The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-28 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

EAST-ANGLIAN.—FURTHER OPENING OF
THE LYNN AND ELY LINE.
This line, which has been for some time past at
work for a portion of the distance, was on Monday
opened throughout, so that, in connexion with the
Eastern Counties line, there is now a direct commu-
nication from London to the port of Lynn. A brief
history of the line may not, on the present occasion,
be uninteresting to our readers, although, of course,
sufficiently familiar to the shareholders. The com-
pany originally consisted of three distinct companies,
the Lynn and Ely, the Lynn and Dereham, and the
Ely and Huntingdon, the whole of which were
projected towards the close of 1844, just as the
railway mania, the consequences of which so many
have had occasion to deplore, was beginning to take
root, and obtained their Bills in the session of
1845. The Lynn and Ely line, with a branch
to Wisbeach, was originally laid out so as to be
constructed both cheaply and expeditiously ; when,
however, the Bill got into Parliament, the pro-
moters found themselves opposed by those power-
ful bodies, the Bedford Level, the South Level,
and Middle Level Corporations. It may be here
explained that these level corporations are, in fact,
drainage companies, and the ground of opposition
was, that their drains might be obstructed by the
bridges of the railway company, and a clause was
obtained from Parliament to the effect that no bridge
should be built by the railway company which should
not be approved by the levels' corporations. The re-
sult of this was, that although these corporations
have no bridge themselves between Ely and the sea
with a greater opening than 40 feet, they compelled
the railway company to build one with a span of 121
feet 6 inches, and with openings of 30 feet on either
side, by which means the originally estimated expen-
diture has been considerably increased, what was
originally estimated to cost 300,0001. having actually
cost 420,0001. With regard to the bridge across the
Ouse, although the levels' corporations have a bridge
of their own of 40 feet span on the level, they com-
pelled the railway company so to raise theirs as to leave
a clear way of six feet from the underside of
the bearers above the level of the banks, which
has caused not only great expense, but great delay,
as the land, being of a particular spongy description,
considerable trouble has been incurred in obtaining a
firm foundation for the superincumbent mass of earth
necessary to form the embankment, almost as much
having sunk out of sight as is now visible. On the
Wisbeach branch, not yet opened, a bridge, which
was estimated to cost 10,0001., will actually cost
37,0001., viz., 7,0001. for a temporary bridge, and
30,000/. for the permanent one. This expense is
caused by the opposition of the Middle Level Corpo-
ration, who only obtained their Act of incorporation
about twelve months prior to the railway company,
and who, while they have absolutely fourteen bridges
of their own, with three arches of about forty feet
span each, have compelled the railway company to
build a bridge in one arch of 100 feet span on the
square, or, as the bridge at the point in question is
on the skew, on an actual span of 120 feet. Nor
has the company alone had to suffer from the oppo-
sition of the levels' corporations, but, in consequence of
the passing of the Clauses Consolidation Act, which
prevented the company from summoning a jury to
decide on disputed cases of compensation, but to go
to a referee, the most frightful sums have been de-
manded, and in many instances obtained. In one
case, a proprietor of draining mills made a demand
for 1,9001. for " loss of wind," from obstruction by
the embankment of the railway, which is only eighteen
feet high, and the nearest point of the embankment
being 150 yards from the mill ; and not only was the
demand made, but, on a reference, 1,0001. were
awarded against the company. At the close of 1845,
or early part of 1846, the three companies agreed to
amalgamate, but in consequence of its being too late
to go through certain Parliamentary forms, the Bill
authorising the amalgamation was only obtained in
the last session. Subsequent to the agreement for
amalgamation, but prior to the Bill being obtained,
an agreement was also entered into for leasing the
lines to the Eastern Counties Company, but the Le-
gislature refused to sanction it.
Yesterday, the line from Lynn to Ely being com-
pleted and approved by the Government Inspector, a
dinner was given by the inhabitants of Lynn to the
directors of the line and various friends. In order to
meet the inhabitants in a becoming spirit, the direc-
tors started a special train of upwards of thirty car-
riages, which conveyed about six hundred of the in-
habitants of Lynn and the surrounding districts to
Ely, where a promenade luncheon was provided at the
Bell Inn. Having joined the special train on its re-
turn from Ely to Lynn, we had an opportunity of
inspecting the line, which is almost a dead level, and
appears to be extremely well constructed. The most
noticeable work of art on the line, and which a large
number of the guests alighted from the carriages to
view, is the bridge 'across the Ouse, which, as we
have before observed, in consequence of the oppo-
sition of the Bedford Level Corporaticn, has added
much to the expense of the line, while it has
delayed its opening nearly twelve months. The
viaduct is 150 yards long, and consists of ten
side openings of 30-feet span each, with a span over
the water way of 121 feet six inches. The method
adopted to support the roadway over this great space
is by suspending the platform from three timber bows,
each formed of three-inch deals, united by oak
trenails; the suspension rods are of wrought iron ;
each rod has been proved to be equal to a strain of
20 tons, and as there are 72 of these rods, the weight
they are capable of supporting is 1,440 tons ' • but the
greatest weight which they will be required to carry
will not exceed 310 tons, of which the platform is
160 tons, and the greatest load which is ever likely to
be placed upon it is about 150 tons, On Saturday
the bridge was tested with this weight before Captain
Wynne, the Government Inspector, When we are in-
formed it sunk five-sixteenths of an inch, and it is
stated that it will not sink under any circumstances
more than about one-eighth of an inch further. The
train which started from Ely shortly after three
o'clock arrived at Lynn, where it was received with
the spirit-stirring strains of a military band, the firing
of cannon, and the cheers of the people, shortly after
five o'clock.
