the requisite depth, and tunnels driven, and -numerous subterranean stations had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a>{65}</span> to be built. Thus, apart from the -cost of the rolling-stock and installation of a large current-generating -station, the initial expenses soon mounted up.</p> - -<p>All the booking-offices and stations are built on one principle, each -with its great electric lift; but special interest attaches to the City -terminus.</p> - -<p>It was necessary to make use, somehow, of the open space between the -Mansion House, the Bank, and the Royal Exchange—an ideal spot for a -central railway station. But how was it to be effected? For years the -Civic Fathers had contemplated the construction of subways for the -safety and convenience of foot-passengers at this, which has been termed -the busiest—as it is almost the most dangerous—spot in the world, -though I doubt whether in the year 1903 Piccadilly Circus does not run -it hard.</p> - -<p>The Central Railway Company approached the Corporation on the subject, -and eventually it was agreed between the parties that the Railway -Company, in return for being allowed the privilege of constructing their -station beneath the open space, without payment, should make the public -subways, and hand them over in perpetuity to the City.</p> - -<p>So for many months the pavement in front of the Royal Exchange was -disfigured by a lofty wooden hoarding, which completely concealed a -shaft, wherein some mysterious work was progressing. But beyond this -there was no outward indication of what was going on below; and, -although the entire roadway in front of the Mansion House was being -undermined, the vast traffic continued as usual.</p> - -<p>Arranging this station proved to be one of the stiffest bits of -engineering work ever attempted. Drain-pipes were ubiquitous—a perfect -tangle that had to be diverted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a>{66}</span> There were old disused and -long-forgotten pipes, electric cables, hydraulic power pipes, pneumatic -tubes, gas and water mains—a maze and wilderness of underground -communications. These were all rearranged in a special pipe-tunnel, 14 -feet wide. Then, at a depth of about 20 feet, the booking-office was -built, bit by bit, of steel-work, which had previously been temporarily -put together in a field to ensure its fitting exactly into the -excavation prepared for its accommodation—an area 145 feet one way and -75 feet the other, its outline being on the curve. Its roof, consisting -of girders supporting steel troughing, was filled up with concrete, and -finally with asphalte, upon which thousands of people pass daily without -realising what is below them. Access to the booking-office is gained by -numerous entrances <i>viâ</i> the public subway: two on the Royal Exchange -pavement, two at the bottom of Mansion House Place, one at the Poultry -corner, and one at Walbrook, one in front of the Safe Deposit City -buildings, two each at the corners of Princes Street and Cornhill, and -one at St. Mary Woolnoth Church. The entire arrangement reminds one of a -mole’s subterranean fortress, with its galleries for entrance and exit -branching off in various directions.</p> - -<p>These subways, immense conveniences which should be adopted at every -<i>rond-point</i> in London—though it is a strange fact that <i>habitués</i> of -the City seldom use them, they being patronised chiefly by the -“work-girl” and by casual visitors to the central “square mile”—are 15 -feet wide and 9 feet high, are lined with glazed brick, and have -electric-lighted stairways at the above-mentioned places.</p> - -<h3>DESCRIPTION OF THE RAILWAY</h3> - -<p>Some fifty feet below the Bank of England Station are the twin-tunnels -and their platforms, approached by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a>{67}</span> five lift shafts of twenty feet, and -one stairway shaft of eighteen feet diameter; at a deeper level still -are the tubes of the City and South London Railway, crossing the City -<i>en route</i> to Islington.</p> - -<p>These great passenger lifts work with wonderful smoothness (<i>facile -descensus Averno est</i>), and without them no fewer than ninety-three -steps would have to be painfully descended.</p> - -<p>We are all familiar by this time with the other ten surface stations of -the Twopenny Tube (at the Post Office, Marble Arch, etc.). They are -nearly all alike, and look as if they were waiting for a substantial and -lofty building to be erected upon them, and have little claim to -architectural beauty. The platforms, necessarily rather contracted in -area, are clean and bright, owing to the extensive use of opalite tiling -and glazed bricks, ever spotless, and practically indestructible. Each -train consists of six eight-wheeled bogie-cars, 45½ feet long, with -well-upholstered seats, arranged longitudinally and crosswise, for -forty-eight passengers. The lighting is effected by means of eight -sixteen-candle-power incandescent lamps, supplemented by small shaded -electric lights, excellent for reading by. The windows, of course, do -not open, but practicable ventilating louvres are arranged above them. -Entrance is obtained at each end of the car, and the telescopic gates -are cleverly and expeditiously manipulated by the attendants. Straps are -placed along rods on each side of the roof to aid passengers in -traversing the cars, and above the seats are racks for parcels, etc.</p> - -<p>The electric locomotives<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> are curious in shape, with the driver’s -cabin in the middle, and a backward and forward<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a>{68}</span> slope for the apparatus -looking like gigantic coal-scuttles back to back. They have eight -wheels, and are fitted with motors, one for each axle. The current is -collected from a central third rail by means of two cast-iron shoes -which rub along it, and is led through an automatic circuit-breaker and -switched to the controller in the driver’s cabin, thence to the motors, -returning to the track rails through the wheels. The total weight of a -locomotive is about forty-four tons, and the average speed is about -fourteen miles an hour, the running time from the Bank to the western -terminus being twenty-four minutes.</p> - -<p>At Shepherd’s Bush—once, as its name implies, a rural suburban hamlet, -suggestive of pastoral pursuits, flocks of sheep and lambs, washings and -shearings of fleeces—is the chief power station of the Central, -sub-stations being situated at the General Post Office, Marble Arch, -and Notting Hill Gate.</p> - -<p>The premises cover sixty-eight acres, with plenty of room for locomotive -and car sheds, shunting tracks, boiler and engine houses, the latter -most impressive from the size of their six Corliss compound horizontal -engines, each rated at 1,300 horse-power, though, as in so much American -machinery, the somewhat rough exterior detracts from the appearance, -especially in the eyes of British engineers, accustomed not only to -internal mechanical perfection—as in the Central’s engines—but to -nicety of finish throughout. These giants are coupled direct to -Thomson-Houston dynamos, with the capacity, if required, of 5,100 -kilowatts, or 6,800 indicated horse-power.</p> - -<p>Amongst other contemplated improvements is that of loop-lines between -Liverpool Street and the Bank, which will materially help to accelerate -the traffic.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a>{69}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_11" id="fig_11"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_069_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_069_sml.jpg" width="500" height="401" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 11. A TYPICAL ELECTRIC POWER GENERATOR—TWO DYNAMOS, -EACH OF ABOUT 1,600 H.P.</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of</i> <i>Dick Kerr and Co., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a>{70}</span></p> - -<p>Some remarkable results, not very satisfactory to those interested in -vehicular traffic, have arisen from the opening of the Twopenny Tube. -The standard of travelling has gone up steadily; improvements in ’buses -are constantly demanded (garden seats, spiral spring cushions, etc.) -and—somewhat slowly—conceded. Yet, to quote the words of an omnibus -official, “<i>they (the public) want more!</i>” And this at a time when fares -have steadily decreased, and the cost of fodder and maintenance have -seriously increased. Worse still, the Tube’s existence has been keenly -realised all along the line of its route, ladies especially preferring -to go on a shopping expedition by means of the well-lit Tube than by the -not over-clean, and decidedly slow and stuffy, omnibus. The London Road -Car Company’s returns along Oxford Street and Holborn showed last year a -decrease nearly equivalent to the Tube’s increase, and the London -General Omnibus Company’s report for the half-year—December 1st, -1901—was so disappointing, owing to dear forage and decreased passenger -traffic, that its stock fell at one bound ten points, from 105 to 95—a -grave depreciation in value.</p> - -<p>The Tube, during the six months ending December 31st, 1902, carried -22,425,776 passengers, a daily average of 121,879, out of which big -total 2,770,854 were workmen at a penny per traveller. On Coronation Day -202,000 people journeyed by the Central.</p> - -<h3>ITS VENTILATION</h3> - -<p>At the commencement of its career the Tube’s atmosphere and temperature -were remarkably sweet and equable, not varying much from 62° either in -summer or winter. During a spell of hot weather it felt delightfully -cool, and when east winds blew it was warm compared with the atmosphere -outside.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a>{71}</span></p> - -<p>Trips in the Tube were at one time seriously suggested for the cure of -various maladies as a modification of that usual last resource of the -medical profession, “change of air.”</p> - -<p>Before the advent of the Tube, however, many fond mothers with little -faith in the pharmacopœia regarded the Underground as a sanatorium -for children’s complaints. Tunnel air, they affirmed, was good for -croup, whooping-cough, and various other ailments. A doctor travelling -on the Metropolitan once noticed a woman in the same compartment pull -down the window upon entering a tunnel and hold outside a child she was -carrying, so that the youngster might get the full benefit of the foul -atmosphere. When the doctor inquired the reason for this extraordinary -performance, she told him that “tunnel air” had been found to be a -complete cure for croup. And only the other day an East End mother was -discovered by a guard giving her baby two rounds on the Inner Circle -because she had been told by a herbalist and bone-setter that a -sulphurous atmosphere was good for whooping-cough.</p> - -<p>But the ideal state of things in the Tube did not continue, and -accusations respecting its ventilation began to be whispered about and -finally proclaimed from the housetops (<i>vide</i> Chapter XIX). However, -practical steps were taken to ensure its efficiency, and at the last -meeting of shareholders the chairman said that the Company had now a -better character for ventilation than any other company in London.</p> - -<p>At Bond Street Station a powerful fan has been placed at the base of the -lift shaft, which, under ordinary pressure, removes the vitiated -atmosphere from the permanent ways, fresh air taking its place at the -various<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a>{72}</span> halting-places. The fan, forty-eight inches in diameter, and -electrically driven, displaces 30,000 cubic feet of air per minute, and -is capable of entirely exhausting the tunnels in a fraction over three -minutes. The fan is worked every night after the trains have ceased -running, and travellers by the early trains literally breathe the -freshest of fresh air.</p> - -<p>If a train in the Central should break down and come to a stop in the -tunnel, though it would not, of course, be run into—the block system -making that all but impossible—it might be necessary for the passengers -to get out. The question naturally asked is, “How shall they alight? And -where shall they go when they have alighted?” A fact that not every -traveller knows is that a narrow path at the side of the rails leads to -the nearest station, which cannot be more than a quarter of a mile off, -so that no serious athletic feat is required to get out at the rear of -the train and walk along the Tube.</p> - -<h3>ITS ANNUAL SALE OF LOST ARTICLES</h3> - -<p>Like the great trunk-lines, the Central has an annual sale of articles -left in the carriages and not claimed; but the collection differs -considerably from the miscellaneous assortment brought together by, say, -the Great Northern or Great Western. Heavy impedimenta are, as might be -expected, absent; but who could have been the owners of the 25 bottles -of whisky, the 13 boxes of cigars and cigarettes, the 300 ladies’ -umbrellas, and the 264 gentlemen’s umbrellas, the walking-sticks -innumerable, the 150 pairs of spectacles and eyeglasses (showing that -the light is so good that reading is a favourite way of passing the -time), the 44 fur necklets, 920 pairs of gloves and 14 muffs, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a>{73}</span> 166 -empty purses, and the multitude of books, chiefly fiction? While every -week someone very mysteriously leaves behind a spirit-bottle—evidently -recently emptied of its contents—enclosed in cardboard and done up in a -neat parcel.</p> - -<p>How the Twopenny Tube, and others like it, were constructed will be -described in the next chapter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a>{74}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -<small><i>THE TUBULAR SYSTEM</i></small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Thy arts of building from the bee receive;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Learn of the mole to plow, the worm to weave.”—<span class="smcap">Pope.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<h3>ORIGIN OF THE SYSTEM</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">L</span>AST year there were sounds of strife in that financial atmosphere where -dwell Titan capitalists, who think and talk and dream in millions; a -battle of giants, like the conflict imagined by Milton, when the satanic -host levelled “triple-mounted rows” of deadly tubes with such effect -against seraph and seraphim, “that whom they hit none on their feet -could stand, though standing else as rocks.” But the conflict now past, -concerned tubes of another kind—iron railway tubes, that seem to be the -destiny of underground metropolitan travellers. The Morgan group, the -Yerkes’ combination, and other great coalitions, mustered their -battalions for the fray. The London County Council, following the policy -of Lord Stanley’s army at Bosworth field, hovered aloof ready to take -advantage of the defeat of either; the Corporation of London anxiously -watched from afar; the great suburban railway companies shivered in -their shoes; a parental Legislature held the balance impartially between -the combatants; while the people whom the matter most concerned—some -six millions of Londoners—had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a>{75}</span> to sit down with folded hands and, -patiently or impatiently, await their fate.</p> - -<p>Recollecting this tangle and uproar of conflicting interests, it behoves -everybody to have some notion of the subject of the Tubes and their -construction.</p> - -<p>Like many other things in the world, there is nothing new in the idea of -boring a hole through the earth and lining it with brick or iron. As -Pope suggests, mankind doubtless learnt the art from Nature, though the -correctness of the poet’s zoological knowledge is hardly shown in the -examples heading this chapter. For ages past—before London -existed—that skilful excavator, the mole, tunnelled through the earth, -making roads and galleries, the friction of his fur, set perpendicularly -on his skin, lining his tube so that the soil did not fall in. The larvæ -of the humble caddis-fly covered the inside of their cases with fine -silk; and the trap-door spider lined its 12-inch long shaft with similar -material to prevent the tumbling in of loose particles and to afford -itself a foothold in climbing up; while the ant constructed her -galleries and stuccoed them with the finest grains of soil, so that the -inner walls presented a smooth, unbroken surface.</p> - -<p>With the advent of man and his civilisation came the extensive use of -furs, and in these the grubs of the moth—in the abstract the most -engaging of creatures—made galleries whenever they got a chance, lining -them with their own silk, wherein to undergo their transformation into -the pupa stage.</p> - -<p>Well-experienced engineers, such as the vine, beech, pine, and -bark-boring beetles, are all tube-makers; but it is the pholas, or -<i>teredo navalis</i>, who is the arch-borer, so skilled an expert in lining, -that, though only the size of a quill and “soft in body,” he pierces the -hard<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a>{76}</span> timbers of ships and quay-piles, lining the tubes as he proceeds -with a saliceous substance as hard as china. The body of the Teredo is -like a long white worm, varying from a foot to two inches and a half in -length, and about the width of a finger. From him, it is said, the elder -Brunel took his idea of the shield which he employed in constructing the -tunnel beneath the Thames after the shaft had been excavated.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_12" id="fig_12"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 413px;"> -<a href="images/i_076_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_076_sml.jpg" width="413" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 12. A 3,000 H.P. TRIPLE EXPANSION CENTRAL VALVE -ELECTRICAL ENGINE</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of</i> <i>Willans and Robinson, Rugby</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a>{77}</span></p> - -<p>But his clever system was crude, and not calculated to cope with porous -or aqueous soil; therefore, when the stratum of clay, through which the -work was being carried forward, broke off abruptly, a serious influx of -water took place. The work had to be abandoned, and was only completed -after much delay and ruinous expense. In a commercial sense, it was an -utter failure.</p> - -<p>Since Brunel’s time, engineering has developed its resources <i>pari -passu</i> with the development of science. Hydraulic force displaces the -primitive screw power, and steel plates the cumbersome timber works used -in the Thames tunnel.</p> - -<p>Tunnelling through rock, like the Mont Cenis and St. Gothard mountains, -is a comparatively simple engineering feat, as no lining is required; so -also is the ordinary railway tunnel, carefully bratticed and propped -inside, and securely cased with brick or stone. But it is, as the Great -Western Railway knows to its cost, in dealing with water-bearing strata, -<i>vide</i> the Severn Tunnel, that a system is required, not only to protect -the men as they bore with a gigantic centre-bit through clay, chalk, or -gravel, but, pholas-like, to line the tunnel simultaneously. This is -obtained by the use of the famous shield invented by the late Mr. J. H. -Greathead, and employed by him in the construction of the City and South -London and Waterloo and City Railways, though he did not live to witness -the adoption of his principle in the Twopenny Tube.</p> - -<h3>RAILWAY TUBES, HOW THEY ARE BORED</h3> - -<p>A revolution in tunnelling has been brought about in constructing Tube -railways. By the new process a great cylinder or shield at the bottom of -a shaft is pushed forward by hydraulic power into the soil ahead of it. -The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a>{78}</span> navvies work inside, excavating the earth in front of them, and fit -up iron segments at the rear of the tail end of the cylinder, or shield. -Thus, on the one hand, the exact size and shape of the tunnel is -ensured, and the workers are fully protected from the risk of the roof -falling in.</p> - -<p>This arrangement of shield and iron tube resembles an old-fashioned -single-drawn telescope; the outer case being the shield, and the inner -tube the lining of the tunnel. These shields have fronts that bear a row -of steel knives forming a true cutting edge, and are so arranged that -they can, if required, bore a circle slightly larger than the iron -segments of the tube. As the shield slides away from the inner tube, the -space it occupied is filled in with what is called “grout,” a kind of -porridge of water and lime, which soon sets as hard as stone. This is -ingeniously blown in through apertures in the iron lining by means of -compressed air, and effectually fills up cracks accidentally formed in -the soil, which might otherwise extend to the surface and cause -subsidence in the foundations of buildings. Theoretically, therefore, no -disturbance of the ground below or above the tubular lining is possible.</p> - -<p>In the pioneer Tube railways, the City and South London for instance, -the diameter of the tunnels was only 10 feet 6 inches, that of the -Central 12 feet, but the Great Northern and City Company made a new -departure by fixing the width at 16 feet. For the construction of this -railway, the shield was designed by Mr. E. W. Moir, <small>M. INST. C. E.</small>, and -varies in some important respects from the Greathead shield. A -remarkable photograph, which, by the courtesy of the <i>Tramway and -Railway World</i>, I am able to present to the readers of this book, shows -this shield at work in the construction<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a>{79}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_13" id="fig_13"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_079_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_079_sml.jpg" width="500" height="327" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 13. SHIELD AT WORK IN A TUBE RUNNING TUNNEL</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>“Tramway and Railway World” Publishing Co., -London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a>{80}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">of a running tunnel, 16 feet in diameter, on the above line. The Great -Northern shield is much more powerful than any hitherto employed. -Greater hydraulic force is applied, and the “jacks” are more numerous, -and considerably larger. The shield used for the sixteen-foot tunnel may -be taken as typical of others up-to-date. Its cylindrical skin is -composed of half-inch steel plates riveted together at the bottom of the -indispensable shaft, which may be, in the future, anything from 50 to -500 feet beneath the surface. In length, the shield from the rear to the -cutting edge in front is 8 feet 9 inches, half of this being used by the -excavators (as in Brunel’s Thames tunnel), the after part for the -erectors of the metal segments of the tube. Round the shield front are -mounted ten heavy cast-steel cutters, the pressure upon them being no -less than two tons to the square inch, the hydraulic rams exerting this -pressure direct upon the back of the cutters, and the purchase is taken -off the edge of the nearest tunnel segment already in position. The -excavated soil is taken away in trolleys, which, as in a mine, are drawn -by ponies on a miniature track, and afterwards sent up to the surface by -the nearest shaft.</p> - -<p>London clay is generally the kind of soil thus bored through in the -metropolitan tubes. The Central, while sinking the shafts, met with it -29½ feet below the surface; but before this was reached, 12 feet of made -ground, 18 inches of loam, and 16 feet of gravel, had to be pierced.</p> - -<p>The London clay ran almost without a break between the Bank and -Shepherd’s Bush, the only hiatus being at a point between Red Lion -Street and Berner’s Street, where the Woolwich and Reading strata -cropped up, which proved to consist of hard, red, streaky clay, some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a>{81}</span> -beds of white sand, and, strangely enough, beds of hard limestone rock, -whose presence had not been anticipated.</p> - -<p>Tube railways are carried out at considerably varying depths; the -Central running in places 100 feet (<i>i.e.</i> the height of Westminster -Abbey’s nave) below the road, and at the Bank only 65 feet.</p> - -<p>Some of the proposed tubes burrow much deeper; for instance those of -Charing Cross and Hampstead Railway will be from 120 to 216 feet below -the surface. Apparently, there is no reasonable limit to the depth at -which engineers are prepared to lay their railway tubes.</p> - -<h3>THE TUBE MOLE AT WORK</h3> - -<p>By an instinct—the heritage of years—of a kind that prompts -gamekeepers to slaughter indiscriminately eagles, hawks, crows, magpies, -owls, and even squirrels, classing them with such vermin as pole-cats, -stoats, weasels, and rats, ignorant farmers and gardeners wage war -against the mole, asserting that in driving his tunnels he throws up -unsightly heaps of soil, and, worse still, loosens and destroys the -roots of plants and grass, totally ignoring the fact that Mr. <i>Talpa -Europæa</i>, though he may occasionally disturb the earth around, acts as a -very efficient surface drainer, and still better, is a persistent chaser -and devourer of his natural prey, the wire-worm, and other injurious -insects.</p> - -<p>Our Tube mole throws up no hillocks, but he is accused of being the -source of much mischief, and of endangering the houses on the -surface—damaging, as it were, their roots—by the vibration arising -from the continual passage of trains along the iron galleries and the -consequent subsidence of the ground. This has given rise to numerous -complaints, so pronounced as to become the subject of an official -inquiry.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a>{82}</span></p> - -<p>Some foolish objections have been raised to deep-level railways, and -equally unreasonable claims for injury done by them have been brought -into court. Where a vibration clause is inserted in any Tube Railway -Bill, there might be ingenious claims manufactured for compensation. For -instance, a watchmaker might come forward and say that the vibration -caused by the railway prevented him from setting his chronometers, or a -wine merchant might say that his wines were shaken up; and in this way -the company might be subject to endless litigation.</p> - -<p>When it was proposed to bore tunnels 70 feet below the royal demesnes of -Hyde Park, St. James’s Park, and the Green Park, and as much as 216 feet -below Hampstead Heath, approximating in the former case to the height of -Queen Eleanor’s memorial at Charing Cross, and in the latter to that of -the twin towers of Westminster Abbey, it was at once urged by the -representatives of a certain Preservation Society that the trees, -plants, and flowers of the three parks would be detrimentally affected -by the Tube, and that the Hampstead Heath tunnels would “very probably -drain the upper surface of the soil and destroy vegetation all round.” -To which unthought-out contention Mr. R. E. Middleton, a well-known -civil engineer, replied that “at the depths proposed for the parks the -tunnels were to be constructed through a stratum, not of loose soil, but -of stiff London clay, so that any question of destroying trees, plants, -or flowers was rather absurd; in fact, vegetation would in no way be -affected.” He might have added the argument that, although ordinary -railway tunnels abound, no one had ever heard of the overlying fields -and woods being deleteriously affected by them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a>{83}</span></p> - -<h3>CLAIMS FOR DAMAGE BY TUBING</h3> - -<p>Now, in dealing with the matter of alleged injuries to buildings from -vibration set up by Tube railways, I quote the following case to show -how visionary are some of the claims brought against Tube Companies.</p> - -<p>On the 14th of October last, at the Lambeth County Court, an action was -brought against the Great Northern and City Railway Company by an -individual living in Hoxton for damage alleged to have been done to his -premises by the construction of the tunnels. The plaintiff stated that -in consequence of this the repairs of his house had cost him £62, and -that in another house of his, cracks had appeared. A photograph, taken -twelve months before the tunnels were made, which showed a crack in -front of one of the houses, was pointed out to the witness, who said -that he had never noticed it.</p> - -<p>For the defence Mr. Douglas Young stated that he acted for the Company -when the tunnels were about to be constructed, and, anticipating claims -of this nature, he caused photographs to be taken of all houses which -showed cracks on the line of route. The cracks shown in the photos then -taken were practically in the same condition now. The repairs necessary -were not caused by damage done by the tunnels, and came entirely within -the repairing clauses of the leases. The jury returned a verdict for the -defendant Company on the ground that no damage had been done by them.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, among the Tube Railway cases brought into court last -year and this, was the following, which illustrates the contention that -though there may be a certain amount of truth in the plaintiff’s -arguments, exaggerated ideas prevail as to the sums that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a>{84}</span> can be claimed -for injury, present or prospective. It also shows the uncertain state of -the law on the subject of ownership of the subsoil—a hard legal nut.</p> - -<p>In the London Sheriff’s Court, 17th April, 1902, Mr. Under-Sheriff -Burchell sat, with a special jury, to consider a claim for compensation -brought by Mr. William Howard, of 11, Cornwall Terrace, Regent’s Park, -against the Baker Street and Waterloo Electric Railway.</p> - -<p>Mr. Morton, <small>K.C.</small>, said that in August, 1900, Mr. Howard became aware -that a subsidence was taking place, and that the walls of his house were -cracking, this being unmistakably due to the borings for the railway -which were being made underneath the property. In the course of these -borings the Company had taken away part of the subsoil of the claimant’s -premises without having given notice to treat, and this, counsel -submitted, constituted a distinct trespass. The value of the property, -counsel contended, had been deteriorated to the extent of at least £50 -per annum. Mr. Howard’s lease had ten years to run, the rental being -£200 a year.</p> - -<p>After expert evidence had been given, the Hon. A. Lyttelton, <small>K.C.</small>, for -the railway company, said it was ridiculous to assert that the Company -had committed an act of trespass. They disputed the claimant’s alleged -ownership to land sixty-five feet below his premises, and were -determined to fight the question in the courts, inasmuch as it was one -which affected the whole of the electric tube railways in London.</p> - -<p>One witness called on behalf of the Company said that the damage to the -property could be remedied by the expenditure of a ten-pound note.</p> - -<p>The Under-Sheriff said that an important feature of the case which the -jury had to decide was whether the claimant was the owner of the -subsoil. As such he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a>{85}</span> would be entitled to compensation for any vibration -that might occur when the railway commenced to run in about two years’ -time. He left it to the jury to decide their verdict under two heads, -namely, “what damages had at present been sustained,” and, “what damage -was likely to accrue through vibration.”</p> - -<p>After a brief deliberation the jury awarded £357, in one sum, as -damages.</p> - -<p>On the 6th of February of the present year, before Mr. Justice Ridley -and a special jury, the hearing was resumed of the case in which Mrs. -Dawson, a widow, carrying on the business of a draper at the junction of -City Road and East Street, sued the Great Northern and City Railway for -£10,000 damages, alleged to have been caused by the tunnelling -operations in the vicinity of her premises. The claim included some -£4,000 which it is estimated it would cost to put the buildings in a -proper state of repair, and £5,000 representing loss of business during -the time it would take to complete the work of reinstatement.</p> - -<p>The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff under the following heads: -Amount for taking the subsoil occupied by the tunnel, £50; structural -damage, £2,000; damage to trade and stock, £2,100; total, £4,150.</p> - -<p>Mr. Dobb asked that judgment should be entered.</p> - -<p>Mr. McCall thought the judge had no power to enter a judgment of the -High Court because the proceedings were in the form of an interpleader -action.</p> - -<p>Mr. Justice Ridley said he would give judgment in the sense in which the -word was used in the Lands Clauses Act.</p> - -<p>Judgment was given accordingly.</p> - -<p>At a meeting of the Auctioneers’ Institute held last year, Mr. G. M. -Freeman, <small>K.C.</small>, speaking on this subject,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a>{86}</span> pertinently remarked that -various questions were likely to arise between the promotors of the new -order of underground railway and the owners of adjacent property, and he -gave it as his opinion that the assertion that no possible damage would -be caused, had not been wholly verified, and that the rights of -compensation to persons equally injured ought not to depend upon whether -a piece of the subsoil under the street was or was not appropriated. In -his judgment, all owners who could prove damage done by the construction -or working of an underground railway, should have the same title to -compensation.</p> - -<h3>VIBRATION</h3> - -<p>The outcome of the Board of Trade inquiry last year into the vexed -question of tube vibration was interesting. It showed that alleged -annoyance from vibration has not been altogether imaginary, and some -novel facts were produced. Fourteen meetings were held, and evidence was -given by some of the residents along the line of the Central Railway -route, their habitat ranging from Bucklersbury in the City to Kensington -Palace Gardens in the west. A large number of the witnesses represented -householders having “frontages,” and among others, the Holborn Borough -Council. They all deposed as to annoyance caused by the vibration, and -were of opinion that the shaking was most perceptible when the trains -first began running in the morning; between five and eight p.m.; and -shortly after midnight, just before the trains ceased running.</p> - -<p>Had any of these gentlemen resided on the north side of Victoria Street, -near its western end, they would hardly have complained about mere -vibration. In that delectable locality the backs of the houses overlook -the Metropolitan District Railway, and if the dining-room<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a>{87}</span> happen to be -in the rear, as in many of the flats it is, every wine-glass and tumbler -on the table quivers in a fearful manner, all the ornaments tremble, and -the whole apartment is agitated as each train thunders by.</p> - -<p>But even this is nothing, contrasted with the daily experience of -dwellers in suburban side streets, where passing of steam-rollers, -pantechnicon-vans, and other elephantine vehicles, not only shakes the -tenements to their basements, but forces out the mortar that is supposed -to bind together the brickwork, dislocates the window-frames, turns -askew the pictures on the walls, and would eventually, if not seen to, -reduce the “eligible villas” to ruin.</p> - -<p>However, the Board of Trade Committee, as in duty bound, personally -investigated the Tube complaints and satisfied themselves that -vibrations, sufficient to cause vexation to the inmates, were really -felt in some of the houses near the Central, and the result of the -inquiry was as follows:—</p> - -<p>That it was a matter of chance whether any given train caused a slight, -or a severe, vibration; also that trains which produced much <i>tremblór -de tiérra</i> in one house, as likely as not caused but little in another, -and that apparently different apartments in the same residence were not -similarly affected by one and the same train. It was demonstrated that -the locomotives, and not the cars, were responsible for the greater part -of the disturbances, the reason assigned being that too great a -springless load was carried on each axle of the engines, a method of -construction adopted to obviate the necessity for gearing.</p> - -<p>Acting upon the Committee’s representation, the Central Railway Company -ordered two new types of locomotives, in one of which the -“unspring-borne” load<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a>{88}</span> was much reduced by gearing. The other was not -distinct from but attached to the train, the motors being carried at one -end of two or more coaches—the motor-car system of electric traction in -fact. The difference in weight was remarkable; the original gearless -engines being 44 tons, the new geared pattern 33 tons, while the -motor-cars only came up to 20 tons.</p> - -<p>Some novel experiments were made, and in order to identify the trains, -the houses in which the observers took their places with recording -instruments were connected by telephone with the signal-boxes at the -adjoining stations. Quite satisfactory were the results, and it was -found that, during some two hours, the passing of every train drawn by -the heavy gearless locomotive was distinctly felt, but was not -discernible when the new engines were attached. Therefore the Committee -concluded that, so far as the Central was concerned, the adoption of -motor-cars would so reduce the <i>tremblement de terre</i> as to cause all -real annoyance to cease, though the sound of the trains, particularly at -night, might still be detected. As to the oscillation of the cars—a -rather marked feature in the Tube—it was attributed by the Committee’s -experts to the unevenness of the surface of the rails. As these leave -the rolling-mills they are usually slightly curved, and the process of -straightening them <i>in situ</i>, however skilfully carried out, inevitably -leaves a certain amount of waviness. When the speed is high, a condition -of things soon arises whereby the irregular impulses produced by the -uneven rail surfaces establishes a rocking movement of the rails and the -road-bed, converting both into an elastic instead of a rigid support. -This is increased and maintained by the pounding of the gearless -locomotives in the narrow tubes, intensified by the hard unyielding -material of which they are composed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a>{89}</span></p> - -<p>Another fact to which the Committee called attention was, that in -consequence of the small diameter of the tunnels (12 feet), the fit was -too close, and the pressure in front of the trains necessitated greater -power to overcome it than if more space had been left between the roofs -of the carriages and the tubes.</p> - -<p>In the agitation respecting damage alleged to have been done by the -construction of the Tubes, it was proved that provided the apertures are -made of sufficient size, and suitable locomotives used, and the -permanent way properly laid with stiffer and deeper rails, the chance of -injury to houses by the <i>moviéndo la tiérra</i>, as the Spaniards call it, -can be reduced to a minimum.</p> - -<p>Modern science tells us that earth tremblings are with us at all times -and in all places to an extent not realised. We are assured that, by -Professor J. Milne’s instruments, quiverings, and slopings of the -earth’s crust, insensible to the most delicate spirit-levels, can be -detected. It is now known that earthquake movements can be felt right -through the earth, and all round its surface. Latterly, Professor Milne -has also discovered that his observatory in the Isle of Wight sinks -slowly during a part of the year, and rises as slowly during another -part—as if the breast of the earth were heaving. For five months in the -year, the tall buildings in a city may be heeling over towards the west; -then they come back with extreme slowness to the perpendicular, and -finally cant a little to the east.</p> - -<p>Surely, then, we need not complain about an occasional mild earth-shake -produced by the passing of the useful Underground, or Tube trains, -seeing that the good they do so far outweighs their defects.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a>{90}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -<small><i>TOURING IN THE TUBES</i></small><br /><br /> -<small>A SKETCH</small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“She doth stray about.”—<span class="smcap">Shakespeare.</span></p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>RS. ROSAMOND was a pleasant, chatty, little woman, and a universal -favourite. Her abundant hair was brown, her eyes, shaded by long dark -lashes, were deepest blue, and above them rose, not the “bar of Michael -Angelo,” but a low, smooth, and pretty forehead, where, however, a -phrenologist would have looked in vain for the faintest trace of the -“bump of locality.” She was a shrewd judge of character in men and -women, especially the former. She loved beautiful scenery and everything -refined in art and literature. She had great sympathy with the suffering -and distressed; but her ability to take mental notes of things and -places, and to find her way about towns and cities, as some do by -instinct, was utterly wanting in Lilian Rosamond; yet, with the strange -perversity that impels people with bad eyesight to drive dog-carts or -motor-cars, or to steer yachts, she persisted in going about strange -localities unaccompanied, and when any expedition was planned, -audaciously posed as an authority on quickest and best routes. But she -was a native of the fair “North countree,” and, lying <i>perdu</i> beneath -her sweet disposition, was a vein—a thin one—of self-will.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a>{91}</span></p> - -<p>“Why,” she argued, “should she not find her way about like other people? -Had she not from childhood lived at Lymm, Cheshire, and roamed about -that district without difficulty? Had she not frequently travelled to -the old county city? Had she not braved the terrors of the Great Central -Station at Manchester <i>en route</i> for Halifax—changed carriages there, -in fact? And had she not once actually journeyed all by herself to -London on a visit, returning safely to her own town?” All of which was -perfectly true, but she omitted to add that, in going up to town, her -parents had, as it were, to see her “labelled and consigned” through the -medium of a fatherly guard, while her friends in town had been strictly -enjoined on no account to miss meeting her at Euston, and never to let -her go anywhere in the metropolis unaccompanied. In fact, her family -were in an agony of suspense until she was back again.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rosamond had married a gentleman-farmer of Welsh extraction, and -her life had fallen on pleasant lines in a remote Radnorshire village -bearing an unpronounceable name made up of consonants. The year 1902 -arrived, and with it, in June, an invitation from her sister-in-law to -spend Coronation week with her in Edith Road, West Kensington; and off -she started, her easy-going husband, who had seldom tested his wife’s -sense (or absence) of locality, and had no suspicion of how much it was -lacking, merely remarking as he saw her into the train, “Now, my dear, -mind you wait at Paddington a reasonable time to see if Annie is there -to meet you. She is not always punctual, and if she does not turn up, -take a cab. Don’t attempt to get to Edith Road by omnibus or Underground -Railway. You don’t know London, and a four-wheeler will be cheaper in -the long run. Now,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a>{92}</span> don’t forget this, there’s a dear little woman, or I -shall worry all day long about you.”</p> - -<p>In the same carriage with her was a lady of uncertain age, whom Mrs. -Rosamond quickly guessed to be unmarried and an “organiser”—one of -those assertive, independent, “heel-less” women of the genus -<i>plantigrade</i>, who know everything and want no assistance from anybody. -Falling into conversation, Lilian Rosamond remarked that she hoped to -see the King’s procession to the Abbey, a seat having long ago been -secured for her, and that she had been told she would have to go a very -long distance from the West End and might have to start by the first -train on the Twopenny Tube to the Bank, and that then by <i>another</i> Tube -she somehow would get to the Borough High Street (where her “stand” was -situated) by way of the “Elephant and Castle.”</p> - -<p>This led to the subject of West Kensington, her destination, and how she -proposed reaching it from Paddington. “Why,” said the plantigrade lady, -“what on earth made your husband tell you to take a cab? It is two miles -off at least, and you are sure to be over-charged. Never mind what he -said. Men are always extravagant in these matters. Besides, you can -think for yourself; you are a woman, not a baby. Now, I’ll tell you what -to do. If your sister is not at the station, book your luggage—you say -you have not got much with you—to be sent on by the railway parcel van, -cross the road to the Praed Street District Railway Station, get out at -Notting Hill Gate, cross the road there to the Tube station, and for -twopence you will be at Shepherd’s Bush in a few minutes.”</p> - -<p>This suggestion seemed to Mrs. Rosamond good and attractive, but she -bravely resisted the allurements of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a>{93}</span> journey by an unfamiliar route; -and, recalling her husband and his injunction, after waiting a quarter -of an hour at Euston and finding that no one came for her, she allowed -herself to be stowed away by an attentive and sympathetic porter into a -stale, straw-smelling four-wheeler, and arrived safely at No. 28, when -cabby promptly asked, and received, half a crown—a moderate -eighteenpence more than his legitimate fare; but cabmen, like -everybody else, must live somehow!</p> - -<p>The longest day recorded in the almanac dawned clear and fair, and Mrs. -Rosamond, rising at an unearthly early hour, started for Islington, -where she had promised to breakfast with a relative—an unusual kind of -feat to attempt, but easy of accomplishment by leaving Shepherd’s Bush -very early for the Bank of England, where, as it was explained to her in -an off-hand, businesslike manner by her sister’s husband, all she had to -do was to hit the right subway, book afresh at the Bank Station of the -City and South London Electric Railway, and “in a jiffy, as easy as A B -C” (so he put it) she would find herself at the “Angel,” Islington, and -be with her aunt in time for the coffee and rolls.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rosamond was delighted at the prospect, and no happier woman than -she stood outside the Tube’s terminus that bright summer morning.</p> - -<p>The booking-office was full of people—of the working class, thought -fair Mrs. Rosamond, who, observing that each person paid the sum of -three-halfpence through the glass partition that screened the clerks -from too close contact with the public, tendered that modest sum like -the others, without specifying her destination. But though plainly, she -was too daintily dressed and too self-evidently a lady to escape notice, -and was rather surprised at being asked if she wanted a workman’s -ticket.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a>{94}</span> “Oh no!” she hastily exclaimed. “I am only going to the Bank, -and then to Islington on a visit.” “Well, then, your fare is twopence.” -And she received in return a small slip of paper and not the familiar -paste-board ticket covered with undecipherable letters and figures.</p> - -<p>Following the crowd, Mrs. Rosamond dropped the document into a sloping -box fixed at the side of the gate and presided over by a railway -official, the process suggesting to her lively imagination the method by -which votes are recorded at a School Board election.</p> - -<p>Wide open stood the door of a gigantic lift, the like of which she had -never seen, which quickly filled with a compact mass of some fifty men -and a sprinkling of women. There were upholstered benches at the sides; -and a civil young artisan offered her his seat, but Lilian preferred to -stand and look about her. The electro-lighted apartment was not -æsthetic, and the unsightly advertisements, and notices warning -travellers against smoking, spitting, or standing too near the doors, -did not add to its beauty; and when the telescopic gates were clashed -together and fastened, the whole thing reminded Mrs. Rosamond of a great -cage full of specimens of the British <i>Homo Sapiens</i> packed for -conveyance and exhibition to inhabitants of other regions.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, gently, and noiselessly the lift began to descend, and it -seemed as if it would never stop. But stop it did, at a depth of seventy -feet, which might have been seven hundred so far as Mrs. Rosamond’s -sensations were concerned. Once again the iron gates clashed, and the -wild animals—I mean the passengers—streamed forth, our fair traveller -following, to the platform.</p> - -<p>Was she dreaming? Had she, like Alice in Wonderland,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a>{95}</span> suddenly become -diminutive, and was she waiting for a well-groomed little white rabbit, -with gold watch and chain, to emerge from what resembled a burrow at the -end of the station? It was so <i>very</i> small. Everything was on a reduced -scale, the standing-room was a mere strip of planking, the tube like a -pea-shooter. Surely it would not take in the train! However, it was -deliciously cool and light, and the tiles that lined the station were, -as she found by touching them with her gloved hands, perfectly free from -smuts.