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  • The Wrong Sort of Fish Oil - The Trials, Tribulations (And Triumphs) of The Early Railway Passenger by M. E. Quick

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    Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
    168 Ansichten36 Seiten
    M. E. Quick's book on early Victorian Railways is subtitled; The Trials, Tribulations (and Triumphs) of the Early Railway Passenger and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the problems faced by early rail travellers as well as the benefits gained for both business and leisure. This meticulously researched book draws much of its information from The Times and other publications of the period. A sometimes frightening picture of the pioneering days of the railways is drawn from editorials, articles and letters to the editor by readers eager to relate their experiences of early rail travel. Chapter by chapter the author chronicles the growth from a few unconnected horse-drawn lines to a large railway network owned by a multitude of companies not always working together. They were often overwhelmed by the huge numbers of people wishing to travel by train and struggled to face the engineering challenges.

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    The Wrong Sort of Fish Oil - The Trials, Tribulations (and Triumphs) Of The Early Railway Passenger by M. E. Quick

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    M. E. Quick's book on early Victorian Railways is subtitled; The Trials, Tribulations (and Triumphs) of the Early Railway Passenger and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the problems faced by early rail travellers as well as the benefits gained for both business and leisure. This meticulously researched book draws much of its information from The Times and other publications of the period. A sometimes frightening picture of the pioneering days of the railways is drawn from editorials, articles and letters to the editor by readers eager to relate their experiences of early rail travel. Chapter by chapter the author chronicles the growth from a few unconnected horse-drawn lines to a large railway network owned by a multitude of companies not always working together. They were often overwhelmed by the huge numbers of people wishing to travel by train and struggled to face the engineering challenges.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Markieren Sie unangemessene Inhalte
    168 Ansichten36 Seiten

    The Wrong Sort of Fish Oil - The Trials, Tribulations (And Triumphs) of The Early Railway Passenger by M. E. Quick

    Hochgeladen von

    Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
    M. E. Quick's book on early Victorian Railways is subtitled; The Trials, Tribulations (and Triumphs) of the Early Railway Passenger and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the problems faced by early rail travellers as well as the benefits gained for both business and leisure. This meticulously researched book draws much of its information from The Times and other publications of the period. A sometimes frightening picture of the pioneering days of the railways is drawn from editorials, articles and letters to the editor by readers eager to relate their experiences of early rail travel. Chapter by chapter the author chronicles the growth from a few unconnected horse-drawn lines to a large railway network owned by a multitude of companies not always working together. They were often overwhelmed by the huge numbers of people wishing to travel by train and struggled to face the engineering challenges.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Markieren Sie unangemessene Inhalte
    von 36

    1

    M. E. Quick
    THE WRONG SORT OF FISH
    OIL
    THE TRIALS, TRIBULATIONS (AND TRIUMPHS) OF THE EARLY
    RAILWAY PASSENGER
    2
    Copyright M. E. Quick
    The right of M. E. Quick in to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
    by him in accordance with section 77 and 7 of the Copyright! "esigns and #atents
    $ct 1%.
    $&& rights reser'ed. (o part of this pub&ication may be reproduced! stored in a
    retrie'a& system! or transmitted in any form or by any means! e&ectronic! mechanica&!
    photocopying! recording! or otherwise! without the prior permission of the
    pub&ishers.
    $ny person who commits any unauthori)ed act in re&ation to this pub&ication may be
    &iab&e to crimina& prosecution and ci'i& c&aims for damages.
    "isc&aimer* $ny 'iews e+pressed in items ,uoted from pub&ications of the period
    co'ered shou&d be regarded e+c&usi'e&y as the opinions of those ,uoted! not those of
    the present author.
    $ C-# cata&ogue record for this tit&e is a'ai&ab&e from the .ritish /ibrary.
    -0.( %7 1 1%23 171 7
    www.austinmacau&ey.com
    4irst #ub&ished 526127
    $ustin 8 Macau&ey #ub&ishers /td.
    29 Canada 0,uare
    Canary :harf
    /ondon
    E11 9/.
    3
    #rinted 8 .ound in ;reat .ritain
    1
    Illustrations
    Those from Punch come from these compi&ations*
    Later Pencillings from Punch! <ohn /eech! .radbury 8 E'ans! undated =
    mid>&ate 196s?
    Pictures from Punch! pub&ished by Punch! undated = @o&ume - about 1%2!
    @o&ume --- about 1%66.
    Punch Library of Humour: The Railway Book, Educationa& #ress! 1%16.
    -n the first two cases the books ga'e the year of the origina& cartoon. The &ast
    did not! but on&y cartoons whose content i&&ustrates issues raised in the te+t ha'e
    been used.
    The rest come from ear&y materia& owned by the writer! scanned in by Mai&
    .o+es of .ridge 0treet! Taunton.
    9
    INTRODUCTION
    Most rai&way history tends to concentrate on companies and their maAor figures or to
    approach it geographica&&y. This book is intended to gi'e the wormBs eye 'iew = that
    of the passengers! in the first ha&f of Queen @ictoriaCs reign. -t is an offDshoot of an
    ear&ier one which sought to gi'e an e+act factua& record of the opening and c&osing
    dates of stationsE initia&&y! odd bits and pieces were co&&ected for their own sake and
    the re&ief they ga'e from a pure diet of dates and somehow this gradua&&y de'e&oped
    a &ife of its own. The idea throughout is to pro'ide some idea of what matters were
    &ike for a rai&way tra'e&&erE it is not intended to be a comprehensi'e sur'ey since that
    wou&d re,uire a far &onger work. -t a&so inc&udes materia& that sheds some &ight on
    @ictorian attitudes in genera&E at many points information about wider e'ents has
    been inc&uded in order to show that fau&ts described were not &imited to rai&way
    companies.
    Much information has been taken from The Times which then saw itse&f as the
    scourge of incompetent go'ernment of a&& types! not as a semiDofficia& organ of the
    powersDthatDwere = thus its attacks on the #oor /aw and &ack of proper pro'ision for
    Crimean wounded. -t pro'ided editoria&s! artic&es! ad'ertisements and &etters of
    comp&aint. The &ast are particu&ar&y usefu& for pro'iding detai&s of e'eryday tra'e&!
    though a 'ery oneDsided oneE &etters of praise and appro'a& were rare = a constant of
    human nature? :here materia& has been ,uoted in the origina& words the reader wi&&
    find some spe&&ing 'ariations! such as breaks and brakes! and in the use of capita&
    &etters and hyphensE p&ease assume that odd spe&&ings in ,uotations represent what
    was found = repetition of FGsicHC wou&d be wearisome. -nteresting snippets from
    other papers a&so found their way in = perhaps 'ia se'era& intermediaries! though the
    origin was not a&ways acknow&edged.
    /oca& newspapers ha'e a&so pro'ided materia&. This writer suspects that many
    editors of F&oca&C papers spent many working hours condensing nationa& news from
    The Times and copying from othersE. This pro'ided much he&p since The Taunton
    Courier often contained information tota&&y irre&e'ant to its &oca&ityE the hope is that
    Aourna&ists genera&&y cribbed reasonab&y accurate&y.
    The returns regu&ar&y made to #ar&iament by the .oard of Trade 5brief&y
    rep&aced at one stage by the Iai&way Commissioners7 are another pro&ific source of
    information. -mportant in themse&'es they a&so incidenta&&y ga'e information about
    the habits of the time* Mr Jind! principa& in a firm of si&kDfringe manufacturers!
    &i'ing at "a&ston! went for a wa&k on a 0aturday afternoon in <u&y 112 and as he
    was passing 0horeditch station he saw a train about to start so he sudden&y decided
    to take a ride to -&ford and back. :e on&y know of this particu&ar impu&se to samp&e
    the new form of tra'e& because his trip ended fata&&y in a crash at 0tratford.
    Most materia& comes from contemporary sources but some has had to be taken
    from works in modern print to fi&& gaps. $&so! some that wi&& be fami&iar to regu&ar
    2
    readers of rai&way history has had to be inc&uded in order to pro'ide a coherent
    picture for anyone not so ac,uainted.
    The approach is thematic! gi'ing e+amp&es of particu&ar issues. Thus some
    items used under F"e&aysC cou&d e,ua&&y ha'e been put under F$ccidentsCE a few
    ha'e of necessity had to be mentioned more than once but e'ery effort has been
    made to a'oid repeating detai&.
    4or detai&ed co'erage of standard rai&way history and &ocomoti'e technica&ities
    the reader is referred to the many books a&ready a'ai&ab&e.
    $bbre'iations ha'e been a'oided as far as possib&eE howe'er! to gi'e the fu&&
    names of a&& companies wou&d take up much space so those of most maAor
    companies are abbre'iated but those that disappeared ear&y by ama&gamation and
    those content with one word names are gi'en more fu&&y! though in somewhat
    shortened form = e.g. Fthe Ca&edonianC rather than Fthe Ca&edonian Iai&wayC.
    Company $bbre'iations KsedE in a&& cases FIai&way CompanyC needs to be
    added*
    ;E L ;reat Eastern
    ;( L ;reat (orthern
    ;: L ;reat :estern
    /.0C L /ondon! .righton 8 0outh Coast
    /C" L /ondon! Chatham 8 "o'er
    /(: L /ondon and (orth :estern
    /0: L /ondon 8 0outh :estern
    /M L /ancashire 8 Morkshire
    M08/ L Manchester! 0heffie&d 8 /inco&nshire 5&ater ;reat Centra&7
    (E L (orth Eastern
    0E L 0outh Eastern.
    (o attempt is made to con'ert @ictorian prices. The goods then regarded as
    essentia& and the range a'ai&ab&e were so different that to app&y the inde+es
    sometimes used is nonsensica&. :hat needs to be remembered is that a steady N1 per
    week kept many fami&ies going ,uite secure&yE when incomeDta+ was introduced in
    112 it was on&y intended to be paid by the betterDoff and the starting point for
    payment was N196 per year. 4urthermore! prices then were much steadier in the &ong
    term but cou&d! especia&&y before 196! f&uctuate o'er short periods as a resu&t of! for
    e+amp&e! poor har'ests. The currency of the day is thus a&ways ,uoted*
    12 Go&dH pence 512d7 L 1 shi&&ingE 26 shi&&ings 526s7 LN1.
    0imi&ar&y contemporary measurements are used*
    22 yards L 1 chainE 16 chains L 1 fur&ongE fur&ongs L 1 mi&e.
    7
    4or an e+p&anation of the tit&e! p&ease see the end of the chapter on F"isruptionC.

