The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-05-12 00:00:00

THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.

The Joint Committee on the Channel Tunnel met
again on Tuesday,
Mr. Wedgwood, on being examined, said he was a
member of a firm of pottery Manufacturers and Chair-
man of the North Staffordshire Chamber of Com-
merce. He believed that the Channel Tunnel would
result in an extension of trade between England and
the Continent. In his own trade, if they could send
pottery right through without transshipment they
would save in packing alone 26 per cent. of the value
of the goods.
Colonel Yolland said he was a Board of Trade
Inspector, and had considered the proposed scheme
for a railway tunnel under the Channel. He had
visited the works. He was of opinion that, should
such a tunnel be made, it would not do to run pas.
stinger trains through it at a greater speed than
forty miles an hour, and goods trains ought only
to ge at half that speed. It would not be expedient
to combine passenger and goods traffic in the same
trains. It would be sufficient to use the tunnel for 18
hours out of the 24, and if 14 were set aside for passenger
traffic that would leave four hours for goods trains.
In those four hours a day eight trains could be run.
He thought that 300 passengers would not be too
many in each train if the company could get them.
Although a large number of people would use the
tunnel, still there were many others who would not
venture in it. There should be two separate tunnels,
so that in case of accident on one line the second line
would not be blocked up with debris. There should
also be block stations in the tunnel about every
six miles. There appeared to be no difficulty
about making the tunnel if the ventilation could be
provided for. In ordinary tunnels it was always pos.
Bible to have ventilating shafts, but in this case they
could not have the method of securing ventilation.
He was doubtful whether that question would be
solved satisfactorily. All questions with reference to
the control of the tunnel should be settled before it
was commenced, and the ventilation of it ought to be
clearly understood before the tunnel was authorized.
In his opinion the opening of the tunnel would act
prejudicially on the mercantile marine of this country.
Colonel Beaumont said that with ordinary locomo-
tives the question of ventilation would be very diffi-
cult indeed, and that opinion was justified by the ex-
perience they had of the St. Gothard Tunnel and the
Mont Cenis Tunnel. In those tunnels the air was so
bad sometimes that the drivers had great difficulty
in keeping on their engines. He himself had
travelled through Mont Cenis on an engine with
a view of testing the atmosphere. The difficulty of
ventilation could be got over by having compressed
air locomotives instead of the ordinary engines.
Such a locomotive had been used on the Stratford and
Leytonstone tramway, and an engine of his had also
made a successful trial en the underground railway.
He did not know why that railway company had not
taken up his compressed air engines. There was no
mechanical difficulty in the way of making compressed
air engines of sufficient power for the tunnel traffic,
and such engines would completely solve the ventila-
tion problem.

MI:. Forbes, chairman of the London, Chatham, and
Dover Railway, chairman of the Metropolitan Dis-
trict Railway, and Vice-President of the Dutch
Rhenish Railway, stated that he had done much
towards securing through railway communication
between Holland and the principle commercial centres
of Europe. The result of that was an undoubted and
very marked development of railway traffic. With
reference to the Channel Tunnel it would do
much to encourage commercial transactions between
England and the Continent. For instance, if wool
could be sent to France without transshipment there
would be an absolute saving of Bs. a ton, besides being
indirect advantages. That saving would enable the
exporter to pay a higher freight and yet have a dis-
tinct advantage. The tunnel would undoubtedly pro-
duce a largely increased passenger traffic. Increased
facilities for travelling invariably meant development
and extension of traffic. He could not see how the
tunnel could be a source of danger to this country.
He believed Sir, John Hawkshaw's estimate of
£8,000,000 as the4dost was about the mark. As to the
ventilation question, he had no doubt that it could be
satisfactorily dealt with.
The Committee adjourned.