after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1 adopted the policy of acquiring all the German lines. This was entirely for mil- itary reasons, and was accomplished in two decades. There was also Government cooperation in the United States. Vari- ous states assisted the railways by land grants and other sub- sidies, while the Union Pacific the first American transconti- nental railway was made possible by financial aid from the Federal Government.
The World War of 1914-8 was destined to have far-reaching influences on transport. Until then, except for the fixing of rates and for the ensuring of public safety, the British Govern- ment did not interfere with the working of the railways. At the outbreak of the war, however, it became apparent that it would be necessary for the Government to take control of the whole of the British railways, and, as a direct result of former amalgamations, this was done with admirable results. Rolling- stock was pooled, engines being loaned where necessary. The success which followed justified the action taken, and valuable lessons were learned which have proved of great assistance in the consideration of the direction of future development. Sim- ilar action was taken in the United States.
The early part of the 2oth century was marked by a tendency towards large combinations of capital and labour, one acting and reacting upon the other. This movement, perhaps first de- veloped in the United States as to capital and in Great Brit- ain as to labour, has been gradually increasing, and the state of affairs is now such as to render difficult the existence of any small concern, either of capital or labour, which is not protected by some form of combination with other similar bodies. With other concerns, transport has been largely affected by the Trust movement, and to this cause the Railways Bill of 1921 which amalgamated the railways of Great Britain into four groups was largely due. This arrangement in reality has been a develop- ment of the Trust movement.
If modern transport is to develop on economic lines and properly fulfil its functions, the tendency of the future will be toward the standardization of the various forms of transport all over the world. The lessons of the war have emphasized this very strongly, and though the progress may be slow, the future prosperity of the world largely depends upon its being brought into effect.
Operation Principles. Transport operation deals with the actual movement of passengers and goods, and the methods of operation are dictated by the requirements of both classes of traffic. Any passenger service must be so designed as to satisfy public requirements in respect of safety, convenient times of departure and arrival, connexions for through services, speed, and comfort. Attention must be given in the first instance to what are the main channels of traffic, and these are dictated by the requirements of both commerce and pleasure in other words, " necessary " and " luxury " travelling.
With goods traffic the conditions are different. One essential difference between passenger and goods traffic is that whilst passenger traffic must conform in some measure to the require- ments of the public, goods traffic can, generally speaking, be run more or less at the transport company's convenience, attention being paid at the same time to the needs of the commercial community. The question of safety is not so important here, as evidenced by the more lax regulations governing goods traffic, as compared with passenger traffic, both on land and sea. In the United States, however, safety laws apply to freight trains and passenger trains alike. (See RAILWAYS: United States.)
Recent developments in block and automatic signalling have made railway operation where automatic train-stops are in use as safe as is humanly possible, while shipping is now con- trolled by adequate safety regulations. If safety in the air were assured, such means of transport would compete more se- verely with rail and sea services; already the safety and com- fort of road transport have opposed to the railways a keen rival.
Another factor in transport operation is speed. In all forms of transport, other things being equal, the demand is for the quickest route.
As to goods traffic in particular, it is probable that the tramf steamer will continue to carry commodities which do not requin quick delivery, and the " slow " as distinct from the " fast ' goods train will always have its particular use, while a futun generation will doubtless use aircraft for the conveyance of good: where the quickest delivery is the main consideration. Th< speed and convenience of road transport is attracting a consid erable volume of traffic formerly borne by rail.
High speed is one of the primary considerations in all form: of transport. The aeroplane attains a speed of 100 m. per hour the express train 60 m. per hour, the liner 24 knots, and while road motor vehicles can attain the speed of railway trains, othc: considerations limit their speed on public highways. One of the reasons why canals have fallen almost into disuse in Englanc is that barge traffic is exceedingly slow. In France, the seriou: competition of the railways was recognized a generation ago and although the canals were then equipped to furnish eflicicir service, and steam and motor traffic has to a large extent super seded the slow horse-drawn barge system which in England ii still very general, the average speed seldom exceeds four or fivi m. an hour.
The methods of loading of ordinary goods traffic vary. A well-equipped goods depot has various mechanical appli for lifting and loading goods on to waggons, but a considerabk amount of waggon-loading is still performed by hand. Smal parcels require a large amount of manual labour. Oil-loading ir bulk is on the other hand a mechanical process. Then again dif- ferent classes of goods require different vehicles, such as refriger ator vans for meat, fruit and other perishable commodities, van; for explosives, and mineral waggons. Ships, too, are adapted foi carrying special classes of goods; grain ships, meat ships, oi tankers, as their names imply, are constructed for conveying particular commodities.
In the United Kingdom goods waggons have a limited loading capacity of ten to twenty tons, with mineral waggons up to fortjj tons, although two or three railways of the United States use a I2o-ton coal waggon. It is obvious that the work involved it loading a goods train is far greater owing to break of bulk thar that involved in placing the same load in the hold of a ship.
A very large tanker, for example, can load or discharge about 11,000 tons of oil in 12 hours. Loading the same quantity foi conveyance by rail is a much longer process, as at present each oil tank waggon has a limited capacity of about 10 tons. The question of transport in bulk by ships applies not only to oil but to every class of commodity. Docks and harbours are generally well-equipped with cranes and warehouses, and with special ap- pliances such as grain elevators and oil pumps.
Much time and labour are expended at tranship points.; Goods are brought to ports by rail for shipment, and the accumu- lation of cargo for any particular vessel usually commences long before the vessel's arrival. This predicates the necessity for goods warehouses and sheds, so that commodities are properly protected against pilferage, wind and weather, while awaiting shipment. When the vessel arrives, there must be adequate facilities for removing and dispatching her inward cargo before the outward freight is dealt with. Rail facilities on the quay- side, as at Manchester*, Southampton, and all modern ports, obviously make the process of transhipment much simpler than as at some of the older docks, where, when goods are taken from the ship's hold, they must first be loaded on road vehicles, and thus dispatched to the rail terminus.
The transhipment difficulty is also to be met where through- running facilities for trains do not exist, due to break of gauge, for example. This difficulty has been very acutely felt on the mainland of Australia, where the states have varying gauges, so that inter-state traffic involves transfer or change at several of the boundaries. The importance of the subject has resulted in the appointment in 1920 by the Australian Government of a commission to report on the possible unification of the railway gauge throughout Australia.
The most usual method of local collection and distribution of goods from a dock, station, or goods depot is by means of motor
