2nd,

1st Railway in Germany was that from Nürnberg to Fürth, opened 7th Dec. 1835. Leipzig to Dresden, a portion of which was opened 24th Apr. 1837.

3rd,

Vienna to Oderberg

4th,

23rd Nov. 1837. 22nd Sept. 1838.

Such was the position of railways at the close of the year 1840, after which they became so numerous and varied that it would be impossible, keeping in view the object of this Paper, to follow them any further in detail. It is sufficient for the present purpose to review in general terms their progress from time to time, from their first adoption down to the present day, as exhibited in the following statement, showing the extent opened at different fixed periods :

There were 4 miles of Railway in Germany opened up to the close of 1835.

377

1840.

.

The local distribution of this latter quantity and the cost per mile are as follows:

In Prussia there were about .

average cost per mile of

In the German provinces of Austria 1,706

3,417 miles constructed at an

£.

15,200

Bavaria

1,172

at an average cost of about £16,400 per mile.

Nearly one-fourth of the entire length is provided with two lines of rails.

About 38 per cent. of the existing lines are Government property.

are the property of Companies, but worked by Government. are the property of, and are worked by private, or Joint

Stock Companies.

Many railways which were originally constructed by State means have been sold, or rented to Joint Stock Companies, and the reverse of this has in some instances taken place. Hence it becomes

necessary to return to an examination of the manner in which they were at first carried out, in order to estimate the extent to which Government resources participated in these undertakings. In this respect it appears, that

39 per cent. of the entire length were constructed by the different States. by Companies under a guarantee of interest, or a Government

24

353

subvention.

at their own cost and risk.

That is to say, Government aid has been granted directly, or indirectly, to nearly two-thirds of the entire system. These 8,866 miles of railway comprise sixty-two different undertakings as at present constituted, under as many separate organisations, and are managed by nineteen Government departments, and fortythree boards of Directors, or some substitute, whose control however is not confined to Germany proper, but extends to adjoining territories, over an aggregate length of 10,830 miles of line.

Not long after the introduction of railways into Germany, it became apparent, that their management would be far from sufficiently perfect to meet the continually increasing requirements of commerce, except some common plan of action could be agreed upon, which would bring all the railways in the country into one large association, for regulating, to a certain extent, their relations with each other, according to general rules, somewhat after the manner of the German political Confederation. For this purpose a conference was held at Cologne, in June, 1847, which resulted in the formation of a society under the title of "The Association of German Railway Directions," which now embraces the whole of the lines already referred to, with very trivial and unimportant exceptions. Each railway subscribes a fixed sum towards the general management fund, together with a variable amount depending upon its length, and is represented at the meetings of the Association and in the debates, in proportion to its importance. Yearly general meetings are held, at a time and place mutually agreed upon, and when considered expedient, special meetings are also called. At all of these, such matters as relate to the interests of the Association are discussed and settled. A code of laws has been drawn up, and agreed to, by the Engineers and managing directors present at these meetings, which is revised and enlarged from time to time, according to the requirements. These rules express the decided opinion of the associated body, upon all the points which are usually involved in the construction and working of railways, and are adopted by all concerned, as the standard source of guidance and instruction in such matters. It may here be proper, before passing on to the consideration of the engineering points involved in the present subject, to state that Germany

at the close of the year 1861, had, in addition to railways, about 143 miles of tramways, constructed at an average cost of £3,200 per mile.

The battle of the gauges can scarcely be said to have been fought in Germany, or, if so, it was conducted with almost all the energy on one side; as, early in the movement, the gauge of 4 feet 8 inches came off victorious, and the line from Mannheim to Heidelberg, which represented the opposing interest, having been laid to a medium width of 5 feet 3 inches between the rails, after struggling along for some time in its unsocial loneliness, was obliged to yield under the pressure of public opinion and the inconvenience arising from a break of gauge, and was altered to the ordinary width of 4 feet 8 inches, which is now the universal gauge of the country. The width between the ways on a double line of railway is usually fixed at 2 metres between the centres of the rails, or 6 feet 4 inches in the clear. At stations, this allowance is generally greatly increased.

With regard to curves and gradients the rules laid down are,First, The radius of curvature shall, if possible, not be less than 3,600 feet on level land, nor than 2,000 feet in hilly districts, except in particular instances, when it may be necessary to reduce it to 1,200 feet. This latter is to form, as a general rule, the minimum rate of curve on railways in mountainous countries, to be diminished in exceptional cases, where necessary, to 600 feet, but never less.

Secondly, The general scale of maximum gradients admissible on railways is, 1 in 200 in level districts, 1 in 100 among hills, and 1 in 40 on mountain lines.

