STREET TRAMWAYS.

Evening Star, Issue 3124, 22 February 1873, Page 2

STREET TRAMWAYS.

At the present moment the following letter to Mr John Anderson, of .Christchurch, by his son, which appears in the Press, will be read with interest!— Edinburgh, Dec. 10, 1872. My dear Father, —I received your letter of last mail, in which you desired me to give you some information concerning tramways. I have not had very much time at my disposal lately to get the r quired information } but I called on the company‘s engineer to see if he could give me drawings of the carriages. He was unable to do so as there were only the working drawings, and they of course were in the hands of the builders. T called on the latter, but, as I expected, they would neither make nor allow me to make a copy. Your first question—“Do they obstruct the general traffic ?I would most distinctly answer in the affirmative. There is from the Haymarket down to Leith a constant traffic on the rails, and this of course prevents ordinary vehicles from using that part of the street occupied by the cars, and 80 of course it just cornea to iso tViat tbe street is deprived Qf about fifteen feet of its useful way ; and in narrow streets, such as Leith street and the North and South bridges, this is exceedingly important. In Leith Walk they of course form a very small fraction of the whole street, which you will remember is very broad. Ou the North bridge the rails do not run closejjtogether, but each° comes close to the pavement on its own side. I bis I consider dangerous to the foot traffic, as the cars come so close as to touch passengers wheh the}' are walking close to the edge of the fooffipath. Never a day passes scarcely, but in the papers I read of carters being taken up for obstructing tramway cars. It is rather bard that one party should be compiled to go aside (and probably get stopped by the other traffic) when the other does not, and cannot, make any room for him. This class of people (carters and cabmen) are very much against the tramways, which shows that they must prove an inconvenience to the general traffic. Another point. The rails, or course, are not like a railway rail, but are like this in section. (Here is a drawing, the flange of the car-wheel fitting into the groove). Cabs or carriages get their wheels into this groove whe i driving on the rails (when I say into the groove, I do not mean right in, but in M much as to make them- have some hold),- an 4 when commanded to get off the rails by the whistle of a tramway oar, they, in getting off, wrench their wheels. No owner of a carriage will allow his man to drive on the rails but cabmen are not so particular,' and the consequence is that they sotm destroy the wheels.

Your next question, What is the length of the tramway t think will be best answered by sending you a map of Edinburgh with the tramway upon it. You will see a line to Leith, branching at the foot of Leith Walk, and the other is a circle by Lothian road to Mercbiston, Grange, &c., and back by the bridges.' ‘ ' ' There is no regular mileage charge, but you can judge by the fare to Leith—lnside, 3d ; Outside, 2d. This is from the Hay market. From Register Office, 2d in and Id out, > The tramways were got up by a company, LlO shares, and is managed by a Board of Direct tors like a railway As yet, it is impossible to say bow they pay, as they have had no charge for maintenance yet, the contractors being bound to keop them for one year after opening. From all 1 see, I should fancy they will not pay, as they u?e twice as many horses, and the way constantly requires repairing. Along Princes street, where it is level, they go very easily, but coming up Leith street, it is awful to see the poor horses {live of them sometimes) dragging up the heavy cats. As I said before, 1 have been unable to obtain a drawing of the cars. If I had had time, I might have made one myself. A s to the number they contain, some hold eighteen in and eighteen out; others, eighti eu in, and twenty out, and when they have their complement, the horses can hardly manage to net up the Walk. The cars are entered from the side, and a great many accidents have occurred in consequence of this. 1 will make a rough sketch, and perhaps that will give you an idea of their appearance. The cars do not turn, but the horses are shifted, as the/ (the c>rs) run either way. The wheels are very small and close tp* get her. There are doors at eaeh end for inside passengers, and the outside ones have to climb up iron ladders. The driver stands on the platform.