Page:The Working and Management of an English Railway.djvu/191

 In order to afford some idea of the growth which has taken place in the length and weight of the trains, during the last five-and-twenty years, it may be mentioned that the 10.0 a.m. down express from Euston, which in 1863 was 312 ft. in length, and weighed 123 tons, had increased in 1887 to 652¾ ft. in length, and in weight to 268 tons; while the 5 o'clock train in the evening, in the same period, increased from 403 ft. in length, and 149 tons in weight, to 463¼ ft. in length, and 235 tons in weight. One of the principal up trains from Scotland—the 8.41 p.m. from Carlisle—in 1863 was 206 ft. in length, and weighed 97 tons, while to-day it measures 568¼ ft. and weighs 242 tons (see Fig. 27). Then, again, the speed of the trains has increased to almost as great an extent as their length and weight, for the three trains selected as illustrations travel now from five per cent, to upwards of fourteen per cent quicker than they did even fifteen years ago.

The London and North- Western Company, however have not hitherto made it their principal object to run their trains at the highest possible rate of speed. In these days, journeys must be accomplished quickly in order to keep pace with the times, and meet the growing requirements of the travelling public; but the highest attainable speed is not always the most compatible with safety and punctuality, and these latter essentials are certainly not the least important to be secured in the working of a railway. Thus the London and North-Western, if it does not lay claim to the doubtful distinction of running the fastest trains in the world, is, it is believed, fairly entitled to the reputation of being the most punctual line in the kingdom. Still it can, on occasion, achieve notable records in the way of fast travelling, and an