1873 •] Railways and their Future Development. 155 



consider the very elementary principles of a railway's exist- 

 ence, to look at the physical and financial questions fairly, 

 and having them before us, to settle what is to be done in 

 the future : for depend upon it, the less we ignore the teach- 

 ings of the past the better; there is no sound progress apart 

 from experience ; hence it is that reforms are seldom intro- 

 duced from without, although it is the external pressure 

 which causes them. 



It will be well to deal with the physical questions first of 

 all, before entering upon the financial. The primary con- 

 ception of a railway is a perfectly smooth, level, and straight 

 road, upon which friction is reduced to the minimum, so 

 that heavy loads may be propelled with the least possible 

 resistance, and at the highest rate of speed. 



The earliest type of locomotive engine was designed to 

 run upon such straight and level roads, and it was supposed 

 for many years that locomotives could not climb hills or be 

 made to go round corners. 



The first railway carriages were a simple modification of 

 the stage coaches, names and all. It is interesting to look 

 at the curious three-bodied " Marquis of Stafford,'" — with 

 yellow pannels and windows, filled with ladies in large coal- 

 scuttle bonnets — as shown in one of Ackermann's early 

 engravings of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the 

 only substantial difference being that, inasmuch as the 

 railways of those days were made nearly straight, no 

 arrangement was provided for allowing the axles of the 

 carriage to radiate as they do partially in common road 

 vehicles, but both axles were rigidly fastened so as to be 

 immovable. 



Again, as all road vehicles have to turn abrupt corners, 

 their wheels are made to turn independently upon their 

 axles, but so soon as flanges were employed to keep the 

 wheels of the railway carriages between two straight rails, 

 this arrangement was found unnecessary, and to obtain 

 greater strength and security, the wheels were rigidly 

 fastened to the axle, and both were compelled to revolve 

 together. 



Now, since the primary conception of the perfectly smooth 

 straight road, a great degeneracy has been of necessity 

 taking place ; with greatly increased demands, less capital 

 than ever has been forthcoming ; consequently the great 

 cuttings and embankments of early days are being abandoned 

 as precedents, and it becomes necessary that railways should 

 approach more closely to the form of ordinary roads, which 

 follow the surface of the ground only — at small cost. 



