The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-03-25 00:00:00

THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.

The Channel Tunnel Railway was the subject of a
discussion on Monday evening at the meeting of the
Society of Engineers, held in the eociety's hall, 6,
Westminster Chambers, London. The discussion arose
upon a paper read by Mr. Nursey, at the last meeting.
Mr. Vaughan Pendred, the president, who presided,
opened the debate by dwelling upon the great im-
portance on the subject, considering the immense
amount of capital that would have to be invested in the
undertaking, but he at the mine time tkought it desir-
able fully to consider whether there was any absolute
necessity for a railway connection between Great
Britain and the continent. There were, he said, many
difficulties in the way of a successful accoraplishment
of the work, and even if the tunnel were constructe4
the ventilation was a most important problem to be
solved, because when engines were running through it
it would be necessary to renew the whole of the air
once an hour, and to do this they must convey a cur-
rent of air through it at the rate of twenty miles an
hour, and how to do this no suggestion had been thrown
out.

Mr. Nursey, upon the question as to whether or not
a Channel railway would prove a commercial success,
drew a comparison between the imports and exports of
this country during the past six years from the increase
in which he calculated that the railway would get an
income of £2,500,000, which was equal to 10 per cent.
on a capital of £25,000,000. He further argueol that it
was to be assumed that it would pay, or the London,
Chatham, and Dover and South-Eastern Railways
would not have gone to Parliament for powers to con-
tribute towards the preliminary expenses of the under-
taking.

Mr. Valleatine Bell thought, if the statement of the
chairman as to the ventilation were correct, locomo-
tives could not be used, but he Wa 8 not disposed to
accept the ventilation difficulty as an insurmountable
obstacle.

Mr. Schonheyder thought that it was generally con-
ceded as highly desirable that there should be other
means of communication between England and the
continent than the present, and he thought the only
practical proposition was that for the construction of
the tunnel,

Mr. Houghton took exception to the plan of a
double tube on the bed of the Channel, as suggested
by Mr. Nursey in his paper, pointing to the many
difficulties which would arise in carrying it out, and
expressing an opinion that tubes could not success-
fully be laid, and, even it were possible, the cost would
be more like £35,000,000 than the estimate of
£22,000,000, as mentioned.
Mr. Cargill thought that the proposed communica-
tion with the continent should be looked upon rather
in a national than in a financial point of view. His
view of the paying capabilities of the tunnel was that,
taking into account the many difficulties that would
have to be surmounted, it could not by any possibility
pay.
Some further discussion took place, in the course of
which some diversity of opinion was expressed upon
the possibility of constructing the tunnel, and especi-
ally in regard to ventilation, to effect which numerous
suggestions were thrown out.