without the help of the latter. From this fund, up to the present time, five light railways have been subsidised in the Provinces of East Prussia and Pomerania."

With this memorandum of Lord Granville's is given a list of thirtyseven light railways only existing in 1894, and covering 480 miles, for he has not included those narrow-gauge lines which are legally treated as ordinary railways, although they might fairly be classed as light railways. They were evidently included in the figures given above for 1892.

In this list are found gauges of 4 ft. 8 in., 1 metre, 2 ft. 11 in., 2 ft. 7 in., 2 ft. 4 in., and 1 ft. 11 in. Of the narrowest gauge we have the greatest mileage, of the widest gauge the greatest number of lines. For narrower gauges than the standard, the Prussian law of 1892 recommended the metre, the 0·75 metre (2 ft. 51⁄2 in.), and 0·60 metre (1 ft. 11 in.).*

The list furnishes some interesting figures of cost. The actual cost of the Stolp-Rathsdemnitz line, 11 miles long, 4 ft. 8 in. gauge, opened in 1894, is not given, but, so far as the data go, appears to be £2582 per mile. The line from Bromberg Station to the cattle market, 2 miles long, 4 ft. 8 in. gauge, opened in 1893, cost £1590 per mile. The Stralsund-Barth line, 41 miles long, metre gauge, opened in 1894, cost £2393 per mile. The Bromberg light railways, 56 miles long, lft. 11 in. gauge, were estimated to cost £1626 per mile. The estimated cost of the Wilkovo light railways, 34 miles long, 1 ft. 11 in. gauge, was only £848 per mile.

The capital for the lines given in Lord Granville's list was provided by the contractor, the province, the district, and the parties concerned, either separately by one, or jointly by two, three, or all four. In most instances the contractor supplied the money. Referring to the lines already mentioned, it may be noted that the capital for the line from Stolp to Rathsdemnitz was provided, in practically equal amounts, by the province, the district, and parties concerned; that for the line from Bromberg to the cattle market, the Bromberg light railways, and the Wilkovo light railways, by the contractor.

Before the law of 1892 was put into force, the provision of light lines was mainly confined to town service, and 83 per cent. of them were for exclusively passenger traffic. Since then at least threefourths of the new light railways have been designed for town to town communication and mixed traffic. It is anticipated that electricity will be largely employed as the motive power, and it is already (up to Sept. 1896) used on 38 light railways.

It is exceedingly difficult to obtain useful information in regard to results of working. According to Engineering, 2nd Nov. 1894, the light railways in Germany, with a mileage of about 500, mostly

*This gauge is largely used for military purposes. Information regarding curves, gradients, permanent way, and rolling-stock is given in Min. Proc. Inst. C.E., vol. cxvi., 1893-94,- Experience of the Prussian Railway Dept, in the Construction and Working of Narrow-Gauge Railways.”

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narrow gauge, earned gross receipts of £400 à mile, and paid from 2.2 to 2.5 per cent. on capital outlay. On the Bavarian light railways in 1893 the gross receipts were £106,601, and the expenses £55,588, or 50 26 per cent., on gross receipts of only about £5 per mile per week. These Government light railways are all of standard gauge, 4' 8", to take main-line goods wagons, but are under separate management; about two-thirds of the traffic are goods; and the method of working is extremely economical. About the Rath-Greding Railway, as a particular instance of economical working, information is also given by Mr Money; here, it will only be mentioned that the line was opened in 1888, is of standard gauge, cost £2858 for construction and £269 for rolling-stock per mile, employs 30 men, or 1.23 per mile, earns total receipts of £3842 (about £3 only per mile per week), and is worked at a cost of £2636, or 68.61 per cent. of gross earnings.

In regard to economical working on German light lines generally, we have seen that the States could-with the approval of the Imperial Government-relax the regulations considerably.

