In the press of work and the altered circumstances under which he superintended the construction of his later railways, many changes inevitably followed. The open britzska gave place to a close travelling carriage, which in its turn became useless; and no time was left for fun or practical jokes; but the same energy of mind and the same kindliness of heart remained uninfluenced by increasing occupations or advancing years.
CHAPTER V.
THE BROAD GAUGE.
ORIGIN OF THE ORDINARY GAUGE OF RAILWAYS—ADOPTION BY MR. BRUNEL OF THE BROAD GAUGE ON THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY—REASONS FOR ITS ADOPTION—THE PERMANENT WAY—REPORTS OF MR. NICHOLAS WOOD AND MR. JOHN HAWKSHAW, 1838—EXTRACT FROM REPORT OF DIRECTORS OF GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY (DECEMBER 20, 1838)—EXTENSION OF THE BROAD GAUGE SYSTEM—BREAK OF GAUGE—ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE GAUGE OF RAILWAYS, 1845—LETTER OF MR. BRUNEL ON THE BROAD GAUGE (AUGUST 6, 1845)—GAUGE ACT OF 1846—THE MIXED GAUGE—REPORT OF RAILWAY COMMISSIONERS, 1847—NORTHERN EXTENSIONS OF THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY—ADVANTAGES OF THE BROAD GAUGE—PARTIAL ABANDONMENT OF THE BROAD GAUGE.
THE railways designed by Mr. Brunel were, with a few exceptions, distinguished from those in all other parts of England by a peculiarity in the width between the two rails forming each line of way, or in what is called the gauge. In most railways, the distance between the internal edges of the rails is 4 feet 8½ inches, being what is termed the narrow gauge; on Mr. Brunel’s railways, it was seven feet, or what is termed the broad gauge.
The gauge of the earlier railways, which were but a modification of the old wooden tramway, was made that of the tram plates which they superseded; and this had been originally fixed to suit the distance between the wheels of the country carts in the north of England.
When Mr. George Stephenson introduced the locomotive engine, the gauge of the lines in the Northumberland district had been already fixed. In laying out the Stockton and Darlington line (1821-1825) he saw no reason to depart from the gauge he had previously adopted; and, indeed, some of the waggons to be used on this line were brought from the Northumberland collieries. In this way the first important railway in England was made with the gauge of 4 feet 8½ inches; not from a deliberate choice of this width on the ground of any peculiar advantages, but from the mere fact of its already being established elsewhere.
In the construction of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway, in 1826, the same gauge was adopted as on the Stockton and Darlington; this course was also followed by the Grand Junction and the London and Birmingham Railways, and thus the 4 feet 8½ inches gauge became established in that part of the country.
Long experience appears to have determined the general type of wheeled vehicles: the wheels being of somewhat large size, and the body placed between them, so as to come down close upon the axle-tree.
This type, which gives obvious advantages in a mechanical point of view, appears to have been adhered to in all railway vehicles used before the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway; these, however, were chiefly coal-waggons. But on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway it was soon perceived that the great increase of carrying power which the railway afforded must be met by a corresponding increase of space in the rolling stock, as it was necessary to accommodate light bulky goods and passenger traffic. The available width between the wheels was limited to about 4 feet 6 inches, and to carry in this width any large amount of cotton goods, or of passengers, would have required a train of an inordinate length. To meet this difficulty a new form of vehicle was designed; the wheels were made small, and the body was raised and widened out, projecting on either side over the tops of the wheels.
The earliest description of this form of waggon is contained in the second edition of Wood’s ‘Practical Treatise on Railroads,’ published in 1832, about two years after the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In Plate III., Mr. Wood shows a truck with a raised platform overhanging the wheels, and adapted for carrying loose boxes of coals; adding, in the description: