Genre:

Essay

Subjects:

Railways, Accidents

    Describes the alarming frequency of accidents and collisions on railway lines, and the large number of newspaper articles on this subject. Noting that accidents have now been linked to the high speed of trains, discusses the fact that locomotives on the Eastern Counties Railway travel at a speed that 'barely exceeds that of an average donkey's gallop', and might be raced against such animals. Adds that trains on this railway 'are at present no less slow than sure of breaking down' and provide ample opportunities for 'trains of thought'.