The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-24 00:00:00

PRICE ad •

1.......

its width from the rails to the centre of the at 'shed
roof inside is 21 feet six inches. The inverted e rch,
or " invert," as it is technically called, measures al ,out
six feet from the rails downwards to the centre ; the
tenor being filled op svith " ballast," is mixture 'ot
earth and broken gritetene. The width of the tunne lat
a:A level of the rails is 9.2 feet, but its greatest wit lth
(about si.%, feet from the greuVd) is 24 feet, The win th
of the tunnel On the ground is thus disposed of. T
be
spare in the centre, between the two lines of :ad, is fi
feet. in this space, in the ballast, is made a sect of eu
vert or drain, covered with fl rgstones, Nee fci't
by IR inches in death, which carrier, off tho zeister ;
that flows from variene places, keeping the interms.
the tunnel site drv. As the tunnel has a gradaent /Lul-
ing from tl.e north; or Yorkshire end, to the ro,nt,,b,
Lefeneshire end, of I ies 3:',0 (16 feet fall per ot6e, or
about 4( feet fell from the Yorkshire to the Lens nshree
end of the timer!), the water flows down to, cards
„
Lad...borough. Tho iwn lines of rails have a gars, Ye'
4 feet Si inches, half an inch more than the Liver! 500
line ; but the carriages would nut with facility on mt. s,_r
line. From the outer rail on each aide to the wall, i st
tt
space of three feet eight inches ; but, as the wall re-
cedes to the point whence the upper arch springs, the
ere
is a space breast-high, of full heir feet, which gi, .es
ample room for a person to keep clear of any passe fg
train. Two lines of rails are laid for about a toile at id
a quarter within the tunnel, nearest the north end ;
remaininghalf mile being already laid for the most part wits z
one of the two lines. These rails, like those on the'
other parts of the line, are of malleable iron, of.s6llm-
weight per lineal yard. They arc laid on wooden
sleepers, by means of stronra cast-iron chairs. The sleepers
are of good sound larch ; and, for greater security,
they are laid at intervals of two feetisix inches, instseare
of the usual one of three feet.
The party, eseurted by the numerous
.hotly of torele-
beasele,entered the tunnel; and many gentlemen ex—;
pressed !'heir surprise to fad it so lofty and spaciouee
Even if the tzeonel were in a perfectly straight line, itsf;
watill be imposstNe to see from one end to the other,..f
owing (offs« gradient `.eine: about forty feet from co& •
to end, while tli height ,;' the tunnel, from the rails,
is not quite twenty-fro ; but, 'a addition to this, there. ls
is a slight curve at each end of the tunnel, for a. •
length of about four chains, which, at. 6,-qt entering it,
prevents the visitor from obtainiag, even by tc`ren-3:ght,
an extensive vicar of this remarkable work. This. c.rirve.
having been passed, however, the effect was very sti-k"
nig ; the long and spacious arched vista, seen distinct.‘, '1 !:
by the glare of the torches in advance of the party, pre-
sented ‘'
none of those points of discomfort which persets
are apt to suggest to themselves in connection with
tunnels. In the place of walls green with damp, or
dripping from a thousand apertures, the brickwork,
except in two or three places, through its whole
length, was smooth, dry, end, in every respect, resembling
the inside well of a house before the bricks arc covered
by plaster. 'there is no coating of plaster or cement
in the tunnel ; and, throughout, the bricks or stones
forming the walls and rod were everywhere visible.
The company passed under several shafts, the upper
apertures of which were closed; and, finding that their
progress was in no way impeded by collapsed walls, or
other result of the late accident, gentlemen might be
heard inquiring of Mr. George Stephenson, Mr. Gooch,
or others in the engineering department, where the ac-
cident had happened. At length, atter a distance of
somewhat less than half a mile had been traversed, from
the mouth of the tunnel, the party Name to the place,
which is between shafts Nos. 2 and :3. All the effects
visible arc the unevenness of the ground in places ; and,
from the " ballast " being forced upwards, the culvert
hAs also been displaced, and hence small pools of water
are formed ; but the whole of the walls and roof, from
the level of the ground upwards, were as firm and as
perfect here as in any other part of the tunnel. As a
matter of precaution, strong beams had been placed
across the arch at a height of five or six feet above the
rails, to support the sides of the tunnel ; but there was
not the slightest appe7arance or apprehension ef their
giving way. The brick-work did not show the least warp-
ing or deviation from the peculiar curve which forms
the visible arch of the tunnel ; and there seemed to be a
general feeling of satisfaction at finding the accident of
so trivial a character. It seems that here the invert is
so built as to form a skewback for the spring of the
upper arch ; but this had partly been made to rise from
toe materiel in witch tire excavation was made, viz. a
sort of blue slide, which was deemed eufliciently hard
and firm in itself to render it needless to build the invert
of very great strength at this point. Experience has
proved, however, that this shale, when subjected to the
influence of the atmosphere, is but a treacherous sup-
pert ; it has beets c,:nvcrt,d into a sort. of quick-lime,
and, falling away, hes left the lip of the invort
Ils'Y-117r.le°1
has caused the accident. In consequence of having
the shale to work against, the men, in the crewion of
this part of the tumid, proceeded more rapidly than in
any other portion of the work ; relying on the strength
of the shale.—After Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Gooch
had explained the cause of the fall to the party assem-
bled on the spot, the torch-light enabling the visitors to
see every brick in the arch,—Mr. Gill, the Managing
Director, addressing Mr. Houldsworth, as Chairman of
the Board, said he hoped that these explanations and
the state of things woeld be deemed satisfactory, as Mr.
Stephenson and Mr. Gooch wished every one present
perfectly to understand the nature of the occurrence.—
Mr. George Stephenson then said, he wished particu-
larly that every one would examine minutely the arch
above, where they would not perceive the slightest.
I fracture. All that would have to he done would be to
take vp end rebuild about eighty yards of the invert,
below the level of the ground. Several of the Directors
having examined the place thoroughly, and asked for
and received explanations, expressed themselves per-
fectly satisfied ; anal the party resumed their onward
route.

A little beyond this place, the company came to the
platform at the end of the last junction, where the last
brick was keyed into the arch of the tunnel on the 0:11
inst. In several places a little further, junctions were
seen, where, portions of brick-work having been fougi
scarcely strong enough, recourse had been had to smart
lengths of Lit stone fir materials, of which to construct
a pnrt?tiw ,-2f the wall froth the ground, to a height of
six or eight fee, by what is called " paw-pointing" (a
corruption of vierre or stone-pointing). Passing under
shaff No. 3i. which is _aid to be the hardest brick
work of any pest of the tunnel, the company come to
shaft No. 4, front which to the north end of the tun-
nel, a ail:avec. of about a mile and a quarter, the per-
manent way i';s nriade, and the lines of rail laid ; there
not being more than likkit 300 yards, in which the per-
miitierA rails have yet to be hid. In their progress
through he tunnel, the party Cceasionalir came to a
small spar carried across the tunnel, and were told that
it was used to obtain; I,be lines for laying the rails, a
limp being suspended front the centre of the spar.
One point observation and surprise was, that, con-
sidering the whole of the tunnel to hats been formed
in short lengths of brick-work of 12 or 18 feet in length
each, and that in many instances two parties oft en
were working from different shafts, towards the me
point,—the :junctions should have been brought so true,
as to vary in extreme cases not more than CME, to three
inches from the line, while in most instances they were
quite true. A stage was crec:ed under the deep shaft
No. 7, through which the workmen were sending down
ballast for the completion of the ground, within the
invert. No. 8 shaft has been filled up, as it will not be
needed after the opening of the line ; being useful merely
as a working shaft, and not required for the purposes of
ventilation. From No. 10 shalt a slight curve continues
to the end of the tunnel. The shaft No. 12 is also
blocked up. Near this end of the tunnel we observed
a portion of the walls built of ashlar stone, for a height
of about twelve feet from the rails ; this portion of the
work being found to require greater solidity, from the
nature of the material excavated. At length, after
having spent an hour in walking through and examin-
ing the tunnel, the party, at ten minutes to eleven
o'clock, e:nerged from its northern mouth, into a
spacious sort of rotunda, if that name can be applied
to an elliptical open shaft of very large dimensions,
being sixty feet by thirty feet, inside measure. It
is built wholly of brick ; its wails probably thirty-
five to forty feet in height, and guarded above by a
parapet of about six feet in height ; peering over which,
at the visitors below, were a few of the workmen and
labourers. Before leaving the Summit 'Funnel, we may
just state, that there is, we believe, some intention on
the part of the Directors to establish a telegraph from
one end to the other, which will probably be a pneu-
matic telegraph ; by which means, intelligence may be
communicated from one mouth to the other, of the ap- '
proach, entrance, and exit of trains ; with a view to
preventing any danger : and we understand that an-
other regulation to this end will be made, of great im-
portance, viz., that no train will be admitted on the
same line of rails till the previous train has been '
sig-
nalled to have quitted the tunnel at the opposite end.