Accordingly, at speeds of less than twenty-seven miles an hour, a buffer compartment (instead of a buffer vehicle) might be sufficient between passengers and engine; even for omnibus trains on main lines the conductor might have sole charge of the train, sell tickets at stopping places where no staff was kept, and look after luggage; the driver and stoker, who worked the engine, might also grease the carriages; women might be employed as gate-keepers; temporary men might be taken on without the usual qualifications; fencing need not be continuous; gates at level crossings might not be required; trains might halt between stations; the telegraph and road-bell signals might be dispensed with; fixed (not only distant, but even main) signals might not be considered necessary; facing-points might not even have point-indicators; the stoker might be dispensed with on the engine; mixed trains would, of course, be permissible; trains, being ordinarily limited to 120 axles, might be pushed if they did not exceed 50 axles, with a man in the leading wagon, and at a speed not exceeding nine miles an hour; authorised station-masters might not be required at stopping places; and the brakes on vehicles (excluding those on the engine and tender) might be one axle in every 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, or 4 on inclines of 1 in 500, 300, 200, 100, 60, and 40 respectively.

În some cases, ordinary lines were actually disclassed to take advantages of the simplifications thus accorded to light lines.†

The opinion of the German Government is that "in general, the light railways appear to be well adapted to the development and improvement of agriculture and forestry and their accessories, particu

Appendix iii., "Money on Light Railways," vol. cxxiii., Min. Proc. Inst. C.E., 1895-96.

+"Exposé de la Question des Lignes à faible Trafic," by J. Lewis, -Bull. de la Comm. Internat. du Congrès des Chemins de Fer, 1892.

larly to opening up new markets and facilitating the carriage to and fro of manure and raw produce, over a considerable area of country."

AUSTRIA.

At first the Austrian Government was inclined to look upon railways with the cold eye of dislike and discouragement. As early as 1838, however, Austria had a general railway law, such as we did not obtain until 1845; and after that, for eight years or so until the revolution of 1848, the State both built railways and assisted others to build them by guarantees of interest. Then, at the very time when Prussia was buying up railways, the Austrian Government were selling theirs, and selling them badly, to private companies. For the backward condition of her railway communications Austria suffered accordingly in her war with France in 1859 and with Prussia in 1866. A few years of reckless enterprise and speculation followed. Roused at last, in 1873, the Government determined, so far as the limited resources of the Treasury would allow, to pursue thenceforward a policy of State ownership and management. From time to time, moreover, railways of a lighter description-officially known as "local lines" (Localbahnen) since 1875-were built, under special laws, at the cost partly of the State and partly of private persons. In obedience to popular demand, a law was passed in 1880 to afford further facilities for developing such lines, even without the co-operation of the State, by means of concessions; greater freedom in details of construction and working, rates, service of trains, and speed; permission to lay such lines on public roads, etc. For some years, under the stimulus of this law, local lines were freely built, but the results were not sufficiently remunerative to private capital, and it was only after the law of 1887 was passed that active promotion of these railways was resumed. If the capital could not otherwise be raised, the Government might help with a fixed subsidy, or undertake the working on the condition that the local authorities bore an equal share, while the laying of railways on State or other public roads was still less restricted. Existing lines, submitting to the inferior classification and slower speeds, could also be admitted to like privileges-in fact, the law gave the Government a very free hand. If the speed on these local (secondary or vicinal) lines did not exceed (28 kilometres or) 171 miles an hour, considerable economies in station, train, and engine staff's were permissible; fencing, telegraph, and gates might be dispensed with; the drawing up of time-tables and settlement of rates within the maximum limits were left to the concessionnaires. In the concessions granted to local lines might be included exemption from taxes which weighed heavily upon the main lines, from free carriage of mails, from police charges, from supervision charges, from stamp duties, from the stamping of passengers' tickets, etc. Junction facilities were afforded to local lines connecting with main lines worked or

guaranteed by the State, and the common use of main line stations was given to them, free of charge. If the Provinces, the Communes, and private persons contributed a reasonable share of the cost of such lines, the Treasury might furnish subsidies; or State aid might take the forms of grants of land or materials of construction, or of guarantees of gross or net revenue. A State main line might work a local branch for less than the actual cost of working, the State reserving the right of running State trains over the branch by paying toll. Between 1880 and 1886, under the law of 1880, upwards of 87 local lines were constructed, covering a length of 1491 miles (2399 kilometres). In 1887, as we might suppose, nothing was done. Between 1888 and 1893-under the law of 1887-45 local lines, covering a length of 743 miles (1195.6 kilometres), were constructed. The Diet of Styria led the way in 1890 by raising £833,333 (10,000,000 florins) to be drawn upon for the construction of local railways. Either the State or interested parties, or both together, must supply a third of the required capital (in lump sum or by subscription shares), and must guarantee ths of the interest at 4 per cent. on the capital. These provincial lines would be worked, if possible, by the administrations of the main lines with which they connect, at actual working cost; otherwise they would come under provincial management. The application of the law is entrusted to a mixed Commission, representing official and commercial interests.

