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LIGHT See also:RAILWAYS The See also:term light railways is somewhat vague and indefinite, and therefore to give a precise See also:definition of its significance is not an easy See also:matter. No adequate definition is to be found even in the See also:British See also:statute-See also:book; for although See also:parliament has on different occasions passed acts dealing with such railways both in See also:Great See also:Britain and See also:Ireland, it has not inserted in any of them a clear and sufficient statement of what it intends shall be understood by the term, as distinguished from an See also:ordinary railway. Since the passing of the Light Railways See also:Act of 1896, which did not apply to Ireland, it is possible to See also:givet a formal definition by saying that a light railway is one constructed under the provisions of that act; but it must be noted that the commissioners appointed under that act have authorized many lines which in their See also:physical characteristics are indistinguishable from See also:street tramways constructed under the Tramways Act, and to these the term light railways would certainly not be applied in ordinary parlance. Still, they do differ from ordinary tramways in the important fact that the See also:procedure by which they have been authorized is simpler and cheaper than the methods by which See also:special private acts of parliament have to be obtained for See also:tramway projects. See also:Economy in See also:capital outlay and cheapness in construction is indeed the characteristic generally associated with light railways by the public, and implicitly attached to them by parliament in the act of 1896, and any simplifications of the See also:engineering or See also:mechanical features they may exhibit compared with the See also:standard railways of the See also:country are mainly, if not entirely, due to the See also:desire to keep down their expenses. The saving of cost is effected in two ways: (1) Instead of having to incur the expenses of a protracted inquiry before parliament, the promoters of a light railway under the act of 1896 make an application to the light railway commissioners, who then hold a See also:local inquiry, to obtain See also:evidence of the usefulness of the proposed railway, and to hear objections to it, and, if they are satisfied, See also:settle the draft See also:order and See also:hand it over to the See also:Board of See also:Trade for See also:confirmation. The Board may reject the order if it thinks the See also:scheme to be of such magnitude or importance that it ought to come under the See also:direct See also:consideration of parliament, or it may modify it in certain respects, or it may remit it to the commissioners for further inquiry. But once the order is confirmed by the Board, with or without modifications, it has effect as if it had been enacted by parliament, and it cannot afterwards be upset on the ground of any alleged irregularity in the proceedings. (2) The second source of economy is to be sought in the reduced cost of actually making the See also:line and of working it when made. Thus the See also:gauge may be narrow, the line single, the rails lighter than those used in standard practice, while deep cuttings and high embankments may be avoided by permitting the curves to be sharper and the gradients steeper: such points conduce to cheapness of construction. Again, See also:low speeds, light stock, less stringent requirements as to continuous brakes, signals, See also:block-working and interlocking, road-crossings, stations, &c., tend to cheapness in working. On the lines actually authorized by the Board of Trade under the 1896 act the normal minimum See also:radius of the curves has been fixed at about 600 ft.; when a still smaller radius has been necessary, the See also:speed has been reduced to ro m. an See also:hour and a guard-See also:rail insisted on inside the See also:curve. Again, the speed has been restricted to 20 M. an hour on See also:long inclines with gradients steeper than 1 in 50, and also on a line which had scarcely any straight portions and in which there were many curves of 600 ft. radius and gradients of 1 in 50. In the See also:case of a line of 21 ft. gauge, with a ruling gradient of 1 in 40, a maximum speed of 15 M. an hour and a minimum radius of curve of 300 ft. have been prescribed. Curves of still smaller radius have entailed a maximum speed of ro m. an hour. It must be understood that a railway described as " light " is not necessarily built of narrower gauge than the standard. Many lines, indeed, have been designed on the normal 4 ft. 82 in. gauge, and laid with rails weighing from 50 to 70 lb per yard; a See also:flat-footed 6o lb rail,with the See also:axle load limited to 14 tons, has the See also:advantage for such lines that it permits the employment of a proportion of the locomotives used on See also:main lines. The orders actually granted have allowed 50 lb, 56 lb, 6o lb and 70 lb rails, with corresponding axle loads of to, 12, 14 and 16 tons. On a line of 2 ft. gauge, rails of 40 lb have been sanctioned. In regard to See also:fencing and precautions at level-crossings, less rigid requirements may be' enforced than with standard railways; and in some cases where trains are likely to be few, it has been provided that the normal position of the See also:gates at crossings shall be across the line. Again, if the speed is low and the trains infrequent, the signalling arrangements may be of a very See also:simple and inexpensive See also:kind, or even dispensed with altogether. It should be mentioned that the act provided that the See also:Treasury might advance a portion of the See also:money required for a line in cases where the See also:council of any See also:county, See also:borough or See also:district had agreed to do the same, and might also make a special advance in aid of a light railway which was certified by the Board of See also:Agriculture to be beneficial to agriculture in any cultivated district, or by the Board of Trade to furnish a means of communication between a fishing-See also:harbour and a See also:market in a district where it would not be constructed without special assistance from the See also:state. As a See also:general See also:classification the commissioners have divided the schemes that have come before them into three classes: (A) those which like ordinary railways take their own line across country; (B) those in connexion with which it is proposed to use the public roads conjointly with the ordinary road See also:traffic; and (Neutral) which includes inclined railways worked with a rope, and lines which possess the conditions of A and B in about equal porportions. The Light Railways Act 1896 was to remain in force only until the end of 1901 unless continued by parliament, but it was continued See also:year by year under the Expiring See also:Laws Continuance Act. In Igor the See also:president of the Board of Trade introduced a See also:bill to continue the act until 1906, and to amend it so as to make it authorize the construction of a light railway on any See also:highway, the See also:object being to abolish the restriction that a light railway should run into the See also:area of at least two local authorities; but it was not proceeded with. Towards the end of 1901 a departmental See also:committee of the Board of Trade was formed to consider the Light Railways Act, and in 1902 the president of the Board of Trade (Mr Gerald See also:Balfour) stated that as a result of the deliberations of this committee, a new bill had been drafted which he thought would go very far to meet all the reasonable objections that had been urged against the See also:present See also:powers of the local authorities. This bill, however, was not brought forward. In See also:July 1903, See also:Lord See also:Wolverton, on behalf of the Board of Trade, introduced a bill to continue and amend the Light Railways Act. It provided that the powers of the light railway commissioners should continue until determined by parliament, and also provided, inter See also:cilia, that in cases where the Board of Trade thought, under See also:section (9) subsection (3) of the See also:original act, that a proposal should be submitted to parliament, the Board of Trade itself might submit the proposals to parliament by bringing in a bill for the confirmation of the light railway order, with a special See also:report upon it. Opposition on See also:petition could be heard before a select committee or a See also:joint committee as in the case of private bills. The bill was withdrawn on the Irth of See also:August 1903, Lord See also:Morley appealing to the Board of Trade to bring in a more comprehensive measure to amend the unsatisfactory state of legislation in relation to tramways and light railways. In 1904 the president of the Board of Trade brought in a bill on practically the same lines as the amending bill of 19o3. It reached second See also:reading but was not proceeded with. Similar amending bills were introduced in the 1905 and 1906 sessions, but were withdrawn. During the first ten years after the act came into force 545 applications for orders were received, 313 orders were made, and 282 orders were confirmed. The orders confirmed were for 1731 m., involving an estimated capital See also:expenditure of 12,77o,384. At the end of 1906 only 500 M. had been opened for traffic, and the mileage of lines Great Britain. opened was much less in proportion to the mileage sanctioned in the cases of lines constructed on their own See also:land than in the case of lines more of the nature of tramways. (In other countries where the mileage of main lines of railways in See also:pro-portion to area and See also:population is roughly the same as in the See also:United See also:Kingdom, the mileage of light railways already constructed is considerable, while many additional lines are under construction. At the end of 1903 there were 615o m. working in See also:France, costing on an See also:average £4500 per mile, earning £275 per mile per annum; 3730 See also:miles in See also:Prussia costing £418o per mile, earning £310 per mile per annum; 1430 M. in See also:Belgium at £3400 per mile, earning £320 per mile per annum.) The average cost per mile in Great Britain on the basis of