At present, it is not intended to make any abatement,
of speed in passing through the tunnel ; and a trai
will therefore be. not
.more than three minutes and a
half or
.four minutes in passing through. The trains,
on emerging from. the north end of the tunnel, into the
a second short. tunnel, about seventy yards i
elliptic shaft, will immediately afterwardsplunge' int°,
the same width. as the Summit Tunnel, but measuriag
only 17. feet 6 inches from the rails to the crown of the
arch, in consequence of length, of
the River Calder flowing
through the valley above it.
The company found in waiting in the elliptical shaft
a special train, drawn by the engine Leeds, made by
Mem. Shepherd and Todd. Having entered the

through the
hthe
sh
oereitmtpuannuyel,we
andre soonti. in, rapid ---.11 1.0 tie 13.
sbaarsyi n
to
of
supportnatural t mud,the
wianll
walls
o whichf thiQt l'iueattikitt'etia'irse;:nn 'fjo.orguendrd: ‘•la!ecrteesa-
T'urnt -.l'th°r\ ti•rds'
by piles driven into the soft silt. Shortly • ''
- 'lle
;:aeuedtxnrohaenoi
next
the
hegeenrterevai entered
tiehadwdt
Viaduct
or
kret Winterbut Lee
about 300 yards in length, and thence
thekoeo
noble
'funnel,
theleei ll
‘;
ju'haltsto 1: ihal eil.s.
approached p: psdtr onßalei tihdbegede
The line passes through Gauxholen'e leaving thstr
Bacup and the warehouses of ;Ilse Ro'chdaleCaneario" tar'
1
pang to the left or west. TN t •stopped Con,.
in. et rain awhile'
order to enable the Directors-
.and their friends
alight and descend to the bank.of thy Rochdale C to
1
over which the line passes by a s lend. . cast'.
bridge, with handsome abutmentsP m•
. - anal,
iron skew
of akohd masonry.
This is believed to be the finest specielen of the
i'kets- bridge in the world. The span is 102 i:eet .and "
misses the canal at a height of about 40 feet ire' at
angle
of ot the
The co.aner of the pier on onen
dawn
e the canal is 0 my
about twe:lve feet behind a lin
e rawn across the cap al:
from the cor.'ter of another pier. From this costly and
1 beautiful work there is a fine•
country ; the hi:l/8 rising . around%iew .
loofdthce‘osarroundigg
closing in the
latelscape at some distance from the After
spending a few minutes in insnecting the ai'nel. ire net, the'
company re-entered tae carriages, and at h lf a -past eleven.
were again in motion. Passing tl '-o el
1, :an a a cutting;, they
soon came to the mill-studded
while • - lair, of 'Jodie d
or en ;
in the distance to the
right was a ee.o the eminence
called Studley Pike, topped_ by its stole pillar, com-
memorative of the declaration of peaka.e. The line
Passes through
. . Todmorden, leaving- the old
k lurch to the right or
e east, and
tae Jeff or west of the railway.the nen-
church
to
eaaariod on' a viaduct of seven arches, Here
the
line
is
scenery of the valley is
moarrpchefs,iland thus the
the traveNer. The party were loudlyu displayed to
they passed throt'gh Todmorden. Theilillc cheered as
nature of
the country again compels the line to seeyk
no thisei
ee los.ctufuhruue2nrsc:;:rbb?‘:'
.na ;t:,%s'e;eonrOnvonnldi yards,ttthhi hand-
some'cee
Tonne',arucenhmn. eeir ,g
C whicheasrofdfr iio. -
S ta
t•
through the bowels or- the earth ; it passes throutteshwiny
stokpeCwil.of
2t urrn.d.
etg;.k.
c.
