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States (for it is there only that railways have | ish railways, and those of other countries, made any progress) will have completed, are as follows:within the period of less than a quarter of a century, 26,485 miles of railway; that is to say, a greater length than would completely surround the globe, at a cost of above five hundred millions sterling!

To accomplish this stupendous work, human industry must have appropriated, out of its annual savings, twenty millions sterling for twenty-five successive years!

Of this prodigious investment, the small spot of the globe which we inhabit has had a share, which will form not the least striking fact in her history.

British Railways, .
United States,
France,
Belgium,
German States,

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£40,000

8,000

26,800

18,000

11,000

Few, who have not actually traveled through the United States, have any adequate notion of the prodigious apparatus, natural and artificial, of internal transport which that wonderful country possesses. Dr. Lardner, who personally witnessed it in more of the Union, has supplied a detailed report than one extended tour through every part on that subject in one of the chapters of the work already quoted. After showing that with a population which, according to the census of 1840, scarcely exceeded seventeen millions, a system of canal navigation had then been completed on the most efficient amounting to nearly 4,400 miles, at a cost of twenty-eight millions sterling. The author proceeds to give an interesting account of the steam-navigation on the American rivers, over all of which he had passed more than once, and witnessed personally what he states:

Of the total length of railways in actual operation in all parts of the globe, twentyseven miles in every hundred, and of the total length in progress, fifty-seven miles in every hundred, are in the United Kingdom! But the proportion of the entire amount of railway capital contributed by British industry is even more remarkable. It appears that, of the entire amount of capital expended on the railways of the world, fifty-scale, four pounds in every hundred; and of the capital to be expended on those in progress, sixty-eight pounds in every hundred, are appropriated to British railways!

The vast resources arising from the economical enterprise and industry of this country cannot fail to be regarded with astonishment and admiration, when we consider, in addition to these results, the fact that, while a large amount of British capital has been applied to the construction of foreign railways, no amount of foreign capital worth mentioning has been, on the other hand, invested in British railways.

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From what we have stated above, it pears that the length of railway constructed in the United Kingdom is proportionately less than the relative amount of capital expended. This arises from the greater efficiency of construction, and consequently, greater cost per mile, of the British railways. These are generally double lines, provided with numerous stations, many of which are of vast dimensions, and splendid construction and decoration. The rolling stock (which is, of course, included in the capital) is upon a scale commensurate with the traffic. In other countries, as, for example, the German States and America, the lines are mostly sin gle, the stations are less numerous, and constructed with much less cost.

The average sums per mile expended on the construction and equipment of the Brit

"The steamers which navigate the Hudson are vessels of great magnitude, splendidly fitted up for the accommodation of passengers; and this magnitude and splendor of accommodation have been continually augmented from year to year to the present time.

"It is not only in dimensions that these vessels have undergone improvements. The exhibition of the beautifully-finished machinery of the English Atlantic steamers plying to New York, did not fail to excite the emulation of the American engineers and steam-boat proprietors, who ceased to be content with the comparatively rude though efficient structure of the mechanism of their steam-boats. All the vessels more recently constructed, are accordingly finished and even decorated in the most luxurious manner. In respect of the accommodations which they afford to passengers, no water communication in any country in the world can compare with them. Nothing can exceed the splendor and luxury of the furniture. Silk, velvet, and the most expensive carpeting, mirrors of immense magnitude, gilding, and carving, are profusely supplied to decorate these vessels. Even the engine-room in some

of them is lined with mirrors. In the Alida, for example, the end of the room containing the machinery is composed of one large mirror, in which the movements of the highly-finished mechanism are reflected."

All the Hudson steam-boats of the larger class, such, for example, as the Isaac Newton,* the Hendrik Hudson, the New World, the Oregon, and the Alida, are capable of running from twenty to twenty-two miles an hour, and make on an average eighteen miles, stoppages included. The author observes that these Eastern steamers are free from the danger so notoriously incidental to the Western boats, and which we shall presently notice. During the last ten years not a single catastrophe has occurred to them arising from explosion, although cylindrical boilers, ten feet in diameter, are used, composed of plating five-sixteenths of an inch thick, with steam of 50 lbs. pressure per inch.

