2-798-920 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Prosser's Wooden Railway, Wimbledon Common, 1845. '...a System of Tram-ways composed entirely of Wood, which the inventor, Mr. William Prosser, maintains to be "equally expeditious, and more safe, more durable, and considerably more economical than the iron railway." The main feature of the invention is, however, a system of Guide wheels, which have been patented by Mr. Prosser, and which may be applied either to iron or wooden rails. The proprietors of the patent have completed a line of Railway on this principle, on Wimbledon Common [in London]...The comparative cost of the superstructure of wooden and iron railways is stated to be as follows, per mile: Wooden Rail, £1,746 8s.; Iron Rail, £3556'. From "Illustrated London News", 1845, Vol VII.