146-512: The Cornwall Railway was a 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, England, built in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was constantly beset with shortage of capital for the construction, and was eventually forced to sell its line to the dominant Great Western Railway . The Cornwall Railway
292-782: A 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 -mile (2.8 km) section of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR) and, less successfully, on the London and Croydon Railway . It appeared particularly appropriate for steeply graded lines like the Cornwall Railway, and it was planned for use on the South Devon Railway. After an inspection of the Dalkey section of the D&;KR, Moorsom reported to the provisional committee: I am of opinion that
438-685: A 1,664 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge of five Portuguese feet – close enough to allow interoperability in practice. The new high-speed network in Spain and Portugal uses standard gauge. The dual-gauge high-speed train RENFE Class 130 can change gauge at low speed without stopping. The 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) gauge was first used in Great Britain in Scotland for two short, isolated lines,
584-486: A logging railroad . Some industrial uses require still broader gauges, such as: These applications might use double track of the country's usual gauge to provide the necessary stability and axle load. These applications may also use much heavier than normal rails, the heaviest rails for trains being about 70 kg/m (141 lb/yd). Vehicles on these gauges generally operate at very low speeds. London and Southampton Railway The London and Southampton Railway
730-707: A century about the practicability of third rail operation, and numerous devices have been promoted to overcome the problem, especially at turnouts, including the "Brennan Switch". This gauge was once used by the United Railways and Electric Company and the MTA Maryland and is now used only by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum . As finally established, the Iberian gauge of 1,668 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 21 ⁄ 32 in )
876-538: A ceremony on 2 May 1859 the Prince Consort opened the new bridge, giving consent to naming it the Royal Albert Bridge. The line was opened throughout from Plymouth to Truro for passenger trains on 4 May 1859, and goods trains started on 3 October 1859. Passenger trains were limited to 30 mph (48 km/h) throughout and goods trains to 15 mph (24 km/h); due to the shortage of money,
1022-627: A gauge of 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) but Luas , the Dublin light rail system, is built to standard gauge. Russia and the other former Soviet Republics use a 1,520 mm ( 4 ft 11 + 27 ⁄ 32 in ) (originally 5 ft ( 1,524 mm )) gauge while Finland continues to use the 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) gauge inherited from the Russian Empire (the two standards are close enough to allow full interoperability between Finland and Russia). Portugal and
1168-400: A heavy train was usually achieved by setting back on to a scotch, so as to slacken all the couplings, and then to start forward. Up trains arriving at Nine Elms stopped before entering the station and the locomotive was detached; the train was then roped into the station. At this early date, a primitive form of time interval system was used: a train might not proceed until the preceding train
1314-467: A law stating "The width of the track or gauge of all roads under this act, shall be four feet ten inches between the rails." When American railroads' track extended to the point that they began to interconnect, it became clear that a single nationwide gauge was desirable. Six-foot-gauge railroads ( 6 ft [ 1,829 mm ]) had developed a large regional following in New York State in
1460-482: A line from Bishopstoke to Portsmouth. Dissatisfaction with the rate of progress led to an inspection by a committee of the Lancashire shareholders. During the course of discussions, it became evident that not only were costs overrunning the original estimates, but that revised estimates, both of cost and of potential income, submitted by Giles were unreliable. The directors wished to raise an additional £500,000 but it
1606-533: A modified Siemens Velaro High Speed Train on its flagship St Petersburg to Moscow service at 250 km/h (160 mph) and can run at 350 km/h (220 mph) on dedicated track. The country is planning to build its portion of the Beijing to Moscow high speed railway in broad gauge. Finland uses a modified Alstom pendolino on the Allegro service to Helsinki at 220 km/h (140 mph). Uzbekistan uses
SECTION 10
#17327725225721752-642: A modified Talgo 250 on the Tashkent–Bukhara high-speed rail line at 250 km/h (160 mph). South Asia primarily uses the broad gauge for its passenger rail services and the fastest broad gauge train presently in the region is the Indian Railways' Vande Bharat Express (a.k.a. Train 18) . During one of the trial runs, the Vande Bharat Express achieved a peak speed of 180 km/h (110 mph). The sustained speeds of this train
1898-578: A period of 36 hours, tens of thousands of workers pulled the spikes from the west rail of all the broad-gauge lines in the South, moved them 3 in (76 mm) east and spiked them back in place. The new gauge was close enough that standard-gauge equipment could run on it without difficulty. By June 1886, all major railroads in North America were using approximately the same gauge. The final conversion to true standard gauge took place gradually as track
2044-467: A piston running in the tube led the train. No steam locomotive was required; stationary steam engines at intervals evacuated air from the tube. The advantages seemed considerable: there was no need to convey the weight of the engine, and its fuel and water, on the train; more tractive power could be applied than the early locomotives could provide; and head-on collisions were considered to be impossible. The system had been operating, apparently successfully, on
2190-402: A slow business and Southampton was developing in importance. The completion of the London and Southampton Railway in 1840 meant that dispatches could be taken on to London swiftly by train. At first the promoters wanted the most direct route to London, even if that meant building a line all the way there, bypassing important towns in Cornwall and Devon. Before the interested parties could raise
2336-551: A temporary station at Respryn, a little to the west; until the proper station could be completed, "the Bodmin traffic will be accommodated at a temporary wooden shed erected near [Respryn]". The proper station was "completed shortly after the opening [of the railway"]. After a slow start commercially, by August 1861 the directors of the company recorded their pleasure that large volumes of fish, potatoes and broccoli had been carried from West Cornwall. This had been transported to Truro by
2482-416: A transverse line, with four turn-tables at the point of intersection, runs across to the carriage-landing, which is on the right as you leave Nine Elms ... Without the shed a second cross line runs off to the carriage-house and locomotives' department. There are altogether beyond the shed eleven lines of way, including sidings. The locomotives' engine-house is a rectangular building, lofty and convenient, and
2628-418: Is a compromise between the similar, but slightly different, gauges first adopted as respective national standards in Spain and Portugal in the mid-19th century. The main railway networks of Spain were initially constructed to a 1,672 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 13 ⁄ 16 in ) gauge of six Castilian feet. Those of Portugal were initially built in standard gauge, but by 1864 were all converted to
2774-455: Is considerably lower, with a peak operational speed of 160 km/h and an average speed of 95 km/h, due to track limitations. Indian Railways has plans to introduce a higher speed Vande Bharat sleeper train that is capable of 200 km/h, but the project has encountered delays stemming from bids for rolling-stocks with poor local sourcing. A number of semi high speed railway projects using broad gauge tracks are being planned or built in
