Britain has always been a leader in the field of suburban railway electrification. At the present time there are being undertaken extensive enlargements of the various railway suburban electric systems in the Homeland and the important main line electrification between London and Brighton. Interesting particulars of these new railway works are given in his present contribution, by our Special London Correspondent.

The Railway Electrification Era.

The London local railways were the world's pioneers of electric haulage. As long ago as 1890 the first section of the City and South London Electric Railway was opened, and since that time the electric railways of the metropolis have grown into an intricate network of tracks serving all parts of the Empire's capital.

Apart from the London local lines, the mileage of the electric railways operated by the four big Home trunk systems is as follows:-Southern, 745 miles; L.M. and S., 114 miles; L. and N.E., 40 miles; Great Western, 11 miles. The Southern Railway, it will be seen, is easily the biggest owner of electrified track in Britain. As a matter of fact, the London suburban electric system of the Southern is the largest individual suburban electrification in the whole world. The Southern electric lines extend fan-wise from six principal London termini—Victoria, Waterloo, Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Holborn Viaduct and London Bridge, to Guildford, Hounslow, the Thames Valley, Orpington and Dartford. Electrification on the 1,500 volts, D.C., third-rail arrangement, with trains operated on the multiple-unit system, and formed of motor and trailer cars, has enabled train services throughout the wide area south and south-west of the metropolis to be entirely remodelled and augmented.

The biggest electrification scheme now in hand is the electrification of the London-Brighton main line (51 route miles), with the branches Brighton to Worthing (11 miles), and Redhill to Guildford (20 miles). Trains on this route will be worked on the multiple-unit system, in preference to employing electric locomotives. Steam train mileage amounting to 1,927,000 miles per annum will be discontinued, and an electric train service substituted with a train mileage of about 4,921,000, thereby providing an increase in train service of 150 per cent. Between London and Brighton, passenger business is exceptionally heavy. Annually, about a million and three-quarter passengers are conveyed by rail between the two points named, and, in addition, there are about 3,000 season ticket holders.

The 114 route miles of electric railway operated by the L. M. and S. line comprise 46 miles of track in the London area and page 18 68 miles in Lancashire. In the London zone the lines involved are those between Campbell Road and Barking; Willesden and Earl's Court; Broad Street and Richmond; Broad Street and Watford Junction; Euston and Watford Junction; and Watford Junction and Croxley Green. The equivalent of these routes in single track is 101 miles. On these routes, and on the electrified tracks in Lancashire,

A Fine European Passenger Station
The St. Gallen passenger station, on the Swiss Government Railways.

the multiple-unit system is favoured, with trains formed of motor and trailer cars, and ground conductor rail. The Lancashire electrified tracks of the L.M. and S. Railway include the Manchester and Bury route (14 route track miles); Liverpool and Southport (43 route track miles); and Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham (11 route track miles).

In the north-east of England, the L. and N.E. Railway operates an important suburban electric system centred on New-castle-upon-Tyne, while a little further south the same railway works the Shil-don-Newport mineral line with electric locomotives. Jointly with the L.M. and S. Railway, the L. and N.E. Company is also interested in the electrification of the Manchester (London Road Station) and Altrincham route, in Lancashire. Proposals to electrify the King's Cross-London suburban tracks are under review. At the present time the Government power scheme plans to set up, by the year 1941, some 108 super-power stations with an output in excess of 25,000,000,000 units, capable of meeting every power need of the railways and industry generally. This should materially hasten mainline electrification in all parts of Britain.

The Diesel-electric Locomotive.

Apart from the high cost of power, an obstacle to the speedy conversion to electric traction of the Home railways is the costly nature of transmission lines, substations, conductors, and other equipment. In the endeavour to overcome this obstacle, much attention is now being turned to the possibilities of Diesel-electric traction.

Diesel-electric services possess all the marked advantages of electric haulage. They may be built up and expanded gradually as capital becomes available and traffic increases, and they may be extended outwards to any desired mileage to meet occasional demand. They render high speed running easy of accomplishment, and increase, to a marked degree, track capacity. Under Diesel-electric operation, trains may be operated on the familiar multiple-unit arrangement, and altogether this form of working offers many attractions.

