ioSsssí'jsíi».
WEST INDIA
Dock for Ulli oadinO tuvards
docks
Dock for LoadLng Ootwardg
A
BRIEF STATEMENT
A
OF
THE ADVANTAGES
WHICH WILL RESULT TO THE PUBLIC FROM
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A
COMMUNICATION BY RAILROAD
BETWEEN
LONDON AND BLACKWALL.
WITH
AN ESTIMATE OF THE PROBABLE RETURN
TO THE SUBSCRIBERS.
LONDON.
1837.
Lir-íj? "v.tîY
ftU?ÎHAU or
London :
Printed by A. Spottiswoode,
New-Street-Square.
STATEMENT,
&C. &c.
The commercial advantages to be expected
from the establishment of intercommunication
by railroad, between any two places, will mani¬
festly be determined by the following con¬
ditions : —
1st. The amount of the population at each of
the proposed termini.
2d. The actual extent of commerce carried on
between these termini.
3d. The present number of individuals who
pass in a given time, between the proposed
termini.
4th. The advantages which the communica¬
tion by railroad would possess, over the existing
modes of transport, between the proposed places.
5th. The facilities which the district through
which the projected line is to run, will offer
for the fulfilment of those mechanical conditions
which are indispensable for a good line of rail¬
road.
With these conditions well understood and
a 2
4
admitted, any person unbiassed by petty in¬
terests and prejudices, if asked, " where a line
of railroad of the limited length of a few miles
could be established with the best imaginable
prospect of success," would undoubtedly lay his
finger on two points on the map of London —
the Royal Exchange and Blackwall. If the globe
were placed before him, with all its statistical
and commercial varieties delineated and ex¬
pressed upon it, where could he find two points
combining in so extraordinary a degree, all the
prescribed elements of success ? At one end
the metropolis of the civilised world, teeming
with its fifteen hundred thousand inhabitants
— a hive of industry and wealth ; at the other,
the port of this enormous mart, receiving and
pouring forth its thousands daily, and surrounded
by those hoards of coiumercial treasure, the East
and West India docks.
It is strange that, with a population as un¬
exampled in number, as in commercial activity
and enterprise, the existing means of intercom¬
munication, are not only, irot superior to other-
places, where despatch is less needed, but are
even considerably inferior. The cause of this
is, however-, easily assigned. The amount of
persons, and goods, which reqitire to be trans¬
fer-red between these places, altogether exceeds
the powers of the present means of trarrsport.
The channels of communication, whether by
5
land or water, become therefore choked up,
and the inevitable difficulties of transit are en¬
hanced and multiplied. The crowded state of
the river, and the streets, renders the progress of
vessels and carriages, necessarily slow, so that
the evil becomes its own means of aggravation.
The distance from London Bridge to Black-
wall, by water, is about seven miles, and the
time occupied in the passage by steam-boats, is
an hour, and frequently an hour and a half.
The distance by the streets is about four miles,
and the time taken to make the journey is, by
coaches, about forty minutes, and by omnibuses
an hour.
The estimated number of passengers travelling
in carriages of various descriptions, between
London and Blackwall, is at present about two
millions a year. The quantity of goods annually
transported between these places, including the
West and East India Docks, amounts to one
hundred and eighty thousand tons by land, and
about one hundred and sixty thousand tons by
water ; making a total of three hundred and
forty thousand tons, being more than a thousand
tons per working day.
The steam packets plying from London to
various points of the river, such as Gravesend,
Herne Bay, Margate, Ramsgate, Sheerness,
South End, the Nore, and to more distant
parts, are estimated as taking a million and a
A 3
G
half of passengers annually. Indeed, as many
as ten thousand have been frequently landed in
a single day at Gravesend alone. Thus the total
number of persons passing between London and
Blackwall yearly, including those by water and
by land, amounts even now to little less than
three millions and a half. It is scarcely necessary
to say that such an extent of intercourse, is
without example in any other part of the globe.
One of the witnesses produced before the
Committee of the House of Commons upon the
London and Blackwall line *, proved that in
every case where a railroad worked by loco¬
motive engines for the transport of passengers
has been yet established, the intercourse between
its termini, has increased in passengers, in about
a fourfold proportion.
The average number of passengers daily be¬
tween Liverpool, Manchester, and the principal
neighbouring towns, before the formation of the
railway, was about 400 ; immediately after the
railway came into operation, the number in¬
creased to 1200. It has since gradually been
augmented, and now is little under 1500, or
above half a million annually. By the returns
of 1831 the population of Liverpool was 165,000,
and that of Manchester 183,000. The annual
intercourse is therefore about 50 per cent, more
than the united populations of these two great
towns.
* Dr. Lardner.
7
On a railroad constructed from Bolton to a
point on the Liverpool and Manchester line,
the increase is stated to be in the proportion of
7 to 1.
A portion of the Newcastle and Carlisle rail¬
road has been completed, extending from New¬
castle-upon-Tyne to the village of Hexham, a
distance of about 17 miles. Before the con¬
struction of the railway the estimated number
of passengers between these places was I7OO
a month : during the first ten months after the
opening of the railway, the average number con¬
veyed monthly was 706O, being an increase of
more than 4 to 1.
