The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-16 00:00:00

THE EASTERN UNION RAILWAY.

ANSWER TO AN ARTICLE IN THE IMPARTIAL RAIL.
WAY TIMES;" OF 6ru APRIL, 1844.
(AIM Readers will perceive that we have copied an
article from the Railway Times, of Saturday last,
having reference to the Eastern Union Railway, as con-
trasted with the proposed East and West Suffolk Railway.
We have preferred giving the whole orthis precious docu-
ment, containing, as it does, mts-statements and false
reasoning in abundances that. 'may show " how plain a
tale shall put him down."
Let•us premise, howev , that in quoting the Railway
Times our readers must- ear in mind that they must con-
sider the parties speaking to be Messrs. J. Duncan. the
Law Clerk of the Eastern Counties' Railway Company,
and John Braithwaite, their Engineer, these gentlemen
having such a property or connection with the Railway
Times that it may be taken as their organ-:; they are also
the active promoters of -the East and West Suffolk Rail-
WRIT.

But let us analyse their attack upon the Eastern Union
line, which they say is the most " absurd imaginable."
Whence the absurdity: we would ask. The only differ-
ence between it and theaariginal line of the Eastern Coun-
ties' Railway consists in taking rather a shorter line
between.Colchester and Ipswich, and avoiding the most
expensive and absurd works projected by thevery gentlel
men who now call that an absurd line which unites the'
same two towns at much less than half the cost of their
own bantling.
We can imagine both lawyers and engineers thinking
this a very absurd mode of proceeding, but ;the public
will hardly sympathise with them. But, say these same
absurdity-mongers, any goods or traffic on the Eastern
Union line must come out of the pockets of the ship-
owners of Ipswich. How affectionately careful of the
interests of the Ipswich shipowners, for which we hope
they will be duly grateful; but it so happens that the good
advice is grievously thrown away, for it appears that the
Provisional Directors of the Eastern Union line number
amongst their most active men those who are most deeply
interested in the Ipswich shipping, and who certainly re-
quire no assistance from either lawyers or engineers to
teach them how to take care of their own interest. But
then, says the article, the Directors do not intend to pro-
ceed a yard beyond Ipswich, hoping the Suffolk people
will drag their carts and wagons to Ipswich from this time
forth, &c. What may be the intention of the Directors
we cannot say; but this we know, that if one thing be
more generally desired by the inhabitants of this town
than another, it is that the railway should communicate
with Bury St. Edmund's, which is manifestly for the in-
terest of both parties, should it be done ; and knowing the
respectability of the Directors of the Eastern Union line,
we have no doubt it will be accomplished.
Let us now examine the two lines as proposed. The
East and West Suffolk is a perfect misnomer. The
course if, from Colchester to Hadleigh, and thence west-
ward to Bury St. Edmund's and Cambridge, with a
branch to Ipswich, and this may be said to go from east
to west in Suffolk ; but what accommodation does it afford
to that which is truly the district named East Suffolk—
the important and populous towns of Woodbridge, Stow-
market, Needharnmarket, Debenham, Stradbroke, Fram-
lingham, Saxmundham, Bungay, Harleston, Beccles,
Halesworth, and a host of others. These are all to be
taken of no account, from which we would almost infer
that the writer of the article knows nothing of the county,
did we not know also that other reasons exist for the state-
ment. The Eastern Union line, on the other hand, takes
a course that, whilst it does all that the other professes,
adds much more by running through central Suffolk, and
gives facilities infinitely beyond the other to a very large
population. It is true that the Bill now in Parliament
embraces only the line from Colchester to Ipswich. We
can readily imagine that the Directors of the Union Line
considered it much better to apply for power for a portion
of the whole line and complete that first, rather than to
procure an Act for a long line and then stop short of half
way,
The writer has attempted a little bit of facetiousness in
proposing to change the name of the Eastern Union to
that of the Ipswich Selfish Railway. We would suggest
to our Bury friends to call the East and West Suffolk the
Duncan and Braithwaite Railway, because, if it is given
up, there will not seem to be the abandonment of the
public interest. It may not perhaps be known to the
West Suffolk public that a few weeks since an offer was
made by the same parties to support the Eastern Union,
on condition that it took the old line of the Eastern
Counties' Railway, as far as it ran towards Harwich,
in which case Western Suffolk would have been
told of the immense advantages of the Eastern Union
over going by Hadleigh. The Directors, however, pre-
ferred an engineer who has executed large works within
the estimates to one whose calculations have been so ex-
travagantly exceeded. The public ought to bear in mind
that the cost of 51 miles to Colchester is nearly three mil-
lions, or about £60,000 per mile, whereas Mr. Locke's
estimate for the Eastern Union is not a third of that sum.
Our distant readers will be surprised to find a writer
committing so great an absurdity as to state that the
Eastern Union line runs by the side of the Orwell, when
—theit is upon
meetingthepoint
being
map almostexactlyipih._E
e at a rightpva
angle
,Suffolk
thereto
o i
Mrcury, 71i April, 1544,

GREAT NO RAILWAY,
FROM
. _

PERTH through sTRAiWtifORE to ABERDEEN,
FORMING A CONTINUATION OF •
THE CALEDONIAN AND SCOTTISH CENTRAL
RAILWAYS.

THIS line will complete the great chain of central rail-
way communication between England and the north
of Scotland. It will join the Scottish Central Railway at
Perth, and will in this way connect the northern parts of
Scotland in the most direct line with the south and west
of Scotland, and with England by the Caledonian Railway.
The whole traffic from Aberdeen, and from Inverness,
and the whole northern counties towards England, and all
susp"tariong, dtheliasyr,aailaynwd expense paßrtys otiflisline, Scotland,thme uinstteprar
in-
curred in crossing two;ofnis of the sea, will be avoided,
and passengers will -Ice more quickly, easily, and econo-
mically conveyed than by any other line which can be
constructed.
A considerable portion of this line was surveyed some
time ago, and was found to be upon one uninterrupted
level.
The valley of Strathmore, through which a great portion
of the line passes, is famed for its unsurpassed fertility,
and is very populous. It is already the seat of important
manufactures, which will be greatly extended, and is
studded with towns and villages. The importance of
Aberdeen as a scat of commerce and manufactures is well
known.
The railways from Arbroath to Forfar, and from Dun-
dee to Strathmore, by Newtyle, already constructed, will
run into this line, and form feeders to it.
It is proposed to invite the distinguished engineers,
Messrs. Loext and ERRINGTON, to undertake the exe-
cution of the line. This will ensure the adoption of the
line from the south to Aberdeen, best adapted to the in-
terests of the public.
A Provisional Committee is in course of formation, and
will be immediately announced. It already includes many
noblemen end other extensive proprietors and influential
persons. It is believed there will be no dissent along the
whole line.
Till the report of Messrs. Locke and Efirxreindg;tobnutisitohis-
tained, the
proposed
that
actaipci capital ca
el
divnindoeat
ibnet
o ol preciselyares
of
5(:,
each,
ch,
the