    Chapter 1: HOAXES AND TALL STORIES


    This chapter! which might be e+pected at the end! is put here to gi'e some idea of
    the re&iabi&ity of a main source used. :riters to The Times were a&&owed to use
    pseudonyms* Viator 5L tra'e&&er7 and Constant Reader were fa'ourites. They were
    supposed to inc&ude their cards to guarantee genuineness but editorsC abi&ity to check
    was &imited and some rogue items sneaked through. Iai&way officia&s certain&y read
    the paper* &etters refuting accusations appeared but it cannot be guaranteed that a&& of
    these were seen. Others which arouse gra'e suspicions! inc&uding pieces written by
    Aourna&ists! are inc&uded here as ta&& storiesE a few! s&ight&y &ess unbe&ie'ab&e! are
    inc&uded in re&e'ant &ater chapters! with doubts e+pressed. -t is possib&e that some
    suspects were genuine and that fabrications ha'e crept into &ater chapters. The
    paperCs editor certain&y rea&ised that in'ention and e+aggeration might appear* in a
    &eader of 11 $ugust 191 he wrote there was scarce&y a day when he did not recei'e
    16 or 96 &etters comp&aining about rai&ways! especia&&y o'ercrowding! arrogance and
    indifference of management towards passengers and their interests! and the bu&&ying
    of passengersE there were so many that there had to be a &arge measure of truth in
    them.
    $ccidents were a ferti&e source of e+aggeration and error. The Times fre,uent&y
    prefaced accounts with a warning that ear&y 'ersions were &ike&y to be unre&iab&e.
    One ear&y accident! on 22 <une 137! origina&&y described in good faith! was on the
    /ondon 8 .irmingham. $ train had stopped near Cha&k 4arm to detach the rope
    which had hau&ed it up from EustonE it was so hea'y that they added engines front
    and rear. The &atter came on too fast and smashed the &ast carriage! ki&&ing Ja&&am! a
    footman to the "uke of 0usse+ 5one of Ping ;eorge ---Cs un&o'e&y brood7 and
    inAuring se'era& others. $ffecting detai&s were gi'en of how the "uke ordered a&&
    care for Ja&&am but to no a'ai& since he died in hospita&. (e+t day it printed a
    correction* the stationary engine at Camden Town which operated the cab&e was out
    of action for repairs so the train was taken up the inc&ine by the &ocomoti'e that was
    to take it on to .irmingham. 0oon after starting the power was found to be
    inade,uate because of the dri))&e so another was sent to the rearE when it reached
    there! the whee&s of the first s&ipped! causing a s&ight co&&ision. (o damage was done
    to the carriagesE on 'isiting the hospita& they found Ja&&am to be Fnear&y ,uite
    reco'eredC but with some contusions to his head.
    1
    One FnonDe'entC has appeared in se'era& rai&way books down the years as if
    rea&. On 21 <anuary 112 an incident on the /ondon 8 .righton on the pre'ious
    Tuesday was reported. $ gent&eman had had his carriage p&aced on the &ast truck and
    tra'e&&ed in it! though ad'ised against this. The truck somehow became disengaged
    and he was &eft in the midd&e of .a&combe Tunne& in the dark. Je was frightened but
    decided it was safest to stay in p&ace and thought his doom was sea&ed when he
    heard an engine coming! whist&e screaming. -n fact it was a pi&ot engine sent to &ook
    %
    for him after his absence had been noted at the ne+t station. Three days &ater they
    wrote that they had been assured from an officia& source that the story was a
    fabrication.
    2

    On 11 (o'ember 113 The Times ga'e an account of a serious and messy
    accident to a porter at Iomford! after which he had been carried to 0horeditch by
    train. The ne+t day! upon the authority of the Eastern Counties they said they were
    happy to state that there was no accident to a porter emp&oyed at 0horeditch! indeed
    no accident that day. The b&ame was now put on The lobe! from which the origina&
    had been copied. 4a&se accusations continued to appear from time to time. F4P
    IobinsonC 512 4enchurch 0treet! EC7 wrote that on 21 <une 176 there had been a
    sudden stop on the 9 p.m. /ondon to .righton e+press near 0ydenham when they
    had near&y run into another train because a signa& had Aammed at c&ear. <# Pnight!
    traffic manager of 0E then wrote! asking him to send his detai&s since he knew
    nothing of the incident! nor! on en,uiry at the address gi'en! cou&d he find anything
    of writer.
    3
    One entry not &ater contradicted but reading more &ike an episode from a
    high&yDco&oured me&odrama appeared on 31 <anuary 112! headed FMiracu&ous
    EscapeC. $ short time before a passenger train had been going towards Cast&e Eden!
    between Jaswe&& and Jart&epoo&! when a rai& was sprung so as to go diagona&&y
    through the f&oor of a coach. -t was fu&& but noDone was hurt. One manCs hat was hit!
    and another thrown from his p&ace by the shock! ending with his head in a &adyCs
    &apE if he had stayed in p&ace! the rai& wou&d ha'e gone through him. (o &ater
    contradiction was seen! but it &ooks 'ery suspicious! especia&&y gi'en its pro'enance*
    an accident in the northDeast reached The Times 'ia a Cumberland !a!er"
    Joa+es were not confined to e'ents on the track. -n March 137 Hera!ath
    reported that se'era& papers had said the who&e of the ;reenwich Iai&way had been
    sei)ed at the suit of Mr Macintosh! its bui&der! for a debt of N366!666. -t b&amed the
    work of some mischie'ous imp of the 0tock E+change. The money co&umn of The
    Times on 26 0eptember 111 inc&uded a copy of a &etter sent to the 0ecretary of the
    /0: by <ohn <u&ius Iamsden 4I0! 22 Car&ton Terrace! 0t <ohns :ood!
    :estminster! who was praised for his se&f&essness* as a shareho&der he had &isted 12
    points to be fo&&owed for the benefit of passengers! inc&uding faster trains! better
    carriages 5especia&&y 2
    nd
    and 3
    rd
    7 and &ower fares. Jowe'er! on the 22
    th
    they inc&uded
    a facsimi&e of his signature! hoping that someone might he&p detect the writer of the
    fabricated &etter. The muchDbattered Eastern Counties was the 'ictim! 1% 4ebruary
    119! of a fake ad'ertisement for its 0tockE ne+t day an item said it was not inserted
    by the company nor authorised in any way by them.
    0ome &etters seem to ha'e been an attempt at what today wou&d be described as
    Fdirty tricksC. -n March 126 a &etter from Thomas :addington M.". of :akefie&d
    16
    described a serious! but fictitious! accident near "oncasterE the ;( authorities
    suspected it had been sent to try and depress further their companyCs shares.
    1
    -n the
    126s the 0E and /C" were engaged in 'icious ri'a&ry inc&uding the crossDChanne&
    trade. On 21 <anuary 121 ;eorge Io&and 5writing from 36 ;ayfie&d 0,uare!
    Edinburgh on the 1
    th
    7 made the un&ike&y c&aim that defecti'e arrangements at
    Ca&ais! in the dark! had caused him to wa&k into the sea and that the manager of the
    /C" had disc&aimed responsibi&ity. (e+t day T: 0cott! writing for <0 4orbes! the
    /C"Cs ;enera& Manager! said no accident had been reported and he cou&d on&y
    suppose his &etter was a Fweak in'ention of the enemy to bring our &ine into
    disreputeC.
    E+aggeration was particu&ar&y &ike&y where there was no means then a'ai&ab&e
    for accurate measurement. (otions of speed were ha)y = trains were not fitted with
    speedometers so dri'ers had to &earn to estimate speeds from the time it took to
    co'er known distances. On <anuary 13 The Times proc&aimed that on the ;rand
    <unction about 2 oCc&ock one night! Caliban! Fe+ercisingC on the &ine near 0tafford!
    came into 'io&ent contact with a mi+ed train coming from #enkridge. The
    inter'ening two tenders and two horsebo+es absorbed much of the shock. The
    dri'ers were thrown out and inAured and the engine of the mi+ed train became
    FdisengagedC and went off at the rate of near&y 166 mph! stopping after about twe&'e
    mi&es when it ran out of steam. This was taken from The #taffordshire Chronicle and
    the e+act date of this unratified wor&d speed record was not gi'en. E+aggeration
    might a&so ha'e crept into the figures gi'en for the numbers of passengers on ear&y
    e+cursions.
    0ome items were so bi)arre that they defy be&ief. The paper of 22 <anuary 192
    contained an item headed F$ Iai&way IomanceC. On the :ear @a&&ey Iai&way Fthe
    other dayC a gent&eman from .irmingham had found himse&f seated after dark in a
    firstDc&ass carriage! the on&y other passenger in the compartment being a b&ooming
    &ady answering to the description of Ffair! fat and fortyC. They had hard&y gone 166
    yards before the &ady &eapt from her seat and said! FJow dare you sir! what do you
    mean?C and this was repeated at inter'a&s. The man thought she was mad and
    decided to gi'e her into custody at the ne+t station but before he cou&d do so! she
    opened the door and ca&&ed 'ery &oud&y for the guard. $ crowd co&&ected and she
    accused the man of improper&y pinching her &egs. Things &ooked bad for him but the
    guard then remembered he had put a basket containing a &i'e goose under her seat
    and pu&&ed it out! so&'ing the mystery. This was one of those stories that did the
    rounds! appearing in The Taunton Courier eight days &ater.
    9

    There were intermittent appearances of &etters about madmen! some of which
    are used &ater. -n two cases writers c&aimed two prob&ems on the same train! which
    seems unbe&ie'ab&e. One was in 117 when E" said he had recent&y tra'e&&ed from
    E+eter by the e+press and was worried by the e+cited beha'iour of a fe&&ow
    11
    passenger who took out a Testament and read it with Feyes up&ifted and strange
    grimacesC. $t Taunton he mo'ed to another carriage! as did othersE they were
    congratu&ating themse&'es on their escape and e+changing stories about &unatics
    when they found that the &ady in this carriage was insane and the gent&eman
    accompanying her was afraid their con'ersation might send her into a fren)y.
    2
    The
    other was an item in 19% which said that one of their readers! with a ma&e and
    fema&e friend entered a secondDc&ass carriage at Canterbury. There was a drunk in
    one corner and once the train was on the mo'e! he and another stranger started to
    chaff one another! stripped off! and threatened to fight. $t :ye they mo'ed into
    another carriage which contained two dragoons = a sergeant! as&eep! and a pri'ate.
    The pri'ate took out a ra)or! &ooked wi&dDeyed and 'igorous&y stropped itE he then
    pu&&ed out a bund&e from under the seat! cut off bread and meat and ate! and stropped
    the ra)or again. The sergeant woke up and dispossessed him! saying he was a
    maniac he was escorting to head,uarters to be dismissed. :hen they comp&ained
    about his ha'ing do)ed off! he apo&ogised but said he had been with prisoner the
    who&e of the pre'ious night and cou&d no &onger keep awake.
    7
    -t shou&d be stressed that rai&ways were not sing&ed out by hoa+ers. 0hort&y
    after the 112 .righton episode a &etter copied from The $orning Post appeared
    under the heading %R&'%()L 'CC*%&+T '+% &,T&+#*V& L-## -( L*(&*
    ... .etween 1 and 9 oCc&ock this e'ening! and when a&most
    twi&ight! the entire surface of a 'ery &arge piece of ground! more than
    se'en acres at CombeDdown! ga'e way! owing to the workmen ha'ing
    conducted their e+ca'ations in a stone ,uarry far beneath an ang&e! or
    rather street! of that popu&ous 'i&&age! of which abo'e 1 houses! with
    its beautifu& new church! schoo&Dhouse! 8c.! were thus comp&ete&y
    undermined! and ha'e been! by the instantaneous subsiding of their
    foundations! in'o&'ed in ruinE and mu&titudes in the bui&dings and
    accidenta&&y assemb&ed on the spot ha'e perished. ... the out&ets of the
    city are thronged with an+ious thousands crowding towards the scene
    of deso&ation. The be&&s of the $bbey and other churches are ringing
    'io&ent&y! and the authorities are hastening to Combe to render what
    assistance they can to the sur'i'ing sufferers. ... Ieport speaks of
    hundreds s&ain and muti&ated.
    -t was signed $. 0-00O(! gi'ing his address as .arden/office! 93!
    Mi&somDstreet! .ath!
    The Times sent its reporter to see and his 'ersion appeared ne+t day! headed
    *+('$-)# H-',! .$TJ! TKE0"$M E@E(-(;! <$(. 11*
    ... the who&e statement which we yesterday copied from The
    $orning Post, ... turns out! on en,uiry! to be without the s&ightest
    foundation Gan unhappy choice of word?H. Q there is no such paper as
    the .arden pub&ished hereE there is no such number as 93 in Mi&somD
    12
    streetE and e'ery e+ertion has fai&ed to make out whether in rea&ity any
    such an indi'idua& as F$. 0issonC is in e+istence. $ persona& 'isit!
    howe'er! this day to CoombeDdown Q confirmed the statement that the
    who&e matter was a hoa+.
    The 'i&&age has through the day been thronged by an+ious en,uirers
    and the utmost indignation pre'ai&s against the miscreant who has been
    gui&ty of this mischie'ous and crue& fabrication G= particu&ar&y because
    most of the 'isitors showed their disappointment at not finding
    carnage?H

