The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-15 00:00:00

No. 147. London and Brighton—Dorking branch ; and
No. 214. South-Eastern—Reigate and Dorking branch.
If the atmospheric system of propulsion should prove suc-
cessful and deserving of further adoption, it would seem to
be better suited than the locomotive 'system of traction to
the nature of this section of country. The whole question of
railway communication with Dorking may be temporarily
po,tponed without any inconvenience, and if hereafter the
atmospheric system should prove available, the line from
Epsom to Dorking, projected upon that principle, would
appear to be the best adapted for supplying the wants of
Dorking and its vicinity, without incurring the expense of
making so many additional miles of railway. This Epsom
line would be the shortest route from Dorking to London.
The gradients are very severe, but not more severe than are
encountered on some other lines to which we have not
thought it necessary to object, nor yet too severe to admit ( f
its construction as a locomotive line. It must, however, be
a bad locomotive line, and in the possible event of failure of
the atmospheric principle, it may be Well at a future time to
consider, whether a good locomotive line to Reigate, giving I
means for communication between Dorking and Brighton,
or Dover, might not be more to the advantage of Dorking
than a bad locomotive line to Epsom, giving indeed a supe-
rior access to London, but wanting the other advantages
here alluded to.

The South-Eastern Company having leased in perpetuity
the Greenwich Railway, are desirous of extending and
widening the line, with a view to give greater convenience
and security to the public, and we have no public objections
to offer to their proposals for that purpose.
In conclusion, we beg to draw attention to the passage of
the fifth report of the Select Committee of last year, in
which it is stated, in recommending that reports should be
made to Parliament by this department upon railway
schemes, " That no such report should be held to prejudice
the claims of:private persons, the examination of which
should be altogether reserved to the Houses of the Legisla-
ture."

In submitting to Parliament, in conformity with the re-
commendations of that Committee, the results at which we
have arrived, with a view to the information and assistance
of Parliament in forming a judgment upon the schemes in
question,:in so far es our report may be available for that
purpose, we are anxious that it should be distinctly under-
stood that we have arrived at these results solely upon public
grounds, and to the exclusion of all considerations how far
such results might require to be modified by a due regard
for private rights and interests.
DALHOUSIE.
C. W. PASLEY. G. R. PORTER.
D. O'BRIEN. S. LAING.

REPORT OF THE RAILWAY DEPARTMENT OF THE
BOARD OF TRADE ON THE TRENT VALLEY AND
CHURNET VALLEY RAILWAY SCHEMES.
Railway Department, Board of Trade,
Whitehall, March 13, 1845.

The Board constituted by Minute of the Lords of the Com-
mittee of Privy Council for Trade, for the transaction of
Railway business, having had under consideration the Trent
Valley and Churnet Valley Railway schemes, have deter-
mined on submitting the following report thereon fer the
consideration of Parliament :

These lines may be considered as forming portions of one
scheme for shortening the distance of the principal railway
communications from the metropolis to Ireland, Scotland,
Liverpool, Manchester, and the northern and north-western
portions of the kingdom. The Trent Valley Railway com-
mences at Rugby and runs by Tamworth, Lichfield, and
Rugeley to Stafford, thus cutting off the angle of the London
and Birmingham and Grand Junction lines at Birmingham,
and reducing the length of the journey from London to
Liverpool and Holyhead, and by Carlisle to Scotland, by nine
miles of actual distance. The proposed line is 49i miles in
length, and its gradients are of a very favourable descrip •
tion. The serious delay now experienced in passing through
Birmingham will also be avoided; and, on the whole, we
agree with the Commissioners, who reported in 1841 upon
the communication with Ireland and. Scotland, that a consi-
derable saving in point of time will be effected upon through
traffic. The importance of this saving upon such great lines
of communication has been fully recognised on former occa-
sions, and is too obvious to require comment. The intermediate
district between Stafford and Rugby, including Tamwortli,
Lichfield, Rugeley, Atherstone, Nuneaton, and the towns
along the old Holyhead road, will also derive great benefit
from the railway, and being brought forward in connexion
with the existing railway company interested in the great
lines of communication referred to, may be considered as un-
opposed.
The Churnet Valley Railway, together with the above
line, and with the existing London and Birmingham and
Manchester and Birmingham Railways, completes a line of
railway communication between London and Manchester
19 miles shorter than the present one, and which is believed
to be practically as short a l►ne as any which can be made
between the two points. Commencing at Macclesfield, to
which place a branch from the Manchester and Birmingham
line has been already sanctioned, the Churnet Valley line
passes by Leek and tittoxeter to a point four miles north-
west of famwOrth, where it joins the proposed Trent Valley

