09£) 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



cost of the ton-mile-gross is the same for all de- 

 scriptions of traffic — that is to say, whether it 

 costs more or less, on the average, to move a ton 

 of mineral-train or a ton of passenger-train. On 

 this question some very unexpected light may be 

 cast by a careful comparative analysis of the re- 

 turns furnished by the Board of Trade. It is 

 true that exact statements, depending on length 

 of line for which traffic is conveyed, and on 

 amount of tare for each description of traffic, 

 are unattainable without definite information on 

 those two essential points. But, in the absence 

 of the means of direct analysis, it sometimes 

 occurs that results of nearly equal value to 

 those sought in vain by that method may be 

 obtained by comparative analysis. For this (in 

 the present instance) there exist elements of un- 

 questionable value, and it cannot be denied that 

 the figures we have to bring forward are such as 

 to give information of very great importance 

 with respect to the comparative profit of mineral 

 and of passenger traffic on main trunk-lines. 



The great trunk-lines of railway which radi- 

 ate from London vary to an extraordinary degree 

 in the proportion of mineral traffic which they 

 convey. Thus the Southeastern line receives less 

 than 4 per cent, of its gross revenue from min- 

 eral conveyance ; while the Midland Railway de- 

 rives 27*- per cent, of its earnings from that 

 source. If fares and freight were so arranged 

 that the mineral traffic should be as remunerative 

 as (or, as many of its supporters urge, more re- 

 munerative than) the passenger traffic, the fact 

 would certainly come out from our comparative 

 analysis of the accounts of these lines. 



The working cost of railways may be con- 

 veniently distributed under the following heads : 

 First come the actual expenses of carriage, in- 

 cluding locomotion, maintenance of way and 

 works, and engine and carriage repairs. On the 

 average of the railways of the United Kingdom 

 for 1875 the cost of these items amounted to 30.38 

 per cent, of the gross revenue. The second main 

 item is known by the name of " traffic-charges," 

 and includes the cost of the service of station- 

 yards, cartage, and generally of the ordinary fixed 

 expenditure, which does not come under the for- 

 mer head. The average percentage of traffic- 

 charges on revenue in the United Kingdom in 

 1875 was 16.22 per cent. The passenger duty, 

 from which the Irish lines are exempt, should 

 be mentioned as a separate item. For 1875 it 

 amounted to 1.39 per cent, on the English lines, 

 0.87 per cent, on those of Scotland, and 1.27 per 

 cent, on the average of the United Kingdom. 



The balance of general charges, rates and taxes, 

 legal expenses, compensation for losses and for 

 personal injuries, and miscellaneous expenses, 

 amounted in the year in question to 6.38 per 

 cent. ; making the average proportion of expendi- 

 ture to receipts, from all sources, 54.25 per cent. 



On the Metropolitan Railway, on which the 

 mineral earnings form only 2.3 per cent, of the 

 total revenue, the cost of the first class of ex- 

 penses in 1875 was 15 per cent, of the gross to- 

 tal. On the Southeastern Railway, with 3.8 per 

 cent, of mineral revenue, the percentage of these 

 items was 21 per cent. On the Great Eastern, 

 with 10 per cent, of mineral revenue, it rises to 

 25.5 per cent. On the Midland, with 27.5 per 

 cent, of mineral revenue, the percentage of loco- 

 motive expenditure (including the three items 

 named) is 29 per cent. Thus, the line which 

 carries 27.5 per cent, of mineral traffic costs more 

 to work than the line which carries 2.3 per cent, 

 of mineral traffic by 14 per cent, of its gross in- 

 come, the locomotion, maintenance, and repairs 

 on the former line costing half as much again as 

 on the latter, in proportion to gross earnings. 

 And the Northeastern, on which line the mineral 

 income forms 37 per cent, of the whole, actually 

 spends 35.5 per cent, of its gross revenue in this 

 group of expenditure. 



It is thus as certain as any statistical fact 

 can be that the increase of mineral traffic on a 

 railway is accompanied by a very sensible in- 

 crease in the working expenditure of the line. 

 We are not speaking of lines directly constructed 

 for the service of colliery districts, as in the case 

 of the Taff" Vale, where a mineral traffic of 61.5 

 per cent, coincides with a carriage-cost of 29.7 

 per cent., under exceptionally favorable circum- 

 stances. The subject we have under investiga- 

 tion is the cost of mixed traffic on trunk-lines 

 of railway, laid down for passenger traffic. On 

 these we find that, for every additional one per 

 cent, of mineral traffic borne by the line, the 

 charges for locomotion, maintenance, and repairs, 

 are increased on the average by more than one- 

 half per cent, of the entire revenue. Owing to 

 the increase of these three items alone, therefore, 

 only about half of the nominal gross in-take from 

 minerals has to be credited to revenue. 



It has been urged by a very able and ener- 

 getic advocate of mineral traffic on railways that 

 the saving in " traffic expenses " accompanying 

 that branch of trade is so great as to make the 

 business very profitable to the companies. Com- 

 parative analysis, however, does not support this 

 assertion. On the Metropolitan Railway, in spite 



