The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-09-29 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

Upwards of sixty projected railways, lost last session,
are to be brought forward in the next.
The Ashton and Stalybridge Branch Railway was
opened on Wednesday.
Reports have been circulated that the Great Western
are about to reach Shrewsbury, and proceed thence, via"
Oswestrv, to Chester.
The Whitebaven and Harrington Railway isrin so for-
ward a state as to be likely to be opened for public traffic
in the early part of October.
SOUTHEASTERN RAILWAY.—The £30,000 has been
paid over to the North Kent, who are now returning 30s.
per share, to begin with, to the shareholders.
The turning of the first sod on the works of the North
Staffordshire railway was celebrated on Wednesday, by
great rejoicings at Stock-on-Trent, the day being kept as
a general holiday.
The gigantic tunnel at the Edinburgh end of the Edin-
buagh, Leith, and Granton railway is nearly completed.
Mr. Cubitt and the directors walked from end to end a
few days since.
SERIOUS FIRE AT THE CROYDON TERMINUS.--At an
early hour on Tuesday, a fire broke out at the Croydon
Railway station, which was not extinguished until about
eight o'clock. Thirteen carriages, most of them of the
first and second classes, have been totally destroyed, and
two greatly injured. The damage is esti incited at £lO,OOO.
From our official returns, it appears that the amount of
traffic for the last week, on nearly 1,800 miles of railway,
was £177,914, thus accounted for :—£95,061 for the con-
veyance of passengers only, £37,304 for the carriage of
goods, and a remainder of £45,679 for passengers and
goods together, not respectively apportioned ; be ng an
increase over the corresponding week of last year of
£35,362. - _

The opening of the railway, originally known as the
Manchester, Bury, and Rossendale railway, but, from the
recent additions, assuming the name of the East Lanca-
shire Railway, was opened on Friday with great echlt.
The line, as may be known to some of our readers, is in-
tended to connect the manufacturing districts of East
Lancashire with the town of Manchester, and, with its
extension, has been completed in a space of time (consi-
dering the nature of the country) almost unequalled.
SUMMARY OF RAILWAY LINES GRANTED.—It ap-
pears that the net total amount of railway capital autho-
rised to be raised during the last session was £90,802,550,
for the purpose of constructing 4,705 miles of railway,
averaging £19,399 per mile. There are 10-1,814 lineal
yards of tunnelling to be executed (59k miles), being 1,27
per cent. of the whole length. The number of turnpike
roads exceed 209, and of common roads 1,240, to be
crossed by railways on the same level. The total quantity
of land required for occupation is stated to be 53,356
acres, nearly 111 acres per mile.
FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT WESTERN RAIL-
WAY.—On Tuesday evening, as the 4.45 train from
Paddington neared the Swindon station, the rate of
speed was, as usual, reduced; whereupon, from some un-
explained cause, a luggage van placed between the first
passenger carriage and the engine got off the line, and
forced its way through the first compartment of the car-
riage, causing the instant death of two passengers, and
injuring several others who were in the same or adjoining
carriages. The head of one of the passengers was lite-
rally dashed to pieces, and his fellow-traveller in the
same compartment received so severe a concussion of the
brain that almost instant death was the result.
According to the last report of the Railway Department
of the Board of Trade, it appears that the total number f
accidents during the last six months of 1840 was 28, witoh
22 persons killed, and 131 injured ; in 1841, there were
29 accidents in all, 24 killed and 72 injured ;in 1812, 10. 3
accidents, 5 killed and 49 injured ; in 1543, 5 accidents,
killed and 3 injured. While the number of accidents was
thus diminishing, the number of miles open, and
til
more the number of passengers travelling, were greatly in-
creasing. ln 1840 there were 1,330 miles open, in 1843
there were 1.798 ; in 1840 there were about 12,000,000 of
passengers, in 1843 there were about 25,000,000. In 1844
it
there were 32 accidents, in which 10 persons were lied
and 74 injured. During the first six months of 1845
there were 15 accidents. 2 killed and 30 injured. . •
FEARFUL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—As the nine p.m.
train was leaving Rugby station for Leicester onSatur-
day week, an engine belonging to the London and Noith-
Western Railway Company was standing below the points
at which the Midland line diverges Irnm the former; no

sooner had the engine and tender passed the points, than
the engine-driver of the 'London and North-Western
Company turned on his steam, and the result was that
the ,engine ran into the train before it had cleared the
tine, broke tour of the carriages, throwing them cff the
rails, and tearing up the latter for some distance, whilst
several of the passengers were seriously shaken and
bruised. Mr. Hudsun, the chairman to the Midland
Company, but better known as the " Railway King,"
was in one of the carriages, but escaped unhurt. After
a detention of about an hour, the passengers were placed
in carriages belonging to the latter company. and for-
warded on their journey. The guard was so seriously in-
jured that he was obliged to he left behind.

EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW RAILWAY.—The seven-
teenth half-early general meeting was held at Glasgow,
on the 22d inst. The report was" received," and ordered
to be laid on the table, and the directors resigned. The
following directors were, en the motion of Mr. Cheetham,
appointed in their place :—For Glasgow, Messrs. Peter
Blackburn, of Kilearn ; J. Ord Ewing, of Bromley ;
Henry Dunlop, of Craigton; A. G. Adams, of Denny,
and John Henderson, of Park. For Edinburgh, Messrs.
Jsmes Maitland Hog ; Alex. Clappeiton, and John
Maitland. For England, Messrs. J. B. Smith, Rosson,
Rawson, Openshaw, Coston, M`Kay, and Cheetham.
The whole business of tile meeting, a report of which oc-
cupies nearly nine columns in the Glasgow Constitutional,
was conducted with great gcod temper. The strength of
the respective parties would,•on a division, have stood
thus:—deputation, 580 prnxies, 1,283 votes; directors,
148 proxies, 1836 votes. Majority against the directors,
432 proxies, 5,447 votes. This does not include the votes
of the deputation, nor those proxies which arrived too
late.