.
line. From Uttoxeter a branch dierges to Willington, a
point on the Birmingham and Derby line, within 6 miles of
Derby.

It will thus be seen, by reference to the map, that the
Churnet Valley lino presents the double advantage of uniting,
by the shortest practicable lines, Manchester, the great ma-
u ufacturin,g metropolis of the kingdom, with London, on the
one hand, and on the other hand, with Derby, and through
the existing and projected railways which centre there, with
Nottingham, Leicester, Stamford, Peterborough, Cambridge,
and the whole of the Midland and Eastern Counties. At
the same time it will afford to Derby, and to the traffic
centering there, the shortest outlet to Liverpool, Preston, and
the north ; and be productive of much local advantage to the
important manufacturing town of Macclesfield, containing a
population of upwards of 50,000; to Leek, another manufac-
turing town, containing a population of 11,738 ; and to the
towns of Cheadle, Uttoxeter, Rocester, &c., and the district
along the line.
The importance of such a line has been already recognised,
and in 1836 a Committee of the House of Commons reported
that "It has been established to the satisfaction of the Com-
mittee, that a line opening a communication from Manches-
ter and Liverpool, through the populous and growing towns
of Stockport, Macclesfield, and Leek, to Derby, to Leicester,
to Nottingham, and to London, is one highly desirable for
the public interest, and highly deserving of favourable con-
sideration in a future session." Since that period the in-
crease of population in the manufacturing districts, and the
development of traffic and opening out of new railways, have
added greatly to the force of these arguments.
It is true that by the construction of the Manchester and
Birmingham line to Crewe, the objects mentioned by the
Committee have been partially attained, and by the pro-
posed Trent Valley, in connexion with this line, the dis-
tance between London and Manchester would be reduced to
184 miles, as compared with 179 miles by that of the Chur-
net Valley; and if this were the sole object, it might be
questionable how far it would justify the construction of
more than 50 miles of railway, of which a good deal is of a
difficult and expensive character. But when we consider
that not only Manchester but the surrounding district, com-
prising the towns of Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, Ashton, Old-
ham, Stockport, &c., and a mass of population of upwards of
a million, actively engaged in the pursuits of manufacturing
industry, will benefit by every reduction of distance in their
principal communications; and also that the connexion of
this district with the midland manufacturing district, and
with the midland and eastern agricultural counties, from
which it derives a large proportion of its supplies, would
alone justify a railway to Derby, FO that the portion of new
line actually required for the purpose of completing the most
direct communication with London is only 15 miles, it ap-
pears to us to be perfectly evident that there are sufficient
public reasons to justify the construction of the line.
By the reduction of the distance to 179 miles, the fare be-
tween London and Manchester, by the Parliamentary third-
class, established by the Act of last year, will be reduced to
15s. The time of the journey also by quick trains, under a
proper system of combined management between London
and Manchester,. may, at the rate of travelling which is now
established upon several railways, be reduced to 5i or 6
hours, so as to admit of the possibility of a person leaving
Manchester in the morning, transacting business in London,
and returning the same evening.
The traffic which may be expected to pass over a line which
combines so many important objects may reasonably be ex-
pected to afford an adequate remuneration on the capital re-
quired, although, as we have already observed, parts of the
line are of an expensive character. The traffic tables sub-
mitted to us also show a probability of a sufficient income;
and being in alliance with the other companies whose lines
will form portions of the direct London and Manchester, and
Manchester and Derby routes, a further security is afforded
for the due development of the traffic and for the line being
efficiently worked.
The promoters of the Churnet Valley line have further de-
posited plans for a continuation of their line from Tarnworth
to Rugby, to meet the contingency of the Trent Valley line
not being sanctioned; but as the Trent Company were first
in the field, and have a preferable claim, founded bn ex-
penses incurred on former occasions; as the traffic which
will pass over their line towards Liverper.:l and Ireland will
probably be greater than that over the Churnet line towards
Manchester; and as the Trent Company offer to accede to any
reasonable provisions for securing the unimpeded transit
upon fair terms of the Churnet traffic over their line, it
appears to us that they are fairly entitled to the possession of
the integral line from Rugby to Stafford, and that the
Churnet line should only be sanctioned up to the point north
of Tamworth, where it leaves the direction of the Trent line.