    4ina&&y! the most spectacu&ar error of a&&* ear&y in October 191! The Times
    proc&aimed FTJE 4$// O4 0E.$0TO#O/C. This Aoyfu& news was copied by
    pro'incia& papers across the country. $&as! the $&&ied troops did not capture the city
    unti& 0eptember 199.
    13
    Chapter 2: CHANGE OR CONTINUIT!
    -t was the custom about a century and a ha&f ago for persons intending to
    make a Aourney from /ondon to Mork to arrange a&& their wor&d&y affairs
    before starting on so dangerous and tedious an e+peditionE and now what
    wou&d be the surprise and de&ight of our ancestors! cou&d they but be
    permitted to g&ide &u+urious&y in cushioned 'ehic&es o'er the smooth
    surface of the rai&s between the metropo&is and the ancient city of Mork
    in &ess than oneDse'enth part of the time former&y occupied by them in
    the Aourney. (rancis .hishaw, 0123"
    Though the ear&y tra'e&&er might grumb&e about the ser'ice pro'ided by
    rai&ways! it was far superior to what had gone before. #eop&e cou&d now tra'e&
    further! faster and more safe&y! for business! ho&idays and &eisure.
    $n e+amp&e of humb&er new opportunities pro'ided 5and of contemporary
    Aourna&istsC sty&e7 is pro'ided by this e+tract from a &oca& paper of 117*
    The towns on the &ine of the .risto& and E+eter Iai&way are so
    fa'ourab&y p&aced for the purpose! that a 'ast number of persons ha'e
    arranged for a trip to hear the wondrous @oca&ist! <E((M /-("! on
    Monday ne+t at .risto&! and on the fo&&owing night at .ath. The cost of a
    return ticket! the short time re,uired for the Aourney! and the opportunity
    of hearing this de&ightfu& singer at an e+pence! the aggregate of which
    wou&d be &itt&e more than that of a cabDhire in waiting at the QueenCs
    Opera Jouse! combined with the great ad'antage of &istening within the
    con'enient sphere of a pro'incia& theatre to the finest 'oice that e'er won
    un,ua&ified and uni'ersa& admiration! wi&& no doubt create an
    irrepressib&e desire among many of this neighbourhood to profit by the
    opportunity thus presentedE the conc&uding enAoyment of which wi&&
    probab&y be further enhanced by the sp&endour of a moonD&it Aourney
    home.
    1
    The 0cots were not immune from this sort of writing. The opening of the &ine
    from 0trathmig&o to Mi&nathort in 19 prompted the &oca& paper to write! Fas this is
    the day of the ec&ipse of the sun! we suggest a ha&fDho&iday to the working c&asses!
    as inaugurating an ec&ipse or e+tinguisher of the o&d modes of con'eyance in this
    county.C
    2
    Ieaders wi&& note that some @ictorian comp&aints are echoed today. Jowe'er! it
    shou&d soon become c&ear that in most respects rai&way tra'e& has a&tered out of a&&
    recognition* it is far faster! trains are more fre,uent and more comfortab&e!
    information is much more readi&y a'ai&ab&e and the staff are far more po&ite and
    he&pfu& than they appear to ha'e been then.
    11
    0ome odd ancient habits do resurface occasiona&&y* The %aily Telegra!h of 12
    "ecember 2662 mentioned a drunk who had chosen a &ine through Epsom station as
    a s&eeping p&ace and sur'i'ed! i&&ustrating one repetiti'e prob&em! othersC misuse of
    rai&ways. This did not usua&&y direct&y affect passengers but cou&d cause accidents
    and de&ays and shows that rai&waymen were not responsib&e for e'erything that went
    wrong. $t first many regarded rai&ways as a straighter and &ess muddy route for
    pedestrians. The 0tockton 8 "ar&ington had so much troub&e that it e'en offered
    specia& ser'ices to try and e&iminate this prob&em and the re&ated one of unauthorised
    riding on coa& wagons! particu&ar&y on the Midd&esbrough &ine* in 132 they
    pro'ided what was effecti'e&y an annua& season ticket for use on coa& trains at 2s 2d
    and in 137 a &ocomoti'eDhau&ed wagon that ran an as re,uired ser'ice at 2d for the
    who&e way and e'en cheap rides on engines were pro'ided.
    3
    Iai&way companies
    were acti'e in their efforts to cure this prob&em* one .oard of Trade fi&e at Pew
    records many prosecutions for trespass of 'arious sorts. The Mid&and Counties
    pro'ided se'era& e+amp&es* in &ate <u&y and ear&y $ugust Mary #ainter was sent to
    prison for 11 days when she cou&d not pay her 16>D fine for trespassing on the &ine
    near /oughborough! Thomas Tebbutt was fined N2 5with an option of one month7
    for being drunk on the &ine near $ttenborough and Thomas 0i&'ester 5who had
    obstructed the 1.16 p.m. from (ottingham to "erby7 was ordered to be taken care of
    in the workhouse. -n (o'ember <ohn /aw e'en dro'e his sheep a&ong the &ine near
    .eestonE he was on&y fined 26>D p&us costs. /ess &ucky was :i&&iam :inter! ki&&ed
    on 16 0eptember 112 whi&e dri'ing his horse and cart the shortest way home a&ong
    the #ontop and 0outh 0hie&ds despite ha'ing been turned back and warned se'era&
    times pre'ious&yE he had been to 0under&and market and was described as Fin
    &i,uorC. The 0tockton 8 "ar&ington c&ear&y had not so&'ed its prob&em* as we&& as
    pedestrians it had to cope with <ames <ohnson who rode his horse a&ong the &ine 52d
    fine p&us 2>2 costs7 and :i&&iam Iobson his mu&e 51>D fine p&us 7>2 costs7. The
    returns made by the :ishaw 8 Co&tness show 0cottish &ines facing the same
    prob&em.
    1
    -t persists today* The %aily Telegra!h of <u&y 266 reported that figures
    re&eased by the .ritish Transport #o&ice showed more than 1!666 peop&e had been
    ki&&ed on the countryCs rai&ways in the pre'ious four years! &e'e& crossings especia&&y
    tending to be treated with contempt by many road users.
    The one apparent&y backward step is that many p&aces with a station in 176
    now &ack one. :hen a 'i&&age was first ser'ed! its station! perhaps a mi&e or more
    away and ser'ed on&y by two or three trains each way per day! wou&d ha'e been
    regarded as a great ad'anceE once a bus ser'ice direct to the 'i&&age was started! the
    rai&way &ost much of its attraction and what remained was destroyed by the ad'ent of
    widespread pri'ate transport. The casua&ties ha'e main&y been branch and wayside
    stations* the main &ines that e+isted in 176 are sti&& most&y with us since a fair
    proportion of the big c&osures that occurred from about 1%36 on were of &ines bui&t
    after 176. $&& progress is &iab&e to in'o&'e casua&ties. $s ear&y as 13 The
    .ol4erham!ton Chronicle reported that the income from its &oca& turnpike roads had
    19
    decreased by more than N266 per year and the 0tafford roads at N1!666 since the
    opening of the ;rand <unction.
    9
    (e+t year the opening of the $rbroath 8 4orfar
    Iai&way caused the &ease on the turnpike between the two to be knocked down at a
    muchDreduced price.
    2
    The bankruptcy of 0arah Jayter! an e&der&y woman who had
    run a farriery business at .agshot! was put down to the fact that the 19 coaches
    which had used to go through the town had been reduced to four.
    7
    -n 117 it was
    $ndo'erCs turn* the opening of rai&way from 0a&isbury to .ishopstoke 5East&eigh7
    caused the withdrawa& of the on&y three coaches which ran through $ndo'er out of
    at &east 16 a few years pre'ious&y.

    0hipping ser'ices a&so suffered. -n 11 The


    #cotsman contained notices ad'ertising F4urther reduction of fares between
    Edinburgh and /ondonC as rai&ways competed for their trade! and! e'entua&&y!
    destroyed most of it.
    12
    Chapter ": #RO$ %RI$ITI&E %ASSENGERS TO A
    NET'OR(
    %ri)iti*e %assen+ers
    There was a &engthy period of tria& and error before the steam engine was re&iab&e
    enough to be entrusted with the regu&ar hau&age of passengers but during this time
    some were ab&e to make use of FtrainsC o'er short distances. The first &ega&
    restrictions on the carriage of passengers on&y came in 116 when the .oard of
    Trade recei'ed super'isory powers! at first on&y ad'isory. Thus Tre'ithick was ab&e
    to carry some passengers free on one of his e+perimenta& runs in 161 and charge
    peop&e for rides on his circu&ar demonstation &ine in 16. #resent day hea&th and
    safety )ea&ots might ha'e smothered rai&ways at birth! confining mankind to horse
    power = but then wou&d that temperamenta& beast! the horse! ha'e e'er gained
    certificates of rideworthiness and hau&worthiness? Jowe'er! e'en the most ardent
    critics of these )ea&ots must admit that many of the habits described &ater are better
    not repeated.
    The ear&iest rai&ways! often ca&&ed FtramwaysC or FtramroadsC! were short &ines
    carrying minera&s! comp&ementing e+isting ri'er and cana&Dborne trafficE some
    gradua&&y a&&owed FpassengersC to tra'e& on top of &oads or in empty trucks. /itt&e is
    known about these but in 136 an E+eter paper described the #entewan Iai&way! a 2
    ft 2 in &ine near 0t $uste&& for carrying china c&ay! and said 26 persons were
    sometimes seen riding on the wagons at once.
    1

