Remarks on the Proposed Railway Between Birmingham and London

by Anonymous

Previously to the establishment of canals,—roads, waggons and horses were the means employed for the conveyance of goods; and the speed which they accomplished was greater than the average speed afterwards obtained by canals. But notwithstanding this advantage, it was found, that to carry a ton weight of grain, coal, or merchandize one hundred miles cost upwards of 6l. Hence materials and goods, whose weight bore a great proportion to their value, could only be conveyed a few miles from the spot where they were raised or manufactured; and thus, sources of wealth that have since been highly productive and profitable were shut up and useless. Baron Dupin in his excellent work on the Commercial Power of Great Britain, published 1825, states, “Up to 1756 England had not a single line of artificial navigation; she possessed for communication by land, only a small number of roads injudiciously cut and ill kept up. Of a sudden an individual conceives the idea to profit by the general impulsion which industry had received, by cutting a canal to carry to Manchester the product of his mines. Shortly afterwards, a town which thrives, and of which the exuberant wealth seeks everywhere productive outlets,—Liverpool,—aspires to still higher designs. She is the first to form and realize the project of opening a navigable channel between the Irish Sea and the German Ocean. Other channels even more extended are opened by degrees: thus, within the short space of half a century, a double row of canals is formed, both for great and small navigation, for the purpose of uniting together opposite seas; basins separated by numberless chains of hills and mountains; opulent ports; industrious towns; fertile plains; and inexhaustible mines;—and this presents a development of more than a thousand leagues in length, upon a portion of territory not equal to one-fourth of France! The roads which already existed are enlarged, are reconstructed with more art, and kept up with more care. New channels are thrown open to commerce, and a system of roads is now being formed, of which the total length is at present (1825) more than 46,000 leagues in England alone. Thanks to these works, at this moment, in the three kingdoms, 22,300 merchant-vessels, manned by 160,000 men, and capable of carrying two millions of tons of merchandize, are scarcely sufficient for the exportation of the superfluity of interior circulation, for the trade along the coast, and for the importation of those foreign products necessary to keep up a circulation so immense.”

As further instances of the effect produced by the same causes,—in 1740, before the establishment of canals, the iron manufactured in England and Scotland employed 59 furnaces, which produced annually 17,000 tons. In 1827 there were upwards of 280 furnaces, with an annual produce of 690,000 tons; during the intervening period canals were cut, connecting the iron districts with large towns and the ports. In 1750 there was but one smelting furnace in Staffordshire, making less than 2,000 tons of iron per annum. In 1827 there were 97 furnaces in that district only, making 216,000 tons per annum. The population of Staffordshire in 1750 was 160,000; it is now upwards of 350,000. In England in 1750 it was 6,017,000; it is now upwards of 13,000,000.

The total amount of the exports in 1750 was 7,772,039l.; in 1824 it was 56,234,663l. In 1760 the number of ships assessed in Liverpool was 1,245; in 1824, it was 10,001. These statements are sufficient to show the changes consequent upon the introduction of canals. It was found, that one horse upon a canal could convey twenty times what he could upon a road; and that what formerly cost six pounds to send a hundred miles, could by canals be sent for little more than one pound. Such is the traffic upon the Birmingham Canal alone, that at some periods there is a weight of goods and materials brought by 150 horses and boats, in one day, which by the roads would require 3,000 horses and 1,000 waggons. We find again that the population has more than doubled itself in three principal inland towns, viz. Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, since the establishment of canals.

But notwithstanding the advantages that have attended upon the introduction of canals, there are limits within which their utility is confined, and, as regards despatch, much confined. The canals as they are now constructed are adapted only to horse power, and are subject to the inconvenience of that slowness of travelling which arises from the great increased resistance of fluids to bodies moving in them, with only a very slight increase of velocity. Two horses may take a loaded boat of twenty-five tons at the rate of four miles per hour; but to obtain a velocity of twelve miles per hour, it would require twenty-seven horses. It is found that with a velocity of six miles per hour so great a surge or swell is produced in the water as to hazard the sinking of any boats that are passing.

