RAILWAYS 



563 



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vies in magnitude with the Trans-Siberian railway 

 scheme in the Old World. The Argentine Con- 

 federation represents the chief railway development 

 in the southern half of the continent. 



In the early days of railway enterprise in India 

 the agency of private companies guaranteed by the 

 state was exclusively employed, and nearly aft the 

 great trunk-lines of the country were made under 

 this system. The government gave the land for 

 the lines free of cliarge, and guaranteed interest 

 generally at five per cent, on the share capital and 

 a lower rate upon the debentures for ninety-nine 

 years. Any surplus earnings after the guaranteed 

 rates were paid were divided equally between the 

 government and the companies. Moreover, the 

 government retained the right of buying the under- 

 takings at specified dates on payment of the value 

 of the stock calculated at its market price on the 

 average of the three preceding years. In this way 

 the Kast Indian Railway was acquired in 1880. 

 the Eastern Bengal in 1884, the Sind, Punjab, and 

 Delhi in 1885-86, the Oudh and Rohilkund at the 

 end of 1888, and the South Indian in 1890. In 

 1870 a new policy of railway development, by 

 the direct agency of the state was inaugurated ; 

 and in 1880-81 the system of encouraging private 

 enterprise by state assistance was again adopted. 

 Both agencies are now employed. In some 

 instances notably the Bengal and North-Western 

 line railways have been constructed without any 

 direct pecuniary assistance ; in others a subsidy or 

 limited guarantee lias been granted. The agency 

 of private companies has also been employed by 

 the government both in the construction and work- 

 ing of state lines. In all cases the government has 

 the power of taking overthe railways at specified 

 periods on stated terms. In 1884 a select com- 

 mittee reported in favour of a more rapid extension 

 of railways than had been taking place, and recom- 

 mended the broad gauge i.e. 5 feet 6 inches 

 except in tracts where the metre or smaller gauge 

 was already in successful operation, and for local 

 lines where the traffic could only be light. The 

 first railway opened in India was that of the Great 

 Iinliiin Peninsular Company from Bombay to 

 Tannah, traffic being commenced on 4th May 

 1853, and at the close of 1890 there were 16,996 

 miles in working. Of this total 8077 miles were 

 state lines worked by companies, 4680 miles 

 state lines worked by the state, 2588J miles were 

 worked by guaranteed companies, 381 by assisted 

 companies, 5394 miles were owned by native states 

 and worked by companies, 124 miles were owned 

 by native states and worked by state railway agency, 

 547 [ wore owned and worked by native states, and 

 68J miles were in Portuguese and French territory. 



The first railway in Australasia was projected in 

 1850 in New South Wales by private enterprise, 

 lint was completed by the government. With a 

 few small exceptions the railways of the Austral- 

 asian colonies are owned and worked by the 

 governments. The dates of opening of the first 

 lines and latest mileage returns of each colony are : 

 Victoria ( 13th September 1854), 2762 miles; New 

 South \Vales(29th May 1855), 2182 miles ; Queens- 

 land (31st .Inly 1865), 2113 miles; South Australia 

 (26th April 1856), 1810 miles ; Western Australia 

 (21st January 1864), 569 miles; New Zealand (1st 

 December 1863), 1965 miles ; Tasmania ( 10th Feb- 

 ruary 1871), 374 miles. In Australasia in 1870 

 there were but 948 miles of railway, but in 1890 

 there were about 12,000 miles. The distribution of 

 thU total is shown above. It is unfortunate that 

 in Australia different gauges have been adopted, 

 BO that where the systems join transhipment of 

 goods and passengers is necessary. The Victorian 

 lines are built on the 5 feet 3 inches gauge, which 

 U also the national standard in South Australia, 



but this colony has also 700 miles on the 3 feet 6 

 inches gauge. In New South Wales a 4 feet 8J 

 inches gauge is the standard, but there is also a 5 

 feet 3 inches line. In Queensland, Western Aus- 

 tralia, Tasmania, and New Zealand all the railways 

 are on a 3 feet 6 inches gauge. The capital cost per 

 mile of the Australasian lines has been : Victoria, 

 13,612 ; New South Wales, 12,532 ; Tasmania, 

 8436 ; New Zealand, 7582 ; Queensland, 6766 ; 

 South Australia, 6444 ; and Western Australia, 

 4374 per mile. In Cape Colony the first railway 

 was opened 26th June 1860, and when the govern- 

 ment took over the railways in 1873 there were 

 only 63J miles ; in 1890 there were 1890 miles. 



