V 5 -) OF THE TUNNEL UNDER THE THAMES FROM ROTHERHITHE TO WAPPING. LONDON, W. WARRINGTON, ENGRAVER AND PRINTER, 27 , STRAND. \ $ 1838 . V A W* % '+ t * ■ ** • "■ , , ' *. ■ : " • r • > i r t : v/ ; . • ' - ' • . ‘ • . l * V ' • • r ■ •. > * T :« ■ / * r-« * * r r- 1 r j r ^. • . i. i' < * i » * • 1 ■ i j. * # j! ■i • * <*. * •*•■* c. 1824 , THAMES TUNNEL COMPANY, OFFICE, Walbrook Buildings , Walbrook. DIRECTORS. BENJAMIN HAWES, Esq. .. JOHN BARKER, Esq. WILLIAM ALLEN, Esq. JOHN BROWN, Esq. J. W. BUCKLE, Esq. SIR ALEXANDER CRICHTON. BENJ. HAWES, Jun. Esq. M. P. .^airman. .JBsputi) Cfjatrmatt. JAMES LAW, JONES, Esq. R. W. SILVESTER, Esq. D. SUTTON, Jun. Esq. G. II. WOLLASTON, Esq. F. L. WOLLASTON, Esq. JOHN LABOUCHERE, Esq.Erni£ur£r. F. BOUCHER, Esq.} DAVID GROVE, Esq.> G. VAUGHAN, Esq.) M. J. BRUNEL, Esq. F. R.S. Cfjtff T. TAGE, Esq. Acting (£ngmrrr. Messrs. SWEET & SUTTON,.J?0ltttt0rg. Mr. JOSEPH CHARLIER Clerft t0 tTje C0mpa:in. r ; ' f f ^ . “ •. . - , . . • r *- 1 Engraved on Steel by Silvester UC°Z7. Strand. London INTRODUCTION. The constant enquiry for information relating to the construction of a Tunnel or road-way under a navigable and tide river, has induced the Directors to publish the following account of the origin and progress of the Work. A slight acquaintance with the immense and various mercantile concerns carried on in the vicinity of London Bridge and in the neighbourhood of the Tunnel, will shew the great utility, and the consequent importance, of a convenient communication by land from shore to shore at that part of the river Thames; and it appears from the number and magnitude of the shipping constantly passing, that the only plan which could be resorted to with a necessary 6 regard to economy, as well as practical utility, is that of a Tunnel under the bed of the river, of sufficient capacity to accommodate and facilitate the local traffic. The project of a Tunnel under the river at Gravesend was put forward in 1799, but the scheme was soon abandoned; this was followed by an attempt to form a Tunnel from Rotherhithe to Limehouse in 1804, under the authority of an Act of Parliament, at which time a shaft of 11 feet in diameter was sunk to the depth of 42 feet, when from difficulties which were then encoun¬ tered, it was for a time suspended. It was afterwards continued at a reduced diameter of 8 feet, to the depth of 76 feet, at which depth a small driftway was carried therefrom under the river to the extent of 923 feet, and to within 150 feet of the opposite shore, when new difficulties having arisen, the Engineer reported that further progress was impracticable, and the work was di&r* continued. t Various plans were subsequently proposed for the construc¬ tion of the Tunnel, all of which, after a time, were abandoned These proceedings are adverted to, to shew the importance attached to the successful accomplishment of a road-way under the Thames Notwithstanding the failure of these attempts, immediately that Mr. Brunei in 1823 proposed and exhibited his Plan for con¬ structing at once, and on a useful scale, a double and capacious road-way under the Thames, it was not only well received, but liberally supported by gentlemen of rank and science, who were not discouraged by the extraordinary risks which an enterprise of such magnitude must encounter. The spot between Rotherhithe and Wapping, selected for the intended communication, is perhaps the only one situate between London Bridge and Greenwich, where such a road-way could be attempted without interfering essentially with some of the great mercantile establishments on both sides of the river; the 8 situation is about two miles below London Bridge, in a very populous and highly commercial neighbourhood, and where a facility of land communication between the two shores is very desirable, and where it must be very advantageous, not only to the immediate neighbourhood, but also to the adjacent counties. While the necessary steps were taking to obtain an Act of Parliament, and to raise money to carry the plan into effect, the Committee of Subscribers employed competent persons, uncon¬ nected with the Engineer, to take borings across the river in that part, in three parallel lines; and on the 4th of April, 1824, they reported, that there was upon each line a stratum of strong blue clay of sufficient density and tenacity to insure the safety of the intended