At a time when, after a useful life of fifty years, the Railway and Tramway Construction Branch of the Public Works Department of this State has been put in a state of suspended animation, owing to the temporary difficulty of obtaining loan money, it would seem to be strictly ad rem to give some account of its life and works.
     We have heard much recently of parents, unawed by birth-rate statistics, limiting their offspring. Now, we have that great mother, the English money-lender, hitherto so bountiful, prescribing a Lenten fast to its vigorous child, the Railway Construction Branch, so that, after a wholesome restraint for a while, it may help in the future, as it has done in the past, to make people rich and comfortable, for it must be a poor line indeed which does not add to the prosperity of a new country.
     It should be noted in the first place, that the conditions governing the extension and management of railways which are constructed and worked by a State, and more especially one which is also a great land-owner, are quite different from those which should properly actuate a private company, working for a limited number of shareholders, whose interest, as such, is alone concerned. This is a matter which, is often forgotten when critics talk of such public works being managed on commercial lines.
     The State, in such a case, is at once shareholder and customer, and the two must be considered together. If a railway, for instance, is made by a private company, the measure of its success is the excess of its receipts from the public over the working expenses. If this excess cannot be attained, the company eventually, becomes bankrupt, and either the line must be closed up or taken up by a more skilful management, or at a depreciated value, so that this end may be reached. If, on the contrary, the State owns it, the advantage to the State is not measured by the amount of fares or rates collected, but by the reduced cost of carriage of produce, &c., by the rail, as contrasted with the previous rate by road, by which difference the State, as a whole, is benefited.
     The proper way, therefore, to ascertain the commercial value of a proposed railway to be constructed by the Government for the benefit of its people, is first to estimate its cost, including that of equipment, and the value of the land occupied, both public and private, and to put the annual interest on this amount, and the estimated working expenses, on the debit side.
     Then, on the credit side should be placed:—

(1) The present cost of carriage by road of goods and passengers over the length of the proposed line, which expenditure will cease on its completion. This is a credit, for the wealth of a country is the value of its products, less the cost of production, and one of the costs of production is that of transport; therefore, if the transport be cheapened, the wealth is increased by the amount of that cheapening. In this credit also should be included the money value of the saving in time of conveyance of goods and passengers.

(2) The gain to the country generally by an additional area being brought within the influence of the railways, leading to increased production, under the economical advantages provided by the connection with the main railway system.

(3) The increased value to the Crown lands within such influence, or to the natural products thereof, such as timber, &c., &c.; and

(4) The saving in net cost of Government by the increased density of population induced by the better communication.

