THE APPLICATION OF ROADS TO RAILWAYS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2654, 24 March 1869, Page 3

THE APPLICATION OF ROADS TO RAILWAYS.

The following remarks by .Mr W. Bridges Adams, appeared in the Daily News of 25th December last : It is now nineteen years since I first published my system in the Westminster Review, and subsequently in a pamphlet form. At that time railways proper were emerging from the slough of despond into which they had fallen when Caledonians were almost given away, and new railways and branches were rife again. Capitalists and contractors, as was quite natural, preferred the construction of new lines at a large cost to the conversion of old roads at a very small cost, the latter leaving less margin for profit. So the roads remained in abeyance, and railway branches have been made, in abundance, which in many cases, instead of feeders, have proved to he mere suckers. Again the railways have fallen on evil times, ami the large outlay of capital has culminated in the raising of fares, and that has reacted in turning the public attention to a possibly cheaper system of transit, by what arc called " tramways "in the suburbs of towns. At first sight this would appear to be a rivalry with but no truth is more certain than that the more passengers there are carried by these supplementary lines the more traffic will incidentally accrue to the railways proper. The items of cost in a new line of railway, saying nothing of cost of permission in the form of law and parliamentary expenses, are laud, cuttings, embankments, ballast, fences, bridges, viaducts, approaches, stations, hotels, and many other necessary sources of outlay. The real road, i.e., the permanent way and the moving machinery, are hut a small part of the total, and even that might be much smaller but for the neglect of the available mechanical appliances for the avoidance of friction. With steam for a serving giant, resistances have been overcome by brute force instead of skill, and rails and sleepers and ballast have been crushed out byengines of monster weights aggravating the destructive power of long-sliding parallelograms, forcing sharper curves, with constant risk of getting, off the rails; the accidents that happen are the natural sequence of cause and effect. In converting the highways and turnpikes to the uses' of railways the only outlay needed is for permen'ent way, engines, and vehicles, There is no land to buy; no cuttings or embankments are needed, unless improved gradients are. required from time to time, as they are at present, for ordinary use. The fences are made, as well as the bridges; the approaches are there, as well as inns and hotels, which served the coaches in the olden time. Even the solidified ballast is there, ready to receive the roils. All that is wanted is a different structure of rail, that need not wear out steel, and a plan of keeping it in position simply, and without costly labour, which has not yet been obtained on > the railway proper. The conditions required are, first that the rail be flush with the surface, so as to permit any ordinary vehicles to run over it when needed, though not along it, and with provision to prevent carts or waggons running close to it, and cutting grooves. Secondly, that the gauge of way be distinct from that of the railways proper, in order to prevent the chance of any heavy engine or waggon running on it and crushing it. Probably a 3 foot 6 inch gauge would be the best, for that would permit the use of engines and vehicles 7 feet in width, or 7 feet 6 inches, where the road might be wide enough; that would be equivalent to four passengers abreast. Thirdly, that the rails should follow the course of the roads onfmc side or the other, avoiding the middle where practicable, and with passing places, for trains going in opposite directions. With regard to the rolling stock, no engine should exceed in weight three tons per driving wheel, and it should carry its water on a single frame without a tender, so as to run with equal facility either end foremost, and it should carry an ample supply of water and fuel for say fifty miles; for it is a less evil to carry the extra weight than to to have frequent stoppages. Moreover, the engine should run without surplus friction round curves of fifty feet radius. It may not be needful for the general roads it has to traverse, hut on entering the outskirts of a town to get to its resting-place it will have to pass round the same corners as other vehicles, and of course the carriages and waggons must follow the same curves. Such a train would pass without difficulty through any ordinary streets, if required. And the seats must of .course be accessible from the street level, as omnibuses are, without the paraphernalia of railway platforms. Constructed on the general principle of omnibuses, with passengers inside and on the roof, the vehicles would carry 54 passengers each, and there would be the facility of taking the fares by the conductors. Seated sideways, a vehicle usually only carries half the number it can crossways. If roof seats were a difficulty on any road from bridges, then the same number might be carried inside. In a train of this class 250 passengers could be carried up gradients of 1 in 30 at 15 to 20 miles per hour, and with liquid fuel there would be no more trouble than with a large lamp, neither spurts nor smoke. It would therefore be quite practicable to use open vehicles in the summer time. To convert 5,000 miles of turnpike road into practical railways would cost about seven millions. Taking the sparse and populous country together, an average halfpenny per mile per head would pay for road railways. Street railways demand other considerations,