the prescribed estimates is £5860, but this figure does not include the cost of equipment and does not See also:cover the whole cost of construction. According to the light railway commissioners, experience satisfied them (a) that light railways were much needed in many parts of the country and that many of the lines proposed, but not constructed, were in fact necessary to admit of the progress, and even the See also:maintenance, of existing trade interests; and (b) that improved means of See also:access were requisite to assist in retaining the population on the land, to counteract the remoteness of rural districts, and also, in the neighbourhood of See also:industrial centres, to See also:cope with the difficulties as to See also:housing and the See also:supply of labour. They pointed out that while during the first five years the act was in force there were 315 applications for orders, during the second five years there were only 142 applications, and that proposals for new lines had become less numerous owing to the various difficulties in carrying them to a successful completion and to the difficulty of raising the necessary capital even when See also:part of it was provided with the aid of the state and of the local authorities. They ex-pressed the See also:opinion that an improvement could be effected enabling the construction of many much-needed lines by an See also:amendment of some of the provisions of the Light Railways Act, and by a reconsideration of the conditions under which See also:financial or other assistance should be granted to such lines by the state and by local authorities. The so-called light railways in the United States and the British colonies have been made under the conditions See also:peculiar to new countries. Their See also:primary object being the development and peopling of the land, they have naturally been made as cheaply as possible; and as in such cases the cost of the land is inconsiderable, economy has been sought by the use of lighter and rougher permanent way, plant, See also:rolling stock, &c. Such railways are not " light " in the technical sense of having been made under enactments intended to secure permanent lowness of cost as compared with standard lines. On the See also:continent of See also:Europe many countries have encouraged railways which are light in that sense. France began to move in this direction in 1865, and has formulated elaborate provisions for their construction and regulation. See also:Italy did the same in its laws in 1873, 1879, 1881, 1887 and 1889; and See also:Germany fostered enterprise of this kind by the imperial edicts of 1875, 1878 and 1892. See also: The radius of curves for the 1.44 M. gauge must not be less than 250 metres, See also:loo metres for the 1 m. gauge and 5o metres for the •7$ M. gauge. A straight length of not less than 6o metres for the largest gauge and 40 metres for the smallest must be made between two curves having opposite directions. Except in special cases, gradients must not exceed 3 in loo; andbetween gradients in the opposite sense there must be not less than 6o metres of level for 1.44 M. and 40 metres for i m. and •75 M. gauges. The position of stations and stopping-places is regulated by the council of the See also:department. The undertaking, once approved, is regarded as a See also:work of public utility, and the undertakers are invested with all the rights that a public department would have in the case of the carrying out of public works. At the end of the See also:period of the concession the department comes into See also:possession of the road and all its fixed See also:appurtenances, and in the last five years of the period the department has the right to enter into possession of the line, and apply the See also:revenue to putting it into a thorough state of repair. It has also the right to See also:purchase the under-taking at the end of the first fifteen years, the See also:net profits of the preceding seven years to govern the calculation of the purchase See also:price. The maximum 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passenger fares are, per kilometre, .067 f. (.6d.), •050 f. (•455d.) and .037 f• (.34d.) respectively, when the trains are run at grade vitesse, the fares including 30 kilogrammes See also:weight of See also:personal baggage. In Belgium a public See also:company under See also:government See also:control (" Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer Vicinaux ") does all that in France forms the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior Belgium. and of the See also:prefect of the department. Over an average of years it appears that 27 % of the capital cost was found by the state, 28 % by the See also:province, 40.9 % by the communes and 4.1 % by private individuals. At the end of 1908 there were 2085 M. in operation, and the See also:total mileage authorized was 2603, while the construction of a considerable further mileage was under consideration. As far as possible, these railways are laid beside roads, in preference to See also:independent formation; the permanent way See also:costs £977 per mile in the former as against £793 in the latter. If laid in