auldi Castleil
the'7sntnolitni
trainiel l T
hill to the left, and the line then . continue's -by alter-
nate cuttings and embankments to the Hors. trail Tun-
reel, which is about 270 yards in length. ... merging
-,*ro.to this, it passes close by the Myrtle Grove (lade-
pcntient) chapel ; and then, the valley becOniiri 7 nar-
row et'north-easterly extra ana towards the gorge at its ' •
y,
three rival lines of communication arc seen pug, suing
their way side by side, the railway being flank d ' tl ei to
hie
left by the turnpike road, and to the right b
dale canal. A little further stands a woolly t mill,'elttlt' -
parently perched on the crown of a high eminencee° al"-
the left, and forming a subiect of speculation toell who
know the importance of water' and a road to such lrt
blishinents ; but we believe the :awl above is a plaeisear
or table-land, affording both these anecessari es to the
or factory. The party next cante to Charles- •
i tarn, where there is a diversion of the Fee to t 'le right
p. a hill, through which numerous efforts were Latade to
Cal the Cia-nrlestown Tunnel ; but the loose eat are of
the , arth, tht whole hill being composed of a m eying,
sliding..
~ sandy earth, it was found necessary, at leas t for
the preseCt, to aellatelon the work, and the tuns el is
now closed. After this short detour, toe. line come sto
the gullet of I,lle valf`Ta the whole of which confined
space, previously ,
to the , ,xistence of the railway, was oc-
cupied by the river, the ca qat• and the turnpike read.
No room being left foe the re'ilway, without (to use a
Lancashire phrase) tin-etching- one of its neighbours
aside, the Railway Compuly. b..,,,ve here diverted the
turnpike load, carrying it by a vitaSOct o'ver the river,
and thus obtained room for the line, es.taietr ,here crosses
all the other three communications by a ..innadsome skew
bridge, duplicated from the same patterns as the care
already described at Gauxholme. The village .',ad church/
of .Mytholin are next passed, and a small ta.nnel tra-
versed ; and the line then passes the village of ,Hebden
Bridge, at which there is a station, distant foie- miles
from Todmoraleu, and seven or eight miles Leans the
Summit Tunnel, Here the still unopened portion of
tke line ends ; tide being the place where coachc..g wait
to coevey passenger; front Leede forward to Litticbo-
rough, where the rail erety again receives them.
The other portion of the line has boen previously ale-
scribed. Beyond Hebden Bridge, which station axe
party left at three minutes past twelve o'cainek, the line
passes to the right of the ancient Rept() ustall. The
Sowerby 'funnel, GOO yards in length, was t. reversed in
less than a minute ; anti the train passed the Sowerby
Bridge Station, 4 miles from ilelelen Bridge, where
st.nd a very neat station-house and offices, built in a
sort of English style, of ornamental half-timbered erec-
tion, and also a spacious shed for goods. The turnpike
mold and river Calder are crossed here by the reifavav,
on a haedsoote viaduct of six arches. Here the rivers
Grid, r and Hebble meet end unite, anal having both
that navigation, ;lie Roci-defe Canal, and the railway,
passing through ife Sowerlay .3ridge is expected to he- -
come a place of some traportai.-ce. Tile .irea then en- •
ters the valley of the Calder, lensing that river almost
side by side, though certainly oftec changing sides, all
the ney from this pointto Wakefield,. A little beyond(
--e-eaee
stone (::yelling is pointed. out as the 'in-nese-1w wniera
Lawrence Sterne first saw the light ; am.' a mill belaws
it. is still called " Sterne Mill." 'loathe kit of the line
lies the moor called Skireaat Heath, exte al:lig towards
Halifax, and next the line perst,s its fray through the
Sakerhebble Valley, from one point in which a branch rail?.
way is to be formed to Halifax. The line lieXt .:TOSS,eB the
road from Halifax to Elland and lludde.rstield, slid, sub-
sequently, the canal and the river, and is then co oducted
the ough the Eland Tunnel, a distance ef 300 ,• erde, to
Ellantl,where there will probably ije a smaller staalu 1 tvhen
the line is fully in operation. The railway ~tarn ovnses
the canal and the river ; and the party soon nettrweards
passed Brighouse, another principal stat.on, six in des
iron) Sowerby Bridge. The line next passes to the
right of Kirkleer, where Sir George At-tannage has a
seat, arid where, it. is said, Robin Hood's remains were
interred ; and, again crossbw. the Gadder, passes over
a turnpike road at Cooper Bridge, at a !mita distant
(by the turnpike) about twelve miles front Leeds, ant/
four from Huddersfield. The line, next runs by Mir.