    The ear&iest regu&ar ser'ices were pro'ided by contractors who paid to run a
    horseDdrawn passenger carriage! picking up and setting down at any con'enient
    point. The ear&iest known was in 167! when .enAamin 4rench contracted to pay
    rent for using the &ine between the .rewery .ank in 0wansea and Cast&e Ji&&!
    OystermouthE 'arious contractors kept this ser'ice going! at times summer on&y!
    unti& about 127.
    2
    Other e+amp&es inc&uded one run by :i&&iam :right on the
    Pi&marnock 8 Troon by 11E when #ar&iament was seeking information about
    passenger traffic in 13D% the company said it did not run passenger ser'ices itse&f
    but a&&owed others to do so! charging them so much per ton! Festimating so many
    persons to constitute a tonC. The 0e'ern 8 :ye fi+ed a to&& for 0amue& Jo&der 8
    <ames :ard to run a F#&easure Tram drawn by one horseC in 121.
    The 0tockton 8 "ar&ington continued this tradition. Though steam was used on
    its promotiona& run! the first regu&ar passenger ser'ice on 16 October 129 was
    horseDdrawn. @arious contractors used con'enient inns as termini and booking
    pointsE FtrainsC consisted of one carriage! c&ear&y of stageDcoach ancestry! with space
    for 2 passengers inside and 26 outside 5on top7. This continued unti& 133! when the
    17
    company bought out the contractors and introduced its own steamDhau&ed ser'ices!
    though some 0unday ser'ices horseDdrawn by pri'ate contractors persisted unti&
    192.
    3
    The Edinburgh 8 "a&keith! origina&&y using a 1 feet 2 inch gauge! fo&&owed
    the same pattern* M< 4o+ began his ser'ice! from 0t /eonards! the companyCs
    Edinburgh depot! on 2 <une 132E it was so profitab&e that the company soon added
    its own and then took o'er comp&ete&y. -n 117! after the (orth .ritish had taken
    o'er! it was con'erted to standard gauge and steam hau&age.
    1
    :a&ton! who ran a ser'ice from 0tockton to Co+hoe! where a road connection
    took passengers on to "urham! was &et &oose with steam power. $ccording to
    :hishaw he paid Fthe greatest possib&e attention to the accommodation and
    Con'enience of the pub&icC and his carriages were Fbut &itt&e inferior to those
    be&onging to passengerDrai&ways genera&&yC.
    9
    Jowe'er! :i&&iam /eathemCs &etter
    written two years ear&ier had gi'en detai&s of two accidents in which he had been
    recent&y in'o&'ed* in the second! on 2 $ugust 116! he was returning from the
    .ritish $ssociation when a whee& of the tender brokeE when he e+amined the
    wreckage he saw four o&d rusty fractures in addition to the new break.
    2
    The :hitby 8 #ickering! opened in 139! inc&uded a ropeDworked inc&ine in
    the midd&e of horseDdrawn sections. (orma&&y one horse was enough for most of the
    way but part of the route re,uired two! and e+tra horses had to be sent to he&p in bad
    weather and contrary wind conditions. 0ince speed wou&d ob'ious&y be &imited! they
    kept costs down! thus inc&uding sharp cur'es. -ts .oard of Trade return for 116
    &isted fares to se'era& p&aces which wou&d ne'er ha'e a station in steam days!
    inc&uding 4en .ogs and Iainda&e. $fter con'ersion to &ocomoti'eDpower in 117
    some straightening was achie'ed by agreement with &oca& &andowners but many
    tortuous cur'es remained so a ma+imum speed of 26 m.p.h. was recommended! at
    &east unti& dri'ers became fu&&y ac,uainted with the course of the &ine.
    Iope hau&age worked by stationary engines was used by the /ondon 8
    .&ackwa&& at its opening in 116! one conse,uence being that tra'e& between certain
    pairs of stations was on&y possib&e by going to a terminus and thence back to the
    desired destinationE it con'erted to &ocomoti'e power in 11%. The "urham 8
    0under&and! another to use this form of power! did not impress :hishaw* FThe
    difficu&ty of starting the trains! the numerous detentions on the way! and the great
    uncertainty of the time that a Aourney wi&& occupy! added to the Ao&ts e+perienced by
    passengers when reaching a bankDhead! or when making a fa&se start = a thing of
    'ery fre,uent occurrence = a&& present themse&'es as serious obAections to the
    stationary systemC :hen #ar&iament was discussing new rai&way &egis&ation Mr
    Crawford of 0under&and sent an impassioned &etter! c&aiming that fre,uent accidents
    on the &ine were Fa matter of great notoriety in its immediate neighbourhood!
    a&though from the inf&uence e+ercised by the "irectory o'er the &oca& press the
    pub&ic at &arge remain ignorant of the factC. The &ine was tota&&y unsuited for
    passengersE he e'en c&aimed that one of the directors had admitted he had once
    tra'e&&ed one way but been so terrified that he had returned by road in a friendCs
    1
    coach. -n addition! there were dangers to other tra'e&&ers because the road between
    0under&and and "urham! thirteen mi&es &ong! was crossed by four tram roads from
    coa& pits! none of which had any gatesE one e'en had pointwork p&aced on the
    turnpike itse&f. On&y in 197D did the company start to rep&ace rope hau&age.
    The 0tanhope 8 Tyne i&&ustrated how a ser'ice might e'o&'e. -t started carrying
    goods in 131! without intending to carry passengers but &oca& re,uests &ed to them
    being a&&owed to tra'e& free on top of coa& wagons. 0oon a wagon was attached at
    the back Aust for passengersE this was fo&&owed by a &ocomoti'eDhau&ed separate
    passenger coach on fortnight&y pay days! and in 132 by a fu&& ser'ice. This started
    from 0outh 0hie&ds! where passengers boarded trains in sidings after buying tickets
    in a nearby inn and ran to a point on the "urham Turnpike near ChesterD/eD0treet!
    where road connections cou&d be made. The company answered #ar&iamentary
    en,uiries by saying that it ran this as a ser'ice to the pub&ic! not to make a profit for
    itse&f.
    7
    More con'enient routes pro'ided by other companies soon &ed to its demise.
    0omewhat simi&ar were de'e&opments in the Monk&ands! where 'arious &ines bui&t to
    carry minera&s de'e&oped passenger ser'icesE some were incorporated in &ater and
    &asting proAects but others soon &ost their passengers.
    $nother whose ear&y years showed how primiti'e ser'ices cou&d de'e&op was
    the .odmin 8 :adebridge. F#assengersC tra'e&&ing against the engineerCs wishes on
    a tria& run on 12 <u&y 131 were inAured when the carriage was derai&ed.