But the most striking example, and that
which bears the closest analogy to the particular
line between London and Blackwall, is the rail¬
road between Dublin and Kingstown. This
road extends from the city of Dublin to within
about a half a mile of the harbour of Kingstown.
Antecedently to the opening of the railroad, the
estimated number of passengers between these
places by the common road, was seven or eight
hundred per day ; while now, the daily inter¬
course, has increased from seven or eight hun¬
dred, to three thousand three hundred daily, the
annual amount being a million and a quarter!
Yet the Dublin railroad is attended with great
and obvious disadvantages. It terminates in
Dublin, at a remote and inconvenient point,
A 4
8
nearly a mile from the Exchange, and two from
the courts of law. The other terminus is not,
where it ought to be, at Kingstown harbour, but
is placed above half a mile short of that point.
Passengers from Kingstown must obtain a hired
carriage to the terminus of the railroad; and,
again, when they arrive at the Dublin terminus,
they must obtain another hired carriage to trans¬
port them to their destination.
If, then, between the city of Dublin, with its
two hundred thousand inhabitants, and the little
village of Kingstown, destitute of commerce, and
without a port, save for the Post-office steamers *,
there be, nevertheless, the enormous annual in¬
tercourse of a million and a quaider of passengers,
what may not be expected from a Blackwall
Railway, with London at one end and the world
at the other ? If we could venture to apply to
this line of communication, the same ratio of
increase, which has, without one exception, at¬
tended every other railroad yet constructed in
these countries, under circumstances infinitely
more unpromising, we should be sustained in
multiplying the three millions and a half by four,
and in assuming an annual intercourse of fourteen
millions of persons ! But, however we might be
justified by statistical logic, in such a conclusion,
* Although the harbour of Kingstown is commodious, no
commercial vessels frequent it.
9
we forbear from deducing it ; for we are con¬
tent that it shall he assumed, that the present
intercourse may he doubled, by the facilities of
railroad communication.
All the reasonings which we have now ad¬
vanced would he applicable, though the ordi¬
nary means of communication between London
and Blackwall, by land and by water, were as
convenient and unobstructed, as that species of
transport admits. But the mass of evidence
produced before the Blackwall Committee, in¬
dependently of all the facts on this subject,
which are publicly notorious, shows how veiy far
from being either convenient or unobstructed
are these channels of communication.
The state of the river, consequent upon the
frequent passage of steam boats through it, at all
hours of the day, furnishes a still stronger argu¬
ment in support of some more effective means
of intercommunication. A mass of evidence
was delivered before the Blackwall Committee,
respecting the state of the river between Black-
wall and London Bridge — more especially of
that part called the Pool; which, if perused
with a candid mind, even by the most zealous
opponents to the establishment of railway com¬
munication, would force them to admit, that
considerations of prudence and humanity would
alone be sufficient to render it imperative upon
the country to interpose, and supply some less
10
mischievous method of intercoui'se. Amidst
the mass of facts which are before us, respecting
the state of this part of the river, we are em¬
barrassed in making a selection consistent with
the limits which must necessarily be imposed on
this statement. A multitude of witnesses, con¬
sisting of pilots, river police, harbour masters,
and other persons, who, from their occupa¬
tion or official position, were necessarily ac¬
quainted with the traffic upon the river, pro¬
duced before the Committee, an irresistible body
of facts, illustrative of the commercial mis¬
chief, and the loss of life, consequent upon the
inadequacy of the Thames, to the intercourse
and commerce which are at present unavoidably
thrown upon it.
It appears that it is necessary to arrange
the tiers of vessels on either side of the
river, in such a way as to limit the central
space which is left open for the passage of
vessels up and down. The river regulations
fix three hundred feet as the minor limit
of this water-way ; but in practice it has been
found impossible to keep so large a space open.
The vessels which pass with the greatest fre¬
quency through this open water-way, are the
steamers, which are constantly arriving and
departing during the day. It is ascertained
that, during the summer months, about one
hundred and twenty of these vessels go up
11
and down the river daily ; and as this takes
place chiefly in the interval between the
morning and the night, it would follow, that
from eight to ten must pass every hour. The
swell caused is so great, that it is stated by
numerous experienced pilots, that no open
craft can live in it ; even boats of consider¬
able size get fllled with water by it; and no
regulation of the river police can remedy this
intolerable grievance.
The consequences of such a state of things
must be obvious. Hundreds of watermen, who
formerly sustained themselves, and contributed
to the public convenience, by taking passengers
across the river below London Bridge, are now
thrown out of employment, and left to starve.*
It is in evidence that persons on the banks of the
river, near the Pool, will actually prefer going
round by London Bridge to the opposite side to
risking their lives in crossing the water. This will
excite the less surprise when it is stated, that it
has been proved, that the swell produced by a
steamer of the larger class, continues sometimes
for a mile and a half behind it. t
Few are, perhaps, aware of the extent to which
life is risked, and lost by the transit of steamers
through this part of the river; and, on the score
of humanity, this certainly forms the most co-
* Evidence of John Taylor, pilot, March 13.
