The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-02 00:00:00

RAIL WAY INTELLIGENCE.

REPORT OF THE RAILWAY DEPARTMENT OF
THE BOARD OM TRADE ON THE SCHEMES
FOR EXTENDING RAILWAY COMMUNICA-
TION TO PORTSMOUTH.
Railway Department, Board of Trade,
Whitehall, 31st March, 1845.
The Board constituted by the minute of the Lords of
the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, for the
transaction of railway business, having had under con-
sideration the several schemes for extending railway
communication between London and Portsmouth, and
in the intermediate district, viz., the Brighton and
Chichester—Portsmouth Extension • the Direct London
and Portsmouth; the Guildford, Chichester, Portsmouth,
and Fareham Branch • London and Brighton—Horsham
Branch ; London and Portsmouth, with branches to
Shoreham-bridge, Fareham, and Reigate, have deter-
mined to submit the following report thereon for the
consideration of Parliament :
Portsmouth is too well known to render it in the least
necessary for us to enlarge on the desirableness of giving
to it an east and west communication along the coast, as
well as a more direct connexion with Lond•in than it at
present possesses, by means of the Gosport and Bishop-
stoke Branch of the South-Western Railway. To effect
these objects, the following railway schemes have been
projected, viz.:—
The London and Portsmouth, with Branches to
Shoreham -bridge, Fareham, and Reigate.
The Direct London and Portsmouth.
The Guildford, Chichester, Portsmouth, and Fare-
ham Branch.
The Brighton and Chichester—Portsmouth Exten-
sion.
.... .

It is necessary to observe, that the traffic between
Portsmouth and London has not equalled the expecta-
tions which were formed by the original projectors of
the South-Western Railway according to the statements
made to Parliament when its sanction was obtained to
make the branch from Bishopstoke to Gosport. It has
been alleged that the traffic would have been much
greater if the pr,jectors had carried the branch into the
town of Portsmouth, instead of only to Gosport, since
much inconvenience and delay arise from the necessity
of using the floating bridge to cross Portsmouth Har-
bour ; but as there are four companies in the field to
effect these communications, in a greater or less degree,
and the returns of traffic which they bring forward are
sufficient to show au expectation of a moderate profit,
we may assume that the question is reduced to one of
preference between the competing schemes.
The London and Portsmouth scheme, which has been
termed for the sake of brevity and distinctness,
" Stephenson's Line," is the same, or nearly so, in its
general character, with that which Mr. Robert Stephen-
son originally projected between London and Brighton,
and which was rejected by Parliament in favour of the
line now in use. This line, leaving the South-Western
Railway near Wimbledon, passes close to Leatherhead,
through the valley of the Mole, to Dorking; it passes a
mile to the westward of Horsham, near which it throws
off a branch to New Shoreham; the main line being
continued by Arundel, Chichester, Havant, and Ports-
mouth.
The Direct London and Portsmouth Railway is pro-
posed to be worked on the atmospheric system, being in
fact a continuation of the Epsom and Croydon line, for
which a Bill was obtained last year. From Epsom it
takes a course by Leatherhead through the Valley of
the Mole to Dorking, whence it proceeds by Godalming,
Haslemere, Petersfield, and Havant, to Porstmouth.
In the session of last year an Act was obtained for the
purpose of making a railway from the London and
South-Western Railway, near Woking, to the town of
Guildford, its length being six miles. The South-
Western Railway Company having made arrangements
to purchase this Guildford Railway, and to continue it
by Godalming to Chichester, and from Chichester by
Havant to Portsmouth.
The Brighton and Chichester Railway Company,
whose works are in course of construction propose to
extend their line from Chichester to Portsmouth. These
companies, with the exception of the Direct Portsmouth,
also propose to complete the coast communication by
connecting Havant with the South-Western Railway at
Fareham.
In comparing the three schemes for giving direct
communication between London and Portsmouth, it is
necessary to observe that all of them are of an expensive
character. Stephenson's line gives direct accommoda-
tion to Horsham and to Arundel from London, but fails
to serve a wide extent of country which lies between its
proposed course and the South-Western Railway. Be-
sides, its branch to Shoreham would render it a directly
competing lino with the Brighton Railway. And here
it is right to call the attention of the Committee on the
Bill to circumstances connected with the first formation
of the London and Brighton Railway. Three distinct
projects were in the field in the year 1837 to accomplish
this object. In order to enable Parliament to form a
correct judgment between them, a Government engineer
was directed to report on the competing schemes ; and
in consequence of the report so directed to be made,
Parliament sanctioned the line which is now in opera-
tion, to the exclusion of Mr. Stephenson's proposed line.
Since that time the question has been raised whether,
notwithstanding the report of the Government engineer,
the best line, under all the circumstances, was selected ;
but this is immaterial, as the prominent facts to be re-
garded are, the efficiency of the present railway, and to
what amount of protection its proprietors are fairly en-
titled. No fault can be found with the directness of the
line or the speed at which the trains are run ; and it is
generally acknowledged that considerable accommoda-
tion is afforded by the Company. No objection can
exist, therefore, on the ground of inefficiency. With
respect to protection, the Company have reasonable
claims, as they carried into effect the views of
ofParlia
Parlia-
ment at an immense outlay of capital, h
them-
selves safe, at any rate, from any competition with a
line which had been pronounced by the Legislature to
be worse than the one which they were obliged to adopt.
If the established Company refused to extend accom-
modation they would have no ground for complaint; but
such is not the case. They are in alliance with the
Brighton and Chichester, now proposing to extend to
Portsmouth ; and they desire to make a branch
Horsham, to give railway communication with the
me-
tropolistu in a more convenient manner than is proposed
to be given by Mr. Stephenson's line, which only comes
within about a mile of that town.
Considering all theitcircu circumstances of the London and
Brighton Company, might appear hard on them if
the proposed line of railway were permitted to come
close to theirs, unless somegre.at
.public advantage were
to be derived therefrom ; but in this instance no great
public advantage is perceptible.
With regard to the Direct London and Portsmouth,
and the Guildford, Chichester, and Portsmouth lines,
the earthworks and tunnelling are far beyond an average
with regard to extent and cost upon each. The differ-
ence between the two lines with respect to gradients is
considerable. On the direct Porstmouth the gradients
are very severe; the whole line is divided into 65 planes,
of which 10 are at 1 in 80, one of these being two and a
half miles, and the three others about two miles in length
—the whole amounting in the aggregate to fourteen miles
twenty-five chains: 19 planes, extending over sixteen
miles, 'are at 1 in 100, and the greater portion of the
remainder of the line is subject to a steeper gradient
than 1 in 200.
The South-Western scheme shows nothing steeper
than I in 100; at this gradient are 4 planes extending
over four miles seventy chains; from 1 in 100 to 1 in 110