Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/268

Rh 250 RAIL WAY north of Ireland. The gradients are very heavy, having a slope of 1 iu 35 at many parts. The curves are very quick, following the line of the road. The conductor employed consists of a third rail, weighing 19 lb to the yard, and laid close to the fence. Elec- tricity is transmitted through the conductor, by means of steel brushes, to the Siemens motors by which the car is propelled. The dynamo-machines by which the electricity is generated are driven by the power of a natural waterfall of 26 feet in the river Bush. Two turbines are driven by the fall of water at a speed of 225 revolu- tions per minute ; each is capable of yielding 50 horse-power. The electric car can run on the level at the rate of 12 miles per hour. Lighting. Several large metropolitan and other stations are lighted by electricity. At the Waterloo station of the London and South- Western "Railway, for example, the new main line suburban pass- enger station, about 1J acres in area, has been lighted by the Anglo-American Brush Light system since February 1881, sixteen arc - lamps of 2000 candle - power each being employed. The Windsor line station at the same terminus, about 1 acres in area, has been lighted by the Edison Company's system since January 1S83 with 200 glow-lamps of 16 candle-power each. The large goods-yard on the same railway, about 18 acres in extent, at Nine Elms, lias been lighted since January 1883 by fourteen arc-lamps of 4000 candle-power each. The lighting of railway trains by elec- tricity has been successfully effected on the Great Eastern Railway since October 1884. The power is derived from a dynamo-machine driven by a compact rotary engine, placed together in a small case on the top of the locomotive, and worked by steam from the boiler. Sixty electric lights are generated, each of them sufficient to light thoroughly a compartment of a carriage, and supply light for a train of at least twelve vehicles. Trains on other lines also are lighted by electricity. ACCIDENTS. Acci- Accidents on railways arise from three causes, inattention of dents. servants, defective material either in the works or the rolling stock, and excessive speed. But the adoption of the absolute block system, with the use of interlocked points and signals and continuous brakes, has led to an absolute diminution of the number of accidents, whilst the amount of traffic has been greatly increased. In 1883 the total number of train accidents on railways in the United Kingdom, reported on to the Board of Trade, was 94 on 18,681 miles open, against 241 accidents ten years earlier on 16,082 miles open. The increased efficiency of management is strikingly brought out by Table XXXII. : Class of Accident to Engines and Trains. Number of Accidents. 1873. 1883. 1. i z 4 I 8 7 I '.' 10. 11. Meeting with or leaving the rails in consequence of obstruction, or from defects in the way or works 24 23 5 18 20 98 3 8 36 11 12 7 12 3 8 44 6 2 Collisions between trains following on the same line of . rails, except at junctions, stations, or sidings Collisions within fixed signals at stations or sidings Collisions between engines or trains meeting in oppo- Collisions at level crossings of two railways Derailment of engines or trains wrongly run or turned into sidings, or otherwise through facing points On inclines, want of control Total of train accidents 241 6 94 7 Miscellaneous, not train accidents Total 247 101 During the period 1873-1883 there was therefore a material improvement not only in the character of the way and works but also in that of the rolling stock. Accidents from entering stations at too great a speed have been augmented in number, a result naturallv arising from the greater speeds and volumes of traffic. Ten of these (for 1873 and 1883) were due to want of control of the trains, and seven others to want of continuous brakes. Collisions have been diminished to a marked extent ; and nearly all of those in 1883 took place at junctions, stations, and sidings, mostly within fixed signals. Many of these collisions could have been obviated if proper interlocking and block working had been in use, together with continuous brakes on the trains. Of the 94 investigated train accidents 75 took place on the lines of fifteen companies, working in the aggregate 12,850 miles, and having run upwards of 216 millions of miles with trains, showing that one accident happened for every 171 miles of railway, or for every 3 millions nearly of miles run. One person in every 625 employed in the traffic locomotive, carriage, engineers', and stores departments in 1883 was killed in the service. The employes wno stand at the extremes of the scale of fatality are guards : of brakesmen and goods-guards 1 in 97 lost their lives, and of passenger-guards only 1 in 5902. Pointsmen and signalmen occupy a medium position in the scale, 1 in 800 losing their lives ; of engine-drivers 1 in 643 was killed, and of firemen 1 in 533. Of persons other than pass- engers or servants of railway companies who suffered in accidents, trespassers, including suicides, as usual form the largest iiumliur, 354 killed and 165 injured. Of passengers 125 