The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-17 00:00:00

RAIL WAY IN TELLIGENCE.

REPORT OF THE RAILWAY DEPARTMENT
OF THE BOARD OF TRADE ON THE SCH EMES
FOR EXTENDING RAILWAY COMMUNICA-
TION IN SCOTLAND. •
Railway Department, Board orTrade„
Whitehall. March 13, 1845.
The Board constituted by Minute of the Lords of
;he Comittee of Privy Council for Trade, for the tran-
saction of railway business, having under consideration
the following schemes deposited with the Railway De-
partment, for extending railway communication in Scot-
land, viz.:—
The Aberdeen Railway ;
Caledonian ;
Clydesdale Junction ;
Dundee and. Perth ;
Edinburgh and Northern ;
Edinburgh and Glasgow--Stirling Branch ;
Edinburgh and Hawick ' •
Glasgow, Barrhead, and Neilston ' •
Glasgow and Ayr—Barrhead and Neilston Branch;
Glasgow and Ayr—Cumnock Branch ; •
Grasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle ;
Glasgow Junction;
Glasgow-Harbour Union;
Scottish Central;
Scottish Midland;
have determined on submitting the following report
thereon fur the consideration of Parliament.
The above schemes may be classed according to the
leading objects which they have in view.
I. The Caledonian Railway on the one hand, with the
Clydesdale and other minor railways, which it is pro-
posed to use iu entering Glasgow; and-ou the other
hand, the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle, and
Edinburgh and Hawitl, in connexion with the -ex-
isting Edinburgh and, Glasgow and Glasgow and Ayr
Railways, and the North British Railway, sanctioned
last year, may be considered as competing schemes for
completing the railway communication south of the Forth
and Clyde between Scotland and England.
IL The Scottish Central (in continuation of the line
of the Caledonian from Castle Cary on the Edinburgh
and Glasgow Railway to Perth);
The Scottish Midland (in continuation of the Scottish
Central from Perth to Forfar);
The Edinburgh and Glasgow—Stirling Branch ;
The Edinburgh and Northern (from Burntisland on
the Frith of Forth opposite to Edinburgh, through Fife
to Perth) ;
The Dundee and Perth ; and the Aberdeen (from.
Friockheim, a point midway on the Arbroath and For-
far Railway to Aberdeen); are schemes proposed for
extending railway communication north of the 'orth
and Clyde, or, more correctly speaking, north of the
line of the pi'esent Edinburgh and Glas,gow. Railway.
111. The Glasgow, Barrhead, and Neilston, and Glas-
gow and Ayr—Barrhead and Neilston Branch, are .com-.
peting schemes for supplying local accomirodation to
maneacturiyg district in the vicinity of Glasgow.
IV. And finally, the Glasgow Junction, and Glasgow-
Harbour Union, are schemes for extending existing rail-
ways in the town of Glasgow, with a view to effect a
junction with other railways, and to obtain a readier ac-
cess to the river for coals and minerals. Both these
schemes, however, appear to depend so materially on
considerations of private interest, which we are pre-
cluded from entertaining, and on detailed evidence as to
local circumstances, that we do not feel ourselves justi-
fied in reporting any decided opinion respecting them.
The other lines referred to are delineated on the map-
accompanying this report, a reference to which will afford
the readiest explanation of their respective objects and
direction. - ,

