The Express.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

THE METROPOLITAN AIILWAY.

The continuous thoroughfare which formerly was
known as the New-risil, but which latterly has been
min stingily divided malrenarued, has gained very little by the
change. It has always been and it remains a dull, unlovely
street, struggling fitfully for existence. Without the
attractions of a tyres, it seems iu some way or other to
lure bilainesimea to ruin. From whatever quarter they
some, they generally discover it to be the high rood to the
Bankruptcy Coma Tradesmen who deal in tall ladders.
zinc chizneeppole, sad artificial stoneware, appeared until
lately the only people who could tlourish, like violets, in
that shady repos. Recently, however, the purveyors of
penny ices, and mervilesa twopenny photographs, lave
migrated to it, sad displayed their wondrous specimens to
tempt the pedestrians. Where so business or show of Mai-
' MSS is semi s shabby gestimy site sadly by the wayeide, with
patches of rank vegetation forming forecourts to the mono ;
Mean brick homes. The freshness of the Regent's-park, and
the statelioess of Portland-place, expire instinctively when
they come hi contact with the New-med. Those Oriental
pima—the royal family of Oudh—could not bring wealth or
fashion to it, but found there an appropriately lazy, dirty
atmosphere. The very omnibuses which traverse it pen.
odically do so in a hum drum, lifeless way, as though they
were likewise allicted with the partial paralysis which pre-
vails there. No opposition troubles, no •• nurses" follow
them. Their coachmen are never fined for furious driving,
and their diversions, caused by the monopoly of portions of
the New-road by the railway men, excite no murmur. They
seem es though they were condemned fur some unrecorded
offence to drive, in all weathers, uselesaly and unprofitably
from Paddington to the Beak, or else to heengagd-in gently
exercising invalid homes. A full load is a very great rarity
for them, and causes their blank features to be varied with
an admixture of aatosishosent. An empty omnibus tam-
aims no concern is them. They have grown quite stoical
and suit the thoroughfare admirably.
Oxford-street and Holborn take all the " through" pas-
sengers to the Rank. Carriages, waggons, eons, and Yai•
elms of every description crowd into those main arteries, and
will not be diverted into the New•roal. Numerous schemes
hire beeu started to relieve the overcharged streets; one
LIMO propeaed to run railways along the widened Woman of
all the tirstdloor windows of the principal streets, forming
colonnades beneath them. Another suggestion pointed at a
belt of connecting linos around London • but at length, the
notion extending the ternrini into the very heart of the
metropolis has assumed a practical form. The London,
Chatham, and Dover will be pushed forward into Fatting-
don-street, the South Eastern into l'haring.crosa, and the
Great Waders and Great Northern will be linked together
by the Metropolitan, which will have its terminus
I. Vietoriastreet. Whether for good or whether
for ill, these lines will be completed. 'Om effect of
them will be to give greater facilities to City-men to
dwell in suburban homes, and to furnish the nom accom-
modation on other lines as the Loodoo-bridge railways now
almost exclusively afford. Now a man may reach his plats
of business es quickly from Reigate by rail as he can from
Bayswater by omnibus. There is no rearm why, with the
Metropolitan Railway, he nay eot, without has of time,
dwell ta one or other of the beautiful villages adjacent to
Mistime ea the Great Western or Great Northern bum
Theo is, of course, a dread amongst eab sad omnibus pro-
prietors that their occupations will be goo@ when " steady
and swift the selfmoved chariot moves in their domains
but it 1411 V be some consolation to them to remember that
two coon-tries ago the same fair existed on account of the
siaketitution of coaches for pack-horses, such as the Wife
of Bath was wont to rids, ' girt with • pair of murals
sharm" The omission of all the paraphernalia
of swords, pistols, pillions, strapping', meddle-clothe,
horse-keepers, ad yeoman, incidental to a journey
in the " good old times," was foretold to be the ruin of
trade. Let them also recollect that the Lyman. who
broke the machines of Jacquard in 1806. raised a statue to
his memory in 1140. Even if the Metropolitan Railway did
dispose of our modern style of omnibuses, there are few
riders who would mourn their decease ; but there in little
hope of so blissful a consummation. An melba' "statism"
is on every inch its course, a railway statics is may at
intervals. The sew Ilse will, uevertheleis, be a peat been
to the public, and a reel relief to the traffic in our stmeta
As an espeserimg work it is one of greet 'magnitude
mad skill. Nene but those who have threaded
its eaveralathe eau fully appreciate the difilcultiee
which have been so successfully surmounted. From
the oommeseement of the Len to its conclusion
there has been one long serial of obstacles to conquer, the
chief of which have been the miles of gas and water-pipes
which had to be safely diverted, before the '• labouring
pioneers with spode and pickaxe armed" could cut the pee-
mutest way.
The Ime.leaves the Great Western Railway at the 'with
end of the Peddiagton statics, and passes under the coal
wharf, being there covered fora distance of 140 feet by iron
girders. Therm—