In China the first short railway at Woosung was 

 torn up after a few months' working, but the line 

 to the Kaeping collieries was not disturbed. Some . 

 100 miles of the Tien-tsin line has since been con- 

 structed, and plans are under discussion for the 

 construction of a trunk route. See the articles 

 on the several countries. 



Railway Mileage. The dates of the opening of 

 the first railways, and the mileage in 1891, of the 

 principal countries are as under : 



Austria-Hungary 20th September 1828 18,467 



Belgium 5th May 1835 3215 



Denmark 18th September 1844.. .. 1223 



France 1st October 1828 22,586 



Germany 7th December 1835 25,969 



Great Britain and Ireland. . .27th September 1825. . . . 20,073 



Greece 18th February 1869 239 



Italy 3d October 1839 8117 



Netherlands 13th September 1889 1887 



Norway 14th July 1853 970 



Portugal 9th July 1854 1280 



Russia 4th April 1838 19,027 



Spain SOth October 1848 6127 



Sweden 9th February 1851 1623 



Switzerland 15th June 1844 1929 



Turkey 4th October 1860 1096 



Egypt. ... 26th January 1866 1494 



India 18th April 1853 16,996 



United States 17th April 1827 167,000 



Canada 19th March 1847 14,000 



Mexico 8th October 1860 5827 



Argentine Republic 14th December 1864 5798 



Brazil SOth April 1854 5779 



Chili January 1852 1920 



Colombia January 1880. 230 



Paraguay 1st October 1863 149 



Peru 29th May 1851 994 



Uruguay 1st January 1869 537 



Venezuela 9th February 1866 441 



See Francis, History of the English Railway ( 1851 ) ; 

 "W. Gait, Railway Keform ( 1865 ) ; Smiles, Livet of Oeorge 

 and Robert Stephenson (1868); Colburn, Locomotive 

 Engineering ( 1871 ) ; Arthur Helps, Life of T. Brassey 

 (1872); Francis Trevithick, Life of Trevithick (1872); 

 Adams, Railroad and Railway Questions (1878); Red- 

 man, Law of Railway Companies as Carriers ( 1880 ) ; 

 Burdett's Official Inte Uigence ( 1891 ) ; Barry and Bram- 

 well, Railways and, Locomotives ( 1881 ) ; Bigg, Railway 

 Acts, 1830-66(1867), and Supplement to, 1875-83(1883); 

 Minot, Railway Travel in Europe and America (1882); 

 Clifford, Private Bill Leijislntion (2 vols. 1885-87); 

 Ivatt's Railway Management of Stations ( 1885) ; Waring, 

 State Purchase of Railways (1887); Professor Marshall 

 on State Ownership, in Trans. Brit. Assoc. (1890); 

 Jeans, Railwau Prolilems of Working in Different 

 Countries (1887); M'Dermott, Life of Firtjank (1887), 

 and The Railway Clearing-house ( 1887 ) ; Williams, Our 

 Iron Roads (1888), and The Midland Railway (1883; 

 new ed. 1888) ; H. Grierson, Railway Rates, English and 

 Foreign (1886); Findlay, Workiwj and Management of 

 an English Railway (Ifw9) ; Acworth, Railways of Eng- 

 land (1889), and Railways of Scotland (1890) ; Hodges, 

 Law of Railways, by Lely (7th ed. 1889); Hyde, The 

 Royal Mail (3d ed. 1889); Foxwelland Farrer, Express 

 Trains, English and Foreiijn (1889); Fisher, Railway 

 Accounts and Finance (1891); Railwaiis of America 

 (1890); Bradshaw's Railway Manual; Board of Trade 

 Railway Returns (of capital, revenue, accidents, brakes, 

 signals ) ; Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United 

 States (annual) ; Reports of Interstate Commission of the 

 United States ; and for foreign works oil railways, see the 

 Catalogue of M. Dunod, Paris. 



