The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1870-05-13
UNDER TIE THAMES.
A Marvellous Triumph Of Engineering
Skill, -.

aAAus
Tho new tunnel under the Thames,
which but three years ago was laugh.
Cd ut as an idle scheme, aud condemn n
ed as wanton waste of mopev. ia
ready for public use, and will bo turn
ed to practical purposes when one or
two necessary formalities. have been
complied with. Mr.: Barrow, the on.
glneer Of tho work, has kept his pro-
misc to finish tho undertaking in q
year, and within the cost of Gl6,OOO.
The nature Of the scheme and it's pro-
gross have been described from time
to time. Without ceremony, numer.
Gus privileged visitors yesterday in
augurated" the traffic. A little be.
yond the inland revenue office on
Towcr-hill an exaggerated kind of
iron scntry-box, rising apparently out
of the wagons and carts which are
occasionally clustered On this histori-
cal emincnce, guided the stranger to
the spot of which he was in quest.
A small, open-mouthcd crowd, mostly
OF the genus ragamuffin, pressed
around tho liveried sentinel to whom
the gates of the dark abyss were en-
trusted. Some of the gentlemen who
had been provided with tickets an
preached timidly, heard tho rattle of
the machinery, glanced ncrvously at
ths black pit which they would have
to descend, and hastily rctreatcd. It
need hardly he added that these
touching exhibitions Of anxiety were
lud: 'ously groundless. I d @ d,
should the Subway turn out to be aa
financially prosperous as it is safe and
easy, the shareholders will pocket a
handsome dividend. The mysterious
looking thoroughfare admits of a
very brief description. 1t is we'll
constructed tubular iron bridge; about
a quarter of milo long and seven
feet in diameter sunk bodily into the
bed of the Thames, so Us to be snug
ly embedded in The London clay
through its entire distance. Nowhere
is the Subway nearer than % fort
to the water, and in places it is as
much as.50 feet Distant an important
fact to bear in mind in comparing tho
Subway with The old Thames Tunnel
over the arch-crown Of which there
were here and there bnt four feet to
the water. The Subway, in point of
fact, dips at the rate of one in thirty.
At present the. Tower Hill station ut
the ono end and the Tooley street sta
ton at the other, are more useful
than ornamental, especially when the
cage by which passengers are taken
down is at the bottom. We use the
word "cagc" because of it's peculiar
resemblance to that familiar object of
the mining districts, but it is in reaIi-
ty rather nicely padded little apart
ment semi-circular, in shape, and with
cushioned seats for four or six. Into
this the passenger opters and the
doors. are shut. There is rumble, O
rattle, q. consciousness Of steady
downward motion, and an intention
perhaps, TO remark to your neigbor
that it is all very pleasant, but and
such reflection is nippcd in tho bud be
the termination of the journey, which
has occupied about tho time it would
take to count dozen. The distance
is only fifty feet. Through q small
waiting room you enter a long, low
carriage with seats for seven each in.
side. The signal is given, the drum
begins to revolve, the vie rope
twines swiftly round 1t, :a!:SS pretty
omnibus answers to the strain, and in
about sixty seconds the subterranean
passage of the Thames has been &C.
complished. Safely is secured In the
shafts by an unusually powerful clip
in the Subway by the single line Of
tramrails upon which collisions is i'm.
possible. We walked through the
narrow, dark road yesterday, abso
lutely dryshod, and without any in.
convenience from defective ventila.
ton. At, times, a listener in the cen
tire Of the Subway can hear strange
NOISES, said to be the reverberation oi
paddles beating the river overhead
and the sounds of hammering and
humping on board vessls. This Sub.
way is important, az the establish,
ment Of q principle which may exer.
else a powerful influence upon our
metropolitan locomotion. There ie
even reason for: Believing that before
long it will be applied up and down
the river to an extant but little imag
ined just now. The 'ncxt Subway
will probably be between St: Georges
Church, in the Borough, and cannon
street. The, Tower-hill fares, at pre-,
sent are fixed ut a penny and two.
pence, but they viii probably have i'd
be reduced by one.halE sS~. fs"S'a :
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