I Never
Experienced The Same Amount Of Fear Which Is Expressed By Bunn And Other
Writers, For, On Comparing The Number Of Accidents With The Number Of
Miles Of Railway Open In America, I Did Not Find The Disadvantage In Point
Of Safety On Her Side.
The cars are a complete novelty to an English eye.
They are twenty-five feet long, and hold about
Sixty persons; they have
twelve windows on either side, and two and a door at each end; a passage
runs down the middle, with chairs to hold two each on either side. There
is a small saloon for ladies with babies at one end, and a filter
containing a constant supply of iced water. There are rings along the roof
for a rope which passes through each car to the engine, so that anything
wrong can be communicated instantly to the engineer. Every car has eight
solid wheels, four being placed close together at each end, all of which
can be locked by two powerful breaks. At each end of every car is a
platform, and passengers are "prohibited from standing upon it at their
peril," as also from passing from car to car while the train is in motion;
but as no penalty attaches to this law, it is incessantly and continuously
violated, "free and enlightened citizens" being at perfect liberty to
imperil their own necks; and "poor, ignorant, benighted Britishers" soon
learn to follow their example. Persons are for ever passing backwards and
forwards, exclusive of the conductor whose business it is, and water-
carriers, book, bonbon, and peach venders.
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