</p> - -<p>In a few moments, from the open cutting at the opposite end of the -platform, where lay the shunting tracks, a bright light and metallic -clattering heralded the strange-looking chimneyless locomotive. Behind -it came five attractive-looking cars joined together, and gleaming with -light. At their point of junction were telescopic gates, flung open as -soon as the train stopped, and Mrs. Rosamond, who had just time to -observe that there were not <i>two</i> rails only on the track, but a <i>third</i> -in the middle, hurried into the first car she could find, and the -earliest train on the Tube glided into the tunnel <i>en route</i> for the -Bank.</p> - -<p>Lilian Rosamond at once discovered that the cars just fitted the Tube. -She would like to have touched the sides, but as the windows were sealed -up this was impossible.</p> - -<p>Everything looked delightfully clean, and, considering the crowd, she -was lucky to find a seat next to an intelligent and quiet-looking, -middle-aged man, who turned out to be a foreman engaged upon great -building works proceeding in the City. The speed increased, and the -noise and the rattling of the cars increased in proportion—a condition -of things she had not expected, and it was a relief when the train<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a>{96}</span> -slowed down and made its first pause at Holland Park. Here a few workmen -got in, but not a soul got out! Mrs. Rosamond, looking about her, -noticed that her <i>companions de voyage</i> were not in appearance such as -she had expected at so early an hour. It is true they nearly all -smoked—cigarettes mostly—some sticking to the old-fashioned short clay -pipe charged with most pungent tobacco; but they did not swear or use -strong language, they were not all dressed in corduroy, nor were their -clothes dirty, neither did they universally carry huge “bass-bags” -containing saws, and other sharp and nasty tools. Her neighbour, the -foreman, with whom she soon got into a lively conversation, told her -that most of the men (masons chiefly) were employed on a “big job” at -Finsbury, and would travel to the Bank. He also volunteered the -information that he lived in Caxton Road, close to the Shepherd’s Bush -Station of the Tube; that he had to get his own breakfast at 4.30 or -thereabouts, or wait until he got to the City, when he had it at a snug -little coffee-shop in Moorfields; that he had used the Tube ever since -its opening in 1900 day after day, starting by the first train in the -morning, and returning, as his place and work suited, along the route at -all hours, from five o’clock to eight, and sometimes (though seldom) by -the last train from the Bank at 12.30 p.m.; and that the cars between -the former hours—when people were leaving the City for the day—were -more crowded than in the early morning, in fact crammed, with not even -standing room.</p> - -<p>At Notting Hill Gate there was a rush of operatives. By this time the -cars were packed, and the little woman perceived the uses of the sliding -leather straps suspended overhead, to which the unlucky seatless ones,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a>{97}</span> -who filled up the whole of the gangway, held on like grim death, to -avoid tumbling about as the train oscillated.</p> - -<p>At the Marble Arch some few persons, a dozen or so, tried to push in, -but the five cars were <i>complet</i>, and so they continued, until, at the -British Museum Station, a section of the passengers alighted, as also at -Chancery Lane and the General Post Office. Then, after a run of 6½ miles -from Shepherd’s Bush in twenty-four minutes, the Central “early workmen” -pulled up at the Bank terminus at a platform resembling the others all -along the line.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rosamond went up in a big lift, not to the surface as she expected, -but found herself landed in a broad asphalted, bewildering subway lined -with white bricks. Brilliantly lighted white passages seemed to stretch -away in all directions, full of people tearing about here, there, and -everywhere in the utmost confusion, some ascending steps that appeared -to lead to the daylight, others descending slopes that ended in more -brick-lined passages. At once she recalled her host’s injunction “to hit -the right subway” for the Islington Tube Line, but becoming a trifle -excited and confused, she went up the staircase that looked the -shortest, and found herself in Cornhill, along which she strayed a short -distance, and came to St. Michael’s, when she thought she had reached -the station, because she had been told it was underneath a church. But -there was no City and South London Railway, and her host had omitted to -say that the subway between it and the Bank was contemplated only. So -Lilian asked her way, and quickly found what she was seeking close by at -the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street. And now, growing -confident by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a>{98}</span> experience, and perceiving that the booking-office and -general arrangements resembled those of the Two-penny Tube, though on a -smaller scale, she went to the booking-office window and tendered -twopence. The clerk politely inquired, “All the way, miss?” and on her -replying in the affirmative, demanded, and received, fourpence, giving -her an ordinary ticket in return. She thought this strange, being -different from the Tube system, the more so when she saw no glass box -wherein to drop it. But there was the lift, and so she descended. Alas! -when she got to the bottom, she forgot to make inquiries, being absorbed -in meditation about her husband. “What was he doing at that particular -hour?” she wondered. “Had he gone out fishing? Was he making the rounds -of his farm, and looking after his pet livestock, the pigs?” A train -came up, and without giving the matter a second thought, she got into -it, and found the cars pretty nearly empty. They were narrow and low, -and the atmosphere was close.</p> - -<p>Away they sped, by London Bridge, the Borough, the “Elephant and -Castle,” Kennington Park Road, the Oval, and Stockwell, but the guard -did not call out the names of these stations, and only when the terminus -was reached did Lilian rouse herself from her reverie, and stepping out -of the station after giving up her ticket, gazed aghast, not at the -“Angel,” Islington, which she knew was a locality nearly all bricks and -mortar, but upon a large open space—Clapham Common! In fact, the poor -<i>voyageuse</i> had gone down the wrong lift at the Bank Station, and had -failed to notice the names of the stations as she came along.</p> - -<p>To recover her equanimity, Mrs. Rosamond thought she would stroll about -a little before going back to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a>{99}</span> Islington, which, it was explained to -her, was at the other extremity of the line. Much refreshed by an hour’s -walk and the novelty of the <i>terra incognita</i>, she booked again, and -resumed her pilgrimage, determined that this time there should be no -mistake.</p> - -<p>What was it? Was it fatality? or was it some mischievous whispering -spirit that caused her to keep mentally repeating the words, “Bank -Station”? An echo, perhaps, of the instructions received the evening -before. Anyhow, she did not go straight on, but as soon as the train -reached the City, she alighted at the Bank, and found herself once more -in the maze of subways branching off from the Central’s booking-office. -The little woman was in despair. What must she do? It was no use asking -her way, everybody seemed in too violent a hurry to attend to other -people; so she walked mechanically down a disagreeably steep asphalted -incline and along a wood-paved, white-tiled tunnel, and saw at the end -an electric Tube station. There was the usual narrow platform, the -glazed tunnel, the electric light, and the four-car train, but no -queer-shaped engine, and the carriages looked smaller than those of the -Central and of a different build, the glazed sides sloping inwards -towards the low roof. There was no booking-office, so she stepped into -the train, where, as in an omnibus, tickets were issued and punched for -the sum of two-pence. The cars were narrow and stuffy, and she did not -like them, but looking up, she caught sight of a brass plate giving the -name of the engineers at Preston, Lancashire, and this quite cheered -her.</p> - -<p>In about five minutes the train stopped, and everybody got out and -streamed up stairways and along passages into what proved to be a vast -railway terminus—Waterloo; and she realised the dismal fact that by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>{100}</span> -inadvertence she had taken the Waterloo and City Railway, instead of the -City and South London! It was the word “City” running in her head that -had done the mischief.</p> - -<p>Nothing was left but to return, and so, through lofty cavernous regions -beneath the terminus, over bridges, and down endless slopes of -wood-paving, she managed to reach the up-platform.</p> - -<p>Now came the rush of early City-bound men, season-ticket holders, who -had travelled by the London and South Western line from all parts of -Surrey served by it. They came pelting down the inclines as if their -lives depended upon catching a particular train. Most of them carried -neat hand-bags, suggestive of legal documents or company prospectuses, -and nearly all had a morning paper. The bulk of them were well dressed, -with an indefinable air indicative of the suburban resident. Mrs. -Rosamond found them exceedingly pleasant, and was soon chatting with a -military-looking gentleman, irreproachably groomed, with a lined and -shrewd face, and old enough to be her father. He was, in fact, an -eminent solicitor in Tower Royal, Cannon Street, who, hearing of her -adventures, appeared to sympathise very deeply. “A little <i>too</i> deeply,” -said her husband, on hearing her narrative, not that he was distrustful -or jealous, but he preferred to do most of the sympathising himself. The -man of law tried to be facetious, and in explaining at some length the -difference between metropolitan “tubes” and the “Underground,” so -confused Mrs. Rosamond that she ended by thinking they were one and the -same thing—a fatal error on her part, as we shall see. Dilating upon -the subject, and upon the trials she had endured that morning, he -remarked that he was sure her friends and the world in general would be -great losers were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>{101}</span> so pleasant and vivacious a lady as herself to remain -underground. At which fair Rosamond smiled—she had beautiful teeth, and -a smile became her; but she grew somewhat reserved in manner when he -insisted upon escorting her along the right subway, and felt decidedly -relieved when he courteously left her on the pavement at the “Poultry,” -by Mappin and Webb’s.</p> - -<p>It was getting on towards eleven o’clock, and Mistress Rosamond, who, -beyond a cup of coffee hastily swallowed before she started, had tasted -nothing for six hours, began to feel faint, experiencing that -distressing sensation which makes one think the ground is about to rise -up and strike one, and that hearing and vision are about to fail. She -<i>must</i> have something to eat and drink, but <i>where?</i> Dimly she recalled -how in the old days a very dear brother, who knew his London well, was -fond of expatiating upon the merits of certain reliable places in the -City where the inner man could be most satisfactorily -refreshed—Birch’s, Sweeting’s, Pimm’s in the “Poultry.” Why, she was -actually standing in the “Poultry”! So, following the curt, but -respectful, directions of a civic policeman, who must have been at least -six feet two inches in his stockings, she, without crossing the road, -easily discovered the haven of refuge in question, and being shown up to -the ladies’ dining-room, sat down at a table near a window which looked -upon busy Cheapside.</p> - -<p>Though rather too early in the day for the regular menu, consultation -with a grey-headed waiter—who strongly reminded her of some Church -dignitary (a dean for choice) in layman’s attire, and who became -immensely interested in his client, partly because her blue eyes -recalled to him those of a daughter “lost awhile”—resulted, within -twenty minutes, in a dainty repast, some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a>{102}</span> scalloped oysters, a “portion” -of the choicest Scotch salmon cold, with cucumber, and dainty roll and -butter, followed by a cheese soufflé, and—by the “dean’s” -advice—neither tea, coffee, nor wine, but a glass, just one glass, of -Pimm’s “particular” stout, a beverage our traveller was unaccustomed to, -but found an admirable accompaniment to her fish luncheon. The bill was -paid with a handsome <i>douceur</i>, which the “dean” condescended to accept; -and refreshed, and with renewed determination to carry out her original -line of march, Mrs. Rosamond stepped out and walked along Cheapside.</p> - -<p>There the shops at once attracted her attention: the jewellers, the -hosiers—in one of which latter she bought some neckties and collars for -her spouse—the print-sellers, and the London Stereoscopic Company’s -seductive window. Here she looked up at the church clock far above her -head, and finding the time getting on, and becoming just a little -flurried at the discovery, started at once to resume her wanderings. “If -you please, constable, can you tell me the nearest way to the -Underground Railway?” “Straight as you can go, miss, down the lane, Bow -Lane, in front of you, and you will find the station across the road at -the bottom.” “Thank you very much,” and, mentally, “What a fine set of -fellows the City policemen are! I wonder if they are all married; where -do they live, and what are their wages?”</p> - -<p>Straight down the narrow lane she went, and at the Cannon Street end -asked another policeman the way to the Underground. He pointed to the -opposite side of the road, and, stopping the traffic, conveyed her -across, and she found herself in the Mansion House Station of the -District Railway.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a>{103}</span></p> - -<p>There were no officials to be seen, only the booking-clerks, one of -whom, with the professional instinct for turning an honest penny for his -employers, instead of advising her to return to the Bank close by, up -Victoria Street, promptly recommended her to book by the District -Railway to Bishopsgate Street, get across Finsbury Circus to Moorgate -Street, and then take the City and South London Tube Railway to the -“Angel.”</p> - -<p>By this time Mrs. Rosamond had become too tired to discuss the matter, -and was disinclined to go back by the way she had come. So she got into -a first-class carriage of a Circle train, and, with a sigh of relief, -settled down snugly into the far corner.</p> - -<p>Whether it was the reaction, or the effect of the glass of stout, was -never known, but after passing Cannon Street Mrs. Rosamond began to feel -drowsy and dreamy, imagining she was nearing home in the local train, -and wondering if her husband had received her telegram, and would come -to meet her. She fell asleep, and a lovely picture she made, with lips -slightly parted, and her long, curved eyelashes resting, like a child’s, -on her soft cheeks. There was revealed just a few inches of well-fitting -black silk clocked stockings, neatly-turned ankles, and a charming pair -of very small dark tan shoes.</p> - -<p>Time sped on, and, with it, the Circle train, past Bishopsgate, -Farringdon Street, and King’s Cross, with its maze of metropolitan -underground lines; through dismal tunnels, black with smoke; through -brick-lined cuttings, foul with sooty deposit; past stations, each one -hung, by way of adornment, with the same monotonous, highly-coloured -“works of art,” drawing attention to Colman’s Mustard, Reckitt’s Blue, -Nestle’s Milk, Bovril, Oxo, Lemco, Globe Polish, Ogden’s Cigarettes, -Bird’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a>{104}</span> Custards, and Stephen’s Inks, and provided with -penny-in-the-slot machines, with bookstalls bearing a strong family -likeness, and with here and there a refreshment bar, where buns and -sandwiches of the Mugby Junction type might be had.</p> - -<p>At High Street, Kensington, where the engine was changed, the guard -looked in, admired the sleeping beauty, and discreetly withdrew in -silence.</p> - -<p>In the middle of the tunnel between Sloane Square and Victoria, the -train pulled up with a jerk, the signal having been suddenly put against -it. Mrs. Rosamond woke, and looking at her watch, found that she must -have been slumbering nearly an hour, and a fellow-passenger told her -that by the time the train reached the Mansion House Station she would -have completely traversed the circle of the Underground! “Well, I <i>will</i> -see this matter through,” she said to herself, “and I will not go again -into that horrid Bank Subway. After all, I shall soon be at Bishopsgate -Street.” So she went on.</p> - -<p>How, on her arrival there, she escaped having to pay the full fare, no -one knows. She kept her own counsel; but the ticket collector and the -guard probably thought she was too nice to be worried with -interrogations.</p> - -<p>Her brief impressions of the Underground were that only in a few -respects was the Tube an improvement upon it. The Inner Circle Trains, -she thought, ran more smoothly; there was less rocking of the carriages, -and less rattling noise; but they were badly lighted; the banging of -doors was awful; the atmosphere sulphurous and stifling; and carriages, -stations, staircases, and tunnels looked as if they had not been cleaned -for months. Worse than all was the mode of pulling up the train with a -jerk, which, at each stopping-place,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a>{105}</span> almost invariably threw the -alighting passengers into their fellow-travellers’ laps.</p> - -<p>Resolved now to ask her way at every step, she contrived, by minutely -following directions, to find and to cross Finsbury Circus, whence she -was quickly in Moorgate Street, and at once discovered the City and -South London Railway Station. Continuing to seek information for the -Islington lift, the Islington platform, and the Islington train, she -would not budge an inch until she had been thoroughly posted up. Once -more in a Tube car, and by way of Old Street, and the City Road, she at -last arrived at the “Angel,” and felt as if she had indeed reached the -gates of heaven!</p> - -<p>Milner Street was close by, and she was soon at her aunt’s house, but, -alas! not to breakfast, for it was nearing twelve o’clock. That -relation, an impatient woman, tired of waiting, had gone out for the -day, and had left no message! This was too much for the little woman, it -was the last straw, and flinging herself on the sofa, she thought -sympathetically of how in the past</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“A north-country maid up to London had strayed,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Although with her nature it did not agree;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">She wept and she sighed, and she bitterly cried,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">I wish once again in the north I could be.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Quickly she returned to Shepherd’s Bush, <i>viâ</i> the Bank and the Twopenny -Tube, in the latter finding a totally different class of people from -those she had travelled with in the morning, and plenty of room for -everybody. She went back home the next day, sacrificing her seat for the -Coronation procession; and she registered a vow that if ever she came to -London again she would study closely the route for any proposed -expedition as carefully as if she were on an “unaccompanied” Continental -tour.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a>{106}</span></p> - -<p>She kept her vow; and, I believe, eventually, her “bump of locality” -became considerably developed.</p> - -<p>The moral of this practically true sketch is, that in view of the -complicated system of metropolitan Tubes and Undergrounds, no one -without an experienced escort, unless endowed with a talent for -locality, can hope to get about London without trouble and difficulty. -In fact, a <i>Metropolitan Bradshaw</i>, or <i>Metropolitan Guide to -Underground London</i> is urgently needed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a>{107}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -<small><i>LONDON’S TANGLED TUBES</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“Tangled in the fold of dire necessity.”—<span class="smcap">Milton.</span></p> - -<h3>THE TANGLE</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>O inflict upon the readers of this book a map of existing and projected -railways in London would be cruel; and for them to try to master it -would be torture worthy of the Inquisition, with loss of reason as the -inevitable result.</p> - -<p>Roughly speaking, the lines above and below ground stream inwards from -the outskirts, after the fashion of the tramways; with this marked -difference that there is a direct communication from east to west by the -Central Railway, and an Inner Circle route engirdling the middle portion -of Greater London.</p> - -<p>As with the tramways, the routes of nearly all these lines appear to -have been adopted happy-go-luckily. “Here are Highgate, Walthamstow, -Beckenham, Kew, Hendon,” say the promoters; “what we have to do is to -make a railway from these suburbs, and, somehow or other, get as near -the metropolitan centres as possible, and dump down our passengers. The -problem of intercommunication is not our business. We leave that to -others.” So the lines of the various companies meander away, often by -the most indirect routes, and finally arrive more or less near their -objective destinations, Charing Cross, or the Bank of England.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a>{108}</span></p> - -<p>If Napoleon the Great with prophetic glance could have foreseen London -linked to distant villages in every direction, these hamlets growing -into towns, and as population increased, being irresistibly drawn into -Greater London’s maelstrom of brick and mortar, even he would have been -appalled by the problem of how to give ready means of access from one -part to the other. Anticipating railways and electric tubes, he would -probably, with the marvellous fertility of resource that distinguished -him, have formulated a plan whereby a given circular space in the -metropolis would be divided into sections, a mile square, with a station -in the centre and at each corner, so that all within that area would -have access to a railway, at no point more than half a mile distant, the -tube railways below the surface, and others above, converging at a great -central depôt. On reaching the limit of the circle, the lines (that -would necessarily cross under and over one another) would, by means of -loops, return and keep up a continued circulation of traffic from rim to -rim of the circle, which, as the city grew bigger and bigger, could be -enlarged, and the lines extended, the process continuing <i>ad infinitum</i>.</p> - -<p>This, of course, would have been an impossibility; the characteristic -British love of half measures and of temporising being opposed to any -really comprehensive and imperial scheme, and local jealousy would not -have tolerated the necessarily masterful, though wise, domination of a -One Man Power in carrying out the plan.</p> - -<p>Therefore the great railways and the suburban railways were allowed to -do pretty much as they liked, as seen in the entire absence of system in -approaching London, and in dealing with its vast traffic.</p> - -<p>To meet the difficulty a central station has often been mooted, and much -good would ensue therefrom if it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>{109}</span> accommodated <i>all</i> the lines. -Recently, in connection with the Great Western Railway, the idea has -been revived, and the site of Christ’s Hospital suggested. In fact, it -is an open secret that overture upon overture has been made on the -subject, but the enormous price demanded by the old school authorities -has always been the bugbear.</p> - -<p>The feasibility of an Inner Circle Tube, however, linking together all -the lines, with ramifications to serve the suburbs, worked jointly under -a pooling arrangement by the various companies, has commended itself to -certain experts.</p> - -<p>It is true that four of the great trunk lines are already connected by -subways with the Inner Circle Railway—the Great Eastern at Liverpool -Street; the Great Western at Praed Street; the London, Brighton, and -South Coast at Victoria; and the South Eastern and Chatham at Cannon -Street, Blackfriars, and Victoria. The Brighton Company has already a -subway connection between London Bridge and the City and South London -Tube Station there, and the Mansion House subway will by-and-by be -similarly connected with the City and South London Bank Station.</p> - -<p>Also there are the purely suburban lines to be considered, such as the -South London Railway, worked by the Brighton Company; the Metropolitan -Extension, a part of the Chatham Company’s local system; the West London -Railway, which gives a north-to-south connection at Chelsea for several -companies; the Hammersmith and City Railway; the Hampstead Junction -Railway (from Willesden to Tottenham); and the local services of the -London and North Western; the Great Northern Railway (already committed -to a tube); and the Midland Railway, which, with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a>{110}</span> Great Northern, -has access to the south of London, <i>viâ</i> Ludgate Hill.</p> - -<p>But the matter now engaging public attention is not Subways, but -Tubes—how to disentangle the different schemes, and evolve order out of -chaos.</p> - -<p>The Tubes open for traffic are the Waterloo and City Railway; the City -and South London Railway; Clapham Common to the “Angel,” Islington; and -the Central London from the Bank to Shepherd’s Bush. While those in -progress more or less advanced, are the Great Northern and City Railway; -the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway; the Bank to Finsbury Park; -the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway; Paddington to Waterloo, and -thence <i>viâ</i> St. George’s Circus, Southwark, to the Elephant and Castle.</p> - -<p>All last session members of the House of Commons were, so to speak, -overwhelmed with Tubes.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Tubes to the right of them,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tubes to the left of them,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tubes in front of them,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Volley’d and thundered!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But the Select Committees fared worse, the task before them being even -more arduous. There were promoters who sought for powers to construct -Tubes to cross and recross proposed and existing lines, and even to bore -parallel with others, while some wanted to create isolated and -disconnected sections, leading apparently nowhere. Petitions and -protests against the various schemes poured in from innumerable sources; -from every quarter petitions in favour were also laid down at their -feet. Truly, the members of the Committees found that of making many -Tubes (as of books) there was no end, and that much railway promoting -was a weariness of the flesh.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a>{111}</span></p> - -<p>Long and loud waged the conflict of the various aspirants to bore -through the foundations of London. The smaller promoters’ attention -finally became fixed upon the financial and legislative duel of two -magnates, each representing a similar and important scheme for joining -together the existing unlinked metropolitan tube lines.</p> - -<p>It was as if through some narrow gorge leading to desirable pasturage, -the smaller denizens of wood and forest tumultuously endeavoured to -force a passage, and falling out by the way, their strife was suddenly -arrested to watch the single combat of two rival antlered monarchs of -the glen, who fought to the death to obtain the sole right of way.</p> - -<p>Out of the Parliamentary hurly-burly emerged triumphant the well-known -Yerkes group with its comprehensive scheme (the first in the list given -below) the only very important one sanctioned.</p> - -<p>Thus closed the session of 1902, and in the Railway Committee Rooms, for -a time at least, the</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Fiery fight is heard no more,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the storm has ceased to blow.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The following Tube Railways were authorised:—Brompton and Piccadilly -Circus Railway (Acts 1897, 1899, 1902), that of 1902 authorising <i>inter -alia</i> its amalgamation with the Great Northern and Strand. The Charing -Cross, Euston, and Hampstead Railway to be continued to Edgware by a -previously authorised line (Acts 1893 to 1900 and 1902). The City and -Brixton Railway, to cross the Thames independently of the City and South -London Tube, and to have stations at St. George’s Circus, Southwark, and -at Kennington Oval (Act 1897), with a new City station communicating<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>{112}</span> -with the South London Railway (electric). The Great Northern and City -Railway, Finsbury Park to the Bank. The Metropolitan District Railway -(Act 1897), a Deep-level Electric to work with the Brompton and -Piccadilly Tube. The North West London Railway (Act 1899) from the -Marble Arch to Cricklewood.</p> - -<h3>THE ROYAL COMMISSION</h3> - -<p>For some time past it had been made clear that no Select Committee of -the Houses of Parliament, however efficient, could be expected to cope -with the problem of metropolitan combined tubes, tramways and vehicular -street traffic; and in view of the probability of other Tube Bills being -promoted during the session of 1903, it was strongly urged upon the -Government to consent to a Royal Commission on the matter.</p> - -<p>So, before the meeting of this year’s Parliament, a Royal Commission was -appointed with a most comprehensive programme of arduous work.</p> - -<p>General satisfaction seems to have been expressed with the composition -of the Commission. No better chairman could have been found than Sir -David M. Barbour, whose acquaintance with official inquiries is probably -greater than that of anyone else in Great Britain, he having been -associated with several Royal Commissions. Special knowledge bearing on -the peculiar problems to be solved, characterises most of the members. -Sir John Wolfe Barry is perhaps the best-known consulting railway -engineer in the country, having acted in this capacity to many of the -leading railway companies, and, in 1901, having taken part in the -inquiry respecting vibration on tube railways. Sir George Trout Bartley -has represented North Islington in the House of Commons for nearly -eighteen years, and from lifelong residence in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a>{113}</span> London has a wide -knowledge of its needs. Earl Cawdor has been Chairman of the Great -Western Railway for the last eight years. Viscount Cobham has been a -Railway Commissioner since 1891, and prior to that, was temporarily -Deputy-Chairman of the Great Western Railway. Sir Joseph Dimsdale, being -a banker, has had wide experience as a financier. Ex-Lord Mayor, and -City Chamberlain, he represents in the House of Commons the City of -London, which is vitally concerned in the question of efficient transit. -Mr. G. S. Gibb, the General Manager of the North Eastern Railway for the -past twelve years, is a railway expert of great experience. As Permanent -Secretary of the Board of Trade, Sir Francis J. S. Hopwood has a -specially trained mind, and an intimate acquaintance with railway -matters, having been formerly Secretary of the Railway Department. Mr. -C. S. Murdoch, <small>C.B.</small>, has been for many years in the Government service, -and has acted, since 1896, as Assistant Under-Secretary of the Home -Department. Sir John P. Dickson-Poynder is a member for the Chippenham -Division of Wiltshire, and represents St. George’s, Hanover Square, at -the County Council. Sir Robert T. Reid, <small>K.C.</small>, member for Dumfries since -1886, was Attorney-General in the last Liberal Government, and may be -regarded as the official representative of the Opposition on the -Commission. Lord Ribblesdale, a member of the London County Council, was -Chairman of the Joint Committee of the Lords and Commons on Tube -Railways in 1901.</p> - -<p>Soon after the appointment of the Commission it was suggested that the -labour would be considerably lightened if the subject of pedestrian and -vehicular traffic included in their programme were eliminated or, at any -rate, indefinitely<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>{114}</span> postponed, and attention concentrated upon Tubes and -Railways, making—as they have the power to do—an interim report; and -thus avert disastrous delay in the realisation of the Tube Schemes -before the Parliament of 1903.</p> - -<p>Early in the session a somewhat significant announcement was made in the -House of Commons, in reference to these schemes; only two of which were -very important, viz., the Central London’s proposal to complete the -circle; and the North-East London Railway scheme, which (if passed) will -embrace twenty-two miles—nine being in tubes—tapping the traffic -between the City and Leyton and Walthamstow, whose combined population -is over two hundred thousand people.</p> - -<p>The following is the statement made on the 2nd of March by Mr. Jeffreys, -as Deputy-Chairman of Committees, who said he had had the advantage of a -conference with the Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords and the -President of the Board of Trade, and they had come to the conclusion -that certain of the bills connected with London traffic ought to be -postponed until the result of the Commission dealing with this matter -had been reported. The deep-level railways which they thought ought to -await the completion of this inquiry were the Central London Railway; -Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton (New Lines and Extensions) -Bill; North-West London (Marble Arch to Victoria) Railway Bill; Clapham -Junction to Marble Arch Railway (Nos. 1 and 2) Bill; Metropolitan -District Railway Works Bill. There were certain other Bills which they -thought might go to Committees, viz.: Charing Cross, Euston, and -Hampstead Railway Bill; Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton Railway -(Various Powers) Bill; Baker Street<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a>{115}</span> and Waterloo Railway Transfer Bill; -and the City and North-East Suburban Electric Railway Bill.</p> - -<p>There were, besides, certain other railway measures which were doubtful, -and these, they thought, ought to be held over until the Chairman of -Committees of the House of Lords, the President of the Board of Trade, -and himself had considered them. These Bills were the City and South -London Railway (Angel and Islington) Bill, and the Metropolitan District -Railway (Various Powers Bill).</p> - -<p>But the Royal Commission is, after all, only a temporary expedient; and -the question remains, as to what shall be the Governing Power of -London’s railway traffic; for it must be taken for granted that both the -City Corporation and the London County Council frankly admit that the -underground locomotion of the metropolis has become so complicated that -the general supervision of some great public department is necessary. Is -it to be the London County Council, the Board of Trade, some new body -resembling the Light Railways Commission, or a joint committee of -members of both Houses of Parliament, appointed each session, to -consider all questions affecting locomotion in or near London?</p> - -<p>Here we are reminded that the London County Council has been considering -whether or not to apply for parliamentary powers to take over the burden -of linking together the various districts of London by a series of -tubes. A colossal undertaking, involving, it is said, a capital of fifty -millions!</p> - -<p>Whether it be advisable for the Council, in addition to its other heavy -responsibilities, to extend its municipal trading on so vast a scale, is -doubtful; for it has the ratepayers to consider.</p> - -<p>If it be the fact that mercantile enterprise cannot<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>{116}</span> grapple with the -task, then there would be good and sufficient reason for the Council or -the Government to attempt it. But private capital is generally -obtainable for a really promising scheme.</p> - -<p>Besides, such gigantic undertakings obviously require men of good -business capacity and considerable railway experience to devote their -time exclusively to the work. One would think that county councillors -(as such), efficient as they may be, have already as much work as they -can readily get through, from one week’s end to another.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a>{117}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -<small><i>LONDON’S LATEST AND LONGEST TUBE</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“Green pastures and Piccadilly.”—<span class="smcap">W. Black.</span></p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span>ANCTIONED by the Legislature as one of the most comprehensive schemes -laid before it last year for linking together existing underground, as -well as trunk, lines, the Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton -Railway, now under construction, has attracted such universal attention, -and traverses such hitherto exclusive quarters, that it deserves more -than a passing reference.</p> - -<p>From a traveller’s point of view, the effect of this new railway will be -far-reaching. Dwellers near District Railway termini, such as Wimbledon, -New Cross, Bow Road, South Harrow, Hounslow Barracks, Richmond, and -intermediate stations, will have, by means of exchange—at Earl’s Court -Station with the Metropolitan District Railway; at Gloucester Road and -South Kensington Station with the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District -Railway; at Piccadilly Circus Station with the Baker Street and Waterloo -Railway; at Cranbourn Street Station with the Charing Cross, Euston, and -Hampstead Railway; and at King’s Cross and Finsbury Park Stations with -the Great Northern Railway—ready access to practically all centres and -quarters of our big city; its own immediate objective from Earl’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>{118}</span> Court -being Finsbury Park, a distance of 7½ miles. It is similar in -construction to the Central. The cars, built at Loughborough, will -resemble those of the new Inner Circle, and the driving force will come -from the Power House at Chelsea.</p> - -<p>Truly, under pleasant scenes will the new Tube be carried—as -fashionable, romantic, and historical a route as any in London. Here is -Earl’s Court, where, in the midst of market gardens far away from town, -once stood John Hunter’s house, where the great anatomist kept a -menagerie of wild beasts to experiment upon, and in the dead of night -boiled down the body of O’Brien, the Irish giant, to obtain the -skeleton, which now adorns the museum of the College of Surgeons. The -well-known Edmund Tattersall lived close by for many years at Coleherne -Court, on the site of one of either Fairfax’s or Lord Essex’s redoubts -(they appear to have had a good many), thrown up after the battle of -Brentford, when the victorious Royalists were expected to cross the -river (which they never did) and besiege London.</p> - -<p>Gloucester Road, the next station, recalls the fact that when the -District Railway came there, it was still a mere lane with hawthorn -hedges, a blacksmith’s forge somewhere near, while pleasant paths right -and left led to orchards, in the midst of which was St. Jude’s Church, -so famous later on for its fashionable congregation and its eloquent -preacher, the Rev. Dr. Forrest, now Dean of Worcester.</p> - -<p>From Gloucester Road the Tube runs under pleasant Stanhope Gardens and -part of Harrington Road with its fine mansions, to South Kensington. The -ground about the Hoop and Toy Tavern close by was, so tradition says, -designated in the draft Parliamentary Bill for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a>{119}</span> Great Western -Railway terminus. At that time the site was sufficiently countrified to -satisfy those who would banish railway stations to Jericho or to the -uttermost verge of London, and remained so for a long time; and I have -been told by an old Bromptonian that he has seen a covey of partridges -put up where the Natural History Museum now stands.</p> - -<p>At this point the new Tube—leaving its course parallel with, but at a -far deeper level than, the District Railway—proceeds unaccompanied to -Piccadilly, and, so to say, enters the Brompton Road at the Oratory of -St. Philip Neri, formerly a very plain brick edifice erected by the -Oratorian Fathers, who had begun their good work on a humble scale in -King William Street, Charing Cross, in a building subsequently occupied -by Woodin, the ventriloquist, and later on by Toole, as his own peculiar -theatre.</p> - -<p>The present conspicuous basilica is at last completed, all but the -towers. Adjoining it, down an avenue of trees, recalling the approach to -Shakespeare’s last resting-place, is Holy Trinity Church, Brompton, -reminiscent of Dr. Irons, its vicar, who ultimately became Rector of St. -Mary Woolnoth, beneath which is the City station of the City and South -London Electric Railway.</p> - -<p>Brompton Square is close by, associated by many of us with a once -popular song, “Ada with the golden hair,” composed and sung by G. W. -Moore, of the Christy Minstrels. In this Square have dwelt many actors -and actresses: Wigan, Buckstone, Robert Keeley, etc.; and also Shirley -Brooks. At one corner used to be a house standing a little back from the -road, occupied by an eccentric individual whose craze was to have -several clocks in every room, and the task<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>{120}</span> of keeping them in order -encouraged a watch-and-clock-maker to settle down in a small shop next -door. Another feature of his craze was to present a watch of some kind -to every lady he knew; so that his neighbour must have done a fair -business. A bank now occupies this site, and the author recollects -watching the strong-room being built deep down in the gravelly soil -peculiar to South Kensington. Next door will be located the -unpretentious Brompton Station of the new railway. An official of the -bank was heard to remark facetiously that he trusted the Tube would not -bore into the strong-room aforesaid—a new possibility and grievance to -be duly noted.</p> - -<p>Directly underneath Brompton Road goes London’s latest Tube, passing -“Harrod’s,” the most palatial General Store in the metropolis, if not in -the world. It originated some years ago in a narrow little shop, where -good tea, excellent butter, and, rumour says, jam made by Mr. Harrod’s -mother, were the chief articles sold to the customers, the bulk of whom -were of the working-class.</p> - -<p>Now Knightsbridge is reached, in olden times called Kingsbridge, when it -was represented by a bridge only (on the site of the modern Albert -Gate), built by Edward the Confessor over a brook, or bourn, rising, -like the Tybourn and the Oldbourn, in the Hampstead Hills, and flowing -thence to the Thames.</p> - -<p>No part of London has so completely changed in appearance as this; lofty -modern buildings having taken the place of small old-fashioned houses. -These improvements culminate at Sloane Street, where anyone approaching -town by way of Kensington, meets the first of the numerous metropolitan -“rond-points,” surrounded by mansions and shops so tall as to put into -the shade<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a>{121}</span> the French Embassy and the houses at Albert Gate, which for -many years were considered the highest in town. At the equestrian statue -of Field-Marshal Lord Strathnairn, four thoroughfares -converge—Kensington Road, Brompton Road, Sloane Street, and St. -George’s Place—pouring around it a continual stream of traffic day and -night. Three of these thoroughfares are perfect paradises to ladies who -delight in such alluring shops as Harrod’s, Harvey Nichols and Co., and -Woolland Brothers, whose prolonged and magnificent frontages are -unequalled in Modern Babylon.</p> - -<p>A few doors from the “rond-point” in Brompton Road is a Tube station; -and the workmen, as they bore close to the triangular grass-covered -enclosure in front of Tattersall’s, are probably unaware that a -comparatively slight deviation would take them through a pit beneath the -enclosure, which, tradition avers, was used, during the Great Plague of -London, for the dead. It is likely enough; for centuries ago there -existed, a little to the east of Albert Gate, a hospital belonging to -the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, which in 1665 was given up for the -use of infected patients; and as this little piece of ground has never -been disturbed, it probably was originally the burying-place attached -to the hospital, and was converted into a plague-pit.</p> - -<p>A house close to Hyde Park Court was once occupied by Charles Reade, the -novelist. At a house close by (long since pulled down), Horace Smith, -joint-author of <i>Rejected Addresses</i>, lived from 1810 to 1818, and drove -himself daily to and from the City—he was then a stockbroker—in a -vehicle called a “whisky.” A little farther on, where the London and -County Bank is dwarfed by the late Sir Herbert Naylor Leyland’s great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a>{122}</span> -mansion, used to stand the “Fox and Bull,” a quaint old tavern dating -back to Queen Elizabeth’s time, and a favourite resort of Sir Joshua -Reynolds, George Morland, and other painters. Holy Trinity Chapel, St. -George’s Place, no longer wedged in between two public-houses, replaces -an old church where the celebrated Prime Minister—then plain Robert -Walpole—was married in 1700 to a Lord Mayor’s daughter, who became the -mother of Sir Horace Walpole. In St. George’s Place, where it faces the -Park—surely one of the most desirable of situations, the first -intimation that we are approaching “Green pastures and Piccadilly”—is -the Hyde Park Corner Station of the new railway, next door to No. 8, -conspicuous as the residence of the Baden-Powell family, on the site of -which house, in an old-fashioned tenement, lived for many years John -Liston, the comedian identified with the character of “Paul Pry.” Being -freehold—a unique feature in the neighbourhood—this small plot of -ground has cost the Company dear. It had to pay £30,750 for its -acquisition.</p> - -<p>It is hard to believe that at this point London once terminated, -Lanesborough House, where St. George’s Hospital stands, being described -in Pennant’s days as a “country mansion,” and thus it remained until -little more than a century ago. While in the time of Charles the Second, -near Hamilton Place was an inn, bearing the sign of the “Hercules -Pillars,” signifying that, like the “First and Last House” at Land’s -End, no habitation existed beyond it.</p> - -<p>All sorts and conditions of people, mostly distinguished, live, and have -lived, along this part of the route, which has its Tube stations at Down -Street and Dover Street. There is Apsley House, and next to it Baron -Rothschild’s mansion. At No. 1 Hamilton<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a>{123}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_14" id="fig_14"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 479px;"> -<a href="images/i_123_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_123_sml.jpg" width="479" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 14. THE WESTERN APPROACH TO PICCADILLY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Place lived the great Lord Chancellor Eldon. From 139, Piccadilly (Lord -Glenesk’s) Lady Byron, after one of her quarrels with the poet, fled -with her infant daughter. At Nos. 138 and 139, formerly one building, -the Marquis of Queensbury (the notorious “Old Q.”) used, when an -octogenarian, to sit at a certain window for hours, and ogle the passing -fair sex. Gloucester House adjoining, is the residence of the Duke of -Cambridge, occupied, when it was Elgin House, by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>{124}</span> the Earl of Elgin, who -brought over to England the famous marbles that bear his name. Nearly -opposite Down Street, on the park side of Piccadilly, stands a curious -reminder that once upon a time, parcels and packages of all kinds had to -be conveyed all over London, not by train or by Carter Paterson’s speedy -vans, but on the shoulders of stalwart porters. It is a “bulk,” -replacing an old timber one. A “bulk,” it may be explained, is a kind of -shelf supported by two posts at a convenient height for the bearers of -burdens to temporarily dispose of them and rest awhile. On the site of -No. 106 (the St. James’s Club) was formerly the “Greyhound,” a very old -inn, which, with the “White Horse” close by, and the “Half Moon,” a -little further on, was a favourite pulling-up place for the numerous -carriers, tranters, and market-gardeners who were incessantly coming -from the country to town; for Piccadilly was one of London’s great -highways westward. In a house (now a club) at the corner of White Horse -Street, Sir Walter Scott sometimes stayed when in town. Cambridge House -(the Naval and Military Club) recalls Lord Palmerston and the notable -political receptions of his accomplished wife. At the corner of Clarges -Street, where lived Edmund Kean and also Lady Hamilton, is the Turf -Club, and at No. 84 the Imperial Service Club, the last of Piccadilly’s -line of clubs that, commencing with The Bachelors’, at the corner of -Hamilton Place, forms a kind of approach to the real club-land of St. -James’s Street and Pall Mall. Bath House, at the corner of Bolton -Street, was the residence of the late millionaire, Baron Hirsch. No. 80, -Piccadilly, and No. 1, Stratton Street together form the town house of -the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, and it was from No. 80 that her father, Sir -Francis Burdett, <small>M.P.