Nothing, in the history of transport by land or water, affords any parallel for the combination of cheapness, luxury, and splendor presented by the steam navigation of the Hudson :

"Previously to 1844, the lowest fare between New York and Albany, one hundred and fortyfive miles, was four shillings and fourpence (one dollar). At present the fare is two shillings and twopence, and for an additional sum of the same amount, the passenger can command the luxury of a separate state-room. When the splendor and magnitude of the accommodation is considered, the magnificence of the furniture and accessories, the cheapness and luxuriousness of the table (each meal, supplied on the most liberal scale, costing only two shillings and two pence), it will be admitted that no similar example of cheap locomotion can be found in any part of the world. Passengers may there be transported in a floating palace, surrounded with all the conveniences and luxuries of the most splendid hotel, at the rate of twenty miles an hour, for less than one-sixth of a penny per head per mile.

"It is not an uncommon occurrence, during the summer, to meet individuals on board these boats, who have lodged themselves there permanently during a certain part of the season, instead of establishing themselves, as is customary, at some of the hotels in the towns on the banks of the river. Their daily expenses in the boat are as follows:

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room, and is more spacious than the room in packet-ships similarly designated.

"To obtain an adequate notion of the form and structure of one of the first-class steamboats on the Hudson, let it be supposed that a boat is constructed similar in form to a Thames wherry, but above three hundred feet long, and twenty-five or thirty feet wide. Upon this, let a platform of carpentry be laid, projecting several feet upon either side of the boat, and at stem and stern. The appearance to the eye will then be that of an hundred and fifty long, and some thirty or forty immense raft, from two hundred and fifty to three feet wide. Upon this flooring let us imagine an oblong rectangular wooden erection, two stories high, to be raised. In the lower part of the boat, and under the flooring just mentioned, a long narrow room is constructed, having a series of berths at either side, three or four tiers high. In the inclosed an oblong, rectangular space, within centre of this flooring is usually, but not always, which the steam machinery is placed, and this inclosed space is continued upward through the structure raised on the platform, and is intersected at a certain height above the platform by the shaft or axle of the paddle-wheels.

"These wheels are propelled, generally, by a single engine, but occasionally, as in the European vessels, by two. The paddle-wheels are usually of great diameter, varying from thirty to forty feet, according to the magnitude of the boat. In the wooden building raised upon the platform already mentioned, is contained a magnificent saloon devoted to ladies, and to those gentlemen who accompany them. Over this, in the upper story, is constructed a row of small bed-rooms, each handsomely furnished, which those passengers can have who desire seclusion, by paying a small additional fare.

"The lower apartment is commonly used as a dining or breakfast-room."

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"No spectacle can be more remarkable than that which the Hudson presents for several miles above New York. The skill with which these enormous vessels, measuring from three to four hundred feet in length, are made to thrid their way through the crowd of shipping, of every description, moving over the face of these spacious rivers, and the rare occurrence of accidents from collision, are truly admirable. In a dark night these boats run at the top of their speed through fleets of sailing vessels. The bells through which the steersman speaks to the engineer scarcely ever cease. Of these bells there are several of different tones, indicating the different operations which the engineer is commanded to make, such as stopping, starting, reversing, slackening, accelerating, &c. At the slightest

tap of one of these bells, these enormous engines | are stopped, or started, or reversed by the engineer, as though they were the plaything of a child. These vessels, proceeding at sixteen or eighteen miles an hour, are propelled among the crowded shipping with so much skill as almost to graze the sides, bows, or sterns of the vessels among which they pass.