2920-523: Is furnished with four lines of way, some of which are provided with engine-races ... a triple way is extended from the Nine Elms station as far as the coke-ovens. The locomotives used coke rather than coal; coke was considered to emit less smoke, and the company made its own coke at Nine Elms. Whishaw describes the plant in some detail. Although the Thames-side location was convenient for wharfage,
3066-630: Is mainly used in Finland . Broad gauge of 1,600 mm ( 5 ft 3 in ), commonly known as Irish gauge , is the dominant track gauge in Ireland , the Australian state of Victoria and Adelaide in South Australia and passenger trains of Brazil . Broad gauge of 1,668 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 21 ⁄ 32 in ), commonly known as Iberian gauge , is
SECTION 20
#17327725225723212-783: Is still used on the streetcars in New Orleans , and the Pittsburgh Light Rail system. This gauge was also used for the now defunct Pittsburgh Railways , West Penn Railways , and trams in Cincinnati . Similar 5 ft 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 1,581 mm ) gauge is used in Philadelphia on SEPTA routes, 15 , the Media–Sharon Hill Line , the Subway–Surface Trolleys and
3358-501: Is the second most widely used gauge in the world, and spans the whole of the former Soviet Union/ CIS bloc including the Baltic states and Mongolia. Finland uses 1,524 mm ( 5 ft ). The difference is clearly lower than the tolerance margin, so through running is feasible. Care must be taken when servicing international trains because the wear profile of the wheels differs from that of trains that run on domestic tracks only. When
3504-656: The Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum (Dutch Railway Museum) in Utrecht. These replicas were built for the 100th anniversary of the Dutch Railways in 1938–39. The erstwhile Great Indian Peninsula Railway introduced a broad gauge of 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) for the first passenger railway line in India, between Bori Bunder and Thane . This was later adopted as the standard throughout
3650-533: The 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) broad gauge was officially adopted as the standard gauge for the Province of Canada , becoming known as the Provincial gauge and government subsidies were unavailable for railways that chose other gauges. This caused problems in interchanging freight cars with northern United States railroads, most of which were built to standard gauge or a gauge similar to it. In
3796-667: The Cornish Main Line from Plymouth to Penzance. The Truro to Falmouth branch continues: the passenger service on it is branded the Maritime Line . The Cornwall Railway was conceived because of fears that Falmouth would lose out, as a port, to Southampton. Falmouth had for many years had nearly all of the packet trade: dispatches from the Colonies and overseas territories arrived by ship and were conveyed to London by road coach. The primitive roads of those days made this
3942-582: The Dundee and Arbroath Railway (1836-1847) and the Arbroath and Forfar Railway (1838- ). Both the lines were subsequently converted to standard gauge and connected to the Scottish rail network. Later this gauge was adopted as a standard for many British colonies such as Province of Canada and British India . In 1851, the 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) broad gauge was officially adopted as
4088-548: The London and South Western Railway . The bill for the branch line passed in Parliament as the London and South Western Railway (Portsmouth Branch Railway) Act 1839 ( 2 & 3 Vict. c. xxviii) and the name change was ratified under section 2 of the same act, taking effect on 4 June 1839. The branch was to run from Bishopstoke (later Eastleigh) to Gosport, giving a ferry connection to Portsmouth. The fine building frontage designed by Tite included offices; Wishaw described
4234-537: The Market–Frankford Line . Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in the San Francisco Bay Area was opened in 1972 with 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) gauge. The system has been extended multiple times since then, using new railcars custom built with this non-standard gauge. The use of a non-standard gauge precludes interoperability of rolling stock on railway networks. On
4380-549: The West Cornwall Railway which had a line from Penzance to Truro; the West Cornwall company was a standard gauge line, and all goods had to be transshipped into different wagons at Truro due to the break of gauge there. The directors wished to extend their line to Falmouth, the original objective of the line, but money was still very difficult to obtain, and once again the company had to resort to asking
4526-466: The 1870s (mainly between 1872 and 1874), Canadian broad-gauge lines were changed to standard gauge to facilitate interchange and the exchange of rolling stock with American railroads. Today, almost all Canadian railways are standard-gauge. In the early days of rail transport in the US, railways tended to be built out from coastal cities into the hinterland , and systems did not initially connect. Each builder
Cornwall Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
4672-606: The 1960s. Finland retained the original gauge with no re-standardisation. As part of the railway gauge standardisation considered by the United Kingdom Parliamentary Gauge Commission, Ireland was allocated its own gauge, Irish gauge. Ireland then had three gauges, and the new standard would be a fourth. The Irish gauge of 1,600 mm ( 5 ft 3 in ) is used in Ireland and parts of Australia and Brazil. A problem with
4818-400: The 23 miles. The 23 miles from Woking Common to nine Elms were covered in 57 minutes. Woking only had one platform at first. Epsom races were held in the second week of operation, and the company advertised the intention of running eight trains to Kingston on Derby Day. That morning a crowd of about 5,000 persons was found at the station gates. Several trains were despatched but still
4964-586: The Archdeacon and Prebendary of Winchester wrote to the company complaining about the operation of trains on Sundays, contrary to Scripture. The chairman, John Easthope sent a forthright and carefully reasoned reply, bringing the issue swiftly to a close. The final sections, the difficult (in engineering construction terms) section from Basingstoke to Winchester, and the short extension to the Southampton terminus, were opened on 11 May 1840. A train conveyed
5110-669: The Associated Companies for finance. This was forthcoming in return for a 1,000 year lease of the line to the Associated Companies, an arrangement that was authorised by the Cornwall Railway Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. ccxv). A Joint Committee of Management was set up, consisting of four Cornwall Railway directors, three from the South Devon company, three from the Bristol & Exeter and two from
5256-585: The British Great Western Railway the 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) gauge was supposed to allow high speed, but the company had difficulty with locomotive design in the early years, losing much of the advantage, and rapid advances in railway track and suspension technology allowed standard-gauge speeds to approach broad-gauge speeds within a decade or two. On the 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) and 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) gauges,
5402-591: The Central Route, by-passing the south Cornwall population centres, had lost 80% of its potential income at a stroke. At the same time, the Bristol and Exeter Railway had reached Exeter, and the South Devon Railway to connect to Plymouth was definitely planned. A southerly route for the Cornwall Railway, to reach Plymouth, would secure considerable intermediate traffic, and shorten the route that
