The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-04
THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY
The Difficulties of Construction In the
London System aud Their Cost.

London System and Their Cost.
From Harper's Magazine.
one great object, though / do not be-
| ieve 1T had occurred to Mr.. Pearson
himself, was to make the road pass as
close as possible to the great railway
stations of London, and then along the
north side of the Thames, so as to
complete the circle-an object eventu-
ally accomplished. Some of the prin-
| cipal stations are in the far north, in
ST. Pancras and Paddington where
| the ground is much higher than imme-
dlately on the banks of the river: to
| give accurate figures, there are some
~ feet OF difference in level. One need
| not be an engineer to know that deep
er cuttings and more elaborate grad
ings were therefore inevitable. This,
however, could have been nothing
compared to the difficulties presented
by the labyrinth of pipes and sewers
| encountered-"as close together as the
pipes of a church organ"-and the
foundations of buildings that had to
be passed under. AS / have said I
hesitate to enter into the particulars
OF subject so entirely technical. But
1 am none the less impressed by the
wonders achieved than If / could ex-
plain them in scientific terms. That
the Fleet Ditch, carrying the sewage
OF $4,000 houses from Highgate to the
-HoAitNS, hoSu W OC CIOSSeQ I'VE times.
that another sewer, buried below the
line by the Metropolitan in the north
at Gloucester Terrace, had to have
space found for 1t above by the Dis
trict in the south at Sloane Square:
are facts in themselves sufficient to
make me appreciate the magnitude of
the task entrusted to John Fowler. the
engineer.
And there is a little story of the
Roman Catholic chapel in Moorfields.
told by Sir E. w. Watlxin. which is
fairly typical of the impediments. both
financial and engineering, in the path
OF directors and builders The line
was to be carried under this chapel
which was so protected by parliament
that there IL must continue to stand
intact, whatever went on below. IT
was built on piles, for IL dated back
to the time when bog abounded in the
moor, which gave the present street
its name. To complicate matters fur
Their, concrete roof had been put up
on the building only few years ear
Her. making 1t top-heavy. To secure
the foundations the engineers had to
underpin the whole of the chanel
some 30 feet down to the London
clay" before an inch of the road could
be constructed. While this was in
progress the building cracked in sew
eral places, certain of it's frescoes
to find other quarters for a period. the
services of a solicitor and arbitrator
were made necessary, with the result
of a neat little bill of e14.5OO. And
this expense, be ii remembered. was
incurred in disposing of a single build
ing in the 600 or 700 yards of railway
connecting Moorgate and Bishopsgate
streets.
Probably there were few instances I'm !
which the difficulties were exapperated
to such degree. But the case throws
fine light upon the nature of the
claims to be satisfied before the most 4
important business and richest resi-
Dental parts of the busiest and
wealthiest city in the world could be
thus undermined, as well as upon the
scope of the work to be done before a
road could pass i'm |
safety beneath all sorts of foundations /
ana through all sorts of soils. There |
is even one small section where the
Midland Railway goes burrowing un-
der the underground.
Surely the st. Gothard and Mont
Gents tunnels could scarce have proved
greater tax upon engineering re-
sources. To consider these things Is 10
think the "a years spent in building
the underground miraculously short.
the colossal capital sunk far from ex-
travagant. The figures. however, are
or lavish proportions. Upon each of its
first % miles the Metropolitan spent
c 100000; the District E374OO0 upon
each of its first IS: a simple sum in
arithmetic viii demonstrate the enor-
nous wealth buried beneath London.
In cost, at least, New York's elevated
railway has the advantage: its esl.s76
mile seems by comparison modest
and Insignificant