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IX. TRAMWAYS.

INTRODUCTION.

The name tramway is used in this report for the reason that this is the prevailing term for this class of railways in all parts of the Far East. The number of tramways in China is very small, there being only eight sets of lines altogether, including two in Manchuria. With one exception, all these are located, either partly or wholly, in foreign concessions. The exception is the tramway in the Chinese city of Shanghai, which has much of the characteristic environment of a foreign settlement. Of the two tramways in Manchuria, one is the Japanese tramway at Dairen, operated as a section of the South Manchuria Railway, and the other is a horse tramway, about 4 miles long, in the outside city and Japanese concession at Mukden. These will be referred to later in connection with the Manchurian group of railways.

Of the other six tramways, one is the system in the several concessions at Tientsin. The second, third, and fourth are the tramways in the municipal district of Shanghai, the French concession of Shanghai, and the native city of Shanghai. The fifth and sixth are the ordinary tramway at Hongkong and the Peak Line, also in Hongkong.

These several situations will be referred to in the above order, but in some cases very briefly, on account of the relatively small amount of time that the writer was able to devote to the subject of tramways. Practically all fares on the tramway systems in Tientsin and Shanghai are collected in the form of Chinese copper cents or "small" silver money (both of which are at a substantial discount) and converted to Mexican dollars at an average of about 130 copper cents to the dollar in Tientsin and about 125 copper cents to the dollar in Shanghai.

The riding on tramways, so far as they exist in China at present, is largely confined to the ordinary class of Chinese. Wealthy Chinese and foreigners of all classes are seldom seen in the street cars, but, as a rule, travel in jinrikishas or other conveyances. There has seemed to be a growing tendency recently on the part of the less well-to-do class of foreigners to ride in the tramway cars, particularly in Shanghai, but the proportion of foreign passengers on all lines is very small and practically all foreigners ride first class.

TIENTSIN TRAMWAYS.

The Tientsin tramways are operated by the Compagnie de Tramways et d'Éclairage de Tientsin, Société Anonyne, with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. There are about 8.2 miles of this system, located in the French, Japanese, Russian, Italian, and Austrian settlements. Service was first established in 1906. The track is of meter gauge, and the rail is all grooved girder weighing 46 kilos per

meter (92.8 pounds per yard). One particularly interesting feature of the construction of this track is the fact that no ordinary ties (sleepers) are used, but that, instead, the girder rails are laid on beds of broken stone 15 inches deep and 18 inches wide. The rails are held together with 12 tie rods for each set of rails 18 meters (59 feet) long, or one tie rod for each 5 feet. These tie rods are very robust and securely fastened to the web of the rail. After having had this construction explained, the writer took particular notice of the line and surface of this track at different points and was much surprised at its good average condition, which seemed to confirm the statement of Mr. Gaillard (the general manager) with regard to the satisfactory results given by this construction.

The rolling stock consists of 64 double-motor trolley cars and 50 trailers, all of Belgian design and manufacture. Figures 32 and 33 show a motor trolley car and the ends of two trailers. This company also furnishes the electric power for Tientsin. The total capital is 6,250,000 francs ($1,206,250 United States currency). This investment is about equally divided between the tramway and electric plants. The gross tramway earnings for 1915 amounted to 64,524,183 copper cents, which, reduced to Mex. dollars at an average of 130 cents to the dollar, made about $496,800 Mex.

First-class and second-class fares are charged to men, but Chinese women are allowed to ride first-class by payment of second-class fare. The second-class passengers are handled almost entirely in the trailers. Practically all foreigners ride first-class when they ride at all. All rides are on a single-fare basis. Part of the lines have a 2-copper-cent fare, the maximum distance being 3 kilometers, or about 1.9 miles. On the other routes 3-copper-cent fares are charged for a maximum ride of 5 kilometers, or about 3.1 miles. One very interesting feature of this system is that the amount of travel varies with the character of the season and the day. On fair days the daily collection averages about 250,000 copper cents, but on wet, disagreeable days the collection sometimes falls below 100,000 copper cents. These figures seem to indicate that, notwithstanding the industrious habits of the Chinese, a very large part of the riding of these lines is for pleasure (or at least convenience) rather than travel to and from work.

