The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-07 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN.

The following very clear statement oe the merits of
this important railway has been forwarded to us :
" The line sanctioned will commence at Paddington by
an independent terminus immediately opposite the Great
Western Hotel, and, by a branch to the Great Western
Railway, along the South Wharf-road, will be connected
with that railway on the level ; it will then proceed under
the New-road to Euston-square, where it will throw off a
branch to the Easton Station ; from Euston-square the line
will still keep the course of the New-road to King's-cross,
where a short branch will be carried up Maiden lane to
connect it with the Great Northern Railway on the level;
from King's-cross the line. will take a direct course to the
prison in Coldbath-fields, whick is to be removed. The
valuable site of 8j acres of land on which the priseOstands,
and which will become the property of the company, will
compensate to a great extent the cost of erecting a now
prison. The line then enters upon the large open space
which has recently been uncovered by the city under the
powers of the Clerkenwell Improvement Acts ; by this
fortunate coincidence, not only will the cost of construct-
ing the railway be most materially lessened, but an ample
space will be obtained in the vary heart of London for
station purposes, and for warehouses, for the accommoda-
tion of the daily increasing trade of London.
" The line will then cross Smithfield, where again it will
be carried for a considerable distance, without any inter-
ference with buildings to St. Martin s-le-Grand and the
Post-office. The Parliamentary powers for those works
were obtained during the late monetary crisis, and upon
terms highly favourable for the company.
" The capital is 1,000,0001. in shares of 101. each. All
the shales have been subscribed for, and a sum amounting
to 75,0001. is now standing to the credit of the company
in the hands of the Accountant-General. _

" The entire length of the line will be four; miles one
furlong, of which nearly two miles Will be under the sur-
face of the New-road; where no purihase money will be
required, save in two or three exceptional cases, where a
few houses for station purposes may possibly have to be
taken. The site of the House of Correction, the Clerken-
well improvement. district, and Smithfield, will comprise
a further distance of half a mile, where little compensa-
tion will be required, and the greater portion of Praed-
street, and South Wharf-road will also be wide enough for
the railway, so that there will remain a little more thin a
mile of the whole distance of ,rdinary house property, and
the cost of the land will consequently be 1-ss than one-
fourth of what it would have been if the linehad bitin less
happily selected, and that coat again will be materially re-
duced by the re sale of the surface after the works have
been covered in.
" The construction of the works will be attended with
no difficulty. The mole of dealing with the New-road
and the other public thoroughfares was wall considered
and provided for by the different local authorities; it will
occasion no inconvenience to the company, and ample al-
lowance for every expense under this head has been made;
the working drawings for the sewers have been arranged
and settled with the engineer of the Metropolitan 13,,,,rd
of Works, and the requisite alterations in the drainage
will be completed at leas cost than wasat first contemplated
and included in the estimates ; and the water and gas pipes
will neither be disturbed during the construction of the
work, nor their situation altered, as the positi in of the
railway' will admit not only of their retention, but of th• it
enlargement at any future period. The works throughout
are of an ascertained and uniform character, less liable
than Uevil to 624 disturpag coutiDgeach sad allaittiPS

of their being estimated with more than ordinary preci-
sion. The estimates, both for land and work:, have been
revised and examined with the grea'est minuteness, and
the survey, .r and engineer are satisfied that the stun of
1,200,03,N. will cover every contingency.
" The company have p ewer to burrow 330,000/. so that
a sufficient margin will remain for the purchase Of rolling
stock.
" The entire railway may easily be completed within 13
months after its commencement ; but, for greater caution,
two years are allowed for its being opened.
" The railway from the Great Western Railway to the
Post•office will be a double line of mixed gauge, adapted
for carriages on both the broad and the narrow gauge, with
two additional lines of rails on the narrow gauge from the
'Great Northern Railway to the City. for the accommoda-
tion of short trains on that line, and to meet the require-
ments of the dead-meat markets in the City, and the new
cattle-market in. Copenhagen-fields, when the contemplated
arrangements with the eat Northern Company and. the
Corporation of London are satisfactorily concluded.
" The arcade through which the railway will be carried
will be spacious, dry, and well ventilated and lighted ;
and, by the mode of working the trains, entirely free of
smoke and steam.
" The trains will be approached by wide and easy stairs,
not involving more inconvenience than the ordinary descent
from the drawing to the dining room.
" The carriages will be spacious, and adapted for the
London traffic ; they will be fitted up with every comfort,
anti mirrors and lights will altogether exclnde the idea of
underground travelling. The trains will be propelled by
locomotive engines, moved by steam generated from heated
water carried with the engines, with an apparatus for con-
densing the waste steam, by which means all annoyance
from smoke, grit, or steam will be avoided.
" The practicability and advantages of this motive power
were fully investigated by the committee on the bill, and
conclusively proved by the evidence of Messrs. Bruuell,
Fowler, and Scott Russell,• and by experiments on the
Great Western Rail way.
"The trains will be run in regular succession at inter-
vals of five minutes, with additional trains during the
busy hours of the morning and afternoon. From their fre-
quency, they will be light, and of nearly uniform weight ;
the passengers to take up and set down at each station,
from the shortness of the interval between one train and
another, will be few; fifteen are taken as the average, and
will require but a momentary stoppage. The gradients
will be uniformly good, and the rails will not be liable to
be rendered slippery and dirty by the weather or other
external influences. The trains will, therefore, be worked
with a clockwork regularity, which is all-important for
the business traffic of the metropolis, and will more than
compensate for the comparatively low speed which will
be attained-15 miles, including stoppages, is reckoned on.
"As the railway and carriages will always be under
cover, they will not be liable to damage from weather, and
will in other respects be more economically managed
and maintained. _

