Although the advent of the long distance motor bus seriously chal-Tenged the railways and attracted so much gramme that there was a serious decline in revenue it is interesting to learn that the "iron road" is not the obsolete form of transportation which its younger competitor attempted to make il, As reported in another column, an experienced American railway official visiting Shanghai stutes that the railways in his country are again coming into their own and Wy the introduction of faster trains, Improved iodation and cheaper fares much. 6f the traffic, especially on Long hauls, is once again coming beek to the railway. Stream-Yined trains of unusually high speeds, air conditioning of carriages and the adoption of those little luxuries which add comfort to travel are producing the desired effect and a new chapter in railway development has opened. This applies not only to the United States but to European countries where railway companies, with their tremendous amount of capital sunk in systems and equipment, are looking to the: future with unbounded faith and optimism, 'There may be many newer and faster methods of} transportation but there is something about railway travel which will always attract. A confidence built on. years of reliable operation is a factor which cannot be ignored in catering' to public needs, and as the world has not yet grown too old for romance the Failway train personifying speed, power and mechanical perfection has an undiminished claim tothe Imagination no matter what form its hybrid streamlined' successors may assume.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.