LIGHT RAILWAYS STUDENTS` PAPER. (ABRIDGED)>

Papers. WHIGHAM ON LIGHT RAILWAYS. 387 (Students’ Paper No. 469.) l “ Light Railways.” By GEORGEHAY WHIGHAJI, Stud. Inst. C.E. LIGHTRAILWAYS in any country can, at the present time, only be described as railways constructed to a lighter standard than the mainlines in that country, and onwhich, consequently the maximum live load and speed allowed are less than on the main lines.The term is a comparativeone, andwhat is called a “light railway” in one country may rank as a heavy line in another. In the United Kingdom the designation, when applied to railways the powers for which were granted later than theyear 1896, merely refers to those railways the construction of which has been sanctioned by the Light Railways Commission. It is only in recent years that light railways have come much into favour either with the public or with engineers. Formerly it was thought that if a district could not support a heavy railway it would not pay to make a railway through it at all ; but several light railwayshave been constructed in this country throughdistricts which certainly couldnot have supported a heavierline, and the results have been most satisfactory. The Isle of Man light railways, which may be taken as an example, arevery substantially constructed with a gauge of 3 feet, the sharpestcurve being 10 chainsradius, and are worked on the staff system; signals are only used in a very primitive fashion, and there are no platforms, and yet the line carries a large traffic very safely, andreturns a dividend of 5 percent. The Corris Railway and the Festiniog Railway, both in Wales, might also be mentioned as examples of successful light railways, the former yielding a return of 6 per cent. on its capital. In Ireland light railwayshave not been so successful. The Irish railwayshave certainly benefited the distriotsthrough which they pass to a very great extent, but they were constructed at such a cost that they do not pay. Their construction, and especially their working, is too similarto that of mainlines; had they been con- 1 This Paper was read and diacuaaed before a meeting of the Glasgow Association of Students of the Institution on 18 February, 1901. 2c2 Downloaded by [ University of Liverpool] on [17/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 388 WHIGHAM ON LIGHT RAILWAYB. [Seleoted structed and worked in a cheaper fashion they would probably have served the districts almost as well, besides being successful financially, and would also have encouraged the construction of light railways in that country. For the rapid development of local traffic a light railway can be made much more effective than a main line. Considering, for example, the case of a small town or village about 10 miles from an existing line, a light railway constructed to connect it with themain line could, by reason of itssharp curves andsteep gradients, wind about and touch small villages or large farms and factories along the lineof its route, which a heavy line, being run as straight andas level aspossible between its objectives, could not touch. Many districts which could not support a light railway of standard gauge might be able to support a line of, say, 2 feet 6 inches gauge. Of course there are arguments against a break of gauge in branch lines, but if a district cannot have the benefit of a heavy line it is better to have a light railway than none at all; and ifit cannot supporta light railway of the standard gauge it is better to haveone of a narrower gauge than none at all. TheInternational Railway Congress, after considering the subject of light railways, at meetings extending over a period of 10 years, have come to the conclusion that :- 6‘ When there is good reason to suppose that the traffic will not be heavy, all methods of construction tending to economy should be adopted, especially the use of narrow gauge, which among other advantages allows a reduction in weight of the plant that has to beconveyed there.” Railway construction of this class should not necessarily cease when a district cannotmake even the cheapest narrow-gauge railwaypay a dividend, provided it is for the benefit of the district, and the inhabitants guaranteeto pay some of the expenses. There is no reason why there should not be an item in the rates of a district for railway communication, just as for water ormain- tenance of roads, as a railway in nearly every case benefits either directly or indirectly all the inhabitants of the district, and adds to the. general prosperityof the place. A very completesystem of local railway communication has been adopted withgreat success in Belgium. In thatcountry, should the inhabitants of any district desire better railway communication, application is made to the “ National Society of Local Railways,” an institution under government supervision, which draws out a scheme for the railway, and presents it to the various government departments; and if approved by them the Society Downloaded by [ University of Liverpool] on [17/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Papers.] WHIGHAM ON LIGHT RAILWAYS. 389 constructs the line. The great advantage of this system over our Light Railways Commission is, that in Belgium the railways are not worked by private companies for profit, but are constructed by the Society-the capital being subscribed as far as possible by private enterprise, and the remainder guaranteed by the Govern- ment-and when completed and equipped are let out to subsidiary companies for maintenance and working at a fixed rate per mile, but are always under the controlof the government Society. All the railways of this class being under one institution, the profits and losses of the various lines arebalanced one against theother, and the surplus, after payingdividend, is put into the reserve fund of the Society. These lines are allof metre gauge and thus there is a break of gauge at allconnections with main lines, and out of fifty- six lines inoperation at the endof 1893 only four lines showed a deficiency ; and, as it is the object of these railways to earn only the minimum dividend tomake themselves self-supporting, the rates charged are very low, and are fixed by the Society and not by the subsidiary working companies. The objects of the Govern- ment in organisingthese lines are set forth in following the extract’ from a document issued by the Society :- “Constructed, as a general rule, on the existing roads, and, in consequence, more economically than main railway lines, operated withthe greatest economy, andby means of cheaprolling stock, they will furnish thepeople with the means of transporting their products at the lowest possible price. By means of their junctions with the main railway lines, they will render access to them more convenient both for passengers and for goods. They will assist communication from village to village, andfrom village to the adjacent station. They will call into being new industries by affording them new outlets for their products. Finally, they will enable the farmer to procure at a cheap rate the fertilizers necessary to enable him to face foreign competition, and by the low cost of carriage, will open to him the markets of his own country, as well as those abroad. For many places, deprived, as it seemed, for all time of railway communication, these light lines will furnish an opportunity unhoped for, and possibly the last, of escaping from their fatal position of isolation.” Thus, while this country steadfastlyrefused, until 1896, even to give light railways a fair trial, nearly all the countries of the Continent havelong ago recognised the benefits which agricultural “Light F&dways for the United Kingdom, India, and the Colonies,” by J. C. Mackay, F.G.S., Bssgc. M. Inst. C.E., p. 10. London, 1896. Downloaded by [ University of Liverpool] on [17/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 390 WHIGHAM ONRAILWAYS. LIGHT [Selected and other thinly-populated districts derive from them, and year by year have added hundreds of miles to their already large net- work of this class of railway. Happily, since 1896 the construction of light railways has been undertaken more seriously in this country. In thatyear the Light Railways Act was passed, not only doing away with a great many Board of Trade restrictions, but also recommending that Government support should be given in some cases. It is true that so-called light railways were constructed in this country before that date, but they were still handicapped by excessive Board of Trade restrictions, and received no assistance in the wayof Government grants, except in the case of Ireland, where grantswere made under the Railways (Ireland) Act, 1889 and 1890, but, as already mentioned, these lines are far too heavy for the traffic which they carry, having cost generally S5,OOO to S6,OOO a mile ; and have to be worked too expensively to meet the Board of Trade regulations. Long before 1896 our ,colonies and dependencies had recogrlised the advantages of light railways, and had a considerable mileage of them constructed. Perhaps the portion of the British Empire which has taken most advantage of these lines, and worked them with most success, is India, although the guaranteed railways as awhole havenot been a financial success in that country, on account of the high rate of interest guaranteed by the State till thecontract finishes. Thisprevents the State, which owns the railways, from obtaining any advantage from cheaper money and the improved credit of the country. Thus, the State has still to pay about 42 per cent. on its loans, while money could now be obtained at 3 per cent.,and, owing to the fall in theof exchange,rate the sum in rupees remitted to England, to pay the 42 per cent.

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