The Republican journal., 1874-07-30
Under Ground.

neys have reared their heads higher and
higher
And lust as in the case Of the forest the
longer it grows and the more it spreads,
the deeper and thicker it strikes its roots,
SO has the metropolis gone on thrusting
out its innumerable radiclcs until the earth
beneath has become, as it were, a tangled
mass of roots. without which London
would as certainly and almost as speedily,
wither away as would the forest, if all be,
meath the soil were cut from IT,
If by the touch of some maociail's
wand the foundations OF the capital could
be opened up to view, even OF those who
fancy they have an intimate knowledge Of
the great city, there are not Il few who
would be astonished TO discover that the
London with which they are familiar is
but a part OF the whole, and that beneath
their feet is another London--a neither
world, tull of strange sights, weird sounds
and ceaseless motion, and pcopled BY no
inconsiderable number of human beings.
strange spectacle would this lower
London present if, by any means we could
get a view of it such rs that which we Get
OF the upper city from the dome of st.
Panl's-a vast network of pipes and tubes
and wires, subterranean galleries, dark
caverns, and gloomy dwellings, Here
pale ghostly shafts of daylight would
CLEAN down on to tracks Of shining met
ais, along which railway trains, with their
flashing engines and their lurid fires and
yapor Wreaths, go laundering side by SIDE.
on Whrlin@ one under another or diving
beneath the bed of the Thames With all
its shipping.
Yonder are clusters of human beings
crawling like vcrmin in and ont, dark,
loathSome, pcsllpntial little holcs-their
homeS-homes into which the breath of
heaven never blows and sllnbcams never
steal. Or, with tapers held before them,
they are wandering about n maze of Spaci-
ouS galleries, where darkness itself seems
to have ieStooned the roots with I growth
OF il, own, and which, but for the dull
roar Of the traffic overhead are still as the
tomb. Or the light OF tlaring torches re-
veals them cropping amid torrents, some
clear as crystal. others black as night,
which rush and eddy along subterranean
channels thousands Of miles in extent
lntermingled with these might be seen
great tubes, through which are sweeping
hurricanes of intlammable gas; and
smaller ones, in which mysterious little
!
| PEELED seemingly by their own vital cner-
4 gY alone; while among all are stretched
| cables of wrc, every strand puivcring. a>
it We're. with eager tidings-ncryes trans
hitting sensations from member to mem
ber Of the great body OF humanity. and
| which. by Interviewing with the hidden
veins and arteries Of the great city, seem
to unite the whole, above and below, into
one throbbng, pulsattg, living mass. To
see London underground, however, it is
not necessary to rely entirel upon mag
nation, even though the aid Of the magi-
clans wand be wanting. Although very
few have anything like an adequate CON
ception of what the metropolis Is beneath
| the surface OF its streets vet every Lon
| doncr must have seen more OF less of it ;
there are, indeed, certain features OF it
! drain-plpes, gas-pipes and water-plpcs-
| Of which most OF us have seen 4 good deal
too much, nearly every part of London
being subject to periodical upheavmgs re-
sulting in an immense amount of annoy
ancc ana inconvenience. all OF which, II
i to be hoped, will some day be obviatcd
| by the general adoption OF subways such
rs those beneath the IIolboyn Niaduct.
The pipes here are laid along properly
constructed galleries, and any attention
they may require can be given without
disturbing the roadway above.
There IS, perhaps, nothing very remark
able about these smaller ramitlcations eX-
ccpt their astonishing number and extent.
An experienced officer Of the Metropolitan
| Board of Works recently went 50 Tar us to
say that there were points in the soil OF
| London in which, if it was desired to lay
! down another pipe, it would be extremely
| difficult to find room for it. That there is
a wonderful network may be easily shown.
Take the mileage of either Of the gas
companies, to begin with-the Chartered
Gas Light and Coke Company, tor instance.
There are two districts supplied by this
| companv-the eastern, which may be
/ roughly described as extending from the
riverside to Einsbury Square, and from
the Temple to the Tower; and the west
ern, stretching from Somerset House to
| the new Albert Bridge, and from the river
to Oxford Street In these two districts
they have nearly four hundred miles Of
pipes, varying in diameter from inches
to 4 feet These are the mains only,
and from them every house and every
street lamp receives on an average some
six or eight feet Of small piping. Practi
| cally, the system OF water pipes would be
about the same, though rather more COM
plicated, from the fact that in all principal
thoroughtares there are not only mains,
but Kind Of secondard main, OF service"
pipe, and sometimes two. In addition TO
these, and the receptacles of the under
ground telegraph wires, there are through
out the streets of the metropolis no less
than two thousand five hundred miles OF
drain pipes Of various dimensions, TO
these another reference will be made
presently.
More interesting, perhaps. and less ia
millar to most OF rs, are the lead and iron
tubes-leaden pipes with outer castings of
iron-eXtcnding from Fenchurch Street
in the east to Charing Cross in the west,
along which written messages, packed in
little felt and gutta-percha cases. are
blown from station to station.
As an auxiliary to the teleGraphic sNs
tenn of London, these tubes are found to
be of immense utility. A message arriv-
inc at the central station in Telegraph
Street for delivery in Ecnchurch Street,
would in an ordinary way, OF course, have
to be delivered by hand. Instead Of this.
however, it is deposited in q ''cairier,"
which is then simply placed in the tube.
A steam engine instantly forces in u blast
of air behind it, and away it flies, and in
about minute it will be taken out at Fen
church Street, 4 distance Of nine hundred
and eighty yards. In the same way a
message arriving at the Fenchurch Street
station for delivery in Telegraph Street is
inserted l.. the tube. and sucked TO its
destination.
There are at present thirteen stations
on this underground railway, or rather,
system of railways-for, with the excep-
ton of the line between Telegraph street
and West Strand, which has the General
Post Office and Temple Bar for interme-
diate stations, each station has Il separate
tube-the existence of which does not
seem to be generally known, and per-
haps comparatively few OF the passen-
gers along several of our most crowded
thoroughtares are at all aware that, while
electricity is flashing intelligence along
the wires over their heads, these little
missives are whiZZino and dartino about