5548-573: The Directors from Nine Elms and arrived in Southampton three hours later, being received there by a salute of 21 guns. Its construction had cost more than the original estimates; in January 1832, the declared estimates amounted to £1,033,414, but the financial reconstruction arising from the November 1836 revision used £1,507,753; the outturn was somewhat above this figure at £1,551,914: In 1839,
5694-674: The Dutch state, but soon by the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (NRS), for its Amsterdam–Utrecht–Arnhem line. But the neighbouring countries Prussia and Belgium already used standard gauge, so the two companies had to regauge their first lines. In 1855, NRS regauged its line and shortly afterwards connected to the Prussian railways. The HSM followed in 1866. There are replicas of one broad-gauge 2-2-2 locomotive ( De Arend ) and three carriages in
5840-933: The Erie. These included the Walkill Valley, the Albany and Susquehanna (later part of the Delaware and Hudson); the Elmira, Jefferson & Canandaigua (later the Northern Central, becoming part of the Pennsylvania Railroad); the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western mainline (which also had a significant amount of trackage in Pennsylvania); predecessor lines of the New York and Oswego Midland (later
5986-638: The Finnish rail network was founded in 1862, Finland was the Grand Duchy of Finland , an autonomic state ruled by the Imperial Russia . The first border crossing railway to Russia was opened in 1870, while the first to Sweden was not until 1919, so railways were built to the broad Russian track gauge of 1,524 mm ( 5 ft ). In Russia, this gauge was re-standardized to 1,520 mm ( 4 ft 11 + 27 ⁄ 32 in ) during
Cornwall Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
6132-542: The GWR point of view, says that "This was the beginning of a long and bitter hostility to their (the L&;SR's) great neighbour." Construction started on 6 October 1834, with Francis Giles as engineer. His method was to employ a number of small contractors working concurrently, the railway company supplying the materials. Fay states that the contractors completed the easier parts of the work first and then demanded higher prices for
6278-650: The Great Western. Broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) used by standard-gauge railways . Broad gauge of 1,520 mm ( 4 ft 11 + 27 ⁄ 32 in ), more known as Russian gauge , is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ( CIS states , Baltic states , Georgia , Ukraine ) and Mongolia . Broad gauge of 1,524 mm ( 5 ft ), commonly known as Five foot gauge ,
6424-571: The House of Lords rejected the bill: this meant that the desirability of the line was accepted, but that the detail of Moorsom's design was considered unsafe. Despite the setback, the supporters of the line knew that they were close to getting approval. As a result Moorsom was dismissed and Isambard Kingdom Brunel was asked to design a new scheme for the 1846 session. Brunel brought in William Johnson, whom he fully trusted, to survey and redesign
6570-533: The Irish Gauge in Australia is that it is only 165 mm ( 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) wider than the standard gauge used in other parts of Australia, principally New South Wales . Therefore, it is not considered advisable to use a third rail to allow dual-gauge operation on mainline sections of track, because of the danger of material lodging between the two rails. There has been argument for well over
6716-820: The New York and Erie would operate passenger cars up to 11 feet (3.4 m) wide. Building westward from the Hudson River, it eventually reached Lake Erie, establishing a mainline longer than 400 miles (640 km) providing a shortcut to the American Midwest region from the New York City vicinity, and helping spawn a regional network of six-foot-gauge railroads almost exclusively within New York State. Many early New York railways were Erie railroad-built branch lines, while others were independent railroads that wanted to partner and interchange with
6862-429: The New York, Ontario, and Western); and the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls (later becoming part of the New York Central railroad's Peanut Route along the shoreline of Lake Ontario). However, by the late 1870s, the trend was inevitable, and conversion to standard gauge began, some lines first becoming "dual gauged" with the addition of a third running rail. Between 1876 and 1880, most of the remaining six-foot gauge trackage
7008-525: The Spanish Renfe system use a gauge of 1,668 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 21 ⁄ 32 in ) called Ancho Ibérico in Spanish or Bitola Ibérica in Portuguese (see Iberian gauge ); though there are plans to convert to standard gauge . In Toronto , Canada, the gauge for TTC subways and streetcars was chosen in 1861. Toronto adopted a unique Toronto gauge of 4 ft 10 + 7 ⁄ 8 in ( 1,495 mm ), an "overgauge" originally stated to "allow horse-drawn wagons to use
7154-414: The Tamar being crossed without change of carriage by means of the steam-bridge. The 1845 bill accordingly included the intention to use the atmospheric system. However, a parliamentary report on the application of the atmospheric system on railways in general was inconclusive, and only muddied the waters. The result of the 1845 bill submission was that the preamble was proved but that the committee stage in
7300-633: The Thames to and from Nine Elms and Dyers Hall Wharf, Upper Thames Street, and Hungerford Market. The practice of dealing with passengers was inherited from road coach and cart operation. Intending passengers were issued with a paper ticket filled in by hand. Carriages were not lit, and second class carriages were "sideless". Third class passengers were carried from the opening of the whole line, in open trucks attached to goods trains. First class coaches had three compartments each; they were very low and narrow, "travellers' knees were pressed uncomfortably hard against those of their opposite neighbour". Second class
7446-408: The additional costs of train procurement, due to the essential modifications of the rolling-stock for the broad gauge, from European rolling-stock manufacturers such as Alstom or Siemens would be softened through a large minimum order size of at least thirty train sets. A considerable debate has continued about the suitability of the high speed rail on standard gauge for the Indian travel demands and
SECTION 50
#17327725225727592-488: The backbone of rail business in the County. At the time of the accession of Victoria to the throne in 1837, Falmouth (with Penryn) was the largest population centre in Cornwall, at 12,000. It had been an important victualling station for merchant shipping during the Napoleonic Wars, but Southampton was increasingly favoured for the continuing packet traffic, due to its more convenient road and coastal shipping connection to London. Although official assurances had been given about
7738-426: The booking office window announcing that no more trains would run that day. By the end of the first twelve weeks, receipts had totalled £11,059 12s 3d for the carriage of 93,795 passengers; no goods had been carried at this stage. Working expenses were about 59% of receipts, considerably more than had been forecast. On 24 September 1838, the line was opened as far as Shapley Heath (now Winchfield) "which had
7884-433: The branches and purchases were activated in the form envisaged in the act.) The line was to be of the same track gauge as the GWR. The scheme obtained royal assent on 3 August 1846 as the Cornwall Railway Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. cccxxxv). At this time the general financial depression following the railway mania had set in, and apart from a small amount of work near St Austell, little progress in constructing
8030-415: The bridge, the South Devon Railway had planned a Devonport branch from its Plymouth station at Millbay , opened with their line in April 1849. The Cornwall company purchased the branch from them in 1854, and extended it by 1858 to join with the Tamar bridge. The South Devon company extended their station to handle the Cornwall's traffic, and agreed to use of the first half-mile of their railway from Millbay to
