23 JANUARY 1897, Page 23

The Story of Our Railways. By W. J. Gordon. (R.T

S.).—The figures given here are peculiarly interesting. Here are some of them :—

Engines. Vehicles.

Miles of Railway.

Paesengers.

North-Western 2,753 ... 71,192 ... 1,892 ... 68,000,000 Great Western 1,713 ... 53,284 ... 2,495 ... 65,000,000 Midland 2,227 ... 118,739 ...

1,432 ...

42,000,000 Great Eastern 983 ...

21,331 ... 1,104 ....

89,000,000 Great Northern 1,015 ... 36,059 ... 837 ... 33,000,000

The vast number of vehicles owned by the Midland is due to its great coal and mineral traffic. In the great coal strike it lost in the receipts of a single ball-year three quarters of a million pounds.