</small>, was, in 1810,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a>{125}</span> amidst serious rioting, taken to -the Tower for having made use of bad language in the House of Commons. -From the roof can be obtained a splendid view of the Westminster and -Pimlico district, across the Park, rightly called “Green,” with its -beautiful stretches of turf and graceful trees, and far away to the -Surrey Hills and the Crystal Palace.</p> - -<p>Devonshire House, seen through its fine old iron gates—brought here -from Chiswick—is plain enough externally, but its saloons are very -handsome, and here the lovely Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, reigned -as Queen of Fashion long ago. Arlington Street reminds us of the Marquis -of Salisbury, of Earl Nelson, who lodged here, and of Sir Horace Walpole -and his father. In Albemarle Street, Percy Bysshe Shelley once had -quarters at Cooke’s Hotel.</p> - -<p>The Tube now carries its passengers ninety feet below the beautiful -Piccadilly shops, past St. James’s Street and Bond Street, the -Burlington Arcade and Burlington House, past the Egyptian Hall, past -Fortnum and Mason’s—so universally associated with hampers, long-necked -bottles, and race-meetings; past the Albany, where lived Byron, Lytton, -and Lord Macaulay; past the Prince’s Restaurant, and its neighbour, St. -James’s Church, where there are some splendid specimens of Grinling -Gibbons’ wood-carving, and where, in 1762, occurred a singular thing. In -some unexplained manner the vaults caught fire, and two hundred coffins -with their inmates underwent an uncontemplated process of cremation; -past St. James’s Hall opposite (eventually to be enlarged and converted -to purposes other than harmony only). And now Piccadilly Circus, where -six roads meet, and where, next to Spiers and Pond’s Restaurant, is the -Piccadilly Circus Station of this, the longest<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a>{126}</span> Tube. Subways should -certainly be arranged for access to this station, to avoid the very -dangerous crossings from each of the six roads. Why does not the London -County Council, emulating the City Fathers and their Mansion House -subterranean passages, undertake this beneficent work in the West End?</p> - -<p>We are now in the region of music-halls, theatres, cafés, dining-places, -and Scott’s, the famous shell-fish shop.</p> - -<p>“What is the origin of the name <i>Piccadilly</i>?” is a question asked again -and again. It is difficult to decide. Was it from the ruffs called -“peckadils” (from the Spanish <i>pica</i>), whose stiffened points were like -diminutive spearheads, worn by the mashers or dudes of the early -Carolean period, who gathered here at a gaming-house, Piccadilly Hall? -Or was it, as Pennant thought, from the “piccadills” (cakes) which may -have been sold in the surrounding fields? Who in the year 1903 can -decide?</p> - -<p>Here I pause. The rest of the new Tube’s route to Stamford Hill is -useful but prosaic, and none of the remaining ten stations, except -Cranbourn Street, Covent Garden, and Holborn are surrounded with any -remarkably interesting associations, either historical or modern.</p> - -<p>From South Kensington to Piccadilly this railway is certainly an -aristocratic one. Daintily-clad ladies will, doubtless, use it largely -for shopping and paying visits. The rank and fashion of London will -patronise it. Countesses, marchionesses, even duchesses, may condescend -to travel by it; nay, royalty may even give it a trial! Nobody would be -surprised to see its booking-office æsthetically designed; the officials -well-groomed and decorous as bank clerks; the lifts luxuriously -upholstered with seats for all; the <i>cars-de-luxe</i> (for which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>{127}</span> an extra -charge would be made) beautifully decorated, warmed in winter and -delightfully cooled during summer heats, with fresh flowers provided, -and perfumes sprayed at intervals to remove the least trace of bad -smell; copies of the <i>Court Guide</i> and the most fashionable magazines at -the disposal of the passengers; umbrella and parasol stands; special and -comfortable quarters for pet dogs; the smoking-cars models of elegance -and comfort; and the guards’ uniform scarlet and gold.</p> - -<p>Seriously, however, is there or is there not, “one little rift within -the lute”? Will the size of the tunnels—11½ feet in diameter—suffice -for maintaining an equable and pure atmosphere throughout the year? -Doubtless it will; for special attention has been given to this matter -by the distinguished consulting engineer, and inlets for fresh, and -up-cast shafts for foul air, together with fans worked by machinery, -will be liberally provided.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>{128}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI<br /><br /> -<small><i>ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS GENERALLY</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“And I have taken away your horses.”—<span class="smcap">Amos</span> iv. 10.</p> - -<h3>HISTORY OF TRAMWAYS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">N</span>EARLY fifty years ago there arrived in this country an enterprising -citizen of the United States bearing the name of George Francis Train, -with whom will always be associated the first attempt to introduce -tramways into Great Britain.</p> - -<p>Like many other innovators, Train was ahead of his time, and after -vainly struggling against indifference, and, in London, against the -strongest opposition voiced by the Chief Commissioner of Works, he -returned home a wiser and a sadder man, having failed to launch his -great enterprise.</p> - -<p>Not unreasonably he complained that his system had not been given a fair -trial, and that his nationality was against him, pointing out that in -Ireland he had, on the contrary, received sympathy and encouragement -from the fact that he was an American.</p> - -<p>The truth was, his ideas were immature, and his tram-lines utterly -unsuited to the street traffic of great cities.</p> - -<p>His first attempt was at Birkenhead, in 1860; and three years later he -laid down a line, four miles long, from Hanley to Burslem, in -Staffordshire, and also<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a>{129}</span> a short one at Darlington. In the year 1861 he -constructed a line from the Marble Arch along the Uxbridge Road, and -another from Westminster Bridge to Kennington Park. The track was -ballasted, not paved, and the macadam very soon “rutted” on each side of -the rail; but the worst feature was that the tread of the rail being an -inch below the road surface, the wheels of vehicles were seriously -injured and sometimes wrenched clean off as they endeavoured to leave -the lines.</p> - -<p>A tremendous agitation ensued against the tramway system. Train’s rails -were compulsorily taken up, and his ideas were dismissed as -impracticable.</p> - -<p>Yet the bread had been cast upon the waters, destined to be found much -later on, but not by George Francis Train. For ten years after the -Birkenhead line was laid down, tramways remained in a very primitive -condition, the sole aim being to obtain a smooth track, and so lessen -the wear and tear caused by the uneven macadam. The rolling-stock was -crude in the extreme, and the rails were fastened down to longitudinal -sleepers, so that the spikes invariably worked up, but this defect was -remedied when steel girders came into use. The trams were, of course, -drawn by horses, for until 1880 no better means of traction appears to -have been thought of. Nobody was a bit interested in the tramways, and -carriage-folk detested them, so they were banished to the outskirts of -the City and “over the water.”</p> - -<p>The West End recognised them not, except to sign petitions against their -introduction. The “poor man’s street railway,” it affirmed, must keep -its proper place in the south, the far north, and the far east of -London.</p> - -<p>It was left to private enterprise to run the lines, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>{130}</span> practically -four companies—the North Metropolitan, the London Street Tramways, the -South London Company, and the London Tramways Company—monopolised the -business, there being no enterprising London County Council to compete -with.</p> - -<h3>VARIOUS METHODS OF HAULAGE</h3> - -<p>For a decade—up to 1890—all kinds of improved methods of haulage were -tried: compressed air, coiled springs, underground cables (a well-known -example of which was the Highgate line, which was always breaking down), -and, lastly, gas traction and steam traction.</p> - -<p>To all these methods there are serious objections. Horse traction is -expensive, besides being distressingly trying to the animals themselves. -It is necessary to keep up a large stud for each car, and the horses -when idle are eating their heads off. Their fullest speed with the heavy -cars is necessarily low. Starting is a slow process, and at the best the -rate of progress (including stoppages) does not exceed four miles an -hour.</p> - -<p>Compressed air and coiled springs may both be consigned to pigeon-holes, -labelled respectively “doubtful” and “impossible,” there being of the -former scarcely half a dozen examples in Great Britain, though in -America it is said to have worked well and on an extensive scale.</p> - -<p>Cable traction has many advantages, and for a long time was successfully -adopted in America, but is now abandoned. With the funicular system, in -vogue in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Paris, and Melbourne, travellers have -long been familiar. Where a large number of cars are employed, it has -the advantage of cheapness in working, and the machinery does not easily -get out of order. But the initial cost is very heavy, and it is not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a>{131}</span> -suitable for complicated lines, or for tramways with several branches; -and therefore extensions, unless straight, are almost impracticable, -though it is superior to all others, save that of electricity, for very -severe gradients. As the cable moves at a uniform rate, a car can -neither vary its speed nor reverse its course. Then there is a -difficulty in dealing with the gas and water-pipes during construction -(that is, if they are near the surface), and the conduit forms a -receptacle for street refuse, and becomes insanitary. But the chief -defect is that three-fourths of the total power required to haul the -cars is absorbed in driving the cable.</p> - -<p>On a small scale, and with but little success, gas traction has been -recently tried. There is a difficulty in starting the engines, therefore -they have to work continuously, which causes the unpleasant noise -familiarised to us by petrol-driven motor-cars when standing still. -There is a decided smell from the “exhaust” of the engine; the vibration -is considerable; and, as at present designed, the cars cannot mount a -moderately steep hill.</p> - -<p>Steam traction has been in use for some time, but has not improved, and -is not popular. Great wear and tear of the track is caused by the weight -of the locomotive, and the public object to the long intervals of -service, consequent upon the necessity, for economical reasons, of using -large cars. Steam involves sulphurous gases and general dirtiness, -besides the apprehension, fanciful or real, of an occasional “blow up.”</p> - -<h3>VARIOUS METHODS OF ELECTRIC TRAMWAY TRACTION</h3> - -<p>Dismissing all these systems, we turn to electricity, as admittedly the -best agent for tramway traction, and, until some marvellous discovery -displaces it as a force, likely to remain and to become universally -adopted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a>{132}</span></p> - -<p>Blackpool was first in the field with an electric tramway in 1883. -Several other provincial districts followed suit, including Bristol and -Stockton-on-Tees. London, in 1900, welcomed the completion of Mr. J. -Clifton Robinson’s great scheme for electrifying that portion of the -London United Tramways running between Hammersmith and Kew.</p> - -<p>The year 1903 sees metropolitan and suburban electric trams in every -direction; while in the provinces they will soon cover the face of the -land, so extraordinarily rapid has been their acceptance. On every hand -signs are evinced of the direct influence upon the general prosperity, -comfort, and pleasure of all classes of people by a cheap and rapid -electric tramway service.</p> - -<p>The electric system admits of an easy extension of routes, and is of all -systems the simplest to work. The cars can be readily backed or diverted -in any direction. They are roomy, clean, well lighted and ventilated, -and, if necessary, can be heated; the seats are comfortable; and the -speed is double that of horses, while, without any fuss, gradients of 1 -in 8 can be tackled. Of its popularity none can doubt, especially in hot -weather, when exhausted town-dwellers swarm on the roof of the cars for -a breath of fresh air as they travel merrily along at the rate of twelve -miles an hour.</p> - -<p>Existing tramways can be adapted to this system with rapidity, and all -experts bear testimony to the fact that electric haulage is -comparatively so cheap, and the development of traffic on its adoption -so great, that horse traction has no chance against it.</p> - -<p>There are four kinds of electric-tramway traction which, though -apparently rather puzzling, are readily explained. These are the -Conduit; the Surface Contact; the Overhead (or trolley); in each of -which the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>{133}</span> current is conveyed to the line—as in an electric -railway—from a power house; and the Accumulator, or Self-contained Car, -the motive power being obtained from storage batteries carried on the -car itself, and these supply the current direct to the motor on the car.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_15" id="fig_15"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_133_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_133_sml.jpg" width="500" height="358" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 15. TRAM-CAR IN PARIS EQUIPPED FOR COMBINED OVERHEAD -TROLLEY AND SURFACE CONTACT SYSTEM</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Dolter Electric Traction Co., Ltd., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>In the conduit system the main conductors (or feed-wire), always in this -country placed underground, are carried in a conduit or tube under the -track, which has a narrow longitudinal slit on its upper surface level -with the road. Through this slit passes a bracket carried by the car in -such a manner as to make contact with the two conduit-conductors. The -objections to this system are the heavy cost of construction, its -liability to derangement<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a>{134}</span> from floods, the expense of cleaning the -conduits, and its tendency to accumulate filth.</p> - -<p>The closed conduit, or surface contact system, consists of a series of -plates or studs placed along the track a few feet apart and flush with -the road, and insulated from each other. Under ordinary circumstances -these are disconnected with the conductor, which is laid entirely below -the surface, but when a car passes over them they become, by means of -switches, automatically connected with it, so that the current can be -conveyed through them to the car motors. In other words, the studs are -“alive” while the car is over them, and “dead” as soon as it has passed. -This is a very practicable method, and in certain cases is preferable to -the open conduit. Defects, however, there are, but the Dolter apparatus -claims to have overcome them, and it is greatly in its favour that the -system has been successfully worked in Paris for more than two years. It -has the merit of readily lending itself to a combination with the -overhead trolley system.</p> - -<p>Of all systems, by far the best known to the public is that of -“overhead,” recognised immediately by the tall iron poles inseparable -from its adoption. Ninety-five per cent. of the world’s electric -tramways are worked on the overhead principle. The distribution of -electric energy is by means of a wire, called the trolley wire, upheld -by insulated brackets on poles twenty feet above the ground, along the -entire track, which is divided into sections, each section taking its -current from the main conductor-wire, which is laid underground, through -the iron poles. Should any one section of the trolley wires meet with -mishap, only the cars working on that section are stopped; those on the -remaining divisions, having an independent source of current, continue -to run<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a>{135}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_16" id="fig_16"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_135_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_135_sml.jpg" width="500" height="396" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 16. CROSS LANE JUNCTION, SALFORD. THE LARGEST AND -MOST COMPLICATED OVERHEAD TROLLEY CROSSING IN THE KINGDOM</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of</i> <i>Geo. Hill & Co., Manchester</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a>{136}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">without interruption. At the upper end is a small deeply grooved wheel -which, by means of springs at the base of the trolley pole, is pressed -against the under side of the trolley wire overhead, and in that -position remains as the car proceeds. From the wire the electric current -passes through the grooved wheel and down the trolley pole to the -motors, of which there is one at each end of the car.</p> - -<p>In all three systems the motor itself is suspended from the axle, which -it turns; and the armature of the motor is parallel to the axle and -nearest to the centre of the car. On the end of the armature is a small -cogwheel which gears into the teeth of a larger wheel keyed to the axle, -and this turns round the wheels of the car. A coiled spring supports the -field-magnet of the motor, and when the driver turns the lever on to the -top of the controller (which is a high box in front of each platform -containing a series of wires connected with the motor), and switches on -the current, the motor is lifted up on the first revolution of the -armature, the coiled spring takes up the motion of the motor, and -prevents the car starting with a jerk. The current, when done with, -returns to the source of supply by the ordinary tram rails, which are -specially connected at the joints for this purpose. It is maintained -that for cheapness of construction, simplicity of operation, reliability -in action, and flexibility in adaptation, this method is superior to all -others.</p> - -<p>There was at one time a certain objection to it on æsthetic grounds. The -earlier examples, when clumsy wooden posts and festoons of wire -obstructed the view and seemed to choke up the street, undoubtedly -justified the protest against the “overhead”; but now that slender iron -poles, ornamental rather than otherwise,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a>{137}</span> and, in some cases, rosettes -attached to the houses, are used for the suspension of the trolley wire, -people have become reconciled to the appearance of the thoroughfares, -and no longer object to the apparatus.</p> - -<p>One more system, an ideal one, remains to be considered. It is that of -the “Self-contained Car,” which carries a battery of secondary cells, -whence the current for working the motors is taken as required. But, for -the present, there are serious obstacles against its general -application. The great weight of the accumulators leads to a -disproportionate consumption of power, and involves heavy expenditure on -the permanent way and in rolling-stock. The batteries must be recharged -at frequent intervals, and must either be removed from the car—a -troublesome process—or the car must be kept idle while the cells are -revivified. Accumulators as a rule do not live long, and have to be -renewed.</p> - -<p>Thus the working expenses are so heavy that, ideal as the system is, and -delightful the smooth running of the cars, it does not pay commercially -to adopt it, and we must wait patiently in the hope that one day a -perfect and practical secondary battery will appear on the scenes. Great -improvements in lightness and durability are in the air.</p> - -<p>Tramcars have become luxurious compared with the makeshifts that did -duty in George Francis Train’s day, and each new line endeavours to make -its rolling-stock superior to the others. Some cars are double-decked, -<i>i.e.</i> have seats outside; some are single-decked, <i>i.e.</i> have no -outside seats. They are roomy and comfortably upholstered, and the -windows are curtained, or provided with louvre shutters to keep the sun -out. Those of the London United Tramways are models of comfort, and -people who recollect only the early<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>{138}</span> examples, mostly of foreign -construction, would be surprised at the advance made. They seat thirty -inside and thirty-nine outside passengers, have spring cushions covered -with plush moquette, and ceilings panelled in bird’s-eye maple. There -are electric push-buttons for signalling the motor-man; electric light -is provided, and ventilators extend the whole length of the car, -ensuring an abundant supply of fresh air.</p> - -<p>No cars, however, in Great Britain have reached the pitch of perfection -attained in America by the palace and parlour tramcars; the former -fitted up like a Pullman, with little tables and easy-chairs, and -windows prettily curtained. Of this type, perhaps the most superb is in -Buenos Ayres. Decorated in early French style, it is beautifully -finished; while inside it resembles a drawing-room, with windows -separated by carved pilasters and draperies of white silk and gold -damask. A fine Wilton carpet covers the parquetry floor, whereon stand -woven cane fauteuils with gold plush seats. At each end of the car is a -buffet, and one of the platforms is provided with an ice chest, while an -electric heater produces tea and coffee when required.</p> - -<p>I cannot close this chapter introducing the subject of tramways, without -reference to the “Rush for the Trams” that attracted so much attention -last year. The rushes in the Blackfriars Bridge Road began shortly after -five o’clock and continued until seven p.m., and were described in the -daily journals as follows: “South London, thanks to the L.C.C., rejoices -in an excellent tram service. There are many trams going everywhere -within a reasonable distance—Streatham, Greenwich, Tooting, New Cross. -Now, however hard or however fast you rush at a tram, it is not to be -bullied into holding more than a certain number. If, however, you rush -sufficiently<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>{139}</span> fiercely and with sufficient violence, you may either -knock or frighten out of the way a girl who has been waiting longer than -you. Some genius discovered this and rushed; others, not to be beaten, -rushed also. The result is that every evening the Blackfriars Road is -the scene of a savage fight for the incoming trams, where men and women -meet in unequal strife.... All notions of chivalry, of ‘ladies first,’ -are thrown to the winds, apparently, on these occasions, with the result -that many young girls, weak women and children, rather than share in the -unequal strife, are content to walk all the way home.... Long before the -trams arrive at the starting-point, they are boarded at either end, and -a jovial crowd, knocking off one another’s hats, poking out one -another’s eyes, swarms on to them. As an entertainment, this is not -without merit; as an exhibition of the passions, it is undoubtedly -interesting. But if you happen to be weak or a woman and want to get on -one of these cars, it is possible you will fail to consider these -things. Only a day or two ago a fatal accident occurred in the rush for -the trams. Such a serious case is, no doubt, rare, but small injuries -must be of frequent occurrence, torn clothes and bruises part of the -daily round, the common talk of those who struggle for the trams. It is -unpleasantly common to see women knocked off their feet and dragged in -the road. Nor is the Blackfriars terminus the only battlefield. The -Westminster Bridge Road is no whit better, and there, with a roadway -somewhat narrower and a somewhat larger quantity of quick traffic, the -danger is even greater.”</p> - -<p>The remedy for this state of affairs was thus significantly pointed -out:—</p> - -<p>“When electricity is fully adopted the service will be able to deal with -a larger traffic, for, although the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a>{140}</span> number of cars will be -running, they will run faster, and each will carry 50 per cent. more -passengers, so that the carrying capacity of the line will be much -increased. Till then there is no hope of improvement. It is impossible -with horse traction to run more cars, or run them faster.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>{141}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII<br /><br /> -<small><i>LONDON’S TRAMWAYS</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“When all is done, the help of good counsel is that which setteth -business straight.”—<span class="smcap">Bacon.</span></p> - -<h3>THE L.C.C. AND LONDON’S TRAFFIC</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span>LL tramways within the boundaries of the County of London—an area of -some 16½ by 12 miles—will eventually be controlled and worked by the -London County Council, who, under the Tramways Act of 1870, have the -power of purchasing, either compulsorily at the expiration of twenty-one -years from the passing of the Act, or by agreement, any tramway -undertaking within their official territory. A heavy responsibility -truly; but whether for good or for evil, municipal trading has come to -stay, and the principle as applied to tramways seems to be particularly -appropriate in this, our great metropolis, with whose locomotive system -none but a very powerful and experienced governing body can ever hope to -successfully cope.</p> - -<p>Mr. J. Allen-Baker, the vice-chairman of the L.C.C.’s Highways -Committee, reporting on the subject of our congested highways, said: -“Even though there should be no future increase in street traffic, I -believe it to be the imperative duty of the Council to seek a remedy, -and how much more when we feel assured that London will keep growing, -and that within the next thirty years<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a>{142}</span> both a water and locomotive -service will have to be provided for an estimated population (in Greater -London) of probably not less than ten or twelve million people; and -whatever the growth <i>outwards</i> may be, the best system of rapid transit -for the central districts will always become more and more essential. -If, therefore, we are to cope with either our present or our future -requirements, and prevent our streets from becoming really impassable, -it is, in my judgment, our duty to take up the subject at once, and seek -from His Majesty’s Government those additional powers and amendments to -existing Acts of Parliament that will enable the Council, as the central -authority, to carry out these improvements in the interests of the whole -metropolis.”</p> - -<p>I doubt if anybody realises the gigantic scale of Greater London’s -street traffic, so much of it being hidden away. It is estimated that in -one year travellers by cabs and omnibuses number 580,000,000, and by -tramways 400,000,000. By Underground, Tube, and suburban railways -890,000,000 travel; and should the metropolis increase at the rate -expected by Mr. J. Allen-Baker, in thirty years’ time there will be -something like 4,000,000,000, or 11,000,000 human beings per diem, -moving about on wheels or on foot.</p> - -<p>All these facts will doubtless be carefully considered, and, if -possible, the problem of London’s traffic solved, by the Royal -Commission—Sir David Miller Barbour, <small>K.C.S.I.</small>, <small>K.C.M.G.</small>, in the -chair—appointed in February last to deal with the subject. (<i>vide</i> -Chapter IX.). It is authorised to report:—</p> - -<p>(1) As to the measures which they deem most effectual for the -improvement of the same (the street traffic) by the development and -interconnection of railways and tramways on or below the surface, by -increasing the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>{143}</span> facilities for other forms of mechanical locomotion, by -better provision for the organisation and regulation of vehicular and -pedestrian traffic or otherwise; and</p> - -<p>(2) As to the desirability of establishing some authority or tribunal to -which all schemes of railway or tramway construction of a local -character should be referred, and the powers which it would be advisable -to confer upon such a body.</p> - -<h3>THE L.C.C. AND REHOUSING</h3> - -<p>The tramway policy of the L.C.C. is so connected with the housing, or, -rather, with the rehousing question, that although this book is purely -on the subject of electrical traction, I cannot avoid making some -reference to it.</p> - -<p>For fifteen years, since, under the Local Government Act of 1888, the -Council was constituted, it has slowly been winning the confidence of -Londoners. Aggressive at first, it has relinquished the altruistic -theories of youth, and it now realises the fact that it is a body of -trustees acting not for one class only, but that it must administer its -heritage in the interests of the community at large. Jealousy of its -powers is dying out, and by comprehensive and energetic action it -justifies itself as the one central privileged body able to deal with -the highway, and with the housing problem of Modern Babylon.</p> - -<p>One of its provinces, in fact its statutory obligation, is to provide -new accommodation—not necessarily in the same locality—in place of all -houses destroyed as unfit for human habitation. It also takes upon -itself voluntarily (where no such legal obligation exists) in certain -instances to provide for rehousing, and, wherever possible, this is -effected in the same districts. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a>{144}</span> this cannot as a rule be done when -rehousing is compulsory, and to meet the difficulty, estates have been -acquired, and blocks of houses and cottages erected at Croydon, Wood -Green, Brixton Hill, Holloway, Hammersmith, and other more or less -suburban spots. The Model Dwellings built on the site of Millbank -Prison, and inspected by the King and Queen on February 18th last, -accommodate 4,500 men, women, and children. At Tooting, the L.C.C. -scheme provides for 8,600 people; at Norbury, for 5,800; while at -Tottenham there will be quite a new town of 40,000 artisan inhabitants.</p> - -<p>Encouragement is given by the Council to the idea that working-men and -women—since they cannot, in so many cases, live chock-a-block with -their employment—should be provided with homes upon, or a little -beyond, the Council’s boundaries, and be brought backwards and forwards -by train, for the popular 1<i>d.</i> Being practical men, the Councillors -know that any transference on a large scale of London factories to the -country, however desirable, cannot be effected yet awhile. And even if -they could acquire sites in the centres of industry, and erect gigantic -lodging-houses, the cost would be prohibitive. They have to deal with -the present necessity. Their ideal is probably the workshop as it exists -in London, with the heads of firms at Belsize Park, Bayswater, and -Dulwich, the clerks at Wandsworth, Chelsea, and Fulham, and the workmen -at Tottenham, Wood Green, and Hammersmith.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, figures quoted by Mr. Troupe, of the Home Office,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> -show to what a large extent it might be possible to relieve congestion -by the removal of factories to the country. He said that there were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>{145}</span> 748 -factories in London classified, in the following proportions, viz. 50 -for machine-making, 30 for bread and biscuit-baking, 14 for -cabinet-making, 11 for turning out fruit preserves, 16 breweries, 47 -book-binding establishments, 72 printing houses (not including -newspapers), and 19 saw-mills. In these 748 factories close upon 200,000 -people were employed, representing with their families some 600,000 -human beings, and if, following the recent example of the largest -cabinet-makers in London, the bulk of these removed into the country, -which they might do if suitable railway arrangements could be made, a -considerable number of the 600,000 men, women, and children would be -rehoused amidst “fresh woods and pastures new,” greatly to their -benefit.</p> - -<p>This is a dream at present, as factories cannot without great loss be -summarily transferred from suitable urban quarters where water-frontages -and locomotive facilities exist. They have grown up with, and in many -cases created the district in which they are situated. Bermondsey has -for years been the home of the leather trade, Lambeth of the pottery -industry, and although Mr. Justice Grantham instances Doulton’s as an -awful example of an uneconomical delinquent London manufactory—their -clay in Dorsetshire, their coal in the Midlands, their salt in Cheshire, -and their works on the banks of the Thames—it is no light matter to -break with long business ties and take up with fresh ones, not so easy -to leave the old love and take up with the new.</p> - -<p>It will be granted, however, that Mr. William L. Magden was right when -he maintained that “no manufacturer about to commence business at the -present day would fix upon London as a suitable position. He would -choose rather a district in which land was cheap, and in which he could -obtain cheap power for his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>{146}</span> machinery and transport for his goods. He -should not in future be limited to the colliery districts or to the main -lines of railway. Light railways serving as feeders to the main lines, -and the supply of electrical energy over large areas from main power -stations, could provide for both these requirements, giving the -manufacturer ample assurance that his works could be run cheaply, and -that the raw material and manufactured products could be efficiently -handled. By such means electrical science is capable of opening up -thousands of square miles in England for manufacturing purposes, the -native population of which has been languishing under the chronic -complaint of agricultural depression.”</p> - -<h3>THE L.C.C.’S TRAMWAY SYSTEM</h3> - -<p>Whether, as regards tramways, the L.C.C. will be the central authority -recommended by the Royal Commissioners, time will show; but meanwhile it -has already established its tramway system, which can be seen at work in -our midst. In order to understand it the more easily, it should be -assumed that all the lines, including those of the London United -Tramways Company, are in the hands of the Council, that they are more or -less linked together, that powers for new lines have been granted, and -that electrical traction in some form has been adopted throughout.</p> - -<p>On studying a tramway map, one is struck by the fact that, starting from -the central area of London, all the tram-lines meander towards the -Council’s boundaries, where they will eventually no doubt join and -interchange through traffic with the vast light railway or rural tramway -systems of various companies in the direction of north and south, -north-east, south-east, north-west, and south-west; but that “through” -(or cross-country)<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a>{147}</span> communication from west to east, practically does -not exist.</p> - -<p>In the north-west there are huge areas of brick and mortar as destitute -of tram-lines as Central Australia, so that anyone living in the -Regent’s Park districts has to “train” it eastward, or, if he be bent on -“tramming” it, has to go by an inconvenient and awkward route to Hackney -or Bow.</p> - -<p>Another notable feature of the map is that, although there are almost as -many tramways on the south as on the north side of the river, there is -no access from one to the other, the bridges being looked upon as sacred -thoroughfares, along which tramcars—certainly not as unæsthetic as -omnibuses, or waggons laden with vegetables—may not pass, although -Westminster is the widest bridge in the world, 85 feet; Blackfriars, 80 -feet; and Vauxhall and Lambeth will be equally wide, and broad enough to -accommodate the trams without inconvenience.</p> - -<p>At present the lines are painfully disunited, without starting-point or -terminus. The gaps in the lines require to be filled up, and where this -is impracticable, shallow underground tracks should be made use of. The -great defect, however, would at once disappear if the lines could cross -the Thames at Westminster and Blackfriars; but if this be persistently -refused, light bridges or tubes ought to be specially provided at -convenient points with four tracks for the use of tramways only.</p> - -<p>The history of the London County Council’s work towards the improvement -of metropolitan highways dates back to the early nineties, when the -Council began to acquire tramway companies. A most important step was -taken in 1897, when the whole of the lines and depôts belonging to the -North Metropolitan and London Street Tramways Companies in the County of -London<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a>{148}</span> were purchased, the purchase-money being £800,000. In 1899 the -Council acquired the South London Tramways at a cost of £882,043, and -still more recently the control of the South Eastern Metropolitan -Tramways Company and the South London Company has been effected. -Negotiations for other acquisitions are pending, and, as a matter of -fact, there are now not a dozen miles of tramway lines within the county -which the Council has not already purchased.</p> - -<p>The North Metropolitan lines have been leased by the Council to the -Company for fourteen years from 1896. The South London lines are worked -directly by the Council, and in the year 1901-2 no fewer than -119,880,559 passengers were carried over the system, 53,639,489 being at -halfpenny fares and 50,913,036 at penny ones. The traffic receipts for -the year amounted to over £439,000, and the mileage run was over -10,000,000. About 4,500,000 workmen’s tickets were issued during the -year.</p> - -<p>Thus our metropolitan Councillors have, after due deliberation and much -searching of hearts, launched a prodigious undertaking. Whether it will -or will not prove too costly is another matter. Dr. Alexander B. W. -Kennedy, their consulting engineer, in his report, said: “I hope, -therefore, that the Committee will find themselves able to believe that -the enterprise in which they are about to embark is one which will not -only be for the benefit of Londoners generally, but one also which will -pay its way, and on which, therefore, there would seem to be no reason -for grudging such expenditure as to make the whole scheme one of a kind -suitable for and worthy of the greatest city in the world.”</p> - -<p>Not long ago the Council decided to adopt electrical traction on all -their lines, involving an ultimate cost of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a>{149}</span> £9,000,000 which will -include the necessary generating stations, rolling-stock, purchase of -smaller undertakings, and extensions. The result attained will be a -splendid system, equivalent in length to two hundred miles of single -track, though not larger than that of some big provincial cities. -Wherever possible the system will be that of the conduit underground; -more expensive than the trolley method, but in the crowded streets of -London—where every inch of space is valuable—advantageous, and from a -severely æsthetic point of view, preferable, because it dispenses with -poles and wires. But on lines acquired by the Council where already -exists the overhead principle, there will be no difficulty in arranging -the cars so that they can be run from one system to the other, either -with no stopping at all at the point of change, or with a delay of but a -second or two. The cars, except the trucks, will be made in England by -British firms, and are to be double-decked, double-bogied, and -thirty-two feet long; they are to hold twenty-eight passengers inside, -and forty-two on the roof, and will be in two compartments. They will -resemble the Liverpool cars, described in Chapter XIII, and will be -painted a chocolate colour. The speed will be a maximum of twelve miles -an hour, with an average of about seven.</p> - -<p>Supposing, therefore, that all the L.C.C. parliamentary Bills are -carried through, and that all the disunited lines are properly and -harmoniously linked together, and through communication established in -every direction, it will be feasible to take some such day’s business -journey within the Council’s boundaries as that of Benjamin Short which -I am about to relate. But before doing so I think the very important -decision<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a>{150}</span> of the Lord Chancellor in an appeal case, November 27th, 1902, -on the subject of the maintenance of tramway tracks should be -recorded:—</p> - -<h3>THE MAINTENANCE OF TRAMWAY TRACKS</h3> - -<p>On March 4th, 1900, Mr. Fitzgerald was driving a horse and Ralli car in -Grafton Street, Dublin, when the horse stumbled and fell, and the -respondent was flung out of the cart and sustained serious injuries. On -the ground that the surface of the paving at the place where he was -driving was unsafe for horses and in a condition which was a danger and -annoyance to the ordinary traffic, he brought an action against the -tramway company, and was awarded £1,000 damages, the jury holding that -the part of the roadway for which the company was responsible was at the -time slippery and unsafe, and that this was the cause of the horse -falling. They, at the same time, found that the misfortune was not -caused by the fabric of the pavement being improperly constructed or -maintained.</p> - -<p>The Lord Chancellor, at the conclusion of the arguments, moved that the -appeal should be dismissed. The tramway company had been permitted the -use of the public highway subject to certain obligations, which -practically meant that while they were to use it they must take care -that the safety and convenience of the public were consulted. They were -not to have a monopoly of the highway, and it was their duty to take -care of the public convenience in respect to that part of the roadway -over which they were permitted to exercise a kind of subordinate -dominion. It was not denied that the surface of the roadway became, in -certain states of the weather, a danger and a nuisance to the public, -and it was a strong contention to say that,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>{151}</span> having received -instructions from the road authority to do that which would have -prevented the accident, there should be no liability upon them. The -obligation, as he read the statute, was to keep the pavement in a fit -and proper condition for public traffic. How that was to be done was a -question of mechanical engineering, and neither the Legislature nor the -Court was called upon to enter into the question as to how it could best -be done. All the judges without exception seemed to agree that the best -and most proper mode of doing it was to do what the road authority -directed them to do, and that they had deliberately disobeyed.</p> - -<h3>A BUSINESS JOURNEY BY L.C.C. TRAMS</h3> - -<p>Benjamin Short was born and brought up in London, and if any man living -knew its ins and outs he did. He was a jovial-looking little man, always -called Ben, for, said his father, “We christened him Benjamin for long, -but as he grew so slowly, we called him Ben for short; for <i>short</i> he -is, and short he always will be—except of cash!”</p> - -<p>Short the elder was a small tobacconist in the days when the fragrant -weed was first put up and sold in packets—a paying idea, as he soon -discovered—and to effectually put it into practice, he used a -fast-trotting mare and a roomy, comfortable trap.</p> - -<p>Ben, as he grew up, was allowed to accompany his father on these -journeys, and having abundant powers of observation and natural -quickness, he came to know more about Greater London than most men of -double his age. He was cut out for a commercial traveller’s career, and -a traveller, in due course, he became, inheriting from his father a snug -bit of capital.</p> - -<p>At the time of which I am writing, Ben lived at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a>{152}</span> Stamford Hill, close to -the London County Council boundary, in a well-built house with a bit of -land at the back, in which he had invested his inheritance. He called it -“The Watchmaker’s Rest,” and it faced the tramway line. Its front garden -was the envy and admiration of the neighbours. There appeared in their -season the choicest bulbous flowers, lovely annuals, herbaceous plants, -chrysanthemums, and asters, all of irreproachable quality, for Short, -being a sober and steady man, devoted his spare time to horticulture, at -which he was an adept.</p> - -<p>Ben Short travelled for a large wholesale firm of watchmakers and -jewellers in Clerkenwell, whose warehouse was not far from the -junction of Goswell Road and Old Street. Thither Short went to business -every day at eight o’clock from Stamford Hill, not by a Tube (“Toob” he -called it), but by the tram which passed his door. He was a first-rate -salesman, working on salary and commission, as active and enduring as a -bee, but as no travelling expenses within the London district were -allowed him, he had to get about as cheaply as possible.</p> - -<p>Hitherto he had been in the habit of working a single section of town -until it was exhausted, and then taking up another. But one July morning -the head of the firm asked him if he could vary the plan and take the -pick of several districts in one day as an experiment. This was done to -test Short’s capacity as against that of an English-speaking German -traveller, a protégé of his partner, who had already tried his best by -train and ’bus to cover a large area in one day, but had blundered over -the job. Ben Short, who had noticed a “foreigner” hanging about the -place a good deal, drew his own conclusions therefrom, and promptly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>{153}</span> -acquiesced in the proposition, and replied that he was quite willing to -show how much could be done in twelve hours by one who knew his London -well and how best to make use of its locomotive facilities. Ben intended -to make a record!</p> - -<p>To save time he took home with him from the sample-room his bag, an -inconspicuous, well-worn old companion. It was easily carried, as the -contents, though valuable, were light. Next morning at 7.30 to the -minute he was at breakfast, clean as a new pin, thoroughly well groomed, -a man of peace, but if you had put your hand into the side pocket of his -coat you would have found a smooth ivory handle, suspiciously like that -of a neat six-shooter—in case of accidents! At eight o’clock he was in -a comfortable electric tram bound on his first stage to far-off -Hammersmith.</p> - -<p>The route was <i>viâ</i> Stamford Hill, High Street, Stoke Newington Road, -and Kingsland Road, and, branching off at Hackney Road, by way of Old -Street and Clerkenwell Road, to the western end of Theobald’s Road. -Thence, a long stretch by way of Hart Street, Bloomsbury, along part of -New Oxford Street, into Oxford Street, past the Marble Arch, along the -Uxbridge Road, past Notting Hill Gate, and down the beautifully paved, -broad incline towards Shepherd’s Bush, then to the left through Brook -Green, and so to the Broadway, Hammersmith—one of the most interesting -rides in London, and but recently added to the London County Council -system, after tremendous agitation and opposition on the part of the -“Tube” and others, but absolutely necessary to complete the linking of -other and disjointed sections.</p> - -<p>Here, at Hammersmith, Ben Short transacted some very satisfactory -business in King Street. It was early;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a>{154}</span> his “clients” had just finished -their breakfasts, their shops had been but a few minutes opened, and -they had leisure to attend to his persuasive arguments. He was a -favourite wherever he went, and as he carried exactly the kind of goods -to attract, he quickly booked orders and was free to proceed.</p> - -<p>On board once more, at good speed Ben was rolled along Fulham Road, -leaving on the right the big convent jealously guarded by high walls, -which made Ben fall to wondering how any sane young woman could -voluntarily cut herself off from a world about which she probably knew -practically nothing. On went the tram, past the big buildings of the -Fulham Workhouse, past the entrance to Fulham Palace and the Bishop’s -Park, along the widened High Street of Fulham, over Putney Bridge, and -by way of Putney Bridge Road and West Hill, Wandsworth (a new route), to -Lower Tooting—altogether a pleasant trip at that time of the year, for -gardens, at which he critically and eagerly gazed, greeted Ben in every -direction.</p> - -<p>Wasting no time, Short called upon all the most likely customers, and -again he was in luck, for whether they wanted watches and jewellery or -not, orders were booked.