The stoppages arising at the locks is very considerable. In the canals between Birmingham and London, every means are used to effect despatch; but still the quickest passage for the fly-boats is sixty hours. The distance is 153 miles, and there are 142 locks; nearly one-third of the time is lost in passing them; and while this is being done, one horse and four men are comparatively idle; the expenses of wages and keep however are going on. These expenses are incurred more particularly by the haulage; but in addition to them the tonnages are very high, and of necessity so, since the repairs of so many locks, cleaning and repairing canal, and above all, the raising of water to the summit-levels by steam-engines, must incur a great expense. The cost of this last operation may be guessed at, when it is known that for every boat that passes from London to Birmingham, a body of water of 120 tons weight has to pass through a difference of level of 1,140 feet. And yet in dry summers, notwithstanding the pains thus bestowed, the boats are frequently detained, for want of water, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four hours in one trip.

Much, then, as the canals surpass the common roads, it appears that much remains to be done, if their peculiar disadvantages can be got rid of.

The economy of steam compared with horse power is too well established to need many comments. The expense of working a twenty-horse power steam-engine is known to be less than one-sixth of the cost of twenty horses and men to attend them. I appeal to the proprietors of the thousands of steam-engines now in use for the truth of this statement. Does not, then, a question at once arise, Whether it is not possible to construct a road of some kind upon which this great and cheap power may be made to act, instead of horses, and with as great a degree of profit? We rejoice that the question has suggested itself, and that it has received an answer. The application of steam to the purpose of locomotion has been proved upon a rail-road between Manchester and Liverpool. Moreover, the economy of steam power when applied to rapid progression is found to be much greater than when it is employed to supersede the horse-mill. In this the animal is not driven beyond his speed, but is allowed to move at a rate of two miles and a half per hour,—a speed which he can continue to perform for eight or ten hours per day. A horse is found to perform the greatest quantum of work when moving at this rate, and to be employed most economically. But even compared with this, we have seen that an equal effect may be produced by steam power at one-sixth the cost. With how much greater advantage and profit, then, can steam be applied, where it is made to supersede the use of horses in rapid motion, of eight or ten miles per hour! at which work it is known they can continue but one hour per day, and even then they do not live to half the age of the horse employed at the slower speed. It is a fact, that horses employed in the fast coaches and for the fly-boats require renewing every four years. Can steam power, then, be used to produce this rapid motion? One hundred thousand persons that have passed from Liverpool to Manchester in less than two hours since September last, can answer this question in the affirmative.

Another great advantage of the railway over the common road is the much greater safety that it offers. The above number of passengers have been conveyed with scarcely an accident. Is there a line of turnpike-road in the kingdom that can make the same boast, where an equal number of passengers have travelled? The general causes of accident upon a common road, such for instance as the horses taking fright, the coachman losing command over them, the coach running against some obstacle in the road, or upsetting, cannot happen upon a railway. The engine can exert no additional force without the consent of the man who superintends it; one carriage cannot meet another, as there is a separate line for carriages travelling in the opposite direction; and even if a wheel breaks, the carriage is so low that it would not upset. The only objection that is started on this head, is the bursting of the boiler: this is now constructed with a number of small tubes, through which the fire passes, and which are all inclosed in a strong iron case; so that if one of these small tubes burst, it immediately acts as a safety-valve, discharging the steam of the boiler into the chimney, and removing the apprehended danger.

Here then we have safety and despatch, and we may next consider economy in travelling. In this respect the public have also found an advantage. The charges by the Liverpool and Manchester railway are not half what the coaches formerly charged, the fares being but 3s. 6d. and 5s. each. And the effect produced is, that the average number of passengers by the railway is upwards of 1,000 per day. The average number by the coaches the preceding year was only about 500 per day, paying 7s. outside and 12s. inside. Goods are now taken in three hours, and at a charge of 11s. per ton; they were before thirty-six hours on the water-conveyance, at a charge of 15s. per ton.

Having then referred to what has been done upon a line of railway from Liverpool to Manchester, with a profit to the proprietors and great benefit to the public, let us inquire whether there is the same want of an improved conveyance from Birmingham to London. We will first consider the amount that is now paid, and the time that is now required for conveying both goods and passengers. The amount paid for the conveyance of passengers and goods between Birmingham and London is upwards of 800,000l. per annum; more than half of which is comparatively at a high rate, as will be seen by the following statements.