At half-past six o'clock about 150 gentlemen sat
down to an excellent dinner in the Town-hall, the
Mayor, T. A. Carter, Esq., presiding. Mr. George
Hudson, M.P., Mr. David Waddington, M.P. (the
chairman and deputy-chairman of he Eastern
Counties Company), Lord George Bentinck, M.P ,
Viscount Jocelyn, M.P., Mr. Abdy, M.P., and others
were expected to attend, but were prevented from
doing so from a pressure of business or illness.
Amongst those present we observed Mr. H. C. Lacy,
M.P., the chairman of the company ; Sir W. Foulkes,
Bart., late chairman of the Lynn and Ely Company ;
Mr. C. P. Roney, the secretary to the Eastern Coun-
ties Company ; the Rev. J. Edwards, Mr. J. S.
Valentine, C.E., and Messrs. Le Strange, J. B.
Whiting, F. Cresswell, R. Pitcher, R. Cruso, sen.
and jun., William Armes, George Hogg, Edward
' Everett, F. Ingle, F. ;Cushman, F. H. Patten, G.
Useplhf,aFm.,
H.
Uwpihlsaomn: J. Robertson,
U.v.Bartr C. E. Pa
Partridge,
ge,
J.
W. Howlett,
Elett:
G. B. Newmarch, &c.
The festivities of the evening were much enlivened
by the presence of an excellent military band, which
played various favourite airs during the dinner, and
of the choristers from Ely Cathedral, who sung va-
rious glees and choruses with much taste.
The cloth having been removed, " The Queen"
and the usual loyal and patriotic toasts were duly
honoured.
Mr. ARMES rose to propose a toast which he was
sure would be most warmly responded to, Before
doing so, however, he might perhaps be allowed to
make a few observations. He had witnessed that day
the opening of the railway throughout from Lynn
to Ely, and he had no doubt it would be productive
of great benefit to the port of Lynn. In proposing
the toast he held in his hand, he would state that, in
his opinion, the directors of the East-Anglian Com-
pany had done themselves great honour by the way
in which they had carried out the line. The scheme
had not been got up with the mere view of
putting money into the pockets of needy specu-
lators, but with the laudable object of at once
benefiting those who invested their money and the '
town of Lynn, and in that spirit he was happy to
say it had been carried out.—(Hear, hear.) The di-
rectors of the company had always met the inhabi-
tants of Lynn most cordially, and whatever they had
had occasion to ask for had been most promptly ac-
corded. It was first proposed to have the station a
mile from the town, but a meeting having been held
in the Town-hall and a communication made to the
directors on the subject, they at once determined to
bring it further into the town. They had also un-
dertaken to ask Parliament for power to construct
wet docks, which he believed were indispensable for
the prosperity of the town. The Hon. Gentleman
then went into some details relative to the Norfolk
Estuary Company, which he strongly recommended
to the support of the gentlemen present, and said that
he had no doubt that if they assisted themselves they
_ln wouldc conclusion,
naellsaos
iho anv,e
thethe
support Hon.
Gentlemanth the
proposed
railway company.
health of Mr. H. C. Lacy , M.P., and, the directors of
the East Anglian
Railway Company.'
The toast having been drunk with three times three
and one cheer more,
Mr. LACY said he rose to return his best thanks
for the honour conferredup
considerorl himself and colleagues.
He could not, however, the compliment as
due to them that the directors of Anglian
Company had been invited to that splendid entertain_ given voluntarily and unasked by
markinginhbi-
tants of Lynn, but he looked upon it as
their approbation of the great system of railways,
He believed that it was unparalleled that the inhalai
tants of any town should invite the directors of a
railway company to such an entertainment ; at least
he did not recollect a similar case.—(Cheers.) He
could assure them that it was the wish of the di.