The Express.
London, England, 1863-03-26 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN RAILWAY SCHEMIS.

Colonel Yolland has just reported to the Board
of Trade on the Metropolitan Railway schemes of the pre-
sent seseion. Re relent to a report draws up by a oommis-
'ion, in 1848, which recommended that railways should not
be admitted within certain limits north of the Thames.
Little attention, he ismm, moms to have been paid to this
recommendation, bat the whole of his own report urges its
importance. A disregard of the recommendation of the com-
mission might be traced in the authorisation of two terminal
stations within 330 yards of each other ; one, the Metropoli-
tan, with the rails 19 feet below the surface, and the other, the
North Load= City branch, in Liverpooletreet, with the rads
19 fest above the surface. This, however, was of little im-
portaace, as there wan not any great necessity for intercom-
muniostios between them ; but tbs case was altogether dif-
fermis as regards the proposed establishment of the Great
Eastern termed station in Fiumbin7-eirmis, with the rails
about 18 feet above the surface, within ZiO yards of the
Metropolitan terminus 19 feet below it. This proposal,
however, bad not yet been miactioried, and the subject
would ;tribally receive full and thorough investigat.
The opening of the Metropolitan Railway between Padiling-
too and Farringdonetreet, and the manner in which it was

made use of by the public, had dearly pointed out the expe-
diency of providing other lines of midway within the metro
politan area proper, which would abstract some of the pas
wager traffic at gwnt carried ea by cabs and mniboom,
and thus meteriall y relieve the greet pressure in the main
thoroughfares. The experience gained by the opening of
the Metropolitan Railway was valuable is another mimed.
It was alusoet proved beyond doubt that, al at present con-
structed with two lime of railway, though eiceediagly
well adapted to supersede to a very great extent omnibus
and cab traffic, it would not accommodate through pas-
wager traffic, and would have great difficulty in dui sing
of any large amount of goods traffic South of the Thames,
in the low-lying districts contiguous to the river, this could
only be dome by constructing Me lines on viaducts, which
would' interfere with and somewhat prejudice the ap-
pearance of the public streets ; but there wee no ',efficient
reason why the bridges over important thoroughfares in
the metropolis or elsewhere should be made so objectionable
in appearance as they sometimes had been, and this in
future might be obviated by special provisions introduced
into the several acts ; but it must be burns is
mind that, wlisrenulways crossed important streets by over-
bridges, the safety of the public travelling in vehicles or on
horseback along those streets required that the trains
should be hid by some kind of screen. North of the Thames
the case was somewhat different, as the idevatioa or the
district generally was such that facilities existed for the
construction of railways under streets in covered ways or
tunnels, where there need not be the same amount of inter-
ference with private property or disfigurement or injury
to the public streets, and where the construction of such
railways would to a peat extent free the thoroughfares
from • large amount of traffic. Of course it was absolutely
indispensable that these railways should be so laid out and
constructed as not to interfere with the drainage of the
metropolis, and, ea far as possible, they might be expected
to follow the general course of the crowded roadways.
In noticing the various schemes now before parliament,
he mays the construction of the new terminal station for the
Great Eastern Railway is very desirable. With reference
to the Midland Extenders line he doubted the propriety of
sanctioning the junction of the proposed line with the Me.
Impolite& Railway in its present form With regard to
the Ludgate Station sod Junction Railway, the bridge over
Ludgate-hell was 40 fees spaa and 10 feet in height. The
line descended from Late-hill to Skinner-street by •
steep incline of lin 40. No open space was interfered
with, except a small portion of Smithfield. The space
worked on the plans as property which might be taken
for station purposes was very extensive along the
whole route on the east side of Farriugdonatreet. Provi-
sion should probably be made for a bridge of such dimen-
sions as would provide for any future widening of the main
thoroughfare along Ludgate-hill, and the nature of the
bridge, is as architectural point of view, should be subject
to the approval of some public board. As to the proposed
widening of the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway, the
report stated that there was en urgent amenity for addi-
tional means of entering that station at Pimlico. The
London, Chatham, and Dover scheme proposed to build •
new bridge acres the Thames, adjacent to the Victoria-
bridge. It would be deserving of courrideratiaa whether
the widening of the existing bridge, or the placing of a new
one close to the Victoria-bridge. would not be lees objection-
able to the navigation than the construction of • separate
bridge at • distance from the former.