+ James Pennial, pilot, March 24.
gent argument which can be advanced for the
establishment of railroad communication to
some point upon the river, not higher up than
Blackwall. A catalogue of facts of this kind
was laid before the Committee by one of the
witnesses, which contained the melancholy re¬
cord of drownings from day to day, until the
chairman declared, that sufficient of this re¬
gister of misfortunes had been heard, to satisfy
every mind of the necessity of applying some
remedial expedient. Mr. James Evans, Thames
police surveyor, came, apparently prepared with
an official catalogue, from the Thames Police
Office, of the accidents which had occurred for
a given time upon the river, between London
and Blackwall, and he commenced with June,
1835, as follows : —
" June 9- At seven o'clock a wherry was
sunk off the Police Office, at Wapping, con¬
taining three persons, one of whom was drowned.
This accident was produced by the swell made
by the Monarch and a Greenwich steamer.
" June 10. At half-past ten o'clock last night,
a wherry containing six persons, and John Pow¬
ell, a Bankside waterman, was sunk at the West
India Dock entrance, at Limehouse Hole, by
the swell occasioned by four steamers passing to¬
gether of the six passengers were drowned;
the waterman and two passengers saved.
" July 5. Last evening a steamer ran over
13
a boat by the Wapping Dock stairs ; it cut the
boat in two, and Jive persons, including the water¬
man, narrowly escaped being drowned.
" July 10. Last evening five persons were
passing in a boat at Globe Stairs, Rotherhithe ;
the Red Rover steamer cut the boat down and
sunk it ; two men drowned.
" July 19. The Hawk steamer ran down a
wherry, in which was George Garhett, a water¬
man, and sunk the boat; the waterman was saved.
" August 26. At half-past five yesterday
morning "
Here the Committee interposed, declaring that
they had heard sufficient evidence on this point.
A member, however, requested to hear the ac¬
cident which witness had commenced relating.
Witness. " At half-past five yesterday morn¬
ing, the John Bull steamer ran foul of a sand
barge, and a man was killed ; and on the same
morning, a wherry was sunk, containing six
persons, one of whom was drowned. This last
accident was produced by the swell made by the
Adelaide steam ship."
The Committee once more interposed, and
requested that no more witnesses should he pro-
. duced on this melancholy subject.— (Evidence,
March 24.)
The ivitnesses all agreed, that these evils would
he remedied, by inducing the steamers to land
their passengers at Blackwall, which, according
14
to their concurrent testimony, is a ßt and com¬
modious landing-place, and that below Blackwall
the same objections and dangers do not exist.
Captain John Fisher, harbour-master of the
port of London, proved that the number of
vessels which passed the Pool in 1796, was
eleven thousand, and that this number was in¬
creased in the year 1835 to twentyßve thousand
vessels, exclusive of craft ; — that in the pre¬
sent state of the river it was quite impossible
to provide them with berths, and altogether im¬
practicable to keep a proper water-way open
at any time. He stated also, that it was im¬
practicable for steamers to limit themselves
to the regulation speed ; and that even if
they did so, they would endanger the vessels
which they pass. They are permitted by
the regulations of the river to go six miles
through the water against the tide, and four
miles with it. This witness'also stated, that in
going six miles against the tide a dangerous
swell is produced ; and that if the regulations as
to speed were strictly enforced, the transit of
steamers upon the river, would sometimes be al¬
together suspended. He stated also that, in
order to enable a vessel to answer her helm, a
certain speed greater than the permitted rate is
necessary.
Assuming, then, that it is sufficiently proved
by the mass of evidence from which we have just
15
made a few quotations, that it is highly ex¬
pedient that some means should be devised for
relieving the river from this constant transit of
steamers, by enabling them to discharge their
cargoes at Blackwall, we shall now proceed to
explain the character and qualities of the line of
railway by which it is proposed to connect the
city with Blackwall, as sanctioned by the legis¬
lature in the late session of Parliament.
The Blackwall Commercial Railway is intended
by another bill, to have the London terminus at
or near the India House, but by the present bill
it stops at the Minories ; the other terminus will
be at or near the Brunswick Wharf, Blackwall ;
the distance between these termini being rather
less than three miles and three hundred yards,
and from thence to the proposed terminus at
the India House, only six hundred and eight
yards. The line consists of a gentle inclination,
which falls from the Minories at the rate of one
foot in four hundred and forty.
It is assumed, as a principle in the construction
of railroads, that the more gentle the acclivities,
cœteris paribus, the better will be the road.
Another principle, which has been assumed
in the laying down of railways, is, never to
permit curves to be constructed with a less
radius than about four or five thousand feet, ex-
cept in the particular case where the curve is at
the terminus of the line, or at some other point
where the train must necessarily pull up.
1(J
If these conditions be borne in mind, it will
be easy to perceive, how fully the Blackwall line
possesses the requisite elements of locomotive
perfection. Its steepest inclination is one in
four hundred and forty, considerably under that
which the railroad canon forbids ; and its sharp¬
est curves, have a radius of about four thousand
feet, with the exception of a short portion of the
line about three hundred yards in length, at the
terminus at Brunswick Wharf, where there is a
curve of three thousand feet radius ; but this,
occurring at the terminus, is just in the position
where such a curve is harmless.
The transport by this line from the city to
the Brunswick Wharf, being upon a gentle de¬
scent, will be conducted with the expenditure of
an amount of motive power which is perfectly
inconsiderable. The speed of transit in this
direction will have no other limit than that
which safety imposes. At the speed which is
at present attained by locomotive power on rail¬
ways, the distance from the city to Brunswick
Wharf would be performed by the passenger
trains in seven minutes, and the journey in the
opposite direction would be accomplished in ten
minutes.
The proposed Railway will pass close to the
West India Docks, with which an easy com¬
munication for goods will be formed. A branch
will also be constructed to the East India
Docks ; and thus the greatest city will be con-
17
nected with the two grandest emporiums of mer¬
chandise in the world.
Whether its ground plan or its section be con¬
sidered, the adaptation of this line to locomotive
power is not exceeded by the most perfect of
the many railroads which are now constructed,
and in progress, throughout the kingdom.
In a word, the supporters of the Blackwall line
feel that they may safely challenge a comparison
of their enterprise with any of those which have
either actually received or are now seeking par¬
liamentary sanction ; and it has the additional
advantage of diminishing, in an extraordinary
degree, the distance between its termini.
This line is intended to be constructed upon
a series of arches, forming a continuous bridge
or viaduct from the City to Blackwall. By this
means, all disturbance or interruption which
could be produced to the neighbourhood through
which it must pass will be eitectually removed :
the streets will pass under it, and. so have a free
transit, unobstructed by the railroad commerce.
It is well known that no smoke is produced by
locomotive engines, and the little noise and steam
which proceed from them will not be perceived
in the adjacent streets.
* The space of ground taken for the line is
seventy-five feet in width. Of this- about
forty-five feet will be occupied by the viaduct,
and fifteen feet will be reserved at each side for
B
Ï8
a footpath communicating with the arches. The
entire viaduct will rest upon 700 entire, or 1400
half arches ; each half arch having a frontage
of sixteen feet, a depth of twenty-two feet, and
a height of at least eighteen feet. They will,
therefore, be of ample span to be converted
into workshops, warehouses, or any of the nu¬
merous purposes to which they are so well
adapted ; thereby substituting for the wretched
hovels which must be swept away, fourteen
hundred clean and well aired tenements, to let
at an average rent of eight pounds, a rate at
which houses of very inferior size and conve¬
nience now let in the same neighbourhood.
An attempt has been made to raise a pre¬
judice against the use of locomotive engines,
by representing that pieces of ignited coal are
every now and then carried up the funnels,
and thrown upon surrounding objects. Now,
what is the fact? The mouth of the chimney
of a locomotive engine is covered with a hood
of wire gauze, through which even minute ashes
can escape only in a very small quantity, and
in such a state of subdivision that they scarcely
come into the cold atmosphere before they
are not only extinguished, but reduced to a
positively cold state. Every one who has tra¬
velled, either as an outside passenger in the
second class trains, or who happens to have
occupied a place upon the tender of an engine,
must be aware of this.
i9
It is quite true that formerly the red cinders,
which fell from the ^re bars of the locomotives of
the Manchester railroad, resting on the road
between the rails, were caught up by the flanges
of the wheels as they revolved, and, being cast
against the waggons carrying very combustible
matter, such as dry cotton, did in some one or
two instances produce a conflagration of the •
goods transported. The directors of the road
were, however, not slow to adopt an efficient
remedy for this : they have made an improved
arrangement of the fire bars, which prevents the
recuri'ence of such a circumstance ; and it is a
fact, which may now be easily ascertained by
any person who may desire to make the ne¬
cessary inquiries, that the managers of the Man¬
chester road are not under the slightest appre¬
hension from fire. In fact, the Manchester
and Liverpool railway passes through, and on a
level with, numerous corn fields and timber
yards, and close to many thatched cottages, and
yet no conflagrations occur, nor is any danger
apprehended.
Indeed it is an objection wholly unsupported
by facts ; otherwise the Parliamentary Committee
appointed for the express purpose of inquiring
into its truth would not have been satisfied,
nor the City of London have permitted a rail¬
way, called the Grand Junction, to traverse from
Euston Square to Snow Hill.
B Ü
20
Another objection, but of no greater weight,
has been taken to the use of locomotive engines,
and that is, on the score of noise to the neigh¬
bourhood. Undoubtedly every means for the
transport of goods or passengers must be attended
with more or less noise ; but of all the means of
transport yet devised, the transit upon an edge
railroad by locomotive engines is least liable to
this objection. The smoothness of the surface,
the rapidity of the motion, and the capability
it affords for carrying great weight, all conspire
to diminish the nuisance, by enabling vast loads
to be transported without the aid of animal
power,, thereby saving the constant rattling of
wheels, and endless clattering of horses' feet
upon a hard pavement or road.