</p> - -<p>Now the energetic little man had to get to the “Elephant and Castle.” -Along the Balham Hill Road, with its pleasant shops and lively -pedestrians, was plain sailing enough, past umbrageous Clapham Common on -the left, edged with sedate and comfortable mansions recalling the old -days when prosperous Evangelicism dwelt exclusively in Clapham; then by -way of Clapham Road and Kennington Park Road to the far-famed “Elephant -and Castle.” Here a less sharp-witted man<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a>{155}</span> than Short might well be -bewildered by the wonderful concentration of tram lines converging from -Walworth Road, New Kent Road, Newington Causeway, London Road, St. -George’s Road, and the road he had come by. Here, if anywhere, as at the -Mansion House, well-arranged passenger subways are needed.</p> - -<p>Our “commercial” did much business round about, for it was one of his -best districts for cheap goods, and then he thought it was time to -refresh the inner man. In a neighbouring cool, clean little crib—“a -close borough of his own,” he called it—he rested, and made intimate -acquaintance with a noble piece of silver-side, some crisp lettuces, and -any amount of piccalilli—he was a lover of cold meat and pickles—but, -in accordance with a rule he never broke in business hours, he -restricted himself to coffee as a beverage.</p> - -<p>Short, braced up by his luncheon, was now ready to set out for the wilds -of Plumstead—a somewhat long journey. He started by train from the -“Elephant and Castle” <i>viâ</i> the New and the Old Kent Roads, New Cross -Road, Greenwich Road, Trafalgar Road, Greenwich and Woolwich Lower Roads -to Woolwich, and by the Plumstead Road to Plumstead itself. He worked -the two districts together, but his luck had deserted him, and orders -were fewer and farther between than he altogether liked; but he was not -going to “chuck the thing up” yet. He would do a bit of the East End, -and thus complete the circuit of London.</p> - -<p>He took the same route back from Plumstead as far as Blackwall Lane, -then <i>viâ</i> the Blackwall Tunnel to East India Dock Road, Burdett Road, -and Mile End Road to its junction with Cambridge Road. In this -neighbourhood he did his only extensive bit of walking. The district, -though poor, was large, and he did a fair<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a>{156}</span> amount of business, but as -time was getting on he decided to return home; so by Cambridge Road, -along Cambridge Heath, Mare Street, Lower and Upper Clapton Roads, he -got back to Stamford Hill, and was put down almost at his own house.</p> - -<p>He had travelled by electric tramway some fifty miles at a cost of about -2<i>s.</i> 1<i>d.</i> (or a halfpenny a mile). He had done a lot of business, and -had been absent just twelve hours!</p> - -<p>In the bosom of his family he found ample compensation for his -exertions. A hearty welcome and a savoury supper, accompanied by -something that was <i>not</i> coffee, awaited him, and the following day the -firm received him with acclamation. The Teuton was not “in it,” and Ben -Short reigned supreme as its chief and highly appreciated traveller.</p> - -<h3>LONDON UNITED TRAMWAYS COMPANY</h3> - -<p>Want of space forbids more than the mere mention of the South -Metropolitan and the London Southern, the Woolwich and South Eastern, -the West Ham, and the Northern Middlesex Tramways. But this chapter -would be incomplete without some reference to the useful and popular -organisation, the London United Tramways Company, that takes up the -running at the London County Council’s boundary.</p> - -<p>Forty million passengers were conveyed last year over its original route -of twenty-two miles, extending from Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith to -Southall, Hounslow, and Twickenham. In one week alone over a million -were carried.</p> - -<p>Last April an important extension was inaugurated from Twickenham, which -brought the trams through Teddington and Hampton Wick right to the gates -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>{157}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_17" id="fig_17"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 387px;"> -<a href="images/i_157_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_157_sml.jpg" width="387" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 17. BOILER-ROOM, LONDON UNITED TRAMWAYS CO.’S POWER -HOUSE AT CHISWICK, FITTED WITH VICARS’ AUTOMATIC STOKERS</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of T. and T. Vicars</i>, <i>Earlstown, Lancashire</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>{158}</span></p> - -<p>Hampton Court Palace, and from Richmond Bridge to Hampton Court. In the -near future these extensions will be connected with new lines running to -Uxbridge, Thames Ditton, Surbiton, Hook, Kingston, New Malden, -Wimbledon, and Tooting; while eventually these western and southern -tracks will, by the system of tubes, rejuvenated underground railways, -and the L.C.C.’s electric tramways, be joined to those of northern and -eastern London. In three years’ time, when its extensions are completed, -the London United will have 100 miles of tram lines in operation.</p> - -<p>The gauge is the standard 4 feet 8½ inches. Throughout the route the -overhead trolley system has been adopted. At Chiswick is the power -house, and the mains convey the electricity to sub-stations, six miles -apart, where rotary converters change the alternating into direct -current, and transform down the high voltage of 5,000 into the Board of -Trade limit of 500. In the fine boiler-room T. and T. Vicars’ automatic -stokers are used, and very interesting it is to watch the machines -continually pushing small charges of coal into the furnaces without any -direct human agency.</p> - -<p>Mounted on two four-wheeled bogie trucks, with two 25 horse-power -motors, the handsome cars seat thirty-nine passengers outside and thirty -inside. On the Sunday after the opening of the extension no fewer than -200,000 people journeyed from Hammersmith, Shepherd’s Bush, and -Richmond, to Kew, Twickenham, Teddington, and Hampton Court; and on Whit -Monday, 1903, the number reached 400,000, thus establishing a record. So -great was the rush during some part of those days that a two minutes’ -service of cars had to be provided.</p> - -<p>The extension from Twickenham to Hampton Court<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a>{159}</span> was opened by Mr. C. T. -Yerkes, the Chairman, and author of the happy alliance of train, tube, -and tram, which may possibly enable many toilers in the East End to live -in the country. At the least, it will give them the chance, when -possessed of a little leisure and a few pence, to quickly exchange their -sordid environment for one of the numerous sylvan spots which surround -London, especially in the west.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_18" id="fig_18"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_159_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_159_sml.jpg" width="500" height="363" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 18. A LONDON UNITED TRAMWAYS COMPANY TRAM-CAR</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>London United Tramways Co., Ltd.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Alluding to this, Mr. C. T. Yerkes, at the inauguration, significantly -remarked that it was a strange fact that London was particularly behind -in transportation, being the most backward of all cities. Though during -the last twenty years in London, 900 miles of streets had been made, and -340,000 houses had been built, it was only<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>{160}</span> within the past few years -that intramural transportation had been even spoken of. The London -United Tramway Company, he said, expected to join very intimately with -the Metropolitan District, forming a continuous line to Hampton Court -from the City; and they anticipated connecting with the Great Northern, -Brompton, and Piccadilly Circus Railway. People would be carried very -cheaply, and when the District was electrified the mileage rates would -be abolished in favour of uniform fares, which were far the best. Poor -people who were living in an unenviable condition should have the chance -of getting into the country.</p> - -<p>On the much-debated question of American capital and American enterprise -in Great Britain,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Mr. Speyer spoke no less to the point. He said that -those who undertook to provide the metropolis with an up-to-date system -of locomotion should be encouraged, for they performed a task that -should have been done twenty years ago. English capital had had every -opportunity of investment in underground lines, and if only half of the -five millions had been subscribed in this country it was not the fault -of the promoters. They would have preferred that the Underground Company -should have English shareholders only, but unfortunately they had had to -allot half of the shares of the Company to Americans and foreigners. One -would have thought, he said, that there would have been more keenness in -London to build its own underground railways, which would so materially -add to the well-being of the masses. If either of the proposed lines -were situated in South Africa, Australia, or Klondyke, London investors -would have been tumbling over each other to subscribe. But the fault of -these lines<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a>{161}</span> was that they were at our own doors. It was a fact, -incredible though it might seem, that the richest city in the world did -not appear able or willing to provide the funds for what was really a -public necessity—<i>quicker transit</i>. So let them hear nothing more of -American invasion, if people here stood with folded arms and allowed -others to do the work which they ought to have done themselves; for -while they persisted in this <i>non possumus</i> attitude, no one could blame -the Company if they went elsewhere.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a>{162}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /><br /> -<small><i>PROVINCIAL TRAMWAYS</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“They shall measure to their cities round about.”—<span class="smcap">Deuteronomy</span> xxi. 2.</p> - -<h3>THE LIGHT RAILWAYS ACT OF 1896</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>N the year 1896 an Act of Parliament was passed which, it is no -exaggeration to say, revolutionised tramway locomotion, and was destined -to produce consequences undreamt of by the promoters of the measure.</p> - -<p>Under the Tramways Act of 1870, Municipal Corporations had been -exercising their powers of buying up existing tramways, working them in -the interests of the ratepayers, and of generally entering into the -business of providing a cheap and efficient means of traversing the area -within their boundaries. They used the new Light Railways Act of 1896 -occasionally, but only for the promotion (by two or more combined local -authorities) of certain lines running through several districts.</p> - -<p>Prior to 1870, tramways, like railways and canals, had to be promoted by -special Bills, and the Tramways Act of that year was intended to -facilitate their construction, and to cheapen and simplify the method of -obtaining parliamentary powers, either by Bill or by the alternative of -an application to the Board of Trade for a Provisional Order authorising -the construction of the tramway, the said Order being subsequently -confirmed by an Act of Parliament introduced by the Board.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a>{163}</span></p> - -<p>The Act of 1870 provided that no tram line should be sanctioned without -the consent of the district local authority, and that the local -authority might buy up the undertaking at the end of twenty-one years at -its then value—practically only the worth of the rolling-stock and -plant, without any allowance for the goodwill of a going concern.</p> - -<p>In either case (that of a private Bill in Parliament or a Board of Trade -Provisional Order), if a tramway was planned to run through two or more -districts, the consent of the local authorities having jurisdiction over -two-thirds of the length of the line was sufficient. But this condition -gave the local authorities owning just over a third of the route, power -to veto the whole scheme.</p> - -<p>Under the same Act, land, otherwise than by mutual agreement, could not -be acquired by tramway promoters.</p> - -<p>Up to 1896, electric tramway schemes had remained in abeyance, but -though the Light Railways Act removed many obstacles to their increase, -and made electric traction commercially possible, it did not bestow -perfect liberty of action. But the fresh legislation on the subject, -anticipated during this year’s session of Parliament, will doubtless -result in such amendment of the Act as will abolish all ground of -complaint on the part of the advocates of the industry.</p> - -<p>At the time the 1896 measure became law, hardly any Tramway Company in -Great Britain, whether horse-drawn or steam-propelled, paid its way, -except in a few large centres. The companies knew that the time was -drawing near when they could be bought out by corporations; so they had -no inducement to make expensive reforms; and only by charging high -fares, and by avoiding every possible form of capital-expenditure, -could<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a>{164}</span> they keep their heads above water. Their undertakings, one and -all, sank into a state of inefficiency, and a strong public feeling -arose in favour of their being reformed, and worked with improved cars -and at popular tariffs by local authorities. So, one by one, these -bodies absorbed the private companies, placed new rolling-stock on the -lines, and adopted electrical traction, to the advantage of the public, -and in one notable instance—that of Glasgow—it is claimed, at great -pecuniary benefit to the ratepayers also.</p> - -<h3>MUNICIPAL TRAMWAY UNDERTAKINGS</h3> - -<p>Throughout the British Isles these municipal tramway undertakings now -flourish and increase in number. Take a map, and we shall see that the -coast line from the North Foreland to Plymouth is dotted with towns -provided with electric trams, while inland, Camborne, a Cornish -tin-mining centre, marks their western English limit. Then round Land’s -End along the Bristol Channel it is the same. South and North Wales show -a blank until Llandudno is reached. Then up-to-date towns provided with -electric traction thicken on the Lancashire coast as far as Fleetwood. -In the Isle of Man there are no fewer than four electric tramways. -Except at Glasgow and district, the west of Scotland is bare of any kind -of tram, and continues so round the North Cape and the East Coast until -we come to Aberdeen, Dundee, and Kirkcaldy. Next are clusters reaching -from North Shields to Middlesbrough. After this, electric trams are to -be found at Hull, Great Grimsby, and Yarmouth.</p> - -<p>Inland are three great centres—Liverpool, Manchester, and -Birmingham—around which “electrified” towns gather thickly. Isolated -Guernsey and the Isle<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>{165}</span> of Wight each possess an electric tram, the -latter being on Ryde pier.</p> - -<p>In Ireland there is a wide stretch of country, empty and desolate from -an electric tramway point of view, <i>i.e.</i> from the Giant’s Causeway to -Cork, except at Newry, Dundalk, Lurgan, and Dublin. By far the greater -number of these British and Irish tramways are on the overhead trolley -system.</p> - -<p>The 1896 Act provided for the establishment of a Light Railways -Commission of three members, whose special work was to facilitate the -construction and working of tramways or light railways in Great Britain -and Ireland, the Commissioners being appointed by the Board of Trade.</p> - -<p>Application for a Light Railway Order may be made for a county, borough, -or district council by any individual, corporation, or company, or -jointly by councils, individuals, corporations, or companies. -Applications have to be referred to the Commissioners in the first -instance, and, if approved of, are placed before the Board of Trade for -confirmation. Provision is made by the Act for the purchase of land -under certain conditions specified in the Lands Clauses Act. Provision -is also made for enabling local authorities to acquire any undertaking -whose route passes through their district, the time and terms of -purchase being arranged by agreement between the promoters and the -municipalities, the terms of sale, usually thirty-five years’ purchase, -being settled on the basis of a fair market value of the line in full -work, but with no allowance for compulsory acquisition.</p> - -<p>Local authorities, landowners, and adjacent railway companies have the -right to object to proposed lines. The local authorities, however, -possess no power of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>{166}</span> veto, but generally the Commissioners refuse -applications from promoters if their schemes are strongly protested -against by the municipalities concerned.</p> - -<p>To what extent this Act has been taken advantage of may be judged by the -fact that last year no fewer than forty-seven municipalities were stated -to have disbursed, or to have decided to disburse, eleven millions -sterling in their electric tramways. In several instances the -municipality owns the tramways and leases them on certain conditions to -large companies or syndicates, a kind of compromise between absolute -urban control and unrestricted private enterprise.</p> - -<p>How it works in the provinces can be understood by taking as examples -four of the largest cities in Great Britain, viz., Glasgow, Liverpool, -Manchester, and Birmingham.</p> - -<h3>THE GLASGOW TRAMWAYS</h3> - -<p>Glasgow, with a population of some seven hundred thousand, possesses the -most successful and lucrative system of municipal tramways in the world, -the working for the year ending May, 1902, on a capital expenditure of -nearly two millions, showing a gross revenue of £614,413, with a gross -balance of £200,371; and so large was the reserve fund in consequence, -that it was applied to the writing off of all expenditure on the old -horse-traction plant and equipment, so that the capital account included -only the expenditure relating to the new (electrical) system of -locomotion. In the language of the bookmakers, the city of Glasgow’s -tramways stood, financially, on velvet. In 1894 the Corporation began -the service of tramways (heretofore leased by it to a private company) -with everything new—buildings, horses, and cars—their policy being a -very frequent<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a>{167}</span> service at low fares. Not satisfied with horses, they -soon began to search about for some better method of traction, and in -1899 resolved to substitute electricity on the overhead trolley system, -and accordingly the change was effected; new lines were from time to -time constructed, until at the present moment Glasgow possesses, -including leased lines, 140 miles of single track and nearly six hundred -double and single-deck cars.</p> - -<p>Unlike the somewhat haphazard fashion of London, the Glasgow tramway -lines have been planned in a skilful manner and on a definite system, to -give means of transit from the north and south and east and west of the -city. It is divided into five separate and independent areas, each -supplied with current from its own sub-station, but these areas can be -interconnected if necessary.</p> - -<p>On a convenient side of the Clyde, with ample facilities for obtaining -coal and water, is the main generating station, built with a steel -framing clothed with Glasgow plastic clay, two great chimney-shafts, 263 -feet high, towering above it. In this fine building is contained a -mighty specimen of what is called the three-phase distribution of -electrical energy, the system being to create the power at one centre -and distribute it over a wide area; that is, electricity is produced in -the form of three-phase alternating current at a pressure of 6,500 -volts, and sent on to five outlying sub-stations, where it is -transformed to a potential of 310 volts, and then converted from -alternating into continuous current at 500 volts, for working the cars. -The total capacity of the main station is:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Three-phase plant, 10,000 kilowatts.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Direct-current plant, 1,200 kilowatts.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a>{168}</span></p> - -<p>The engines used to produce this are of 16,000 h.p. capacity, while each -of the generators is of the great weight of ninety tons, almost the -largest in existence for traction work.</p> - -<p>Altogether, the tramway enterprise of Glasgow is in its magnitude and -its good management almost unique. The size of its power-house will be -surpassed by that which supplies the Electrified Metropolitan District -Railway; but the wise and economical arrangement of its traffic can -hardly be beaten, and is a model to other large cities and towns -contemplating the adoption of electric tramway traction.</p> - -<h3>THE LIVERPOOL TRAMWAYS</h3> - -<p>On a large scale are the Liverpool Corporation Tramways, the total -mileage being 127 of single track, the rolling-stock 451 cars, and the -capital a little over a million.</p> - -<p>When the Corporation acquired the Liverpool United Tramways and Omnibus -Company’s undertaking, in 1897, they at once decided to use electricity -on the overhead trolley system, instead of horses. Singularly graceful -centre and bracket poles with arched arms and scroll-work were adopted -in the wide thoroughfares, and in the narrow streets the overhead -conductor-wire was upheld by rosettes attached to buildings on each -side.</p> - -<p>The new cars are remarkably fine and comfortable, and include the -Continental single-deck, with a side entrance, and the double-deck, -about 27 feet long, with doors at the ends, and with three large, -well-curtained plate-glass windows on each side. A special kind of -staircase is fitted to these double-deckers to enable people, the aged -and infirm in particular, to descend in safety even when the cars are in -motion. They are also<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>{169}</span> fitted with useful revolving route-indicators, -which, being illuminated, light up the upper deck as well. No one can -grumble at the fares charged, which are at the rate of one penny per -stage of two miles. That these tramways are a great boon is shown by the -enormous number of passengers—nearly 100,000,000—carried last year.</p> - -<p>At Pumpfields, near the Exchange and Waterloo Goods Stations, and at -Lister, near Newsham Park, are the power stations, each housing plant of -15,000 horse-power (up to 7,500 kilowatt capacity). The energy is -distributed to sub-stations, and thence to the cars at the safe orthodox -pressure of 500 volts.</p> - -<p>The Liverpool tramway routes necessitate many twistings and turnings. -The junction of lines at the intersection of the London Road and Lime -Street is a sight worth seeing, there being at that place special -trackwork with sixteen points.</p> - -<h3>THE MANCHESTER TRAMWAYS</h3> - -<p>Manchester—fifth largest city in the empire—has a wide district to -serve, as the Corporation works certain tramways in such districts as -Stockport, Heaton-Norris, etc. Thus its track consists of 150 miles of -single line, and its rolling-stock of 600 cars, worked on the overhead -trolley system.</p> - -<p>These cars are of three sizes, and carry respectively 67, 43, and 20 -passengers, the smallest cars being single-deck. The larger ones have -six nicely-draped plate-glass windows on each side, and the upholstery, -fittings, and lighting are excellent.</p> - -<p>The estimated capital expenditure is the same as at Glasgow, two -millions sterling. A speciality of the Manchester Tramways undertaking -is its splendid car depôt, the site covering three acres, two and a -half<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>{170}</span> of which is roofed over. The façade to Boyle Street is 700 feet -long, and reminds one of some large and picturesque public school, a -tramway-car depôt being the last thing one would take it to be. It is -claimed to be the largest car-shed area in Europe, and the covered-in -portion is the most extensive in the world. In this and three other -similar sheds and a few smaller ones elsewhere all the cars are stabled. -Formerly they were concentrated in one place.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_19" id="fig_19"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_170_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_170_sml.jpg" width="500" height="246" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 19. FAÇADE OF QUEEN’S ROAD CAR-SHED, MANCHESTER -CORPORATION TRAMWAYS</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Manchester Corporation Tramways.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>The cars are of the British Thomson-Houston Company type, -double-motored, and are fine examples of elegance and solidity combined, -and fitted with all the latest improvements for the comfort of -travellers.</p> - -<h3>THE BIRMINGHAM TRAMWAYS</h3> - -<p>Birmingham, as regards tramways, stands in a peculiar position. Its city -area is restricted; it has only short lengths of tram lines, and these -require to be linked up with outlying districts. The lines were leased -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>{171}</span> the City of Birmingham Tramways Company, but whether the Corporation -will or will not take them over now, has not yet been decided. However, -by a majority of fourteen votes it has sanctioned the substitution of -electricity on the overhead method, and this is being proceeded with; -and when the transformation is complete Birmingham and district will -have an electric tramway system of nearly a hundred and ten miles. Its -tramways have always been popular, and at a charge of a penny for a -three-mile ride—a record for cheapness—56,000 passengers made use of -them on Mafeking Day, no small proportion of a city of 522,182 -inhabitants!</p> - -<p>Before quitting the subject of tramways, it will be interesting to note -the fares charged in different parts of the world. In London they begin -at a halfpenny. On the Continent they vary; for example, in Berlin the -fare is 1¼<i>d.</i> for two miles, and a halfpenny for each additional mile; -in Paris it is 3<i>d</i>. inside, with transfer ticket, and 1½<i>d.</i> on the -platforms, or outside the car; in St. Petersburg 1¼<i>d.</i> and 1½<i>d.</i> is -the fare; in Stockholm it is the curious sum of 1⅜<i>d.</i>; in Florence it -is 1<i>d.</i> from the suburbs to the city, and 1½<i>d.</i> across the city; in -Cape Town it is 3<i>d.</i> for three miles; and in Canada the fare averages -2½<i>d.</i>, and 5<i>d.</i> after midnight.</p> - -<h3>PROVINCIAL RURAL TRAMWAYS</h3> - -<p>The memorable question once put to the House of Commons, “What is a -pound?” to this day has not met with a strictly accurate reply. The same -may be said of the frequent inquiry, “What constitutes a Light Railway?”</p> - -<p>Under the Act of 1896 a Tube should officially be described as a Light -Railway. So should a Shallow Underground, an Urban Tramway, and a Rural -Tramway.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a>{172}</span> So, too, should a Brighton Beach Line, or any short train -running along a pier. So also should any railway line for the carrying -of minerals, worked by heavy sixty-ton locomotives, and hauling five or -six hundred tons of ore at a time! <i>Reductio ad absurdum.</i></p> - -<p>The originators of the Act did not define what a Light Railway really -is, but they evidently had in their minds, <i>inter alia</i>, that railways, -unrestricted by Board of Trade regulations as to fencing, sidings, -gradients, and permanent stations, should be permitted to run along the -high roads, acting as feeders to the existing lines, to the benefit of -the small towns, villages, and farms near which they passed. Thus a -pleasing vision unfolded itself of revived agricultural prosperity, of -handy little trams peacefully steaming along the highways, stopping, -when hailed, at some convenient corner, where the farmers’ waggons would -be in waiting with produce to be taken away to market in exchange for -goods delivered to them.</p> - -<p>It was a promising idea, for the cost of construction per mile would -necessarily bear no comparison with that of ordinary heavy railways. But -in this form Light Railways were not developed. Agriculturists abandoned -the hope of any immediate relief, and it came to be recognised that the -Act meant a development, not of goods, but of passenger traffic, and -that, so far as extra-urban districts were concerned, Light Railways -meant Tramways, just as they did in town or city.</p> - -<p>It may be asked, “Do not local railways answer all requirements of the -ever-increasing population and already congested districts? Whereabouts -are these country tramways that we hear so much about? and in what -respects are they so useful and necessary?”</p> - -<p>For goods the network of local railways covering the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a>{173}</span> country is no -doubt fairly sufficient, and eventually, when well-organised services of -electric-motor waggons aid in feeding them with merchandise collected -and delivered at the very doors of consignor and consignee, they will -fully answer their purpose; but for linking together city, town, -village, and hamlet in the interests of workingmen—in many districts -the chief customers—they are almost useless. For this class, wishing to -get about quickly—going to and from their daily toil, paying visits to -their sporting pals, attending dog shows, football matches, etc., taking -their wives and children shopping, and on holidays going some distance -afield—a local railway, even if close by, is of little use, with its -rigid time-table, its fixed stopping-places, its high fares, and its -general formality. What they wanted, and what, until the introduction of -electric traction, they waited patiently for, was a service of -comfortable cars, that would pass their houses every few minutes, and -would take them long stages for, at the utmost, a twopenny fare.</p> - -<p>To meet this want, in various parts of rural England, more especially in -Staffordshire, horse and steam tramways were tried, but the latter -method, from mechanical reasons, proved to be a failure. The rails -weighed but 45 lbs. to the yard; they were set in iron chairs and laid -on wooden sleepers, and the engines were of the locomotive vertical -boiler type. Soon it was found that the weight of the water damaged the -locomotive, and the incessant vibration and pounding shook the track so -much as to necessitate constant renewal, and the expenditure became so -great that many private Steam Tram Companies either wound up, were -reconstructed, or were taken over by the local authorities.</p> - -<p>Unattractive was the appearance of these old-style tramcars<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>{174}</span>—great -cumbersome, top-heavy, two-storied structures, drawn by what looked like -a big iron box with a black funnel poking through its lid. They were -dirty, they smelt, the service was irregular and slow, and the fares -were too high.</p> - -<h3>MANUFACTURING CENTRES—GREAT BRITAIN</h3> - -<p>Studying an up-to-date map of Great Britain, one is struck by the fact -that in the distribution of cities, towns, and villages it resembles the -stellar system, with London as the governing central body, while lesser -planets, each surrounded by groups of satellites (not very bright ones, -it is true), varying in size and importance, represent subordinate star -centres. These have grown, and still grow bigger and bigger, the suburbs -of a large town reaching out farther and farther until they touch the -outskirts of the next town, so that in some districts an overgrowth of -houses and factories covers many a square mile.</p> - -<p>In the quiet old days that are gone, a working-man, particularly if a -weaver, could labour far away in the country in some miniature workshop -or in his own little room at home. But for years past he has been -compelled to trudge backwards and forwards to some big factory or mill, -where steam-power was concentrated, and run upon so economical a -principle, that outside of it the individual workman had no chance of -gaining even the barest livelihood. With the advent of steam the -villages in certain parts of England were abandoned for the town, where -clusters of great workshops had sprung up. A new order of things arose, -and operatives, if they could, lived within the town boundaries. But as -rates, taxes, and rent increased, they concentrated in outlying hamlets, -within walking<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a>{175}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_20" id="fig_20"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_175_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_175_sml.jpg" width="500" height="346" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 20. VIEW NEAR DUDLEY STATION, SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE, -SHOWING A STEAM TRAM-CAR</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Manual of Electrical Undertakings, Ltd., -London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a>{176}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">distance of their work. Thus these hamlets gradually became townlets, -and eventually towns, which in their turn developed into centres of -industries—lesser lights revolving round the greater.</p> - -<p>All over the kingdom manufacturing industries have a natural tendency to -settle down in particular localities favoured by the proximity of the -raw material, and by railway or water facilities. Thus Dundee, Aberdeen, -and the North of Ireland are associated with linen and strong textiles; -the Eastern counties and Lincolnshire with agriculture; Warwickshire and -Yorkshire with machinery; Burton-on-Trent with beer; Coventry and -Nottingham with cycles; and so on. Any intelligent schoolboy could reel -off a list of such towns and their products.</p> - -<p>Swansea, with its great works for smelting copper and tin ore—the -former brought from South Australia, Chili, and Cornwall; the latter -from the Straits Settlements and Cornwall—and its manufactories of tin -plates, bolts, and zinc goods, is the centre for neighbouring towns -associated with its industries, such as Porth, Pontypridd, and Penarth, -which, together with the Mumbles, are partially linked together by -tramways.</p> - -<p>Glasgow, where shipbuilding, armour-plate rolling, and locomotive -constructing flourish, has around it the towns of Gourock, Greenock, -Rothesay, Coatbridge, and Bridge of Allan, all more or less commercially -interested in the great northern city.</p> - -<p>Newcastle-on-Tyne and Sunderland, headquarters of England’s -shipbuilding, are surrounded by places connected with or engaged in -kindred industries, as Tynemouth, Stockton, the Hartlepools, Gateshead, -Jarrow, and North and South Shields—the last four practically suburbs -of Newcastle—a fine field for electric tramways.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>{177}</span></p> - -<p>Then in Yorkshire we have such centres of the linen and woollen -interests as Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, etc., begirt with -townlets which are in process of being interconnected; and further -south, in South Lancashire, Burnley, Oldham, Ashton, Blackburn, Preston, -Rochdale, Bolton, Manchester, and Liverpool, together with endless -smaller places—every one of them engaged in our gigantic cotton -trade—cover large thickly populated areas, supplied with tramway means -of intercommunication.</p> - -<h3>THE BLACK COUNTRY AND THE POTTERIES</h3> - -<p>A remarkable instance of the localisation of special industries, and of -a city begirt with good-sized towns, is to be found in the South -Staffordshire Black Country, its central sun being the city of -Birmingham. While in the Potteries are a number of small towns almost -touching one another—star clusters, destined maybe eventually to -coalesce into a single planet of the first magnitude. Here humanity -swarms.</p> - -<p>Alighting from a train at any wayside station in the South or West of -England, if one walks along the main road, and avoids the villages, one -may go for miles without meeting a soul. The Londoner, whose nerves have -been unstrung and jarred by incessant contact and friction with his -fellow-citizens for months at a stretch, has only to journey a few -miles, say to Chertsey, Ewell, Epsom, or anywhere in Herts or Surrey, -and in a few moments he finds a peaceful solitude not likely to be -disturbed save by passing cycles or motor-cars. But in the Midlands, and -for that matter anywhere in the North, it is different. There the bulk -of Britain’s population is concentrated. One cannot go for a stroll -without coming across individuals of all ages, who, although accustomed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>{178}</span> -to see many people, stare at every stranger after a fashion unknown in -the home counties, as if he or she were a wanderer from another planet. -And should it be a child whose curiosity is thus aroused, he will -probably follow the stranger for miles, gaping at nothing!</p> - -<p>In the past, the manners and customs of the Black Country folk were -decidedly rough, based on the principle of a blow first and an -explanation afterwards. But this little trait has, under the modern -influence of inter-communication with the outer world, been -considerably modified. They work hard and “play” hard, and are given to -week-end excursions and an annual “outing” to Blackpool, Southport, -Lytham, or other favourite seaside resort. They earn good wages and, if -steady, quickly save money and live in comfortable houses of their own; -but if otherwise, their “good pay” only accelerates the wretchedness of -their surroundings. Lavish with their cash, they are hospitable in the -extreme; great consumers of plain beef and mutton, sweets and kickshaws -they relegate to the women and children; but they no longer—as was -affirmed of puddlers and miners during the boom of many years ago—drink -champagne and feed their bull-pups on loin-chops and rump-steak. They -are keen on dogs, pigeons, and singing-birds. Dog-fights are a thing of -the past, of course, but it is whispered that suspiciously high-bred -gamecocks are still to be seen sub-rosa throughout the district!</p> - -<p>Altogether they are not half as black as they are painted; neither is -the aspect of their country, though except in the neighbourhood of -Birmingham it can hardly be called picturesque. They represent the -sturdy old Midland English, independent and brusque, whose confidence -once gained will not be betrayed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>{179}</span></p> - -<p>Here, then, in the country called “Black,” is a concentration of -industrial centres, each possessing great natural wealth of coal and -iron, and turning out in enormous quantities cutlery, anvils, bolts, -buttons, ironwork of all kinds, guns, hinges, locomotives, nails, pens, -pins, rails, rifles, screws, tin and zinc-lined goods, tools, tubes, -etc.</p> - -<p>In its eighty-square-mile area, between Wolverhampton and the -headquarters of “Chamberlainism” on the one side, and Stourbridge and -Walsall on the other, dwell over a million people, distributed among -some twenty-one towns ranging in size and population from Quarry Bank -(8,000 inhabitants) to Wolverhampton (94,000), and including such -familiar places as Handsworth (38,000), Stourbridge (17,000), Tipton -(33,000), Wednesbury (29,000), and West Bromwich (68,000), all busily -engaged in the industries before mentioned.</p> - -<p>Such in a few words is the Black Country district, which the adjoining -Potteries closely resembles. A more promising field for tramway -enterprise could hardly exist. No wonder that George Francis Train in -1860 selected North Staffordshire for one of his earliest, though -unsuccessful, ventures—a two-mile tramway from Hartley to Burslem, in -the very heart of the Potteries.</p> - -<h3>THE NEW ORDER OF RURAL TRAMWAYS</h3> - -<p>Subsequently tramway companies came on the scene, with horses and steam -traction, and—in one instance—with electricity. There were five -distinct enterprises: the South Staffordshire Tramways Company, the -Birmingham and Midland Tramways Company, the Dudley and Wolverhampton -Tramways Company, the Wolverhampton Tramways Company, and the Dudley, -Stourbridge, and District Electric Traction Company (a short line of -about four miles).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>{180}</span></p> - -<p>Not only were these lines entirely separated and disconnected, involving -tedious changing of cars, but two of the five were actually of different -gauge from the rest, making through communication impossible. It was no -system, merely a conglomeration of <i>disjecta membra</i>. The tramway -condition of the district became thoroughly unsatisfactory, utterly -inadequate to the needs of the travelling public. Matters gradually went -from bad to worse, and a financial Lord Kitchener was urgently needed to -remodel everything.</p> - -<p>He appeared in the form of a powerful organisation, the British Electric -Traction Company, with a share capital of £4,000,000, which entered into -negotiations with the various companies and with the local authorities -controlling no fewer than twenty-two districts, into which the Black -Country area is divided. The proposition was to combine all the Black -Country tramways into one great system to be worked by electricity in -the most up-to-date manner, to give frequent service, to ensure rapid -and comfortable communication between all parts, to straighten things -out well, and to adopt this motto, “One management, one method, one -gauge,” provided the local authorities would for some years suspend -their rights under the Acts of 1870 and 1896 to buy the tramways for -practically the worth of old iron.</p> - -<p>Some of the local authorities thought well of it. Others did not, -contending that they, and not the Company, ought to undertake the -reform; while the rest saddled their adherence to the scheme with such -impossible conditions, that the negotiations dragged wearily on, and it -was some time before the great scheme was finally carried through at the -cost of much trouble with the local authorities in the matter of routes -selected for the requisite extensions. In one instance the line, -instead<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>{181}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_21" id="fig_21"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 738px;"> -<a href="images/i_181_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_181_sml.jpg" width="738" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 21. VIEW AT CASTLE HILL, DUDLEY, SOUTH -STAFFORDSHIRE. SHOWING AN ELECTRIC TRAM-CAR</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Manual of Electrical Undertakings, Ltd., -London.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>{182}</span> </p> - -<p class="nind">of being carried in the natural way direct to the urban boundaries of a -large town, was compelled by the authorities of the area involved to -turn off at an angle and to gain access to the town in an utterly -roundabout fashion, much as if in London, one was obliged in approaching -St. Paul’s by Ludgate Hill to deflect up the Old Bailey, and to reach -the cathedral by way of Newgate Street.</p> - -<p>One thing only is still wanted to make this Light Railway scheme -(typical of other similar ones) perfect, and this is that its cars -should have running powers right into Birmingham and other large towns, -and it is to be hoped that before this book is published they will be -granted. Travellers do not want to change cars when they arrive at the -municipal boundary. They want to move from one centre of population to -the other, to get in at the Birmingham starting-point, and to get out in -the centre of Walsall, West Bromwich, or Wolverhampton, as the case may -be, or even to go without changing as far as Kinver, on the edge of the -Black Country, a favourite holiday resort hitherto inaccessible to the -manufacturing population.</p> - -<p>In the North Staffordshire Potteries the British Electric Traction -Company has pursued the same policy as in the Black Country with -excellent result, as may be judged by the number of passengers in 1901. -In the Potteries and the Black Country many millions made use of the -tramways, the system throughout being that of the overhead trolley, and -the combined length of track about 75 miles.</p> - -<h3>LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND RURAL TRAMWAYS</h3> - -<p>The whole question of local authority in its relation to rural tramways -needs settling on a sound common-sense<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>{183}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_22" id="fig_22"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 802px;"> -<a href="images/i_183_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_183_sml.jpg" width="802" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 22. CAMPS BAY, CAPE TOWN, AND SEAPOINT TRAMWAYS</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By Permission of</i> <i>Dick Kerr & Co., London.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>{184}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">basis, making the requirements of travellers the dominating object to -the exclusion of petty differences and local aspirations and -jealousy.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p>If Great Britain is to be networked with these handy means of transport, -and the interspaces of town and village bridged over with cobweb lines -of trams, an Act of Parliament should settle a universal gauge, and on -equitable terms provide for free running powers, whether in town or -country, and encourage an interchange of traffic.</p> - -<p>It is constantly urged that it is better for cities and great towns to -create tramway lines of their own, and work them within their own -boundaries, and that the task of dealing with the rural interspaces -should be left to the small towns and areas, and not to private -enterprise. The opponents of this principle argue that one great -objection to municipal trams is that they are compelled to work within -artificial local boundaries, and that there are grave drawbacks to -municipal trading in any form. As to the interspaces, to work them by -themselves would never pay, and any interspaced tramway system would be -almost useless without intimate connection with urban centres as -feeders, which is only obtainable by the uniform control afforded under -joint stock enterprise. Besides—say the objectors to municipal or rural -council control—if private working is the most economical way of -running tramways in interspaces, it should be still more economical in -towns.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>{185}</span></p> - -<p>Surely, therefore, there would be no hardship in restricting the -development of urban and rural tramways to local authorities wielding -power over areas of a certain size and importance, and the loss to small -communities of the power of objection or veto to large schemes ought not -to be felt by them. They and the landowners should take warning from the -history of railways, and encourage in every way the introduction and -extension of tramways, which in remote districts would vastly relieve -the tedium of existence, enabling labourers and others to temporarily -exchange some dull little village for the comparatively lively market -town at a nominal cost. Whereas, in many instances, instead of welcoming -this herald of a brighter and less monotonous life, too often is -repeated the scene immortalised in <i>Punch</i> some years ago. A brickfield: -“Bill, who’s that chap?” “Do’ant know. A stranger, I should think.” -“Then heave ’arf a brick at his ’ed.”</p> - -<p>Capitalists should be encouraged to embark in tramway enterprises that -are bound to be beneficial to everybody, and in which they would be -entitled to a fair return of interest; for truly the labourer is worthy -of his reward.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a>{186}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /><br /> -<small><i>THE SHALLOW UNDERGROUND SYSTEM</i></small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Through the faithless excavated soil<br /></span> -<span class="i1">See the unweary’d Briton delves his way.”<br /></span> -<span class="i15"><span class="smcap">Blackmore.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<h3>IN LONDON</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">H</span>ITHERTO we have been considering Metropolitan Electric Railways -constructed at considerable depths below the surface, or lifted up on -high, as at the Liverpool Docks.</p> - -<p>There is another system, however, and one that is strongly advocated by -the London County Council, at present chiefly as a means of linking -together existing tram lines by taking the cars underground through -congested areas and bringing them to the surface again where the traffic -is less dense.</p> - -<p>In its ever-increasing congested condition, London reminds us of a -patient afflicted with dropsy of long standing, susceptible to -occasional alleviation, but hopelessly incurable. In Tudor, Stuart, and -Hanoverian days the town gave no signs of this malady; but with Queen -Victoria’s reign the germs of it became evident, and now the giant city -lies prostrate in a state of helplessness that has baffled the most -skilful engineering physicians, whose remedies, trains and trams and -tubes, have been successful only in giving temporary relief to the -sufferer, who forthwith resumes and even increases his original bulk.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a>{187}</span></p> - -<p>For ages the ocean, without breaking its bounds, has absorbed the rivers -and streams running into it; but imagine the process reversed, and the -English and Irish Channels and the North Sea unrestrictedly pouring -their torrents into the Thames, the Forth, or the Liffey! Only one -result could ensue. The channels thus gorged with water, their currents -would cease to flow. A similar fate threatens London, into whose narrow -and inelastic fairways an Atlantic of traffic is ever pouring. One day -the current will be unable to flow, and there will be a permanent -condition of “block.” Then, and only then, perhaps, will a partial -migration of town to country bring about a more natural state of things, -and save this colossal city from utter collapse.