It is evident that a consideration of these lines raises
the whole question of deciding on the best permanent
system of railway. communications for Scotland gene-
rally. The sanction or the North British Railway from
Edinburgh to Berwick, last year, together with the coin-
pletion of the eastern chain of English lines up to New-
castle, warrant us in assuming as an admitted fact, that
this eastern line of communication from London to Edin-
burgh will be completed, but with the exception of this
fact, the whole_ question of railway communication for
Scotland may be considered as an open one.
In approaching it, we will endeavour to consider, first,
what are the cardinal paints to be-attended to in laying
out a systcm of railway communications for-Scotland.
Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Perth, are evidently the
three points upon which we must fix our attention, as
determining the direction of the leading railways.
Edinburgh, as the capital, and seat of the courts of jus-
tice and university, and Glasgow as the commercial and
manufacturing capital and city et' largest population, are
the great centres to which the principal streams of traffm
in Scotland converge, and from which the principal con-
nexion with England is maintained.
Perth again, from the natural configuration of tke
country with the Gremeians, on the one hand, and the
estuaries of the Forth and Tay on the other, is evidently
the point of convergence for the traffic of the northern
portion of the kingdom.
In railway communication the preservation of an
entire and unbroken line is a point of vital importance;
and in our report on the Worcester and Wolverhampton
district, to which we here beg to refer, we have pointed
out numerous practical instances of the very great ex-
pense, delay, and inconvenience which have been found
to result from any break in this entireness of commu-
nication, occasioned by the meeting of different gauges.
A break occasioned by the intervention of an arm of the
sea or wide navigable river is, of course, an evil of a
still more formidable character. Considered merely
with reference to time, a short ferry would, generally
speaking, involve a delay equivalent to several additional
miles of travelling on nil unbroken line of railway, a dim •
advantage which would be still further increased if, as
seems probable, the rate of railway travelling should, by
the continued improvements in the construction of the
locomotive engine, become considerably accelerated.
For the conveyance of goods, coals, cattle, agricul-
tural produce, &c. (which constitutes a most important
portion of the benefits likely to result to the community
from the introduction of railways), the loss of time re-•
presents but a very small portion of the inconveniences
arising from any break in the chain of communication.
In fact, the inconvenience to all traffic of this descrip-
tion is so great as to justify us in assuming, as the most
indispensable point to be attended to, in considering
the extension of a trunk line for the northern portion
of Scotland, that such line shall afford an entire and un-
broken communication.
Now with this view, Perth and Stirling, which are the
points at which the navigation of the estuaries of the
Forth and Tay ceases, evidently determine the direction
of the trunk line for the North of Scotland. A line
through Fife may give local accommodation and be used
for a portion of the traffic from Dundee, and the towns
on the east coast to Edinburgh ; but it can never be put
in competition with an unbroken inland line by Stirling
and Perth, as a trunk line for the connexion of the
North of Scotland with Edinburgh, Glasgow. and
England.
The Scottish Central line appears to comply with these
conditions, to be unexceptionable in its direction as the
first link of a great trunk line for the North. The gra-
dients of this line are, in parts, rather severe, but not
snore so than are perfectly practicable and have been
frequently, sanctioned, and as are necessary from the na-
ture of the country, in order to avoid any great expense.
The works are not on the whole very heavy, and the es-
timates of traffic, which have been carefully prepared,
appear to show a fair probability of a sufficient return on
the capital required.
We conclude, therefore, as the first step in our inquiry
into the question of railway communications for Scot-
land, that the Scottish Central line is one which, upon
public grounds, appears to deserve the sanction of the
Legislature.
As a consequence of this condlusion, it follows that.we
must express an unfavourable opinion of the Edinburgh
and Glasgow Company's Stirling Breech. This branch
competes, and is manifestly inconsistent with the southern
portion of the Scottish Central line ; and although in it•
self it might have been an useful and proper undertak-
hig, it is clear that if our views, already stated, are eor•
rect, it must give Kay to one of much larger scope and
national impel tance.
We now come to the more difficult question of Rail-
way communications south of Edinburgh and Glasgow.
We have already described generally the two COM•
pt ting systems proposed ; which, for the sake of brevity,
we may designate as the "Caledonian" and the" Dum•
fries and Hawiele" systems.
The Caledonian line consists of a main trunk line of
73 miles in length from Carlisle, in the most direct
practicable route, to a point near Lanark, where two
branches fork off, one of 27:1 miles in length, to FAin-
burgh, the other towards Glasgow. The connexion with
Glasgow is effected by two routes, and partly by means
of railways already formed. From the fork or point of
junction with the Edinburgh branch, the Glasgow
branch diverges north-westward till it joins the Wisbaw
and Coltness Railway, which it uses fur four miles to
Motherwell. At this point, the proposed Clydesdale
Railway branches off to Glasgow, to the south side, of
the Clyde, giving an access to the quays on the south
side of the river, and forming a junction with the
Glasgow and Ayr, and Glasgow and Greenock Rail-
ways; while the Wishaw and Coltness line, in connexion
with the Glasgow and Garnldrk, continues the cominu •
nication to the north side of Glasgow, and to a junction
with the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. Agreements
have been entered into betwe.en the Caledonian Company
and the company of propriets rs of the naititneorrbcionndnetheteitilng.
Huss above-mentioned, by vi hidh
traffic 1
of the Caledonian
selves to adapt their lines to
t
lieut. on moderate fixed
Compalq' and all"tv •the use
t Me over their own
further comprisesljttle
beo6adlimneutfh'roernr. ltiertnitist,ragfliivej!..ng a priority to
this
la
''aniiiatinGscahrnewkierki
well, to join the Scottish Central line at its southern
terminus at Castle Cary.
The whole Caledoniars scheme, therefore, will consist
of the following parts
• therrGbelaeCgaoledw