In like manner a prejudice has been raised
on the score of noise, to the occupation of the
arches ; but it ought to be recollected that the
railway is used during the day only, when the
effect upon it, will be silence itself, as com¬
pared with the incessant din of horses and
carriages through all the chief thoroughfares of
London.
One of the reports to which industrious cir¬
culation has been given is, that the motion
of carriages upon a viaduct of this description
will necessarily, in process of time, crumble
it to pieces by the continued vibration which
it must produce in the structure. The only
'n
answer necessary to be given to prove the
absui'dity of such an objection, is to refer to
the splendid arch over Thames Street at Lon¬
don Bridge, and to the numerous arches on the
Surrey side of Waterloo Bridge, all of which
being built of sufficient solidity, are found,
after a trial of many years, to be as firm as
the first day.
Another objection which is attempted to be
raised against this project, is founded on the
alleged impracticability of accommodating the
numerous passengers who would require to be
taken up and let down at points between its
termini. But when the immense extent of the
proposed depots is taken into account, and
the vast facility to be afforded by double lines of
I'ailway, this objection must, like the previous
ones, be held to vanish.
But, in fact, the inconvenience has been fore¬
seen and provided against far more effectually in
the projected Blackwall line, than was the case
either in the Liverpool or Dublin line. The
Blackwall is at present meant to consist of two
double lines or rails, or, to speak in less technical
language, it will consist of two distinct and inde¬
pendent railways. One of these will be exclu¬
sively appropriated to those trains which will not
require to stop at any point between the termini ;
such as on the Liverpool line are called yiV.v^ class
trains. The second railway will be reserved for
n 3
22
slow trains, and those which will stop to take up
and let down passengers at every place which
may be required, as the coaches and omnibuses
now are accustomed to do. Thus the latter
trains will in no degree interfere with or ob¬
struct the former. This great advantage is not
secured on the Liverpool or Dublin lines, which
are each only one double line of railway, so that
the fast or first class trains there require to be
so managed as not to be interfered with by the
slow or second class trains — an object not at¬
tained without some difficulty and danger.
Having thus combated (successfully, as the
projectors hope) many of, if not all, the ob¬
jections taken to the proposed Railway to Black-
wall, they feel bound to notice, what has been
urged as (and, if applicable, no doubt would be)
a serious drawback to its success, that is, the
apparently vast expense, delay, and trouble ne¬
cessary to hook, issue tickets to, and collect from
passengers, so large a sum as the Railway must
yield, in fares of so small an amount. To those
accustomed to the omnibus and short stage
traffic of the metropolis, and its suburbs, this
alleged drawback will have no terrors ; but to
those unaccustomed to the off-handed way in
which business of the sort is conducted in
London, it may be necessary to state, that,,
among the countless thousands of carriages of
all descriptions plying in and about the me-
^3
tropolis, such a precaution as that of booking
for a sixpenny fare was never heard of, nor of
tickets being issued for any conveyance, no
matter how great the distance to travel may be.
The troublesome ordeal above detailed, although
practised in Manchester and Liverpool, was
never heard of in London ; nor will any greater
trouble be entailed on the managers of the
Blackwall Railway in collecting their sixpences,
than to require each person to pay as he enters
their premises, the same as he would in cross¬
ing a bridge, they having as checks on the re¬
ceivers— numerous turnstiles similar to those
used on the Soutliwark and Waterloo bridges.
It is true that this easy and efficient system
has not, and, perhaps, cannot be adopted on the
Greenwich Railway ; but it is obvious that the
difficulty arises from the inadequate size of the
depot, which effectually precludes the possibility
of keeping the outgoing passengers separate
from the incoming ones.
In referring to the Manchester and Liverpool
Railways, we cannot forego the opportunity that
offers for expressing our surprise at the pre¬
ferences evinced by the shrewd and keen-wilted
Railway Proprietors of Lancashire, towards what
are termed " Long Lines," to the almost entire
neglect of "short ones," our estimate of the
probable income to be derived from a railway
being founded, rather on the amount of popukt-
B 4
21<
tion through which it passes, than on the distance
it has to run, on men I'ather than miles. Nor
can it be disputed that, with a corresponding
quantity of traffic on a short line, its advantages
over a long one must be great, seeing that its
annual expenses will be infinitely less. And we
apprehend that when short lines come into fair
operation, our datum will be found to be the
correct one ; otherwise how does it happen that
within a radius of five miles round the Royal
Exchange, we find a traffic vastly greater during
every hour of the day, from sunrise to sunset,
than is to be found on any score of the longest
lines in Great Britain, taken all together ? Above
ten thousand public carriages are on the constant
move, and making several trips per day, besides
as many private ones ; yet, prodigious in size as
London is, her extreme distances after all are
not more than equal to what is termed a " short
line." Could any one, we ask, be so bigoted to
self-opinion, as to contend that a railway run¬
ning from Hyde Park Corner to Whitechapel
Church, would not answer, merely because the
distance is under five miles? And if it be allowed
to answer for that portion of the metropolis, why,
we ask, should it fail between the Exchange and
Blackwall, seeing that the latter will have, in
aid of its traffic, the additional advantage of a
distance less by one half, as compared with the
river ? And as yet selfopmion alone has given a
preference to long lines ; for the Liverpool and
25
Manchester, the longest yet finished in the king¬
dom, is not a fair criterion, seeing that it has
vast populations at each end, passes through a
densely-peopled country, and is a kind of step¬
ping stone from both Scotland and Ireland to
the south. Yet, with all these advantages, it
does not surpass the Dublin and Kingstown, or
any of the other short lines now in full operation.