The Diet of Bohemia passed a similar law in 1892. The subscription took the form of a guarantee of interest.

The Galician Diet followed suit in 1893, but although, by this law, £25,000 (300,000 florins) was, for a period of thirty years from 1894, to be provided in the annual budget for light railway subsidies, the view taken by the Diet was that light railways should, as a rule, be left to private enterprise, and only assisted after the most cautious and thorough examination of each project.

A great deal of the above information has been gathered from a note by Herr E. A. Ziffer in the Bull. de la Com. Int. du Cong. des Ch. de Fer, 1895. The rest of the note is mainly a eulogium of such narrow gauges as 2′ 6′′ (0·76 metre or 29.92 inches). Without going too much into details here a few of his facts may be mentioned. When a line was to be constructed from Nenhas to Nenbistritz, a distance of 11 miles (18 kilometres), it was estimated that it would cost £125,000 on the normal gauge against £95,000 on the 2′ 6′′ gauge, and the latter was accordingly adopted. In 1892 the Imperial and Royal Railway of Bosnia (2′ 6" gauge), 166 miles long, showed expenses of £286 against receipts of £531 per mile. This railway, with the State railways of Bosnia and Herzegovina, makes up a system 379 miles (609 kilometres) in length, the longest in Europe, of 2′ 6′′ lines; the average cost of them up to 1891 was £7065 per mile; the cost of them would have been £12,662 per mile if they had been laid to normal gauge; and they pay interest at about 3 per cent.

In Austria-Hungary,* the encouragement given to light railways has taken the form of relieving them from the heavy dues charged on ordinary railways, and of affording them special commercial and technical facilities, while the Provinces have backed the policy of the Central Government with actual financial assistance.

HUNGARY,

The construction of local railways in Hungary began as long ago as 1860, and a distinction was made between secondary lines on the normal gauge and tertiary lines on the narrow gauge.

The public roads were either insufficient, or in bad repair, and the development of agriculture and forestry, much more marked than that of manufactures, increased the demand made by local authorities and private persons for local railway legislation. Under such continued pressure the laws of 1880 and 1888 were passed.

While an ordinary railway requires a special law, concessions for a local line may be granted in an ordinance by the Hungarian Minister of Commerce for a period of 50 years, and reserving the right of preemption.

If the line passes through State property the State will contribute to the cost of construction. The Minister of Commerce may subsidise the line (in return for carrying the mails), but the subsidy, capitalised at 5 per cent., shall not exceed 10 per cent. of the actual cost of constructing the railway. For subsidies up to the 10 per cent. limit the State Budget may annually be debited with £25,000. The Hungarian State Railways will carry construction materials at actual cost of pocket expenses; will supply engines, etc., from their locomotive workshops at long credit; will furnish rolling-stock at moderate rent to those local railways that they work; and are bound to take over (as also are State-guaranteed private lines) the working of local railways which connect with them, on the condition that they receive compensation, if actual expenses are not covered. Moreover, the Minister may demand that the working of a local railway be handed over to a State or State-guaranteed railway.

The Minister of Commerce may refuse concessions to local lines if those who benefit by them do not contribute 25 per cent. of the required capital. The municipal and district authorities may also contribute and levy special taxes for the purpose. The actual construction capital is fixed by the act of concession; the amount, and the method and conditions of subscription, of the normal capital, the kinds of stock to be issued, the dividends, and fixed interest are defined by the Minister of Commerce. The maximum rates are laid down in the act of concession, and reductions may be called for if the

Bull. de la Comm. Internat, du Congrès des Chemins de Fer, 1891,—“La Législation des Chemius de Fer Économiques."