The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-13 00:00:00

From Newhaven to Dieppe.

On Saturday last a steamship race of great inte-
terest in the present state of naval architecture took
place on the passage across the Channel between
Newhaven and Dieppe, under circumstances very
similar to those described in The Sun a year ago,
in the case of a steaming contest between the Mar-
seilles and the Alexandria. The new vessel, named
the Bordeaux, tried for the first time on Saturday,
belongs, as in the former case, jointly to the London
and Brighton Company and to the French company
whose lines run from Dieppe to Paris in connection
with the English company, and has been built and
engined by Mr. C. Lungley, at Deptford-green,
whose method of constructing fast steamers was so
signally successful in the case of the Marseilles. The
great interest of the trial lies mainly in the fact that
the new sectional form of bow, which has been in-

troduced in her Majesty's paddle despatch steamer
Helicon with marked advantage, and likewise in the
al-,,our-clad frigates Bellerophon, Pallas, Lord
Clyde, &c., has been adopted independently and
simultaneously by Mr. Lungley with remarkably
good results. The Bordeaux has been built not for
peed or even for passenger traffic exclusively, but
to combine with these a great cargo-carrying power,
which is becoming continually more and more ne-
cessary on the Newhaven and Dieppe line of steamers.
owing w u me great development of trade between
England and France that has marked the progress
of the last two or three years. She is 210 ft. long, of
241 ft. beam, lift, in depth, tonnage 576 (builde'r's
measurement), and fitted with engines of 180-horse

power (nominal), on the oscillating principle, with
brass tubular boilers and patent feathering floats,
the engines as well as the ship having been constructed
at Mr. Lungley's establishment. The vessel selected
to compete with the Bordeaux was the Lyons, a
very fast steamer, built, with almost exclusive re-
gard to speed, by thelate firm of Messrs. Scott Rus-
sell and Co., and now f urnished with new and power-
ful boilers to prepare her for this trial. The two
vessels left Newhaven about 11 a.m., the Lyons hav-
ing the advantage by about two minutes, and when
the more burdensome and commodious Bordeaux fol-
lowed it involved a reversal of all old-established ideas
of shipbuilding to suppose that she could ever over-
take, even with so slight a difference at starting, the
sharper and fleeter-looking vessel. A very short time,
however, sufficed to enable the Bordeaux to over-
_ _

haul the Lyons ; but she had scarcely done so before
some cause for a temporary stoppage of the former
ship arose, and she was soon left far behind. This
incident, however, only showed the new vessel to
greater advantage, for after again starting on her
stern chase she gradually drew up to her competitor,
passed her, and entered Dieppe harbour at least 17
minutes in advance of her, and a crowd of specta-
tors who cheered her arrival, which was succeeded
by an international dinner and display of fireworks.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

SOUTIIIASTERN.

The report of Mr. Ashcroft, the engineer, stated
with respect to the construction of this company's
Lewisham and Tonbridge line that the first section
of it, from the Greenwich junction to Chiselhurst,
was passed by the Government Inspector on the Ist
of June last, and was now being daily worked for
passenger traffic. The earthworks onwards between
Chiselhurst and Orpington were progressing in a
satisfactory manner. Out of 780,000 cubic yards
of earthwork 350,000 had been tipped into the Or-
pington great embankment, leaving 430,000 yet to
remove to complete that work. The cutting between
Orpington and Chelsfield was completed, except
about 6,000 cubic yards at the south end of the
tunnel. The length of the Chelsfield tunnel would
be 594 yards, of which 429 were completed. The
brickwork was being proceeded with at the rate of
15 yards per week. In the cutting between Chels-
,.

field and Polhill tunnels about 50,600 cubic yardsof
excavation had been carried to spoil, and there yet
remained to be removed 450,000 cubic yards. This
cutting formed the key to the finishing and opening
of the line to Sevenoaks. The Polhill tunneiwould
be 2;530 yards in length, of which 1,146 yards were
finished and bricked in, and the rest was advancing
at the rate of 30 yards per week. The works be-
twva.e7 Polhill and Sevenoaks tunnel were in a for-
tate. The stone cutting at the north end of
Sevenoaks tunnel contained 355,000 cubic yards,
of which about 140,000 cubic yards remained to
be removed. The
3,4e5l Sevenoaks tunnel, when com-
pl l3e t6e2d
y,
awould
ds were finished. This was the heaviest -
be yards in length, of which
work on the line, and was being pushed on at the
rate of 30 yards per week, which rate of Progress
would shortly be increased. The works from Seven
oaks to Tonbridge were proceeding in a satisfactory
manner, and would be finished quite as early as the
more northern portions of the line. The earth-
works on the Dartford branch were completed, with
the exception of small portions at Penhill and Cray_
ford, which latter had been left in for ballast, and
the brickwork was nearly finished.