This is purely a Belgian concern; all materials and equipment conform, in general, to Belgian practice and are usually of Belgian manufacture. A good many purchases are made from concerns in Tientsin, and at present requirements are bought from whatever source they can be secured; but, upon the return of normal conditions, no doubt preference will again be given to materials from Belgian sources when these are again available.

SHANGHAI TRAMWAYS.

The lines of the Shanghai Electric Construction Co. (Ltd.) are located in the foreign settlements (except the French) in Shanghaior what is otherwise known as the International Settlement of Shanghai. The total length of the route is about 16.45 miles of rail lines and 1 mile of railless trolley.

All the tracks of this company are substantially constructed and well maintained. The rolling stock consists of 90 motored trolley

cars, 70 trailers, and 7 railless trolley cars. Part of the power is generated in the company's own powerhouse and part is purchased from outside.

The total share capital of the company is £320,000. For the year ended December 31, 1917, there was a net profit of £49,510 and, after the appropriation of £10,000 for renewals and £5,000 for writing down the preliminary expenses account, 10 per cent dividends were paid on the above share capital. These results show the possibilities of tramways in China where the developments are followed up from year to year by capable and enterprising management.

First and third class (no second-class) fares are charged, but Chinese women ride first-class on payment of third-class fare. There is an arrangement of zone fares, the first-class fare for each zone being 3 copper cents. When fares are collected passengers are given a special number and colored slip. There are frequent instances of surprise" checking by special inspectors, as a part of a very carefully worked-out and maintained scheme to eliminate "squeeze," or "graft." It is claimed that this has been reduced to a very low point by the arrangement indicated.

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There is at present a very successful and well organized railless trolley, with a route of a little more than a mile, running through a very congested district. The service was first established in 1915 over a route of about seven-tenths of a mile, and was extended in 1916 to the present length. This service was objected to at first by the municipal police authorities, who give a great deal of attention to keeping traffic moving in the congested districts of Shanghai; but as a result of the successful operation of this equipment their attitude has become favorable and the Municipal Council has been considering a proposal for a very considerable extension (about 9 miles) of this railless trolley service.

Figures 34 and 35 show two views of these railless trolley cars. In the statement presented to the municipal council the claim is made that these cars occupy an area of 158 square feet while 28 jinrikishas carrying the same number of passengers would occupy 2,500 square feet to permit of proper movement. This means, practically, that at least two of these railless trolley cars would have ample running space in one of these narrow streets and still permit the movement of other traffic, whereas the 28 jinrikishas would completely occupy the street without allowing other traffic to move. The average cost of the seven cars now in service was about $12,850 Mex. for each complete equipment, and the actual cost of the present installation, including the double trolley, was $137,575 Mex., which included a contribution of $26,022 Mex. for street paving. As no additional land or buildings were added to the general plant, an arbitrary amount of $10,000 Mex. was added for determining return on capital. The detailed working expenses have been very carefully watched, and the results for the last half of 1916 show a profit of about 15 per cent on the investment. The tire renewals were estimated at $0.03 Mex. per car mile, but have since been determined as less than $0.024 Mex. The mileage for tires will average more than 25,000 per tire; the minimum so far has been 18,000 and the maximum almost 50,000 miles. The weight of the complete outfit (no load) is about 8,400 pounds. Motors are 20 horsepower and have been found ample. The power

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FIGS. 32 AND 33.-TRAMWAY CARS AND TRAILERS, TIENTSIN. Notice pantagraph contact.

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FIGS. 34 AND 35.-RAILLESS TROLLEY CARS IN SHANGHAI.

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