LAYING OUT THE DESIGN OF WORKS. 33 



store wells and connections, and the gasholders. Anyone 

 who has had the job of starting operations again, after the 

 works have been flooded to a depth of 3 feet or so above 

 the yard level, will agree that a very heavy price has to be 

 paid for any advantages incidental to a low level, and that 

 the lowest level is not necessarily the best site. 



The most important considerations are direct connection 

 with rail or canal and a central position as regards the 

 district to be supplied. When the works are a hundred 

 miles or more from the colliery, the cost of convey- 

 ance may actually be greater than the original cost 

 of the coal. There are several works in the South of 

 England where the railway company get a larger propor- 

 tion out of the cost of coal on the works than the colliery 

 proprietor. The cost of conveyance constitutes a heavy 

 and a permanent tax on the working expenses, apart 

 from any charges for cartage. And to the cost of cartage 

 may be added quite 5 per cent, on the cost of the coal to 

 represent losses due to dust, breakage, exposure to weather, 

 etc. So it is a great advantage if a site can be obtained on 

 the boundary of a railway goods yard, or the bank of a 

 canal, and that the coal shed should be so located that 

 trucks or barges can be brought alongside, and the contents 

 transferred by one throw with a shovel. The most favour- 

 able conditions are when the railway is at an elevation of 

 10 feet or more above the working floor, so that the trucks 

 can be unloaded by gravitation, and little or no trimming 

 is required. Sometimes a short special siding can be 

 arranged. The saving of cartage applies not only to coal, 

 but also to retorts and fire-brick, purifying material, pipes, 

 etc., and to coke, breeze, tar or liquor that are to be sent 

 away from the works. It is the usual experience that the 

 railway company expect to share to some extent in the 

 D 