To show the force of numbers, and prove the
soundness of our principle, we may mention the
fact, that there is in the suburbs of London a
turnstile requiring the payment of a half-penny,
or what is thereby termed a half-penny hatch,
which actually lets for above 5,000/. a year !
Yet, with such a fact upon record inter alia, her
almost countless population, the most wealthy
and restless in the world, is assumed by some
to be comparatively inoperative towards the
success of a railway, although the endless trains
of cabs, coaches, and omnibuses which now
effectually block up her leading streets, abun¬
dantly prove how much alive the citizens of
London are to the advantages of cheap and ex¬
peditious transit from one place to another, how¬
ever short the distance may be.
The various circumstances which have been
detailed in these pages are not matter of sup¬
position. They are matters of fact, which have
been detailed in evidence by numerous intel¬
ligent and experienced witnesses. They have
26
been asserted by men of practical skill, and
confirmed by men of scientific eminence. The
force of their truth has prevailed over a strong
contrary bias, and has triumphed over prejudice
and opposition carried to an extent rarely
hitherto exceeded. But even had they not
passed these ordeals, they are now open to in¬
quiry, and every individual can satisfy himself
on the subject. The more such inquiries are
multiplied, and the more vigorously they are
pressed, the more numerous and zealous will be
the supporters and promoters of the Commercial
Railway to Blackwall.
The act of parliament under which this rail¬
way is about to be carried into effect, was ob¬
tained after a very severe contest in Committee
of the House of Commons ; a contest almost,
if not quite, unparalleled in parliamentary his¬
tory, but which, although attended with expense,
affords to the subscribers the best possible
guarantee for the soundness of the undertak¬
ing, seeing that if it had been otherwise, its de-
defects would then have been brought forward and
made to prevail against it. The opposition given
to the Bill during a rigid investigation of thirty-
eight days' duration was chiefly from the trus¬
tees of the Commercial Road, and the projectors
of a competing line of railway, north of that
road, then known by the name of the Black-
wall Company. At the recommendation of
27
several influential members of the Parliamentary
Committee, a union of the rival Railway Com¬
panies was agreed upon, and the southern or
commercial line adopted. Since then the pecu¬
niary interests of the two companies have been
amalgamated, and the united company now
stands thus ; —
24,000 shares of ^25 each, making a capital of ,^600,000
Original deposit paid on the Blackwall Company,
12,000 shares, £?> each ... 36,000
Ditto Ditto Commercial Company,
12,000 shares, ëê2 each . . - 24,000
Further payment of ^1 a share, now in progress
on the latter, to make them equal with the
former . . . - . 12,000
In all - - âé'72,000
Of which amount, about one half has been
expended in bringing the undertaking to its
present maturity.
In addition to the capital so subscribed, the
Company has the power to borrow the further
sum of 200,000^., if necessary, to complete the
undertaking with its extended branch ; but which,
if required, will be taken from subscribers, in pre¬
ference to strangers.
The following are the names of the present
directors and officers of the Company ; but at
the first general meeting of the proprietors,
which must be held previous to the 28th Ja¬
nuary next (within six months of the passing of
•b 6
i
28
the act), afresh election will take place, the number
of directors being limited by the act to twenty.
John Robertson, Esq., Chairman.
Joseph Esdaile, Esq., Deputy Chairman.
Andrew Colvile, Esq., Chairman of the West India Dock
Company.
George Hibbert, Esq., Deputy Chairman of ditto.
William Routh, Esq., Chairman of the East India Dock Com¬
pany.
Archibald Hastie, Esq., M.P., Deputy Chairman of ditto.
George Brown, Esq. Henry Harvey, Esq. F.R.S.
Henry Thomas Curtis, Esq. J. Cornthwaite Hector, Esq.
Crawford Davison, Esq. M P.
John Drinkald, Esq. Charles Hindley, Esq. M.P.
Thomas Farncomh, Esq. George Lewis Hollingsworth,
William Edmund Ferrers,Esq. Esq.
William Haigh, Esq. Thomas Hughes, Esq.
.lohn Alexr. Hankey, Esq. Alex. Carruthers Johnston,
John Humphrey, Esq. M.P. Esq.
Charles M'Garel, Esq. John Thacker, Esq.