</p> - -<p>These shallow tramways of the London County Council are a novelty in -England, but on a large scale have been successfully adopted in Paris, -Buda-Pesth, Boston, and New York. At present the shallow subway which -the Council has been authorised to construct at a total cost of -£279,000, commences at Theobald’s Road, Holborn, where it forms a -junction with an existing surface tramway, the property of the Council. -Thence the line falls in level, until, in Southampton Row, it runs -beneath the street, whence, in a trench of inconsiderable depth, it -passes along the new thoroughfare, Kingsway, from Southampton Row to the -new Strand crescent, Aldwych. There it turns towards the Embankment, on -gaining which near Waterloo Bridge it again comes out to the surface. In -its total length of about five-eighths of a mile it has four stations. -Its motive power is electricity on the underground conduit third rail -system. The cars, running singly, and at frequent intervals, are -single-decked. It claims for its principle that the station platforms -are readily accessible, so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>{188}</span> that instead of having to descend a great -number of steps, or to enter a lift to reach the cars, passengers arrive -there by means of a short well-lighted stairway; that the ventilation of -the tunnels is perfect, and the speed of the cars equal to that of the -trains, and as they run singly and close together, long waits are -avoided, and thus they are specially suited for short-distance -travelling. It also claims a general immunity from vibration.</p> - -<p>To thoroughly understand how a complete system of shallow underground -works we must go abroad to Paris, Buda-Pesth, Boston, and New York. I -may remark that in describing this system a certain amount of repetition -is inevitable.</p> - -<h3>PARIS</h3> - -<p>Paris has its “Twopenny Tube,” or rather its equivalent. On July 30th, -1900, Londoners for the first time travelled by a deep-level line from -the City to Shepherds Bush, a distance of 5·77 miles; and a few days -earlier, on the 19th of the same month, the Electrical Chemin de Fer -Métropolitain de Paris—the main channel of an elaborate system that -links together every district of the capital—was opened for traffic. -This chief artery connects at the fortifications, the Porte Maillot with -the Porte de Vincennes, a distance of 6·6 miles. In other words, it -crosses Paris diagonally from north-west to south-east; from a point at -the north of the Bois de Boulogne to another at the north of the Bois de -Vincennes; the eighteen stations (including terminals) on the main line -being Porte Maillot, Rue D’Obligado, Place de L’Etoile (Arc de -Triomphe), Avenue de L’Alma, Rue Marbœuf, Champs Elyseés, Place de la -Concorde, Tuileries, Palais Royal, Louvre, Châtelet,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a>{189}</span> Hotel de Ville, -St. Paul, Place de la Bastille, Gare de Lyons, Rue de Reuilly, Place de -la Nation, and Porte de Vincennes.</p> - -<p>On the Métropolitain there is a three-minutes’ service of trains during -the day, and a six-minutes’ service at night. On the London Tube the -intervals vary from two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half minutes in the -day, while at night they are the same as in Paris, both railways being -open for some twenty hours out of the twenty-four.</p> - -<p>In Paris two classes of passengers are provided for: first and second. -The former are called upon to pay 2½<i>d.</i>, the latter 1½<i>d.</i>, for any -length of journey. Up to nine a.m., second-class, or workmen’s tickets, -are issued for 2<i>d.</i>, the return half being available for the remainder -of the day.</p> - -<p>Thus, as regards date of opening, length of line, service of trains, and -average fares, there is a close similarity between the English and -French lines; but the system is widely different. In London we burrow -deep; in Paris they go just beneath the surface, the authorities after -much hesitation having adopted the shallow underground system. Our Tube -trains are shot through huge iron pipes penetrating the subsoil at -depths varying from sixty to a hundred feet, and to get at the rail -level, passengers must take a perpendicular journey in a big lift. But -their Parisian counterparts trip down a few steps and along a -brightly-lighted, white-tiled tunnel, so beautifully ventilated and -smokeless—electricity being the motive power—that an enthusiastic -expert declares its atmosphere to be “perfectly clean and sweet.” The -tunnels are as near the surface as possible, and on the greater part of -the line the keystones of the masonry arches are only about 3 feet 6 -inches below the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a>{190}</span> street level. The excavations were at first attempted -by means of shields, as in “tubular” work; but this had to be abandoned -in favour of the time-honoured “cut and cover” plan employed in the -construction of our early underground railway.</p> - -<p>When the great Parisian scheme is completed upon a twentieth-century -model, much more finished and convenient in many ways than any of ours -in London, it will comprise a total length of 38·86 miles of track, -seven-tenths being laid in shallow covered trenches, the remainder in -open cuttings or on viaducts, the entire cost being estimated at twelve -million sterling. An interesting feature of the scheme is that each -section is self-contained and ends in loops, so that shunting is -obviated. No trains run from any one distant strip of line into another, -but where there are crossings, or where the termini touch, there are -stations to facilitate changing. This arrangement ensures a rapid -service, maintained with regularity and punctuality on each section. -Like our “Tube,” the success of the Parisian Métropolitain was from the -first immense, and at the end of ten months showed a return of over -forty million passengers.</p> - -<h3>BUDA-PESTH</h3> - -<p>Along the Boulevard Andrassy at Buda-Pesth there is a shallow electric -tramway built upon similar principles, a few feet under the main -thoroughfare, which is by no means a failure, financially or otherwise.</p> - -<h3>BOSTON</h3> - -<p>Now let us cross the Atlantic, and note what has been effected at Boston -and New York.</p> - -<p>The former—the picturesque old-world capital of the State of -Massachusetts, with its population of over a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a>{191}</span> million—is familiarised -to every schoolboy who knows anything of history and the War of -Independence, with the city where the tea was thrown into the harbour by -Colonials disguised as Mohawks, an incident that indirectly brought -about the creation of the United States. It is a city also sacred to -literati as being the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is so -old-fashioned—or so excessively up-to-date, whichever you please—that, -until recently, neither cabs, omnibuses, tubes, or underground railways -were to be found within its boundaries. What with the uneven surface and -the labyrinth of the streets, Boston is picturesque in spite of itself, -and its old buildings emphasize this. There are the two New England -meeting-houses. The “Old South” has been proudly preserved in its -ancient state, although the ground on which it stands is almost as -valuable as that in the City of London. Architecturally, it is a brick -barn, with a pretentiously ugly steeple. “Old North” has an equally -plain body, but from its steeple, as a tablet affixed to it sets forth, -“the signal lantern of Paul Revere warned the country of the march of -the British troops to Lexington and Concord.” King’s Chapel, another -ecclesiastical antiquity of Boston, was, for a quarter of a century -after 1749, the place of worship of the official British colony, and -accordingly became an eyesore to the earnest puritanical Bostonians.</p> - -<p>But Boston cannot, like Charlestown, South Carolina, boast of a St. -Michael’s Church, famous for its beautiful steeple, so greatly -resembling that of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields as to suggest that -probably they were both designed by the same architect, Gibbs, one of -Wren’s pupils.</p> - -<p>In the Act passed by the State Legislature authorising the construction -of the Boston subway, it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a>{192}</span> stipulated that its length should be some -five miles, and its total cost not more than one and a half million -pounds sterling.</p> - -<p>The construction of the subway was begun at the Public Gardens, where an -incline, a hundred yards long, carries the surface lines into the -tunnel, passing under the edge of Boston Common to Tremont Street. It is -joined by a branch subway from Pleasant Street, where another incline -leads to the surface. From this junction the subway proceeds beneath the -Tremont Street side of the Common to Park Street, which is the central -point of the system. Thence it is carried directly beneath Tremont -Street to Scollay Square, and by means of a bifurcation under Hanover -Street on the one hand and Cornhill on the other to a junction under -Washington Street. The tunnel continues under Washington Street to -Haymarket Square, and immediately rises by an incline to Causeway -Street, where it connects with both the surface and the elevated lines. -Wherever possible, the subway was carried out by open excavations, and, -as in the Paris Métropolitain, by the old-fashioned “cut and cover” -method. The roof of the tunnel is generally about three feet below the -surface, though in some places considerably lower. At and near the -stations the subway sides are lined with white glazed bricks, whitewash -being used elsewhere.</p> - -<p>There are five stations in the Boston shallow underground, viz. at -Boylston Street, Park Street, Adams Square, Scollay Square, and -Haymarket Square. These are approached by short stairways, protected -from the weather by neat clock-surmounted kiosks, or small iron -structures, in shape resembling our cab shelters, and placed at -convenient points, either on the sidewalks or—where there is sufficient -width—in the centre of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a>{193}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_23" id="fig_23"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_193_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_193_sml.jpg" width="500" height="295" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 23. BOSTON SUBWAY, SHOWING ENTRANCE AT THE PUBLIC -GARDENS</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>London County Council</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a>{194}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">roadway. Passengers can thus, by about twenty-five steps, go to and from -the platforms in a few seconds. The ticket-offices are at the bottom of -the stairways. The passenger returns at Park Street (the busiest -station) are among the largest in the world, being 28,000,000 per annum.</p> - -<p>The Boston surface street cars adopt the overhead trolley principle of -electric traction, and the elevated railway-cars the third rail system, -both these systems being continued throughout the subway.</p> - -<p>The subway is illuminated electrically, but a considerable amount of -natural light is also obtained, especially at the stations; and Captain -Piper, deputy of the New York Police, when on a visit to London last -February, discussing the question of ventilation in tube railways, gave -it as his opinion that the freshest air he had “struck” in an -underground railway was at Boston. “The air,” he said, “is excellent.”</p> - -<p>The subway is, of course, perfectly clean, smokeless, and comparatively -quiet; neither in the streets can any noise be heard from the cars that -are continually passing close beneath. By an extension of the subway -under Boston harbour, the surface lines in the district of East Boston -are connected with the main system, thus making the entire length eight -miles of single track.</p> - -<h3>NEW YORK</h3> - -<p>In New York, after much careful consideration of the advantages and -disadvantages of deep tunnels (tubes) and shallow railways, the Rapid -Transit Commissioners decided upon the latter as being likely to give -the best facilities for quick travelling. On account of its peculiar -peninsular shape, admitting of extension in one direction<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a>{195}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_24" id="fig_24"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_195_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_195_sml.jpg" width="500" height="314" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 24. NEW YORK SUBWAY IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION. CAR -TRAFFIC MAINTAINED</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>London County Council</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a>{196}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">only, the problem of transportation in the Empire City is comparatively -easy, the routes being straight, and no necessity existing for -intercommunication as in London. But, on the other hand, the number of -persons to be carried morning and evening is greater.</p> - -<p>Instead of the arched roof and masonry side-walks of the ordinary -underground, there is a rectangular structure with a framework of steel -beams riveted together, concrete enclosing the erection completely at -the top and sides, and forming the bottom, rows of steel columns helping -to support the roof between the tracks—in other words, a kind of -Britannia Bridge let into the surface of the earth. The line has four -tracks, the two centre ones being reserved for an express service (30 -miles an hour), with stations 1½ miles apart. On the other tracks the -stations are closer together, about four to the mile. So that there are -two kinds of stations; one with platforms on the outside of the outer -(or slow) track (at which only local trains stop), and another with -platforms for fast trains only, and island platforms for either local or -express trains. At the former stations the subway is sufficiently deep -to allow of a bridge over the entire four tracks, with staircases -leading to the various platforms. By means of loops, and, in places, by -the lowering of the express track beneath the local tracks, crossings -and switchings at the termini are, as in the Paris Métropolitain, -eliminated, and the cars run continuously without any shunting whatever.</p> - -<p>Its general scheme is as follows. Starting with a loop round the General -Post Office, a four-track route is taken direct to the Grand Central -Station in 42nd Street. It then turns west along 42nd Street to -Broadway, and proceeds under Broadway to 104th Street, a distance of -seven miles. Here the four tracks divide, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a>{197}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_25" id="fig_25"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_197_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_197_sml.jpg" width="500" height="322" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 25. NEW YORK SUBWAY, SHOWING HOW IT WAS BUILT</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>London County Council</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a>{198}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">double track continuing along Broadway to Kingsbridge, and another -double track going in an easterly direction under the Harlem river to -the Bronx district. Each of these branches is seven miles long, making a -total length, for the whole system, of twenty-one miles, seven being for -four track and fourteen for double track. The northerly ends of the -double-track line are on the surface for a combined distance of about -five miles, the remainder being shallow underground. At convenient -points inclines lead to the surface from the subway, and are linked to -street trams and elevated railroads. Electricity is exclusively used for -traction and lighting, and the cost of the entire scheme was originally -estimated at £7,000,000.</p> - -<p>Now, what is the conclusion to be come to as to the adaptability of the -shallow underground system to our vast metropolis, whose station at -Liverpool Street is the busiest in the world, with its “turnover” of -forty-five millions of passengers per annum; St. Lazare, at Paris, -coming next with forty-three millions?</p> - -<p>In newly-constructed thoroughfares provision for shallow subways, and -for sewers, pipes, cables, etc., can be easily made; but in -old-established streets the difficulty and expense in making them would -be formidable, as vaults and cellars used for business purposes -frequently extend right across the narrow carriage-ways, and a perfect -network of conduits would have to be displaced and moved either below or -alongside the subway.</p> - -<p>Some idea of the cost of interfering with sewers may be gathered by the -fact that in constructing the New York subway an entirely new outfall -sewer, over six feet in diameter, had to be built one mile in length! On -the other hand, labour is cheaper in this country<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a>{199}</span> than in America, and -in London there is no rock to be removed as in New York.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, I would quote from the report of Lieutenant-Colonel -Yorke, who was sent over to Paris two or three years ago by the Board of -Trade to inspect the Métropolitain. He thinks that as regards -convenience for passengers and economy of working, the balance of -advantage lies with the shallow tunnel or subway as compared with the -deep-level tube. But he hesitates a little when confronted with the -thought of what would happen to London while its roadways were in -process of being undermined. The difficulties in the way of adopting the -subway would, he says, be great, though he does not emphatically declare -that he considers them prohibitive; and he approves of the attempt made -to introduce the system in the manner adopted by the London County -Council beneath the new street between Holborn and the Strand.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a>{200}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV<br /><br /> -<small><i>HORSELESS VEHICLES—ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE</i></small></h2> - -<p class="csml">“Cars without horses will go.”—<span class="smcap">Mother Shipton.</span></p> - -<h3>PRIVATE MOTOR-CARS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE above prediction, constantly quoted at the advent of railways, is -being realised with the utmost exactness. Except the late craze for -cycling, nothing is more remarkable than the boom in the motor-car.</p> - -<p>Prior to the passing of the “Locomotives on Highways Act” in 1896, -motoring was an impossibility. Even then its advance was slow, and until -about three years ago motor-cars were decidedly unpopular. The London -street boys—miniature representatives of public opinion—derided them, -and, with their usual fiendish lack of sympathy, rejoiced when they came -to grief; while ’bus-drivers and cabmen ironically likened all -automobiles to traction engines, cherishing the delusion that they -continually broke down, cost a small fortune to maintain, and, worse -than all, dislocated every bone in their occupants’ bodies.</p> - -<p>This contempt reached a climax when certain lemon-coloured electric cabs -were seen plying for hire, ugly to look at and limited in speed; while -simultaneously a line of steam omnibuses, so cumbersome and weighty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a>{201}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_26" id="fig_26"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_201_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_201_sml.jpg" width="500" height="328" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 26. ELECTRIC CARRIAGE ENTIRELY OF BRITISH -CONSTRUCTION</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of</i> <i>Henry F. Joel & Co., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a>{202}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">as to really merit comparison with traction engines, began to run to -Victoria Station.</p> - -<p>But an extraordinary and rapid change has come over popular taste, and -nothing is needed to bring motor-cars into universal use, save a -lowering of their cost; for even the cheapest are rather beyond the -means of people with moderate incomes. This may be one reason why they -are so fashionable, though the King’s marked predilection for travelling -by them has done much to make “motoring” the correct thing; and His -Majesty has recently consented to become a patron of the Automobile -Club.</p> - -<p>Before the advent of the motor-car, Society, though tired of “biking” -and craving for a novelty, could not tolerate the notion of being seen -in any other than a well-horsed vehicle. Society now thinks differently, -as evidenced by a stroll in the Park during the season. There, in the -midst of graceful landaus and other equipages drawn by the most splendid -horses in the world, may be seen endless electric and steam barouches, -broughams, victorias, and cars, all perfectly noiseless, and magnificent -petrol motor-cars (<i>not</i> noiseless!), resplendent with brass and -oxidised silver fittings and upholstered in morocco, whose fair -occupants are smartly dressed in tailor-made motoring gowns or, on warm -days, in ordinary carriage toilettes.</p> - -<p>Some of the fashionable hotels own big cars and run them in lieu of -coaches for their customers’ benefit to various places near London; -while, to the vexation of omnibus companies, motor waggonettes, duly -authorised by Scotland Yard, ply to and from Putney and Piccadilly -Circus, always “full up” with people, no longer the butt (as they used -to be), but the envy, of pedestrians. And these public cars, though not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a>{203}</span> -perfect, are an advance upon omnibuses, and do not break down more -frequently than horsed conveyances.</p> - -<p>In the country motor-cars have become indispensable, more especially to -landed proprietors, with houses always full of visitors who, with their -luggage, have to be conveyed to and from the station. They are much used -for race-meetings and for conveying shooting parties to the covert side, -stubble, or moor, in comfort, golfers to the links, and fishermen to the -riverbank; picnics would be failures without them; and delightful -excursions to all kinds of outlying places are arranged by the host, -proud of “motoring” his guests, who thus are made acquainted with bits -of beautiful scenery they would otherwise have remained ignorant of; as -in the case of the King’s and Queen’s visit to Chatsworth last January, -when a feature of the programme was a series of motor-car tours in North -and West Derbyshire. In fact, the motor is a most important factor in -English country life, and the art of managing it is gradually -superseding that of riding, driving, and four-in-hand coaching. Eheu!</p> - -<p>Horseless vehicles are not actual novelties. They have merely been in -abeyance while the perfecting of our iron roads has proceeded. The -earliest practical specimen emanated from an inventor named Guyniot a -hundred and thirty years ago, but nothing commercially serious came of -it, and the idea slept. In 1786 William Symington produced his -steam-engine, to run upon an ordinary road. It had the condenser and the -ratchet-motion used in his steamboat, an invention of which he was the -originator. The boiler and funnel were in the front, a coach on -C-springs between them, and the steering gear, with a kind of bicycle -handle-bar, at the rear. The machine, it was said, worked well.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a>{204}</span></p> - -<p>Then, in 1821, a steam-coach by Griffiths attracted much attention, -being the first self-propelled vehicle to ply for passengers on British -roads. It had a boiler with water-tubes as now used in the Serpollet and -Belleville systems for motor-cars. In appearance it somewhat resembled -the Symington, but carried a double coach mounted on railway springs.</p> - -<p>Walter Hancock’s three-wheeled steam-coach of 1828 looked like a -tricycle with a big funnel, and was propelled by a pair of oscillating -cylinders working the double-cranked axle of the steering-wheel.</p> - -<p>In 1859 the Marquis of Stafford had a steam-coach built that weighed -less than a ton. With its chain-action it anticipated the modern -bicycle: in front it had a kind of bath-chair seat facing the steering -gear. In this vehicle Lord Stafford and party of three made trips at -from nine to twelve miles an hour over heavy roads without any -difficulty, it being easy to guide and remarkably steady. In these steam -coaches the funnels appear to have been placed in the rear.</p> - -<p>All these ideas, though from one point of view crude, undoubtedly -represented</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“...such refraction of events<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As often rises ere they rise.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The motor-car industry in Great Britain is flourishing, and it is -estimated that out of a total of some ten thousand horseless carriages -in the country one-tenth are of home manufacture (the remainder being -French or American), a small proportion, truly, but a great increase -upon the number built in 1890; and at the Reliability Trials of the -Automobile Club last September (1902), thirty-five of British make took -part in the contest, and only twenty-six of Continental or American -origin, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a>{205}</span> most satisfactory feature to those who are eager to see -British makers second to none in motor-car construction, especially, as -the aim of the competition was to encourage the building of machines -that would be thoroughly dependable in all conditions of road and -weather.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_27" id="fig_27"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_205_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_205_sml.jpg" width="500" height="406" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 27. A “CROWDUS” ELECTRIC CARRIAGE</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the Fischer Motor Vehicle Syndicate, London.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>At the last Crystal Palace Automobile Show, national vanity was -certainly gratified. Not only was the exhibition the largest ever held -in the country, but was a concrete example of the remarkable progress of -an industry which, so far as these islands are concerned, started -lamentably late in the day. There were brought together at the Crystal -Palace about seven hundred and fifty motor-propelled vehicles of every -class, ranging from the powerful steam lorry, capable of transporting a -load of 7½ tons, to the latest “flier,” light and elegant of -construction, and costing anything up to some £3,000. Motor tricycles -and bicycles formed a strong section. The cosmopolitan character of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a>{206}</span> -exhibition is shown by the fact that among the two hundred or so -exhibitors were the leading English, French, Dutch, Italian, and German -firms.</p> - -<p>By general consent the show was regarded to have made plain the fact -that in efficiency and reliability the English maker has drawn at least -level with his foreign rival, while, so far as the production of motors -for <i>commercial</i> purposes is concerned, he still stands far ahead.</p> - -<p>Automobiles are of all sizes up to magnificent 40-or 60-horse-power -racers. For town use there are broughams, victorias, landaus, and -landaulettes (open or closable for country work), the phaeton with four -seats, placed two by two, looking forward, and the tonneau—a kind of -small omnibus with a movable back—with the two rear seats in the -corners.</p> - -<p>Sometimes cars are run with six seats arranged in three pairs, with -plenty of room both for the driver and the coveted box-seats. Most cars -of either pattern have a glass front screen, while some have a fixed -roof as well. The greater number are driven by the use of petrol, the -machinery being in front under what is called the “bonnet,” and the ease -with which the oil can be obtained has great advantages for a touring -expedition.</p> - -<p>Steam is also employed for motor-cars, and is practically noiseless, but -there are obvious objections to its use, however skilfully the working -parts are constructed.</p> - -<p>In London, electromobiles are extremely popular, and no wonder, for -there is no smell, no vibration, and no noise; the speed attainable is -great, and they are under perfect control, advantages involving the use -of storage batteries, the recharging of which is a lengthy operation, -seldom taking less than five hours. But, as Mr. Llewellyn Preece -observed about twelve months<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a>{207}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_28" id="fig_28"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_207_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_207_sml.jpg" width="500" height="352" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 28. AN ELECTRIC VICTORIA WITH BRITISH -STORAGE-BATTERIES</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Electric Power Storage Co., Ltd., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a>{208}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">ago, “this condition of affairs is gradually disappearing; private -electric carriages are now to be seen in London, and their number is -increasing. Cars can be obtained capable of running to Brighton, -Portsmouth, and other places within seventy or eighty miles of the -metropolis.” (<i>i.e.</i> on one charge. They may be called “short-tour -cars.”)</p> - -<p>Electric town-cars are generally of the landaulette type—for -theatre-going, and for paying visits in such inaccessible suburbs as -Stoke Newington, Balham, and Hampstead. They carry from two to four -passengers, can attain a speed of fourteen miles an hour, and will run -forty miles without recharging.</p> - -<p>A long-distance electric car, to compete with petrol, has yet to be -made, but it will shortly be possible to obtain one of moderate weight -at a reasonable price that will cover one hundred and twenty miles on a -single charge; and, as a matter of fact, tours of more than a thousand -miles (from London to Glasgow and back) have been satisfactorily -accomplished.</p> - -<h3>PUBLIC CONVEYANCES</h3> - -<p>The perfect motor-omnibus, and, for that matter, the perfect ’bus of any -kind, has yet to arise, and is suggestive of Darwinism in the length of -time required for its evolution. But can London and the long-suffering -traveller wait ten million years or so—putting up meanwhile with the -inconvenience of existing vehicles—until the omnibus companies wake up, -or are superseded by more enterprising business adventurers?</p> - -<p>Why, for instance, should all omnibuses be stuffy? There was a reason -for it when their floors were covered with straw and they were shut in -with doors. But now there are no doors, and there is nothing to harbour<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a>{209}</span> -damp; yet even when the passengers sitting at the entrance of the -omnibus are assailed by icy blasts, those at the far end are in an -atmosphere of mustiness strongly suggestive of stables. Then, on days -when the roads are greasy, these vehicles crawl along, often taking an -hour and a half to travel from Fulham to Liverpool Street (a distance of -about six miles). Upon such minor nuisances and annoyances as the -exiguous space (about 2 feet 6 inches) between the seats, ticket-giving -and ticket-examining, the jarring of brakes, the rattling of loose -coach-bolts, the lurching of the top-heavy structure, the windows that -will not open, the glare and dust in summer, the Cimmerian darkness in -winter and at night, the stout people who take up too much room, the wet -umbrellas and odoriferous waterproof cloaks, the exasperating and often -unnecessary stopping every few hundred yards to the distress of the poor -animals, it is needless to dilate. We experience them every day of our -lives.</p> - -<p>But better times are in store for the horses, and better times for our -children (perhaps even for ourselves), who will see in London’s streets -electric omnibuses in which it will be a delight to travel.</p> - -<p>Between Oxford Circus and Cricklewood (not far from Hendon) are now -running improved motor-omnibuses built in Scotland for a London -syndicate, to the requirements of the Chief Commissioner of Police. It -will be remembered that some years ago a very large Thorneycroft steam -’bus plied for custom. It carried thirty-six passengers, but, turning -the scale at three tons, it was of illegal weight as a vehicle, and -should have come under the definition of a traction engine with speed -limited to four miles an hour, and preceded by a man with a red flag. So -it was ultimately withdrawn.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a>{210}</span></p> - -<p>But the new “Stirling” steam omnibuses are only 32 cwt. when empty. The -engine is of 12 horse-power, and is geared for three forward speeds of -4½, 9, and 14 miles per hour, with one slow reversing speed, while by a -clever contrivance the driving machinery ceases to act if 14·2 miles be -exceeded, both steering gear and brakes being under perfect control. -Handsomely fitted up, with large windows that can be taken bodily out in -hot weather, and with comfortable leather-covered spring seats, the new -’buses are a decided step in the right direction.</p> - -<p>At the last meeting of the London General Omnibus Company the -deputy-chairman stated that there was no kind of motor traction that -would pay the company to take up. If anything was done in that direction -it would be in the use of petrol. Steam was of no use, because of the -great vibration, and he doubted if the Government would permit 15,000 -such omnibuses to run over the streets. In his opinion the time to take -up motor omnibuses had not yet arrived.</p> - -<p>But the London Road Car Company has taken a different and more -far-sighted view of the situation, and a combination of petrol and -electricity is now to be tested by it.</p> - -<p>Cars of the Fischer combination pattern have arrived from America. Each -has a 10 horse-power petrol engine which drives a dynamo, the current -from which is used to work a motor acting directly on the wheels.</p> - -<p>This may, perhaps, seem a needless complication, but there is much -method in it. A 10 horse-power engine is not sufficiently powerful to -drive a fully-laden ’bus up a hill at any reasonable pace, but there are -many places where a ’bus will run by its own weight, and needs no -engine. The new car is provided with accumulators.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a>{211}</span> When little or no -power is required by the motor, the current is switched on to the -accumulators, so as to store up a reserve for hill-climbing. So when -necessary, the car draws on the reserve in the accumulators, and with -them and the dynamo develops not 10 but 20 horse-power, enough to take -it up and over any hill that ’buses climb.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_29" id="fig_29"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_211_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_211_sml.jpg" width="500" height="317" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 29. A “FISCHER” COMBINATION OMNIBUS</p> - -<p class="csml">Capacity fifteen passengers; weight, 2 tons 13 cwt.; speed, 12 miles an -hour</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the Fischer Motor Vehicle Syndicate, Ltd., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>The manager of the Road Car Company is of opinion that the new vehicles -will carry from twelve to twenty passengers. Owing to the greater speed -of the motors, however, the passenger accommodation provided by, say, -half a dozen such cars would be greater than that of a similar number of -omnibuses, for the service would be more frequent. Not much increase of -speed can be hoped for in congested areas, but outside these the motor -should be able to run half as fast again as the horsed ’bus.</p> - -<p>There exists, however, no reason why a still more improved and refined -omnibus service should not be started, electricity alone being adopted, -instead of steam, petrol, or a combination. Runs of seventy and eighty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a>{212}</span> -miles without recharging are perfectly feasible by using standard -long-distance batteries, and would suffice for the daily journeys of the -omnibus, while the recharging could be effected with little or no -trouble after working-hours.</p> - -<p>Motor-omnibuses, besides working on the regular routes, can be run on -the tramway time-table system on tramway sections where there is little -traffic; while for developing scantily-populated districts and -accustoming people to travel, automobile public conveyances are perfect -agencies, the very fact that they can choose their own route -accentuating this great advantage; and on special occasions, for -instance when exhibitions are held in places inaccessible by tramways, -they will be a source of considerable profit.</p> - -<p>Our provincial towns (take Eastbourne and Hastings for example) are -beginning to wake up on the subject, and many of them have adopted or -contemplated the starting of some form of horseless omnibus, in several -cases the motive power being electricity. Across the Atlantic automobile -’buses are run by the Fifth Avenue Stage Company of New York City down -Fifth Avenue, and have proved most popular; while in Chicago there are -three lines of electric omnibuses successfully competing with the street -cars for patronage. They are double-decked, seating forty passengers, -and when they are “full-up” express speed is put on, and there are no -more stoppages until the down-town district is reached.</p> - -<p>As to four-wheeled cabs, they are hopelessly behind the times, though -excellent ones may be evolved out of the landaulette type of -electromobiles. During sixty-two years of sullen toleration on the part -of the public, the growler has improved but little, and it remains a -mystery why in the streets of the world’s metropolis<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a>{213}</span> comfortable and -comely private vehicles cannot be hailed for hire, as in other cities.</p> - -<p>New and improved cabs, such as the “Brougham,” the “Clarence,” and the -“Chesterfield,” from time to time appear in our streets, and inspire -hope that a general reformation is about to take place, and that neat -little coupés will be universal. But in some unaccountable manner, after -a brief season they disappear from public view—as did the -lemon-coloured electric broughams of a few years ago—relegated to some -mysterious region where vehicular failures find employment when banished -from Modern Babylon.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a>{214}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /><br /> -<small><i>HORSELESS VEHICLES, ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE (continued)</i></small></h2> - -<h3>MOTOR-CARS IN WARFARE</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE question of mechanical traction in war is of the gravest importance, -the increasing size of armies and the large area they cover when in -action, necessitating the employment of some form of haulage other than -that of railways or horses.</p> - -<p>For bringing up guns and their ammunition at a critical moment -automobiles are of the greatest value. At the Motor-car Reliability -Trials last autumn there was present a military officer of considerable -experience who was much impressed with the possibilities of the motor in -battle. If, he argued, sixty cars could run down from London to the -South Coast easily in three hours carrying an average of four passengers -each, the same number of horseless vehicles could convey sixty -machine-guns to Brighton in a similar time. A corps of these might, he -said, have proved extremely handy in the late South African campaign. To -illustrate this, he pointed out that quick-firing guns carried on -automobiles might possibly have ended the Boer War after the action of -Poplar Grove. He was present on that occasion, and could speak with -authority. All the enemy had been routed out of their far-reaching -trenches and were in full flight. Then was the time to push home the -attack,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a>{215}</span> but cavalry and infantry were thoroughly done up by the great -flanking movement and were unable to follow up their advantage. In full -sight of our army, the Boers scuttled away along the plain with only a -few desultory shells fired after them. “Now,” said the officer, “if we -had only possessed a few automobiles with guns on that occasion we -should have scored very heavily. The veldt was level enough for the -purpose. A big victory at that critical moment might have thoroughly -demoralised the Boers, already much disheartened by Cronje’s defeat a -short time before at Paardeberg, and so caused them to surrender without -much ado.”</p> - -<p>No doubt the gallant soldier took rather a sanguine view of the -situation; but of one thing he might have been certain, viz., that at -that time neither an unenterprising War Office, nor a Colonial -Department capable of requisitioning ordinary infantry from Australia to -act against the wily mounted Boer, would for one moment have thought of -sending motor-cars out for the purpose he suggests!</p> - -<p>Not only for light artillery, but for heavy guns, motors can now be used -in warfare, and Lord Roberts had a road-train constructed for South -Africa sufficiently armoured to withstand rifle-fire, and powerful -enough to draw a couple of heavy guns with their crews and ammunition, -the motive power being steam.</p> - -<p>In the prosaic work of conveying stores, motor-tractors with lorries -are fast becoming integral parts of our complicated war-system, and the -report of the trials held at Aldershot in December, 1901, is decidedly -in favour of their employment on a large scale. The tests were severe, -and included two days’ running (with full loads) of thirty miles a day, -and a march of 197 miles (also with full loads) in six consecutive, days -on roads<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a>{216}</span> both hard and soft, and even over boggy ground, the gradients -being various, and in places very stiff. The first prize was awarded to -the Thorneycroft Steam Waggon Company, but although the committee -believed that these steam lorries were serviceable and useful for the -present, they were much struck with the great possibilities of machines -burning heavy oil. Their observations were as follows:—</p> - -<p>“Compared with horse-draught, these trials have shown that -self-propelled lorries can transport five tons of stores at about six -miles an hour over very considerable distances on hilly, average English -roads under winter conditions. The load transported by each single lorry -(five tons) if carried in horse-waggons of service pattern would -overload three G.S. waggons, requiring twelve draught horses, besides -riding horses, whose pace would not ordinarily exceed three miles an -hour. Moreover, the marching of 197 miles in six consecutive days would -not have been accomplished by horses even at that speed without the -assistance of spare horses.”</p> - -<p>To this report appeared the following appendix of considerable -importance:—</p> - -<p>“The committee, in carrying out the tests, travelled in motor-cars, and -as a result of their experience they remark, ‘The committee desire to -bring to special notice the incidental demonstration afforded by these -trials of the great possibilities for staff work, and for work in -connection with the command of long transport trains, of the motor-car. -No vehicles drawn by horses could have possibly covered the distances or -kept up the speeds required; portions of the roads, sometimes miles in -length, had to be traversed and retraversed several times, and at speeds -beyond the capabilities of horse-flesh. Riding horses would have been -knocked up to an extent<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a>{217}</span> necessitating large relays. The staff officer, -moreover, instead of being fatigued, is always comparatively fresh at -the end of the day.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>No wonder that the Army, from the Commander-in-Chief downwards, is -quickly becoming devoted to motoring. The quantity of work that can be -got through by means of the automobile is a revelation to those who have -been used to travelling by means of horses.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_30" id="fig_30"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_217_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_217_sml.jpg" width="500" height="152" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 30. THE “HERCULES” TRACTION ENGINE, AS USED DURING -THE CRIMEAN WAR</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of</i> <i>Sampson Low, Marston, & Co., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>During the Crimean War, Boydell’s traction machine was used to haul open -trucks on the road and across country. Its engine, the “Hercules,” was -fitted with a curious arrangement, which, by means of rails attached in -six sections to the wheels, enabled it to lay down and take up its own -track as it went along.</p> - -<p>In the South African campaign the military traction engines did some -excellent work, and, as they rolled over the plains, startled the -Kaffirs out of their senses at the unwonted sight of what they probably -thought was some new and monstrous form of rhinoceros.</p> - -<p>It has yet to be decided what is the best motive power for lorry cars in -warfare, both oil and steam motors having, as compared with those driven -by electricity, the disadvantage that the machinery moves by a series of -shocks. Doubtless<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a>{218}</span> the ideal power would be one that acted evenly. The -electric motor is superior to all others in the regularity of its -action, and its steering is most readily effected. All that is wanted to -adapt electric traction to military purposes is a perfected storage -battery, and the day may not be far distant when extensive use will be -made of light accumulators capable of being safely carried and of being -recharged as readily as a steam engine can be supplied with fuel.</p> - -<h3>MOTORS IN AGRICULTURE</h3> - -<p>In England the use of steam for agricultural machinery has hitherto been -confined to the purpose of ploughing and threshing. But coal in some -districts is dear, and farmers are beginning to find that oil engines -are more economical, there being no loss of fuel in the sudden stopping -of work during wet weather; but petrol has a nasty trick of not -vaporising readily when it is frosty, and here electricity steps in with -an admirable <i>force-motif</i>.</p> - -<p>With a dependable electro-motor, the farmer may work his self-binder all -day long in the harvest-field, and at-night send it up to market with -produce. Moreover, the motor may help to plough and harrow in the -winter, and when there is no work to be done it costs nothing, -having—unlike the horse—no stomach to fill.</p> - -<p>In fact, the successful adaptation of the motor to farming may solve the -ever-present labour problem, and do much to resuscitate the agricultural -industry, while fruit and vegetable growers may find it invaluable, -making them independent of high railway rates and bad train service. -But, although the application of the automobile to agriculture is only -in the experimental stage, it cannot be doubted that, in some shape or -other, it will<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a>{219}</span> come to the cornfield, the orchard, and the market -garden, while the modern farmer will welcome it gladly.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_31" id="fig_31"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_219_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_219_sml.jpg" width="500" height="376" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 31. A TEN-TON ELECTRIC TROLLEY</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Anglo-American Motor Car Co., Ltd., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Probably it will begin, as was suggested by Mr. Rider Haggard before the -Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture at Norwich, in the shape of an -agricultural post. His plan was to enlarge the present system of -parcel-post so that one hundred packages, each of 100 lbs. in weight, -should be carried in the same way as parcels of only 10 lbs., and that -produce of any sort, such as a crate of apples, the carcase of a sheep, -a basket of flowers, etc., should be delivered the next morning to -whatever part of England the goods were consigned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a>{220}</span></p> - -<h3>MERCANTILE MOTORS</h3> - -<p>The prosaic use of motors is increasing rapidly. In our streets are -frequently seen steam or petrol lorries for the heavy goods of brewers, -stone-merchants, builders, contractors, engineers, asphalt-paving -companies, etc.; substantial vans for wholesale manufacturing houses and -great establishments, such as Bryant and May’s, Maple’s, Harrod’s, -Whiteley’s, and Barker’s; lighter vehicles for smaller tradesmen, carts -for county council and borough council work; a few fire-engines and -ambulance waggons; while in the country any number of motors are used by -shopkeepers to deliver their goods for miles around.