390 
Secondary or Narrow Gauge Railways 
the difficulties with the local authorities, who, by the way, are 
all provided with free passes. 
The speed of the trains is from 9J to 12^ miles per hour. 
Neither farm- nor carriage-horses take fright at the engines 
after they have seen them a few times. Some precautions are 
necessary at first. 
The ordinary coach-brake is the only one used at present. 
On farms where machinery is used, the farmers soon had 
sidings made ; but farmers, as a body, have not used the railway 
much yet, though they appreciate its advantages. 
Steel rails are used, weighing 50 lbs. per yard run. 
Up to the present time it is calculated that every inhabitant of 
the districts where the rails are laid has been a passenger five 
• times. 
A telegraph is being organized as for an ordinary railway. 
No note has been taken of the maximum curve, but the 
minimum is 54"6 yards radius. 
The locomotives weigh 15 tons, and are on Mallet's compound 
system, and are fed from reservoirs on the line. 
No special mechanical means have been devised for loading 
and unloading the trucks up to the present, nor are the passen- 
ger-carriages yet warmed in winter. 
The following information is supplied by Monsieur Lavalard, 
Administrator of the Compagnie Generale des Omnibus de Paris, 
which owns 16,000 horses, and seems likely to absorb all the 
small tramway services of the Department of the Seine. 
The capital of a Company for making a small narrow gauge 
railway on the high roads may be taken at 200,000Z. : but the 
amount depends, of course, upon the length of the line and its 
branches. Debentures may be issued for the construction of 
small branch lines. 
After allowing for all eventual and incidental expenses, 7 to 
8 per cent, should be the return to the shareholders. 
The tariff for the conveyance of goods must depend upon the 
traffic. Where it is considerable, rates should be low ; but high 
where it is scarce. 
Subsidies are rare, and when given, are more onerous than 
productive. Generally royalties must be paid, as, for instance, 
by keeping the roads in order ; but it is certain that unless a 
monopoly of the road be given to the working Company, so that 
the chance of a fair income may be secured, no service can be 
regular or well-conducted. 
We lay our rails on longitudinal sleepers. No cross sleepers 
are used. 