    The first
    fareDpaying passengers were carried on :ednesday! 1 October 131"
    %
    $ note in the
    .oard of Trade return for 116D111 said* FThere is not any separate passenger
    trainE the stap&e traffic is sand! and to the train is attached a sing&e carriage. On
    market and fair days there is one or more carriages attached to the train for
    passengersC and in 111 it reso&'ed to run steam trains on&y on 0aturdays! 4air "ays!
    .odmin $ssi)e "ays and other pub&ic occasions p&us occasions when a specia&
    goods cargo warranted it.
    16
    On&y in 0eptember 12% did it appear in Bradshaw! no
    intermediate stops being shownE the ser'ice was meagre = one train each way
    Mondays! :ednesdays and 4ridays! two on 0aturdays 5.odmin market day7E in
    176 they on&y carried 1!2% passengers! 37 of them firstDc&ass.
    0ome primiti'e characteristics persisted on &ines c&ear&y bui&t to higher
    standards. The &imited power of ear&y &ocomoti'es meant that hau&age by stationary
    engine and rope was used on inc&ines such as the &ines up from /i'erpoo& to Edge
    Ji&&! Euston to Camden and ;&asgow to Cow&airs. 0ometimes progress was undone!
    at &east temporari&y* The Times reported on 21 <anuary 196 that the Tewkesbury
    branch had re'erted to horseDpower! which had origina&&y run the &ine! owing to the
    need for economy. -t referred to Fthe now a&most strange apparition of a rai&way
    train 51
    st
    ! 2
    nd
    and 3
    rd
    c&asses in one carriage7 drawn by a sing&e horseC.
    $nother form of primiti'e tra'e& occurred on &ines before they had recei'ed
    .oard of Trade appro'a&E this was not i&&ega& as &ong as no charge was made but
    1%
    sometimes the &aw was broken = without! as far as this writer knows! any pena&ty
    being inf&icted. On 2 0eptember 122 an e+cursion train &eft F#ort MadocC for a
    great re&igious gathering at FCarnar'onCE those running the &ine had at first demurred
    but ga'e into pressure! charging 3s each for the tripE about 66 went and on the way
    back the engine derai&ed at points! fi'e being ki&&ed and a si+th dying &ater. There
    were no proper carriages! on&y ba&&ast waggons! and one FpassengerC rode on the
    tender.
    11
    The officia& report &isted occasions when the &ine had pre'ious&y carried
    passengers free and safe&y. These inc&uded taking the #ortmadoc and #w&&he&i
    companies of @o&unteers to Carnar'on in ba&&ast waggons with p&ank seats!
    e+cursionists from Carnar'on to .armouth! a party of chi&dren from #ortmadoc to
    Criccieth for confirmation! 0ir :atkin and /ady :ynn and a &arge party from
    .armouth to Carnar'on and se'era& picnic parties at different times.
    12
    #assengers cou&d enAoy a spectacu&ar free ride on the :est 0omerset Minera&
    Iai&way in the &ate 126s! comp&ete with 'iews across the .risto& Channe&. This
    consisted of a Fnorma&C rai&way from :atchet to Combe Iow! at the foot of the
    .rendon Ji&&sE from there an inc&ine! 1!166 feet &ong with a 'ertica& rise of 66 feet!
    simi&ar in many respects to a c&iff rai&way! &inked it with the upper section. The
    company cou&d not afford the safety measures necessary to satisfy the .oard of
    Trade so passengers! most&y iron miners and their fami&ies! were taken free of
    charge.
    13
    0ome mature rai&ways stopped for passengers between stations. The Maryport
    8 Car&is&eCs timetab&e for 22 0eptember 112 inc&uded a note that F#assengers set
    down between any two Q 0tations wi&& be charged the same as if they were taken to
    the ne+t 0tationC.
    11
    4rancis :ors&ey comp&ained in 19 that he had gone from
    .uckingham to .edford and arri'ed ha&fDanDhour &ate ha'ing stopped about a mi&e
    before the station! opposite the racecourse! to &et off passengers who! men and
    women! were &eft to Fstride! stradd&e and &eapC from the high step of the carriage
    down to the rai&s and cross these.
    19
    $n ear&y practice companies found it difficu&t to stop was that of taking free
    rides on goods wagons. $bout 366 yards beyond :ethera& there were coa& staiths
    be&onging to the Ear& of Car&is&eE a train derai&ed there on 3 "ecember 132 and on
    c&earing the debris they found the bodies of two brothers who had secreted
    themse&'es under the co'er of a grain wagon.
    12
    The :ishaw 8 Co&tness! a primari&y
    minera& &ine! c&ear&y did its best since in 0eptember 111 it had one offender fined
    N9 under its $ct of #ar&iament.
    17
    Jowe'er! a few months &ater two wagonDdri'ers
    took a coup&e of re&ati'es on their wagons which were returning empty in <anuary
    112. $t a passingDp&ace on the sing&e &ine four wagons went one way! the fo&&owing
    four anotherE the passengers were thrown off the first four and run o'er and ki&&ed by
    the others. The company then put forward byeD&aws to prohibit! on pain of fine of
    N9! any dri'er from taking others = the 111 prosecutions had been for trespass!
    26
    which cou&d not be pro'ed against peop&e in'ited onto the &ine by its ser'ants. The
    officia& accident reports carried a stream of simi&ar e'ents throughout this period.
    4or e+amp&e! in 191 a trespasser was ki&&ed in <une trying to get onto a mo'ing
    goods near 0impasture <unction on the 0tockton 8 "ar&ington and in 0eptember a
    man who had secreted himse&f on top of a carriage on the Mid&and was inAured when
    his head hit a bridge. $ passenger without a ticket was ki&&ed trying to get onto a
    Mid&and wagon in motion at Jo&beck in 12%.
    0ome primiti'e tra'e&&ers went &awfu&&y! accompanying anima&s. The Traffic
    Committee of the /(: recommended in 111 that a groom in charge of Fan entire
    horseC shou&d tra'e& free.
    1
    $nother group were dro'ers accompanying &i'estock!
    who tra'e&&ed in guardsC 'ans or FcarriagesC 5usua&&y 'ery f&imsy7 attached specia&&y
    for their use and suffered more than their fair share of casua&ties since goods trains
    had an unfortunate record of being hit in the rear. -n 191 one was ki&&ed and three
    inAured near :hitmore on the /(: when an engine ran into the back of their catt&e
    train. On % 0eptember 127 a Mid&and catt&e train ran into a ba&&ast train and broke
    in two! the rear part running back and co&&iding with an oncoming passenger trainE
    four catt&e dro'ers were ki&&ed and fi'e inAured. Three were ki&&ed when a hea'y
    passenger engine ran into the back of their catt&e train near .u&&o #i&&! on the ;:Cs
    0outh :a&es &ine in (o'ember 12" -n 0eptember 192 one had been ki&&ed when
    his head hit a bridge whi&e he was riding on top of a catt&e truck.
    A net,or- .e*elops
    The success of the /i'erpoo& 8 Manchester! opened in 136! and usua&&y
    regarded as the first FmodernC &ine stimu&ated others! though deciding on a route!
    raising the &arge capita& sums! gaining #ar&iamentary appro'a& and bui&ding the &ine!
    meant that at the end of 139 rai&way tra'e& was sti&& &imited to a few wide&y
    separated short &ines. Jowe'er! by the end of 116 /ondon! .irmingham! /i'erpoo&
    and Manchester were &inked and the :est Coast route had been e+tended to
    /ancasterE Mork had been reached! 'ia "erby and (ottingham! and 0outhampton
    had its route from /ondon. Thereafter progress was rapid and has been described in
    many books now in print. .y the end of 176 the northern &imit of continuous tra'e&
    had reached ;o&spieE beyond there was an iso&ated stretch from "unrobin to :est
    Je&msda&e! bui&t pri'ate&y by the "uke of 0uther&and which wou&d soon be
    incorporated into the &ine to :ick and Thurso. -mportant crossDcountry &ines had
    been comp&eted from Car&is&e to (ewcast&e in 13% and Manchester to /eeds in
    111.
    Many separate companies were in'o&'ed! each bui&ding a re&ati'e&y short
    &engthE howe'er! many were p&anned from the outset to comp&ement one another and
    soon were ama&gamated into &arger concerns. The /(: emerged in 111 to run the
    :est Coast Ioute! and the Mid&and in 112 from &ines centred on "erby.
    21
    Dela/e. openin+s
    Knsurprising&y not a&& de'e&oped smooth&y so there were often de&ays in
    opening. 0hortages of money and materia&s were often to b&ame! the former too
    common&y to warrant gi'ing detai&s. -n the &atter case! the /ondon 8 ;reenwich
    ga'e a shortage of iron as its reason. -t had initia&&y opened from 0pa Ioad to
    "eptford and then ad'ertised that its trains wou&d start from /ondon .ridge on 16
    October 132 but had to de&ay unti& 1 "ecemberE e'en then passengers had to buy
    their tickets at /ondon .ridge and wa&k a&ong the &ine to .ermondsey Ioad! where
    they boarded from ground &e'e&. The $berdeen &ine to a temporary terminus at
    /impet Mi&&! south of the city! was supposed to open on 36 October 196 but was
    de&ayed! though on&y by one day! because the contractors and na''ies refused to
    gi'e up possession unti& their bi&&s were paid.
    #hysica& prob&ems were often underestimated when &ines were p&anned = there
    was! for e+amp&e! &itt&e re&iab&e geo&ogica& information. Ear&y on the Pi&sby and .o+
    tunne&s he&d up progress on the &ines to .irmingham and .risto& and there were
    many simi&ar e+amp&es &ater. :hen the 0outhampton 8 "orchester opened on 1
    <une 117 they had hurried&y to pro'ide a temporary terminus Aust west of the tunne&
    at 0outhampton because the &atter had been found to be defecti'eE for the first few
    days a restricted ser'ice was operated by an engine and carriages that had been
    horseDdrawn through the tunne& and an omnibus was used to ferry passengers o'er
    the gap from the main station.
    4a&&s of earth! usua&&y caused by hea'y rain fa&&ing on ground not yet
    conso&idated were another cause of de&ay. The &ine between (orwich and .randon
    had been ad'ertised to open on % <u&y 119 but a s&ip caused a de&ay to the 36
    th
    .
    1%
    The :hiteha'en 8 4urness suffered a more spectacu&ar &oss when it p&anned to open
    between .oot&e and Ia'eng&ass on 1 <u&y 196! and had issued notices to this effect.
    $t the end of <une part of the 'iaduct across the Ii'er Esk was burned down 5arson
    was suspected7E it was rebui&t during the fo&&owing week at a cost of N266 and they
    were ab&e to open on <u&y.
    26
    .y far the commonest cause of disappointment was the o'erDoptimism
    fre,uent&y disp&ayed by directors. The Times of 2 <anuary 123 said of the
    Metropo&itan* F-t appears that arrangements ha'e been made for the opening of this
    &ine on the 16
    th
    inst.! but as the 1
    st
    October! 1
    st
    (o'ember! the midd&e of "ecember
    and the 1
    st
    inst. ha'e been announced from time to time as the probab&e date of
    opening! it is presumed that no one wi&& fee& disappointed if a further postponement
    shou&d take p&aceC. -t did actua&&y open that day. The opening of the Tewkesbury to
    Ma&'ern &ine on 12 May 121 &ed the &oca& paper to say that a&though it had
    announced the opening in its pre'ious issue! Fmany persons! after so much
    disappointment! refused to be&ie'e that such wou&d be the caseC. E'en so the resited
    Tewkesbury station was not ,uite finished! ha'ing neither refreshment room nor a
    22
    good approach road.
    21
    /inked to this was a tendency to put &ines forward for
    go'ernment inspection before they were rea&&y ready so they were ordered to de&ay
    opening unti& deficiencies had been rectified.
    Outsiders cou&d cause de&ay. $ dispute o'er the crossing of (ortham Ioad by
    the rai&way meant that 0outhampton had initia&&y to make do with a temporary
    station short of the road when the &ine from :inchester opened on 16 <une 13% 5the
    &ine from /ondon to .asingstoke opened the same day! with a connecting road
    ser'ice7.
    22
    On 19 <u&y The Ham!shire Chronicle confident&y predicted that the
    permanent station wou&d be open by the end of the month but on 12 0eptember it
    said the directors had decided to &ea'e the opening to ne+t springE e'entua&&y! it and
    the missing midd&e section were opened on 11 May 116 and e'en then workmen
    were in action unti& the &ast moment because of &ega& wrang&es with the turnpike
    authorities.
    The most spectacu&ar de&ays resu&ted from disputes where those directing
    companies insisted on pursuing their own arguments and 'endettas with comp&ete
    disregard for the interests of wou&dDbe tra'e&&ers. This is in marked contrast to pub&ic
    announcements often couched in such terms as Fthe "irectors of R humb&y beg to
    inform the pub&ic thatQC These disputes! which were usua&&y &ega&&y 'ery in'o&'ed!
    are fu&&y co'ered in e+isting works so on&y a few e+amp&es are gi'en here! without
    much detai&.
    .oth #ar&iamentCs re&uctance to inter'ene on the passengersC beha&f and the
    difficu&ties the ;: created by its adoption of the broad gauge were shown when the
    /0: was ab&e to e+p&oit this to de&ay the opening of the E+eter 8 Crediton &ine! in
    which it had gained a contro&&ing interest by underhand means and a &ine ready for
    opening in 11 was &eft mou&dering for three years. E&sewhere the O+ford!
    :orcester 8 :o&'erhampton infuriated its &oca&ity unti& it fina&&y opened throughout
    in 191E here! the dictatoria& ambitions of &oca& directors seem to ha'e been at the
    root of its fai&ure to coDoperate with the ;:.
    23

    The &ongestDrunning series of disputes resu&ted from the /(:Cs attempts at
    keeping others out of the area north of .irminghamE these centred on &ines from
    0hrewsbury to Chester and .irmingham. Captain Juish was an effecti'e dri'ing
    force as 0ecretary of the /(: but at times his beha'iour was better suited to the
    running of an East End protection racket than a rai&way company. $ bookingDc&erk
    was forcib&y thrown out of Chester station in 11%! connections were made as
    incon'enient as possib&e so that tra'e&&ers wanting to go to /i'erpoo& 'ia .irkenhead
    and the ferry had to go a &onger way round by /(: trains! and the 0tour @a&&ey &ine
    was &eft unopened for some months after it had been passed for opening. E'en when
    it did open! the /(: de&iberate&y made connections as awkward as possib&e.
    21

