LIGHT RAILWAYS FOR NEW SOUTH WALES. Tai 
sleepers, less ballast, cheaper bridges ; and when the trains were 
run in the day time, fences, gates and gate-keepers, signals and 
signal-men, could be dispensed with and lower wages paid. By 
the trains being self-governed, expensive buildings, station masters, 
ticket clerks, and porters could be dispensed with, and trains could 
more readily adapt themselves to the requirement of the traffic in 
their stopping places. It was not only the first cost of station 
buildings, fences, gates, and signals that was saved, but the cost 
of maintaining them in good repair. These points were fully 
realized in America and many railways were constructed and 
worked on these principles. Although the speed might be slow 
there was no reason why the passengers’ comfort should be neglected 
or why the trains should not easily compete with coaches and 
drays, which had to contend with all the difficulties of country 
roads, What was really wanted were low freights. There was 
no economy ina break of gauge, and very little in a narrower 
gauge, but where the greatest of all economy could be obtained 
was in the careful selection of the route. It was inadvisable to 
open up a country by going over high mountains and through 
barren land when by going a somewhat longer distance, good 
country could be traversed ; what an economy there would have 
been if the Western District had been opened up by a line from 
Dubbo to Muswellbrook, and into Newcastle, instead of having 
to haul everything over the barren mountains to Sydney. How 
easily could that terrible line from Wallerawang to Mudgee have 
been avoided. The lines could be shortened when the trafic 
justified it, as was constantly being done even in older countries 
with settled population. It must be remembered that in a new 
and rapidly growing country like New South Wales, what appeared 
to be but an insignificant branch line would probably, within a 
very few years, be part of an important main line, and they should 
endeavour to so construct the line, that the requirements of an 
increased traffic could be added without any expensive work 
already done becoming useless. As to the resistance of railway 
curves, he referred to the experiments made by the French 
Government, which appeared in Engineering, 23rd Sept., 1892. 