     It may be said that credit also should be taken for the cost saved of maintenance of roads superseded by the railway, but it has been found in practice, owing to new country being developed, with the new roads of access required, that more rather than less expenditure is incurred as a rule for roads, through railway extension.
     The same considerations apply to the road transport by horses and waggons, the operations of which do not cease when a railway is made, but are merely transferred laterally and further afield.
     It is these credits, and not the estimated receipts from goods and passenger rates which should be used as criteria of prosperity; the rates charged have nothing whatever to do with the subject, and are really, inter alia, merely a machinery for dividing the expenditure equitably between the actual immediate users and the whole people. So that when the time arrives that the Australian States are so intersected by a network of lines that every inhabitant is equally served, free railways would be financially justifiable, and the working expenses and interest might be charged wholly to the general taxation revenue.
     Mr. W. M. Acworth, who is one of the greatest living authorities on railway matters, adverts to the possibility of such an arrangement, when the Government owns the lines, in a valuable paper on "The State in relation to Railways."
     We may illustrate this by the parallel instance of the public roads and road bridges. These are made and maintained in Australia by the Government, or other public bodies, but there is no direct revenue therefrom from the actual users, which, of course, might be obtained by the establishment of turnpikes; hence if the same method of estimating whether they were paying public works or not were used, as is usually done in the case of the other means of communication — railways — there would be nothing on the credit side, and the whole interest on the outlay and the cost of the maintenance should be put down as a dead loss to the country, which, of course, it is very well known they are not.
     It is commonly stated that commercial considerations should alone govern our railway extension policy, but if this means that what a commercial company should do, Government should also do, the argument cannot be sustained. The best way to realise the advantage of railways is to regard them as cheapening the cost, at the market, of all products so conveyed, and then to suppose the whole of the lines shut down, not suddenly, which would bring about a paralysis, as in the case of war or strike, but gradually, so as to enable the country to revert to the coach and the bullock team. The loss even then would be ruinous, and could not be comparable with the comparatively small amount of interest now paid to avoid it. Thousands of acres, also, would go out of cultivation, and as taxable population would decline, proportional cost of government would largely increase, and as to exported produce, the two millions and a half in interest and working expenses, which are mainly spent in now carrying it, would be exceeded so largely (six times at least) that we should be beaten out of the world's markets everywhere and altogether.
     It follows that in a new country, where there is still room for development, railway construction cannot stop, except temporarily, and lines — even the non-paying ones in the direct sense — must be continued. Of course, reasonable caution must be used, and especially as regards what have been termed short cockspur lines, of which there are very few in this State. It is found by experience that branches must be worked by a separate staff and a partly separate rolling stock. Unless there is a heavy traffic on a very short line, these have not enough to do, and the working expenses tend to exceed those of the bullock team, and no advantage is gained. Thirty miles is about the limit as regards country branches.
     If the theory of commercial considerations, as usually understood, being inapplicable to Government ownership, requires further proof, it is shown by the fact that, if unsound, about half of our railway mileage, which is non-paying in the narrower sense, and has been so for many years, should be shut up and the materials sold, but no one has ever proposed such a step.
     The failure of private enterprise in persevering in railway construction in New South Wales — for it was begun by this means — was mainly due to labour troubles, in connection with the gold rush of 1851, but it is highly probable that, owing to success depending solely, in that case, on the receipts from a limited population, the project would have ultimately succumbed.
     The Sydney Railway Company started work on 3rd July, 1850, on a line from Sydney to Parramatta, but met with various difficulties, and though assisted by the Government, they were unable to proceed, and the work became the property of the Crown in 1855. The Hunter River Railway Company, having been similarly unfortunate, a like fate befell them during the same year. The first length of the Parramatta line was opened on 6th [sic] September, 1855.
     Mr. Shields was the first engineer, followed in 1851 by Mr. Wallace, who resigned after the absorption of the railways by Government.
     Mr. John Whitton, M. Inst. C.E., whose name is connected so largely with the subsequent extension of railways, succeeded in 1857, by which time the rails had reached Liverpool.
     The gauge of 4 ft. 8½ in., which is that of by far the largest mileage of the world, was adopted in 1854, and Victoria having chosen 5 ft. 3 in., the want of uniformity began, the great evils of which we are yet to see.
     Mr. Whitton, with his strong common-sense and foresight, did his best to correct this, while there was yet time, at a nominal cost, but those with less knowledge and greater power gained the day. The result is that, in order to effect, now, the unification which is talked of so glibly as a matter of course following federation, between 15 and 20 millions of money must be spent, so that the advantages accruing, from a purely financial point of view, are very doubtful, though the safety of the Commonwealth might be imperilled, in war time, from the break so blindly adopted fifty years ago in the teeth of professional advice.
     From that time to the present the Railway Construction Department has been continuously at work building up, from this small beginning, the great network of to-day of over 3,000 miles, with its bridges, viaducts, and tunnels, comprising the largest engineering works in the State, and in one case — the Hawkesbury Bridge — the largest work of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. A paper was read at the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, in 1890 on this work, and was discussed by several of the leading engineers at Home.
     The work of the branch, as regards a proposed line of railway, may be briefly alluded to here. The initiation usually comes from the local progress association or railway league, who approach the Minister for Works by deputation or petition, possibly more than once, before any action is taken.
     If approved, an exploration of the country is made by one of the experienced engineers of the department, who reports on the prospects, also selecting the best general route. The operation called a trial survey follows, and on the experience and ability of the engineers employed on this, and in their supervision, a great deal of the subsequent success or failure of the work depends — hundreds of thousands of pounds may be saved or thrown away, according to the conduct of this survey. The engineers have, according to circumstances, to fit the proposed grades and curves to the physical features of the ground they meet, or modify them, if that cannot be done without going outside the capacities of the locomotives. They have to keep in mind, with all this, avoidance of flooded country, selection of suitable crossings of rivers, and of sites for stations, having regard to their accessibility, &c. A special faculty of the mind is required for this work, as well as training, and there are men, otherwise capable, who never acquire it. There is also a special aptitude of body required, as many physical hardships, such as extreme heat and cold, fatigue, and scant fare, are encountered. The line, having been selected and marked, in a skeleton fashion on the ground, is then mapped, and the cost estimated by those who have a special knowledge of the value of work and material. Parliament, after various investigations, then decides, and if favourable, a more detailed survey is required, with such measurements as are necessary to carry out the work, and to fix the boundaries of the land required. Then follow designs of bridges, tunnels, stations, water supply, approaches, &c., showing that the railway engineer's qualifications have to be more general than those of any other branch of the profession. He has to know something about road-making, architecture, water supply, and bridge-making, as well as railway appliances, and, in these later days, electricity.