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_32" id="fig_32"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_220_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_220_sml.jpg" width="500" height="373" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 32. AN ELECTRIC TRADESMAN’S-VAN</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the Automobile Co. of Great Britain, London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>In fact, the mercantile use of motors has grown so much, that before -long we may even see “Black Maria” delivering and picking up its daily -quantum of <i>détenus</i> through the medium of stored-up electricity.</p> - -<p>We must just glance at the subject of motor-bicycles, driven by petrol -and “sparked” by electricity. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a>{221}</span> are beginning to be much used for -getting about quickly, for trailers, and as sporting machines for -“breaking the record.” In September last year, at the Crystal Palace, -some extraordinary results were obtained by them in the matter of speed, -one of them covering no less than fifty miles in an hour and eight -minutes!</p> - -<p>Sir Martin Conway’s opinion, humorously delivered this year to the -Society of Arts, respecting “stupid cyclists” and motor-cycles, is worth -recording. He said that the first thing on which he desired knowledge -concerning motor-cycles was how he was to fall off, as he fell off every -machine on wheels some time or other; next, how long it would take a man -to understand the parts in a motor-cycle, or whether they were -hopelessly removed from the range of the ordinary stupid person; then, -how the thing vibrated; and, finally, which of them did not break down. -He said that he had been told that the pleasure with a motor-car was -considerable when it went, and the annoyance even more considerable when -it did not go.</p> - -<p>Motors are everywhere, and are used for every purpose. There are motors -in the Equatorial Free States of the Congo, where there is no energetic -policeman, stop-watch in hand, to time the “driver” and summon him; and -one day—who knows?—there may be motor-cars in use at the North Pole.</p> - -<p>The motor has even been the indirect cause of political upheavings, for -it is said that the revolution in Morocco came to a head because the -fanatical tribal allies of the Pretender resisted, amongst other -European articles, the introduction of automobiles into the country, and -opposed their use by the enlightened emperor, as too progressive, and -not in accordance with the Mussulman faith.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a>{222}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_33" id="fig_33"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_222_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_222_sml.jpg" width="500" height="404" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 33. ANOTHER TYPE OF THE “FISCHER” COMBINATION -OMNIBUS</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Fischer Motor Vehicle Syndicate, London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Meals are sent out in motor-vans by the London Distributing Kitchen -Company from its well-equipped premises near the Army and Navy Stores, -the breakfasts, luncheons, and dinners being placed in air-tight baskets -in aluminium receptacles. In Manchester, for some time past, “meals by -motor” have been an accomplished fact, and most popular and lucrative -the scheme has proved.</p> - -<p>Motoring has its romantic side. For instance, in France—the birthplace -of the automobile—abduction by motor has been initiated, and our lively -neighbours may possibly contemplate the revival of that mediæval custom -of wedlock by force. This young lady, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a>{223}</span> seems to have been a not -unwilling party to the transaction.</p> - -<p>Going to school by motor has also been made practicable across the -Channel. For some months the Ecole Lacordaire, in Paris, has been -running a Serpollet steam omnibus, which collects the pupils and conveys -them to and from the school. The day’s run gives a total of sixty miles. -Monsieur Serpollet has lately carried out an interesting test with the -vehicle. He made a run of sixty miles with twelve passengers, and the -cost for petrol was 1<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i> per passenger, or rather more than four -miles for a penny. The omnibus averaged eighteen miles an hour.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a>{224}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII<br /><br /> -<small><i>HORSELESS VEHICLES, ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE</i> (<i>continued</i>)</small></h2> - -<h3>SPEED OF MOTOR-CARS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>O motorists the pressing question of the day is <i>speed</i>. In England the -motor-car was in its infancy when the present law came into force. -Before its birth, no mechanically propelled carriage could travel along -the highway faster than four miles an hour; but six years ago a -determined attempt was made to adapt the law to the exigencies of modern -traffic. Fourteen miles an hour was decided upon as the maximum speed, -and the Local Government Board subsequently reduced the limit to twelve -miles. But these regulations are now out of date.</p> - -<p>A few years ago there was a great outcry against cycle speeds. That has -died out, not because cyclists ride more slowly, but because the public -has come to realise that, with a readily controllable vehicle like the -bicycle, the greater speeds are not dangerous. Similarly the public is -now much exercised in mind concerning speeds of twenty to twenty-five -miles an hour by motor-cars. It will not be long before they realise -that these velocities are quite safe under certain conditions, and that -the motor-car might almost under any circumstances be allowed to travel -twice as fast as a horse, indeed even faster. It is said that this year -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a>{225}</span> speed of the motor-car is expected to approach a hundred miles an -hour. The Hon. C. S. Rolls came very near to attaining it at Welbeck -last February, when he made an attempt on the flying kilometre record. -The best of four runs gave the time of 27 seconds, which is a speed of -82⅘ miles per hour, and 1⅕ seconds better than Mr. Jarrott’s run over -this course last year. Whether it will rank as a world’s record is not -certain, as the road in the Duke of Portland’s park has a slight -favouring gradient. The French official record on the Dourdan road is -twenty-nine seconds, a speed of seventy-seven miles per hour, -accomplished by both Fournier and Augières. Mr. Rolls drove an 80 -horse-power Mors, which he entered for the Paris-Madrid race.</p> - -<p>Estimates of speed differ in the most extraordinary degree, and the Hon. -J. Scott-Montagu gave to the <i>Car</i> the following humorous table, the -result of an inquiry at a police court:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt">Miles.</td></tr> -<tr><td>“Private opinion of mechanic in charge</td><td class="rt">12 </td></tr> -<tr><td> His opinion when talking to his friends</td><td class="rt">20 </td></tr> -<tr><td> His opinion when in court</td><td class="rt">8 </td></tr> -<tr><td> Policeman’s private opinion</td><td class="rt">14 </td></tr> -<tr><td> Policeman’s opinion in court</td><td class="rt">28 </td></tr> -<tr><td> Farmer’s opinion when a pony was frightened</td><td class="rt">50 </td></tr> -<tr><td> Maker’s guaranteed speed</td><td class="rt">16 </td></tr> -<tr><td> Actual speed</td><td class="rt">10”</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Motorists are evidently assumed to be made of money, if we may judge by -the following statement made by a correspondent of <i>Motoring -Illustrated</i> this year. He says, “One curious result of a car case, in -which I was fined £10 for ‘scorching,’ is that in less than a week I -have received upwards of seventy begging letters from charitable -societies or individual beggars. Motor owner<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a>{226}</span> and millionaire are -apparently one and the same thing in the popular mind.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, who is entitled to speak with authority on -the subject, frankly admits that there is much justification for the -irritation in the public mind against motor-cars. He strongly condemns -rash driving, but, at the same time, maintains that when motor-car -owners obey the law and observe the courtesy of the road, they ought not -to be looked upon by coachmen, cyclists, and pedestrians, as the enemies -of mankind.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> Nevertheless, he firmly believes that the dislike of -motor-cars will die away in due time, just as did the dislike of cycles. -The utmost caution ought, he concedes, to be exercised by drivers in the -crowded thoroughfares of large towns.</p> - -<p>On the question of their importance generally in relation to British -industry Mr. Leopold de Rothschild says, “We should foster them by every -means in our power. At the beginning not a single one was produced in -this country, but at the present moment some of the machines turned out -in English workshops rival those of the very best French make. In recent -contests on the Continent, too, English cars have more than held their -own. It is sometimes complained that the machines make a great noise. -That defect is being gradually cured. Then it is urged that they raise a -tremendous dust as they speed along. That evil is also being remedied, -and will disappear altogether if the experiment<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a>{227}</span> of pouring petroleum on -the roadways should prove successful. Where the motor-car is extremely -useful, I consider, is in enabling people to go across country to attend -hunt meets and visit distant golf links. Then, again, see what -encouragement is given to wayside inns. When in Scotland the other day I -visited a friend who lived twenty-five miles off, and did it comfortably -between luncheon and dinner, and that, too, without endangering the life -of myself or anybody else. I regard the motor-car as a source of intense -enjoyment. Allow the owners greater freedom, but take care that in -return they loyally observe the regulations which are framed by -competent authorities for the safety of the public.”</p> - -<h3>MOTOR-CARS AND PUBLIC HIGHWAYS</h3> - -<p>Who can place a limit to the development of motors! The time may arrive -when tram lines will disappear, the roads themselves being of steel and -forming a broad rail upon which self-propelled coaches, omnibuses, cabs, -and cars will ply in every direction, and far and wide into the suburbs. -This is the idea of Mr. A. A. C. Swinton, who also thinks that -eventually motor-cars will drive tram-cars out, because, as he says, -“Tramways are merely a smooth place on a rough road, with a groove to -keep the wheel in a smooth place,” and as one day the whole road will be -smooth the tram-rails will disappear.</p> - -<p>Something similar, I take it, was in Mr. Balfour’s mind when, in 1901, -writing to the Warden of the Browning Settlement in Camberwell on the -subject of homes for the workers, he said:—</p> - -<p>“What I am anxious people should bear in mind is that trams, railways, -and ‘tubes’ by no means exhaust<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a>{228}</span> the catalogue of possible improvements -in transit; indeed, I am not sure that they are the means of -communication for relatively short distances which some years hence will -find most favour. What I should like to see carefully thought out by -competent authorities would be a system of radiating thoroughfares, -confined to rapid (say, fifteen miles an hour or over) traffic (that is -absolutely essential), and with a surface designed, not for carts or -horses, but for some form of auto-car propulsion. If the local authority -which designed and carried out such a system chose to run public -auto-cars along them, well and good. But this would not be necessary, -and private enterprise would probably in time do all that was wanted. In -such a thoroughfare there would be none of the monopoly inseparable from -trams, the number of people carried could be much larger, the speed much -greater, the power of taking them from door to door unique, while there -would be none of the friction now caused when the owners of the tram -lines break up the public streets. It may be urged—and, perhaps, with -truth—that at present the auto-car industry has not devised an -absolutely satisfactory vehicle; but we are, I believe, so near it that -the delay ought not to be material.”</p> - -<p>“It is, of course, obvious,” he continued, “that the present difficulty -of locomotion in our streets is almost entirely due to want of -differentiation in the traffic. We act as the owners of a railway would -act if they allowed luggage trains, express trains, and horse-drawn -trams to run upon one pair of rails. The radiating causeways, as I -conceive them, would be entirely free from this difficulty. Neither the -traffic of cross streets, nor foot passengers, nor slow-going carts and -vehicles would be permitted to interfere with the equable running of -fast cars. There<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a>{229}</span> would be no danger and no block; and as the causeway -would be connected at intervals with the ordinary road and street system -of the district, and would melt into that system at either end, every -village in which there were enough residents who had to be in London at -a fixed hour every day could have a motor of its own. It might be well -worth a manufacturer’s while, I should suppose, to lodge his workpeople -out of London, and to run them to and from his works.”</p> - -<p>No electrician living can predict with certainty what the motor-car may -<i>not</i> result in.</p> - -<p>One thing only is probable—that our metropolitan streets will soon be -congested with vehicles to such an extent as to leave no space for -horses. And then will come the complete victory of the automobile.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a>{230}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br /><br /> -<small><i>ELECTRICITY APPLIED TO NAVIGATION (A FORECAST)</i></small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“And knowledge shall be increased.”—<span class="smcap">Daniel</span> xii. 4.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<h3>DEVELOPMENT IN SIZE OF SHIPS AND STEAMERS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“D</span>ON’T give yourself away,” shrewdly remarked an eminent engineer, as I -discussed with him the outline of this work, and the probability that in -the near future, gigantic ships, as long as the Crystal Palace, and -propelled solely by electricity, would traverse the seas. “I have not -yet come across any form of accumulator that could be adapted to such a -purpose, though I admit that the next quarter of a century may produce -some startling results. Still, I would not, if I were you, write about -it.”</p> - -<p>My friend, like many scientists, was cautious, and did not like to -commit himself; but I am not professionally restricted, and may freely -indulge in a dream containing many elements of reality, and “take the -wings of fancy,” nay, may also “take the wings of foresight,” and try to -describe a mail-packet of the future.</p> - -<p>But before entering into particulars of that phenomenon, the <i>Princess -Ida</i>, and to prepare ourselves for the contemplation of her large -proportions, we should note the evolutionary process which has gone on -steadily for the last seventy years, and rapidly during<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a>{231}</span> the close of -the Victorian Era, in regard to the size and tonnage of ocean steamers.</p> - -<p>To go far back for the purpose of comparison—<i>i.e.</i> to the days when -Britain as a maritime nation was in her infancy, or even to Tudor and -Stuart times, when the <i>Great Harry</i> floated proudly in English waters, -and Elizabeth’s <i>Ark Royal</i> defied the Spanish Armada, or when Phineas -Pett reconstructed Charles the Second’s navy and planned those famous -men-of-war, the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>, <i>Royal Charles</i>, and <i>Royal -Prince</i>—is misleading, because up to Nelson’s time the practice of -building ships with an extravagant amount of “sheer” (the fore-castle -and stern towering upwards to protect the fighting men, and producing -the outline of a doubled-up old shoe), together with the pronounced -“tumbling in” of the ship’s sides, rendered it difficult to arrive at -any correct estimate of length and beam. Approximately, 1,500 tons might -represent the <i>Great Harry’s</i> measurement, and 150 feet her length, the -Carolean <i>Royal</i> being about the same.</p> - -<p>This method of shipbuilding began to be modified while Pepys was at the -Admiralty, but it was very gradually abandoned, and had almost -disappeared at the beginning of the century, the <i>Victory</i>, slightly -over 2,000 tons, and some 152 feet in length, showing but a slight trace -of it in her high poop.</p> - -<p>In 1834 a merchantman of 1,000 tons was considered a big craft, the -largest on Lloyd’s register for that year being 1,500 tons, upon which -there was not much advance until the “fifties” and “sixties,” when all -the adventurous of England’s manhood were irresistibly attracted to the -goldfields of Australia, and vessels of large tonnage began to be laid -down on the stocks. Of such were the <i>British Empire</i>, 2,676 tons; the -<i>Donald<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a>{232}</span> McKay</i>, 2,636 tons; <i>Red Jacket</i>, 2,000 tons; and many others -of from 1,000 to 1,800 tons registered tonnage. These in their turn gave -place to iron “sailers” of immense capacity, the tendency being to build -them bigger and still bigger—“five-masters” of from 3,000 to 4,000 -tons—it having been found that they are worked more economically than -smaller craft, and are able to compete with the larger vessels of other -countries, and with the syndicates that threaten to monopolise the -nation’s carrying trade. Foreign examples are <i>La France</i>, 3,624 tons, -and the <i>Preussen</i> (biggest in the world), 4,700 tons.</p> - -<p>In steamers the development of size has been great, and astonishingly so -since the universal adoption of the screw-propeller. For instance, the -paddle-wheel <i>William Fawcett</i>, that pioneered the P. and O. Company, -built in 1829, was but 74 feet long; the Cunard <i>Britannia</i>, that took -Charles Dickens to Boston, was a paddle-boat of 1,154 tons, and 207 feet -long; the <i>Great Britain</i> (1843) was 3,400 tons register, and regarded -as phenomenal.</p> - -<p>Presently the shipping world arrived at the awakening period of its -history, when steamers of from 350 to 500 feet long, and of from 4,000 -to 7,000 tons, began to be common; but old stagers shook their heads, -and asked where and when this enlargement was going to stop. Time went -on, and splendid mail boats, such as the Cunard <i>Scotia</i> and <i>Persia</i>, -in their day considered perfect, were looked upon as obsolete, and even -their successors, the <i>Servia</i>, 7,392 tons and 515 feet long, the -<i>Etruria</i>, 7,718 tons and 502 feet long, and others of similar -dimensions, soon ceased to be wondered at. This was eighteen years ago. -Then, by leaps and bounds, so great was the competition between the -different Atlantic liners, and so strong the demand for speed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a>{233}</span> that -10,000 tons was soon reached in the White Star Company’s <i>Majestic</i> and -<i>Teutonic</i>, and exceeded by the Cunarders, <i>Campania</i> and <i>Lucania</i> -(1893), of 13,000 tons each, 620 feet in length, and over 65 feet in -beam.</p> - -<p>But Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, who had been building 12,000 ton -boats, metaphorically without “turning a hair,” were determined not to -be beaten, and produced their new <i>Oceanic</i> (1899), 704 feet by 68 feet, -<i>i.e.</i> nearly as long as the Haymarket, and about as broad as one -portion of Piccadilly. In her, it was thought, finality had been -reached; but last year Belfast witnessed the launch of a still bigger -vessel, the <i>Cedric</i>, 21,000 tons gross register, 700 feet long, and 75 -feet wide—the largest steamer afloat! Even she is destined to take -second place, as ere long two ships belonging to the Cunard Line will -dispossess the <i>Cedric</i> of her premier position. These wonderful -creations will be 750 feet by 76 feet, with an estimated sea-speed of 25 -knots.</p> - -<p>Thus we clearly see how enormously the dimensions of steamers have -increased; for instance, the <i>Britannia</i> (1840) was 1,154 tons, and 207 -feet long, and had accommodation for 115 cabin passengers, no “steerage” -being carried. But the <i>Cedric</i> is nearly 3½ times longer, and carries -3,000 people across the Atlantic, besides her crew of 350 hands. In the -same ratio of progression, ships (they will not be called <i>steamers</i>, -but <i>electrofers</i>) 2,500 feet long, with comfortable quarters for 75,000 -human beings, will be the order of the day!</p> - -<p>I have not referred to the poor old <i>Great Eastern</i>—or <i>Leviathan</i> as -she was originally named—680 feet long, and of 16,000 tons register. -She was before her time, and, like other big steamers of that day, far -too heavy in her plating to be driven economically at even moderate -speed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a>{234}</span></p> - -<p>Great dimensions and swiftness have been rendered possible by improved -engines, but chiefly by the employment of steel in their construction, -which so materially reduces the <i>vis inertia</i>, that in the case of the -<i>Pennsylvania</i>, built by Harland and Wolff for the Hamburg-American -Line, although a mighty carrack of something like 585 feet, and 62 feet -by 42 feet, her actual dead-weight is only 8,000 tons. Still more -remarkable will be the reduction—about one-half—when aluminium with -some form of alloy—copper, perhaps—comes into general use. -Torpedo-boats have been built with this metal, and have run with great -smoothness. It exists in every clay and shale formation, and is -scattered throughout the world in immense profusion, our London clay -consisting principally of silicate of alumina. Electricity is used in -manufacturing this beautiful metal, that requires no paint to defend it -from rusting; and, although it has hitherto been a costly article, the -time is not far off—so it is said—when the price will come down to £19 -a ton, or less.</p> - -<p>A recent and novel application of aluminium to building purposes is to -be seen at Chicago, where a house sixteen stories high is fronted on -both sides with it, instead of bricks or terra-cotta.</p> - -<p>Berthing the monstrous ships of the future is a problem met by a radical -and world-wide alteration in the dimensions of docks, supplemented by -quays running out into deep water, which in London would extend on both -sides of the Thames, on the north from Tilbury to the Albert Docks, thus -converting the old river, like the Clyde, into a long water-street lined -by sea-walls, and kept constantly dredged, and connected with London by -special lines of railway.</p> - -<p>But what is to be the propelling power of the future<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a>{235}</span> leviathans? Not -steam; but electricity, applied to the machinery from storage batteries. -Why not?</p> - -<h3>ELECTRIC STORAGE AS A MOTIVE POWER</h3> - -<p>Sceptics in the past argued that it was manifestly impossible that -vehicles would ever be horseless, or that communications would one day -be transmitted by telegraph, not to speak of the time when even the -wires for that purpose would be dispensed with; while the suggestion -that artificial light would be obtained through any other agency than -candles or oil-lamps, and that sail-less ships would be propelled -against wind and tide, seemed savouring of Bedlam!</p> - -<p>Yet all these seeming impossibilities, and many more, have become -realities. So, too, will electrical marine propulsion, and, although we -live in a more enlightened era than our ancestors, few persons even now -perhaps realise that ships will be navigated without either sail or -steam power.</p> - -<p>By this time, however, the public have become so familiarised with -scientific marvels, that they have ceased to wonder at anything. For -instance, there is nothing really more marvellous than that hundreds, or -even thousands, of horse-power should be borne by a copper wire, or a -moderate cable, and despatched to a distant point with the speed of -lightning for traction purposes; but, without knowing what the nature of -the force is, we cease to be astonished at it. In point of fact, it is -not more occult than heat or light, the attraction of gravity or -cohesion.</p> - -<p>Therefore when it was announced last year that Edison had solved the -problem of how to store electrical force effectually, everybody took it -for granted that he had been, or would eventually be, as successful in -this<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a>{236}</span> direction as in multiplying electric light and applying it to a -thousand new purposes.</p> - -<p>The “Wizard of Llewellyn Park” is necessarily a sanguine inventor, but -he has taken the right and only satisfactory way to determine the -question—that of varied and long-continued experiment. Electricity -differs from all other forms of power in two respects—it can be stored, -and transmitted to a distance. The task of transmission has been, and is -being, rapidly achieved. The far greater object of light and efficient -storage, the most momentous problem awaiting solution in the whole range -of practical physics, may very shortly be solved.</p> - -<p>In brief, Edison’s storage battery cells are composed of tiny bricks of -specially-prepared iron and nickel. In charging and discharging, oxygen -is driven from one metal to the other and back again through the action -of a potash solution, and without corrosion or waste. Renewal of the -water supply is all that is needed to keep the cells in good condition, -and a process of recharging has been improved, so that less time is -consumed than for the recharging of other batteries. No wonder he -believes that the application of storage batteries will ultimately be -extended to trains, and especially to ships.</p> - -<p>The claim of the Edison Accumulator is that it will occupy about the -same space as the present battery, and that it will weigh only about -seventy per cent. as much, and will be more durable. Men conversant with -the theory of electrical science are not so thoroughly impressed with -the work accomplished as is Mr. Edison. The tests that have been made -have been more than duplicated, it is said, by the batteries now on the -market. We may assume, then, that either Edison’s or somebody else’s -method of storing up electricity for the propulsion of sea-going vessels -will be perfected.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a>{237}</span></p> - -<p><a name="fig_34" id="fig_34"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_237_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_237_sml.jpg" width="500" height="259" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 34. ELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERIES</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Electric Power Storage Co., Ltd., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a>{238}</span></p> - -<h3>THE “PRINCESS IDA” IN THE YEAR A.D. 19—</h3> - -<p>Early one morning in the spring of 19—a small party of ladies and -gentlemen, anxious to avoid the east wind fiend by flying from their -native shores to milder regions, travelled by the electric railway -towards the mouth of the Thames, and, branching off at a point near -Barking Junction, traversed the new line, running for miles alongside -the splendid quays recently completed between Galleon’s Reach and -Tilbury, where special berths were reserved for the leviathan liners -that had begun running from the port of London to Cape Town.</p> - -<p>Long before the station was reached inquiring glances had been cast -riverwards for the first glimpse of the giantess <i>Princess Ida</i>.</p> - -<p>“That cannot be the <i>Princess Ida</i>,” said an unbelieving and -short-sighted member of the party to his sharp-eyed friend, who was -pointing to something which in the distance looked like a couple of -White Star <i>Cedrics</i> linked together and towering above the roofs of the -warehouses that commanded the quays.</p> - -<p>“Well, you will see for yourself presently,” he retorted. “Seeing is -believing, isn’t it?” And as the train got nearer and nearer, wonder and -admiration increased, and when a break in the line of warehouses gave -them a clear view of the great vessel, her beautiful proportions, her -polished hull gleaming in the sunlight, and her exquisite cleanliness, -their excitement and enthusiasm rendered them speechless.</p> - -<p>The <i>Princess</i> was berthed close alongside the river wall, and through a -great sliding port in her side over a short, stout gangway like a -drawbridge, neat motor-cars laden with luggage, and with passengers who -had made the run direct from their London homes, passed in continually,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a>{239}</span> -emerging later from a corresponding port-hole some distance away. Of -cargo there was none, the only resemblance to it being mails, sufficient -in quantity, however, to fully load an ordinary small steamer. As these -were not timed to arrive alongside from the General Post Office until -two o’clock, the party had plenty of leisure to look around, and from -what they had read about this wonderful ship, supplemented by much -information supplied by a courteous and communicative official detailed -as cicerone, they were able to give the following history and -particulars of that interesting up-to-date creation of shipbuilding—the -fair giantess <i>Princess Ida</i>.</p> - -<p>She was constructed by the Thames Ironworks Company, a flourishing -concern that worthily represented the marked revival of the shipbuilding -industry in the world’s metropolis. The material used throughout, except -for the lower masts, machinery, propellers, and rigging, was aluminium -alloyed with copper. Her dimensions were as follows: length over all, -1,600 feet; breadth amidships, 164 feet; depth from upper deck, 110 -feet; estimated gross registered tonnage, 33,500; but her lines were so -perfect and graceful as to mask these enormous measurements.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> She had -an “entrance” forward like a clipper ship, and a “clearance” aft of the -utmost fineness, the stem being rounded off in most beautiful curves. -Her floor in the midship sections was flat, and resembled the letter U, -and deep bilge keels helped to keep her steady, and enabled her to -settle down upon her shore cradle without risk of canting or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a>{240}</span> straining. -Her horizontal outline revealed to nautical eyes just that amount of -“sheer,” and no more, necessary for strength, rising almost -imperceptibly to a graceful overhanging bow, from which pointed a -tapering bowsprit, apparently short, but in reality a single massive -spar of Oregon pine.</p> - -<p>This style had been adopted by the owners because, as they argued, it -added considerably to the beauty of the great ship, and as she probably -would never enter a dock—using a shore cradle when it was necessary to -cleanse the hull—a few score feet added to her length would make but -little difference in the room she took up at the quays. The figure-head, -of oxidised silver, was a beautiful half-draped representation of -Tennyson’s fair Princess—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“All beauty compass’d in a female form.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Five magnificent pole-masts, set up with thick wire shrouds and -backstays, rose aloft from her deck, their lower part of steel, the -upper section of polished and varnished American fir, terminating in -gilded globes, one of them being specially set apart for the wireless -telegraph apparatus. These masts, with a graceful “rake,” could not have -been much less than three hundred feet high, but were in accurate -proportion to the length of the <i>Princess Ida</i>, giving her the -appearance of a Brobdingnagian five-masted fore-and-aft schooner. In an -emergency, sails could be put up from them to keep the ship’s head to -the wind and sea. No ventilators showed their unsightly mouths above the -very broad teak top-rail, for they were not needed; but more than the -regulation number of boats—about eighty, all hoisted electrically—hung -from massive davits, some being electric launches. No great forty-feet -wide funnels to hold the wind; no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a>{241}</span> top-hampering superstructures broke -the deck area, save the deck stairway houses and the wide bridge, with -its chart-room, captain’s sanctum, and binnacle house, in which a wheel -that a child could turn operated the steering-gear, consisting of a -great toothed pinion wheel keyed to the enormous rudder, and worked by -two electric motors used alternately.</p> - -<p>From end to end was a double striped and fringed awning. The <i>Princess</i> -carried a search-light of enormous range and power on her foremast, and -her side-lights were disposed without any disfiguring effect on her -starboard and port bows, and not in miniature Eddystones. Her anchor -gear, worked by electricity, was the heaviest ever made, and resembled -that of the largest battleship.</p> - -<p>Over all floated the red merchant flag of Great Britain, 40 feet by 24 -feet, the flag of the South African Commonwealth, the Blue Peter at the -fore, and above the taffrail the beautiful blue ensign of the Royal -Naval Reserve, while in honour of this her maiden voyage she was dressed -rainbow-fashion with innumerable pennons.</p> - -<p>The hull was built on the cellular principle, divided into water-tight -compartments up to above the water-line, the decks or floors being ten -in number. The mighty hold, and the space where bunkers would have been -in an ordinary steamer, were filled with storage batteries; so that an -immense area was at disposal for electric power, renewed daily by a -wonderful chemical process, the weight of the batteries—in this case an -advantage—taking the place of ballast, keeping the <i>Princess Ida</i> at an -almost unvarying draught.</p> - -<p>Relatively the machinery of the <i>Princess Ida</i> was simplicity itself. -She had three propellers that <i>looked</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a>{242}</span> inadequate to move so vast a -bulk. There were no quadruple expansion-balanced engines with cylinders -of 28, 41, 58, and 84 inches in diameter, and no bewildering gathering -of cranks, pistons, rods, and levers, but the shafts were coupled direct -to enormous electric motors which turned them with resistless force, -without the loss involved in the use of a long propeller-shaft. There -was no escaping steam, no heat, no stuffy stoke-hold and fierce -boilers, no smell of oil and waste, and the ventilation was almost as -perfect as on deck.</p> - -<p>Going on board by the central gangway reserved for foot-passengers, one -entered a splendid hall fifty feet high and a hundred feet square, -resembling the lounge saloon of a big hotel, with glass dome-shaped -skylight above—a winter garden with beds of flowers and groups of -sea-loving palms at the side, kept-renewed throughout the voyage; -seductive easy-chairs and couches scattered about; tables here and -there, covered with periodicals and writing material; while at one end -of a platform, used by the ship’s band, and forming a miniature stage, -was a grand piano backed by a handsome curtain of peacock-blue plush, -and, facing it, a fine organ, both instruments strictly reserved for -public entertainments, theatrical and otherwise. The walls of this -beautiful saloon were of polished New Zealand woods, Kauri pine -predominating, than which a lighter and more elegant wainscot can hardly -be imagined. Fireplaces with ornate overmantels burnt logs of wood—a -sacrifice to conventionality and sentiment, as they were not required -for warmth, the ship being lighted and heated throughout by electricity.</p> - -<p>In general arrangement the interior of the ship reminded one of a modern -hotel, and the illusion was heightened by the port-holes on the main or -second deck<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a>{243}</span> being so arranged as to resemble plate-glass windows set in -frames of great strength, and when the vessel began to move on the -waters it was as if a section of the Cecil Hotel had floated off into -the river. But, though beautifully furnished, the ship was not overdone -with meaningless decoration. Mirrors were restricted in number, and -there was but little gilding. Rare paintings of ships, birds, and -flowers were on the walls, while wood-carvings in the style of Grinling -Gibbons and delicate French bronzes beautified unsightly corners. All -the decks were covered with india-rubber laid over fireproof planking, -reducing noise to a minimum, those below the upper deck being carpeted; -and as all the doors were sliding and shut noiselessly, the general -effect of quietude was delightful, even the electric gongs being subdued -in tone.</p> - -<p>The style of upholstery throughout was that of the latest Victorian Era, -modified to meet the requirements of life at sea. There was, of course, -a very grand dining-saloon, and smaller ones for private parties; also a -principal drawing-room, boudoirs, tea-rooms, and in the transoms (<i>i.e.</i> -the aftermost part of the ship) one small and purely ornamental parlour -in imitation of Princess Ida’s in her college—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i15">“.... a court<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Compact of lucid marbles, boss’d with lengths<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of classic frieze with ample awnings gay<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Betwixt the pillars, and with great urns of flowers”—<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">where a statue of that divinity, seated on a throne, with a couple of -tame leopards on each side, was placed as a kind of tutelary genius, to -which the sentimental ladies on board made weekly offerings of the -choicest flowers they could get.</p> - -<p>Then there had been skilfully provided in this wonderful<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a>{244}</span> ship a small -oratory for the use of Roman Catholic passengers, several libraries, -reading and lecture rooms, a music-room, a cardroom, smoking saloons of -course, a billiard-room, (available in very fine weather), swimming or -rather plunge baths, and electric and ordinary baths in abundance made -of aluminium; besides massage-rooms, coiffeurs’ and barbers’ saloons, a -shooting-gallery, a post and telegraph office, a gymnasium, a -skating-rink, a bowling-alley, a photographic room, an amateur’s -workshop, an apartment specially set apart for ping-pong and similar -games, American bars, and a miniature cafe for the pleasure of those who -would make believe they were still ashore; a tennis-court, a miniature -golf-link, a small running, walking, and cycle track (quoits, cricket, -hockey, and even football could always be enjoyed on the upper deck), an -aviary (parrots prohibited), a natural history room, an aquarium, a -servants’ hall, a nursery (a remote locality) with tracks for -perambulators; small shops for confectionery, millinery, hosiery, and -tobacco; also a printing-press, a dispensary, and a hospital; a cell for -insubordinates, and, alas! a mortuary.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>On the upper deck—so great was the distance from stem to stern, twice -up and down being more than a mile—small electric trolley-chairs were -at the disposal of the old or infirm to enable them to take open-air -exercise. A wide shelter-promenade ran round the ship’s sides between -two of the decks, looking out on the sea through spacious port-holes, -and when wind and rain were too pronounced there were the roomy -stairway houses on deck wherein to take refuge.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a>{245}</span></p> - -<p>On every floor there were lifts for those who cared to use them. The -telegraph and telephone made intercommunication easy, and at every -corner of the ship, with its maze of corridors and staircases, -direction-tablets indicated one’s whereabouts.</p> - -<p>Families were accommodated with furnished suites of private rooms, which -could be rented or even leased. Here they could bring their own -servants, and be boarded independently of the other travellers. These -suites varied in size from a modest sitting-room and bedroom for -solitary couples, to flats suitable for a large number. There were -bedrooms (not cabins) for spinsters and bachelors, and double-bedded -rooms. The familiar two, four, and six open-berthed staterooms were -conspicuous by their absence.</p> - -<p>Of regulations there were few, and these were framed for the general -good and were strictly enforced. No dogs or cats were allowed in any -part of the ship; the playing upon any instrument, except in the -music-room, was prohibited, and this applied even to the private suites; -small children and babies were kept absolutely separate from the adults, -and smoking was forbidden except in saloons set apart for that purpose -and in private rooms.</p> - -<p>All cookery was done by electricity,<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> supplemented by charcoal, and -the scale of provisions that had to be dealt with, apart from the ship’s -stores for the crew, was Gargantuan, while fresh fruit, fish, etc., were -always<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a>{246}</span> obtained in addition at the various stopping places. For the -round voyage, with allowance for accidents, say forty-two days in all, -there had to be put on board for the passengers: of fish, 36,000 lbs.; -fresh meat (beef, mutton, lamb, veal, and pork), 367,700 lbs.; fowls and -chickens, 16,000; ducks, 1,800; geese, 950; turkeys, 1,500; partridges, -grouse, etc., 3,600 brace; 260 tons of potatoes; 560 hampers of -vegetables; 4,000 quarts of ice-cream; 18,000 quarts of milk; 215,000 -eggs; also canned goods, butter, flour, and groceries in proportion. Of -champagne, 18,000 bottles; 15,000 of claret; 110,000 of ale; 45,000 of -stout; 87,000 of mineral waters; and 10,000 bottles of various spirits. -All these, except the stimulants, were preserved in chilled rooms, the -ice being made on board.</p> - -<p>At a pinch the <i>Princess Ida</i> could accommodate—besides her crew of -four hundred, a small army of servants, the stewards, and stewardesses -(there were no stokers or firemen)—six thousand souls; but to ensure -comfort, only 3,500 passengers were as a rule booked, necessarily at -high rates. All were of one class, the only difference, as in an hotel, -being in the price paid for position.</p> - -<p>The officers were comfortably quartered in the forward part of the ship -in a manner equal to the first class of many a steamer; the crew -beneath, in the so-called forecastle, palatial in comparison with the -old-fashioned sailing ship.</p> - -<p>By the time the handy-man had taken these notes H. M.’s mails arrived -alongside, and were put on board by electric trolleys through the -central side port. There was no stupefying, deafening escape of steam, -and no maddening ringing of great bells. The Blue Peter—some fifteen -feet square—fluttered down from the foremast,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a>{247}</span> and a megaphone in -sonorous tones announced that the hour of departure had arrived, and -that visitors must leave for the shore.</p> - -<p>The <i>Ida</i> began to show that she could move, and majestically and slowly -shifted her position, until her bow pointed seaward, a mighty cheer -going up from quay and ship. An unseen orchestra gave forth “Auld Lang -Syne,” and in the fading light the <i>Princess Ida</i>, glowing with -incandescents, her syren sounding at intervals, disappeared in the river -fog on her maiden voyage.</p> - -<p>Going down channel at an easy fifteen knots, it was immediately -noticeable how remarkably steady the great ship was in the choppy sea. -There was an entire absence of vibration, partly attributable to the -metal of which she was constructed, and to the perfect balancing of her -machinery and nice adjustment of weight throughout her holds. Even in -the Bay of Biscay, which was wavelessly heavy in long, sullen rollers -after a mighty storm from the west had died away, the <i>Princess</i> behaved -like a real sea-lady, yielding slowly, but steadily, to the <i>force -majeur</i> of the Atlantic; and no one dreamt of being sea-sick except one -very bilious-looking gentleman, a heavy eater, hailing from Brazil.</p> - -<p>In short, she proved herself to be a splendid sea-boat. Not a drop of -water could reach her upper decks; pitch she hardly could, as her great -length enabled her to ride quietly across the valleys between oncoming -waves.</p> - -<p>A few hours’ detention at beautiful Madeira, and shortly afterwards -Teneriffe was reached, where it began to be warm; but the ship was so -spacious, and was kept so cool by means of refrigerators, electric fans, -and—when necessary—punkahs, that no one felt in the least -inconvenienced by the heat. There were no smuts, no smoke,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a>{248}</span> and, better -still, no smell of oil or paint (neither of these being used on the -ship), no cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, or rats!</p> - -<p><a name="fig_35" id="fig_35"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_248_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_248_sml.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 35. ELECTRIC LAUNCH ON THE THAMES</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of the</i> <i>Immisch Electric Launch Co., Ltd., London</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Here she began to put on speed, working up to eighteen knots an hour, -her maximum (very great speed being no special consideration), and it -was then observed that so smooth and tapering were her lines, that she -slipped through the water raising but little bow wave, and almost as -frictionless as a swift ocean-fish.</p> - -<p>An hour or so at lonely Ascension, and the same at St. Helena—in each -case to deliver and receive mails, and to keep up telegraphic -communication with London—a voyage altogether of wondrous beauty and -enjoyment, nights of solemn loveliness, and days that broke<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a>{249}</span> in perfect -splendour, cloudless, save for little patches of white here and there, -and the ocean a dazzling radiance of deep blue.</p> - -<p>Cape Town—six thousand miles in sixteen days out from Tilbury—and, -greeted by thousands who had flocked from far and near to witness the -sight, the <i>Princess Ida</i> glided to her berth inside the great -breakwater.</p> - -<p>And there for the present I must leave her.</p> - -<p>I think I have demonstrated that, theoretically at least, the tiny -electric launches, put on the Thames in 1889 by the Immisch Company, one -of which, the <i>Lammda</i>, took the then Prince of Wales through Boulter’s -Lock, was the forerunner of the ocean steamer of the twentieth century.</p> - -<p>But there is no absolute novelty under the sun; for it is stated that in -1838 a distinguished Roman scientist, Jacobi, invented an electric motor -which drove a small boat on the Neva at two miles an hour.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a>{250}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX<br /><br /> -<small><i>SOME ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION DRAWBACKS</i></small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Perfection is attained by slow degrees; she requires the hand of time.”—<span class="smcap">Voltaire.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<h3>THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">L</span>ITTLE more need be said as to the advantages of the new order of -things, for however technical opinions may differ about the relative -advantages of steam or electricity, there cannot be any doubt that the -public fully recognise the immense superiority of the latter in details -of cleanliness and general comfort.</p> - -<p>Tube railways are intensely disliked by some people, and as heartily -appreciated by millions of others. That they are an advantage in many -ways is unquestionable, though they are not yet without defects. -Motor-cars (electric or petrol), to those who use them, appear to be the -safest and most delightful of vehicles, but here again perfection has -not been reached.</p> - -<p>With these four well-known forms of traction I must now deal, and not -eulogisticallv. In the old days when some recluse renowned for his -holiness—which he had instanced by living unwashed for years in a hair -shirt until it fell to pieces—died, his admirers frequently put in a -claim for his canonisation. This necessitated the appointment of an -individual called the <i>Advocatus Diaboli</i>, a leader of the opposition, -whose duty it was to raise all kinds of objections to the granting of -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a>{251}</span> sacred honour, and to recall everything possible to the detriment -of the candidate. Not a pleasant task, certainly, but not altogether -unnecessary.</p> - -<p>After this fashion it is fair to bring up some sort of a case against -electric traction.</p> - -<h3>ELECTRIC RAILWAY ACCIDENTS AND BREAKDOWNS</h3> - -<p>As regards electric railway accidents and blockings of tubes, the -<i>Advocatus Diaboli</i> is able to quote rather too many examples. -Commencing with the United States, where in July, 1902, a car, -descending the mountain on the Mountain and Lake Electric Railway, near -Gloversville, where the grade is a thousand feet in four miles, became -uncontrollable, and, acquiring frightful velocity, collided with another -car which was ascending the slope. Both cars rushed down several feet, -and then ran off the rails. Each car contained seventy passengers, and -of these fifteen were killed and injured. Ten bodies, mangled beyond -recognition, were taken from the wreckage. Most of the victims were -women.