Railway junction

“ Unluckily, stones have grown locomotive of late, and “Birnam Wood doth come to Dunsinane,” for the fatal rocks have become part of the grand viaduct, which, far from bringing ill to the noble Delamere, is a link in the mighty chain now weaving, which shall bind together art, science, talent, wealth, and greatness, for the good of all who are so blessed as to live in the age of RAILROADS.
The line passes through a deep cutting before arriving at the
HARTFORD STATION. Distance to Birmingham, 653⁄4—Liverpool and Manchester, 313⁄4 miles. ”

“ It is the busiest railway junction in the worid. More than two thousand five hundred trains pass through here every twenty-four hours – that is an average of two a minute all through the day and night. Actually, at the peak period, there is a train passing about every twenty seconds, and it has been worked out that about two thousand passengers ride through the station every minute during the morning and evening peak periods. ”

“ This branch railway will shortly become of vast importance: it will be the grand connecting line between the Grand Junction Line and the North; the works are nearly complete as far as Preston, and we expect that next year the line will be opened to Lancaster. ”

“ One constantly came upon those costly overhead cross-over places, where one set of lines is carried right over the top of another set at a junction, so that continuous traffic going one way shall not be checked by traffic coming in from the side and proceeding in the opposite direction—a plan seldom adopted at our most important railway centres. ”

“ There is nothing that can excite the inquiry of the traveller until we arrive at
341⁄4 63
the 63rd mile post, when the river Sow is again seen approaching the railroad, and, by its quiet, silvery, slow meandering, contrasted with the rapidity of the carriages, forcibly reminds us of the singular change which a few years have made in our powers of migration. In the landscape, however, a railroad is not so pleasing an object as the stream ”

“ When a railway is to form a junction with an existing [Pg 8] railway, the course of such existing railway must be shown on the plan for a distance of 800 yards on each side of the proposed junction. In the case of Bills for constructing subways, the plans and sections must indicate the height and width of such subway, and the nature of the approaches by which it is proposed to afford access to such subway. ”

“ Here the rise of the Railroad is much increased, it being for the next mile and a half 1 in 656, thence continually ascending (with the exception of two short levels) until the steep is increased to 1 in 330, which continues to the 84th mile, a little beyond Wolverhampton. The traveller will and a decided alteration in the speed of the carriages when he arrives at the 76th mile post, which will not be increased until he passes through the tunnel, just before the 831⁄2 post beyond the Wolverhampton station. ”

“ N.B.—The Mixed Trains also take up and set down Passengers to or from any part of the Grand Junction Railway, at all the usual Stopping Places on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.—An allowance is included in the above Tables of five minutes for all the Trains at the principal Stations, and of three minutes for the Mixed Trains, at the intermediate stopping places.—No Fare is less than One Shilling by the principal Trains.—The Fare between the intermediate Stopping Places is at the rate of about 21⁄2d. ”

“ While at station conductors will do such switching as may be required by the station agent. Trainmen and switchmen must not couple to or move cars that are being loaded or unloaded on side tracks without first ascertaining whether anyone is in or about such cars and giving them ample notice that same are to be moved. They must not obstruct street or public crossings with their trains and be particular when at junction points not to allow any part of their train to stand on railway crossings or interlocking plants. ”

“ Work No. 1A A railway (296 metres in length) commencing by a junction with Work No. at a point 135 metres from the commencement of that work, passing southwards by a viaduct across Park Square, then passing south-westwards across part of South Street (to be stopped up) at a point near its junction with Anson Street and partly across, and partly along the line of, part of Granville Street and footpaths between Gilbert Street and Sheaf Street (to be stopped up and diverted under the Act of 1988) , and terminating by a junction with Work No. ”

“ The to-and-fro movement of a dense traffic on a four-track railway requires a large amount of switching, especially when each movement is complicated by junctions of two or more lines. Practically every problem of trunk line train movement, including two, three, and four-track operation, had to be provided for in the switching plants of the subway. Further, the problem was complicated by the restricted clearances and vision attendant upon tunnel construction. ”

“ The system of cast-iron railways is as yet to be considered but in its infancy. It will be found to be an immense improvement on the common road, and also on the wooden railway. It neither presents the friction of the tram-way, nor partakes of the perishable nature of the wooden railway, and, as regards utility, it may be considered as the medium between the navigable canal and the common road. We may therefore hope that as this system develops itself, our roads will be laid out as much as possible on one level, and in connection with the great lines of communication throughout the country. ”

“ Far from injuring the aspect of the great arteries of our metropolis, the viaduct, as it has been conceived, will contribute toward giving them a still more imposing look. If the beautiful is, as has been said, the expression of the useful, an elevated railway, well conceived, may be beautiful. The project of a subterranean railway is attended with great drawbacks, not only as regards the great expense that it would necessitate, but also the difficulties of constructing it. ”

“ It was to be worked and maintained by the West Midland, Shrewsbury and Coast of Wales Railway Co.; the prospects of mineral and passenger traffic were “most promising,” and throughout its entire length of 90 miles, the promoters pointed out with all the emphasis which italics can afford, “it has only one tunnel, and that slightly exceeding a mile and half in length.” ”

“ Where there are only two lines of rails to serve for the UP and DOWN service of a heavy passenger and goods traffic, it is imperative to restrict those lines as much as possible to the actual transit of trains, and not to block them by unnecessary occupation for shunting purposes. A goods train running a long distance collects waggons from many roadside stations, and at some of them several waggons will be taken on, to be forwarded to various and widely distant destinations. ”