8176-407: The company was obliged to sell out to the Great Western Railway. If the original plan had been to carry the packet trade, the railway as built developed a considerable agricultural business when it emerged that horticultural produce could be got to London markets quickly. In addition, holiday trade developed as Cornwall became a desirable holiday destination, and as numerous resorts served directly by
8322-406: The company would need to construct. In August 1843 W. Tweedy, chairman of the Cornwall Railway provisional committee, and William H. Bond, its secretary, approached the Great Western Railway (GWR) and found that the GWR was favourable to the idea of a connection between the Cornwall Railway and the South Devon line (with which the GWR was on friendly terms), but only if the Cornwall Railway adopted
8468-407: The company's shares had been forfeited from this cause. The directors now approached the Associated Companies (a consortium of the Great Western Railway, the Bristol & Exeter Railway and the South Devon Railway) for financial help, and in June 1855 a lease of the line was agreed, by which the Associated Companies guaranteed the Cornwall company's debentures (bank borrowings). This considerably eased
8614-414: The constructed topography of the main line made large scale improvement prohibitively expensive. From the mid-1960s when holidaymakers began to look abroad for holidays in the sun, the Cornish Riviera inevitably declined, although a significant residual traffic remains. The mineral traffic also continues. Through passenger trains from London continue to operate and the original Cornwall railway route remains
8760-481: The contractors to provide the materials themselves. Under Locke's superintendence, the work progressed more reliably and rapidly. On 12 May 1838, a party of directors and others made an experimental trip from Nine Elms to Woking Common. That portion of the line was opened to passengers "without any special demonstration" on 21 May 1838, with five passenger trains running each way daily, and four on Sundays. Fares were 5s 0d first class and 3s 6d second class for
8906-492: The cost of construction led to the adoption of 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) gauge and then 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) and 2 ft ( 610 mm ) narrow gauges for many secondary and branch lines. In the later part of the 20th century, due to interchangeability and maintenance issue, the railways in each of the countries in the Indian Subcontinent began to convert all metre-gauge and narrow-gauge lines to this gauge. Today,
SECTION 60
#17327725225729052-436: The country, as it was thought to be safer in areas prone to cyclones and flooding. The 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) gauge is now commonly referred to as Indian gauge . While some initial freight railway lines in India were built using standard gauge , most of the standard and narrow gauge railways have since been dismantled and relaid in broad gauge. Ireland and some states in Australia and Brazil have
9198-431: The crossing, which would have involved through trains being divided and each portion then being propelled down a very steep gradient onto the ferry boat; and each portion being hauled up a steep gradient and re-formed on the other side. The supporters of the Central Route were able to point out the practical difficulties; Rendel himself gave evidence: Mr Rendell [ sic ], engineer, deposed that he constructed
9344-404: The crossing. Evidence was given that the obstruction by Moorsom's embankment made it quite unacceptable, and several "memorials" had been submitted to that effect. In his evidence at the Lords committee, Moorsom seemed to know little of the formal objections to the scheme. Moorsom planned to use the atmospheric system of traction. In this system a tube was laid between the rails, and a wagon with
9490-442: The divergence of the Cornwall Railway. A Joint Committee with the South Devon company was established to oversee the operation of the Mill Bay station. Construction of the section of route between Truro and Falmouth had been let to a contractor, Sam Garratt, but he had become bankrupt, and the Falmouth section was not pursued at this stage. All was practically ready now, and a train had run from Plymouth to Truro on 12 April 1859. in
9636-508: The dominant track gauge in Spain and Portugal . Broad gauge of 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ), commonly known as Indian gauge , is the dominant track gauge in India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Sri Lanka , Argentina , Chile , and on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) in the San Francisco Bay Area . This is the widest gauge in common use anywhere in the world. It is possible for trains on both Iberian gauge and Indian gauge to travel on each other's tracks with no modifications in
9782-412: The earthworks necessary, and which replaced a proposed tunnel at Popham with a cutting on an eight-mile deviation from the original route. Locke replaced the small contractors on the section from Wandsworth to the Wey Navigation, and brought in Thomas Brassey , who had successfully worked on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Grand Junction Railway . On the more westerly sections he required
9928-428: The economy of the country improved. The object of linking Falmouth to London was quietly dropped, and the line was built from Truro to Plymouth. At Truro another railway, the West Cornwall Railway, fed in, linking Penzance to the network. Falmouth was much later connected too, but only by a branch line. The terrain crossed by the railway was exceptionally difficult because of the number of north-south valleys intersecting
10074-409: The effect of bringing the majority of the coaches running to the south west and west of England to that station". Then on 10 June 1839, the line was formally opened from Shapley Heath to Basingstoke and from Winchester to Northam Road, just short of the Southampton terminus. Road coaches plied over the gap between Basingstoke and Winchester, and the throughout journey occupied five hours. At this stage
10220-457: The extra width allowed bigger inside cylinders and greater power, a problem solvable by using outside cylinders and higher steam pressure on standard gauge. In the end, the most powerful engines on standard gauge in North America and Scandinavia far exceeded the power of any early broad-gauge locomotive, but then met limits set by other factors such as the capacity of manual stoking, the axle (and total) locomotive weight that would trigger upgrades to
10366-416: The financial difficulties, enabling further contracts to be let. Construction of the Saltash bridge started in May 1854 with the floating out of the "Great Cylinder"—the caisson to be used for founding the central pier in the tideway. In October 1855 the contractor, Charles John Mare, building the Tamar bridge failed, and after a delay, the company started undertaking the continuation of the work itself, under
10512-616: The financial reconstruction enabled the directors to proceed with construction between Truro (from the West Cornwall Railway near Penwithers Junction) and St Austell, and shortly after to Liskeard, about 37 miles (60 km) in total, as well as, in January 1853, the letting of a £162,000 contract for construction of the bridge over the Tamar. However the severe shortage of money further inhibited progress, with shareholders failing to respond to calls (in which they should have paid for their shares in instalments) and by summer of 1854 more than half
10658-554: The first part of the 19th century, due to the influence of the New York and Erie , one of the early pioneering railroads in America, chartered in 1832, with its first section opening in 1841. The builders and promoters decided that a six-foot track gauge would be needed for locomotives to be larger and more powerful than were in general use at the time, for pulling very large trains. Also the six-foot gauge provided greater stability, and
