CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



have been liberally aided by government in grants 

 of land. The lines have generally no fences, and 

 they go through populous towns along the open 

 streets without restriction or fear of the conse- 

 quences ; the only care taken against accidents is 

 for the driver to ring a bell, and it is usual to put 

 up boards with the inscription : ' Look out for the 

 locomotive when the bell rings.' Tickets are sold 

 at the stations, at offices throughout a town, and 

 by the guard, without fixing a date ; the whole 

 organisation and management being, in fact, on a 

 loose footing, though perhaps well adapted to the 

 raw condition of a large part of the country. The 

 seats in the ' cars/ as they are termed, are ar- 

 ranged in rows, with a passage up the middle for 

 the conductor, who, by means of a small platform 

 at each end, can step from carriage to carriage, 

 and perambulate the train at pleasure. The 

 wheels being attached to a swivel or bogie frame- 

 work, the cars can turn round corners with the 

 ease and security of a gentleman's carriage ; this 

 being the most ingenious of the American me- 

 chanical arrangements. 



The greatest works of late years have been the 

 American trans-continental lines. The first, the 

 Union and Central Pacific, was opened for 

 through-traffic between New York and San Fran- 

 cisco, a distance of 3363 miles, in 1869. The 

 journey can be made in 170 hours, including 

 seven nights in succession in the cars, but pas- 

 sengers with through-tickets can get a ' lie-over ' 

 ticket to break the journey. The Southern Pacific 

 from New Orleans to San Francisco was finished 

 in 1882. A third great line, the Northern Pacific, 

 was completed in 1883 ; and a fourth, the Cana- 

 dian Pacific, was being constructed. A trans- 

 continental line is also being carried out in South 

 America. The Lima and Oroya line is one of the 

 most gigantic undertakings of the time ; it will 

 cross the Andes at an elevation of 15,000 feet. 



A railway was opened in Japan in 1872, and 

 in 1880 there were over 60 miles open for traffic. 

 A line of railway was opened in China in 1876, ex- 

 tending from Shanghai to Woosung ; unhappily 

 MB 



it was destroyed by order of the government in 

 1877. A curious mountain-line, the Righi Railway, 

 opened in Switzerland in 1871, about 3^ miles long, 

 rises 3937 feet; the average gradient for the whole 

 distance being i in 4-45. It crosses a viaduct on 

 a gradient of i in 4. The line has a central rack 

 into which toothed wheels, on the locomotive, gear. 



Statistics of Railways in all Countries. The 

 British possessions in 1875 contained in the 

 United Kingdom 16,658 miles of railway ; India, 

 6461 ; Dominion of Canada, 4443 ; Australia 

 and New Zealand, 2285 ; with small portions in 

 other regions making a total of 30,205 miles. Of 

 foreign railways unconnected with the British 

 possessions, the latest available statistics present 

 the following figures: France, about 19,0x30 miles; 

 Belgium, 2300; Holland, noo; Denmark, 600 ; 

 Sweden, noo; Norway, 600; Russia, 12,000; 

 Germany, 15,000 ; Switzerland, 900; Austro-Hun- 

 gary, 14,000 ; Italy, 5000 ; Spain, 5000 ; Portugal, 

 1000 ; Roumania, 600 ; Turkey, 600. Beyond the 

 limits of Europe are Egypt, 1000 miles ; the 

 United States of America, little less than 70,000 

 miles ; Mexico, 400 ; Central America, 200 ; 

 Peru, 600 ; Chili, 800 ; Brazil, 900 ; La Plata, 

 1000. The railways of the whole world, in the 

 beginning of 1880, probably reached 200,000 

 miles, equal to eight times the circumference of 

 the earth ; besides large additional portions com- 

 menced, but not completed. 



We give below the average fares charged to 

 first-class passengers for a journey of 100 miles in 

 the principal countries of Europe : In Belgium, 

 6.y. 6d. ; Italy, IQJ. 6d. ; Spain, iu. gd. ; Prussia, 

 Denmark, Austria, 13^. ; France, ly. ^d. ; Nor- 

 way, 13-y. 4//. ; Switzerland, \y. 6d. ; Holland, 

 I4J. ; Portugal, 14^. id. ; Russia, 14^. $d. In the 

 United Kingdom it was i8s. f)d. some years ago ; 

 in 1877, about 17^. 3^. Second and third class 

 shew the same results proportionally. Goods- 

 rates present a still more striking contrast. For 

 passengers and goods alike, Belgium is the 

 cheapest country, the United Kingdom the 

 dearest. 



Victoria Railway Bridge, Montreal. 