“ Every one of the heavy works on a line, whether lofty bridges, long viaducts, or costly tunnels, not only enormously increase the original expenditure of the undertaking, but also entail large annual outlay in the necessary constant supervision and maintenance.
Each particular scheme will have to be discussed on its own individual merits. The heavy, high-speed passenger traffic line will suggest light gradients and easy curves, while on secondary lines and in thinly populated districts it may be prudent, for the sake of economy, to introduce sharper curves and heavier gradients. ”

“ It is true that the railway systems may be united through switches and connecting tracks in physical connection, but this has not been held to justify great monumental structures, extended in their complicated machinery and superficial extent and expense. There is a difference of real substance between such conecting tracks and switches and junctions and a passenger metropolitan union station. ”

“ Nor are railways always hideous objects. It is true that in and around the great centres of population where railway lines converge and run in filthy tunnels and along smoke-begrimed viaducts they sound the last note of squalor, but in the country it is a different matter. ”

“ He thinks “in the use of the railroads constructed by the state it will probably be best for the state to furnish the motive power, leaving the cars for the conveyance of freight and passengers to be furnished by individuals or companies, from whom the [107] state will exact the proper toll for the use of the road, and for the motive power.” The idea seems everywhere to have prevailed that a railway was a public highway to be used by and for the benefit of the public. ”

“ These scattered bits of road here and there were, in after years, as the possibilities of railroad development began to dawn upon the minds of far-seeing men, united by connecting links and reorganized into roads of much greater length. In fact some of the most difficult features of the railroad problem of the present day grew out of the failure of projectors of railroads{435} in the early days to grasp the meaning of the system which they were instituting. France, Germany, Belgium and other European cities have had no serious railway problem. ”

“ The balance is built and operated on private right of way, and goes around, rather than through, the cities. The tracks are standard gauge and of standard railroad construction, were, at the time they were laid, of higher class than those of the Southern Railway Company in the same territory, were intended for handling substantial interchange freight traffic in connection with steam railroads, have the same ruling grades as the latter in the same territory, and are of 80-pound rail. ”

“ And I believe also that, considering the absence of most of the causes of accidents, there will even be less liability of interruption and less delay in the average resulting from accidents than in the ordinary double locomotive railway.
By the modification of the gradients and by reducing the curves to 1,000 feet radius where any great advantage can be gained by so doing, and by constructing the cuttings, embankments, tunnels, and viaducts for a single line, a considerable saving may be effected in the first cost. ”

“ He found that his first idea of tracks of iron and stone to improve the draught on common roads was not destined to meet the requirements of the future; and when as yet nothing was known of railways beyond the tramways connected with coal-fields, and no proposal had been made to adapt them to passenger traffic, Mr. Stevenson was engaged tracing in all directions through Scotland lines of railway as a new mode of conveyance to supersede roads. ”

“ Where the entire width of the street, including the space between the tram-rails, is paved with stone setts, the opening out of even a short length for repairs is tedious and costly, and causes considerable obstruction to the street traffic. It is most important, therefore, that the rail and its fastenings should not only be strong enough for its own tram service and the carts and drays which will pass over and across the track in all directions, but it must possess the minimum necessity for disturbance. ”

“ The feasibility of combination rail-and-highway tunnels to eliminate the costs of snow removal or protection and to reduce grades over some western mountain passes, should be carefully investigated. It will be desirable to study at numerous points the possibilities of providing in a single structure, whether bridge or tunnel, for the crossing of rivers and other bodies of water by interregional routes and main railway lines. ”

“ Block-Telegraph Signalling.—However complete the outdoor signals and interlocking at any station, they can only control the movement of trains within their range, and something more is requisite to ensure the safe working of the traffic over the long lengths of line between stations. For some years a time-interval was allowed for the working of trains following one another on the UP and DOWN lines of a double line railway, no train being allowed to leave a station sooner than a fixed number of minutes after a previous train had started in the same direction. ”

“ In the country what is most wanted is an increase in transport facilities between existing railways and outlying districts, the traffic from which would not be sufficient to justify the construction of branch lines of ordinary railway. ”

“ In one sense it must, unless indeed some of the engineers who are now competing for the honour of tunnelling under, or placing tubes upon the bed of the ocean between Dover and Calais, shall suggest a scheme for tunnelling under the Hellespont, and their proposals shall be accepted. At all events, even if a railway were only to extend a hundred or so of miles eastward in Asia Minor, one will certainly be made for that distance, and opened for traffic by the time the line, coming from the far west to its terminus at Constantinople, shall be completed. ”

“ This arrangement avoids the necessity of any switches, and prevents any accidents which would arise from a misplaced switch. Each set of trains is effectually kept to its own line of rails. With proper signalling or pilot working, the double-line traffic can be worked over the single-line bridge without difficulty. The writer has adopted the above arrangement in many cases when renewing double-line bridges or viaducts where the width for traffic working has been restricted to half of the bridge. ”

“ On studying a tramway map, one is struck by the fact that, starting from the central area of London, all the tram-lines meander towards the Council’s boundaries, where they will eventually no doubt join and interchange through traffic with the vast light railway or rural tramway systems of various companies in the direction of north and south, north-east, south-east, north-west, and south-west ”