10804-400: The frame work was removed upon the truck being required for its ordinary purpose." When goods traffic commenced, the wagons were attached to the last passenger train of the day, but when the line was opened to Basingstoke a dedicated goods train was run. The guard travelled in a vehicle called a Noah's Ark, in which sundries and parcels were carried. The drawgear had no springing, and starting
10950-629: The gauge with the greatest mileage. Railways which had already received their enabling Act would continue at the 7 ft gauge. Ireland, using the same criteria, was allocated a different standard gauge, the Irish gauge , of 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) which is also used in the Australian states of South Australia and Victoria. Broad-gauge lines in Britain were gradually converted to dual gauge or standard gauge from 1864 and finally
11096-485: The general course of Moorsom's design, he considerably improved the curves and gradients. From Probus the line would now run to the northern margin of Truro and then south to Falmouth. This avoided the crossing of the Truro River and the objectionable crossing at Penryn. By now the shortcomings in the atmospheric system were becoming apparent, and nothing more was heard of that system for the Cornwall Railway. Although
11242-703: The high speed rail on the standard gauge over the broad gauge, for cost sensitive rail markets in South Asia, especially in India. This gauge is used by the Toronto streetcar system and the Toronto subway This gauge was first used in the United Kingdom and the United States before it became the standard gauge for most railways in the former Soviet Union. Russian gauge or CIS gauge 1,520 mm ( 4 ft 11 + 27 ⁄ 32 in )
11388-547: The holiday opportunities of Cornwall and providing imaginative train services for the purpose. Mineral traffic developed too. Having been built cheaply, the route was difficult to operate as speeds and traffic density increased, as many sharp curves and very steep gradients militated against efficient operation. On summer Saturdays in later years serious delay due to congestion. Although the Great Western Railway made some improvements in capital schemes in Cornwall,
11534-547: The implementation of the Great Western Railway easier also. Giles re-surveyed in 1833, revising some income estimates, and the prospectus now proposed a capital of £1 million, the docks development having been made separate once again. The London and South Western Railway Act 1834 ( 4 & 5 Will. 4 . c. lxxxviii) received royal assent on 25 July 1834. No track gauge was specified. At Nine Elms engines would not cross Nine Elms Lane, but horses would draw
11680-498: The import of produce and materials through Southampton docks. Giles proceeded with a detailed survey, but the directors were persuaded to hold over submission of their enabling Bill until the 1833 session, possibly to observe how the London and Birmingham Railway bill fared in the 1832 session. Williams suggests that this delay enabled the London and Birmingham Railway to be the first (main line) railway out of London and that it made
11826-462: The joints, but otherwise fastened direct to the sleepers. By 1837, "63-lb [per yard] (31.3 kg/m) rails had replaced the 50-lb (24.8 kg/m) originals, in turn to be superseded by 75-lb (37.2 kg/m) rails before completion of the line." Fay says that "The line at its first opening was laid with stone block sleepers, but a few years' experience was sufficient to cause them to be replaced by wooden ones." Thomas Brassey contracted to maintain
11972-524: The key route to many of the holiday destinations of Cornwall, and in the first half of the 20th century it carried holidaymakers in summer, as well as vegetables, fish and cut flowers from Cornwall to markets in London and elsewhere in England. The section from Truro to Falmouth, originally part of its main line, never fulfilled its potential and soon became a branch line. Nonetheless the entire route (with some minor modifications) remains open, forming part of
12118-499: The landing place, [in order] that the trains might easily and safely run on and off the bridge; besides that, a difficulty arose from the great fall in the tide, which at spring was no less than 18 feet [5 m]. [He] was of opinion that by a train being stopped, divided, and placed upon the steam bridge, and landed on the opposite side of the Hamoaze, tackled together, and put in motion, a great delay would be occasioned, independent of
12264-573: The last of Brunel's broad gauge was converted over a weekend in 1892. In 1839, the Netherlands started its railway system with two broad-gauge railways. The chosen gauge of 1,945 mm ( 6 ft 4 + 9 ⁄ 16 in ) was applied between 1839 and 1866 by the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) for its Amsterdam–The Hague–Rotterdam line and between 1842 and 1855, firstly by
12410-417: The laying of the tube and building the engine houses would apparently be no more expensive than a locomotive line without them: I am inclined to believe that ... we may find the original or prime cost not to exceed that which we have all along contemplated for establishing the locomotive line, £800,000. ... The annual cost will, probably, be reduced by 20 per cent below what we have heretofore contemplated, and
12556-413: The line (although Brunel did use the form of construction elsewhere). The shortage of money at construction also forced the company to install single track only. Once in operation, the line was still short of money, but it made some progress in converting the viaducts to more durable materials, and in doubling some sections of the route, but the need to convert to standard gauge in addition was too much and
12702-487: The line was extended to better-situated main stations at both ends. The remainder of the original main line continues in use today, as an important part of the national rail network. This article deals with the construction of the original line up to the time of opening throughout. Subsequent information is in the article London and South Western Railway . During the Napoleonic Wars , there had been concern about
12848-528: The line was made, except for an investigation of the river bed for the Saltash crossing; this was completed by March 1848. The railway mania was a phenomenon in which a huge number of railway schemes were put forward, when investors imagined that huge gains on investment were certain. Investors overcommitted themselves, and many lost substantial sums; money became scarce even for respectable schemes as subscribers simply had no money to pay calls on their shares. At
12994-485: The line would have diverged (from the present-day route) to Tresillian, crossing the Truro River by a 600 feet viaduct south of the city, to Penryn, crossing the Penryn River from the north by embankment and drawbridge to enter Falmouth. The Torpoint ferry had been in operation since at least 1834, having been developed by J M Rendel . Moorsom appears not to have given much thought to the practicalities of using
13140-524: The line. This was a full fresh survey and not simply a tidying up of Moorsom's work. It was ready within three months and was lodged in Parliament with a new bill on 30 November 1845. Starting from Eldad, the route would curve to the north and cross the River Tamar about two miles above Torpoint, by a fixed bridge, running close to the north bank of the Lynher to St Germans. West of that place, following
13286-442: The location was never intended as a permanent London passenger terminal; an extension was contemplated in 1836 (and was decided upon in 1844). For the time being, The London passenger found it more convenient than other companies' stations. He might leave it by road and frequently dip his hand for Turnpike tolls, or for 3d choose the steamer Citizen , or the opposing Bridegroom , to reach the capital by river, cursing his choice when
13432-436: The locomotive wore out in 1913. The gauge initially proposed by Brunel was 7 ft ( 2,134 mm ) exactly but this was soon increased by 1 ⁄ 4 in (6 mm) to 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) to accommodate clearance problems identified during early testing. George Stephenson was to add an extra half inch to his original 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ) gauge for