paving, the price varies between £1108 and £2266 per mile. Through villages, and where roads have to be crossed, the line is of the usual tramway type. The line is of 1 metre gauge, with See also:steel rails weighing 212 kilos (42 lb) per yard. In the towns a deeper rail is used, weighing about 6o lb per yard. In three lines of the Vicinaux See also:system, in the aggregate 45 M. in length, the sharpest curves are 30 metres, 35 metres and 40 metres respectively. There are gradients of 1 in 20 and 1 in 25. The speed is limited to 30 kilometres (about 18 m.) in the country and 6 m. per hour in towns and through villages. In Italy many railways which otherwise fulfil the conditions of a light railway are constructed with a gauge of 4 ft. 82 in. The weights are governed by what the railway has to carry Italy. and the speed. Light locomotives, light rails and light rolling stock are employed. There are no See also:bridges, except where watercourses occur. Cuttings are reduced to a minimum; and where the roads are sufficiently wide, the rails are laid on the margins. The advantage of uniformity of gauge is in the use of trucks for goods which belong to the rolling stock of the main lines. In Italy these railways are called " economic railways," and are divided into five types. Types I., II. and III. are of 4 ft. 82 in. gauge, type IV. of 0.95 M. and type V. of 0.70 m.; but as there is no example of type V., the classification is practically one of 1.445 M. (4 ft. 82 in.) and one of o•95 (3 ft. 0.5 in.). The See also:chief difference between the first three types lies in the weight of rails and rolling stock and in the radius of the curves. The real light railway of Italy is that of type IV.: gauge, 0.95 M. (3 ft. 0.5 in.); weight of rails, 12 (26.45 lb) to 20 (44 lb) kilos; mean load per axle, 6 tons; minimum curve, 70 M. (229 ft. 2.6 in.) radius; width of formation, 3.50 M. (11 ft. 5.5 in.); See also:top width of See also:ballast, 2.10 M. (6 ft. 10.7 in.) ; See also:depth of ballast under sleepers, o• 10 m. (3 ft. 9.5 in.) ; maximum gradient, i in 50; length of sleepers, 1.70 M. (5 ft. 6.92 in.) ; width between parapets and width of tunnels, r m. over width of See also:carriage; height of tunnels, 5 M. (16 ft. 4.85 in.); locomotives, maximum weight per axle 6 tons, rigid See also:wheel See also:base 1.8o m. (5 ft. 10.86 in.), See also:diameter of See also:driving-wheels i m. (3 ft. 3.37 in.). In Germany the use of light railways (See also:Klein-bahnen) has made great strides. The gauges in use vary considerably between 4 ft. 82 in., the standard See also:national gauge, and i ft. 114 in., Germany. which appears to be the smallest in use. They are under the control of the See also:Post and See also:Telegraph department, the state issuing loans to encourage the undertakings; the authorities in the provinces and communes also give support in various ways, and under various conditions, to public bodies or private persons who desire to promote or embark in the See also:industry. These conditions, as well as the degree of control over the construction and working of the lines, are See also:left to the regulation of the provincial' governments. Similarly, the same authorities decide for themselves the conditions under which the public roads may be used, and the precautions for public safety, all subject to the confirmation of the imperial government. What are known as " portable railways " should be included in the same See also:category as light railways. With a 24 in. gauge, lines of a portable kind can be made very handily and portable the cost is very much less than that of a permanently railways. constructed light railway. The simplicity is great; they can be quickly mounted and dismounted; the correct gauge can be perfectly maintained; the sections of rails and sleepers (which are of See also:iron) are very portable, and skilled labour is not required to lay or to take them up; the making of a " turn-out " is easy, by taking out a 15 ft. section of the way and substituting a section with points and crossings. The safe load per wheel varies between 12 cwt. on a io in. 16 lb wheel and 40 cwt. on an 18 in. 56 lb wheel. The rolling stock is constructed either for See also:farm produce or heavy minerals, the latter holding ,o to 27 cub. ft. For See also:timber, 4 or 5 ft. bogies can be used. A useful See also:wagon for agricultural transport on a 24 in. gauge line is 16 ft. long by 5 ft. wide; it weighs 72 cwt. and costs £30. A portable line of this kind will have 20 lb steel rails and 2112 steel sleepers—4 ft. 6 in. long—to a mile, laid 2 ft. 6 in. apart centre to centre. The total cost per mile of such a line, including all bolts, nuts, See also:fish-plates and fastenings, ready for laying, delivered in the United Kingdom, is under £500 a mile. See See also:Evans See also:Austin, The Light Railways Act 1896, which contains the rules of the Board of Trade; W. H. See also:Cole, Light Railways at See also:Home and Abroad; Lieut.-See also:Col. See also:Addison, Report to the Board of Trade (1894) on Light Railways in Belgium. (C. E. W.; E. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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