Discussing, in his present contribution, the recently published annual financial statements and accounts of the Home Railways, our Special London Correspondent refers to their “pleasing nature” from the standpoint of the gradually increasing traffic and bigger business which they record. “Regular dividends (though in some cases comparatively modest) are now being paid on all Home Railway stocks, and there seems no reason why, in course of time, these stocks should not appreciate to pre-war value.”

A Year of Steady Progress

One of the most interesting yearly reports, which may be taken as typical of that of the Home railways generally, is that of the Great Western Railway. During 1929, this undertaking's receipts showed an increase over 1928 of £656,509. Some 1,250,000 tons more freight, and about 5,250,000 tons more coal and coke were handled by the system during 1929, and these increases largely contributed to the general improvement in traffic receipts. Passengers handled by the line numbered 1,300,000 more than in 1928, but passenger train receipts showed a drop of £278,000. For the year 1929, shareholders receive a dividend of 7 1/2 per cent. on Great Western ordinary stock. Regarding the general situation, the Board of the Great Western Railway state that 1929 was a year of steady progress. The train mileage for the year was the highest ever recorded in the history of the undertaking, and this was accomplished not only without employing additional locomotives, but actually with an engine stock reduced in number by eighty-nine. In common with the three other big Home railways, the Great Western has embarked extensively upon transport on the roads, and through a courageous policy of acquiring important private road transport undertakings, has practically dismissed the bogey of road competition for good.

Colossal Passenger Traffic.

The return to more prosperous times recorded in the case of the Home main line railways is also reflected in the working of the London Underground Railways. The London underground group (comprising a number of underground railways, omnibus undertakings and street tramway concerns), carried some 2,175,000,000 passengers in 1929. The railways in the group handled 18 per cent. of this business; the motor buses 73 per cent., and the street tramcars 9 per cent. These figures bring out in striking manner the predominance of the motor omnibus in London transport. Nowhere else in the capital cities of the world does the omnibus secure such an enormous share of the passenger business offering. Traffic receipts of the London underground combine amounted in the aggregate to £17,300,000, an increase of £200,000 over 1928. The underground undertaking, it is interesting to note, employs some 45,000 regular workers, and the average weekly wage paid per man is approximately £4 3s. London's population now stands at something like 8,800,000 persons. This, of course, is quite apart from the hundreds of thousands of visitors that annually make their way from every corner of the earth, to the great modern Babylon. In 1929 the journeys per head of the population over the Underground concern worked out at 512. In the future there will probably be seen many extensions outwards of the underground railways, and plans are under way for the spending of £13,500,000 upon these extension works.

The Channel Tunnel Project.

Visions of exceptionally rapid transport between London and the Continent of Europe are raised by the recent publication of the report of the committee, set up by the Government, to consider the question of the construction of a railway tunnel beneath the English Channel. The proposal is to build a tunnel having two tracks, or rather, two parallel tunnels each carrying a single track, running from Dover to Calais, and having connections at either end with the Southern Railway of England and the Northern Railway of France respectively. The actual length of the under-water section of the tunnel would be twenty-four miles, and the tunnel itself would be some 18ft. 6in. in diameter. The idea of the tunnel is to speed up movement of passengers and freight between England and the mainland of Europe, to avoid transhipment at the ports, and to eliminate the sea passage at present entailed in the London-Paris journey.

In theory, the Channel tunnel appears an admirable work, but there are numerous difficulties attached to the proposition. The committee, appointed by the Government, to enquire into the scheme, have reported in favour of the plan, it being their view that a Channel tunnel could be built, maintained, and operated by private enterprise, at a cost which would permit of the traffic through it being conveyed at rates no higher than those at present in force. The whole project, however, is undoubtedly a huge speculation. First, it would be necessary to construct a pilot tunnel costing £5,600,000. Then the two traffic tunnels are estimated to cost a further £25,000,000. Fissures in the sea bed, or unfilled valleys, might easily ruin the whole scheme, or add millions to its cost. None of the Home Railways, or the Northern Railway of France, are enamoured of the scheme; naturally the shipping companies are opposed to the plan; Home farming and industrial circles view the proposed Channel tunnel with apprehension; and presumably the only people who are really attracted thereby are a tiny handful of timid travellers who regard the two-hour crossing of the choppy Channel as something worth a king's ransom to avoid, and foreign manufacturers who see in the tunnel a new means of placing their wares upon the British market.

Passenger Car Capacities Compared.

New passenger carriages lately put into traffic by the Home railways, set up an entirely fresh standard in travel comfort. In recent times there has been a marked increase in the carrying capacity of the Home railway passenger coach, but notwithstanding this development, the British passenger carriage remains, in general, a much smaller vehicle than the American or the Continental car.

Lord of the Power House.
Wimbledon Power Station, feeding the Southern Railway London-Richmond Lines.

In a paper delivered before the Scottish section of the Institute of Transport, in Glasgow, Mr. C. E. R. Sherrington, of the London School of Economics, made an illuminating comparison of passenger car capacities in Britain and other lands. In this paper it was remarked that the average British passenger train consisted of about ten coaches, carrying 360 passengers. In the United States a corresponding main-line train would consist of about seven cars carrying 400 people. Typical third-class carriages in Britain provide seats for 64 passengers, and weigh from 27 to 33 tons. French second-class cars (corresponding with British third) provide seats for from 68 to 72 passengers, and weigh 43 to 46 tons. Typical American day cars seat from 80 to 110 passengers, and weigh from 45 to 67 tons. Conditions are, of course, vastly different in Britain and America: British conditions more closely approximate to those existing in New Zealand than in the United States, that land of long distances and “big railroading.” The average passenger haul at Home works out at approximately 13 miles. This compares with the American figure of 40 miles, the Canadian 80 miles, the German 15 miles, the Belgian 16 miles, and the French 24 miles.

Catering Facilities on the Home Railways.

Comfortable accommodation on trains undoubtedly plays an important part in attracting passenger business. There are, however, other factors pertaining to this question. Nowadays, the average traveller looks for many facilities undreamt of in years gone by, and not the least appreciated of these advantages centres around the conduct of the catering department, and the provision, at all the important stations, of appetising refreshments, served in clean and pleasant surroundings. The Home railways have attained a very high standard of excellence in the catering branch, and the dining cars and refreshment rooms operated by the four big group systems bring much business to the respective undertakings.

To the chain of refreshment rooms operated by the London and North Eastern Railway, a new Georgian tea room, containing many novel features, has recently been added to the King's Cross terminal, London. The new tea room is 48ft. long by 41ft. wide, and is capable of seating, at small tables, more than one hundred people. The furnishings and fittings are of mahogany of Georgian style, with blue leather chair seats and blue inset table tops of rubber composition. The flooring of blue rubber composition is noiseless and dustless. The walls and ceilings are of graduated tints, the colours ranging from warm orange to light primrose, giving a rising sun effect, while the electric light fittings are of the modern angular reflector type. An ante-room, designed for quick service, is fitted with automatic refrigerator, urns and heating apparatus, and is white tiled throughout. The entrances from the station platform are made draught proof by the employment of revolving doors, and, altogether, the new King's Cross tea room is an excellent example of the modern railway refreshment room.

Passenger Accommodation Up-To-Date.
The new Georgian Tea Room King's Cross Station, London.