"The difficulty attending these evolutions by a vessel such as the New World, for example, one hundred and twenty-five yards long and twelve yards wide, may be easily imagined; and the promptitude and certainty with which an engine whose pistons are seventy-six inches in diameter, and whose stroke is five yards in length, is governed, must be truly surprising."

the vessel, causes the upper flues to be uncovered, and the intense action of the furnace, in this case, soon renders them red hot, when a frightful collapse is almost inevitable. The red hot iron, no longer able to resist the intense pressure, gives way, the boiler explodes, and the scalding water is scattered in all directions, often producing more terrible effects than even the fragments of the boiler, which are projected around with destructive force.

"Another frequent cause of explosion in these boilers is, the quantity of mud held in suspension in the waters of the Mississippi below the mouth of the Missouri. As the water in the boiter is evaporated, the earthy matter which it held in suspension remains behind, and accumulates in the boiler, in the bottom of which it is at length collected in a thick stratum. This earthy stratum collected within the boiler being a non-conductor, the heat proceeding from the furnace is intercepted, and, instead of being absorbed by the water, is accumulated in the boiler-plates, which it ultimately renders red hot. Being thus softened, they give way, and the boiler bursts."

The navigation of the Mississippi, and the other western rivers, is conducted, however, in a manner wholly different. Every one is familiar with the deplorable accidents which occur, from time to time, on these vast streams, and the terrible loss of life which so often attends them. These accidents, instead of diminishing with the improvements of art, appear rather to have increased. Engineers, disregarding the heart-rending narratives continually published, have done literally nothing to check the evil, and it may be justly said to be a disgrace to humanity, that the legislature of the Union has not, ere this, interposed its authority to check abuses which are productive of such national ca-those of the passengers, rather than allow lamities.

In a Mississippi steamer the cabins and saloons, although less magnificently appointed than in the Hudson boats, are equally spacious. They are erected on a flooring or platform six or eight feet above the deck of the vessel. Upon this deck, and in the space under the flooring which supports the cabins and saloons occupied by the passengers, are placed the engines, which are of the coarsest structure. They are invariably worked with high pressure steam, without condensation. In order to obtain the effect which, in the Hudson boats, is due to a good vacuum, the steam is used under an extraordinary pressure :—

"I have myself," says Dr. Lardner, "frequently witnessed boilers of the most inartificial construction worked with steam of the full pressure of 120 lbs. per square inch; but more recently this pressure has been increased, the ordinary working pressure being now 150 lbs., and I am assured, on good authority, that it is not unfrequently raised to even 200 lbs. The boilers are cylindrical, of large diameter, and of the rudest kind. When returning flues are constructed in them, the space left is so small, that the slightest variation in the quantity of water they contain, or in the trim of

The only remedy for this evil is to blow out the mud, from time to time, and introduce fresh water, but the engine-drivers and captains do not like this, and almost systematically neglect it. They are too intent on obtaining speed-and, to use their own phrase, "going a-head"-and they have little hesitation in risking their own lives and

themselves to be outrun by a rival boat.

The magnitude of these boats is little, if at all, inferior to those of the Hudson; they are, however, constructed more with a view to the accommodation of freight, carrying down the river large quantities of cotton and other produce, as well as passengers, to New Orleans. Many of these vessels are 300 feet and upward in length, and are capable of carrying a thousand tons of freight, besides affording luxurious accommodation to a large number of cabin passengers, and three or four hundred deck passengers.

The progress of the United States, in the construction of railways, is scarcely less surprising than the results of their river steam navigation. The actual extent of railways now under traffic, in the several States composing the union, is not much short of 7,000 miles! Of this length, more than 4,000 miles were open as early as 1843, before England, or any other country of Europe, possessed railway communication at all approaching to the same extent.