On either side
Its massive walls arise, and overhead
Arches the loss peerage.
The arch is of as elliptical form, 16 feet 6 inches high from
the losel of the rails. and 21i feet ri inches wide. It is cow.
posed old halLbrick rings, forming a depth of 2 feet 7. inches.
It curves about, following the directiou of the South Wharf-
reed, till it arrives at Pried-street, where there Ira junction
by a huge belholouth. • ith a branch which is to run west-
ward@ along Praedetreet to the Greet Western Hotel.
This bell. mouth, covered with elliptical wrought
2 feet 6 inchesdrew, CMS. girders between them and iron
plating over the whole, is one of the grandrut engnieering
pictures which we have for a long while seen. Lit up by
the several jete oft Lime, it has a very hoe effect. The girders
rest on stone tom tee, projevtiog forwards from, and let
iato the brickwor , and spring over the two tunnel mouths
to the extent of firi feet 6 inches. There are fifteen of these
girders, 7 feet 6 team apart. They diminish gradually in
width to 35 feet, where they are joined with the brick
arches, which again are credo:illy diminished till the onli•
eery width of the tunnel me attiined. A laver of asplialte is
laid on the top of the iron plates over the girders, the
haunches are tilled in with accrete, and en this the wed-
stuff is laid. It forces • work of extraordinery strength
and solidity, as well as beauty. The line then runs directly
eastward under Praed-street, and cremes wider Edgeware-
mod at right angles. Here special provision had to be made
for the gas sad water pipm, which are canied
as either side of the roadway, 1160,0 transversely
through the railway arch, in troughs of emit-iron,
7 feet wide and feet long. The soffit of them is 2 feet
below the soffit of the underaide of the arch. The tunnel
enunciates on the east side of Iturne•street, where, as well
as in thapehstreet, a portion of the houses bad to be de-
!whaled. Between the tunnehmouth arid Lisereatamt
the first Matins will be situated. The ho okingoffice will
be at the corner of Chapel and Buroe-streets. The space
hers will be 49 feet wide awl leo feet long to Lisarin•stmet-
bridge. It will he sufilciart for platforms and for flights of
stairs, end will be covered by • twat-iron rout. Thence we
pas under Lowee.street-bridge, • segmental sicew.bridge
30feet thick, with a span of 42 feet, and a rise of 3 feet
6 inebee. It is fa.ad with white brick capitally executed.
A similar ezpadieut to that which we mentioned at hued-
street had here to be reser ted to, in order to convey the gas
sod wat er.pa pee acmes. After pausing the bridge there is *vast
open spews, :alO fest long, with an average width of 140 feet,
which will he used GS a depot for ember., and cerriarree,
awl will 7n pnivided with appropriate siding,. The 'mani-
llas walls are Wilt in a eery economical ower, with con-
crete and white brie!, from Areley, near Ritchie ; the long
reaps of arched reemea Wit as the Wier afford as avow