Tunnel, and of considerable value, as the exca¬ vation proceeded; upon this encouraging report the Committee approved of the locality proposed for the Tunnel. This very satisfactory account of the soil to be expected in 9 the line of the intended excavation, induced Mr. Brunei to enlarge the dimensions of his original plan, and consequently the apparatus by which he intended to protect the excavation, until it should be perfectly secured by brick-work. The Act of Parliament having been obtained on the 24th of June, 1824, and Mr. Brunei appointed the Engineer to the undertaking, he began his operations by making preparation for a shaft of 50 feet in diameter, which he commenced at 150 feet from the river, on the Rotherhithe side. This he effected by constructing first on the surface of the ground, a substantial cylinder of brick-work of that diameter, 42 feet in height, and 3 feet in thickness. Over this he set up the steam engine neces¬ sary for pumping out the water, and for raising the earth to be taken from within the cylinder, and then proceeded to sink it en masse into the ground in the way that the shafts of wells are usually sunk. By this means he succeeded in passing through 10 a bed of gravel and sand 26 feet deep, full of land-water, con¬ stituting in fact a quick sand in which the drift-makers formerly had been compelled to suspend their work, and ultimately to reduce the dimensions of their shaft from 11 to 8 feet as already mentioned. While this operation was in progress, Mr. Brunei received an intimation from eminent geologists, warning him of the exist¬ ence of a bed of sand lying at a greater depth, and advising him to go as little as possible below the bottom of the river. This information corresponded with the account given before by the drift-makers respecting the existence of a quicksand, and its depths beneath the level of high water. The 50-feet shaft having been sunk to the depth of 65 feet, another smaller shaft, 25 feet in diameter, destined to be a well or reservoir for the drainage of water, was also sunk from this lower level; but on approaching the depth of 80 feet, the ground II gave way suddenly under this latter structure, which sunk several feet at once, the sand and water blowing up at the same time. Thus was the previous intelligence confirmed of the existence and the nature of the bed of sand in question, by which infor¬ mation the Engineer of the Thames Tunnel had been guided in the line that he has followed for his structure. The shaft and reservoir having been completed, the horizontal excavation for the body of the Tunnel was commenced at the depth of 63 feet: and in order to have sufficient thickness of ground to pass safely under the deep part of the river, the exca¬ vation was carried on at a declivity of 2 feet 3 inches per hundred feet. It must be remarked here, that the excavation which has been made for the Thames Tunnel is 38 feet in breadth, and 22 feet 6 inches in height, presenting a sectional area of 850 feet, and exceeding 60 times the area of the drift which was attempted 12 before. As an illustration of the magnitude of the excavation for the Tunnel, it may be added, that it is larger than the inte¬ rior of the old House of Commons, which, being 32 feet in breadth by 25 feet in height, was only 800 feet in sectional area; and it may further be observed, that the base of this excavation, in the deepest part of the river, is 76 feet below high water-mark. It is by means of a powerful apparatus, which has been desig¬ nated a “ Shield,” (a view of which is given in one of the plates, facing p. 21,) that this extensive excavation has been effected, and that the double road-way and paths, which now extend far beyond the middle of the river, have at the same time been constructed within it. This shield consists of 12 great frames, (for one of which vide plate opposite page 23,) lying close to each other, like as many volumes on the shelf of a book-case: these frames are 22 feet in height, and about 3 feet in breadth. They are di¬ vided into three stages, or stories, thus presenting 36 chambers^ 13 or cells, for the workmen—namely, the miners, by whom the ground is cut down and secured in front; and the bricklayers, by whom the structure is simultaneously formed, and which serves also as a scatfolding for them. Powerful and efficient as this apparatus has proved to be in accomplishing