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XXIV. — Secondary or Narrate Gauge Railways for Agricultural 
Purposes. Bj W. H. Delano, Assoc. Inst. C.E. 
The object of this paper is to draw attention to the laying of 
rails on ordinary roads, and to prove the feasibility thereof. 
My experience has been principally in France, where, owing 
to the absence of turnpikes, the only practical difficulty in laying 
rails on roads lies in their inclines and curves. In France there 
exist 2237 kilometres of narrow gauge railways and 81 kilo- 
metres of narrow gauge lines laid on ordinary roads. 
As will be seen, the problem has been completely solved, not 
only in France, but also in Belgium, Italy, Germany, Austria, 
and Hungary. We see tramways for passenger traffic in the 
main streets of large towns (^and there is no reason for their not 
also carrying goods), railways in mines, elevated railways, whilst 
contractors and manufacturers use rails for the transport of earth 
and machinery ; but the transport of purely agricultural pro- 
ducts, and of materials used in agriculture, remains, in those 
agricultural districts of England where there are no main lines 
of railway, pretty much as it was fifty years ago. 
Few steam traction engines are used on common roads, in 
spite of their evident usefulness and the efforts of their manu- 
facturers. 
Seeing that rail-transport is so advantageous on the crowded 
high roads of large towns, why should it not be so relatively 
upon the continuation of those roads in the country ? 
The great railway companies connect the large manufacturing 
towns and chief ports, competition producing in their case the 
lowest rates ; yet agricultural centres have just as much need to be 
connected by the friction-reducing medium of rails, at an outlay 
proportionate to the traffic. It has been rumoured that the big 
railway companies are opposed to the laying down of light 
narrow gauge rural lines on the high roads ; but if such roads 
were covered with light lines of rails, with sidings to the adja- 
cent farms, what harm could be done to any vested interest? 
On the contrary, (1) production would be stimulated, and 
produce brought rapidly to the main lines of the large railway 
companies, swelling their traffic as streamlets swell rivers. 
(2) Farmers and land stewards, after exporting their produce 
cheaply, could cheaply import artificial manures, oilcakes, lime, 
marl, clay, and sand, required to improve the land and increase 
its fertility.* 
* By the kindness of Mr. James Howard, M.P. for the comity of Beds, the 
