Page:The Working and Management of an English Railway.djvu/17

 difficulties of earlier locomotion had been to some extent obviated by the introduction of fast and well-appointed coaches, running between some of the most important cities in the kingdom, the only means of communication between the smaller towns was by means of post-chaises, or private carriages for the wealthy, and, for the less well-to-do, the humble carrier's cart or the slow and ponderous stage waggon. Travelling was so expensive a luxury that a journey was only undertaken under the most pressing necessity; many of the roads were so ill-constructed that in bad weather they were almost impassable, besides being at all times infested by highwaymen and footpads. Merchandise was conveyed from town to town by heavy and slow-moving waggons, and the cost of land carriage between Manchester and Liverpool, a distance of not more than thirty miles, was forty shillings per ton. To-day, Manchester bales are carried to Liverpool by railway at six shillings and tenpence per ton, and they are conveyed to London, a distance of upwards of 180 miles, for twenty-five shillings per ton. In those days, a journey from London to Birmingham, if all went well, and no mishaps were encountered, occupied ten or twelve hours at the least; while now. a man of business may break his fast in London, be in Birmingham before noon, transact his affairs, and be back in town before dinner. At that time a journey from London to Scotland was something to ponder well upon before it was undertaken, for, apart from heavy expense and dangers, difficulties and fatigue to be encountered, it occupied several days; whereas now, a traveller may leave London at 8.0 p.m. or 8.50 p.m.; can retire to rest as comfortably as if he were, in a well-