    $ pro&ific cause of friction was at Aunctions where two companies met before
    sharing a stretch of &ine into a maAor station! as happened at Ja'ant. The first
    tra'e&&ers from /ondon to #ortsmouth had to use the /.0C &ine to .righton and then
    23
    go west a&ong the coast. :hen a direct &ine! from ;ui&dford to Ja'ant! was bui&t the
    /0: gained contro& of it! though they needed to use the .rightonCs &ine to run on
    from Ja'ant to #ortsmouth. This wou&d di'ert traffic from the .righton &ine and the
    &atterCs owners decided to use its contro& o'er the 'ita& stretch to e+tort compensation
    for its &ossesE the usua& p&oys of remo'ing rai&s! and bringing up gangs of men and
    b&ocking engines fo&&owed and it was impossib&e for the /0:Cs trains to get through
    so when the &ine opened on 1 <anuary 19% the /0: created a temporary terminus
    of its own at Ja'ant! north of the Aunction! and carried passengers on in omnibuses.
    On 21 <anuary through traffic began but was suspended again from % <une to
    $ugust as a resu&t of temporari&y successfu& &ega& action by the .righton company.
    E'entua&&y the ri'a& warriors reached a compromise which in'o&'ed poo&ing and
    sharing certain re'enues.
    29
    The bruta& approach sometimes worked* the /(: successfu&&y ki&&ed off a
    ser'ice intended to pro'ide a &ink between the ;( 5another of the /(:Cs enemies7!
    Chester and /ondon! using the :arrington 8 0tockport. $fter si+ months of hass&e
    on 36 $ugust 19 the :arrington 8 0tockport to&d the pub&ic that because of the
    obstructions and fa&se information constant&y gi'en to passengers! it had decided to
    suspend the ser'ice between :arrington and ChesterE it ne'er resumed.
    22
    So)e teethin+ pro0le)s
    Many &ines were opened in insta&ments! sometimes starting at both ends at
    once! and road coaches were pro'ided to comp&ete Aourneys. The /ondon 8
    .irmingham initia&&y opened from Euston to .o+moor 5now Jeme& Jempstead7 on
    26 <u&y 137! e+tending to Tring on 12 October. On % $pri& 13 it opened to
    "enbigh Ja&& and from Iugby to .irmingham! and on 17 0eptember 13 right
    through. .y the standards of many &ines! this was rapid progress* the ;: took from
    1 <une 13 to 36 <une 111 to open fu&&y from #addington to .risto&! the short &ine
    from Maryport to Car&is&e was opened in si+ portions 5116D197! in'o&'ing the use of
    two temporary termini! and the Edinburgh 8 (orthern used three of these in its
    progress from .urntis&and to #erth 5117D7. $ :e&sh e+amp&e of insta&ments was
    the Taff @a&e! which opened from Cardiff to (a'igation Jouse 5$berdare7 in 116!
    pro'iding a coach &ink to Merthyr unti& the &ine opened through ne+t year.
    0ome of these openings in insta&ments resu&ted from the physica& impossibi&ity
    of opening a comp&ete &ine in one go. Tunne&s ob'ious&y took &onger to bui&d than
    surface &ines* Pi&sby Tunne& was the &ast section to be opened on the /ondon 8
    .irmingham! .o+ Tunne& the ;:Cs &ast section and the 0ummit Tunne& that of the
    Manchester 8 /eeds. .ridges a&so caused de&ay* on 1 $ugust 11 the Chester 8
    Jo&yhead! a&ready open to .angor! was opened across $ng&esey but the Menai
    .ridge was not yet ready and omnibuses took passengers across the road bridge unti&
    the rai&way one was opened on 1 March 196. The &ine from E&gin to Peith opened
    on 1 $ugust 19 with temporary p&atforms on either side of the ri'er at 0pey
    21
    .ridge! between Mu&ben and Orton! pending comp&etion of a permanent bridge ear&y
    19%.
    The use of omnibuses meant passengers and &uggage had to be transferred from
    train to coach! sometimes either side of a gap. C&ear&y a&& was not fu&&y prepared
    when the /ondon 8 .irmingham opened* it was reported in 13 that at Iugby the
    road was so Bunsett&edB and the omnibus so burdened with &uggage that e'en with si+
    horses it took ha&f an hour to reach the highway from the station.
    27
    The fo&&owing
    year FT</C comp&ained about an ear&y connecting ser'ice* 23 going from 0&ough to
    :indsor were crammed onto a bus &icensed for 12.
    2
    -n 111 F$ .agmanC &eft
    /ondon by the 9 oCc&ock for 0te'enton! then the terminus! assured that he wou&d be
    immediate&y con'eyed on to O+ford. They arri'ed at 0te'enton at 2.99 where there
    was no porter to carry his &uggage and when he reached :adde&&Cs coach! it was
    a&ready occupied by 11 outside and four inside and unsafe from the ,uantity of
    &uggage and merchandise on its roof. Je was to&d there was no p&ace! but there was a
    second behind so he entered this with two others but they remained there one and a
    ha&f hours! waiting for another trainE coaching in O+ford was :adde&&Cs monopo&y
    and he chose to pro'ide insufficient accommodation.
    2%
    Ear&ier that year there had
    been a comp&aint that at 4aringdon Ioad on&y coaches be&onging to certain
    proprietors were a&&owed within station &imits to co&&ect passengers! others being
    turned away by a po&iceman! e'en if the passenger had made prior arrangements for
    the coach concerned.
    36
    The on&y transport pro'ided for the connection between .irmingham and
    Cofton! then the northern terminus of the .irmingham 8 ;&oucester! consisted of
    two coaches and an omnibus. One day these were fu&& &ong before they were due to
    &ea'e .irmingham at 2 p.m. so many of the highest respectabi&ity! some of them
    &adies in a de&icate state of hea&th on the way to Che&tenham! were forced to tra'e&
    on the tops of the coaches in the rain and others had to wait in .irmingham.
    31
    -n
    112 a :orcester correspondent comp&ained that the nearest station was then
    0petch&ey! four mi&es of hi&&y road awayE howe'er many passengers and howe'er
    much &uggage! there was on&y one omnibus for the connection. One day he was one
    of 11 inside! four outside p&us near&y a ton of &uggage! drawn by two horses. $fter
    se'era& attempts at the first hi&&! a&& had to a&ight into the snow and wa&k ha&fDway up!
    where they were rescued by the empty omnibus from another train. On the
    ;&oucester &ine there were so few porters that passengers had to mo'e their own
    &uggage or &ea'e it to fate whi&e they grabbed a p&ace in the omnibus! whose dri'er
    was often too eager to start before the &oad became too much for two horses.
    32

