Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-29
UNDERGROUND LONDON ROADS.
Growing Popularity of Electric Trnc-
ton mt the British Capital.
Er0n In El1nf.

GROWING Popularity of Electric Trnc-
ton mt the British Capital.
From the Electrical Engineer.
Great activity is being shown in London
at present in planning underground street
railways, and all of the roads under con-
sideration are to be provided with cleo
tricity by reason Of the conspicuous Sue
cess of the electric road already in opera
ton.
The railway referred to Is the City and
South London. opened in 1890. Here for the
first time was tried that invention OF Mr..
Greatheads. which, equally with electric
traction, has helped to revolutionlze urban
railway construction. This ccntrtvance,
Familiarity known to engineers as the
"Greathead Shield" Is an airlock system
of tunneling which enables work to be eX-
ecuted eNpeditiOusly at any depth In per-
feet safety, and to be continued unhindered
quite irrespective of whatever springs may
be encountered while boring. The railways
now under construction Will be tunneled IN
this manner at an average depth or Sixty
feet beneath the pavements of London, and
no sign of their process will be visible to
those who use the streets, excepting only
on the sites OF proposed stations. Where
shops and houses are being demolished.
There are no fewer than six lines author
lied. two being at the present moment act
lively pushed forward. The Waterloo and
City railway is the shortest of all. and has
other at the Mansion House. This partic-
ular line is. perhaps, the most urgently
needed of all, and it is now rapidly APP
preaching completion.
But public attention is attracted just now
principally to the Central London railway,
which will run from Shepherds Bush to
Liverpool street. distance Of six and a
half miles. Authorized in the sessions of
1871 and 1899, its construction has just been
undertaken by the Electric Traction Com
pany, who have let all the contracts and
have already begun pulling down the
houses that occupy the sites of the four
teen stations along the route. Trains stop
ping at each station Will be run at inter-
walls OF two minutes and half. and will
perform the journey from end to end, In
Guiding all stoppaSes. in thirty-flVe min
utes. The cost Of construction and equip
nent. calculated at t3H,Wo per mile brings
the total cost to e.. .IO0,CUn.
The rail level will not be less than eigh. y
fVe rect beneath the surface at some points
On this line. and five hydraulic lifts will
convey passengers to and from the trains.
and SubWayS will be constructed for foot
passengers to cross from one side Of the
road to the other. The company expects
10 carry between fifty and sixty millions
OF passengers in the year. but the actual
capacity of the line is S5.GsIO 900 The Dor
ing of the two tunnels. which will be cir
culai lined with iron, and hut eleven feet
SIX inches diameter. will he proceeded 18th
from each station simultaneously BY De-
ceInber, 1897, this work will have been COM
pieted.
1t will serve to give some idea of the
magnitude of these combined railway en-
tefplIS6S When 1t is considered that the
number OF new stations they will involve
VIII reach total of forty-tive.