The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-09 00:00:00

London and Croydon flailway.

Commences at Corbet's.lane, Rotherhitbe, where it_ joins the
London and Greenwich line; and terminates at Croydon near the
ninth mile stone from London. The Act incorporating the Com-
pany was obtained on the 12th of June, 1836. This Railway for
the greater part of its length runs in the bed of the Croydon Canal,
which was purchased and drained by the Railway Directors, but
the curvature of the canal rendered a departure from its entire
course imperative. The engineering work is of the best kind, and
has been, by Mr. Gibbs, the engineer, most skilfully executed. The
principal cutting is at New Cross, the quantity of earth removed from
this spot amounting to half a million cubic yards. This Railway
has been adopted by the Brighton Railway Company as a part of
their line, and the gradients and curves originally projected by
Mr. Gibbs, were altered to suit the level of the Brighton line. The
bridges are all neat and well constructed, and no line in the king-
dom can boast of neater or more commodious buildings as stations.
The gage of the Railway is 4 feet 8* inches, the rails are laid in a
novel way ; they are, like the lines of the Great Western Railway,
laid upon continuous bearings of wood, but they are not attached to
piles, but simply imbedded on the ballast of the way.
The rails are formed with flanges, by which they -are screwed to
the bearers at equal distances. This improved method of laying
:he rails has lessened the noise generally attendant upon the motion
of the trains, and also produced a steady and hardly perceptible
vibration. This Railway runs through a most beautiful country ;
and for one shilling the citizen may enjoy some of the loveliest
scenery in England, and be placed within one mile distance
of some of our early buildings, and our best public collections of pic-
tures. Dulwich Gallery is lo mile from _the Dartmouth Arms
station, and tickets may be obtained, gratis, at the principal print_
publishers in Leaden, admitting parties to see the fine collection
of paintings of the old masters. Beulah Spa is one mile from the
Norwood station. The grounds are very well laid out, and there
is a mineral spring, strongly impregnated with sulphate of mag-
nesia. The grounds are not open on Sundays. At the terminus at
Croydon, there arc the remains of the Archiepiscopal Palace and
the Church, within which are the monuments of several Arch-
bishops. A short stay at Mitcham, Merton, Carshalton, and Bed-
dington, will amply repay the visitor for his excursion.
The capital of the Company is 585,0001. The stations arc
Toolcy-street Annerley
New-cross Norwood
Dartmouth Arms Jolly Sailor
Sydenham Croydon
Penge
•
London and Greenwich Railway.

The crowded state of the pool and port of London, has origi.
nated many plans for clearing the stream, or for removing a por-
tion of the shipping to the wider parts of the river; and the corn-
pletion of the Greenwich and Blackwall Railways, seemed likely to
effect this desirable end. But hitherto, these railways, and espe-
cially the Greenwich, have been confined to the conveyance of
passengers. This railway is constructed upon a viaduct of nearly
1,000 arches, it is 3 miles long. The Croydon, Brighton, and
South Eastern use this line of railway for their London terminus.

The capital of the Company is 733,333/., number of shares
23,630, of 20/. each. The first brick was laid in April, 1834.
It seems strange that in a line of four miles such great difference
in the under soil should be found; there are substrata of gravel,
clay, sand, peat, bog, and floating land, but Colonel Landman, the
engineer, has successfully overcome these difficulties; each part of
the viaduct rests on a bed of concrete, and very little settlement has
taken place, throughout the line. This viaduct may be said to be
an experiment to prove that whenever the lead is long, a viaduct is
more economical than an embankment ; indeed, the expense of an
embankment throughout the whole of the Greenwich line would have
been very great, whereas the viaduct is now used for cellaring and
storehouses. The Act of Incorporation was obtained 17th May,
1833, and five subsequent Acts have been obtained.
The Stations are—Tooley.street ; Greenwich.