    $rrangements cou&d a&so be dangerous. On 11 0eptember 111 when the 1 p.m.
    train from .risto& arri'ed at .ridgwater! then the terminus! and the passengers had
    a&ighted! the engine was used to mo'e the train from one &ine to the other! ready for
    its returnE it had to mo'e the carriages 196 yards beyond the station! o'er a road
    crossing. -t had a&ready mo'ed some and was coming back! tender first! for the rest
    29
    when the &56uisite coach from E+eter tried to cross the &ine. The engine hit the front
    of this and wrecked itE passengers were scattered in a&& directions! si+ being
    inAured.
    33
    22
    So)e re1ine)ents
    -nitia&&y many wanting to tra'e& from /ondon went a &ongish way round! but
    any sort of &ink was a we&come no'e&ty. -mmediate&y before the opening of the &ast
    section in 111! The Times said Fthe entire distance between /ondon and (ewcast&e!
    upwards of 366 mi&es! Gwou&dH be accomp&ished! it GwasH ca&cu&ated! in 12 hours!
    inc&uding a&& stoppagesC. The route consisted of*
    3 mi&es a&ong the /ondon 8 .irmingham from EustonDs,uare to IugbyE
    1%S mi&es a&ong the Mid&and Counties to "erbyE
    23S mi&es a&ong the (orth Mid&and to (ormantonE
    23T mi&es a&ong the Mork 8 (orth Mid&and to MorkE
    19 mi&es a&ong the ;reat (orth of Eng&and to "ar&ingtonE
    27S mi&es a&ong the (ewcast&e! "ar&ington 8 "urham <unction to :orhington
    GL :ashingtonHE
    9S mi&es a&ong the #ontop 8 0outh 0hie&ds 5former&y 0tanhope 8 Tyne7 to
    .rock&ey :hinsE
    2S mi&es a&ong the .rand&ing <unction to ;ateshead on the south bank of the
    Tyne.
    4or a few years it wou&d sti&& be necessary to catch a ferry across to (ewcast&e.
    ;radua&&y shorter routes were de'e&oped. -n 117 the /(:Cs Trent @a&&ey &ine
    a&&owed some trains to /i'erpoo& and Manchester to bypass .irmingham! so
    a&&owing businessmen wanting to go to /i'erpoo& or Manchester! to transact
    business there and come home the same day. The ;(Cs opening to Ietford in 192
    cut the distance from /ondon to Mork by 26 mi&es" The Mid&and origina&&y depended
    on others to get its passengers to /ondon* the ear&iest arrangement in'o&'ed tra'e&
    'ia Iugby but in 197 it pro'ided a shorter route 'ia .edford and fina&&y it opened
    its own /ondon terminus at 0t #ancras in 12. The ;: was the poorest pro'ider of
    such impro'ements! though the Aourney between .risto& and 0outh :a&es was
    shortened in 123 by pro'iding a ferry connection between short &ines to (ew
    #assage south of the 0e'ern and #ortskewett on the north.
    More con'enient&y sited stations were another de'e&opment. -n 111 the &ines
    from /i'erpoo& and /eeds were &inked through ManchesterCs new @ictoria station.
    The sideDbyDside termini at .irmingham Cur)on 0treet were rep&aced by the through
    (ew 0treet in 191. EdinburghCs first &ine from /eith ran to a station of its own but
    on 22 May 12 it was di'erted to :a'er&ey! pro'iding a much more con'enient
    arrangement for passengers needing to change. $ Aoint &ine and through station
    rep&aced the ear&ier termini and gap at $berdeen in 127. Origina&&y Car&is&e had
    three stations in use at any one time but by 176 a&& its ser'ices had been
    concentrated on one! to the great benefit of those who had to change there as we&& as
    27
    the &oca&s. Jowe'er! Mork was sti&& a terminus which re,uired re'ersa& for through
    trains and "undee had separate termini to the east and west.
    /ondon was ser'ed by termini scattered around outside the centra& areaE some
    progress was made by e+tending &ines towards the centre but &inks across the midd&e
    were then out of the ,uestion. The /0: origina&&y terminated at (ine E&ms and was
    e+tended to :ater&oo in 11! @ictoria rep&aced an ear&ier terminus at #im&ico in
    126 and Charing Cross was added in 121E Cannon 0treet and .road 0treet had
    been added by 176 for the benefit of tra'e&&ers to the City. $t the eastern end
    ser'ices were gradua&&y e+tended! e'entua&&y reaching 4enchurch 0treet in 111E
    howe'er! /i'erpoo& 0treet was yet to be added = the terminus was sti&& at
    .ishopsgate. @arious ser'ices were pro'ided to try and o'ercome the prob&em. One
    success was the (orth /ondon whose &inks enab&ed peop&e from northern suburbs to
    reach many destinations west and east of centra& /ondon. Jowe'er! a ser'ice which
    initia&&y ran from Euston 'ia :i&&esden! Pensington! and a through p&atform at
    :ater&oo to Cannon 0treet began in 121 but suffered 'arious reductions before
    e+piring at the end of 127E it was too indirect to be an impro'ement on crossing
    /ondon by road and was handicapped by interDcompany s,uabb&es.
    Too )an/ 2oo-s
    $t first passengers often had to buy separate tickets for each part of a AourneyE
    this was gradua&&y reduced! by the ama&gamations which simp&ified the network and
    by arrangements between companies. .y 0eptember 13% the /ondon 8
    .irmingham and ;rand <unction trains were going into each othersC stations at
    Cur)onDstreet to make interchange easier.
    31
    $ report of an accident 13 <anuary 111
    showed that the .irmingham night mai& train genera&&y took two carriages for the
    Mid&and Counties which were handed o'er at Iugby. "etai&s gi'en of an accident at
    Jarrow on 22 (o'ember 176 concerned 1% carriages drawn by two enginesE they
    were &isted in order as &uggage 'an! composite! firstDc&ass carriage and guardCs break
    'an for ManchesterE one composite for Iochda&eE one &uggage 'an! three composites
    and a guardCs break 'an for /i'erpoo&E one composite for .irkenheadE two
    composites and a break 'an for Jo&yheadE one composite for 0hrewsburyE one
    composite for /eamingtonE one composite! one firstDc&ass and one break 'an for
    .irmingham.
    39
    Jowe'er! many shortcomings were not remedied for some time and
    comp&aints about the arrangements for through booking arose from time to time.
    :here companies in the course of their power strugg&es set out to be
    de&iberate&y awkward! suffering cou&d be far worse. -t wou&d ha'e been of great
    benefit to the pub&ic if #ar&iament had been far more wi&&ing to knock a few heads
    together occasiona&&y. Those who created the system were undoubted&y men of
    dri'e! ab&e to achie'e progress despite great difficu&ties but they often be&ie'ed they
    cou&d not possib&y &earn anything from anyone e&se. They fai&ed to rea&ise that
    2
    usua&&y it wou&d ha'e been more sensib&e to work together to pro'ide a smooth&yD
    functioning network to encourage e'en more tra'e& and pro'ide a greater re'enue
    that cou&d be shared amongst companiesE this! after a&&! was essentia&&y what $dam
    0mith ad'ocated in his treatise supporting free trade. $uthority was remarkab&y
    supine! preferring to stand by and &et ri'a&s fight it out. The resu&t cou&d be infanti&e
    beha'iour that caused prob&ems for passengers. -ronica&&y! many s,uabb&es occurred
    between companies that &ater ama&gamated. -n many cases! re&ati'e&y sma&& amounts
    of money spent on connecting &ines wou&d ha'e sa'ed &arge amounts spent on
    competing ones! admitted&y much of it after 176! and &eft rai&ways somewhat &ess
    'u&nerab&e in the midDtwentieth century.
    4ew wou&d deny that in at &east some respects .rune& was technica&&y a great
    engineer but his mu&eDheaded arrogance! combined with the fai&ure of the ;:
    directors to contro& him and #ar&iamentCs re&uctance to put an ear&y end to the .road
    ;auge farce meant that tra'e&&ers to the west from the Mid&ands and the (orth faced
    prob&ems at .risto& for many years = at times de&iberate&y e+aggerated by other
    companies. :hate'er technica& ad'antages might ha'e been c&aimed for the broad
    gauge! it was c&ear that noDone e&se was going to use it and persisting with it was
    thus absurd.
    32
    F$chi'usC comp&ained on 12 <une 119 about the feud between the
    ;: and .risto& 8 ;&oucester 5e'entua&&y to Aoin the Mid&and7. Je had arri'ed the
    pre'ious Tuesday from .irmingham at 12.99! on time but there was no train to
    E+eter unti& 2.19. $ friend came by the train due at %.96! the E+eter train being
    supposed to &ea'e at 16.16! but found the &atter had gone. -n addition! the .risto& 8
    .irmingham kept .risto& time 5though they did not announce this7! the ;: /ondon
    time.
    $n ear&y northern e+amp&e of &ack of coDoperation in'o&'ed passengers wanting
    to go from /eeds to (ewcast&e. $t first they had to tra'e& 'ia Mork but in 11 the
    /eeds 8 Thirsk pro'ided a FcutDoffC gi'ing a route 1% mi&es shorter. This company
    had its own FTownC station at Thirsk but on the way there its trains ran into and out
    of the East Coast station of the Mork! (ewcast&e 8 .erwick. The &atter made &ife as
    difficu&t as possib&e for the newcomer! which sent a dossier of &etters of comp&aint to
    the Iai&way Commissioners in 196* there was no she&ter for passengers on the east
    side of the main &ine! carpet bags were dumped on the wet p&atform despite re,uests
    to protect them from the damp! the staff were e+treme&y rude and unwi&&ing to he&p!
    passengers bound for /eeds were pre'ented from changing here because the guard
    s&ammed the door and sent the train on as soon as he heard their destination and!
    un&ess specifica&&y asked! bookingDc&erks issued tickets by the &onger route. The
    Commissioners refused to inter'eneE in due course a&& did work together! both using
    the main &ine station at Thirsk and becoming part of the (E. -n more recent times
    the cutDoff has been c&osed and passengers again tra'e& 'ia Mork.
    The south east suffered its share of company spats. The Caterham company
    opened its branch from #ur&ey to the main &ine used by 0E and /.0C in 192. .oth
    2%
    maAor companies were uncoDoperati'e! fearing that the new &ine might be e+tended
    in some way that wou&d siphon off some of their trade. Trains ran but both
    companies made difficu&tiesE connections were poor! fares high and no she&ter was
    pro'ided at #ur&ey. Things brief&y impro'ed somewhat in 19%! when the &ine was
    so&d to the 0E but troub&e was resumed in 122 when the /.0C made connections
    de&iberate&y difficu&t. One tra'e&&er to Caterham found the branch train had &eft three
    minutes before his train from Jaywards Jeath arri'ed at the AunctionE he wa&ked si+
    mi&es rather than wait four hours. On his return he cou&d on&y obtain a ticket from
    Caterham to the Aunction and there found there was no train to Jaywards Jeath for
    fi'e hours. Je then decided to go north to East Croydon and catch a train home from
    there but was to&d that the ne+t train! twenty minutes &ater! was not a'ai&ab&e to him
    because passengers from the Aunction cou&d not be booked by it. -n desperation he
    forced his way onto the train he wanted! despite the attempts of officia&s to stop himE
    one accompanied him to East Croydon! where his offer to pay the fare was refused
    and his name and address taken with a 'iew to prosecution! though no further action
    seems to ha'e resu&ted.
    37
    12% saw some re&ief in this area. -n <anuary both the 0E
    and /.0C issued notices that from and after 1 4ebruary return and season tickets
    wou&d be issued that wou&d be a'ai&ab&e by both companiesC trains between any of
    their /ondon stations! Croydon and 'arious other p&aces such as Iedhi&&! Tunbridge
    :e&&s! and Jastings whose residents had made simi&ar comp&aints.
    0cot&and did not escape the madness. -n 19% an argument between the 0cottish
    (orth Eastern and the 0cottish Centra& about how much the former shou&d pay for
    using the &atterCs station came to a headE it was comp&icated by the fact that the
    Centra& owned the section of track north of the station. On $ugust trains stopped at
    the boundary! 326 yards north of #erth ;enera&! co&&ecting and dropping passengers
    at ;&asgow Ioad. Emergency arrangements were made by other companies to
    pro'ide a ser'ice o'er the disputed stretch but! meanwhi&e! hap&ess passengers had
    to make their way! with their &uggage! between the two points! entai&ing a Aourney
    through the streets of about ha&fDaDmi&e.
    3
    E'entua&&y a&& became part of the
    Ca&edonian.
    %ro0le)s that persiste.
    0ome awkward arrangements sti&& e+isted in 176* the ;: continued to send
    passengers for 0outh :a&es 'ia 0windon and those to the southDwest 'ia .risto&.
    (ewport in 0outh :a&es was a mu&tip&e suffererE there were sti&& three stations in
    176! a&though the ;: now contro&&ed a&& the &ines in'o&'ed! and on&y in 16
    wou&d rationa&isation occur.
    0ome idiocies wou&d ne'er be cured. To reach :eymouth the ;: opened a
    &ine from Chippenham 5&ater di'erted a&ong a shorter route 'ia :estbury7 and the
    /0: one a&ong the south coast. They agreed to reach :eymouth a&ong a Aoint &ine
    from "orchester but bui&t separate stations there e'en though it wou&d ha'e been
    36
    easy to pro'ide a Aoint one. -n 19 F$ fre,uent tra'e&&erC comp&ained that on 1
    0eptember he went from #oo&e to Taunton by train. 0ince it was impossib&e to do the
    Aourney in one day by ordinary trains he tra'e&&ed by the &uggage train! to which on&y
    one passenger carriage was attached! from #oo&e at %.16 a.m.! to "orchester which
    he reached at 16.36 and &eft at 12.19 p.m.! arri'ing at Meo'i& at 1.29E he &eft there at
    3.69 for "urston! where he was detained one hour and reached Taunton at 1.96!
    o'era&& 27 mi&es in 7 hours 16 mins. Je fe&t there was a conspiracy between
    companies to make &ife difficu&t for passengers. The /0: train arri'ed at "orchester
    from 0outhampton at 1.16E one ;: train &eft "orchester at 12.19! the ne+t 9.29
    3%
    4or anyone wanting to go from E+eter to :eymouth arrangements were e'en worse*
    Meo'i& had three stations and wou&dDbe passengers had to change at a&& of them.
    OthersC actions cou&d a&so harm passengersC interests. Iai&way $cts of
    -ncorporation ga'e powers of compu&sory purchase but wea&thy &andowners cou&d
    be obstructi'e! conducting &engthy hagg&ing o'er price and demanding features such
    as cuttings and tunne&s to preser'e their 'iews. /ord JarboroughCs opposition to the
    Mid&andCs &ine through 0tamford caused the company to inc&ude an unwanted sharp
    cur'e at 0a+by. The $dmira&ty disp&ayed its customary refusa& to agree with anyone
    e&se about anything. ;reenwich was sti&& a terminus in 176! passengers for
    :oo&wich and further east ha'ing to make a detour 'ia .&ackheath owing to its
    refusa& to agree to passage a&ong the ob'ious route. -t a&so insisted on keeping the
    Ii'er $run na'igab&e and the resu&t was a sing&eD&ine drawbridge near 4ord! where a
    co&&ision occurred on 13 <anuary 121 when a pointsman sent a passenger train onto
    the wrong &ine as it &eft the bridge! sending it headDon into a waiting catt&e train.
    -ronica&&y! the /.0C! after much difficu&ty and opposition! had Aust gained power to
    rep&ace with a fi+ed bridge and doub&e &ine.
    16
    Co3operation ,ith other 1or)s o1 transport
    Iai&ways did ki&& off stageDcoach and some seaDborne ser'ices as the network
    spread but this was a gradua& business and in compensation many new opportunities
    were created. 0ome of these were on&y shortD&i'ed as further rai& openings made
    them uncompetiti'e but o'era&& there was a 'ast&y increased demand for road
    ser'ices for tra'e& to stations from 'i&&ages sti&& not on the rai&way map and from
    peop&e within towns and cities who needed to reach the nearest station. 4rom the
    outset rai&ways pub&icised &inks by sea and road* the /i'erpoo& 8 Manchester
    timetab&e for March 131 issued from the /i'erpoo& office disposed of the rai&way
    ser'ice in one page but de'oted two pages to steam packets from /i'erpoo& and fi'e
    to road coaches from the two termini.
    11

    $t first some stage coaches were carried by train! on f&at trucks at the backE the
    passengers mo'ed to the train but the guards and their &uggage stayed with them. $
    coup&e of weeks after the opening of the ;:Cs first stretch some of the .ath! .risto&
    31
    and Ieading stageDcoaches were taken from /ondon to Maidenhead! then on by
    train and by the end of 13% 0troud and ;&oucester were a&so so ser'ed. -n
    (o'ember a train in'o&'ed in an accident near Maidenhead was made up of four
    rai&way carriages! two stage coaches and a pri'ate carriage. .y then! further south!
    E+eter coaches were being taken to :inchester and 0a&isbury ones to :oking by
    rai&.
    12
    $ guard was ki&&ed in 13% when his head hit against a bridge as he sought to
    secure &uggage which had shifted on the roof of the #ubscri!tion! being carried on
    the centra& .asingstoke to :inchester part of its Aourney from 0outhampton.
    13

    :hen the .risto& 8 E+eter reached .ridgwater in 111 a F(ew /ight CoachC
    was ad'ertised in connection! running from /yme 'ia $+minster! Chard! -&minster
    and TauntonE this took passengers to catch the noon train to /ondon and co&&ected
    them from the train arri'ing from /ondon at 2.36 p.m. E'en a short &ine such as that
    from Iedruth to Jay&e was pro'ided with connections* from the outset in 113!
    Crotch! the contractor running the passenger ser'ice for the company! ad'ertised
    that coaches to and from #en)ance! Truro and 4a&mouth wou&d connect with his
    trains Fat a &ow rate of chargeC.
    11
    /ate in 111 there were scuff&es when a pirate
    coach firm tried to capture some of the passengersE ne+t day the &oca&s turned out to
    see a repeat of the fun but were disappointed because the forces of &aw and order
    were present to pre'ent this. -n at &east one case a coach ser'ice seems to ha'e acted
    as a feeder to trains by ser'ing intermediate p&aces &acking stationsE in 193 a threeD
    dayDaDweek coach ser'ice was ad'ertised from "oncaster to Iotherham! where it
    connected with trains to 0heffie&dE amongst other p&aces this ca&&ed at Thrybergh and
    Jooton Ioberts.
    19
    Coaches cou&d e'en connect different &ines* :hitmarsh 8 Co
    ad'ertised that their Prince 'lbert Coach wou&d pro'ide a &ink between Taunton
    5;:7 and "orchester 5/0:7! ser'ing -&minster! Crewkerne and Maiden (ewton on
    the way! then running on to :eymouth! which wou&d enab&e passengers from
    Taunton to go on to 0outhampton and #ortsmouth. -t ran from Taunton to
    :eymouth on Tuesdays! Thursdays and 0aturdays and returned the fo&&owing days.
    There were direct &inks to tra'e& by water a&so. The #ais&ey 8 Ienfrew! opened
    in 137! ran its trains onto the wharf at Ienfrew so passengers cou&d board C&yde
    steamers. $t opening in 116 the #reston 8 :yre ad'ertised that the &5!ress
    steamer wou&d p&y dai&y between 4&eetwood! and the opposite side of Morecambe
    .ay near K&'erston! in connection with the rai&way.
    12
    That same year the opening of
    the 0&amannanCs &ine to Causewayend! near /in&ithgow! connected with cana&
    barges! a&&owing passengers from ;&asgow a comp&ete route to EdinburghE road
    coaches &ater rep&aced the barges but that pro'ided no defence against competition
    when a fu&& rai&way route opened. On the west coast a route to /ondon was pro'ided
    by train from ;&asgow to Troon! steamer on to 4&eetwood and rai& on from thereE
    this was made redundant when the ;&asgow 8 0outh :estern opened its &ine right
    through to Car&is&e. The 0heffie&d! $shtonDunderD/yne 8 Manchester offered a 4&y
    .oat connection between 0ta&ybridge and $shton in 113 5firstDc&ass 2d! second
    32
    1d7.
    17
    -n <une 12 the 4urness opened a route to :indermere 'ia Morecambe .ay
    and its /e'en @a&&ey &ineE trains ran onto the steamboat pier so passengers cou&d
    wa&k on board direct from rai&way carriages"
    1

