The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-12-22 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway was publicly opened
throughout on Friday. Great rejoicings took place in all
the towns on the line.
DOCKS AT WISBECH.—The Eastern Counties and
Gre..t Northern Railway are about conjointly to erect two
immense docks at Wisbech, in connexion with their lines
there. One of these docks will cover an area of thirteen

acres.
The high wages of the masons employed on the bridge
over the Tweed—from 255. to 353. per week, have induced
a strike amongst the masons employed on the Berwick
station of the North British. An equal rate of wages has
been refused.
Calls for Chris►.mas are already announced in connection
with eight lines, to the extent of some £740,000.
It is estimated that on the yearly supply of the London
market-150,000 beasts and 1,500,000 sheep, the saving
by railway conveyance is £675,000.
The contract for the works on the Great Northern, from
London to Peterborough. has, it is said, been let to Mr.
Brassey, the contractor, for £120,000.
The Earl of Carlisle has given directions to have plans
for the best disposition of his land in the vicinity cr the
station near Morpeth, in streets or villas. For the latter
there are many picturesque situations. The water power
also affords many facilities for the erection of manufac-
tories.
xv," are elarl to hear that nnr triconqnaPn. Messrs. Wil-
liams, Aykroyd, and Co., who are making progress on
the Chester and Birkenhead Extension Railway line, are
announced the contractors for the tunnel which is to run
under Macclesfield, and which is to connect the Maccles-
field branch of the Manchester and Birmingham line to
the North Staffordshire Railway.
THE RAILWAYS AND CHRISTMAS.—It has been sug-
gested that the day or double tickets which on many lines
serve parties for returning the same day, or, dated on Sa-
turday, are available on Monday, should this week serve
from Thursday till the following Monday, so that those
who visit distant friends on Christmas Eve may have a
good long holiday, by giving one day of business only,
❑amely, Saturday, the 26th.
The directors of the Eastern Counties and Norfolk
Railways, with a view to give the poorer classes greater
facilities in travelling, have started " a fourth-class" train,
by which passengers are conveyed from Yarmouth to
Norwich, and through to London, for 7s, 6d. ; and a re-
turn ticket, available from Monday, or any other day, to
the following Sunday, for 10s. ; which is little more than
one farthing per mile.
The Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's railway was pub-
licly opened on Monday, by an excursion of the directors
along the line to the last town ; where there were re-
joicings of the people and a dinner. The line is about
twenty-six miles long. There is but one tunnel, near the
Ipswich terminus, which is a quarter of a mile in length;
at Bury there is a very lofty and long embankment and
viaduct ; and about the centre an " almost unfathomable
morass" has been crossed. The line has cost £17,090
a mile, and has been completed in a year.
SHOCKING ACCIDENTS ON THE BOLTON RAILWAY.—
The express train, which leaves Fleetwood at nine o'clock,
got off the rails about five miles from Manchester, on
Wednesday,and the engine,after running about forty yards
along theside of the cutting in which theaccident happened,
fell over on to the line, and a first-class carriage was
thrown over and smashed. All the passengers escaped
without material injury, but the engine driver was killed,
and the stoker bad one leg cut off, anti a portion of the
foot of the other leg.—On Thursday, another train of
carriages got off the same line, but the engine was stopped
before it got fifty yards, and no injury was sustained.
WREXHAM, NANTWICH, AND CREWE JUNCTION
RAILWAY.—A meeting of the seripholders of this un-
successful project was held on Friday, at the Clarendon
Rooms, for the purpose of considering the necessity of
dissolving the company,—Mr. T. Edgeworth in the chair.
The affairs of the company are in Chancery, and a letter
has been recently circulated, addressed to one of the di-
rectors by the solicitor in the cause of Sibson a. Edge-
worth, on behalf of himself and the other shareholders,
cautioning the shareholders against dissolving the company
to relieve themselves from their responsibilities, and
stating that such a proceeding will not stay the cause. It
was stated that prior to the 31st of March last, 3973
shares had been issued. Two scrutineers were appointed.
The chairman refused to answer a question as to whether,
a bill in Chancery having been filed against the directors,
the meeting was legal? Mr. Buxton, who held some
scrip, said he should not vote, or hand in the scrip for
which he appeared as proxy, and the chairman said that if
he would not, he must leave the room—which Mr. Buxton
finally did, under protest. A somewhat similar scene was
enacted by Mr. Locke. The scrutineers reported that
1491 shares were represented by the meeting, which being
more than one-third of the total number, rendered the
meeting legal. It was moved by Mr. Devereux, and se-
conded by Mr. Jones, that the company be dissolved, and
that such dissolution be not deemed an act of bankruptcy.
The scrutineers reported that 1486 votes were in favour
of the motion, and five (Mr. Locke's) were neutral. The
chairman declared the motion carried, as more than three-
fifths of the whole were in favour of it.
ADVENTURES OF AN EXPRESS TRAIN.—OD Tuesday
night at six o'clock the express train on the York and
Newcastle Railway left Darlington, being about an hour
and a-half behind its usual time, having been detained by
the depth of the snow. The road was heavy all the way,
and an additional engine was put to at Belmont, but there
was no stoppage caused by the snow till the train reached
Washington, which it did about eight o'clock on Tuesday
night. At Washington station the train stopped half an
hour, and it being reported there that the line was pas-
sable, it proceeded ; but, it had not gone more than half
a mile when it was brought to a stand-still. The engine-
men and stokers, who were prepared with shovels, partially
cleared away the snow which had drifted in the path of
the engines, and the steam was again put on. Another
half a mile was got over, but further progress was found
to be impracticable. The snow drifted round the car-
riages with such rapidity, that in a very few minutes it
was found impossible to move them either one way or the
other, and the snow gathering around the engines, soon
extinguished the fires, and rendered all attempts at self-
extrication hopeless. In this dilemma, what was to be
done? Two gentlemen, second class passengers, deter
mined on walking onward through the snow ; and away
they went steering in the directio❑ of the telegraphic
wires. As we have not heard of them since, it is probable
they succeeded, after many difficulties of course, in reach-
ing their destination, wherever it was. One gentleman,
returning from the hymeneal altar, having been mar-
ried but a few days previously in London, and was
bringing home his bride, suggested to his cars sponsa the
expediency of returning to Washington, where a com-
fortable bed might be found more convenient for repose
than the interior of a railway carriage, and the suggestion
having been approved, the adventurous pair essayed the
difficult and dangerous task. There were other ladies in

the train, which comprised fifteen passengers in all, in-
cluding the two that had already departed, but none
thought proper to imitate her example. Five gentlemen
escorted the bride and bridegroom, leaving behind them in
the train, three lades and three gentlemen, who remained
there till noon on Wednesday. when they also repaired to
Washington, under the guidance of the engine drivers,
leaving Donald., n, the guard of the train, alone. All
parties reached Washington in safety, and found comfort-
able accommodation at the inn near the station, and at the
village in its vicinity. This is pei haps the first instance on
record of a railway train having been sorted in the snow.
—[The Newcastle Journal gives the names of the passen-
gers, amongst whom we perceive that of Mr. Cram, of
this town.]