</p> - -<p>At home there is the disastrous Liverpool Electric Overhead Railway fire -of December 23rd, 1901. The trains are run on the multiple control -principle, a motor at each end, and the accident was due to a defect in -the rear one. But as it is a typical case, I will quote in full the -cause of the accident, as assigned by Lieutenant-Colonel H. A. Yorke, -the Board of Trade Inspector. He says: “A gale of wind was blowing from -the west, that is, from the mouth of the tunnel towards the station, -which caused the fire to spread from carriage to carriage until the -whole train was enveloped in flames. It is estimated that the train was -well alight about twelve minutes after the stoppage. There were -twenty-nine passengers, who, when the train first came<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a>{252}</span> to a stand, were -urged by the driver and guard to keep their seats, as there was no -danger. The driver and guard seem to have made some futile attempts to -put out the fire; but it soon became apparent that the fire had obtained -the mastery, and the passengers found it necessary to alight. They had -only eighty yards to walk in order to reach the station, and the -majority of them appear to have gone to their homes without any delay, -and to have suffered no ill-effects from the fire. It appears, however, -from the evidence that a few remained behind, presumably to watch the -progress of the conflagration and the result of the effort to control -it.”</p> - -<p>The inspector went on to say that in his opinion it would have been -productive of no serious danger had only the driver acted with a -moderate degree of prudence. When this man discovered that his rear -motor had failed his duty was to disconnect his rear motor by means of -the plug provided for the purpose in his apartment. He should then have -run into the station with one motor, as is often done. For some reason -or other, which cannot be conjectured, the driver, instead of -disconnecting the defective motor, and in disregard of the warning of -the guard, made repeated efforts to bring it into use, the result being -that before long the woodwork of the rear carriage was ignited by the -flashes produced by the electric arc when the current was switched on to -the defective motor. While the driver was so employed both he and the -guard appear to have told the passengers to keep their seats, as there -was no danger. Both these men and the station foreman seem to have -exhibited a lamentable lack of judgment in this respect. It is -impossible not to feel that the sacrifice of life might have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a>{253}</span> -easily avoided. If the passengers had been hurried out of the train as -soon as it became evident that it had broken down, and if none of them -had been permitted to loiter about the station, their safety would have -been secured. And if the train men and station foreman, who deserve -credit for their efforts to prevent the fire from spreading, had only -realised sooner that the train was doomed, they too had ample time to -escape. The cutting off of the current did no good, but, by putting the -place in darkness, rather increased the difficulties and danger of the -situation.</p> - -<p>The lesson of the disaster is, that all woodwork should be removed as -far as possible from the electric machinery of the railway carriages, -and that for the purpose of insulation material should be employed which -is uninflammable.</p> - -<p>Of blocks or stoppages on tube railways the following are examples.</p> - -<p>Serious inconvenience was caused on December 30th, 1901, by a mishap on -the Central London Railway. It appeared that just before five o’clock in -the morning a motor was being shunted into the Bank Station to take the -first train to Shepherd’s Bush, when, though going dead slow, some of -the gear apparently fouled the current rail, and it jumped the points -just where the two tunnels join, and effectually prevented any train -entering or leaving either. The nearest “cross-over,” by which trains -could be shunted from one to the other, was at the British Museum -Station, but even timely notice did not make the walk through the wet -any the more attractive to business men, the rain having caused all the -omnibuses to be filled long before they got to the station gates. When -the line was constructed it was proposed to make a second siding at the -Bank<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a>{254}</span> as at Shepherd’s Bush, and had this been done there would have -been no dislocation of traffic, but fears for the effects of vibration -on buildings above vetoed the proposal. On an ordinary railway a -powerful crane would probably have been run alongside, but the space in -the tube is so circumscribed that it was with the utmost difficulty that -the engine, which weighed forty-four tons, and was resting against the -side of the tunnel, could be moved. As the afternoon wore on, crowds of -City men gathered in the subway in the hope that the obstruction would -soon be removed, but it was not till five o’clock that the line was -cleared and the traffic resumed.</p> - -<p>Once more the Twopenny Tube distinguished itself by a stoppage. It was -on December 30th, 1902, the anniversary of the precisely similar mishap -in 1901, but fortunately with less serious results. Then the engine fell -against the side of the tube, and the workmen could only get at one -side of it; but this one settled itself in such a position that jacks -could be got to work under both sides. The points at the terminus very -much resemble those at the ends of the tram lines, and with the -tremendous traffic passing over them (engines 1,200 times a day) the -only wonder is that accidents of this kind do not occur more often than -once a year. With a curious perversity, the engine chose the time—four -o’clock in the afternoon—when it would cause the maximum of -inconvenience, and the thousands of City men and women going home -realised more fully than ever the advantage of the tube. The nearest -cross-over is between the British Museum and Chancery Lane, and notice -was at once given that trains were running between the former station -and the western terminus. As soon as possible gangs of men got to work, -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a>{255}</span> within an hour and a half the wheels were got on, but unfortunately -it was very difficult to see what had caused the mishap, as in getting -the motor back the evidences of the cause were removed. Some little -delay was occasioned by straightening the bent rails, but at half-past -eight an engine was run to and fro over the points to see that they were -all right again, and a few minutes later the message was sent to all -stations: “Resumed bookings and ordinary working.”</p> - -<p>These mishaps showed how necessary it was that, instead of cross-overs, -loops should be provided, round which trains could be run.</p> - -<p>January 16th, 1902, witnessed an accident on the City and South London -Electric Railway, happily unattended with serious consequences. A train -left the Elephant and Castle Station shortly after seven a.m., and had -proceeded some two hundred yards towards the Borough when what is -technically known as a “short” occurred in the switch. This means, -roughly, that the current had chosen to go a way of its own instead of -through the insulated wires to the motor. Hence, an “arc” was -produced—that is, an arc lamp on a large scale. The insulating material -began to burn and smell and smoke. Small defects of this kind are common -enough, and the flame is frequently put out with the driver’s hand or -cap. On this occasion the flame resisted all efforts to put it out, and -the driver had to stop the cars and send back for assistance. The -following trains came on slowly, and the engine pushed the broken-down -predecessor on to the Borough Station. It was found necessary to ask the -passengers (fortunately numbering only about thirty or forty) to leave -the train, and the fire was then easily extinguished, though it was -found necessary to cut off the current from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a>{256}</span> generating station for -a short time. The line was only blocked for about an hour, and the -accident was of little importance except as illustrating one advantage -which, it is said, the “engine” system of electric traction possesses -over the “multiple unit.”</p> - -<h3>MEDICAL OBJECTIONS TO TUBE TRAVELLING</h3> - -<p>But apart from accidents and breakdowns, a terrible indictment is -brought against tube railways in general, and the Central London in -particular, which, if true, constitutes a veritable drawback. The -accuser is Dr. L. C. Parkes, Medical Officer of Health for Chelsea, who -says: “Tube railways are still such a comparative novelty, that the -question of the healthiness of this mode of travel has not yet been -fully determined. Dr. Wynter Blyth, in an address a year ago, gave the -results of some experiments on the ventilation and condition of the -atmosphere in the tubes and stations of the Central London Railway. The -chief cause of the movements of air in the tubes and stations, lifts and -stairways, is the passage of the trains along the tubes, which the -carriages nearly fill, thus acting as a piston in a cylinder, driving -air before them and sucking it in from behind in their progress from one -station to another. The condition of the atmosphere, was not excessively -foul, the largest amount of CO ascertained to be present, being 11·9 -parts per 10,000 vols. This sample was taken in a carriage containing -twenty-seven people between the Lancaster Gate and Marble Arch Stations. -The amount of CO present in the air of the station’s lifts and stairways -varied between 8 and 11 parts per 10,000. In no case, then, did Dr. -Wynter Blyth find the amount of CO in the air of the tube to be more -than three times the amount usually present in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a>{257}</span> the outer atmosphere of -the London streets (average 4 parts per 10,000). Contrasted with the -tunnel of the Metropolitan Railway between Gower Street and King’s Cross -Stations, where a sample of the air taken showed that CO was present to -the extent of 25·9 parts per 10,000, the air of the tube railway is -comparatively pure.”</p> - -<p>Dr. Parkes continues: “It may be safely asserted that constant -travelling day after day, even if only for a limited period each day, in -an atmosphere containing 15 to 20 parts per 10,000 of CO, such CO being -derived solely from a human source, must eventually tend to injure -health. There are two other dangers in tube-travelling which require -notice. First, the danger in the warm summer and the cold winter months -alike of bodily chill. In the hot weather the traveller passes suddenly -from the warm street into a much colder atmosphere below the ground -level. In the winter the reverse happens—the passenger who has been -warmed and enervated by the devitalised air below meets the chilly -wintry blast on emerging into the street. Secondly, the air of the tube -being very dry, and constantly in movement, there must be much organic -dust of human origin floating in it. The dangers of tubercular -expectoration are no doubt intensified in such a dry and shifting -atmosphere as that of the tube, and the cautionary notices to prevent -spitting are wisely exhibited in every carriage.”</p> - -<p>On the whole, Dr. Parkes favours open air to other methods of -travelling. He recommends that as far as possible travelling should be -by routes open to the air of heaven.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a>{258}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX<br /><br /> -<small><i>SOME ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION DRAWBACKS (continued)</i></small></h2> - -<h3>TRAMWAY ACCIDENTS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>HEN the Chiswick High Road tram-line was being made the tradesmen -petitioned the London County Council against it. They complained of the -annoyance as well as of the danger of the trams. They said that the -trams, being large (carrying seventy people in all) and running on eight -wheels, made considerably more noise than the light horse-car; that the -motor was not silent, and the progress of the trolley along the -shivering overhead wire made a continuous, most unmusical, and -penetrating din; while the brake—of necessity powerful—also had a -harsh note quite its own. To this was added the noise and flash of -electric sparks and a singularly sonorous and imperative bell in place -of the usual whistle; and as the cars came along every two and a half -minutes in each direction, they who dwelt along the route did not find -them altogether lovely.</p> - -<p>Some people maintain that electric trams are not merely unlovely, but -are decidedly dangerous to travel in. There have been electric tram -accidents, of course, and very serious ones. For instance, at -Huddersfield, one June night in 1902, a car, as it approached the town -and was half-way down an incline of a mile<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a>{259}</span> in length, got out of -control. The trolley arm left the wire, plunging the conveyance into -darkness. By this time the pace of the car was too great to permit of -anyone getting off. It went whizzing past the car standing in the next -loop; but failing to negotiate a sharp curve at the bottom of Somerset -Road, ran straight across the street, smashing the pavement and dashing -with great force into a grocer’s shop, the wooden front of which -collapsed. The front of the car was also driven in. Three persons were -killed and six seriously injured.</p> - -<p>At Chatham a catastrophe, resulting in four deaths and many injuries, is -still fresh in people’s minds. It occurred on October 30th, 1902, and -was extraordinary in many respects, the tram being completely wrecked. -The Chatham and District Light Railway is worked as an electric tramway -on the overhead trolley system, and has been in operation about twelve -months. The scene of the mishap was at the foot of Westcourt Street, Old -Brompton, in the parish of Gillingham, close to the main entrance to -Chatham Dockyard, where there is a very steep gradient. A workmen’s car, -filled with mechanics and labourers on their way to work, suddenly -bolted in descending the hill, notwithstanding that the brakes had been -duly applied. The weight of the heavily laden vehicle increased the -velocity every yard of the way, and a terrific pace was obtained.</p> - -<p>There is a sharp curve in the railway at the end of the road. The -passengers screamed as they realised their danger. The driver shouted to -them to jump off the car, which many did; and the driver and conductor -themselves took a leap for their lives, and thus avoided serious injury. -As anticipated, the curve proved fatal to the safety of the car. The -heavy vehicle toppled over on its side with a terrific crash, and the -passengers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a>{260}</span> projected in all directions, made a confused heap in the -highway.</p> - -<p>Those who were not seriously injured struggled to their feet, but others -remained prostrate, unable to move, shrieking or groaning with pain, and -several more were rendered insensible. Assistance was speedily -forthcoming, and the sufferers were removed to the Royal Naval Hospital, -which is within a stone’s-throw of the scene of the accident.</p> - -<p>In September of the same year a remarkable accident took place at -Glasgow, also with fatal results. About half-past nine one Saturday -night, when the streets were at their busiest, a Possilpark car got out -of the driver’s control, and began to move down a slope of Renfield -Street, which is the main car artery of Glasgow. Where Renfield Street -cuts Sauchiehall Street, the principal thoroughfare of the city, the -vehicle dashed into a Pollokshields car, standing at the junction. Both -cars left the rails, and the runaway, without perceptible interruption, -continued on its career, driving the other before it, the conductors’ -platforms being interlocked. A few yards further on a Dennistown car was -encountered. The two locked cars swept down, and, driving the third in -front of them, continued their course down to Argyle Street, a distance -of about six hundred yards. A long succession of cars was moving -upwards, and with the momentum the three heavy cars had then attained a -disaster seemed imminent. However, where the Dennistown line, coming out -of St. Vincent Place, joins Renfield Street, the foremost of the three -runaways took the branch points, swerved with such speed that it failed -to keep the rails, and plunged headlong across the street, being -eventually brought up by the wall of a shop. The second and third cars, -still locked together,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a>{261}</span> followed the former, striking the shop almost at -the same point.</p> - -<p>At Devonport another accident, resulting in death, occurred the same -month. About nine o’clock in the morning, a car containing eight -passengers, six of whom were on the top, got beyond the control of the -driver on the incline leading to the South-Western Railway Station. The -powerful brakes were promptly applied, but failed to check the progress -of the car, which rapidly gathered momentum, although the reversing gear -was also applied at full pressure.</p> - -<p>At the foot of the slope, where the line takes a sharp curve into one of -the main roads to Devonport, the vehicle, which had by this time -attained a terrific pace, jumped the rails, crossed the road, and dashed -into a wall enclosing the carriage entrance to the station. The force of -the impact broke the wall, and caused the car itself partly to topple -over. Some of the terrified passengers on the top jumped into the -roadway, and others were thrown off. One young man, in jumping off, -succeeded in clearing the car and the wall, but as he alighted in the -roadway, which slopes down to the entrance of the station, a piece of -granite coping, weighing several hundredweight, dislodged by the force -of the collision, fell on his head, death being instantaneous. Other -injured persons were lying in the roadway some distance from the wrecked -car, the upper part of which was a shapeless mass of broken seats and -twisted rails. The position of the car enabled it to be seen that the -brakes were gripping the wheels lightly, while the wooden brakes, which -act on the lines, appeared to be down to the utmost extent.</p> - -<p>In this case the verdict of the coroner’s court coincided with the Board -of Trade’s subsequent report,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a>{262}</span> to the effect that the accident was -brought about by the negligence and incapacity of the driver of the car, -the Board of Trade adding that the cause was excessive speed on a steep -gradient and sharp curve, that the driver was responsible for the -accident in failing to use the brake-power, and in disobeying the -company’s orders by leaving the stopping-place without a signal.</p> - -<p>These runnings away of electric trams called for increased attention to -the question of brakes, which, though they will always hold a car on a -stiff incline on dry rails, yet when the track is greasy they introduce -an element of danger by reason of their very power. They skid the -wheels, which is always a source of great danger. In such cases safety -lies in relaxing the pressure, but it needs a wary brain and firm nerves -to ease off the brake at all when the car has already bolted.</p> - -<p>Then there are collisions, which luckily seldom occur. In October last -one took place between two electric tramcars between Middleton and -Rhodes, near Manchester. The cars were carrying workmen, and the -accident occurred near what is known as the Parkfield loop. The vehicles -were travelling in opposite directions, and owing to some cause, at -present unexplained, they both got on the same line, instead of one -waiting on the loop. About twelve of the passengers were more or less -hurt by broken glass, and one of the drivers was injured about the leg.</p> - -<p>Cars can be completely overturned, as was proved by an incident that -happened in December last year to one of the London County Council -trams. It left the metals at St. George’s Circus, and after jolting -along for a few yards slowly toppled over into a ditch three feet deep, -which had been dug on the near side for the purpose of laying the -electrical connections. There were about ten<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a>{263}</span> passengers on the top and -twelve inside, and the tram was already overturning before they had -fully realised their danger. Fortunately they retained their presence of -mind, and those on the top, by clinging to the rails, prevented -themselves from being hurled into the roadway. Two small boys, who were -unable to retain their grip of the rail when the side of the car struck -the ground, were thrown off into the gutter, but escaped with little -more than a few cuts and a severe shaking. The cause was difficult to -discover, but probably as the lines were being rearranged some piece of -iron or other hard substance eluded the observation of those put to -watch, got into the groove of the metals, and caused the car to jump the -rail at a spot where excavations were being made.</p> - -<p>In our climate tramway traffic is not exposed to any very inclement -weather, so that electric traction is not likely to prove a failure by -reason of heavy snowfalls, as in New York last winter during a blizzard.</p> - -<h3>ELECTRIC SHOCKS</h3> - -<p>There is a serious feature in the overhead trolley system which ought -not to be overlooked, as the following will show. In the centre of -Sunderland four principal streets cross, and here, about eight o’clock -one Saturday night in August, 1902, when the thoroughfares were -congested with people, the trolley-arm of a tram-car became entangled, -and no fewer than three live electric wires snapped. A woman received a -severe shock through one of them striking an iron handrail on the tram -which she was boarding; but the promptitude of a motor inspector in -turning off the current averted further personal injury.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a>{264}</span></p> - -<p>The Fulham Public Baths tragedy at the beginning of this year -exemplified the fact that it does not require a high alternative current -to kill. Under certain conditions 200 volts are sufficient. Criminals -are electrocuted at a voltage of 2,000, the current passes in at the -skull. The murderous elephant, Topsy, in New York paid the penalty of -her misdeeds by having a current of 6,600 volts passed through her, and -died in ten seconds; but a minute before, she had swallowed 460 grains -of cyanide of potassium!</p> - -<p>My own personal experience somewhat resembles that of the woman at -Sunderland. It was at Ramsgate on a rainy day, and, the car being full -inside, I had to travel outside, seats, metal-work, and everything being -naturally very wet, and in taking hold of the iron framing of a seat I -experienced so strong a shock that I called up the conductor. He -ridiculed the idea, but while he was arguing the matter out, contending -that it was an impossibility, he inadvertently grasped the wet -trolley-pole, which gave him such an electric sensation that he yelled -and fell flat on the roof. The car had to be stopped, and until the rain -ceased no passengers were allowed outside.</p> - -<h3>MOTOR-CAR ACCIDENTS</h3> - -<p>By those who dislike them, every imaginable evil is laid at the doors, -or, rather, the wheels of motor-cars, whether propelled by petrol or -electricity, and recorded accidents are quoted, chapter and verse being -given to show that they are the enemies of pedestrian, driving, and -cycling mankind. Here are some examples.</p> - -<p>On a steep hill in the neighbourhood of Grimsthorpe, near Bourne, on May -25th, 1902, a motor-car got out of control and overturned. The driver, -employed by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a>{265}</span> Lord Willoughby de Eresby, <small>M.P.</small>, for whom the vehicle had -been built at Birmingham, was instantaneously killed, his skull being -fractured. He had brought the car to Grimsthorpe Castle only the -previous evening, and was out with a party of friends, mostly Lord -Ancaster’s employés, when the accident happened. One man was badly -injured, and two others of the party received slight injuries, but a -child, who was flung over a hedge, escaped unhurt.</p> - -<p>The following day a motor-car was being driven down a steep hill just -outside Stroud, when the brake failed to act, and the car ran violently -into a stone wall, carrying part of it away. One of the occupants, a -local cloth manufacturer, was seriously injured, and a gentleman who -accompanied him escaped with some ugly bruises.</p> - -<p>An accident occurred near Rearsby, Leicestershire, on August 9th, 1902, -whereby the master of the Quorn Hunt, Captain Burns Hartopp, and Mr. A. -Burnaby were injured. The party were motoring from Little Dalby Hall to -Quorn, when, near Rearsby, the car ran into a cow, with the result that -the occupants were pitched out and the car was wrecked. Captain Burns -Hartopp was picked up in a semi-conscious condition, Mr. Burnaby was -more seriously injured, while Mr. Dashwood escaped with a shaking.</p> - -<p>A curious escape was witnessed the same day at Monmouth. General Sir -Evelyn Wood, who was accompanied by Colonel Grierson, acting <small>Q.M.G.</small>, and -Captain Wood, <small>A.D.C.</small>, had been inspecting the Monmouth Royal Engineers -(Militia) under the command of Lord Raglan. Afterwards the General and -staff proceeded in a motor-car to Abergavenny. While the machine was -being reversed towards the entrance of the Angel<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a>{266}</span> Hotel a brake refused -to work, and the car mounted the pavement and ran into the wall of a -shop, just missing a plate-glass window. Captain Wood, who had alighted, -narrowly escaped being caught between the motor and the wall.</p> - -<p>The following month a motor-car accident occurred at Barnet, when the -Hon. C. S. Rolls was returning home in a motor-car from Barnet Fair. Mr. -Rolls saw a trap containing three or four persons approaching him, and -he steered his car into the hedge, but a collision could not be avoided. -One of the occupants of the trap—a youth—was thrown to the ground, and -the horse was cut on the leg. Mr. Rolls escaped with a slight shaking.</p> - -<p>On the 17th of October last, while motoring from Chester, the Rev. -Arthur Guest, vicar of Lower Peover, with his wife and a friend, had a -startling experience. In steering past a milkcart near Lostock Chemical -Works, the car ran into a brick wall and was overturned and badly -smashed. The vicar, strange to say, escaped without injury, but his wife -and friend were not so fortunate.</p> - -<p>A lamentable catastrophe occurred in February this year in London, when -Mr. George Edward Colebrook, an Australian merchant, of St. Mary Axe, -E.C., lost his life. It appeared that on the previous Sunday the -deceased went for his first motor-car ride with his brother-in-law, -accompanied also by the owner of the car and a professional driver. -There had been a sharp fall of snow and hail, and the roads were in a -bad state. When attempting to pass at a moderate pace another car in the -Finchley Road, near the Royal Oak at Hendon, the hind wheels skidded. -The car turned round and ran against a raised footpath and then -overturned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a>{267}</span> Mr. Colebrook was fatally injured, and died on Tuesday -night from concussion of the brain, having been unconscious from the -time of the accident. His brother-in-law received a fractured arm and -other injuries.</p> - -<h3>THE GENERAL VERDICT</h3> - -<p>Thus much for the opposition, and the <i>Advocatus Diaboli</i> now resumes -his seat. His accusations appear formidable; but it might be justly -pointed out that if a catalogue were compiled of the serious results -caused by the shortcomings of the horse, motor-car accidents would be -found few in comparison. It might be demonstrated that in twelve days 17 -persons had been killed and 143 injured in accidents attributable to -that noble animal.</p> - -<p>When the foregoing tram and motor casualties are analysed, it will be -found that the majority were due to lack of control over the brake -power, to ignorance, or to careless driving.</p> - -<p>As I have observed before, many evils have been laid to the charge of -electric traction. Last year it was reported in the papers that a young -woman had been instantaneously killed at Shepherd’s Bush by the -overhead wires. The fatality was attributed to one of the guide-wires -breaking at the extreme end (an accident which had really occurred on -the line), but it had been replaced <i>before</i> the young lady fell down in -the road, and it was proved at the inquest that she died in the normal -way of heart disease.</p> - -<p>In the old coaching days the dire forebodings of evil arising from -travelling by steam were much more comprehensive than those of the -present day from electric travelling. Horse-breeding, it was said, would -cease and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a>{268}</span> farmers become ruined, their crops perhaps destroyed by -sparks from passing engines; human beings would be asphyxiated while -rushing through the air at tremendous speeds; high roads would fall to -rack and ruin; and every innkeeper on coach routes would be bankrupted! -In fact, a lamentable social revolution was bound to be brought about by -Stephenson’s pestilential proposals!</p> - -<p>Of electrical traction, its greatest detractors can only urge—and with -truth—that it is not yet without drawbacks, not yet so perfected as -to render accidents impossible. And the <i>Advocatus Diaboli</i>, after due -consideration of his own arguments, generously acknowledges that he has -failed to make out his case.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a>{269}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI<br /><br /> -<small><i>ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION AND OUR NATIONAL LIFE</i></small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Long sleeps the summer in the seed;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Run out your measured arcs, and lead<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The closing cycle rich in good.”—<span class="smcap">Tennyson.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<h3>HOW IT AFFECTS EXISTING RAILWAYS</h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HOMAS ALVA EDISON is reported to have said, “Electricity will displace -steam,” and, taking his prediction as a text, I will begin by quoting a -few figures; for Britishers, though they may affect otherwise, dearly -love statistics.</p> - -<p>Well, in the year that Queen Victoria ascended the throne the capital -invested in railways might have been expressed in a few figures. When -she died, the “iron horse” represented the vast sum of twelve hundred -millions sterling.</p> - -<p>Twenty years ago investments in electric traction enterprises amounted -to not more than £100,000. To-day they involve immense sums, the County -Council’s scheme for London alone running up to £50,000,000! But this is -nothing to the probabilities of the near future, as Mr. Percy Sellon -pointed out to the London Chamber of Commerce. “Within the next ten -years,” he said, “electric supply and traction may be expected, with a -fair field, to engage at least 250 millions of capital”; and this -estimate seems to be by no means exaggerated; in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a>{270}</span> fact, it is -underrated. As one of the leading “dailies” observes, “Apart from such a -large project as the electrification of the District and Metropolitan -Railways, there is scarcely a municipal authority in Great Britain which -has not in hand some scheme of electric railway, tramway, or lighting. -It is as well to think that electricity is not the agent of the future, -but of the present, and an era which has already dawned. In displacement -of steam, electricity is evidently destined to be one of the products of -the first quarter of the twentieth century.”</p> - -<p>It may be surmised that by the time Mr. Sellons ten years have expired -all the great railway companies in the kingdom will have adopted -electricity as motive power, certainly on their suburban lines, and for -the passenger traffic on the main lines.</p> - -<p>With what effect, and at what cost?</p> - -<p>The latter question can hardly be answered, but the former may be -guessed at. For a long time the railway companies will naturally be -reluctant to bring about such a revolution as the substitution of -electricity for steam. Engines of enormous power, such as the new Great -Eastern “Decapod” or ten-wheeler, will be requisitioned to accelerate -the working of trains; and, to save fuel, petroleum will be extensively -adopted on others.</p> - -<p>But electricity the public will have, if it is shown to be more -economical in the long run.</p> - -<p>Still, to entirely dispense with a great stock of costly locomotives, -substituting up-to-date motor engines—with the possibility looming in -the future that these, too, in their turn, by the perfecting of storage -batteries, may be displaced—to, perhaps, build new cars, or completely -remodel existing rolling-stock; to erect new buildings<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a>{271}</span> (in many cases) -for power stations; to lay down third rails; all this would involve an -expenditure that even long-suffering shareholders would rebel against. -While, if the steam locomotives were retained to work an accelerated -goods service on separate tracks, the widening of bridges, cuttings, and -viaducts, the duplication of tunnels on many lines, and the enlargement -of stations and sidings, would entail disastrous expenditure. However, -the change will doubtless be made gradually, perhaps commencing with the -suburban lines, probably as a direct result of the electrification of -the Inner Circle Railway, over whose system several main lines have -important running powers, and which will then be compelled to abandon -steam. Or should some enterprising Socialistic Government come into -power with no such trifling matters as Education, Water, Gas, or Tube -Bills on its hands, it might by the year 1913, in its anxiety to carry -theory into practice, decide to nationalise and electrify our railways -wholesale, and at any cost—to the ratepayers!</p> - -<p>The effect, anyhow, would not be so very startling, for by that time -electric travelling would be a matter of course, and disused locomotives -of the type so familiar on the “Underground” would be inquired for by -relic hunters and presented as curios to every big town.</p> - -<p>Already the change on the great lines has begun, and it is a significant -fact that the North Eastern have decided to adopt electricity on some -thirty-seven miles of their system in the neighbourhood of -Newcastle-on-Tyne, and a modified form of it in the shape of auto-cars -with petrol engines and dynamos generating the current, on the short -line between Hartlepool and West Hartlepool.</p> - -<p>Of electric lines in progress or projected, we have the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a>{272}</span> Manchester and -Liverpool, the London and Brighton, the Edinburgh and Glasgow, and -others.</p> - -<p>In London all the big termini will be linked together, and connected -with the metropolitan Tube systems, whatever form the latter may -ultimately assume. This may have the effect of increasing the crowding -and bustling of our big stations, but, on the other hand, a vast number -of wealthy people will use motor-cars from “house-to-house,” dispensing -altogether with the railway.</p> - -<p>Trains, more speedily and more economically run, will start more -frequently. Goods traffic will be on entirely separate lines, and -passenger trains will be able to follow one another in rapid and safe -succession.</p> - -<p>Exteriorily all the termini will look as they do now, minus the presence -of horsed four-wheelers and hansoms. But Victoria will be greatly -enlarged along Buckingham Palace Road; while Euston, nearly doubled in -size, will have its frontage brought forward to Euston Square. Within, -there will be less confusion, as either the American check system of -booking luggage will be adopted, or that of collecting it beforehand by -the railway company’s swift motor-vans, and there will be less steam. On -the whole, however, the old stations will probably be -unchanged—Paddington, with its familiar transept roof, impressive as in -1854, when the late Queen, travelling from Windsor, paid it her first -visit; the Midland, remarkable for its noble span roof, soaring one -hundred feet above the level of its eleven lines of rail and its four -platforms; the Great Eastern, the largest terminus in the kingdom, under -five great spans—four parallel and one transverse—of glazed roofing, -with its eighteen arrival and departure platforms; and Waterloo, once a -mere shed propped up by arches, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a>{273}</span> now second in size only to -Liverpool Street, a maze to the uninitiated.</p> - -<p>The large provincial stations will most likely remain much as they are -at present—Bristol, Exeter, York, Glasgow, Liverpool, all splendid -specimens of important termini and junctions; Swindon, Crewe, -Manchester, and Warrington, greatly improved, if not entirely rebuilt.</p> - -<p>Power machinery will be housed in existing railway buildings when -practicable, and intermediate sub-stations will be marked features along -the railway routes. Pumping-houses, water-tanks, coalyards, stages, and -sidings will have disappeared.</p> - -<p>Sleepy wayside stations, with their pleasant gardens and rural -surroundings, will probably remain untouched by the new order of things, -save that the rapid delivery of farm produce by horseless vehicles or by -light railways, acting as feeders, will wake them up.</p> - -<h3>THE IMPROVEMENT OF STREET TRAFFIC</h3> - -<p>The general use of horseless vehicles will do more—at any rate in -London—towards the sanitation of great cities than all the enactments -of county or borough councils. Medical experts are agreed that the -condition of the roads, however well kept, in dry weather particularly, -is highly conducive to the spread of all kinds of throat diseases, not -to mention influenza; while if the roads are neglected, the peril is -increased and every sense is offended. Horses, as beasts of burden, -should have no place in crowded thoroughfares, and their presence in -numbers produces on wood-paving a pernicious and offensive ammoniacal -result which anyone can test in, say, Broad Street, after the omnibuses -have ceased running for the day, or, rather, for the night. All over -London, and even in the suburbs, the streets<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a>{274}</span> are Augean stables, which -no effort of the Hercules of Spring Gardens or the Guildhall can -effectually cleanse. It is estimated that at the present time there are -over 16,000 licensed horse carriages in London, besides tradesmens vans -and other vehicles, and that 200,000 horses are stabled every night, -necessitating the removal of thousands of tons of manure and refuse -daily.</p> - -<p>Noise, too—that distracting rattle and rumble of vans, light carts, -omnibuses, and cabs—will be done away with, and how much this will help -to restore the nervous system of Londoners who can tell? Horses having -almost vanished, the space each one would occupy—some seven feet in -length—will be saved on each vehicle, and thus the increase of traffic -will be partly provided for. Collisions and the running-down of cars -will be unheard of, the steering and stopping powers of the electric -motors being perfect.</p> - -<h3>ITS SOCIAL RESULTS</h3> - -<p>The effect of universal electric traction on our social life may be -far-reaching and prodigious. It may result in a partial decrease in the -resident population of London, the working-classes living largely in the -country and travelling up and down at uniform penny fares, clerks and -others doing the same; while the wealthy and the well-to-do may use -their motor-cars to such an extent as to habitually sleep outside the -town boundaries, as may also members of both Houses. Only those persons -whose duties compel them, will live within hearing of Big Ben.</p> - -<p>Society will be still more restless, but its members will be healthier, -as fresh air will readily be obtainable. There will be even less time -for reading than now. Formal calls will largely cease; friends in -luxurious<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a>{275}</span> electro-cars will “pop in” <i>en route</i> on short surprise -visits, and hospitality will, on the whole, diminish.</p> - -<p>In these vehicles, touring parties (<i>without</i> Cook and Son, or Gaze and -Co.) will be constantly arranged to traverse the world. House rents -generally will be lower, save at the seaside and other health resorts, -where they may actually become higher. So that for those who elect to -remain in town, it will be possible to live on a moderate income, rates -and taxes, it is to be hoped, also being lessened.</p> - -<p>The cost of living will be reduced, produce of all kinds being more -extensively home-grown and more economically brought to market.</p> - -<p>Horses, being discarded for draught purposes, will be plentiful and -cheap; cavalry remounts will be readily obtained, and all over Europe -mounted forces may be the order of the day. The smallest farmer will be -able to employ several horses on his farm, and everyone in the country, -grown tired of cycling and motoring, will have their stables full at low -cost, while in the season Rotten Row will be more crowded than ever with -equestrians.</p> - -<p>Wages will be higher, and there will be a wider field and less -competition.</p> - -<p>Lastly, hygienic conditions being vastly improved, and smoke abolished, -the death-rate of London and all large cities will be reduced. But the -greatest boon electrical traction can bestow, will be reserved for the -working and poorer classes. Take London, for example.</p> - -<h3>THE EFFECT ON OVERCROWDING</h3> - -<p>“Overcrowding! Why, everybody knows what that means!” said the Hon. John -Middlemass. “Only the other day I had to travel to town from -Southampton, and the first-class compartment actually filled up—a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a>{276}</span> -beastly nuisance, for we could not play whist as we had hoped. And in -the afternoon, when on my way to pay a visit at Lancaster Gate, I -couldn’t get a seat in the Twopenny Tube, but had to stand all the way, -holding on by one of the straps in the roof! Overcrowding! Why, the last -time I dined at the Gresham Club in the City, there was not a table to -be got to one’s self. They were all packed, and the waiters could hardly -move about. And that evening at Lady Danby’s reception in Piccadilly we -couldn’t even stir, I can assure you, once we were in her big -drawing-room. While as for supper, it was a fight to get near the -buffet, and when I did manage to get some consommé for Sybil Clare, who -was positively starving, just as I was piloting it out of the crush, -some fool jobbed my elbow, and sent the lot of it right into old Colonel -Curry’s face, and made him swear like a trooper! To make matters worse, -I stepped upon the Dowager Lady Harvey’s train, which had no business on -the floor at all, and, I am told, tore three breadths out of it, -whatever that may mean. Anyhow, I was not asked to any of her dinners -again that season.</p> - -<p>“Overcrowding! Yes! You should have been stopping with me at Rookfort -Castle the Christmas after young Lord Staunton had come of age! Two in -each bedroom, I assure you, and they actually had the cheek to ask some -of us to put up with the box-room at the top of the house, as every -square foot of the place was occupied. Oh, yes, I know what trying to -put too many eggs in one basket means! I went through it all on board -the P. and O. <i>Arabia</i>, from Bombay. Six in a cabin; no room to dress, -had to take it by turns; all the grub served in double relays; baths out -of the question, unless a fellow sat up all night to grab one;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a>{277}</span> and the -promenade-deck like the enclosure at Ascot on Cup Day; which reminds me -that I never was at any of the big races when the grand stand wasn’t -crowded out.</p> - -<p>“Then, as to overcrowding in small houses, used I not to call upon poor -Bristowe, my chum at Eton, who became a lawyer’s clerk at £300 a year, -got married, had eleven children, and lives in a poky little house down -Fulham way—only eight rooms—and I believe some of them sleep in the -bathroom and the kitchen, and the slavey in the scullery!”</p> - -<p>Evidently the Hon. John did not know much about the social problem of -overcrowding amongst the poor, and how it has arisen.</p> - -<p>“It is not good that man should be alone,” and ever since that divine -maxim was enunciated, man has taken good care to act upon it, in more -senses than one. His nature is gregarious, and as the world he was sent -into ceased to give him its fruits spontaneously, he was obliged to take -to a country life to obtain the means of existence by the sweat of his -brow. He did not readily adapt himself to the new conditions, and, as -the history of Babel shows, there was always a tendency to congregate, -build great cities, and get as much agricultural work done as possible -by slaves.</p> - -<p>Nowadays the dislike of solitude is more marked than ever. Who does not -know of beautiful country vicarages whose inmates would give their souls -to go and live in towns; of farms where wife and daughters pass their -time in grumbling because it is so dull at the old house; of squatters -far away in Gipp’s Land or Maneroo Plains, who, as soon as they make -their pile, leave the roomy verandahed station, and, importuned by an -impatient family, settle down at St. Kilda, Toorak, Darling Point,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a>{278}</span> in -Melbourne, or Sydney? Even peasants, country born and bred, seeking to -“better themselves” in Canada, often cannot, or will not, bear the -absence of such small excitement as falls to their lot in their native -village.</p> - -<p>This is illustrated by a case known to myself, where a labouring lad, -assisted out to the far West, and there obtaining good wages, and—what -to him was luxury indeed—unlimited eggs to eat, threw up his situation -and came back to his home in Kent and to his wretched wages, simply -because, as he said, “It was too lonely in Manitoba; there was no -amusement and no village inns.”</p> - -<p>As Mr. Rider Haggard has remarked, “Some parts of England are becoming -almost as lonesome as the veldt of Africa.”</p> - -<p>Therefore there is the danger ahead that Goldsmith’s foreboding may be -realised:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where wealth accumulates and men decay.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A breath can make them as a breath has made,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But a bold peasantry, their country’s pride,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When once destroyed can never be supplied.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Hodge, as a class, cannot emigrate. He has muscle, he has a wife and -usually several children, but he has no capital, and the colonies, with -the exception of Canada, do not encourage him or want him without. His -advent also means a disturbance in the labour market and lowers the wage -rate. So millions of acres of fertile land in our dependencies where -there is room, and more than room, for all, remain untilled, -dependencies created by British capital, defended from invasion by -British fleets, helped by British taxpayers, but allowed by a succession -of Governments, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a>{279}</span> the precedent of the American colonies in their -minds, to surround themselves with <i>chevaux-de-frise</i> of exclusiveness.</p> - -<p>No longer do great clipper ships leave these shores crowded with hopeful -emigrants, the refrain of “Cheer, boys, cheer,” on their lips, and speed -across wide oceans to the Antipodes. A new order of things prevails. -Workmen’s wages in Australasia must be maintained at a fixed standard, -come what may. Heavy duties must be levied to effect this, and -everything must be “protected,” except the interests of Great Britain.</p> - -<p>But Hodge wants to move somewhere and earn more money, so he and his -belongings migrate to London, side by side with other kinds of -impoverished labourers; but, alas! for them, side by side also with the -poor alien, who is unquestionably one great cause of the congestion in -certain districts. Russians, Poles, and Germans swarm into the world’s -metropolis, whose streets, they have been told, are paved with gold that -only requires picking up! They are willing to pay almost any price for -wretched accommodation near their work, where they herd together under -conditions as low as they can well be.</p> - -<p>The following illustrates this. At the London Hospital in December of -last year Mr. Wynne E. Baxter held an inquest on the body of Mary -Moretsky Libermann, aged nine, who was accidentally burnt to death. The -coroner said the only articles in the room where the fatality took place -were a small bed and a broken chair, and that the mother and two -children slept in the bed, and four other children on the floor. The -woman, it appeared, came from Russia, and had only been in England seven -weeks. For the small<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a>{280}</span> room she paid 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week. A juryman urged -that there ought to be some sort of supervision over the kind of house -in which this woman and her family existed.