The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-03 00:00:00

Opening of the Charing Cross Railway,

This short line from London-bridge to Charing-
cross, the forerunner of the many good and bad
schemes now known under the general name of
metropolitan extensions, was provisionally opened
yesterday with all the pomp and circumstance
which could be imparted by the visit of a large
party of directors and officials, and all the convi•
viality which could be derived from an excellent
dejeuner at the end of the day's proceedings, This
Charing-cross line may be regarded as the indirect
author of all the many plans for bringing what may
now fairly be termed suburban lines into the heart
of the city. With the vast network of lines belong-
ing to the South-Eastern, and the South-Western,
too, at Charing-cross, and with the Chatham and
Dover at Blackfriars, it has become a necessity of
existence that the great lines north of the Thames
should make a progressive step as well, With the
gigantic growth of London, and with the enor-
mously increasing numbers who now reside beyond
it, and only travel to and fro to transact their daily
business, these metropolitan lines have become a
necessary evil. Our distances are now too great,
our time too precious for mere horse power to be of
much avail. Short lines of rail, and a pace of 25
miles an hour, are necessary in the transaction of
London's vast affairs, and in the lapse of another
ten years or so it will inevitably come to pass that
cabs and omnibuses will be superseded like the stage
coaches of old, or only used as feeders to the lines,
which will at last reduce the limits' of this over-
grown province of houses to as manageable dimen-
sions in point of time as those of a country town. It
is far from being the Railway Companies which urge
on these extension schemes. It is the public, who by
their increased patronage make them so enormously
lucrative, that are the real promoters. One has only
to glance at the ti affic returns of the Metropolitan
Railway to see how great must be its utility to the
public, and, strange to say, though the opening of
that line at first most seriously affected the omni-
buses running west, it does not do so now, and both
rail and road are as thronged as they can well be
with convenience. In fact, it is only when com-
panies attempt to provide for the passenger traffic of
London that its immensity is seen, and the profit of
providing channels for it becomes evident, even in
the face of the gigantic outlay requisite to bring
lines into the heart of the city.
The line from London-bridge to the South-
Western and Charing-cross was the first of the kind
projected, and though only a very short extension,
and presenting no peculiar engineering difficulties,
it has been termed the heaviest—that is to say the
most expensive for its length, ever built. When all
is paid up, it will be found to have cost very nearly,
if not quite, £l,OOO sterling per yard. Much of this
immense expenditure was no doubt due to the un-
expected opposition of the Governors of St.
Thomas's Hospital, and the compulsory purchase of
the institution. which that opposition necessitated.
Much was also lost by the secret of the intended
route of the line not being well kept by those then
connected with the management of the South-
Eastern Railway, so that property of little value
before the railway came was purchased for a mere

song, and resold to the company at an immense

premium. These and other causes have swelled the
original estimate for the construction of the line to
a sum four times greater than was at first contem-
plated, and which, had it been foreseen at the time
would probably have made the shareholders very
timid about embarking in it. But during the in-
terval that elapsed aince it was begun, tho neces-
sities of passenger traffic have developed them-
selves beyond; all proportion to the length of the
extension to Charing-cross; so that, judging it by
the present standard of railway requirements, the
line is regarded as positively a cheap one, and, like

that to the Victoria station, certain to be largely
remunerative. Though called by the general name
of the Charing-cross line, this extension really em-
braces two distinct, schemes—viz., the line from
Charing-cross to London-bridge, and the line from
Charing-cross to Cannon-street. Yet, though legally
distinct, they are practically one; and from the junc-
tion at the Borough Market, where the Cannon-
street branch diverges across the Thames on a mag-
nificent bridge, both run on the same viaducts to
Charing-cross. The line leaves the London-bridge
station by a rather sharp curve of little more than
500 ft. radius. This quick turn was introduced to
propitiate the governors of St. Thomas's Hospital,
and avoid, if possible, the necessity of buying that
costly property. The curve, however, was made in
vain, and it is now deeply to be regretted that one
so sharp at such a spot was ever decided upon.
Two girder bridges of immense span and undeniable
ugliness take it over the approach toLondon-bridge.
A viaduct on iron columns carries it through the
Borough Market, and thence the line is continued
with scarcely any curves or inclines worth speaking
of through the poor neighbourhoods lying between
the Borough and Blackfriars, across the Blackfriars-

road, and parallel with Stamford-street to the
Waterloo-road, where it makes a junction with the
South Western station which it enters by a single
line of rails,and so practicallybrings that largesystem
of lines to Charing-cross and hereafter to Cannon-

street. From this it continues in almost a straight

line across Stamford-street and tho Belvodere-road
to what was once Hungerford Suspension Bridge,
but which has now been converted, if not into the
Ilandsomest, at least into one of the strongest and

most important railway bridges over the Thames.

