The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-04 00:00:00

GROUP LL.

THE LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN
(METROPOLITAN EXTENSION).

Mr. HILL opened, this morning, the case for the directors of
this line of railway. The object of the promoters was to extend the
line, the terminus of which was now at Nine-elms,
to a point which would be equally distant from Water.
100, Hungerford, and Westininster.bridges. It would be of
great benefit to the pnt,lic, and he considera that the directors of
that railway had only in strict accordance with their duty in
having laid this Bill on their table.

Mr. Win. Reid was then called and examined in favour of the ex-
tension, by Mr. Saiinit E—He stated that he was lately the Managing
Director of the Rout„ and Paris line of railway. He afterwards
became Managing Director of the South-Western line, and was
identified with it when it was first introduced into Parliament.
As to the position of the present terminus the disadvan.
tagea were :very great, in consequence of its great distance from
hawse. When it was, on a former occasion, sought to
cobtain the sanction of the Legislature for this extension
it was refused, because railways were not then as well received as
now, and it was not thought necessary to extend it, as it would in-
terfere with house property. It was desired by every Company,
and generally supposed to be benetietal, further to extend all rail-
ways, the termini of which came .1 tc London. It was evident that

passengers would receive great benefit from this extension to some
place equallydistant from Waterloo, Hungerford, and Westminster..
bridges. The original terminus of the Birmingham Railway was
at Camden.town, and it v 4 a, contemplated to bring it still nearer to
London.

On cross-examination by Mr. M. CHAMBERS, he said that he would
recommend the plan to be carried out at the expense of one million
of money, but he did not think it would be worth while to go to
any further expense. The passengers from Wandsworth to town
generally went by water. The witness was then examined as to
the comparative expense of time and money of those men of busi.
ness who travelled to town from that locality by omnibuses and
by water, and those who would travel by the proposed extension.
Mr. Burchard, a private gentleman, residing at Wandsworth,
was then examined as to the public advantage that would arise
from the extension of the present line to a terminus at a short dis-
tance from Hungerford, Waterloo, and Westminster-bridges.
On cross-examination, his evidence was in no way shaken.
** '

Mr. Mangles was called, and stated, on examination, that it
would be of immense advantage to the inhabitants of Guildford to
be brought to a terminus as near London as possible. As to tolls
there was a great inconvenience arising from turnpikes near
Nine-elms, which it was necessary to keep in order to
get to certain parts of the town from the present one.
A terminus near Waterloo-bridge would be very favourable
to the Dover and Kent Railways if it were hereafter found prac-
ticable to cross the river and make a central terminus at the other
side, but, nevertheless, they would deriVe great advantage.
After the witness was briefly cross-examined by Mr. MONTAGUS
CIIANDERIA, the Committee rose

GROUP N.
CORNWALL ItAILWA.Y.

The Committee assembled at the usual hour.

Mr. Thomas, the only opponent to the proposed railway, was
called and examined by his counsel, Mr. Rows—He said he was
an engineer, and had resided all his life in Cornwall, and that he had
great local knowledge of the county. He was well acquainted with the
towns of Falmouth and Penryn, and had surveyed the comity with
the view of constructing a railway from Falmouth by Penryn, the
trade of which was considerable, towards Truro. He had taken
the levels carefully. The extreme inclination would be
one in sixty, and the extreme curve twenty chains
radius. Following the curve of such a line to its destination,
and, speaking from his perfect knowledge of the country through
which it would pass, it would be far preferable to the coast line;
the gradients were not steep, and the line might be constructed as
cheap, as the proposed line would be four miles and a quarter
shorter.

Cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant KiteotAxE---Had made the
Hayle Railway. Was fighting the public battle at his own ex-
pense. He did not expect to be repaid, but hoped he might be.
Mr. Rendalls, civil engineer, said the floating bridge on the
Hamoaze, from Tirpoint on the one side to Devonport on the
other, was constructed by him, and that the plane on the Tirpeint
aide was 1 in 8, whilst on the other it was easier, 1 in 10 or
1 in 12. The bridge was worked by two chains.
The traffic was very great over the bridge in boat, and in stormy
weather he had seen the sea dash over it. He was quite satis-
fied that, with some improvement, a railway train might be
carried over on it with safety. Five piles might be erected at
equal distances, on which a roadway might be placed, so that
the trains conld run across on a level, and the boat could be
drawn across between the piles with great precision. Of course,
such a mode of transit would occupy much time, and could not be
effected without much mechanical arrangement. The trains cou'd
not be conveyed across in the boat in ten minntes. From four to
six minutes would be necessary to get them on board, eight
minutes to cross, and four to six minutes to land them.
That would fairly represent the time which would be
required for crossing the Hamoaze, the distance being half a mile.
The delay and the expense of working this apparatus would be
about equivalent to the expense of working fifteen or sixteen miles
of a double locomotive line. With inspect to the safety of the
electrical telegraph (which is to,be worked in an iron tube, placed at
the bottcm of the Hamoaze), he conceived that ships dragging their
anchors might get them fouled on tbetube and destroy the telegraph,
By Mr. Sergeant KINGLAKE-Had seen the boat or bridge
crowded with carriages, coaches, market-carts, &c. If a bridge
were to be made over the Hamoaze, at Saltash, it would be a
most expensive one, as it would cost from 100,0001. to 200,000/.,
and would have to be upwards of a hundred feet from the water
that ships of 800 or 600 tons might pass under it, but he would
not recommend the carrying of a railway over the Hamoaze, at
Saltash.

Mr. Joseph Locke, engineer to the South-Western Railway,
examined by Mr. Rowe—Considered that the line could not be
worked in some places as a double locomotive line with precision,
economy, nor safety. It was unquestionably the most dangerous
line he had ever seen. He was ignorant of the county, and gave his
opinion on the sections which had been submitted to him. At
Penryn the gradient was 1 in 40 for two miles, and at some places
there were radii of 15 and 17 chains. On such gradients as those,
and on such sharp curves, thirty miles an hour could not be worked
with safety to those in the trains or to whatever was in them.
The gradients going up from the water to Eldad were 1 in 29 and
)in 30. A floating-bridge could not be otherwise than a most
inconvenient thing on a railway, and he would rather go miles
round than cross a river in such a way. The dividing of the train
would occupy from five to ten minutes at least, and the loss of time
in accomplishing the whole passage would occupy half an hour,
measuring it by railway time.

By Mr. Sergeant KINGLAHE—Never was over the ferry as a
consulting engineer to one of the proposed Cornwall railways.
Mr. Robert Stevenson, C.E., considered that the line could not
be worked with any regularity from the irregular nature of the
inclines. Gradients only used on extreme occasions by engineers
were repeated on the line over and over again, and trains could not
go with safety at a greater speed than twelve miles an hour.
He was opposed to the line passing the Hamoaee, as proposed, and
would rather carry a line fifteen miles in another direction than
cross it. The central line did not contain the irregularities he had
specified in the coast line. No greater speed could be safely attained
on an incline of 1 in 60 than fifteen miles an hour.

Mr. Bidder, C.E., corroborated a great portion Of the preceding
evidence.

Captain Plumridge, M.P. for Falmouth, was of opinion that the
carrying of a railway by a draw-bridge across Penryn creek would
offer great obstacles to the navigation. Trains would most likely
be running over at high water, when it was necessary that the ships
should pass on their route without delay. The construction of
their terminus on the Mylor side, in the event of the Ordnance
refusing their consent to the bridge, would also offer an obstruction
to the navigation. His constituents were averse to both.
The Coternittee then adjourned.