98 
The Journal of the Royal 
In a country like British Guiana where railway 
construction has only just begun, it would be better, no 
doubt, to standardize the gauge of its light lines. The 
gauge which the majority of English railway engineers 
most strongly recommend for light lines is the 2 ft. 
6 in. gauge, and might be made the standard for light 
railways in British Guiana. 
Mr. Calthrop in his paper read before the Society of 
Arts (Journal 1897, Vol. XLV, page 245) said : — 
*' There is no doubt that as comparted with all others, it 
is the gauge possessing the greatest carrying capacity 
per cent, of cost of track. It has sufficient stability to 
carry goods of great weight and bulk, while the flexi- 
bility of its alignment is such that it can accommodate 
itself to country of mountainous and most difficult 
character at a fraction of the cost of a standard-gauge 
line, negotiating similar difficulties." 
A railway is a commercial undertaking pure and 
simple, and the principle to be followed, both in its 
design and working, should be the same as would be 
adopted in any mercantile concern. 
No merchant, for instance, would dream of building 
or chartering a vessel capable of carrying 1,000 tons if 
his cargo was not likely to exceed for a given time 500 
tons. A sugar planter would not erect machinery to 
manufacture 5,000 tons of sugar if his crop could not 
produce more than 2,500 tons. 
In Great Britain, up to year 1897, narrow-gauge lines 
were to be found only in Wales and Ireland ; if we 
except those in the colliery districts in the north of 
England. There is no doubt, however, that the 