</p> - -<p><a name="fig_36" id="fig_36"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 398px;"> -<a href="images/i_280_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_280_sml.jpg" width="398" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p class="c">FIG. 36. WHERE THE POOR LIVE</p> - -<p class="csml">Original drawing by Hanslip Fletcher</p> - -<p class="csml"><i>By permission of Mr. Hanslip Fletcher</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p>The presence of aliens and their competition also lowers the already -sufficiently low rate of wages. Houses, therefore, in these -localities—once tenanted by a single family—are let off at exorbitant -rates to as many as can be crammed into them. Lucky, indeed, is the -married labourer who can anywhere secure a single room for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a>{281}</span> 4<i>s.</i> to -6<i>s.</i> a week. And such a room! No means of preparing a real meal, the -family fare generally consisting of tea, “two-eyed steaks” (herrings), -and a “couple of doorsteps” (two slices of bread) per head.</p> - -<p>But, as “General” Booth says, “A home is a home be it ever so low, and -the desperate tenacity with which the poor cling to the last wretched -semblance of one is very touching. There are vile dens, fever-haunted -and stenchful crowded courts, where the return of summer is dreaded -because it means the unloosing of myriads of vermin which render night -unbearable, which (the dens) nevertheless are regarded as havens of rest -by their hard-working occupants. They can scarcely be said to be -furnished. A chair, a mattress, and a few miserable sticks constitute -all the furniture of the single room in which they have to sleep and -breed and die; but they cling to it as a drowning man to a -half-submerged raft.... So long as the family has a lair into which it -can creep at night, the married man keeps his footing, but when he loses -that solitary foothold, there arrives the time, if there be such a thing -as Christian compassion, for the helping hand to be held out to save him -from the vortex that sucks him downward, aye, downward to the hopeless -under-strata of crime and despair.”</p> - -<p>Truly in such cases one realises the truth of these lines:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“God made the country, and man made the town,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">What wonder then that health and virtue, gifts<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That can alone make sweet the bitter draft<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That life holds out to all, should most abound<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And least be threatened in the fields and groves.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Booth writes chiefly of the East of London; but of all overcrowded vile -dens, perhaps none are so bad as those in the West End, frequently not a -stone’s-throw from fashionable thoroughfares and luxurious residences.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a>{282}</span></p> - -<p>At Notting Dale, Kensington, is a district comprising five streets, -consisting entirely of common lodging-houses and “furnished rooms,” -whose occupants are thieves, rogues, professional beggars, hawkers, and -“unfortunates.” It has been rightly named the “West End Avernus,” and so -offensive are the habits of its unwashed crowds, that the policeman on -his beat is often compelled to hold his handkerchief to his nose as he -passes by.</p> - -<p>Still lower in the grade of accommodation for a married labourer is the -“part of one room” system; and, lowest of all, the common lodging-house, -where over-crowding is inevitable.</p> - -<p>In one alley in Spitalfields there were last year ten houses in whose -fifty-one rooms (none of them more than 8 ft. by 9 ft.—about the size -of a biggish bathroom) no fewer than 254 human beings were distributed; -from two to nine in each apartment, but nine in the room was not the -maximum.</p> - -<p>There is an old story to the effect that a district visitor, -sympathising with an occupant of some such lodging as the above in St. -Giles’-in-the-Fields, where four families respectively <i>tenanted</i> the -four corners, was met with the philosophic reply, “Oh, yes, we should -have been comfortable enough if the landlord hadn’t gone and let the -middle of the room to a fifth family.”</p> - -<p>Think of all this, fathers and mothers, who jealously guard your -children from every possible source of moral contamination, whose -daughters’ modesty would be startled if accidentally a bedroom window -momentarily revealed their toilettes, whose children at boarding-schools -feel sensitive about dressing and undressing before others.</p> - -<p>Yet this is nothing! A well-known rector in the East<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a>{283}</span> End says: “From -one of my parochial buildings I have seen through the thinly-veiled -windows of a house, four men and six women retiring for the night in one -room, all of them respectable, hard-working people, and the majority of -them sleeping in beds on the floor,” the rent per week being eight -shillings.</p> - -<p>As to the alleged dislike of the very poor to the use of soap and water, -it is chiefly because the privacy essential for tubbing is simply -non-existent.</p> - -<p>Probably the lowest depth is attained, as I have said, in the common -lodging-house, where all kinds of characters assemble under conditions -which make innocence and decency impossible, children looking without -any emotion upon sights they ought never to see, and listening to -language they ought never to hear.</p> - -<p>The victims of this result of overcrowding are human beings like -ourselves, “fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject -to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the -same winter and summer.”</p> - -<p>It is not from choice that men, women, and children are thus herded -worse than cattle. Necessity compels them to dwell within a certain -area, especially the “docker,” who cannot afford to take a journey in -search of work, while the smallness and uncertainty of their earnings, -together with the high rent they pay, deprive them of the power to exist -otherwise.</p> - -<p>Figures prove little, but it is a fact that for all London the average -population per acre is fifty-seven; and an idea of the extent of -overcrowding in certain localities may be gathered by comparing this -with that of St. George the Martyr, Southwark, which is 210; with -Whitechapel, 225; and with Spitalfields, 330; the latter equivalent to -crowding into the area of Grosvenor Square<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a>{284}</span> (six acres), tenements -containing 1,980 souls, instead of 342! On the other hand, in the -wealthy parts of London there is far too much room, great mansions that -could comfortably accommodate scores of people being habitually left -almost empty.</p> - -<p>The moral effect of it all is terrible. Thousands of infants, ill-born, -tainted, ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, are growing up under -conditions where purity of thought is impossible, growing up to taint -future generations and undo the good work effected elsewhere in social -regeneration. Why keep the main stream pure if foul rivulets be allowed -to arise and pollute it again? Why make clean the outside only of the -cup and platter?</p> - -<p>But, as Cervantes says, “there is a remedy for everything but death.” -And for the “submerged tenth,” who cannot move away to the suburbs, no -doubt in time vast barracks built of steel with garden roofs, unsightly -but utilitarian, will be created in every poor quarter, resembling the -Park Row Buildings in New York, 380 feet in height, and consisting of -thirty stories; or the Fisher, the Marquette, and the Champlain blocks -in Chicago, of seventeen stories each.</p> - -<p>These buildings would accommodate thousands of lodgers—British subjects -only—at low rentals, under decent and sanitary conditions. While for -workmen and others in receipt of fair wages cheap electric traction, -enabling them to go to and from their daily task, will solve the problem -of overcrowding so far as they are concerned.</p> - -<p>Overcrowding, however, is only one out of a host of problems and -questions that characterised the closing decades of the last century, -and beset the opening of the present one.</p> - -<p>We are haunted with problems, and if none existed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a>{285}</span> we should probably -regret it, and try to invent them. There are endless political and -economic problems, the naval and military, the religious and -educational, the national food supply, and with it the land and -agricultural question, the labour question, and the relief of the poor, -who are always with us.</p> - -<p>Social problems bristle on all sides, and every active lady appears to -belong, not to one, but to many of the societies for the reform or -abolition of this, and for the bringing about of that, which abound. Mr. -Jellyby’s little project for civilising the natives of Borrioboola-Gha -on the left bank of the Niger, and providing them with blankets, would -be but a drop in the philanthropic ocean of to-day!</p> - -<p>Temperance, morality, smoking, marriage laws, vaccination, funeral -customs and cremation, early closing, domestic service, cooking, dress, -hygiene, our boys and girls and what to do with them, in fact, -everything in life, seems to have been converted into a “Question,” and -provides a text upon which more or less eloquent sermons are preached.</p> - -<p>Everyone seems to work hard, and has no time for anything. Everyone, -too, is restless and expectant, eager for excitement and change, while -miracles of discovery and invention are wrought so frequently as to be -almost unnoticed.</p> - -<p>All nations are being chained together by iron roads or lines of swift -steamers, and everybody travels. Locomotion is the order of the day, a -sign of the times, and electricity is the great factor that has brought -it about.</p> - -<p>Just as in the building of some vast cathedral unsightly scaffolding -conceals the graceful proportions of the uprising building, so in what -is going on around us may<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a>{286}</span> appear much confusion and absence of purpose. -But out of it is being evolved a state of readiness for the coming era, -when wars shall cease and vexed problems be finally solved.</p> - -<p>Meantime the world’s feverish workers might well despair, were it not -that they</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8">“...see in part<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That all, as in some piece of art,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Is toil co-operant to an end.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a>{287}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2> - -<p class="c"><a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#G">G</a>, -<a href="#H">H</a>, -<a href="#I-i">I</a>, -<a href="#L">L</a>, -<a href="#M">M</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#O">O</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#Q">Q</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>, -<a href="#U">U</a>, -<a href="#V-i">V</a>, -<a href="#W">W</a>.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<a name="A" id="A"></a>Accidents on electric railways, <a href="#page_251">251-256</a><br /> - -— to motor-cars, <a href="#page_264">264-267</a><br /> - -— tramway, <a href="#page_258">258-263</a><br /> - -Adaptability of shallow underground system to London, <a href="#page_198">198</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a><br /> - -Advance of motoring, <a href="#page_202">202</a><br /> - -Agricultural motor vehicles, <a href="#page_218">218</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a><br /> - -Agriculture, Decay of, <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Aldershot trials of motor vehicles, <a href="#page_215">215-217</a><br /> - -Aliens and overcrowding, <a href="#page_279">279</a>, <a href="#page_280">280</a><br /> - -American capital and London’s railways, <a href="#page_061">61</a>, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_161">161</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="B" id="B"></a>Balfour’s, Mr., views on motor-cars and public highways, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a><br /> - -Ballybunion and Listowel Railway, <a href="#page_036">36</a>, <a href="#page_037">37</a><br /> - -Barnet motor-car accident, <a href="#page_266">266</a><br /> - -Birmingham electric tramways, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a><br /> - -Black country, Facts and statistics respecting the, <a href="#page_177">177-179</a><br /> - -Board of Trade Committee upon vibration in Tubes, <a href="#page_087">87</a><br /> - -— — Report of upon shallow underground system, <a href="#page_199">199</a><br /> - -— — — — vibration in Tubes, <a href="#page_087">87-89</a><br /> - -Boer war and motor-cars, <a href="#page_214">214</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a><br /> - -Boston shallow underground railway, <a href="#page_190">190-194</a><br /> - -Brighton Beach Electric Railway, <a href="#page_013">13</a>, <a href="#page_014">14</a><br /> - -British Electric Traction Co.’s tramways, <a href="#page_180">180-182</a><br /> - -Brunel’s shield and Thames Tunnel, <a href="#page_076">76</a>, <a href="#page_077">77</a><br /> - -Buda-Pesth shallow underground railway, <a href="#page_190">190</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="C" id="C"></a>Cabs, new and old, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_213">213</a><br /> - -Cars, Curious uses of motor, <a href="#page_221">221-223</a><br /> - -— Description of various motor, <a href="#page_206">206</a><br /> - -— — electric tram, <a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a><br /> - -Central London Electric Railway, The, <a href="#page_063">63-73</a><br /> - -— — — — Description of, <a href="#page_066">66-68</a><br /> - -— — — — Effect on omnibus traffic of, <a href="#page_070">70</a><br /> - -— — — — History of, <a href="#page_063">63-65</a><br /> - -— — — — Its annual sale of lost articles, <a href="#page_072">72</a>, <a href="#page_073">73</a><br /> - -— — — — Its City subways, <a href="#page_065">65</a>, <a href="#page_066">66</a><br /> - -— — — — Means of exit from cars of, <a href="#page_072">72</a><br /> - -— — — — Ventilation of, <a href="#page_070">70-72</a><br /> - -Centres of Great Britain, Manufacturing, <a href="#page_174">174-177</a><br /> - -Chatham electric tramway accident, <a href="#page_259">259</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a><br /> - -Chester motor-car accident, <a href="#page_266">266</a><br /> - -City and South London Railway, The, <a href="#page_015">15-18</a>, <a href="#page_022">22</a>, <a href="#page_023">23</a><br /> - -— — — — A trial trip in, <a href="#page_019">19-22</a><br /> - -Claims for damage by railway tubing, <a href="#page_083">83-86</a><br /> - -Combination omnibus (electricity and petrol,) <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a><br /> - -Conveyances, Public, <a href="#page_208">208-213</a><br /> - -County Council, The London, <a href="#page_143">143</a><br /> - -— — — and rehousing, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_144">144</a><br /> - -County Council’s, The London, design for shallow underground railway, <a href="#page_187">187</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a><br /> - -— — — tramway system, <a href="#page_140">140-150</a><br /> - -— — — tramways, Business journey on, <a href="#page_151">151-156</a><br /> - -Country, Changes produced by electric locomotion in the, <a href="#page_273">273</a><br /> - -Crimean war and traction engine, <a href="#page_217">217</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="D" id="D"></a>Devonport electric tramway accident, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="E" id="E"></a>Earth tremblings, <a href="#page_089">89</a><br /> - -Electric haulage on tramways by accumulators, <a href="#page_137">137</a><br /> - -— — — closed conduit, <a href="#page_134">134</a><br /> - -— — — open conduit, <a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a><br /> - -— — — overhead trolley, <a href="#page_134">134-137</a><br /> - -— locomotion, Devil’s Advocate and, <a href="#page_250">250</a>, <a href="#page_251">251</a><br /> - -— — Drawbacks of, <a href="#page_250">250-267</a><br /> - -— — our national life and, <a href="#page_269">269-286</a><br /> - -— — Various forms of, <a href="#page_009">9</a>, <a href="#page_010">10</a><br /> - -— motor-cars, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a><br /> - -— — vehicles, <a href="#page_214">214</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a><br /> - -— omnibuses, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a><br /> - -Electric railway accident in United States, <a href="#page_251">251</a><br /> - -— — — on Liverpool Overhead, <a href="#page_251">251-253</a><br /> - -— — accidents, official report upon causes of, <a href="#page_251">251-253</a><br /> - -— — breakdown on City and South London, <a href="#page_255">255</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a><br /> - -— — breakdowns on Central London, <a href="#page_253">253-255</a><br /> - -— railways, Accidents on, <a href="#page_251">251-256</a><br /> - -— — Pioneer, <a href="#page_011">11-30</a><br /> - -— — Remarkable, <a href="#page_031">31-46</a><br /> - -— traction undertakings, Investment of capital in, <a href="#page_269">269</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a><br /> - -— tramcars, Description of, <a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a><br /> - -— tramway accidents, Official report upon causes of, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> - -— — traction, Various methods of, <a href="#page_131">131-138</a><br /> - -— tramways generally, <a href="#page_128">128-140</a><br /> - -— — Objections to, <a href="#page_258">258</a><br /> - -Electricity, amount required to cause death, <a href="#page_264">264</a><br /> - -— Definition of terms used in, <a href="#page_008">8</a>, <a href="#page_009">9</a><br /> - -— for traction, how produced, <a href="#page_007">7</a>, <a href="#page_008">8</a><br /> - -— Signs of the times and, <a href="#page_285">285</a><br /> - -— Storage of, <a href="#page_235">235</a><br /> - -— — applied to navigation, <a href="#page_230">230-249</a><br /> - -— — Edison’s system, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_236">236</a><br /> - -Emigration and overcrowding, <a href="#page_278">278</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="F" id="F"></a>Factories, Removal from London of, <a href="#page_144">144-146</a><br /> - -Flourishing state of motor-car industry in Great Britain, <a href="#page_204">204-206</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="G" id="G"></a>General verdict upon drawbacks of electric locomotion, <a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a><br /> - -Giant’s Causeway Electric Railway, The, <a href="#page_011">11-13</a><br /> - -Glasgow electric tramway accident, <a href="#page_260">260</a>, <a href="#page_261">261</a><br /> - -— tramways, <a href="#page_166">166-168</a><br /> - -Great Northern, Brompton, and Piccadilly Circus Railway, The, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_118">118</a>, <a href="#page_127">127</a><br /> - -— — — — — — Advantages of, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_118">118</a><br /> - -— — — — — — Aristocratic character of, <a href="#page_126">126</a>, <a href="#page_127">127</a><br /> - -— — — — — — Route of, <a href="#page_118">118-126</a><br /> - -Grimsthorpe motor-car accident, <a href="#page_264">264</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="H" id="H"></a>Haulage on tramways, Various methods of, <a href="#page_130">130</a>, <a href="#page_131">131</a><br /> - -High-speed railways, <a href="#page_038">38-40</a><br /> - -History of tramways, <a href="#page_128">128-130</a><br /> - -Horseless vehicles, electrical and otherwise, <a href="#page_200">200-229</a><br /> - -— — in the past, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a><br /> - -How railway Tubes are bored, <a href="#page_077">77-81</a><br /> - -Huddersfield electric tramway accident, <a href="#page_258">258</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="I-i" id="I-i"></a>Improvements in railway travelling, <a href="#page_002">2-4</a><br /> - -Inner Circle, Rejuvenating the Metropolitan, <a href="#page_047">47-62</a><br /> - -Introduction of tramways by G. F. Train, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_129">129</a><br /> - -Investment of capital in electric traction undertakings, <a href="#page_269">269</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="L" id="L"></a>Legislation respecting motor-cars, <a href="#page_226">226</a><br /> - -Light Railway Act of 1896, <a href="#page_162">162-166</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> - -— — — — Effect on rural tramways of, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -Liverpool electric tramways, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a><br /> - -— Overhead Railway, The, <a href="#page_026">26-30</a><br /> - -Local authorities and rural tramways, <a href="#page_182">182-185</a><br /> - -Locomotion, Electric, Changes in the country produced by, <a href="#page_273">273</a><br /> - -— — — at London termini produced by, <a href="#page_272">272</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a><br /> - -— — Devil’s Advocate and, <a href="#page_250">250</a>, <a href="#page_251">251</a><br /> - -— — Drawbacks of, <a href="#page_250">250-267</a><br /> - -— — — General verdict upon, <a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a><br /> - -— — Improvement of street traffic arising from, <a href="#page_273">273</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a><br /> - -— — Its effect upon existing railways, <a href="#page_270">270</a>, <a href="#page_272">272</a><br /> - -— — Our national life and, <a href="#page_269">269-286</a><br /> - -— — overcrowding, Effect of, on, <a href="#page_257">257-286</a><br /> - -— — Social results of, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a><br /> - -— — Various forms of, <a href="#page_009">9</a>, <a href="#page_010">10</a><br /> - -— New and old order of, <a href="#page_001">1-9</a><br /> - -Locomotives, Steam railway, <a href="#page_002">2</a>, <a href="#page_004">4</a><br /> - -— Steam in railway, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_005">5</a><br /> - -London County Council, The, <a href="#page_143">143</a><br /> - -— — — and rehousing, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_144">144</a><br /> - -— — Council’s tramway system, <a href="#page_146">146-150</a><br /> - -— — — tramways, Business journey on, <a href="#page_151">151-156</a><br /> - -— Motor-car accident in, <a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_267">267</a><br /> - -— Overcrowding in, <a href="#page_279">279-284</a><br /> - -— Removal of factories from, <a href="#page_144">144-146</a><br /> - -— termini, Changes at, produced by electric locomotion, <a href="#page_272">272</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a><br /> - -— tramcar overturned, <a href="#page_262">262</a>, <a href="#page_263">263</a><br /> - -— tramways in the past, <a href="#page_129">129</a>, <a href="#page_130">130</a><br /> - -— United Tramways Company, <a href="#page_156">156-160</a><br /> - -— — — — Extension to Hampton Court, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_159">159</a><br /> - -London’s congested traffic, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_187">187</a><br /> - -— latest and longest Tube, <a href="#page_117">117-127</a><br /> - -— railways and American capital, <a href="#page_061">61</a>, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_161">161</a><br /> - -— — Royal Commission on, <a href="#page_112">112-116</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a><br /> - -— — Selection of central authority respecting, <a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_116">116</a><br /> - -London’s street traffic, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a><br /> - -— tangled Tubes, <a href="#page_107">107-116</a><br /> - -— congested traffic, suggested remedy for, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_109">109</a><br /> - -— tramways, <a href="#page_141">141-161</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="M" id="M"></a>Maintenance of tramway tracks, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a><br /> - -Manchester and Liverpool Electric Express Railway, The, <a href="#page_040">40-46</a><br /> - -— — — — — — Advantages of, <a href="#page_041">41</a>, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_045">45</a><br /> - -— electric tramways, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a><br /> - -— tramcar collision, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> - -Manufacturing centres of Great Britain, <a href="#page_174">174-177</a><br /> - -Medical objections to railway travelling in Tubes, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_267">267</a><br /> - -Mercantile motors, <a href="#page_220">220-223</a><br /> - -Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways, Construction of, <a href="#page_048">48-51</a><br /> - -— — — — Differences of opinion between the New, <a href="#page_061">61</a>, <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> - -— — — — Chelsea power house of, <a href="#page_051">51-54</a><br /> - -— District Railway, New, Driving power of trains on the, <a href="#page_054">54</a>, <a href="#page_055">55</a><br /> - -— — — rejuvenated, Rolling stock of, <a href="#page_055">55-57</a><br /> - -— — — Rejuvenation of, <a href="#page_051">51-59</a><br /> - -— — — — Stations and tunnels of, <a href="#page_057">57-59</a><br /> - -— Inner Circle, Rejuvenating the, <a href="#page_047">47-62</a><br /> - -— Railway, Rejuvenation of the, <a href="#page_059">59</a>, <a href="#page_060">60</a><br /> - -— railways fifty years ago, <a href="#page_047">47</a>, <a href="#page_048">48</a><br /> - -Modern social questions, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a><br /> - -Mole, Tube at work, The, <a href="#page_081">81</a><br /> - -— — — — Objections to, <a href="#page_082">82</a><br /> - -Monmouth motor-car accident, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, <a href="#page_266">266</a><br /> - -Mono-railway, Ballybunion and Listowel, <a href="#page_036">36</a>, <a href="#page_037">37</a><br /> - -— — Behr’s, <a href="#page_035">35</a>, <a href="#page_036">36</a><br /> - -— — Manchester and Liverpool Electric Express, <a href="#page_040">40-46</a><br /> - -— railways, <a href="#page_031">31-38</a><br /> - -Motor-car accident at Barnet, <a href="#page_266">266</a><br /> - -— — at Chester, <a href="#page_266">266</a><br /> - -— — at Grimsthorpe, <a href="#page_264">264</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> - -— — in London, <a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_267">267</a><br /> - -— — at Monmouth, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, <a href="#page_266">266</a><br /> - -— — at Rearsby, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> - -— — at Stroud, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> - -— industry, Flourishing state of British, <a href="#page_204">204-206</a><br /> - -Motor-cars, Accidents to, <a href="#page_264">264-267</a><br /> - -— Boer War and, <a href="#page_214">214</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a><br /> - -— Curious uses of, <a href="#page_221">221-223</a><br /> - -— Description of various, <a href="#page_206">206</a><br /> - -— Electric, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a><br /> - -— Private, in country, <a href="#page_203">203</a><br /> - -— — in town, <a href="#page_202">202</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a><br /> - -— Public highways and, <a href="#page_227">227-229</a><br /> - -— — — Mr. Balfour’s views on, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a><br /> - -— Speed of, <a href="#page_224">224-226</a><br /> - -Motor-cars, Speed of, Legislation respecting,<a href="#page_226">226</a><br /> - -— Unpopularity of, <a href="#page_200">200-202</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a><br /> - -— Usefulness of, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a><br /> - -Motor-cycles, <a href="#page_220">220</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a><br /> - -Motor vehicles, Agricultural, <a href="#page_218">218</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a><br /> - -— — at Aldershot, Trials of, <a href="#page_215">215-217</a><br /> - -— — Rider Haggard and, <a href="#page_219">219</a><br /> - -— — Warfare in, <a href="#page_214">214</a>, <a href="#page_217">217</a>, <a href="#page_218">218</a><br /> - -Motors, Mercantile, <a href="#page_220">220-223</a><br /> - -Motoring, Advance of, <a href="#page_202">202</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a><br /> - -Municipal tramways in the British Isles, Extent of, <a href="#page_164">164-166</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="N" id="N"></a>Navigation, Electricity applied to, <a href="#page_230">230-249</a><br /> - -New and old order of locomotion, <a href="#page_001">1-9</a><br /> - -— order of locomotion, <a href="#page_005">5-8</a><br /> - -New York shallow underground railway, <a href="#page_194">194-198</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="O" id="O"></a>Official report upon causes of electric railway accidents, <a href="#page_251">251</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a><br /> - -— — — — tramway accidents, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> - -Old and new order of locomotion, <a href="#page_001">1-9</a><br /> - -— order of locomotion, <a href="#page_001">1-5</a><br /> - -Omnibuses, Advantages of horseless, <a href="#page_212">212</a><br /> - -— Combination (electricity and petrol), <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a><br /> - -— Electric, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a><br /> - -— Existing, <a href="#page_208">208</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a><br /> - -— Steam, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a><br /> - -Overcrowding and aliens, <a href="#page_279">279</a>, <a href="#page_280">280</a><br /> - -— and emigration, <a href="#page_278">278</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a><br /> - -— Effect of electric locomotion on, <a href="#page_275">275-286</a><br /> - -— in London, <a href="#page_279">279-284</a><br /> - -— — — Facts and statistics relating to, <a href="#page_283">283</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a><br /> - -— — — Possible remedy for, <a href="#page_284">284</a><br /> - -— What it is like, <a href="#page_280">280-283</a><br /> - -— What it is not like, <a href="#page_275">275-277</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="P" id="P"></a>Paris shallow underground railway, <a href="#page_188">188-190</a><br /> - -Parliament, Tube Bills in (1902), <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a><br /> - -— — — (1902), Authorised, in, <a href="#page_112">112</a><br /> - -— — — (1903), Postponed, <a href="#page_114">114</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a><br /> - -Piccadilly, Associations of, <a href="#page_122">122-126</a><br /> - -Pioneer electric railways, <a href="#page_011">11-30</a><br /> - -<i>Princess Ida</i>, The, <a href="#page_230">230-249</a><br /> - -— — Construction of, <a href="#page_239">239-243</a><br /> - -— — Description of, <a href="#page_239">239</a><br /> - -— — Provisioning of, <a href="#page_245">245</a>, <a href="#page_246">246</a><br /> - -— — Recreations and conveniences on board, <a href="#page_243">243-245</a><br /> - -— — Visit to, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_239">239</a><br /> - -— — Voyage to the Cape of, <a href="#page_247">247-249</a><br /> - -Private motor-cars in country, <a href="#page_203">203</a><br /> - -— — in town, <a href="#page_202">202</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a><br /> - -Provincial tramways, <a href="#page_162">162-185</a><br /> - -— rural tramways, <a href="#page_171">171-174</a><br /> - -Public conveyances, <a href="#page_208">208</a>, <a href="#page_213">213</a><br /> - -— highways and motor-cars, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a><br /> - -— — — Mr. Balfour’s views on, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="Q" id="Q"></a>Questions, Modern social, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="R" id="R"></a>Railway accident on Liverpool Overhead Electric, <a href="#page_251">251-253</a><br /> - -— — in United States, Electric, <a href="#page_251">251</a><br /> - -— breakdown, City and South London Electric, <a href="#page_255">255</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a><br /> - -— breakdowns, Central London Electric, <a href="#page_253">253-255</a><br /> - -— Electric, Brighton Beach, <a href="#page_013">13</a>, <a href="#page_014">14</a><br /> - -— — Central London, <a href="#page_063">63-73</a><br /> - -— — City and South London, <a href="#page_015">15-18</a>, <a href="#page_022">22</a>, <a href="#page_023">23</a><br /> - -— — Giant’s Causeway, <a href="#page_011">11-13</a><br /> - -— — Great Northern, Brompton, and Piccadilly Circus, <a href="#page_117">117-127</a><br /> - -— — Liverpool Overhead, <a href="#page_026">26-30</a><br /> - -— — Manchester and Liverpool Express, <a href="#page_040">40-46</a><br /> - -— — Metropolitan, <a href="#page_059">59</a>, <a href="#page_060">60</a><br /> - -— — — District, <a href="#page_051">51-59</a><br /> - -— — Waterloo and City, <a href="#page_023">23-26</a><br /> - -— Light, Act of 1896, <a href="#page_162">162-166</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> - -— — — Rural tramways effect on, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -— Metropolitan, Rejuvenation of, <a href="#page_059">59</a>, <a href="#page_060">60</a><br /> - -— — District, Rejuvenation of, <a href="#page_051">51-59</a><br /> - -— — — New, Driving power of trains, <a href="#page_054">54</a>, <a href="#page_055">55</a><br /> - -— — — — Power house at Chelsea, <a href="#page_051">51-54</a><br /> - -— — — — Rolling Stock of, <a href="#page_055">55-57</a><br /> - -— — — — Stations and tunnels of, <a href="#page_057">57-59</a><br /> - -— Mono, Behr’s, <a href="#page_035">35</a>, <a href="#page_036">36</a><br /> - -— travelling, Improvements in, <a href="#page_002">2-4</a><br /> - -— — in Tubes, Medical objections to, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_257">257</a><br /> - -— Tubes, Annoyance from vibration in, <a href="#page_086">86-89</a><br /> - -— — — — Official Commission upon, <a href="#page_087">87</a><br /> - -— — — — — — Report of upon, <a href="#page_087">87</a>, <a href="#page_089">89</a><br /> - -— — Depths of, <a href="#page_081">81</a><br /> - -— — How they are bored, <a href="#page_077">77-81</a><br /> - -— Tubing, Claims for damage by, <a href="#page_083">83-86</a><br /> - -Railways, Construction of Metropolitan and Metropolitan District, <a href="#page_048">48-51</a><br /> - -— Differences of opinion between the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District, <a href="#page_061">61</a>, <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> - -— Electric, Accidents on, <a href="#page_251">251-256</a><br /> - -— — Remarkable, <a href="#page_031">31-46</a><br /> - -— Existing, Effects of electric locomotion upon, <a href="#page_270">270-272</a><br /> - -— High-speed, <a href="#page_038">38-40</a><br /> - -— London’s, Royal Commission on, <a href="#page_112">112-116</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a><br /> - -Railways, London’s, Selection of Central authority respecting, <a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_116">116</a><br /> - -— Metropolitan, fifty years ago, <a href="#page_047">47</a>, <a href="#page_048">48</a><br /> - -— Mono, <a href="#page_031">31-38</a><br /> - -— Tube, open for traffic in London, <a href="#page_110">110</a><br /> - -Ramsgate tramcar shock, <a href="#page_264">264</a><br /> - -Rearsby motor-car accident, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> - -Rider Haggard and motor vehicles, <a href="#page_219">219</a><br /> - -Rural tramways, <a href="#page_162">162-185</a><br /> - -— — and local authorities, <a href="#page_182">182-185</a><br /> - -— — New order of, <a href="#page_179">179-182</a><br /> - -— — Old order of, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a><br /> - -— — Provincial, <a href="#page_171">171-174</a><br /> - -— — Usefulness of, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a><br /> - -Rush for the London tramways, <a href="#page_138">138-140</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="S" id="S"></a>Shallow underground railway, Boston, <a href="#page_190">190-194</a><br /> - -— — — Buda-Pesth, <a href="#page_190">190</a><br /> - -— — — London County Council’s design for, <a href="#page_187">187</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a><br /> - -— — — New York, <a href="#page_194">194-198</a><br /> - -— — — Paris, <a href="#page_188">188-190</a><br /> - -— — — system, The, <a href="#page_186">186-199</a><br /> - -— — — — Board of Trade report upon, <a href="#page_199">199</a><br /> - -— — — — Its adaptability to London, <a href="#page_198">198</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a><br /> - -Ships and steamers, Development in size of, <a href="#page_230">230-235</a><br /> - -— — Use of aluminium in building, <a href="#page_234">234</a><br /> - -Signs of the times and electricity, <a href="#page_285">285</a><br /> - -Social results of electric locomotion, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a><br /> - -Speed of motor-cars, <a href="#page_224">224-226</a><br /> - -— — Legislation respecting, <a href="#page_226">226</a><br /> - -Steam railway locomotives, <a href="#page_002">2</a>, <a href="#page_004">4</a><br /> - -— in railway locomotives, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_005">5</a><br /> - -— omnibuses, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a><br /> - -Storage of electricity, <a href="#page_235">235</a><br /> - -— — Edison’s system, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_236">236</a><br /> - -Street traffic, Improvement in, arising from electric locomotion, <a href="#page_273">273</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a><br /> - -Stroud motor-car accident, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> - -Subways and suburban lines, <a href="#page_109">109</a>, <a href="#page_110">110</a><br /> - -Sunderland tramcar shock, <a href="#page_263">263</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="T" id="T"></a>Thames Tunnel and Brunei’s shield, <a href="#page_076">76</a>, <a href="#page_077">77</a><br /> - -Touring in the Tubes (a sketch), <a href="#page_090">90-106</a><br /> - -Traction engine used in Crimean War, <a href="#page_217">217</a><br /> - -Traffic, London’s congested, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_187">187</a><br /> - -— — street, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a><br /> - -Tramcar collision at Manchester, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> - -— overturned in London, <a href="#page_262">262</a>, <a href="#page_263">263</a><br /> - -— shock at Ramsgate, <a href="#page_264">264</a><br /> - -— — Sunderland, <a href="#page_263">263</a><br /> - -Tramcars, Electric, Description of, <a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a><br /> - -Tramway accidents, <a href="#page_258">258-263</a><br /> - -Tramway tracks, maintenance of, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a><br /> - -— traction, various methods of electric, <a href="#page_131">131-137</a><br /> - -Tramways, Birmingham, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a><br /> - -— British Electric Traction Co.’s, <a href="#page_180">180-182</a><br /> - -— Electric, Accident at Chatham, <a href="#page_259">259</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a><br /> - -— — — Devonport, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> - -— — — Glasgow, <a href="#page_260">260</a>, <a href="#page_261">261</a><br /> - -— — — Huddersfield, <a href="#page_258">258</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a><br /> - -— — Accidents, Official report upon causes of, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> - -— — accumulators, Haulage of by, <a href="#page_137">137</a><br /> - -— — closed conduit, Haulage of by, <a href="#page_134">134</a><br /> - -— — generally, <a href="#page_128">128-140</a><br /> - -— — Municipal, Extent of, in British Isles, <a href="#page_164">164-166</a><br /> - -— — Objections to, <a href="#page_258">258</a><br /> - -— — open conduit, Haulage of by, <a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a><br /> - -— — overhead trolley, Haulage of by, <a href="#page_134">134-137</a><br /> - -— Glasgow, <a href="#page_166">166-168</a><br /> - -— haulage on, Various methods of, <a href="#page_130">130</a>, <a href="#page_131">131</a><br /> - -— History of, <a href="#page_128">128-130</a><br /> - -— Introduction of, by G. F. Train, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_129">129</a><br /> - -— Liverpool, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a><br /> - -— London County Council’s system of, <a href="#page_146">146-150</a><br /> - -— — in the past, <a href="#page_129">129</a>, <a href="#page_130">130</a><br /> - -— — United Company, <a href="#page_156">156-160</a><br /> - -— — — — Extension to Hampton Court, <a href="#page_156">156-159</a><br /> - -— London’s, <a href="#page_141">141-161</a><br /> - -— Manchester, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a><br /> - -— Provincial, <a href="#page_162">162-185</a><br /> - -— — rural, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a><br /> - -— Rural, Effect of Light Railways Act, 1896, on, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -— — Local authorities and, <a href="#page_182">182-185</a><br /> - -— — New order of, <a href="#page_179">179-182</a><br /> - -— — Old order of, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a><br /> - -Tramways, Rural, Usefulness of, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a><br /> - -— Rush for the London, <a href="#page_138">138-140</a><br /> - -Trial trip in the City and South London Railway, <a href="#page_019">19-22</a><br /> - -Tube Bills in Parliament (1902), <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a><br /> - -— — — — Authorised, in, <a href="#page_112">112</a><br /> - -— — — (1903), Postponed, <a href="#page_114">114</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a><br /> - -— London’s latest and longest, <a href="#page_117">117-127</a><br /> - -— mole at work, The, <a href="#page_081">81</a>, <a href="#page_082">82</a><br /> - -— — — Objections to, <a href="#page_082">82</a><br /> - -— Railway, Central London, <a href="#page_063">63-73</a><br /> - -— — City and South London, <a href="#page_015">15-18</a>, <a href="#page_022">22</a>, <a href="#page_023">23</a><br /> - -— — Great Northern, Brompton, and Piccadilly Circus, <a href="#page_117">117-127</a><br /> - -— — Waterloo and City, <a href="#page_023">23-26</a><br /> - -— railways, Depths of, <a href="#page_081">81</a><br /> - -— — How they are bored, <a href="#page_077">77-81</a><br /> - -— — open for traffic in London, <a href="#page_110">110</a><br /> - -Tubes, London’s tangled, <a href="#page_107">107-116</a><br /> - -— — — Suggested remedy for, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_109">109</a><br /> - -— Railway travelling in, Medical objections to, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_257">257</a><br /> - -— Touring in the (a sketch), <a href="#page_090">90-106</a><br /> - -Tubing, Claims for damage caused by railway, <a href="#page_083">83-86</a><br /> - -Tubular system, The, <a href="#page_074">74-89</a><br /> - -— — Origin of, <a href="#page_075">75</a>, <a href="#page_076">76</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="U" id="U"></a>Unpopularity of motor-cars, <a href="#page_200">200-202</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a><br /> - -Usefulness of motor-cars, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a><br /> - -— of rural tramways, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="V-i" id="V-i"></a>Vehicles, Electric motor, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a><br /> - -— Horseless, electrical and otherwise, <a href="#page_200">200-229</a><br /> - -— — in the past, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a><br /> - -Vibration of railway Tubes, Annoyance from, <a href="#page_086">86-89</a><br /> - -— — — — — Board of Trade Committee upon, <a href="#page_087">87</a><br /> - -— — — — — Report of Board of Trade Committee upon, <a href="#page_087">87-89</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="W" id="W"></a>Warfare, motor vehicles in, <a href="#page_214">214-218</a><br /> - -Waterloo and City Railway, <a href="#page_023">23-26</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="c"> -PLYMOUTH<br /> -WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON<br /> -PRINTERS<br /> -</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> This is by no means the oldest steam-engine at work in the -kingdom, the doyen being one built as far back as 1767, and used -continuously ever since at Charles Clifford and Sons’ Metal-rolling -Mills, Birmingham. It is of beam type, and the oak beam was only -replaced at the end of last year by one of iron. In 1812 a new cylinder -was put in, but the rest of the engine remains as it was 136 years ago, -even to the connecting-rod for rolling-mill purposes. It is said that -this G.O.M. is more economical than many of the modern engines used in -the trade.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The biggest and most powerful locomotive in the world is -stated to be the “Bessemer,” built in 1900 at the Pittsburg Locomotive -Works, U.S.A., weighing with its tender 175 tons. Its height is 16 feet -from rail to top of smoke-stack, and it is capable of easily drawing a -train of 4,000 tons at 25 miles an hour, or 8,000 tons at 15 miles an -hour. Its hauling power is therefore enormous, and so it ought to be, as -the diameter of the smallest ring of the boiler is 7 feet 10 inches. The -nearest approach in size to this monster was constructed in Great -Britain for the Santa Fé Railway in Argentina, and weighed 150 tons.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> See <a href="#CHAPTER_I">Chapter I.</a></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> These have since given place to motor-cars built in -America.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Report of Parliamentary Committee on Housing of the Poor, -1902.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>vide</i> Chapter V.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> One of the largest tramway schemes ever promoted is -contained in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Bill, which -came before Parliament in March last. The routes have a total length of -80 miles, and pass through a district with a population of close upon -three-quarters of a million. The idea is to connect, by means of -electric tramways, the towns of Nottingham, Long Eaton, Derby, Ilkeston, -Ripley, Alfreton, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Pleasley, Mansfield, Eastwood, -Bulwell, and Hucknall Torkard.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> In England the motor-car is beginning to play an important -part in country parliamentary elections. Motor-cars are used by -commercial travellers, and are being tried for the official work of the -police about the metropolis. The General Post Office is also giving -motor carriers a trial for letters and parcels; and motors are utilised -for dust-carts.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> A very curious and, to the superstitious, significant -coincidence was recently reported from Ireland. -</p><p> -Last year, when permission was asked to repair the road between -Newcastle and Kilcoole, a member of the rural council opposed, declaring -that it was good enough for farmers, and they did not want to encourage -“galoots in motor-cars” and “go-boys on bicycles” in their -neighbourhood. This councillor was, not long since, killed through the -wheel of his cart catching in one of the ruts complained of!</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Both Brunel and Scott Russell, the eminent shipbuilder, -argued that from scientific theory and actual experience there need be -no limit to the size of a ship when constructed on the tubular -principle, except that which the quality of the material imposed.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> The Hamburg-American Line’s luxurious yacht <i>Prinzessin -Victoria Luise</i> has a splendidly-equipped gymnasium, where the -passengers can indulge in horse-riding, cycling, and rowing, on the -various apparatus installed. On one of the decks is a first-class -“cricket-pitch,” a tennis-court, and an archery ground.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> A heater devised by Mr. E. G. Rivers, chief electrical -engineer to the Office of Works, brings the problem of electric heating -for domestic purposes well within the bounds of practical utility. It -renders possible the employment of electricity for heating buildings, -for cooking, and for other uses in a manner hitherto impossible. Mr. -Rivers is engaged in developing his invention in the direction of -applying it to cooking-ranges, and expects very shortly to adapt it to -that use.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><a name="transcrib" id="transcrib"></a></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td>safeguard against breaksdown=> safeguard against breakdowns {pg 8}</td></tr> -<tr><td>Motor tricycles and bicylces=> Motor tricycles and bicycles {pg 205}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Tube, Train, Tram, and Car, by Arthur H. 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