    Many ferries worked in conAunction with rai&ways! some actua&&y being owned
    by them. The Thames was crossed by the :oo&wich and ;ra'esend=Ti&bury
    ser'ices! the Jumber cou&d be crossed from ;rimsby to Ju&& and neither the 4orth
    nor the Tay was yet bridged. On the western side tra'e&&ers between .irkenhead and
    /i'erpoo& sti&& had to re&y on the ferry. $ F0team #acketC waited in 111 at 0t
    ;eorgeCs #ier /i'erpoo& and MonkCs 4erry! .irkenhead to carry passengers and
    produce across the ri'erE since the rai&way had not yet reached MonkCs 4erry an
    omnibus was pro'ided from the station in ;range /ane. Jere c&ass distinctions took
    o'er = the fares ,uoted inc&uded this for first and secondDc&ass passengers on&yE
    whether thirdDc&ass passengers cou&d use it on e+tra payment or were &eft to wa&k is
    not known.
    1%
    /ater many businessmen &i'ing in the :irra&& tra'e&&ed to work in
    /i'erpoo& by train to .irkenhead and thence to the ferry by omnibus. The &ast was
    known to be inade,uate but! despite comp&aints! no action had been taken so as the
    train due at .39 a.m. arri'ed many regu&ar&y Aumped out before it had stopped in
    order to get seatsE on <u&y 12 Mr Kr,uhart! son of the senior partner in a cabinetD
    making firm! fe&& between p&atform and train as he tried to Aoin the rush and was
    inAured! one of his &egs ha'ing to be amputated.
    96

    The 'arious .ritish is&ands were we&& ser'ed. The /0: pro'ided a new route to
    Iyde from 0tokes .ay in 121! ad'ertising that rai&way carriages wou&d arri'e and
    depart from the pier.
    91
    -n 0cot&and steamers to #ortree and 0tornoway were a'ai&ab&e
    from 1% $ugust 176 when the "ingwa&& 8 0kye opened to 0trome 4erry.
    92
    -n 11
    the Chester 8 Jo&yhead ran FThe $dmira&tyCs and the CompanyCs sp&endid steam
    packets! 276 tons! 376 horse powerC! from Jo&yhead to Pingstown in connection
    with certain of its trains. The ;: ad'ertised arrangements in 192 inc&uding use of
    the .risto& 8 E+eter and 0outh "e'on to a&&ow passengers to book through from
    /ondon to Cork 'ia #&ymouthE it impro'ed its connection on 1 <une 12 with a new
    e+press at 1.96 p.m. running to (ew Mi&ford! arri'ing at 1.16 a.m.
    93
    Meanwhi&e! the
    year before! the Mid&and had sought to impro'e its prospects by transferring its
    .e&fast steamboat ser'ice from Morecambe to .arrowDinD4urness.
    91
    Jowe'er! not
    a&& were successfu&* the #ortpatrickCs shortD&i'ed ser'ices from 0tranraer to /arne
    made a &oss and ceased at the end of "ecember 123.
    O'erseas &inks were a&so pro'ided. (ewha'enCs Jarbour station opened in
    117! 4o&kestoneCs in 11%! JarwichCs in 191 and "o'erCs $dmira&ty #ier in 126.
    4urther north the M08/ ad'ertised the opening of a new dock at ;rimsby for
    steamers on 27 May 192* the rai&way had been e+tended to the edge of a &andingD
    stage where a passenger station had been bui&t. .y midD$ugust steam packets were
    running to Jamburg! Iotterdam and $ntwerp.
    99
    33
    In1or)ation
    The ear&iest information was usua&&y pro'ided in sheet form! pub&ished by the
    company concernedE ad'ertisement in The Times and the &oca& press was a&so
    norma&. 0pecia&ist timetab&es soon fo&&owed. ;eorge .radshaw gained an ear&y
    o'era&& dominance though 0cot&and had its own timetab&e! pub&ished by $urray! and
    there were other &oca& issues. $n ear&y prob&em .radshaw faced was that of getting
    accurate information from companiesE then he repeated the &atest known times with
    some such warning as F$ccuracy uncertain! no recent information recei'edC or &eft
    the spaces for times b&ank. $t first some tab&es were on&y out&ines! showing times at
    the termini and maAor points in between! with other stations in fare tab&es or notes
    on&yE others did not e'en &ist intermediate stations. Jowe'er! the standard format
    which continues in use today was e'o&'ed fair&y rapid&y.
    $&terations in times were ine'itab&y made fre,uent&y as new &ines and
    e+tensions were opened. #romises were often made that changes wou&d on&y be
    made on the first of a month! but these cou&d not a&ways be kept* from time to time
    companies put apo&ogetic notices in The Times gi'ing detai&s of changes ordered by
    the #ost Office. Jowe'er! that cou&d not be b&amed for a&& midDmonth changes. F$
    0uffererC wrote in (o'ember 11% to comp&ain that changes had been made to the
    Eastern Counties timetab&e on 1 October! 19 October and again on that dayE c&erks
    often did not ha'e copies unti& days after a&teration and c&ocks a&ong the &ine were
    not kept to the same time by 16 minutes.
    92
    On ;ood 4riday 113 Fa 'ast numberC of passengers on the Eastern Counties
    arri'ed at 0horeditch to find that! without notice! trains ran to 0unday time! so there
    was no 11 a.m. to Co&chester 5the ne+t at 3 p.m.7. They inc&uded Mr .abington
    Macau&ay M#! who c&aimed to ha'e sent a ser'ant the day before to ask if times
    wou&d be a&tered and had been to&d they wou&d not.
    97
    The Times e+p&ained on <anuary 112 that not a&& timetab&ed trains ran* one
    was ad'ertised to &ea'e Iugby for /ondon at 1 p.m.! taking passengers assemb&ed
    from /inco&n! (ottingham! etc! booked through to /ondon but it on&y ran if it suited
    those in charge at Iugby = if there were on&y a few passengers! they had to wait
    unti& 9 p.m.
    31
    Ti)e
    #re'ious&y peop&e set their c&ocks by the &oca& noonday sun. This did not matter
    when tra'e& was &eisure&y* anyone going from .risto& to /ondon wou&d reset his
    watch to the capita&Cs time when arri'ing or make the necessary menta& adAustment.
    $ ;rand <unction notice in $ugust 111 warned that c&ocks at stations were set
    according to the &ongitude of each.
    9
    Ear&y short &ines from Manchester ad'ertised
    that they wou&d take their time from the Manchester -nfirmary C&ock.
    :hen the /(: di'erted its traffic o'er the shorter Trent @a&&ey &ine in 117! it
    warned that c&ocks wou&d be set to ;reenwich time which was*
    .efore .irmingham c&ocks 7 minutes
    /i'erpoo& c&ocks 12
    Manchester c&ocks 16
    #reston c&ocks 16
    Chester c&ocks 12
    The $anchester Courier appro'ed! suggesting that the .oard of Trade cou&d
    usefu&&y recommend the pub&ic authorities of e'ery town to adopt uniform time. F-n
    Manchester the change wou&d be perfect and ,uite imperceptib&e! if! on the e'ening
    of the 36
    th
    inst. G(o'emberH! e'ery correct timepiece were put forward nine minutes.
    The on&y incon'enience wou&d be the &oss! for one night! of nine minutesC s&eepC.
    9%
    /(: and paper were apparent&y not agreed on e+act Manchester time.
    Other p&aces tended to come into &ine when their first rai&way arri'ed! though
    not a&ways immediate&y. The rai&way reached Taunton in 112 but it was ear&y 11
    before those responsib&e set the market c&ock at ;reenwich Mean Time! Fat the
    re,uest of many inf&uentia& residentsC.
    26
    .risto& had had its own pecu&iar so&ution in
    111! when the authorities arranged for an e+tra minute hand on the E+change
    c&ock! but many church c&ocks persisted with &oca& time and on&y on 11 0eptember
    192 did the counci& reso&'e to regu&ate them by ;reenwich timeE by then the spread
    of the te&egraph had made uniformity e'en more desirab&e since messages from
    /ondon were apparent&y reaching .risto& ten minutes before they had been sent.
    21
    #eop&e at /angport were e'en &ess &ucky* their station opened on 1 October 193 but
    some months &ater it was reported that the o&d town c&ock was Fdetermined to set its
    face against inno'ationC so many tra'e&&ers were to been seen Frushing upon the
    #arrett bridge out of breath! Aust in time to see the train off! and to recei'e the
    congratu&ations of the boatmen who &oiter thereC.
    22
    Jowe'er! some acted more
    prompt&y* the ;: pro'ided Ta'istock with its first station on 22 <une 19% and a
    coup&e of days &ater The Ta4istock a7ette reported that a 'estry meeting had passed
    a reso&ution to keep the Church C&ock by Iai&way time.
    39
    Su))ar/ o1 pro+ress: $ilea+e open an. passen+ers 2arrie.
    $&& from .oard of Trade>Iai&way CommissionersC Ieports. #resentation 'aried
    o'er time so e+act comparisons are not possib&e. -nitia&&y no separate figures were
    gi'en for the constituent parts of the Knited Pingdom! so 116 and 119 figures
    inc&ude -re&and. 4rom 119 &ines carrying goods on&y were inc&uded in the mi&eage
    tota&! no separate figure being gi'en.
    $iles open at the en. o1 the /ear %assen+ers 2arrie. 4)illions5 6
    116 1!336 2 5&ast 9 months on&y7
    119 2!932 335for year ending 36 <une 1197
    $iles %assen+ers
    En+lan. S2otlan. En+lan. S2otlan.
    7'ales 7 'ales
    196 9!136 %92 9
    199 2!217 1!6%1 %% 12
    126 7!93 1!222 132 12
    129 %!291 2!266 212 21
    176 11!613U 2!91%U 2 27
    U L mi&es constructedE not a&& yet open
    V L e+c&uding season ticket ho&dersE in 176 there were 11!116 of these in
    Eng&and 8 :a&es! 23!122 in 0cot&and.
    32

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