13578-471: The magnitude of the Tamar crossing was daunting, Brunel was persuasive in giving evidence supporting it. In fact the bill admitted the possibility of using the Hamoaze ferry but Parliament mandated the bridge Detail of how the bridge at Saltash was to be made was vague at this stage, and it may be that Brunel's powers of persuasion deflected detailed examination of this. The line was to be 63 miles 45 chains (102.29 km). The authorised share capital
13724-547: The money and get parliamentary authority for their line, the Government actually removed the bulk of the packet trade to Southampton, so that most of the income for any new line was removed. Some interests continued to press for the best line to London, hoping that the packet trade would return; if necessary they would link with another new railway, but the huge cost of this proved impossible to raise. A more practical scheme running to Plymouth gradually took priority, and at first
13870-488: The more difficult parts. Giles was subject to heavy criticism for the slow progress resulting from this cause, and for his serious underestimation of the cost of construction in general. He was effectively managing the host of small contractors—by now considered to be an unsatisfactory method of pursuing the works—but at the same time he was also acting as engineer for the Southampton Docks Bill and surveying
14016-527: The nationwide rail network in Pakistan , Sri Lanka and Nepal is entirely on this gauge, whereas India , under Project Unigauge , and Bangladesh are still undergoing gauge conversion. This gauge is the widest gauge in regular passenger use in the world. Some railways in the United States were laid with a gauge of 6 ft ( 1,829 mm ). The Gualala River Railroad operated 5 feet 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (1,740 mm) tracks for
14162-617: The northern route opposing the Cornwall Railway bill in Parliament. Moorsom designed a route with constant sharp curves and exceptionally steep gradients, which exposed him to criticism by respected railway engineers. The line was put forward for the 1845 session of Parliament. Captain Moorsom was again the Engineer. The line was to run from Eldad in Plymouth, the intended western terminus of the South Devon Railway, to Falmouth. From Eldad it
14308-401: The object was to secure the packet traffic. The intermediate terrain was largely unpopulated; the route traversed high altitudes, but the topography was easier than a route following the south coast because of the multiple valleys and river inlets near the coast. Later proposals were put forward, now reduced to joining the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) near Exeter; the L&SWR
14454-407: The offices for a length of 290 feet, and is altogether 74 feet 9 inches in width and 17 feet 3 inches high ... the top surface of each platform is 15 inches above the level of the rails. The queen-post wooden roof extends over the railway only ... the platforms are covered with flat roofs ... There are four lines of way under this shed ... near the end of the shed
14600-437: The other side, and numerous expert witnesses were called. The committee stage lasted 46 days, but at the end Parliament found for the Great Western scheme, with royal assent being granted to the act of Parliament on 31 August 1835, and the London and Southampton Railway's branch to Bristol was no more. Considerable fierce enmity was generated between the two companies during the parliamentary battle, and MacDermot, writing from
14746-523: The possible exclusion of the existing rail network in India. The recent discussions around the Kerala semi-high speed rail has highlighted the limitations of high speed rail on broad gauge. Since most of the global high speed rail infrastructure is built using the standard gauge, the cost benefits of using off-the-shelf rolling-stocks with minimal customizations and the availability of extensive, well proven technical know-how, are significant factors in favor of
14892-402: The present steam ferry boats or bridges at the Hamoaze. These were worked by chains, which extended to either shore; and when wind and tide was strong, the chains formed a species of arc, and the platform [the deck of the boat] was not at right angles with the landing place. Considerable difficulty would therefore arise in bringing the rails of the bridge so immediately in contact with the rails of
15038-444: The public will have the convenience of more frequent trains, which will again re-act in an increase of traffic. The newspaper report continues: Captain Moorsom was then instructed to survey the line between Falmouth and Plymouth, the distance of which he found to be about 66 miles over the line selected. By using the atmospheric traction on this line, the trains may run from Falmouth to Plymouth in 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours,
15184-600: The rails and bridges, the maximum wheelbase and/or boiler length compatible with an individual route's curves. In the 1930s German engineering studies focused on a Breitspurbahn system of railways of 3 meter gauge to serve Hitler's future German Empire. Spain uses standard gauge track for its high speed railways in order to provide cross-border services with France and the rest of Western Europe, but runs high speed trains on its legacy broad gauge network at 200 km/h (120 mph) and are developing trains to travel at speeds in excess of 250 km/h (160 mph). Russia uses
15330-445: The rails" on the horse-drawn streetcar lines of the day but with the practical effect of precluding the use of standard-gauge equipment in the street. The Toronto Transit Commission still operates the Toronto streetcar system and three heavy-rail subway lines using this unique gauge. The light metro Scarborough RT and two light rail lines under construction ( Eglinton Crosstown line and Finch West ) use standard gauge. In 1851,
15476-546: The railway favoured a route broadly following the Old Road through Launceston and Okehampton, and on to Basingstoke or Reading. This huge undertaking failed for lack of funds, but it established the presumption that the part of this route west of Exeter, the Central Route , was the natural choice, and that the coastal route was not. The Central Route had the principal advantage of providing the shortest route to London, as
15622-591: The railway found favour. The area became branded as "the Cornish Riviera", rivalling the French Riviera for the well to do and the middle classes. Many branch lines were built to coastal resorts, nearly all by independent companies or later by the Great Western Railway. In the twentieth century the Great Western Railway encouraged these two traffics by running fast goods trains from the area to London and other population centres, and by heavily marketing
15768-509: The region, with sustained speeds of 200 km/h with future-proofing for 250 km/h. India's current high speed railway project is being built on the standard gauge due to limitations imposed by the Japanese consortium funding the project, however the feasibility reports by both the French and German consultants preferred a broad gauge high speed railway. These European reports stated that
15914-549: The retention of certain traffics, the construction of the London and Southampton Railway , seriously proposed in 1830 and completed in 1840, alarmed interested businessmen in Falmouth, and it was generally agreed that a railway connection to London was urgently needed. (In fact the Government announced the transfer of all but the South American packet traffic to Southampton in 1842.) Early proposals, in 1835 and 1836, for
16060-485: The rival vessel arrived and cleared the other queue while his own waited half an hour. By 1848 about 1,250,000 used Nine Elms annually, including 300,000 from the [later] Richmond line, among whom lawyers and others daily suffered the rail and river trip between that town and Hungerford and Temple piers. Things improved slightly when the two steamer services combined shortly before the line opened to Waterloo. The London & Westminster Steam Boat Company took passengers along