so considerable a part of the work as that which has been done, the influence of the tide upon some portion of the strata beneath the bed of the river, has greatly contributed to increase the labour, and to multiply the difficulties, and also to give them occasionally an awful character. That influence upon some of the strata, or upon some portions of the strata, had not been noticed by the drift-makers, owing most probably to the circumstance that more than nine-tenths of their excava¬ tion had been carried on under a bed of rock. The shield was placed in its first position at the bottom of the shaft by the 1st of January, 1826, and the structure of the 14 double archway of the Tunnel was commenced under a bed of clay, but on the 25th of the same month, the substantial protec¬ tion of clay was discovered to break off at once, leaving the shield for upwards of six weeks open to a considerable influx of land-water, copiously issuing from a bed of sand and gravel fed at each tide, and the progress of the work was in consequence much impeded. On the 11th of March this fault or break in the clay was cleared, and the shield being again under a bed of clay, the work proceeded, and on the 30th of June, 1826, entered under the bed of the river, increasing daily in its progress; and by the 30th ol April, 1827, the Tunnel had advanced 400 feet under the river; these 400 feet of the Tunnel were excavated, and the double archways substantially completed with brick-work in tea months and a half. On the 18th of May, 1827, and again in the month of January, 1828, the river broke in, and tilled the 15 Tunnel, thereby occasioning the apprehension that this singular undertaking, which had excited so much interest, not only in England, but on the Continent, might be abandoned. After however filling the holes or chasms in the bed of the rive- where the irruptions had occurred, with bags of clay, and clear¬ ing the Tunnel of water, upon re-entering it, the structure was found in a most satisfactory state, and perfectly sound, and afforded the strongest proof of the efficiency of Mr. Brunei” system of constantly protecting as much as possible every part of the soil during the excavation, and finishing the structure in the most solid manner as the work proceeded. Subsequent to these irruptions of the river, such was the desire to see the work completed, that several hundred Plans were tendered for filling up the cavity, as well as for preventing future accidents. All the Plans were duly examined, and atten¬ tively considered ; and the Board of Directors expressed, under 1G date of the 16th of December, 1828, their obligations to the many scientific men who had so spontaneously communicated their several ingenious suggestions for securing and completing the undertaking. The works from that time remained suspended during a period of seven years. They have now been re-commenced; and from the experience gained during the former progress of the work, and the difficulties which have been heretofore overcome, there is every hope of a successful termination of this important work. September, 1838. 19 Q^PE&4i£*£tfra<9)£is<> The vignette,, which follows the title page, is a view of Wapping, with the churches of Shadwell and St. George’s in the East at a distance, and a transverse section of the Tunnel, with a view of the workmen in the different cells of the shield. The opposite print is a view of the western archway of the Tunnel, lighted by gas, as it now appears, and into which Visitors are admitted. # f* • r * I East India Docks CnTnimr ^nl jEtoad Commercial pla^ la of ymgL :OADS Sc MAIN OBJECTS^I^^k on. Vie 'astern Part oJ-'Zoruton l||||k as connected with the. T IT IN' ]>r E 1L_ lj| 'ca/natrny // m/c't fate*//tneneJw |\| ottt tyf/d/u’i/ttt/ie fa projected/ Ity Ml M.I.BRUNEL C.E.F.R.S. MM Mr 1835. j^mnli. ’T^tCNTCL 'fairly, .gi ld SiinV. W~. Wirsrtnglxn >'/\ 18 The annexed Plan will shew the situation of the Tunnel with reference to the main roads leading to it. London Bridge along Tooley-street is 2 miles J - The Great Kent Road. 11 ,, .2 o „ ^ Greenwich Church by Deptford Creek 2| ,, xs, Mile End Turnpike. 