The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-27 00:00:00

GROUP L.

PORTSMOUTN ATMOSPHERIC LINE.

The Committee re-umed the inquiry on thigh line, Mi. E. B.
Denicen in the chair, with all the member• of the Committee pre.
sent, when

Mr. ALEXANDER replied on behalf of the promoters of the
line, and in tI e course of his o,iservations introduced a very
happy illustration of :he difference between impulsion and suction
by the figure of a 'viral spring placed within a tube, and which, by
pushing at one end has all its springs compres4eii, and is at last
only forced out b) main force and with great difficulty, while by
being pulled out at the other rnd is gradually drawn forth. The
convolutions nearest the end are first af£ei•ted : they are elongated
arid gradually separated Iroin each other, each successive coil being
so acted upon as to present less and less resistance at each
draught of the orawing apparatus, till at last the whole space of
the tube is tuft vacant.

The CHAIRMAN here put into the hands of Mr. Alexander a
diagram, which he had sketched at the moment, exhibiting two
sets of parallel lines, which represented a long tube, through which
there was a series of lines drawn at right angles with the length,
so as to exhibit the stare of the air within the tube. At one •nd
the lines were dark and closely put together ; the marks were gra-
dual y less at d lets strong, and wider an wider apart, illustrating
the density of the air at one part, and the increasing tenuity to-
wards the end where the engine is applied, until the marks be c-trne
almost indistinct, and showed very forcibly the approach to a per-
fect vacuum which the engine would effect in the pipe.
Mr. ALEXANDES admitted very readily indeed, as all must ad-
mit, that this was a very excelient illustration of the resistance op-
posed by the air in the tube to the advance of the
train. He further went on to say that the actual advance
et the piston in the tube would accelerate the pro.
gress of the train by forcing the denser air towards the
place where it would be most readily acted upon by the exhausting
engine. He next adduced the evidence from before the Select
Committee of the House of Commons in the origin of railroads
upon the force of the locomotive engine, and in which it

was stated by the eogineers of that day that not any
evidence had been gi% en to show that the locomotive
en,itte ever coull travel at a speed of more than four and a half
miles an hour—indeed, at any speed than that which was attained
on the canal, eliciting, as might be expect, d, a hearty laugh at the
diff.rence between these anticipatima and the result of trAveiling

to Exeter, 194 i miles, in four and a half hours. Mr.
Alexander then went through the evidence of the se-
veral witnesses against the atmospheric principle, taking
cacti on the particular point which they had been called to prove.
As we have already given the evidence on both sides, we need not
repeat Mr. Alexander's observations here, except to allude to the
twilit sin which he particularly dwelt of the plans adopted
'Or obviating the danger at the stopping places, and which
Le &owed to be completely prevented by the arrangement
which could be made for that purpose. This was the
re,ult of all the evidence which had been addui ed. As to
the merits of the line and tie principle on which it was to be
worked, this was shown by the advantage which would be
••!fern dto get to the et a side to the public in London. Again, the
ativatitsge by the charges was so self-evident that tie need do no
r..ore than state them. The atmospheric promoters proiresed to
charge for the first, second, and third-class passengers respeettvi ly,
2'l, lid., end Id. ter mile, while the South-. Western Company
proposed to (barge 3ii.. 2ti., and lid. per mile. The total charges
for the journey to Portsmouth would be I 2s„ 94.. and es., for the
first, second, and third.class passengers, while the charge by the

South Wi stern Company wo Id be 208., 148, and 7,8 d for the
dis'ance By the atmo‘pheric line the promoters intended
to send fifteen trains a day, b) ten of which there would be third-

class carriages, while the South-Western promoters only proposed
to tend nine trains a day, and only one would be a third.c ass
train. To the Chichester and Brighton line there was no such ob.
jcction as to tt.e South. Western; on the contrary, the promoters
of the atmospheric line were quite ready to give up the branch to
Havant. By so doing, they would save about 1:10,000/.,

which might be ap flied to the foruaatien of a doub.e line,
if Parliament should think it necessary. The same otserva.
tions would apply to the branch to Farnham, and the South-
Western Company might have that if they plea-ed. If those plans
• ere to be adopted the Portsmouth people wouti have • choice
of three lines—by the coast to Brighton, by Farehans to Bishop-
stoke, and by the direct atmospheric line to the metropolis. In addi-
tion to all this thcre was the tact that the direct line kept up the whole
of the old coach road through Hampshire. He deprecated the post.
ponement of the line tiil another year, for it was impo-sible to say
what changes might take place, and how far the shareholders
might be inclined to support it after the experience they had al-
ready obtained of the power of the South_ Western
Company to crush their enterprise. By the establishment
of this line, the inhabitants of Portsmouth would be sure
to obtain a direct line to London, for Mr. Cnbitt stated that it
might be turned into a locomotive line. To that gentleman's cool.
nese of judgment, foresight, and general ability, Mr. Alexander
himself bore very high testimony, and whose skill and high qualities
he believed every engineer who had been examined wou d be ready
to attest, He trusted, therefore, that the Committee would
not subject the inhabitants of Portsmouth to the great in
jury of delay, and with thanks for the attention and
consideration which the Committee had given to his remarks, he
left the matter with confidence in their halals.
Mr. Cocanewe, on behalf of the promoters of the South- 'Vestetn
line, advocated that line on the ground of the advantage to the inter.
mediate districts which it gave over the Portsmouth direct line.
With respect to coals, theevder.ce which bac been adduced in favour
of the direct line was quite as much in favour of the Guidford and
Chichester line as the other, as Guildford, Godalming, Dorking,
and Epsom could be quite as well supplied by the latter as by the
former line. There was no evidence of the traffic between
Dorking, Godalming, and London. There was a project to make
a railway from Dorking to Epsom, which his client would not oppose.
And if, therefore, I here was the traffic between those places and their
neighbourhood which had been stated, it would be abundantly supplied
by that Bill, which was, in fact, an extension of the Croydon Compao 7,
and promoted under their protection. It was therefore not alto-
gether fair to keep this point out of the sight of the Committee, for
on this plea it was that the opposite party rested their chief claim
to consideration. Between Dorking and Godalming one railway
was not less than six miles further round, and in addition there
and this
svai was
universallyrecognised was a great Opposition to encounter from the proprietors of estates ;
na atter of gr eatconsideration,
that Parliament would
for twasaprinciple
that not
interfere except on the most urgent necessity. Be-
tween this point and Petersfleld there
was nothing
but a
succession of commons and downs,
as , heaths, wastes,
wilds, and, Mr. Mangles Rived one o f the most wild and
desofate districts in all England—going
d going over the Devil's Punch
Bowl, and by the Hind Head,
cession of sterile and thinly and
ultartazeraing, indeed, a mere sue-
district. The line then
goes to Peterstteld, at which place there was
to
Promoters of the atmospheric line endeavoured
put into compe-
tition with that of Chichester, and he adduced othe
we have given in the e, idence in chief, to the/tiff:7r ttnt cee"he twe whiche
n
the importance of the two lines. The tolls on the two road: *also
proved the traffic no both lines of the road, and Showed
the great
eup.rwrlty of the Guilford and Chichester hoe. But here he would