     The work is then started either by a contractor, in which case the local constructing engineer has to superintend and certify as to payments to him, or by day work when he has to carry out his operations direct. But it is seldom that, in railway works, even where so called, day-works exclusively or even largely prevails. The work is cut up into different small contracts, instead of being given to one firm; for instance, the rails and steel bridge and roof work are supplied generally by large firms, and are often fixed in place by piece-work; while sleepers and bridge timber are obtained in the same way; also station buildings, so that the incentive to hard work, which is the great principle leading to economy, is fully availed of. The whole of the operations above- mentioned are under the superintendence of the Engineer-in-Chief, aided by his principal assistant.
     One of the earliest works of the Government was to consider the difficult task of crossing the Blue Mountains, and here, again, ignorance and power allied, nearly resulted in the adoption of a horse tramway of narrow gauge and steep gradients, against the advice of Mr. Whitton, whose opinion fortunately prevailed, and a substantial steam railway was decided on, and made. Subsequent experience has shown in the amendments, some already made, and others proposed, that not even his line was equal to the traffic it had to meet within a few years, much less the provision which the short-sighted authorities of those days proposed.
     Extension for the first decade after September, 1855, when 14¼ miles were completed, took the Western line to Penrith and Richmond, the branch to the latter being taken over from a company, the Southern line to Picton, and the Northern to West Maitland, amounting to 130 miles in all.
     From September, 1865, to 1870, the rate of increase was doubled, namely, 260 miles, the main lines reaching Kelso, close to Bathurst, Goulburn, and Murrurundi.
     The third decade was one of great activity, reaching 1,312 milee, and extending to Bourke and Mudgee to the west, the Victorian border at Albury, to Bungendore and to Jerilderie in the south, and to Glen Innes and Boggabri in the north, the South Coast line being just started.
     From 1885 to 1895, 811 miles were added, the Northern line being completed to the border, and connected with the rest of the system by the Sydney- Newcastle line. The South Coast line reached Nowra, and a considerable number of important branches and connections were completed, such as to Forbes, Gundagai, Cooma, and Cowra, from Western and Southern lines; Milson's Point, Yass, Cobar, Corowa, Temora, Belmore, and the isolated line, Lismore to Murwillumbah.
     In the present fifth decade of the fifty years, which has not quite elapsed, 749 miles were constructed, mostly of the character of light branch lines or feeders, by which the following centres have been reached:— Manilla, Inverell, Warren, The Peak, Coonamble, Condobolin, Finley, Lockhart, Crookwell, Germanton, Grenfell, Wyalong, Tumut, Burren, and Casino.
     The Construction Branch has not succumbed without a struggle, as no less than 142 miles have been opened within its last year, whilst 67 miles — Grafton to Casino — and the Central Station, Sydney, are still in progress, and some materials have been delivered for authorised lines aggregating 330 miles. Construction has been very spasmodic, and decade periods are too long to illustrate this properly. Nevertheless, there were only four years in the fifty in which there was no new line opened, viz., 1859, 1865, 1866, and 1874.
     The general character of the lines has, of course, varied much, owing to the gradual advance of engineering science — a progress only comparable with that of surgery — as well as to the character of the country passed through. The first railways cost more, being mostly main lines, and also passing through much rougher country than the extensions and branches of the later periods. Thus the lines opened up to 1895 cost about £14,000 per mile, while since that, the average has been less than one-fourth of that sum. An impetus was given to the latter class of extension by the discovery of the suitability of much of the dry western country to wheat-growing, which had previously been thought to be only fit for sheep raising, and also to the visit of Mr. Deane, who had succeeded Mr. Whitton, to America to investigate the principles adopted there in the making of light railways.
     The works include the Hawkesbury Bridge, already referred to, one of the piers of which is sunk to the lowest depth ever reached in a bridge foundation, viz., 162 feet below water level.
     The longest railway straight line in the world, 116 miles 8 chains, is between Nyngan and Bourke. It is probable that some of the recent flat lines are the cheapest ever constructed on the standard gauge.
     The ordinary passenger, in his comfortable carriage, takes perhaps a wondering glance in passing over, in mid-air, the light web-like steel work of such a structure as the Hawkesbury Bridge, the designs and calculations of which have cost so much anxiety and care, but without a thought of the numerous humbler bridges and culverts, any failure in the design of which would send him to the abode of the blest, or otherwise, as the case may be.
     One question which has been raised in this State, but fortunately not acted upon, as in other parts of Australia, is the substitution of a narrower gauge than the standard one on the lesser-paying extensions, but experience shows that, quite apart from the evils of break of gauge, the nature of the traffic dealt with is entirely unsuitable to small rolling stock. Wool, live stock, skins, hay, grain, are all light in comparison with the space they occupy. As these form such a large proportion of the products conveyed in New South Wales, and they require space for loading, the train mileage, and consequent working expenses, would be increased so much on a smaller gauge that it would more than balance any saving in the interest on the reduced outlay.
     The actual expenditure by the branch, as represented by actual construction, has been about £33,000,000; but many important surveys, investigations, and estimates have been made, which have yet to be realised in actual results. A great deal of thought and work has been given, for example, to the best connection of the northern and southern table-lands with the coast, as to which there are engineering difficulties of no ordinary kind. The possibility of descents by means of rack railways has been inquired into, and the principal assistant engineer visited Europe recently partly with this object. Spiral tunnels, as used in the St. Gothard railway, have also been projected. The proposed North Coast railway and several schemes to supersede the western line Zig-Zag are also in this category.
     As to the lines constructed within the last twenty-three years, the cost of surveys, designs, supervision, and general administration, has been only 4.10 per cent. on the total expenditure; figures are not easily obtainable for previous years, but the percentage, in all probability, was less owing to the heavier character of the work, and to the prevalence of the contract system, under which some of this work is included in the contract.
     The following figures, which are approximate, represent the work of the Department in the fifty years:—