On this the line is taken to the site of Hungerford
Market, which has been transformed into one of
the most lofty and spacious stations ever built in
the metropolis, and which will be without a rival

till that in Cannon-street is completed, which is to
be:larger and loftier again.
This is, in brief, merely the route taken by the
new extension, but such a description gives but a
very faint idea of the nature of the works required to
complete it. In a line of only some two miles in
length there are no less than 14 irJn bridges across
streets, and some of unusually great span ; two iron
viaductsiinesan
_on columns, two junctions made with other
,r4a2 two immense railway bridges across the
these, by s
t.h of
7e, a
4itieTheselatter, of course, have been the great
hthe whole undertaking, and it is in
and capabiliet wonderful skill, fertility of resources
ble space of utilising every inch of the intrustedvalua-
to him that Mr. Hawkshaw has
shown his
Theaerii,us bridge which is to take the
line to Cannou.st;
et
h has
hereon ly
thatju s t
it biese nt 0 beg so
five'
vs
eo
we need on), say or
it
spans, three of 135 feet
two of 125. It is to be
uzrders, resting on cast
built of wrought iron plate
iron
neoseen now under iron cylinders, similar la
Hun-
gerford. It is to be laid for
to be 34ft. from the vater,
like shsuttl.
less than five lines of
fully 64ft.
in its extreme width. When this b 'riadnci -
trains will run backwards and forwards
sdcompleted
between
loom all day long. This structure has
Charing-cross and London-bridge
yettobeesbin. a
but the main difficulty of the undertaking, the brilllt,
at Ilungerford, has been overcome. This bridge brids
ge
so many purposes to answer, so many difficulties to
provide against, so many contrivances to eke out and
opposite objects to fulfil, that it is probably the most
arduous work of the kind that ever has or will be
attempted across the Thames. It is a railway
bridge double the width of any in the kingdom, a foot
bridge twice as large as old Hungerford ; nearly
one-third of the bridge is a main station; and, to
crown all, though the structure is of iron, the brick
piers of the old bridge had to be utilisai, in order to
save cost. It is, in short, a bridge of compromises
and contrivances, all met and all arranged with so
lunch skill that it discharges each duty as if built

for that alone, is very cheap, enormously strong,
and not nearly so ugly as railway bridges over
rivers generally are. Under no circumstances could
it have been made a very handsome bridge, The

dead level at which it is carried, the supplementary
footpaths at the side, the fan-shaped end, and brick
piers all tend to destroy anything like uniformity or
regularity, and in the absence of such all-important
requisites architectural beauty is out of the ques-
tion. There is, however, a certain harmony and
appropriateness in its simplicity and massive
strength which will redeem the work from absolute
ugliness.
It is rather difficult in these dose! iptions to give
the general reader a clear account of such important
works without using technical expressions, but in
this case a mere outline of the work itself and the
nature of the duties it has to perform will be suffi-
cient. The total length of the bridge from end to
end is 1,300 ft., its width between the main girders
Is 50ft., and outside this there are two 7ft. footways
for passengers, making the total width 64ft., with a
clear headway above high water mark of 25ft.
Between the brick piers of the old structure the
bridge is carried on cast-iron columns, with a
span of 154 feet between each opening. These
columns have a diameter of 14 feet at the base,
which is forced down more than 30 feet below the
bed of the river, and many feet into the London
clay. As these rise to near the surface of the bed
of the river they diminish in diameter to ten feet,
a size at which they are continued to the summit.
All these are filled in with masonry up to the 14 feet
width, and thence with solid brickwork. One of
them was steadily loaded with railway iron to a
weight of 750 tons, under which enormous pressure
on so small a surface the masonry was pressed
together nearly 2in., but beyond this no yield of
any kind took place. Two such columns fastened
together at the top with a powerful wrought-iron
close girder carry the roadway in spans of 154 ft.
The main girders which bear all the strain of the
roadway in the long interval between each pair of
columns are the powerful lattices of wrought iron
which may be seen now on each side of the bridge.
The visitor who inspects these wonderful specimens
of wrought iron work will find that they consist, at
top and bottom, of two trough-shaped girders, 14ft.
apart, the top one 4ft. broad and the bottom 3ft., the
uppermost one being stronger, as it has to resist the
compressive strain, which is always more trying to
wrought iron than tension, which is met by the bot-
tom girder of 3ft. broad. Though we have spoken
of these as two, and 14ft. apart, they are joined to.
gether and made in reality one immense girder of
that depth by a latticework consisting of a series of
struts and ties to resist tension—in plain terms, to
meet thrust or pull in all parts of the structure.
The struts vary from 12in. wide and 3in. thick to
Gin. wide and 21in. thick. They are all placed in
pairs, and may be known at once by their being
joined :at the back with a powerful wrought iron
bracing, to prevent their buckling out under great
pressure. The ties vary from 12in. broad by 21in.
thick to 6in. broad by 2in. thick, the greatest
strength being given at the ends, where the
strain of the leverage comes. Each of these pah.s
of girders which carry the roadway between the
columns is, as we have said, 154 ft. long, and
the two are capable of bearing a load strain of
1,500 tons, the greatest weight that could by any
possibility be put upon them if the four lines of
rails between them were loaded with tank engines
and the footways outside thronged with people.
Even with such a load the strain would only be at
the rate of 4 tons per sectional inch at the top of
the girder, and 5 tons at the bottom—a slight weight
when we remember that the Britannia Bridge has a
permanent strain of 6 tons to the inch, and many
wrought-iron bridges both in France and America
have to do duty with nearly twice that load. The
floor of the roadway between these main girders is
formed of a series of cross girders placed as close as
llft. apart. Each of these weighs 9 tons, is 4ft. deep,
and equal to a load of 110 tons, though 77 tons is the
greatest weight that could be placed upon them.
The foot passenger traffic is provided for by car-
rying out two ift. paths on each side supported on
cantilever or iron brackets, which carry also a hand-
some wrought-iron railing. It is from the old
Middlesex pier, however, that the great difficulties
of the design commence, and a more awkward and
unpromising
corner to turn into a commodious nil-
way station was never given to an engineer. It was,
of course, impossible to take the stationinto the
Strand, and equally impossible to manage without
a space equivalent to carrying the line as far; so no
other alternative was left but to coin r..ence at once
at the north pier, and instead of continuing the
bridge at a uniform width, to spread it out like a
fan from that spot, widening as the work advanced,
so as to attain its maximum dimensions long before

