The Railway Discussion 1902. 49 
with the question of gauge. On the Berbice Extension of the parent line there 
could, of course, have been no question of the gauge to be adopted, and I will 
not therefore discuss it further. In the case of the West Coast Railway, how- 
ever, the gauge received very careful consideration, and as the probabilities of 
any connection being made between the East and West Coast Railways are 
extremely remote, and interchange of rolling stock practically impossible, I 
did not allow the fact of the Hast Coast being 4 feet 8} inches to influence me 
beyond the storing of “ spares,” such as axles and other parts which are affected 
by the gauge. As regards the Essequebo Railway, 1 have always looked on 
it as beiug merely of a temporary nature, and though extremely useful at 
present, hardly worth considering in connection with a trunk line. When 
running through hilly country there is a very large saving in both construction 
and working by using a 3 feet 6 inches instead of a 4 ft. 8} inches gauge— 
particularly in rock cuttings, and in admitting of much sharper curves, which 
can be easily run round on a 3 feet 6 inches gauge, when a 4 feet 8} inches 
gauge would be almost impractical. Next, the rolling stock for the narrow 
gauge (3 feet 6 inches) is, roughly, 20 per cent. cheaper than that for the broad 
gauge (4 feet 84 inches). 
The next point an engineer would consider is, where would this line be likely 
to end, ultimately, and I have no hesitation in saying that such a line would 
ultimately end by joining the Argentine railways. The latter are of various 
gauges ; but, as faras [could ascertain, the 3 feet 6 ches gauge preponderated; 
this being added to the fact that it is a more favourite gauge than the 3.0 metze 
or 5.0, all of which, I understand, are in use in the Argentine and Chilian sys- 
tems, I had no hesitation in recommending the 3 feet 6 inches gauge, and its 
advantage may shortly be summed up thus,—economy in construction of 
railway ; economy in rolling stock ; engines being lighter, there is less wear and 
tear on ra‘ls; and the wagons tare is also much less in proportion to paying 
load, all of which mean economy in working and less difficulty in purchasing 
stock ready built on emergency. The custom on Indian and Belgian railways 
is to have the main line of the broad gauge, with branch lines of metre or other 
narrower gauge, thus making a break of gauge at nearly every point of com- 
munication between the branch and main lines. A fuller description of this 
is given in volume 147 of the Proceedings of the Institute of Civil Engineers, 
pages 389-391, so that it will be at once seen that the Demerara Railway is by 
no means singular in working two lines of a different gauge. Another case 
occurs at Woodstock, where a narrow gauge line is run from the Great Western 
Railway to Blenhein Park ; and there are numerous similar instances. There 
is just as much truth in the statement that the West Coast Railway was made 
3 feet 6 inches gauge to suit Barbados engines, as there is in the story of Lartigue 
or Monorail Railway (which would be more properly named the triple rail), 
which runs,—that where a cow is being sent in a truck at one side of the rail 
another cow has to be borrowed to act as a counterpoise for the journey and 
then walked back to her home. I fear Mr. Hill is not quite up in his railway 
history when he states that the standard gauge is now in universal use through- 
out Great Britain, as all the following, at least, are narrow gauge. The Fes- 
tiniog Railway, Corris Railway, Schull and Skibbereen Railway, Cork and 