1J ,, To facilitate the access to the Tunnel for the large population in its immediate neighbourhood, it is intended to make the carriage descents circu¬ lar, and they will not exceed in any part the slope of Ludgate Hill, or Waterloo Place, Pall Mall. F * * ■ I 19 The shaft, from whence the Tunnel works are carried on was built at Rotherhithe in the form of a tower, 50 feet in diameter, 42 feel in height, and 3 feet thick, at about 150 feet from the edge of the wharf, and it was sunk into its position by excavating the earth within. In the annexed sketch the brick-work is supposed to be broken open, to shew its con¬ struction* and the numbers below refer to the different parts of that “ tower,” which now forms the shaft, and is intended finally to be occupied by an easy double flight of steps, for the use of foot passengers through the Tunnel. 1.1. The wooden rings, or flat curbs, 2. The iron curb. 3. Hoops, or laths binding together the uprights. 4. 4. Iron rods enclosed in wood C screwed tight to the top and the bottom 5. 5. Wooden rods - - - - * ( curb. Engraved on Steel by Silvester &CSJ17. Strand. London 22 feet 6Jnrhes. 20 A transverse section of the Tunnel is here given, shewing the dimensions of the mass of brickwork, which is all firmly set in cement. It must be observed, that the middle wall is, for greater security while in progress, built quite solid; but for con¬ venience, light, and general effect, a succession of arches are I opened in that middle wall, so as to admit of frequent com¬ munications between the two carriage ways. i 21 This view exhibits the workmen in the iron shield, with a transverse section of the archways which they build during their operations, shewing thus how they appear along the archways. The dimensions of the excavation under the river are 38 feet wide by 22 feet 6 inches high; the whole area of which is con stantly covered and supported by the iron shield in 12 divisions which are advanced alternately and independently of each other they have each three floors, or stages, forming a succession ol scaffolding and cells for the bricklayers and miners during the operations. •J tsilood <£ "//<'' 21 This view exhibits the workmen in the iron shield, with a transverse section of the archways which they build during their operations, shewing thus how they appear along the archways. The dimensions of the excavation under the river are 38 feet wide by 22 feet 6 inches high; the whole area of which is con stantly covered and supported by the iron shield in 12 divisions which are advanced alternately and independently of each other they have each three floors, or stages, forming a succession ol scaffolding and cells for the bricklayers and miners during the operations. o 22 A longitudinal section of about 40 feet of the Tunnel, with a side view of the shield, and the miners as well as the brick¬ layers at work. This sketch represents also the moving stage, with two floors,, used by the miners to throw thereon, for removal , the earth they excavate; and where the bricks, cement, and other materials, are placed in readiness for the bricklayers. Towards the head and foot of the shield is also shewn the position of the horizontal screws, a pair of which being attached to each of the divisions, and turned so as to press against the brick-work are used to propel each division forward. ■ I . ... ' . - > - . •- • • — 23 The divisions of the shield are advanced separately and inde¬ pendently of each other, by the means pointed out in the fore¬ going Sketch: each division, as is attempted to be shewn in the annexed design, has boards in front (known by the technical name of poling boards) supported and kept in position by means of jack screws, which are lodged against the front of the iron frame ; these boards are in succession taken down while the earth in front of each is excavated, the first board being always replaced before a second is removed; thus forming a constant firm buttress. The several parts will be better understood by reference to the following numbers:— 1. Poling Boards. 2. Jack Screws. 3. The “ top staves” covering the upper part of the excavation, till the shield is succeeded by brick-work; 4. Screws to raise or depress the top staves. 5. “ The legs,” being jack screws fixed by ball joints to the shoes 6, upon which the whole division stands. 7 & 8. The sockets, where the top and bottom horizontal screws are fixed to force the division forward. 7 " ?». i '■ ' ( r i l; ,<■) H 6(J or j ■ ■ * r-t . ' • • \y , •' • / oi . ;■ 7 nv 5■ J ' •/' t !.V ; ‘ : • ;j? coir;-. . ", -a ? 1 * f I J V * ttW / ' , : , r • n?. st .ftrv Vr v i •*- V ♦