field, again crosses the Calder, amid almost immediately
afterwards rceresses that. river, on a viaduct of IS arches
As a striking proof of the lilt-moo; character of the lines
of water communication near which the hue pursues the
greater part of its course, and which it has so often to cross
and recross, thereby considerably inca euslog the cost of
.
its formation, hr the items of bridges a'e viaducts—we
may aneution that the railway crosses the Rochdale
Canal seven times, and passes over the liver Galilee,
and its connected line of navigation, „e
.fewer than
22 times ; so that about 30 bridges ;IA viaducts
are rendered necessary to carry the line over fliese two
water-ways. The train reached the Dewsbury stetioo,
61 miles from Brighouse, at 18 minutes to one o'clock,.
passing Thorlaill, which lies at a little distance to the
right. Tha Horbury and Ossett station (three miles
from the Dewsbury one) was passed at eleven minutes
to one o'clock ; and, immediately afterwards, the train
passed through the 1-lorbury tunnel.2oo yards in length ;
on emerging from which it was apparent that. the :ail-
way, having traversed the hilly district, was entering a
more fertile, open, champaigne country, where agricul-
ture had everywhere imprinted the marks of her labour•
and success. The line traverses a portion of the park.
of Thornes, the residence of Benjamin Gaskelt, Esq.,.
and, next. passing the church of Thornes, is conducted
on the viaduct over Kirkgate, to the Wakefield statiats
(four miles from Horberv), which the train reacbe&
throe minutes before one o'clock. After a short-stay
here, the train pursued its way, and, crossing the Cal-
der by one of the numerous bridges over that river, soma ~... .
reached the place where, by its junction -with the Aire,,
it assumes the name of the Aire and Gelder Navigation.
A little further, the Manchester and Leeds and North
Midland Lines (the latter lying south, or to the right,
of the Leeds Line) are seen gradually converging to et
junction. When first seen, the North Midland is at to
higher level by a few feet than the Manchester and!.
Leeds Line, and the latter rises to this level ; and the
two lines, after running side by side for nearly a mile.
form a juncture near the village of Warmfield. abort a .
mile S.W. of Normanton. The station at Normantoss,
t)?, miles from Wakefield, 30•al from Todmorden, 30 frcrza
Manchester, and 10 from Leeds,—was reached by a.
quarter past one o'clock. This being the extent of the
excursion, the company alighted ; and their notice was
called to the excavations in progress for the foundations
of a large station-house or botwes, adequate to the joint
or separate requirements of the three railway lines,—
the Manchester and Leeds, the North Midland, and
the York and North 'Midland (dvii'.lb last enters the
North Midland about a nOe N.E. ef Normanton.)
After waiting some time for the arrival of i.e train front
Leeds, the special train returned to Waket:eldr which
place it reached at 2 Here the
6 minutes to two o'clock. -
party partook of

provided by h,, THE COLLA rioN
.
civ.,the Directors, at the George Inn. which
WOS every way creditable to the host. Henry itould.l.
sided ;
Nli
m.CEhnatiTisatinc,ofEtstqw., Bpoat,rpdutoyf_cDhairireicntaonr:,
thefipareed-
Vice-President's Chair. After the repast had been
concluded,
The CHAIRNIAN, after the expression of loyal feelings'
and sentiments on the part of all present, said, thattime
seen
htftwbviees
would not allow of the usual toasts being proposed, he
would therefore at once give, " Success to the Manches-
ter and Leeds Railway."—(Applause.) lie thought no-
they had seen that d,sy could at ail affect their
tplr'eirvLgions anticipat►ons as to the success of the line.
That we (continued the Chairman) should have un-
dsheortualkdenhayseueilaicea workssueh adsiffiwcueltiehga,vaen(dlo
tn.heu;stbsthatee
found our way through them, so as to leave, faras the
only difficulty remaining, what we haveon
e Ir s
.
their
assuranceskill on thee ppraerste no:
occasion, and that of our own experience
douayr,enagoiense
leege in these matters, that such
usual ; are, in fact, almost an
have seen this day in the tunnel,
i similar works ; and, looking at the
occurrences as svo
every-lay occurrence is
and know.
aresitunaotitoatofalauf un-
usual