September i, i8go.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
i8i 
cost of construction, as they get near the sea, must 
be heavy, as all along the coast from Eio to Sautos 
the steep sides of the Serra seem to Come rignt 
down to the coast. There are at present three of 
these lines working off the Dom Pedro 2nd — their 
milage is not great as yet, but all are being 
extended. 
At Cachoeira we leave the nice roomy carriage of 
the broad gauge and enter that of the narrow. 
There is a difficulty at first in finding places for 
the small parcels, and convenient seats. As it is 
now afternoon the old hands look out for the side 
the sun will beat least on. We cannot venture 
on a cup of coffee until these arrangements are 
made. The new hand had better not ask the time 
for the train starting : if he do and be guided by 
his watch he will have some time to sit in an 
empty carriage. From Eio we h^ye come on Eio 
time, here now we have Sao Paulo time, which 
is somewhat later, — some 15 minutes. Better for 
him to ask “How long do we wait here?” and he 
may look at his watch whan the train starts, he will 
have time enough to look about, for changes of 
everything at break of gauges, even with the most 
improved railway systems, take time. Time ! that 
is nothing to compare with the annoyance.. 
From here to Sao Paulo the metre gauge line 
belongs to a company having its head office in Eio 
de Janeiro, and the capital was raised in this coun- 
try. It was Opened in 187G and has paid fairly well 
to the shareholders.* For goods traffic from Eio to 
Sao Paulo it has to compete with the line of stea- 
mers between Eio and Santos. Passengers, even those 
to Santos, who have by steaming this route to stay 
a night in Sao Paulo, and go by train some 
three hours’ journey to Santos next Jay, prefer it, 
for in some seasons the sea voyage between these 
two places Eio and Santos is far from pleasant. 
We have come out of luxurious carriages fitted 
up with all sorts of comforts for the traveller 
which our American cousins can invent, and we 
enter others less roomy no doubt, but clean, neat 
and comfortable. The extra heat we experience is 
notuff owing to the lowness of the roof, but the sun 
is beating right down on us, and it is the hottest 
part of the day, and the small windows which only 
open half-way would not inconvenience us much, 
if we had entered the carriage at 6 o’clock in 
the morning. There is width enough in the seats, 
for the broad gauge held two on each seat with 
a passage down the centre, making four passengers 
in the breadth of the carriage ; here you have 
two passengers on one seat at one side, 
and one passenger on one seat at the other, the 
single seats extending one half-way down the 
carriage on one side and half on the other, the 
double vice versa, and although the passage in the 
middle has a quick turn half-way down the car- 
riage to suit this arrangement of seats, there is 
room enough for seats for gangway and all. The 
facility with which the backs of the seats can be 
turned to enable two people, if on the single, 
and four on the double, to havo a quiet tctc-a- 
tete, is a good arrangement ; if you don’t like your 
face to the engine, turn the back of your seat and 
you have your back to it. The lavatories are 
kept as clean on one line as on the other. On 
this line where curves do not seem to be less 
than six chains radius they could easily have 
higher roofed carriages which would give better 
ventilation, and enable windows to be open their 
Length of line 232 kilometres — 140 miles — 7 per 
cent guarantee from State on £1,000,000. — All was 
spout on couBtructiou, 
ull height.* They could bo opened by pulling 
down instead of pushing up. Do not let us growl : 
in a new country a metre gauge railway is not to be 
despised. The metre gauge has been such a success 
that here they will have no other, but I do not 
say that it is right to have two gauges in any country 
[The question of gauge is largely a question of 
traffic, but break of gauge means increased cost of 
working, with inconvenience and danger. — Ed. T. A.] 
For through traffic the break of gauges is tho greatest 
annoyance imaginable, and the saving in cost of 
construction does not compensate for loss of time — 
first in the slowness of tho trains, and second in 
the time required for changing from the waggons of 
one line to another, entailing risk of damage to 
goods, delays and discomfort to passengers. The 5 ft. 
3 in. gauge lines run up to CO kilometres per 
hour, while the narrow 3 ft. 3j in. seldom exceeds 
30 kilometres, and it is a very fast train that will 
run 40 kilometres : indeed I think there is a re- 
gulation which makes it punishable for a driver to 
exceed the latter distance let his train be ever so 
late. They tell me the express on this line runs 
40 kilometres per hour. With the exception of the 
Government line in the Province of Ceara, con- 
structed under directions of Engineer Charles 
Morsing, this is the best made metre line I have 
been on in Brazil. Although your 5 ft. 6 in. 
is an enormously wide gauge, now that you have 
a good extension of it, and through the most dif- 
ficult part of your country, you should stick to it. 
[No fear of that. Apart from all the inconve- 
niences of break of gauge, experience in India has 
conclusively proved, that any gain on construction 
is rapidly lost in the higher proportionate cost 
of working narrow gauge lines.— Ed. T. A.] 
Economy in the construction of metre gauge lines 
hero has reached a point as fine as it is possible 
to cut it. £3,000 a kilometre is the maximum 
on which guarantee is given by the Government, 
and the applicant for a concession must prove that 
it will pay 3 per cent, i. a., if the line should not 
pay 3 per cent the quota to be paid by Government 
would not exceed 3 per cent on capital guaranteed. 
A pretty long stretch of line to connect the city 
of Eio and that of Campos along ground similar to 
your lowcountry and a gauge of 3 ft. 6 in. was con- 
tracted for at £1,920 per kilometre; tho work included 
everything but rolling stock. Gradients not over 1 
in 100 and minimum radius of curves 200 minimum 
or 10 chains radius. Bridges above 12 feet to be of 
iron, stations of stone or bricks, and covered with 
tiles platforms of cement, &c. Bails steel 45 1b. to 
a yard — all was finished to the satisfaction of Go- 
vernment, and it is said the contractor made a for- 
tune on it. 
But to return to our journey towards S. Paulo. 
Leaving Cachoeira, we pass through what had at one 
time been an important coffee producing district, 
for we see numerous abandoned coffee estates, and 
cane struggling to give a fair crop from the 
already washed and exhausted soil. Government 
havo tried to improve agricultural matters, by 
giving a guarantee to a central Sugar Factory 
beside the Lorena station. The factory has been 
working for three years, but the Government have 
had to assist in paying the dividend to the share- 
holders. This will gradually be remedied, as it was 
owing to the planters’ not planting sufficient cane; 
they being uncertain it the price the Company 
offered would pay them for cultivation, and they 
not being sure if means for transport would bo 
provided when the cane was ready for cutting, 
* Since writing the above 1 have been told tho 
low roofed carriages are few in number, the others 
have high roofs with double ceilings, 7 windows 
opening full, and downwards. 