16206-459: The rolling stock fleet was very small and the train service sparse, with correspondingly low income. There was a difficulty about the construction of the Bodmin station (now Bodmin Parkway); it was planned to be at a place called Glynn, but the landowner "had originally pressed for the railway to be concealed in a tunnel, a luxury that the company would not be able to afford." There was accordingly
16352-400: The route elsewhere. By reaching Plymouth, the company could connect with the South Devon Railway and on to London over the Bristol and Exeter railway and the Great Western Railway. The line was built on the broad gauge. Deprived of the lucrative packet trade, the promoters now discovered that it was impossible to raise the money needed to build the line, and there was considerable delay until
16498-413: The route. Because of the extreme shortage of money when the railway was being built, Brunel designed timber trestle viaducts; these were much cheaper but they incurred heavy maintenance costs and were eventually reconstructed in masonry or brick, or in a few cases made into embankments. The spindly appearance of these high viaducts made passengers nervous, but they provided a marked impression associated with
16644-572: The safety of shipping traffic approaching London from the west (via the English Channel), and a number of canal schemes were put forward. At the same time, much of the packet traffic—urgent messages and small packages from and to foreign locations—used Falmouth as its port of entry and exit, and it was conveyed to and from London by road: a slow and inconvenient journey. An early proposal for a railway came from Robert Johnson and Abel Rous Dottin , member of parliament for Southampton. A prospectus
16790-547: The same reason. While the parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was initially prepared to authorise lines built to the broad gauge of 7 ft ( 2,134 mm ), it was eventually rejected by the Gauge Commission in favour of all new railways in England, Wales and Scotland being built to standard gauge of 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ), this being
16936-502: The same time labour and material prices escalated substantially. At a meeting in February 1851, Brunel informed the directors that if the scheme were reduced to a single line, the whole route could be constructed for £800,000, including the Tamar crossing and all stations. In April 1852 the directors proposed a capital reconstruction that reduced the commitment of subscribers. Many subscribers defaulted on their commitment nonetheless, but
17082-445: The seven or eight minutes in crossing, of from eight to twelve minutes on each side. The embankment across Penryn Creek was similarly ill thought through. There was to be an embankment (or viaduct) with a drawbridge to pass ships to Penryn Harbour; the waterway was tidal, of course, and the sailing ships needed sea room to beat up the channel, and needed to do so at the top of the tide. Steep railway gradients were necessary either side of
17228-403: The southern route. Direct assistance was refused, but they were encouraged to promote an independent scheme, and in the autumn of 1844 the prospectus of the Cornwall Railway was produced. The committee had firmly favoured the southern route, but many interested parties continued to support the northern alignment. Indeed this controversy dogged the company for years, even extending to supporters of
17374-427: The standard gauge for the Province of Canada , becoming known as the Provincial gauge , and government subsidies were unavailable for railways that chose other gauges. In the 1870s, mainly between 1872 and 1874, Canadian broad-gauge lines were changed to standard gauge to facilitate interchange and the exchange of rolling stock with American railways. Today, all Canadian railways are standard-gauge. In US, this gauge
17520-422: The station: The entrance to the booking-office is in the middle of this front, under an arcade which extends along the principal part of its length. On the left of the booking-office are separate waiting-rooms for ladies and gentlemen; and on the right a private office. The passenger-shed is immediately in the rear of the offices, and is approached by a door from the booking-office. The passenger-shed extends from
17666-440: The supervision of Brunel's assistant, Robert Pearson Brereton . The huge undertaking proceeded slowly, but it was completed in 1859. The bridge is about 730 yards (670 m) long, with the two great main spans each of 455 feet (139 m) and numerous side spans. The total cost was £225,000 (equivalent to £28,467,773 in 2023). A fuller description of the bridge and its construction is in the article Royal Albert Bridge . East of
17812-427: The system is applicable with certainty and efficiency to the Cornwall Railway. That a sufficient power may be obtained so as to work the trains, which I think your traffic will require, at an average speed of 30 miles an hour for passenger trains, and from 15 to 20 miles an hour for goods, including stoppages in both cases, and that special trains may be despatched at greater speed if necessary. The capital cost including
17958-482: The throng increased, till at length the doors were carried off their hinges, and amid the shrieks of the female portion of their number, the mob broke over the booking counter, leaped through the windows, invaded the platform and rushed pell mell into a train chartered by a private party. Finding resistance useless, the officials sent for the Metropolitan Police, and at twelve o'clock a notice was posted on
18104-657: The track was 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge . The first rails ordered were of a flat-bottom wrought iron design, 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (89 mm) deep, and "of parallel form" as opposed to the fish-bellied pattern that had been popular previously. They were 15 feet (4.6 m) long. Kyanised half-round timber sleepers at 3 ft (0.91 m) spacing were used, with stone ballast from St Georges Hill, Weybridge. However it appears that some sleepers did not have preservative treatment, and their lives were accordingly short. The rails were to be in 15 lb (6.8 kg) chairs at
18250-589: The trains were to cross the Hamoaze , the body of water at the mouth of the River Tamar on a steam ferry. This was shown to be unrealistic, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel was called in to resolve the difficulty. He designed the bridge over the River Tamar at Saltash, the Royal Albert Bridge : when it was built it was the most prodigious engineering feat in the world. He also improved the details of
18396-451: The updated estimate to complete was £1.5 million. Parliamentary authority to increase the capital by what is nowadays known as a rights issue was obtained on 30 June 1837 in the London and South Western Railway Deviations Act 1837 ( 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. lxxi), not without unwelcome opposition from Giles. The act also authorised a number of local deviations to the route which reduced
18542-430: The vast majority of cases. In Great Britain , broad gauge was first used in Scotland for the Dundee and Arbroath Railway (1836–1847) and the Arbroath and Forfar Railway (1838–1848). Both short and isolated lines, they were built in 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ). The lines were subsequently converted to standard gauge and connected to the emerging Scottish rail network. The Great Western Railway
18688-468: The wagons to the river wharf, which had a 30-yard (27-metre) frontage. The route was to pass near Battersea, Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Surbiton, Woking Common, Basing, Basingstoke and Winchester, to the shore at Southampton. The railway was now to be called the London and Southampton Railway . The route took a northerly curve through Basingstoke; this was to be the launching point for the branch to Bath and Bristol via Newbury and Devizes, for which authority