were killed and 1416 were injured together, 1541 persons, or 1 in about 444,000 of the total number of passengers in 1883. RAILWAY LAW. Parliament soon began to exercise control over railways by means Legis] of standing orders; and in 1832 a passenger duty of |d. per mil for every four passengers carried was levied on railway companies, sures. In 1842 a Government department was instituted whereby the Board of Trade was empowered to appoint inspectors of railways, to postpone the opening of railways, to disallow bye-laws, and to institute legal proceedings against companies for infringing the law. The Board of Trade was further empowered to direct companies to make returns of accidents, of traffic, and of tolls levied. The passenger duty was fixed at 5 per cent, of the gross receipts from passengers. In 1846 the Commissioners of Railways, five in number, were appointed, to whom the jurisdiction of the Board of Trade was transferred, but in 1851 it was re-transferred to the Board of Trade. The Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1854, requires railway companies to provide " reasonable facilities " for receiving, forward- ing, and delivering their own traffic and the traffic of other com- panies, and to abstain from. " unreasonable " preference. It appears to have been of small practical utility until 1873. The Regulation of Railways Act, 1873, establishes a new tribunal, "The Railway Commissioners," not more than three in number, one to be of ex- perience in the law and one of experience in railway business. The principal duty of the commissioners is to enforce the observance of the "reasonable facilities " section of the Act of 1854. The com- missioners have power to enjoin the forwarding of through traffic at through rates, the power being set in motion by the companies only. The commissioners are empowered whenever there is a dis- pute between two companies that can be referred to arbitration to decide such dispute. The Employers' Liability Act, 1880, provides that where personal injury is caused to a workman by reason of the negligence of any person in the service of the employer, who has the charge or control of any signal, points, locomotive engine, or train upon a railway, he or his representatives shall have the same right of compensation or remedy against the employer as if the workman had not been in the service of the employer nor engaged in his work. The amount of compensation is not to exceed three years' earnings of the workman. (D. K. C. ) FOREIGN AND CONTINENTAL. Europe. A few unimportant tramways were opened in France in Fram 1826-32. In 1833 the Government began a comprehensive system of surveys, and laid down the general plan of railway development for the whole country; and in 1842 Thiers devised a scheme by which the state was to furnish half the cost (about 10,000 per mile), while private companies were to lay the lines at their own expense and equip and work them for a term of years. In 1857 six great companies were working their lines with profit ; but the state found it necessary (1859) to guarantee them the interest on the additional lines which were needed. By subsequent legislation the construction of local railways on a cheaper scale was encouraged, and in 1875-76 unsuccessful efforts were made by speculators to unite these local lines into systems which should compete with the old companies and break their monopoly. Since that date some have been absorbed by the great companies ; others have passed into the hands of the state. After more than one scheme for a comprehensive system of state railways had been formed by leading statesmen and tnen for one reason or another abandoned, in 1884 agreements were made by which some 7000 miles of railway were to be constructed in addition to the 17,000 miles then in operation, the money to be supplied by the six great companies and ultimately repaid by the state, which meanwhile guaranteed the shareholders of each company a dividend equal to the average of recent years (in no case so low as 7 per cent. ). The profitable system of monopoly has not been favourable to the development of enterprise in railway management in France. Scarcely any of the so-called express trains run at as high a speed as 40 miles an hour. The time allowed for the despatch of goods is very long. The average rates (078d. per passenger-mile, 0'82d. per ton-mile) are somewhat higher than those of Germany. The long-distance traffic especially has received but little encouragement. On the other hand, many of the technical arrangements of the French lines are excellent. Although the state owns so few railroads, it has reserved extensive rights of regulation, both in matters of business and in engineering ; there is a body of Government engineers organized with almost military precision. Soon after 1830 plans were laid for a Belgian system to be owned Belf and managed by the state, and work was actively begun in 1833. The Government lines were arranged in the form of a cross, the point of intersection being at Malines. By this means the Govern- ment was able to develop the traffic of Belgium itself, and at the same time to secure a large share of the transit trade between Ger-