STREET TRAMWAYS.

Press, Volume XXI, Issue 2353, 18 February 1873, Page 3

STREET TRAMWAYS.

The following letter on the above subject has been placed at our disposal by Mr J. Anderson for publication,"and will no doubt be read with interest '—..,..,.- ---135, George street' Edinburgh;' , 10th December, 1872. / My dear Father,—l received your letter of last mail, in which you desired mc to give you some, information concerning tramways.. I have not had very much time at my disposal lately, to.get.the required, information, but I called on the company's engineer, to see if he could : give mc drawings jf the„. carriages. He was unabie to do so as there were only the working drawings, and- they of course were in the hands of the builders. I called on the latter but, as I expected, they would neither make nor allow mc to make a copy. Your first question—'Do they obstruct the general traffic I ' —l would most distinctly; answer in the affirmative. There is from |he ] Haymarket down to Leith a constant traffic oil the rails, and this of course prevents, ordinary vehicles from using that part "of

the street occupied by the cars, and so -of course it just comes to be that the street is deprived of about 15 feet of its useful way;. and in uarrow streets such as Leith street, arid the North and South bridges, this is exceedingly important. In Leith. Walk they o£ ! . course form a'very small fraction of the whole street, which you will remember' is very broad. On the:-North bridge tbe rails' do ; not run close together, but each comes close to u the pavement on its own side. This I consider dangerous' to the foot traffic, as the cars come so. close as to touch passengers when they are walking close to the edge of. the footpath. Never, a day passes scarcely, but in the papers X read of carters being taken up for obstructing tramway cars. It. is rather hard that- one party should be compelled to go to a side (and probably get stopped by "the Other traffic) when the other does not, and cannot, make any room foV him. This class of people (carters and cabmen) are very much against the tramways, which shows tlia f t thoy vat } u ' ove an incon-; venienceto the general traffic. Another point. The rails, of courseware not like a railway rail, but are like this in section. (Here is a drawing, the flange of the car-wheel fitting into the groove). _ Cabs or carriages get their wheels into this groove when driving on the rails (when I say into the groove, I do not mean right in, but in as much as to make them have some hold), and when commanded to get off the rails by the whistle of a tramway car, they, in getting off. wrench their wheels. No owner of a carriage will allow his man to drive on the rails, but cabmen arc not so particular, and the consequence is that they soon destroy the wheel?. Your.next question, -What 13 the length of the tramway ?"—I think will be best answered by sending you a map of Edinburgh with the tramway upon it. You will see a line to Leith, branching at the foot of Leith Walk.- and the other is a circle by Lothian road to MerehistOn, Grange, Swan d back by the bridges. There is no regular mileage charge, but you can judge by'tbe'fare to Leith—lnside, 3d ; outside, 2d. This is from the Hayinarket.' From Register Office, 2d in and

Id out. The tramways were got up by a company, £10 shares, and is managed by a Board of Directors like a railway. As yet. it is impossible to say how they pay, as i they have had no char-re for maintenance yet, the contractors being hmnd to keep them for oue year after opening. From all I see. I should fancy they will not pay, as they use twice as many horses, and the way constantly requires repairing. Along Princes street, where it is level, they go very easily, but coming up Leith street, it is awful to see the poor horses (five of them sometimes), dragging up the heavy cars. As I said before. I have been unable toobtaiu a drawing of thc oars. If I bud had time, I might ha*. _■ muie one myself. As .to the .num.-cr they contain, some hold eighteen iv an! eighteeuout; others, eighteen iv, and twenty out, and when they have their complement, the horses can hurdiv manage to get up the Walk. The cars are entered from the side, and a great many accidents have occurred iv consequence of this. I will make a rough sketch, and perhaps that will give you an idea of their appearance. The cars do not turn, but the horses are shifted, as they (the cars) run either way. The wheels are very small and close together. There are doors at each end for inside passengers, and the outside ones have to climb up iron ladders. The driver ' stands on the platform * * * I I am, my dear father, Your affectionate son, Andrew Anderson.