As examples of sharp curves upon works already executed may be noticed:-One of 570 feet, and another of 590 feet radius on the Baden State Railways; two curves of 618 feet radius on the railway from Magdeburg to Wittenberg, and a similar minimum radius on the railway from Breslau to Schweidnitz; one of 560 feet and several of 622 feet radius occurring on the passage of the Alps, on the line from Vienna to Trieste; the viaduct approach to the Cologne bridge, on the left bank of the Rhine, is on a curve of 618 feet radius; a curve of 780 feet radius on the line between Passau and the Austrian frontier, and of 824 feet as the minimum radius of curvature on the Main Weser Railway from Frankforton-Maine to Hesse Cassel; besides numerous other curves of importance on existing lines.

The increased power of locomotive engines has introduced into practice a severer character of ruling gradients than was formerly contemplated. On main lines, when practicable, 1 in 100 is now

To this must be mentioned as an exception the branch from Lambach to Gmünden, 16 miles in length, already described.

generally adopted as the maximum rate of inclination. In many instances, where the districts traversed are very level, the gradients are much easier than this; but on the other hand, Germany has ample proofs of having approached the limits recognised at present as suitable for the working of locomotives, in gradients of the steepest description, which are not confined to one State, or locality, but are to be found in both north and south. As an illustration of this statement it will suffice to instance some of the most important cases: Between the stations of Erkrath and Hochdahl, on the railway from Düsseldorf to Elberfeld, there occurs a continuous incline of 1 in 30 for a distance of 8,038 feet, or upwards of 1 mile. This was originally worked by stationary engines and a long endless rope. In 1841 the plan was altered, and the trains in opposite directions arranged so as always to meet at this point, and the weight of the descending train was made use of in helping to draw the other up, by means of a rope attached to both trains, and passed round rollers at the top of the incline. The difficulties arising from the necessity for the meeting of trains brought about another modification in the system of working, which is that now in use. A pilot engine is always ready with steam up to assist the ascending trains, which it does by acting as a counterpoise attached to the upper portion of the rope, in the same capacity as was formerly fulfilled by the descending train. This latter now always passes down without being attached to the rope, and under the control of powerful breaks, and by these means the inconvenience to the traffic, from being compelled to depend upon meeting trains, has been removed. The Aix-la-Chapelle incline of 1 in 38, for a length of 6,844 feet, stands next on the list. It begins immediately on leaving the station, and rises westwards towards the Belgian frontier. It, also, was intended to be worked by stationary engines; but a tank engine, with three pairs of coupled wheels of small diameter, now answers the purpose, by pushing the train from behind, up to the station at the level on the summit, where an ordinary engine is in waiting to take the train on. Several gradients of 1 in 40 and 1 in 45 were adopted on the Semmering Railway, of which a particular account has already been brought before the Institution. An incline of 1 in 40, for a distance of 17,680 feet, or upwards of 3 miles, upon the Bavarian State Railway, from Augsburg to Hof, serves to surmount the watershed between the rivers Maine and Saale, near the village of Neuenmarkt. The short Schneeberg branch line in Saxony has gradients of 1 in 40, and the total ascent which it makes averages at the rate of 1 in 48. The passage of the Swabian Alps, between Geislingen and Amstetten, on the Würtemberg State Railway,

1

Vide "Minutes of Proceedings Inst. C.E," vol. xv., p. 349.-"On Steep Gradients of Railways, &c.," by C. R. Drysdale, in which an account is given of this line, and of the mode of working it.

from Stuttgart to Ulm, is accomplished by means of an incline of 1 in 45, 16,720 feet long, or 3 miles. There is a gradient of 1 in 45, for a length of about 1,800 feet, at Viennenburg, on the Brunswick State Railway, from Wolfenbuttel to Harzburg. On the railway from Bamberg to Asschafenburg, there is a gradient of 1 in 50, extending over 4 miles. The same rate of inclination occurs on the line from Breslau to Schweidnitz, and also between Eisenach and Coburg, near the former place, on the Werra Railway; the length of the gradient being 3 miles.

The Semmering Railway, already alluded to, is one of the most remarkable instances of a combination of heavy gradients with sharp curves. This line, which is in reality but a section of the Southern Railway of Austria, from Vienna to Trieste, extends from the station of Gloggnitz to that of Mürzzuschlag, a distance of 25.44 miles, or more exactly 134,300 feet. In considering the nature of the gradients, it may be divided into three sections as follows:

In going southwards the rise is gradual until Payerbach is reached, the maximum inclination being 1 in 100. From thence, until attaining the summit level, which gives its name to the pass, the gradients and curves are of the heaviest and sharpest character, in order to overcome the various natural obstacles in the way. On this middle section several gradients of 1 in 40, one of them, the longest on the line, being 11,618 feet, or 23 miles, and curves of 622 feet radius occur. From the summit to Mürzzuschlag station the descent is rapid and steep, the heaviest rate being 1 in 41.4. The difference of level between Gloggnitz and the summit is 1,506 feet; the height of the latter being 2,937 feet above the sea-level; and the fall from thence to Mürzzuschlag on the south side is 714 feet. The nature of the inclines, and their effect upon the working of the line, will be best understood by referring to the following tabular statement: