NATURE 



[September 29, 19 10 



Fig. 2 shows by the upper curve the number of miles 

 ■open for traffic plotted against the year. This curve 

 indicates great activity of construction during the period 

 1850 to 1870, with a regular but gradually decreasing 

 .addition of mileage from year to year afterwards. 



At the end of 1908 there were 23,205 miles open, corre- 



2 



5000 



•sponding to 53,669 miles of single track, including 

 sidings. Of this, 85 per cent, was standard 4 feet 

 85 inches gauge, 12-3 per cent. 5 feet 3 inches, and 2-2 per 

 x:ent. 3 feet gauge. The remainder was made up of small 

 mileages of i foot iij inches, 2 feet 3 inches, 2 feet 

 4 inches, 2 feet 42 inches, 2 feet, 2 feet 9 inches, 4 feet, 

 and 4 feet 6 inches gauges. 



The two lower lines of the diagram show, respectively, 

 the number of passengers carried and the tons of goods 

 •carried from year to year. 



United Kincoom. 



The curves of mileage, passengers carried, and goods 

 ■carried increase regularly with the increase of capital, 

 indicating that up to the present time the possibility of 

 remunerative return on capital invested in railway enter- 

 prise in this country is not exhausted. It is true that 

 there is a maximum of goods carried in the year 1907 ; 



NO. 2135, VOL. 84] 



but the sudden drop in the curve between the years 1907 

 and 1908 suggests that the drop is only of a temporary 

 character, and there is every reason to believe that the 

 curve will resume its upward tendency with time. In 

 1908 the railways of the United Kingdom carried 1278 

 millions of passengers, exclusive of season-ticket holders, 

 and 491 million tons of goods; the quantity of goods 

 carried in 1907 was nearly 515 millions of tons. It is 

 curious that, very approximately, the companies carry 

 per annum one passenger and about 0^4 ton of goods for 

 every pound sterling of paid-up capital. 



The proportion of the gross receipts absorbed in carry- 

 ing out this service is shown by the upper curve of Fig. 3. 

 The proportion has increased, on the whole regularly, from 

 47 per cent, in i860 to 64 per cent, in 1908. 



The lower curve shows the net receipts as a percentage 

 of the paid-up capital. From 1899 onwards the curve 

 AB shows the net receipts reckoned on the paid-up capital 

 exclusive of the nominal additions. It will be observed 

 that the net receipts have not declined more than half a 

 per cent, since 1870, notwithstanding the increase in 

 working expenditure. 



Fig. 4 indicates the cost of working the traffic calcu- 

 lated in terms of the train-mile, no data being available 

 regarding the actual work done as represented by the ton- 

 mile or the passenger-mile. In some respects the train- 



Vaveracc 



Cosf o/ Vi'ovklni^ per Train-mile of \eos-i90B| 

 Railways in England and Wnh-s. 



mile is the fairest way of comparing costs, because when 

 a train is running, whether it is full or empty, the same 

 service must be performed by the majority of the depart- 

 ments. 



The curves bring out clearly that the proportion of the 

 total expenditure per train-mile absorbed by these several 

 services remains fairly constant over a series of years. 

 To the right is exhibited the average for the four years 

 1905 to 1908. The figures are also reproduced in the 

 following table : — 



Table I. 

 Average Working Costs per Train-mile of the Raihvays in 



England and Wales taken over the Years 1905 to 1908. 



Locomotive power ... ... ... ... 12-07 



Repairs and renewals of carriages and 



waggons ... ... ... ... ... 360 



Maintenance of permanent-way 6-37 



Traffic expenses ... ... ... ... 12-78 



General charges ... ... ... ... 1-68 



Rates and taxes ... ... ... . ... 3-05 



Government duty ... ... ... ... 0-22 



Compensation ... ... ... ... ... 0-47 



Legal and miscellaneous 1-39 



Total 4'-63 