The Alrewas branch of the Trent Valley scheme would
have been very useful in diminishing the distance between
Manchester and Derby, had not a more direct route been
afforded by the Churnet line. This however being the case,
there hardly appears to be at present any sufficient object to
justify the construction of this branch, although being only
71 miles in length, and of an easy character, it would not be
expensive.
The accommodation of the Potteries, by means of branches,
also forms a part both of the Trent and Churnet Valley
schemes. The latter proposes a branch from Stoke to near
Leek, and the former a branch from near Stafford to Stoke,
where it is proposed to meet a line promoted by the Grand
Junction Company from their line at Crewe. The branch
from Stoke to Leek would afford an outlet both towards
Manchester and Derby, and although it might not be suf-
ficient in itself for the complete accommodation of the Pot-
teries district, and should not be allowed to interfere with
any other scheme proposed for that object, it will .afford a
certain amount of accommodation, and we are aware of no
public reason why it should not be sanctioned.
The other line of the Trent Valley Company, from Stafford
' to Stoke, would form, in conjunction with the proposed
branch of the Grand Junction company, a scheme for the
accommodation of the Potteries, so far complete, that in the
event of its being sanctioned, there would be no likelihood
of any other scheme for that purpose being brought forward.
Considering that the scheme was originally proposed with
a view to the accommodation of the Potteries district, as the
result of some understood arrangement with the principal
Potteries' interests, and that those interests now object to it.,
and urge that the whole question should be postponed until
another year, to afford time for consideration, and for matur-
ing some more complete scheme for the accommodation of
that important district, it appears to us, without expressing
any opinion upon the merits of the projected line, that, under
these circumstancea, we are justified in recommending its
postponement.
With these exceptions, we are not aware of any objections,
upon public grounds, that can be urged against the Trent and
Churnet Valley schemes, which are recommended, as we
have already seen, by such obvious and important public

considerations.
The only parties who have appeared before us as objectors
to the Churnet line are the Grand Junction Railway Com-
pany, who contend that it would create an injurious and un-
necessary competition with existing lines for the traffic from
Manchester to the south. This argument, however, is met
by the circumstance that the other companies principally in-
terested in the Manchester and London traffic, viz., the Man-
chester and Birmingham, the Trent Valley, and the London
and Birmingham, do not object to the Churnet Valley Com-
pany, but, on the contrary, are in alliance with it ; while the
Grand Junction Company, whose line is principally a line for
Liverpool, Irish, and northern traffic, do not appear to be in
a position which can entitle them to advance any objections,
on public grounds, to the construction of a direct line between
Manchester and London. In the absence of any such ob-
jections, it appears unnecessary fcr us to dwell at greater
length upon the arguments in favour of this and of the Trent
Valley Hue already referred to, or to enter more fully upon