this curious river terminus enters upon the ground
of old Hungerford-market. To effect this difficult
object a total change of plan takes place. The
span is diminished from 154 ft. to 100 ft., but what

is reduced in the length of the span is
gained in the width, which is increased to such
an extent that cross girders for the floor can
no longer be used, and these supports in this por-
tion of the structure are replaced by longitudinal
girders running in the direction of the bridge.
These girders are most massive ; they are 100 ft
long, and oft deep ; each weighs 25 tons, and they
are so closely placed that there is only Oft interval
between them. So rapidly does the fanlike spread
of this end of the bridge developa itself, that though
10 of these girders suffice to carry the roadway from
, the brick pier over the first 100 ft of the span, no
less than 17 are required for the increasing breadth of
the second span, and 21 for the third, which lands
this end of the bridge, nearly 200 ft wide, upon the
permanent brickwork of the great station at Hun-
ford. As a matter of course, the pairs of massive
columns which carry the greater portion of the work
across the river have to be largely increased in
number under this wider end. To support the first
spread of the fan there are seven, arid for the second
stage nine. The outermost of each of these groups
of columns is 811. in diameter; the inner ones are
j Oft. Oa the space thus gained there are two ar-
rival and two departure platforms, and the inte-
rior of the station here is no less than 450 ft. long,
by 100 ft. high, and 170 ft. wide, as we have already
said, the largest and loftiest station yet built. That
in Cannon-street is to be no less than 30ft. higher,
40fr. wider, and 100 ft, longer. Two sides of the
Charing-cress Station are formed by the magnificent
hotel in connexion with the railway, which is being
built by Messrs. Lucks. There are distinct en-
trances provided at this station for the southern and
Continental traffic, and that to Cannon-street. A
very large open space is preserved in front of the
station, which is to be for carriage-ways, and in the
centre of this a perfect facsimile in stone of the old
cross at Charing will be erected by the company.

Such are the chief featzres of the first metropo-
litan extension, which was yesterday visited and
inspected by the Hon. Mr. Byng, the chairman of
the North Eastern ; Mr. Eborall, the general mana-

ger ; Mr_ Smiles, the secretary, and a large party of

gentlemen connected with the undertaking. Only a

slight halt was made at the two stations on the

line from London-bridge—viz., that in the Black-
friars-road and that where the rails effect a junction

with the South Western. Though the train was a

very long and a very heavy one:yet the bridge at
Hungerford was, as far as could be observed, as rigid

as a rock under its passage. A very long examination
was made of the Charing-cross station, though it was

soon evident that some time must elapse before it is
perfectly finished, and it will be at least a month
before the line can be opened to public traffic, even
with its temporary offices. It is a somewhat

curious fact that the line, though taken through
one of the most densely-populated districts of
London, has only from first to last remoNed 250
houses—a fact which says a good deal for the care
with which its route has been marked out.

This account of the Charing. cross Extension would
be incomplete if we did not add that it is intended
to connect the Charing-cross station by a double line
of rails with the North-Westexn, Great Northern,
and Midland lines. Fortunately, the level of the
Charing-cross station with regard to those termini
is such that an underground line in an open cutting,
passing by tunnel under all the streets and under the
Strand, can yet make its junction at level into the
Hungerford-bridge. With such an important link
connecting the southern lines with the great sys-
tems north of the Thames, passengers can book
through from Southampton, Dover, or Brighton to
any part of England
or Scotland without changing
carriages. The Importance of such a saying of incon-