NARROW GAUGE AS APPLIED TO BRANCH RAILWAYS IN N.S.W. XXIII. 



in 1895, was not of this latter character, and, judging from the 

 result, it would appear as if the number of the witnesses, rather 

 than their weight, from the uninterested expert point of view, 

 was taken into consideration. 



The great advantages to be gained by the adoption of a 

 narrow gauge, apart from the question as to whether working 

 expenses will be decreased or otherwise, are, firstly, its greatly 

 cheaper first cost, and, secondly, its facilities for the further 

 connection of the branch line with farm studs and wool sheds, 

 etc., the sidings being easily laid through streets and round 

 corners, and the road being readily removable to different points 

 as required. No doubt, in many cases, these advantages obviate 

 transhipment, now unavoidable at one end of a branch, if causing 

 it at another. Hence, it is fairly obvious that if there be a 

 break at all, the disadvantages of which are equal, no matter 

 what gauge is employed, it is better to adopt the smallest gauge 

 which has, by large experience elsewhere, proved to be at all 

 practicable, and thus get the advantage of the cheapest con- 

 struction, and, at the same time, the most manageable system for 

 sidings to farms, etc. For this reason it is proposed to consider 

 the effects to the working caused by 2ft. gauge branches, and, 

 as it is agreed that the smallness of the traffic is the main 

 argument for the smaller line, the matter will be considered in 

 connection with as small a traffic as would justify, according to 

 present criteria, the construction of a line at all. 



It is commonly and truly said, by the advocates of narrow 

 gauge lines, that the proportion between the weight of their 

 trucks and that of the maximum load ^hich can be carried is 

 much larger than in the case of the wider gauges ; for instance, 

 the ordinary 2ft. bogie truck weighs only 2*70 tons and can carry 

 10 tons, or a proportion of 1 to 3'70, while the newest and best 

 proportioned similar one on the New South Wales lines weighs 

 10 tons and can carry only 22 tons, or a proportion of 1 to 220. 



The reason for this is obvious. If the waggons were stationary, 

 and had merely to carry their load at rest, their strength, and 

 therefore their weight, might be proportional to the load, but 



