The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-06 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LONDONDERRY AND COLERAINE.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held
yesterday, at the offices, in Coleman-street-buildings.
Captain Warren, R.N., took the chair.
The SECRETARY read the following report :
" Your directors him the gratification to report that
the portion of your railway from Londonderry to New-
town Lime vady, 18i miles in length, was opened for
goods traffic on the Ist inst. Mr. Rendel, the consulting
engineer of the company, has recently made a personal
inspection of the line, and was quite satisfied that the
pa;:senger traffic might at once be commenced. Bat ho
considers it important that the stone pitching on the
portions of the railway exposed to the sea should be com-
pleted while the weather continues fine; and as the pas-
senger traffic would seriously interfere with the opera-
tions of the contractor, ho advised that it was more pru-
dent for two or three weeks to carry goods only, by which
means the work would be consolidated, and the com-
pany will reap the advantage of the goods trade with-
out impeding the progress of the contractor in com-
pleting the pitching. Tour directors, fully concurring
in the prudence of the course thus suggested by Mr.
Rendel, have followed his recommendation, and, for the
present, limited the traffic operations to the carriage of
goods. In the last report it was stated to you that the
proceeding with the railway from Newton Limavady to
Coleraine had been made dependent upon obtaining an
advance from the Public Loan Commissioners. Your
directors have the satisfaction to inform you that the
Government loan applied for has been granted; the
works upon that portion of the line have for some time
been in course of vigorous prosecution by the contractor,
Mr. M‘Cormick, and are now so forward that by your
next half-yearly meeting it is hoped the day may be
fixed for the through opening from Londonderry to
Coleraine. Your directors, knowing the importance of
securing full and early through communication be-
tween Londonderry, Coleraine, and Belfast, are now
negotiating arrangements by which they hope this
object may be completed, and the traffic thoroughly
developed. The Bill, promoted by the corporation
of Londonderry, for the construction of a joint
public road and railway bridge over the River Foyle has
passed into law; and your directors have to report that
the Bill authorising this company to contribute to the
erection of this bridge has also received the Royal as-
sent. By this means a junction advantageous to both
will be effected between your railway and the London-
derry and Enniskillen; and arrangements have been
made with the other parties interested, by which your
directors hope that this most desirable object will be at-
tained without in the end making any addition to the
capital of the company. The chairman and two other
directors, Mr. Clay and Mr. Cross, have recently visited
the works, and examined for themselves the traffic re-
sources of the country. They feel assured that, with a
through communication completed with Belfast on the
one side, and with the Londonderry and Enniskillen
Railway on the other, there will be from commercial
and sigricultural resources, a large and remunerative
traffic; while the natural beauty of the country,
the facilities offered on the coast for sea-bathing, and
the vicinity of such an acknowledged attraction
as the Giant's Causeway, only seven miles from Cole-
raine, must ensure a very great amount of pleasure
traffic. The experience acquired by your directors in
conducting the traffic on the Londonderry and Ennis-
killen Railway has enabled them to prepare for the
working of your line with the utmost economy as regards
plant; and they believe that your rolling stock will be
found to combine smallness of cost to the company with
complete satisfaction to the public. The time having
now arrived for settling the questions mentioned in the
last report, as referred for the arbitration of Mr. Rendel,
your directors are taking the necessary steps for pro-
curing his award thereon. Three of your directors, viz.,
James Clay, Esq., M.P., John Cross, Esq., and John
Munn, Esq., and one of your auditors, S. J. Waley, Esq.,
go out of office by rotation. Those gentlemen are all
eligible, and offer themselves for re-election. For the
financial position of the company your directors beg re-
ference to the accounts which have already been circu-
lated amongst you; and they have merely to add as re-
gards the liabilities, that (independent of the current
accounts for the supply of rails, sleepers, and contrac-
tor's work in progress) the only liability now existing
is that for the balance (s,sool.):previously stated to:you
as due on the purchase of Robertson's interest in re-
clamation.' "

The CHAIRMAN said before moving the adoption of
the report be would make a few observations. There
was an old proverb, that it was a long lane that had no
turning. Circumstances still fresh in the memory of
the proprietors, namely, the panics of 1846 and 1847,
had contributed to depress this company and many
others, and had caused the directors to wait and rely
on better times. This delay was for the time looked
upon with some dissatisfaction, but it had turned out
in the end to be advantageous. It had given them the
means of looking into railway works, the expense of the
plant, and the result has been the successful opening of
nineteen miles of their line from Londonderry to New-
town Limavady. When the railway should be com-
pleted to Coleraine, which he hoped would not be later
than the Ist of May, a large traffic might be expected.
Since they last met three of the directors, Mr.
Clay, Mr. Cross, and himself, had visited he
works, and were happy to say that the contractor
had done his work in a most substantial manner.—
(Hear, hear.) It was as well built as any line in the
kingdom. In addition to the ordinary traffic they
might expect a very great revenue from the various
sources of amusement, such as the extensive salmon
leaps of the river Bann, the Giant's Causeway, and
other sources of attraction. The diroctors looked for-
' ward with the greatest interest to the completion of
the new bridge over the river Foyle for the junction
of this line with the Londonderry and Enniskillen
Railway.
The report was adopted.
Mr. Lavin, Mr. Fuller, Mr. Frith, Dr. Conquest,
and Mr. Waley spoke of the untiring exertions of the
directors during the bad times of the company.
A resolution voting 1,0001. to the directors was
passed by a large majority, and another for increasing
the salary of the secretary.
The meeting then adjourned.