The Diesel-electric locomotive is well adapted to main-line operation, while in branch-line working Diesel-electric rail-cars offer a quick and economical train unit, comparable with the existing steam rail-cars employed in Britain and New Zealand. A new 250 h.p. Armstrong-Sulzer Diesel-electric rail-car recently developed at Home can, it is claimed, be operated for from threepence to fivepence less per train mile than existing steam rail-cars with 100 h.p. boilers, calculating coal at sixteen shillings and Diesel oil at ninety shillings per ton. In Switzerland, Diesel-electric traction is being employed to a considerable extent. On the Appen-zell Railway, passenger operation is being page 19 successfully and economically performed by means of rail-cars fitted with 250 h.p. 6-cylinder Sulzer airless injection Diesel engines, while developments in the employment of Diesel-electric traction are also proceeding in Germany.

The St. Gothard Electric Railway.

Electrification progress in Switzerland has been most rapid. During the recent summer meeting, in Switzerland, of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers, opportunity was taken to inspect some of the more important electrified routes, and in particular the world-famous St. Gothard electric railway. The power for operating this famous Alpine route is secured from two plants. One is the Ritom works, situated about five miles beyond the southern entrance to the St. Gothard tunnel, and the other the Amsteg plant, situated at the northern entrance. The Ritom plant is a winter station, and the Amsteg plant supplies power needs during the summer months. At Ritom, water is collected in a huge lake fed by the Alpine rivers, and the turbine machinery develops 60,000 h.p. Natural water-power is similarly harnessed at Amsteg, an enormous dam having been built in the mountains, feeding, by means of a tunnel, some six turbine generators, each developing 15,000 h.p. The possession of an abundance of natural water-power is the secret of Switzerland's progress in the electrification field, and in the electrical era that lies ahead, these fast-flowing Alpine streams are going to be far more valuable than the most extensive coal deposits.

Rail and Air Services.

All over the world airplane services for passengers, and for merchandise of high value or of a perishable nature, are now acting as subsidiaries to the railway. In the United States a lead has been set by the development of through rail-air transcontinental services, linking the Atlantic with the Pacific, while in Europe rail and air carriers are collaborating to a considerable extent in the building up and operation of joint services. Recently one of the Home railways—the Southern system—has acquired a big financial interest in the important flying concern known as Imperial Airways Limited. Like the other Home railways, the Southern was last year granted permission by the Government to operate its own air lines should it so desire, or to co-operate with existing air carriers to any extent that might be considered advisable. Now this go-ahead railway, serving almost the whole of Southern England, is embarking upon an ambitious plan for combined rail-air movement.

“All Tickets Ready Please!“
A ticket examiner at work on the Southern Railway of England.

Imperial Airways Limited was formed in 1924, by the combination of several leading flying undertakings. To-day, the organisation covers, each week-day, about 1,000 miles of air routes between London and the Continent, in addition to the England-India mail route of approximately 5,500 miles. The Continental routes from London are to Paris, via Le Touquet; to Zurich, via Paris and Basle; and to Cologne, via Ostend and Brussels. By page 20 co-operation between Imperial Airways the Southern Railway, through rail-air movement between Southern England and all parts of Europe has been established, and across the Channel the co-operation of the various foreign railways has established convenient connections between the airplanes operating from London and cities off the direct European flying routes. A typical example of this co-operation is found in the through air-rail service between England and Greece. This is maintained by airplane between London and Cologne, in Germany, and by the “Orient Express” on the railways between Germany and Greece.

The World's Different Railway Gauges.

Long ago the New Zealand railway authorities decided to fix the gauge of 3ft. 6in. as standard throughout the country, and, having regard to local conditions, this gauge is well adapted to the needs of the Dominion. Looking around, it is really surprising to find how many different gauges are in use on the railways of the world. Generally speaking, Europe and America favour the 4ft. 8½in. gauge for both main and branch lines. Even in Europe, however, Russia and Spain still adhere to gauges of their own which differ from the rest of the Continent, and which render through running with the outside world an impossibility. The recent decision of the Spanish railway authorities to reconstruct many of their existing lines to the European standard gauge directs attention to this anomaly.

The “Iron Horse” In Changed Guise.
1,200 horse power Diesel-electric locomotive in experimental service in Germany.

A few short stretches of 4ft. 8½in. track are in use in Spain, but the majority of the lines are constructed to a gauge of one metre (3ft. 3½in.). In Russia, the railway tracks are built to a gauge of 5ft., and although between Russia and Germany carriages with telescopic axles have been experimented with in the effort to solve the vexed problem of through running, these have not turned out to be a success in actual practice. The convenience of the 4ft. 8½in. gauge is illustrated by the fact that no less than 70 per cent, of the world's railways are constructed to this gauge—a dimension originally determined by the width of the antiquated trucks employed on the old horse wagon-ways of North-east England. The remaining 30 per cent. of the world's railway trackage varies from 5ft. 6in. to 1ft. 3in. gauge.