The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-21 00:00:00

BLACKWALL RAILWAY.

The Tenth Half-yearly General Meeting of the Proprietors
of the B!ackwall Railway took place on Thursday at the London
Tavern. On account of its being understood that Mr. Alder-
man Humphery would be present in order to explain the cir-
cumstances under which he had sold certain shares in the Com-
pany, and in consequence of which he had resigned his seat as
one of the Directors, the meeting was attended more nume-
rously than usual,
ROUTII, Esq., upon taking the Chair, slated that the
meeting had been convened in the usual manlier for reasons
that would be presently stated to them; but the Directors were
rather anxious that he should at present avoid making those
observations upon the Report which he thought necesssary, in
order that they might proceed to the other business for r.hich
they had met, and xhich was of great interest to the Directors.
He would now, therefore, merely call upon the Secretary to
read the Report.

The Secretary of the Company then read the following
Report :
At the last Half-yearly Meeting► the Directors stated their
expectation that the works on the extension line from the )li-
noriei to Fenchurch-street would be completed for traffic in the
course of the month of June. , The state of the weather, and
some other circumstances, occasioned an unavoidable delay
of four or five weeks in the opening, which took place on the
2d of the preent month.
The plan proposed by the Engineers of the Company fot
working the extension line has been attended with entire
success. No impediment of any description has interfered
with the perfect accomplishment of all that had been antici-
pated ; and the Directors venture to state, without fear of
contradiction, that as a work of science of a very high order, it
needs only to be seen to be admired.

With equal confidence do the Directors regard it as a work
of great utility to the public, and of advantage to the Proprie-
tors. In the arrangements of the terminus at Fenchurch-
street, every attention has been paid to the convenience and
comfort of passengers; and ample space, the want of which
was much felt at the rilinories Station, is provided fur any in-
creased amount of traffic. All possible consideration has at the
same time been given to the protection of the public, and to
the prevention of annoyance to the neighbourhood.
The experience of a twelvemonth has done much towards
bringing the working of the Railway to a state of perfection ;
and if the peetiliar mode of traction adopted on this Railway
yet admits some alight improvement, the Directors are able to
state, as well upon the authority of their Engineer?, as from
the most minute attention and anxious consideration they have
themselves given to the subject, that the time is not remote
when any existingdefects will be entirely removed.
The adoptisn of the Wire Rope has been attended with com-
plete success. It has never broken although sonic portion has
been in use for twelve months. In working the whole line
with Wire Rope, care has been deemed necessary in watching
the effects pr. dined upon it, and the Eng:neers have therefore
advised that it should proceed gradually ; but they are satisfied
that ere long the Hemp Rope will be wholly removed from the
line, except so far as a small portion may be requireirto afford
the necessary elasticity in starting the trains. When this is
accomplished, a great reduction in the annual expenditure, as
compared with the Hemp Rope, will be effected.
The association for the formation of a Company for running
steam-boats between the Terminus of the Railway at Black-
wall and Gravesend, in the establishment of which your Direc-
tors have taken the greatest interest, has been eminently suc-
cessful in its proceedings. Three vessels have been built ex-
pressly for this station, namely, the Railway, the Brunswick,
and the Blackwall, all of the highest character for accommoda-
tion and speed. In the last four months, during the greater
part of which time only two of these boats were running,
they have carried 140,500 passengers.
By starting from the Brunswick Pier at Blackwall, steam-
boats are able to make the passage each way in an hour and
ten minutes with, and an hour and three quarters against, the
tide ; and, by making six trips during the day with each boat,
the owners are enabled, with beneit to themselves, to charge
fares less by one-third, than the boats which go up to London-
bridge.
The advantages to be derived from this plan became at once
obvious to the -Proprietors of those favourite boats the Father
Thames and Sons of the Thames, who have accordingly made
arrangements with the Railway C nnpany for the use of the
Brunswick Pier, at which these boats now call en every trip. So
that a communication between Gravesend and Blackwell is now
kept up every half-hour during the mornings and evenings,
and every hour during the middle of the day.
The great success which has attended the experiment of pro-
viding boats for the Brunswick Pier station entitles the Direc-
tors to urge the Shareholders in the strongest manner to assist
both in the prosecution and extension of the enterprise, by con-
tributing towards the requisite capital, in the mode which has
been already submitted to them.
The Woolwich trade has been in 1 er:nt opera' ion, and