18834-412: The year prior to opening, a proposed branch line to serve Portsmouth had failed in Parliament. Portsmouth interests asked the L&SR to promote a branch line to serve their city, and this was agreed to. As Portsmouth considered Southampton a rival port, the name of the London & Southampton Railway was objectionable, however, and to overcome this difficulty the L&SR determined to change its name to
18980-574: Was "well out of sight". The first accident was on 13 June 1840 when an engine ran into a train at Farnborough. Locke, as engineer to the Company, was responsible for the locomotives. His experience on the Grand Junction Railway influenced his thinking; he used engines with a single driving wheel of 5 feet to 5 feet 6 in diameter, with outside cylinders 12 or 14 inches diameter and 18 inch stroke. The gauge of
19126-430: Was adopted for many lines, but soon fell out in favour of standard gauge. Today, only California's Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) uses this gauge. In British India , some standard gauge freight railways were built in initial period, though they were dismantled later. Later, in the 1850s, the gauge of 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) was adopted as standard for the nationwide network. Attempts to economize on
19272-556: Was an early 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge railway company between London and Southampton , in England. It opened in stages from 1838 to 1840 after a difficult construction period, but was commercially successful. On preparing to serve Portsmouth, a rival port to Southampton, it changed its name to the London and South Western Railway in June 1839. Its original termini, at Nine Elms in London and at Southampton Docks, proved inconvenient and
19418-554: Was converted. In 1886, the railways in the Southern United States agreed to coordinate changing gauge on all their tracks. After considerable debate and planning, most of the southern rail network was converted from 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) gauge to 4 ft 9 in ( 1,448 mm ) gauge, nearly the standard of the Pennsylvania Railroad , over two days beginning on 31 May 1886. Over
19564-443: Was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1838 with a gauge of 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ), and retained this gauge until 1892. Some harbours also used railways of this gauge for construction and maintenance. These included Portland Harbour and Holyhead Breakwater, which used a locomotive for working sidings . As it was not connected to the national network, this broad-gauge operation continued until
19710-417: Was equally cramped, and the seat was a bare board; the second class carriages were open to the weather on either side. Luggage was carried on the roof of first class carriages, and in boots underneath the seats, opening from the outside, in the case of second. "A frame work with seats, fitted on the bed of a carriage truck, constituted the vehicle in which third class passengers travelled in those days ;
19856-400: Was famous for building the majestic Royal Albert Bridge over the River Tamar and, because of the difficult terrain it traversed, it had a large number of viaducts , built as timber trestles because of the shortage of money. They proved to be iconic structures, but were a source of heavy maintenance costs, eventually needing to be reconstructed in more durable materials. Its main line was
20002-617: Was free to choose its own gauge, although the availability of British-built locomotives encouraged some railways to be built to standard gauge. As a general rule, southern railways were built to one or another broad gauge, mostly 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ), while northern railroads that were not standard gauge tended to be narrow gauge. Most of the original track in Ohio was built in 4 ft 10 in ( 1,473 mm ) Ohio gauge , and special "compromise cars" were able to run on both this track and standard gauge track. In 1848, Ohio passed
20148-410: Was maintained. Some North American tram (streetcar) lines intentionally deviated from standard gauge. This may have been to make the tram companies less tempting targets for takeovers by the steam railways (or competing tram companies), which would be unable to run their trains over the tram tracks. Pennsylvania trolley gauge of 5 ft 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,588 mm ),
20294-498: Was particularly favoured, so the directors appointed him on 26 April 1837. Chaplin's steady business acumen proved a great asset to the company, and he was appointed temporary deputy chairman for two weeks in 1840 after the resignation of Easthope until Garnett took over. Joseph Locke was appointed as the engineer, but it was evident that substantially more capital was required to complete the line—Giles' original estimate had been £1 million including an allowance for contingencies, but
20440-435: Was plain that the Lancashire shareholders would not agree to this while Giles remained in place. Giles was invited to resign, which he did effective on 13 January 1837. The directors needed urgently to dispel doubt about the income of the company, and three men acquainted with the estimation of traffic were asked to submit forecasts. One of these was William James Chaplin, who had an extensive road coach business. His forecast
20586-458: Was published on 23 October 1830 gave support to the proposals. A private meeting of interested parties was held on 26 February 1831, and a committee of investigation was appointed, and £400 voted for initial expenses, and the services of Francis Giles were secured as engineer. A prospectus was issued on 6 April 1831 for the Southampton, London and Branch Railway and Dock Company , which
20732-408: Was still to be sought. Considerable support had been generated for this line, even from the South of Ireland, and an act of Parliament giving authority was sought in the 1835 session. However, the Great Western Railway (GWR) had also formed a proposal in the same session for its line between London and Bristol, and the two schemes were in direct opposition. Each side fiercely criticised the plans of
20878-636: Was to descend at 1 in 30 (close to the present-day Ferry Road) to reach the steam chain ferry (described at the time as a "floating bridge" or "steam bridge") at Torpoint, or "New Passage", and run westwards, south of the River Lynher , climbing to cross Polbathick Creek by a wooden drawbridge, to St Germans. From a few miles west of that point, it would follow the course of the present-day route, but with more numerous and sharper curves and steeper gradients, via Liskeard , near Bodmin and Lostwithiel , then Par and St Austell to near Probus. From that point
21024-403: Was to have a capital of £1.5 million. The line was to link Southampton and London, and to extend a branch to districts between Hungerford and Bath and Bristol, and the company was to make improvements to the docks at Southampton. The engineer Francis Giles was retained to design the route. A reduction in the price of coal to persons living near the line was forecast, as well as passenger traffic and
21170-537: Was very gradually extending westward, but these proposals all failed for lack of financial support. Nonetheless a Committee to form a Cornwall Railway had been formed and Captain William Moorsom had prepared detailed plans for a route. On 29 May 1842 the government announced that nearly all the packet traffic would be transferred to Southampton. The traffic forecast for the Cornwall Railway had assumed an income of £123,913 out of total income of £160,548. Thus
21316-642: Was £1,600,000 with borrowing powers of £533,333, and the Associated Companies (the GWR, the B&;ER and the SDR as a bloc) were authorised to subscribe. There were to be branches to Padstow, to the Liskeard and Caradon Railway , and to the quays at Truro and Penryn, and the Company was authorised to purchase the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway , the Liskeard and Caradon Railway and the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal . (None of
#571428