John Roskell, Esq. James Walkinshaw, Esq.
John Stock, Esq. John Ashton Yates, Esq.
Frederick Hamond, Esq. Sir William Young, Bart.
Consulting Engineer, William Cuhitt, Esq. F.R.S. ,
Architect and Surveyor, William Tite, Esq. F.R.S.
Solicitors, Messrs. Stokes, Hollingsworth, and Tyerman ; and;
Messrs. J. and S. Pearce, Phillips, and Bolger.
Secretary, John Warmington, Esq.
Notices to quit, in terms of the act, are now
about being given to the tenants and proprietors
on the line, and every exertion will be used to
bring the railway into early operation.
Annexed is a map of the line, with a plan and
section of the arches, and a view of the Brunswick
Wharf, than which there could not be imagined
a more noble terminus, having a river frontage
of not less than 750 feet, and a depth of 120 feet.
£9
It must always be a delicate matter for the
projectors of an undertaking of this kind to
hazard a calculation as to the probable return
it will yield to the subscribers ; but, as a state¬
ment of the kind is generally expected, the
Directors of the Commercial Railway venture
to submit the following : —
Passengers now travelling by public
conveyances to and from Blackwall,
as returned from Stamp Office - 1,399,097
Ditto by steam packets to certain
ports on the coast and abroad - 1,057,742
2,456,839
Which, if only doubled, although the
experience of all existing railways
proves that it might be quadrupled,
gives . . . _ 4,913,678 £
At 6í7. íé'122,841
Goods.
Tons.
Annual amount of produce delivered by
land from the West India Docks, is 117,637
Ditto by land to ditto - - 13,638
Ditto from East India Docks - 25,000
Ditto to ditto - - - 5,000
Ditto to and from Brunswick Wharf 8,000
169,275
Present traffic by land, at rates varying from Us.2d.
to 10s. per ton, but taken all at the reduced rate
of 2s., and excluding other existing traffic, as
well as any increase on that to the Docks, will
give - . . . .
Rent of 700 entire, or 1400 half arches, at an
average of ^16 for each of the former
Estimated wharfage receivable at Blackwall, say
on 1,000,000 passengers, at 2d. each -
^"159,300
16,926
11,200
8,333
so
In the above calculation the charge for pas¬
sengers is taken at only Qd. per head, but the
Company have power to charge as high as Is. Qd. ;
and although they will have conveyances at the
former price, still they are not precluded from
offering to the public the convenience of car¬
riages of a more select description, at a higher
price. Therefore it is presumed that there
will be carriages, varying in fares from 6d. to
Is. 6d., at the option of the passengers ; thereby
giving a higher average rate than that now
taken.
It must be remarked, also, that, in the above
calculation, no credit is taken for any portion
of the goods now transported to and from the
East and West India Docks by water, amount¬
ing to above 155,000 tons a year.
In undertakings of this nature, the correct¬
ness of the estimated cost must always be a
matter of deep anxiety, and the Dmectors have
accordingly taken every precaution to afford to
the shareholders the necessary security on that
score. The engineering estimate was, in the
first instance, verified in the most satisfactory
and positive manner, by the examination, before
the Parliamentary Committee, of Mr. William
Chadwell Mylne, the experienced and intelligent
engineer of the New River Company ; and has
since been confirmed by Mr. Tite, the architect
of the Company. The estimated cost of the
SI
property through which the Railway is to pass
has been determined by three gentlemen of great
experience, viz., Mr. Tite, whose estimates have
been verified and confirmed by the valuations and
reports of Mr. Edward I'Anson, and Mr. James
White Higgins, surveyors of long standing and
high character.
It may be observed that the above calcu¬
lations are on a more liberal scale than those
submitted to the Parliamentary Committees; and
true it is they are,—but why? Because the pro¬
moters of the Railway felt assured, that if they
had then submitted a statement showiníí so large
O O
a return to subscribers as the above does, they
would have been suspected, and perhaps openly
accused, of a desire to gull the public ; whereas,
now that the subscription list is full, and the bill
obtained, they hesitate not to put it forth as the
unbiassed result of calm and deliberate inquiry,
during a period of twelve months, as to the
existing traffic between London and her count¬
less ports, — supported, too, by the experience
gained from the actual working of the nume¬
rous railways now in operation throughout this
and almost every other kingdom of Europe.
MEMORANDUM.
When the competing companies for a Railway
to Blackwall coalesced, it was mutually agreed,
that the engineer to be selected to carry the un¬
dertaking into effect, should be one who had not
previously been employed by either company, or
even heard in evidence, for or against either line,
thereby enabling the Directors to secure to the un¬
dertaking, an unbiassed and unprejudiced mind.
In accordance theiewith, Mr. Cubitt was the
party selected; and the Directors cannot but
congratulate themselves and the subscribers, on
having obtained the aid of an engineer of such
acknowledged talent.
