The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-04 00:00:00

RAPID PROGRESS OF THE 111E2ROPOL1TAN
UNDERGROUND RAILWAY.

The intricate works in connection with this line
of railway intended to connect the western and
northern districts with the city of London, are pro-
ceeding very rapidly. The contractors, Messrs.
Smith and Knight, and Mr. John Jay—the former
firm having the western portion from Paddington
to Euston-square, and the latter the eastern part
from St. Paneras New Church to the City—are
indefatigable in their labours, as are also Messrs.
Johnson, the engineers, and Mr. John Fowler,
F.R.S., the engineer-in-chief. Several hundred
men are daily engaged on different parts of the
line, especially at Baker-street, King's-cross and
Coppice-row works. The junction of the line with
the Great Northern Railway, and its passenger
station at King's-cross, has been completed, and the
roadway over it was some time since paved over in
order to facilitate the surface traffic. A spectator
of those works cannot fail of being struck with the
greatness of the undertaking and the amazing
difficulties which must have beset the engineers
at this critical portion of the line. The main
line of sewer along the Euston-road has been di-
verted, and just at the junction it has been carried
by an immense iron tube over the line of railettnd
immediately underneath the handsome elliptical
arch of the railway. The following authorised
description of the works at this point, and which
may be taken as a sample ef the nature of the
whole of them, will probably be interesting :—The
arch, which forms a true ellipsis, is, in section, ex*
tremely graceful, and withal, viewed from the base
line, it has a very bold and solid appearance. It
is formed of six 41-inch ways of brick work, set,
in hydraulic lime and Portland cement, where it
has been considered necessary to protect the tun•
milled portions of the way. At the Great Western
end, at Paddington, there will be a tunnel leading
to the main line of the Great Western Railway,
and another to the hotel, upon the same principle,
as those already constructed at King's-cross. '.1.1e
"hell mouths" of these tunnels are constructed of
wrought iron. Up to the present time upwards
of 5,000 level feet of arching have been constructed,
and about 14,000 feet of sewerage have been
diverted. The station at Baker-street, and indeed
the whole of them, will be erected in the Italian
style of architecture, and there will be provided
the customary conveniences for railway passengers.
The faces will be cased with substantial brickwork,
and the various dressings of the doors and windows
will be of Portland cement, and the copings, cor-
nices, and string-courses will be of a similar mate-
rial. The lower level of the:stations will b roofed by
a legitimate arch, to be formed in rings of brick, and
will have a diameter at its springing of 44 feet. At
Coppice-row the works- are steadily progressing,
and the roadway over Ray-street, Clerkenwell, is
being extended City wards daily. By the spring
of 1862 it is anticipated the whole line will be
opened for general traffic.

711 E LOSS OF THE GOLDEN STAR.

'rt.. .........

We have already given some particulars of the
loss of the ship Golden Star, 1,198 tons, and the
melancholy fate of the captain, his wife, and most
of the crew, near Bannow Bay. The following
statement of one of the survivors, the chief officer,.
made to the receiver of wreck for the district, and
which has been forwarded to .the Board of Trade,
furnishes the full details of the catastrophe :
" The Golden Star, under the command of Capt.
Stapleton, with a cargo of 3,750 bales of cotton
(which is insured in London), left Mobile on the
17th of last November, and proceeded satisfactorily
until the Bth of last month, when she encountered
very heavy gales, and these prevailed until the
26th and 27th, when calm weather succeeded. On
the 28th, at six o'clock at night, the brig was bear-
ing up St. George's Channel, and at midnight lost
sight of the light of the Old Head of Kinsale. The
wind increasing all the light sails were taken in,
and at 8 o'clock the next morning the weather
became more boisterous, with very heavy sea. At
noon made the Conybeg light-ship, and found tivey
could not weather the shore. Orders werti
given to
lower the upper topsails, fore and =kin, but before
they could be carried out the lcnver fore and mizen
topsails were blown into shreds. The men were
called down, and attempts were made to make
Waterford. Heavy squalls with rain and fog
set in, which shut out all view of the land and
lights. They then hauled up courses and let go
both anchors, 80 fathoms of chain being paid out
to each anchor. Finding the anchors would not
hold, cut away the three masts, when she held on
till about 7 o'clock, and then parted. The ship
headed off to the northward and westward, when
a strong current setting in carried her in towards
Carnivan Head, where she struck on the rocks.
This took place about 10 o'clock; the ship struck
on the rocks stem foremost. They then tried to
send a line ashore to the people collected there,
but failed, as the current carried it along the beach.
A line was then thrown from the shore by a rocket,
which failed in reaching the ship, but they seemed
to believe it had, as they did not make any further
attempts to send a second. In about half an hour
afterwards the ship wont to pieces. The captain,
his wife, stewardess, and 11 of the crew perished,
and the remainder of the crew, seven men, were
saved. Their escape was truly morvellous. When
the forward part of the ship broke away from the
stern portion it swung round and broke all to
pieces. The next two seas burst the starboard
side of the stern part of the ship open, which was
hanging on the rocks, and swept out about 200
bales of cotton, which for about five seconds formed
a sort of bridge between the wreck and the shore,
and by running and jumping from one t?,
another
the survivors succeeded in getting ashore'
•
The value of the ship and cargo Is estimated,
at £40,000.
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