The Day of the Steel Passenger Carriage.

Wooden passenger carriages are gradually being replaced throughout Europe by steel cars of modern design, and in this connection a lead is taken by the railways of Britain, France and Germany. In France, the Northern Railway has recently put into traffic in the Paris suburban services a number of all-steel cars of most interesting design. These cars are each 65 feet long and weigh 50 tons. They have an outer shell of sheet steel and an inner shell of duralumin. Between the two walls there are two thicknesses of cork, separated by an air bed, an arrangement giving equability of temperature both in summer and winter. The cars are connected by American type automatic central couplers, and fitted with Westinghouse brakes throughout. They are of the saloon type, with two pairs of sliding doors on each side, opening on to a platform and a pair of steps. Like the London underground railway cars, the doors of the French vehicles are equipped with pneumatic control apparatus operated by the guard.

Particular interest centres around the fact that these cars are to be made up into trains of nine vehicles, capable of being driven from either end. This ease in handling is secured by the provision, in the last car of the train, of a small driving compartment equipped with the necessary controls, including brake lever, regulator and reversing gear, and a telephone giving communication with the fireman on the engine at the opposite end. There is thus no necessity for the locomotive to run round its train at page 22 terminals, or for obtaining a fresh engine on the outward journey.