The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-11 00:00:00

GROUP L

PORTSMOUTH (ATMOSPHEISIC) RAILWAY.
The Committee resumed at twelve o'clock to-day, Mr. E. B. De.
nison in the chair.
Mr. ALEXANDER called Mr. Samuda, who stated that the tube

on the main line would be 18 inches diameter, and the distance

would be performed by the first-class trains in two hours and a
quarter, and by the mixed trains in two hours and three-quarters,
allowing each train to have a weight of 50 tons in ten carriages,
the ordinary estimate being 5 tons to a carriage. The speed would
be when in motion 45 miles an hour, and including stoppages, 37
miles an hour. But they could carry as much as 70 tons by each
train, at a speed of from 35 to 40 miles an hour. The trains on
the South-Western line averaged 38 tons, having seven or eight
carriages. The first train would have eight stoppages on the way,
and the mixed trains several more. He calculated on seven trains
per day each way, making fourteen trains, but he should recom-
mend that there should be ten or twelve trains each way per day,
and they would be able to take twenty to twenty-four trains a
day, or three times as many, which, according to the ordinary
traffic, would be necessary. The annual expense of working of
twelve trains each w.y per day was 318/. per year for every mile,
making 19,0811. for the haulage over the sixty miles of railway.
To the Inquiry of the CHAIRMAN, Mr. Samuda answered the

supposition that the carriages moved forward by the propulsion of
the atmosphere behind, the air being exhaused in the tuba, and
the vacuum allowing the otherwise passive influence of the atmos.
phere to act upon the carriages.
To Mr. ALEXANDER the witness replied that the expense was
calculated on the usual expense of haulage on locomotive lines,
though on that line it would be less. If fifteen trains were run

every day each way, the expense would be 351/. per mile per
year, making a total of 21,6841. a year for the whole distance, so
that 2,190 additional trains might be run during the year for an
additional expense of 2,000/. ; and if only two second-class pas-
sengers were to offer themselves, it would pay the Company to run
a train to Portsmouth. Thus, therefore, just in proportion to the
number of trains the expense would be reduced, and the accommo.
dation increased. On the reduction of the fares 50 per cent, the
passengers had increased 290 per cent, and a similar illustration
had been given on the Kingstown and Dublin Railway. The
increase in the working charges, therefore, would be 103. per cent.
to the Company, and the increase of the accommodation to the
public would be 25 per cent. ; and to a certain extent this pro-
portion of advantage to the public would be increased still
further. The opportunities of the increase of traffic on this line with
London, at one end, and Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight, at the
other, were very peculiar ; indeed, there would be no limit to the
demand, when every tradesman and mechanic might go or take his
family from the increase of the accommodation and the decrease of
the expense. The maintenance of way would cost 6,744/. per year,

about the same as it would be on the locomotive line to Chichester.
There would be twenty pairs of engines, at a distance of three
miles from each other, and the object of using double engines, or,

in other words, pairs of engines, was to provide fur a case in which
one of the engines might be unfit for duty, when the other
engine would be enabled to carry the train over the
space at the reduced rate. The engines had at first been
intended to be cumulatives of 130 horse power, but on the sug-
gestion of Mr. Cubitt it had been decided that the engines should
be of 150 horse power, and it was determined that at the crossing
places this power should be doubled. The mode of crossing the
railway at a level was one of several means which would be effected
for the safety of the public. By that plan the bridges for cros-sing the
railway would be in two parts, one on either side, standing in a
vertical position until it was necessary to lower them for a vehicle
to cross, which could not be done without notice to the way_keeper.
Another means was, to have a plate of iron, about eight feet
wide—the width of a road or of a vehicle—lying in ordinary
circumstances over the tube, but attached to a piston, working in
a cylinder connected with the bottom of the tube, so that when a
vacuum was formed for the passage of a train, the piston, which
would be a balance weight, would naturally fall and raise the
iron flap, and thus allow space for the passage of the train ; and
when, after the train had passed and the ♦acuum had ceased, the
piston would Inove forward in the cylinder, and the flap would fall by

its own weight over the tube. 'thus self.acting, it would work on the
approach, during the transit, and after the i,assage of a train. It
would only occupy about a minute to alter the size of the piston
head from the Epsom line from fifteen to eighteen inches, and the
expense of the increased tube would be about 1001. a mile.
The 18-inch tube was adopted because the country was
more severe after leaving Epsom. The line might be
used either as a locomotive or as an atmospheric line, and there
would, therefore, be no difficulty in joining a locomotive line. Ile
was at this time putting down a 25-inch tube in France, on the
Paris and St. Germains' line, where, in one part, the gradient was
1 in 33, and the power was increased to meet the difficulty, the
tube being, at the commencement, only 15 inches.

