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NOTES ON THE RAILWAYS OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Fix this textBY CHARLES ROUS MARTEN, F.R.G.S., F.R.MET.SOC., &C.
Fix this textPRICE ONE SHILLING.
Fix this textTo the Honourable the Minister fob Public Works, New Zealand.
Fix this textSir, —
Fix this textI have the honour to transmit to you some notes on the Railways of Great Britain, extracted
Fix this textfrom my records of the inspection which, for certain scientific purposes, I recently made of the British
Fix this textRailway system. These notes do not pretend to be in any sense a complete or exhaustive report on
Fix this textthe subject. They simply embody as briefly as possible some of the results of my investigations,
Fix this textselected largely with a view to their interest in New Zealand, where many of the railway officers
Fix this texthave not had an opportunity of personally studying the numerous improvements lately carried out,
Fix this textand the various experiments and schemes as to further developments.
Fix this textI feel bound to acknowledge the courtesy I received from the Agent-General and his Secretary,
Fix this textwho did all in their power to facilitate my communications with the Home railway authorities. I
Fix this texthave also to express my most cordial acknowledgments of the courteous treatment .1 received from
Fix this textthose authorities, who did everything that could possibly be done toward furthering my objects,
Fix this textinviting me to travel freely over their lines, and to inspect their works and stations, and instructing all
Fix this texttheir officers to afford me any assistance I should need.
Fix this textThe railways which received my most careful examination were: the Great Northern (G.N.);
Fix this textMidland; London and North Western (L.N.W.); Great Western (G.W.); Great Eastern (G.E.);
Fix this textLondon, Brighton and South Coast (L.8.5.C.); South Eastern (S.E.); London and South Western
Fix this text(L.S.W.); and Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire (M.S.L.): and the officers of all these lines
Fix this textextended to me the utmost attention and consideration. I may specially mention Mr. Cockshott,
Fix this textMr. Fitch, and Mr. Stirling (the Superintendent, Secretary, and Locomotive Engineer) of the Great
Fix this textNorthern ; Mr. Noble (Manager), Mr. Barlow (Consulting Engineer), and Mr. Johnson (Locomotive
Fix this textEngineer), of the Midland ; Mr. Findlay and Mr. Webb (General Manager and Locomotive Engineer),
Fix this textof the North Western ; Mr. Birt and Mr. Worsdell (Manager and Locomotive Engineer), of the Great
Fix this textEastern ; Mr. Saunders (Secretary) and Mr. Dean (Locomotive Engineer), of the Great Western;
Fix this textMr. Scott (Manager) and Mr. Adams (Locomotive Engineer), of the London and South-Western; Mr.
Fix this textSarle (Secretary) and Mr. Stroudiey (Locomotive Engineer), of the Brighton; Mr. Fenton of the
Fix this textSouth Eastern ; and Mr. Scotter (Assistant-Manager) and Mr. Sacre (Engineer), of the Manchester,
Fix this textSheffield, and Lincolnshire lines. But I also inspected pretty fully the London, Chatham, and Dover
Fix this text(L.C.D.), the Tilbury and Southend, the North London, the Metropolitan, the North-Eastern (N.E.),
Fix this textthe North British (N. 8.), the Caledonian, and the Glasgow and South-Western (G.S.W.) railways,
Fix this textand devoted some, but less, attention to the Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the North Staffordshire
Fix this textlines.
Fix this textI travelled frequently over the whole extent of the railways mentioned, which, in point of fact,
Fix this textcomprise all of importance in the kingdom. My trips included several journeys to and fro between
Fix this textLondon and Edinburgh, and London and Glasgow, by each of the three routes —Bast Coast, Midland,
Fix this textand West Coast; also between London and Falmouth, in the west, by both the Great Western and
Fix this textSouth-Western routes: London to and from Brighton, Portsmouth, and Eastbourne, in the south: Dover
Fix this textand Folkestone, in the south-east; Yarmouth and Lincoln, in the east: Scarborough, in the north-
Fix this texteast : Wales, in the west: Liverpool, Manchester, and Holyhead, in the north-west: and the High-
Fix this textlands, in the north —extending in the whole to nearly 40,000 miles. I examined the working of all the
Fix this textchief stations and termini, my visits embracing the whole of the great London stations and all the
Fix this textprincipal junctions in the kingdom, including Swindon, Bristol, Birmingham, Chester, Manchester,
Fix this textLiverpool, Carlisle, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Derby, York, Newcastle, Grantham, Peterborough,
Fix this textRugby, Crewe, Preston, Normauton, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Cambridge, Stratford, Brighton,
Fix this textAshford, Clapham, Willesden, &o. Further, 4 visited most of the locomotive and chief carriage
Fix this textworkshops, and, by invitation, thoroughly inspected the celebrated works at Crewe, Doncaster, Derby,
Fix this textSwindon, Stratford, and Brighton. I was also present at numerous important engineering experiments
Fix this textwith modern types of engines. From the above experiences, I need hardly say I have accumulated a
Fix this textlarge quantity of useful and interesting information, a record of which cannot be found in any existing
Fix this textpublication, and which has never yet been collected as a whole in any published work. The present
Fix this textnotes, of course, form but a fraction of this accumulation.
Fix this textI should mention, at starting, that my notes do not deal in this instance with the financial or
Fix this textaccounts branch of the system but with the engineering and practical working of the lines.
Fix this textFor the sake of greater brevity, and to avoid wearisome repetition of names, I use simply the
Fix this textinitial letters of the titles of the respective railways.
Fix this textIt's easy and takes two shakes of a lamb's tail!
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Marten, Charles Rouen. (1887). Notes on the railways of Great Britain Retrieved March 27, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52019982
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{{Citation
| author1=Marten, Charles Rouen.
| title=Notes on the railways of Great Britain
| year=1887
| section=20 p. ; 33 cm.
| location=[Wellington, N.Z.?
| publisher=
| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52019982
| id=nla.obj-52019982
| access-date=27 March 2025
| via=Trove
}}
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