" It is impossible to conceive a system of railway com-
munication better adapted for the accommodation of the
London passenger traffic. The regular omnibus traveller,
and the ladies and gentlemen who never venture into an
omnibus, will at all times, and at each station, be certain
to meet a conveyance to their taste, and which will assist
them some distance on their journey with speed and com-
fort, and at a small charge.
" Any estimate based upon the crowds which may be ex-
pected to avail themselves of such a cunvenience—from
Paddington, Kilburn, St. John's-wood, Maryleb one, the
Regent's-park, Tottenham-court-road, Euston-square,
King's-cross, to and from the City, and from the euoless
stceadas of traffic passing throughout the day between the
intermettiate stations and place. to which they lead, would
lea damned an exaggeration.
'•Tuu experieue- of existing railway ead furnish the

slightest iddicatiou of the numbers whicli may be expected;
but the river steam-boats which touch at points further
removed from the great thoroughfares, at very uncertain
times, which take longer time to perform their journeys,
and are less conveniently approached, carry, it is computed,
150,000 persons daily.
"The following very modest calculation of traffic ap-
peared i❑ the original prospectuses of the company, and
may be assumed as much under the mark:—
' • Taking the trains to run every five minutes through
the day, from 8 a.m. till .10 p.m., with extra trains during
the busy hours, from 8 to 11 in the morning, and from 3 to
6 in the afternoon, the daily trains will be as under:—
Trains every five minutes, or per hour 12 by 14 = 168
Additional trains per hour Bby 6 = 46

21.6

Each way by '1=135 trains per diem.
" The average take on the main line of the Blackwall
Railway is 7s. per wile per train ; then
435 trains by 4, clic mileage,=l,72B; and 7s. the take
per mile-=6oi/. 16s. per diem.
Which, at 3d. each would be 43,381 passengers—loss than
the estimated present number of omnibus travellers, with-
out, cabs or increase.

Per Annum
601'. 165., the daily receipts, by 313 = M59,3)2. 8s
Two-thirds of the above receipts as the
Sunday traffic, = 4531. 4s. by 52 --

29,966 Bs,

£219,268 16s,

"A second great source of profit will be found in the
goods traffic, to be milled chiefly by night, passing to and
fro between the Great Western, the Loudon and North-
Western, and the Great Northern Railways, and the ware-
houses and depots which these great companies will erect
for themselves in Clerkenwell, Smithfield, and elsewhere
in the heart of the City with this line. The site of the
House of Correction, a square block of land of f 3 acres,
presents, when connected with the great railway systems,
the opportunity of carrying on a coal traffic of very far
greater magnitude than the London railways have as yet
developed. Indeed the most competent judges have given
it as their opinion that the Metropolitan Railway might
be worked to great profit if devoted exclusively to the con-
veyance of goods.
" The third great source of profit to the Metropolitan
Company will be the facilities of interchange of traffic with
the three great northern and western railways, and their
numberless tributaries. Looking at these various sources
of traffic, and at all the circumstances of this very re-
markable and promising undertaking, it is not too much
to anticipate that it will prove a striking exception to the
general experience of railway enterprise, and prove as pro.
litabl3 to the company as it will undoubtedly be useful to
the inhabitants of this great city.
"The manifest advantages of the project secured in the
first instance a very decided feeling in its favour on the
part of the public ; but the hesitation of the company, in-
clined no doubt by the adverse aspect of the times, occa-
sioned much distrust, and has materially prejudiced them
for the moment in public estimation. The arrangement,
however, concluded with Mr. Ricardo, which insures the
speedy commencement of the wuiks, and the energetic
prosecution of the undertaking, will dispel this passing
shadow, and restore to the company that confidence which
is alone wanting to complete the measure of its success."