To the cross-examination of Mr. COCKBURN, Mr. Samuda stated

that he was one of the patentees of the atmospheric principle, and
had expended a very large sum in bringing it into play. He was
to have a considerable interest in the line, but to what extent the
Chairman allowed him to refuse to reply. But he had no objection,
however, to say that he was to receive an equivalent of 500/. per
mile, but whether as a ratage on the passengers, as a capital sum,
or in the shape of an annuity, he could not at that moment
say. The tube would be about ten inches above the rail, so that at
the crossings of the public roads the rails must be made lower than
the roads. The expense of the bridges at the crossings would be
about 501. each, but there would be a man at each crossing, and he
thought that, considering the rate which the public now required, it
was necessary to have a man on locomotive lines also wherever there
were gates to a public road. The stationary engines were to
be at three miles from each other, but he could not positively say
whether some of these might not be a furlong one way or the
other ; but if the stationary engines happened to be at the foot of a
severe gradient, they would not require an additional engine
power, although they meant to establish it in all instances of
crossings.

The room was then cleared for a consideration, as to whether
the Committee should go into the respective merits of the atmos-
pheric and locomotive principles, and on the readmission of the
parties.
The CHAIRMAN declared that the Committee had decided in re.
ceiving evidence alto the applicability of the atmospheric principle,
and consequently that Counsel on the opposite side might cross.
examine.

Mr. Samuda resumed, under the cross-examination of Mr.
COCKBURN, and produced a diagram on a paper, in the form of a
parallellogram, across one end of which there was a series of strokes
equivalent to the number of miles between London and Ports-
mouth, and across the other end was a list of the towns
along the line, the name of each being placed exactly opposite
the distance marked at the ether end. Intermediate there
was a series of lines representing the railway, and a transit line
runningdiagonally across the other lines in order to show the points
at which the trains, both up and down, would pass over the crossing
places. The trains would be s i timed that they would arrive re-
spectively at these several points so as to allow each train time to do
its business at the stations, and then come to the crossing
places at such times as not to interfere with each other when
passing either up:or down. Thus it was proposed that the
Dorking statism, should be reached in twelve minutes from
Epsom at a rate of 434 miles an hour, thence to Godalming
in 17 minutes at a rate of 46 miles an hour, thence to Lipprock at
the rate of 44i miles an hour, and thence to Portsmouth at a rate
of 49 miles an hour ; the whole distance being performed
in 1 hour and 38 minutes, at a rate of 45-: miles an hour, or
including stoppages at 37 miles an hour. It was intended that
there should be four crossing places—one at Dorking, one at
Godalming, one at Lipprock, and another at Rowland's Castle;

and if there were to be more crossing places he could send
more trains than he had already planned, the number of which
wore at present planned at twelve each way, within fifteen hours
each day, from six in themorning till nine at night. He had laid
out these trains for the four crossing places, but he could send fif-
teen each way, and more than that, but he could not say how many;
and in the event of alterations in the trains, provision could always
be made for the alteration, In the event, for instance.!of one train
Deing late and the other to its time, the delay of five minutes
at each of the stations at which the crossing places were
appointed, would give time for the exhaustion of the tube
on which tke late train was to pass, so as to expedite its progress.
As there were two engines at each station, there would be double
power, besides the additional power at the crossings, and conse-
quently the engine which had already performed its functions cf
drawing the train which had arrived to its time, could be made
available to exhaust the air in the tube over which the late train
had to pass. The station engines were to be three miles apart, and
they had often exhausted one mile and a quarter, which was the
half of the station in distance, in less than a minute and
a half. The time spent in passing from one crossing place
to another was to be twelve minutes, and the time of
stopping at the stations five minutes, and as the average distance
between the crossing-places was sixteen miles, that would allow
ample limo for any irregularity in the trains. There were to be
three men and a help at each station, which was a force quite
sufficient to work the whole of the trains. If there were to be
eight trains of course there must be an increase in the force to
work them. There would also be an increase in the consumption
of fuel, but that was provided for in the estimates.
A discussion arose between the counsel respecting the right to
question the leakage, but there being a doubt as to the precise ap-
plicability of the terms of the resolution, it was decided that Mr.
Cockburn should proceed, and

Mr. Samuda replied that the longer the tube the greater the
leakage of the air into the tube, so that there would be three times
more leakage in three miles in a minute than there would be in one
'minute. The leakage was perpetually going on whilst the engines
were at work.

A discussion again arose upon the general question, in which
Mr. COCKBURN endeavoured to open the whole subject, but was
opposed by Mr. Alexander and Mr. Austin, and after a statement by
the Chairman and Mr. Oswald of what their views were of the decision
of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the atmos-
pheric principle, and after several observations from Mr. Cock-
burn and Mr. Austin, the Committee adjourned till twelve o'clock
to-morrow, intimating that in the meantime they wou►d decide on
the question which the arned Le Counsl/41 had mooted.