As might have been expected, the chief theatre of railway enterprise has been the Atlantic States. The Mississippi and its immense tributaries serve the purposes of the

Western States so efficiently, and the population is comparatively so thin, that many years will probably elapse before any considerable extent of railway communication will be established in that vast territory. Nevertheless, there are various detached railways, intersecting the most remote regions of the Mississippi valley. Dr. Lardner, who traveiled over all of them repeatedly, says:—

"To the traveler in these wilds, the aspect of such artificial lines of transport in the midst of a country, a great portion of which is still in the state of native forest, is most remarkable, and strongly characteristic of the irrepressible spirit of enterprise of its population. Traveling in the backwoods of Mississippi, through native forests where, till within a few years, human foot never trod, through solitudes the stillness of which was never broken even by the red man, I have been filled with wonder to find myself drawn on a railway by an engine driven by an artisan from Liverpool, and whirled at the rate of twenty miles an hour by the highest refinements of the art of locomotion. It is not easy to describe the impression produced as one sees the frightened deer start from its lair at the snorting of the ponderous machine, and the appearance of the snake-like train which follows it, and when one reflects on all that man has accomplished within half a century in this region."

In the mode of conducting the business of the railways, there are many peculiarities which will create surprise to Europeans. Thus, instead of terminating in the suburbs of great towns, the railways are, in many cases, actually carried through the streets :

"In several of the principal American cities, the railways are continued to the very centre of the town, following the windings of the streets, and turning without difficulty the sharpest corners. The locomotive station is, however, always in the suburbs. Having arrived there, the engine is detached from the train, and horses are yoked to the carriages, by which they are drawn to the passenger depot, usually established at some central situation. Four horses are attached to each of these oblong carriages. The sharp curves at the corners of the streets are turned, by causing the outer wheels of the trucks to run upon their flanges, so that they become (while passing round the curve) virtually larger wheels than the inner ones. I have seen, by this means, the longest railway carriages enter the depots in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York, with as much precision and facility as was exhibited by the coaches that used to enter the gateway of the Golden Cross or the Saracen's Head."

In some cases a long line of transport consists partly of railways and partly of canals. In such instances it would be almost imprac

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ticable to transship the merchandise from the railway wagons to the canal boats, or vice versa, and such a change would be highly inconvenient even to passengers having much luggage. The device by which this difficulty is surmounted is curious and interesting:

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"The merchandise is loaded, and the passenaccommodated in the boats adapted to the canals, at the depot in Market street, Philadelphia. These boats, which are of considerable magnitude and length, are divided into segments, by partitions made transversely and at right angles to their length, so that each boat can be, as it were, broken into three or more pieces. These several pieces are placed each on two railway trucks, which support it at its ends, a proper body being provided for the trucks adapted to the form of the bottom and keel of the boat. In this manner the boat is carried in pieces, with its load, along the railways. On arriving at the canal, the pieces are united so as to form a continuous boat, which, being launched, the transport is continued on the water.

"On arriving again at the railway, the boat is once more resolved into its segments, which, as before, are transferred to the railway trucks, and transported to the next canal station by locomotive engines.

Between the depot in Market street and the locomotive station, which is situate in the suburbs of Philadelphia, the segments of the boats are drawn by horses, on railways conducted through the streets. At the locomotive station the trucks are formed into a continuous train, and delivered over to the locomotive engine.

under which it is supported by the wheels, it is "As the body of the truck rests upon a pivot, capable of revolving, and no difficulty is found in turning the shortest curves; and these enormous vehicles, with their contents of merchandise and passengers, are seen daily issuing from the gates of the depot in Market-street, and turning without difficulty the corners at the entrance of each suc

cessive street."

Where the line of route of a railway is intersected by wide rivers or arms of the sea, which happens not unfrequently, a steam ferry is used instead of a bridge:

"The management of these steam ferries is deserving of notice. It is generally so arranged, that the time of crossing them corresponds with a meal of the passengers. A platform is constructed, level with the line of rails, and carried to the water's edge. Upon this platform rails are laid, on which the wagons which bear the passengers' luggage, and other matters of light and rapid transport, are rolled directly upon the upper deck of the ferry boat, the passengers meanwhile proceeding under a covered way to the lower deck. The whole operation is accomplished in five minutes. While the boat is crossing the spaciuos

river, the passengers are supplied with their breakfast, dinner, lunch, or supper, as the case may be. On arriving at the opposite bank the upper deck comes in contact with a like platform, bearing a railway on which the wagons are rolled. The passengers walk by a covered way, and resume their places in the railway carriages, and the train proceeds."