Trial surveys	17,116 miles
Permanent surveys	4,640 miles
Estimates	£125,000,000

     Of course, these figures represent a number of projected works, permanently or temporarily rejected, or of alternative routes to those ultimately selected.
     Tramway construction, which had hitherto been in charge of the Commissioners for Railways, was placed in the hands of the Engineer-in-Chief for Railway Construction about 1888, and the works constructed since then in Sydney, Newcastle, and Broken Hill have included some of the cable and steam lines, and all of the electric lines, with the power-houses at Ultimo and Rose Bay, and the peculiar counter-weight contrivance at Balmain. The Sydney electric tramway system is certainly superior in extent and modernity to any other south of the line, and to many north of it. The Construction Department has expended on these upwards of a million, the surveys, designs, supervision, and general administration costing 4.05 per cent.
     The saving to the commerce of the country by tramways is not so easily calculable as that by the railways, but the same consideration as to the identity of owners and users applies, and similarly the general saving of time and increased facilities for business cannot be estimated by mere excess of receipts over expenditure.
     As to the staff of officers by which these great results have been obtained, Mr. Whitton's appointment early in the history of the railways has already been mentioned. He retired in 1890, and was succeeded by his chief assistant, Mr. H. Deane, who has guided the destinies of the branch since. These gentlemen were assisted by a large staff fluctuating in numbers according to the requirements of the time. The maximum was probably reached in 1901, when there were 360 miles of railway under construction by day work, 286 miles being permanently surveyed, 325 miles of trial survey, and the office work corresponding to these while there were several tramways in hand at various stages of progress. There were then on the staff 26 engineers, 3 architects, 13 surveyors, 48 draftsmen, and 40 clerks, inspectors, paymasters, and timekeepers.
     Some years ago, during a temporary slack, several of the engineers of the branch were taken over by the Railway Commissioners, and a large number of their engineering staff, including the late and present Engineers-in-Chief, and many of the higher officers, have had most of their experience in the railway construction branch.
     The latter has probably been one of, if not the largest single administrations dealing with both railway and tramway construction. For though larger mileages in Europe and America are in operation as "existing lines," to use the inaccurate term prevalent in Australia, these have, in general, been constructed piecemeal by small separate companies, and eventually, absorbed by the large system to which they were adjuncts.
     The following comparison may be interesting as showing, how New South Wales stands in railway enterprise as regards Belgium and Canada, the former being the country best provided, having regard to area, and the latter as to its population. This State has 9 miles of railway per 1,000 square miles of area, Belgium having 353, while it has 2.08 miles for every 1,000 inhabitants, Canada having 3.43 miles.
     What the future of our railways will be, it is difficult to say. Electricity is looming largely in the horizon, and its adoption on suburban lines seems to be only a matter of time, probably a short time. As to main lines, the large capital expended on steam locomotives will hamper the question, apart from adaptability. But when a State railway administration in a country like Sweden, with a mileage approximating to that of this State, is about to substitute electricity for steam for the whole system, there seems to be a possibility of similar changes elsewhere, though, of course, the ample water power of that country is favourable to the change.
     However this may be, the State surely owes some gratitude to the builders of the great system as it stands, the substantiality of which is proved by the absence of any serious accident, due to faulty construction, after half a century of working.