We find a variety of other interesting details respecting the internal communication in the United States, both by land and water, in the work before us; but our limits oblige us to pass them over, referring the reader to the volume itself.

Belgium was the first of the European States to perceive the vast importance of the improvement in land transport made in England; and her first great measure, after the acknowledgment of her independence, which followed the revolution of 1830, was the adoption of a project for the construction of an extensive system of railway communication, intersecting her territory east and west, and north and south; connecting Ostend with Cologne, and Valenciennes with Antwerp. A few years since this project was realized, and the result justified its policy. In ten years from the opening of the first section of the State railways, the exports of the kingdom were doubled, and the imports were augmented fully five per cent. The Belgian railways consist of 457 miles, of which 353 have been constructed, and are worked by the State. The total cost of their construction and equipment has amounted to eight millions sterling.

Up to the end of 1847, the gross receipts proceeding from the traffic on the Belgian State Railways never exceeded eight per cent. of the capital, and the nett profits never amount to so much as four per cent., except in the year 1846, when they amounted to four and one-tenth per cent.

Considering the advanced place she claims among civilized countries, France has been singularly backward in the adoption of rail-i ways. At the close of 1849, the total length of railways open to traffic in France, did not amount to 1750 miles, the length of those in progress being about 1250 miles-making a total of 3000 miles. The cost of those completed was forty-six millions sterling, and the estimated cost of those in progress was thirty-four millions, making a total of eighty millions of railway capital.

According to the calculation of Dr. Lardner, the nett profits on the French railways, taken one with another, do not much exceed 21 per cent. on the capital absorbed.

The system of railways constructed in the German States is very unequally distributed, a circumstance naturally produced by the unequal distribution of population, commerce, and industry. A tract east of the frontier of the Netherlands, having a length of about 400 miles east and west, and a width of about 200 miles north and south, is covered with a close net-work of railways, to which all the other systems of Germanic railways may be regarded as tributary. These other lines consist of four main trunks, running north and south, with numerous branches.

The first follows the course of the Rhine, by its right bank, and terminates at Bale. The second traverses the kingdom of Wirtemberg, from Frankfort to the shores of Lake Constance. The third traverses the kingdom of Bavaria, from the frontiers of Saxony to Lindau, on Lake Constance ; and the third is the great Austrian line, commencing at Trieste, and passing through the entire territory of the empire to the northern frontiers, where it unites with the SaxoSilesian system, already mentioned, throwing off numerous branches east and west to Pesth, Prague, and other places.

By the last mentioned system, a continuous line of railway communication is open between the Adriatic and the ports of the Baltic, the Sound, the German Ocean, and the Channel.

If the ports of the German Ocean be desired to be reached, the branch diverging eastward at Lundenburg will be adopted, by which the traveler will pass through Bohemia, Saxony, and Western Prussia, touching at Prague, Dresden, Leipsic, Magdeburg, and arriving ultimately at Hamburg. If it be desired to reach the ports of the Baltic or the Sound, he will pursue the Austrian trunk line to Oderburg, on the frontiers of Silesia, where he will enter on the PrussianSilesian system, and will pass by Breslau, Frankfort-on-the-Oder, and Berlin, to Stettin.

Berlin is the common centre and point of departure of the extensive system of northern railways. From this capital, seven trunk lines will ultimately diverge, five of which are completed and in operation.

In 1849, the total length of railways under traffic in the German States was 4,500 miles, about 800 miles being in progress of construction.

"Projected with a view to a traffic compara

* A short distance of the Austrian line, extending from Trieste to Laybach, is not yet open for traffic, but will be, no doubt, within a few months.

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