Mr. Cubitt's services have been secured since
the preceding pages were prepared : the latter
have been withheld from the public for a con¬
siderable period of time, for the purpose of ascer¬
taining how far the result of his survey would
be in accordance with them ; Mr. Cubitt's report
is now annexed, and the Directors would fain
hope that it will prove no less satisfactory to the
shareholders, than it is to them, in which case
confidence in the undertaking will be complete,
and success certain.
In laying Mr. Cubitt's report before the
shareholders, the Directors think it but right
to acknowledge that they fully respond to the
SS
feeling expressed as to the propriety of deferring
as long as possible, coming to a final conclusion
as to the details of the railway, so that they
may be enabled, not merely to avail themselves
of the improvements which are daily taking
place in the construction of railways, but to
avoid such errors (if any) as may be committed
by others.
c
.il.
MU. CUBITT'S REPORT.
commercial blackwall railway.
To the Board of Directors,
6. Great George Street, Westminster,
Dec. 8. 1836.
Gentlemen,
Having in accordance with instructions from
you to that eifect, and acccompanied by Mr.
Tite, taken a careful survey of the parliamentary
line of this railway, from the Brunswick Wharf,
near the East India Docks, Blackwall, to its
termination at the Minories ; and also of the
proposed extension from the Minories to the
East India House, in Leadenhall Street, and
having compared the same with the plans and
sections laid down, I have now the honour to
report my opinion thereon.
The commencement of this railway at the
Brunswick Wharf, the chief landing and shipping
place for the large steamers, is judiciously chosen,
being well adapted for transport to and from
town, of goods and passengers by steamers, to
and from all parts of the coast and Continent;
3ö
likewise, from its proximity to the East and
West India Docks, for the conveyance of mer¬
chandise to and from these great depots of
foreign produce.
The commencement of the railway at the
back of the sheds on the wharf is favourable to
the transaction of much business -, for, by ex¬
tending their length, the facilities for receiving
and discharging passengers will be increased, to
which purposes the present sheds may be made
available ; for to whatever extent they may be
carried, the same simple arrangement will hold
good, —of one end being appropriated to arrivals,
and the other to departures, without any crossing
or confusion, let the numbers offering be ever
so great.
Commencing at a height of clear eighteen feet,
the railway crosses, without interruption, the
road leading to the Brunswick Hotel and Wharf,
and proceeds on arches in the form of an ele¬
vated viaduct, with a gradual rise of 1 in 440, or
twelve feet per mile, over fields, streets, lanes,
roads, canals, and water courses, without inter¬
fering with any ; and, by means of easy and
unobjectionable curves, avoiding all property of
a very valuable or peculiar description, it passes
through a neighbourhood consisting chiefly of
houses of the lowest and poorest description to
its terminus at the Minories.
I therefore deem the site favourable, as con-
c 2
Ùi)
sisting principally of uncovered ground belonging
to the West India Dock Company, and of build¬
ings of the most worthless description : the plan
good, as having no curve of less than 3000 feet
radius, and of that but one near the terminus at
Blackwall : the gradient unobjectionable ; and
in so far as these important matters go, it does
credit to those who planned and laid down the
line.
As regards what are termed engineering diffi¬
culties, there appear to me none on the line.
The whole thing resolves itself into clearing a
space of ground, some 70 to 80 feet wide, and
building thereon a row of brick arches, the
greatest of which will probably not exceed 70
feet span, and the average of the whole probably
not more than 25 feet. It is suggested that
these arches should be fitted up as dwellings,
with a view to which a most ingenious model
has been produced by the architect, appearing
to meet every objection that can be urged
against such application of the arches. So far as
practicability goes, there is no doubt but they
may be made water tight, the smoke be carried
off, both light and ventilation provided, and, in
short, that they may be converted into more
cleanly and comfortable dwellings than four-
fifths of those which will have to be taken down;
and yet, after all, although quite practicable, I
doubt whether it may be expedient so to fit
37
them up, but rather to let them out by scores or
hundreds at a ground rent, to be used for what¬
ever other purposes they may be required, to
many of which they, no doubt, are very applicable.
With regard to the proposed extension to
Leadenhall Street, the above remarks will equally
apply, save as to the value of property, which,
of course, increases as the line approaches the
India House. And, with reference to the latter
as a terminus, there can, I think, be but one
opinion, viz., that it is a most eligible site, both
in size and situation, and would, if to be had,
undoubtedly form one of the finest railway
stations in the kingdom.
The gradient changes a little in approaching
this terminus ; from 1 in 440, to 1 in 340, a cir¬
cumstance more advantageous than otherwise,
inasmuch as it assists both in starting and
stopping the trains, on their departure or
arrival.
To come now to the details and arrangements
of the railway itself, as laid down by the En¬
gineer : —
It appears that the railway, as now ^proposed,
is to consist of four lines of rails, of the usual
width, namely, four feet eight inches between
each rail, and five feet seven inches between
each line of road, with a distance of two feet
nine inches and a half between each outer road
and its parapet, and the parapet one foot three
38
inches thick, making altogether tiie extreme
width of viaduct forty-five feet two inches, or
forty-two feet eight inches within the walls.
Now, in my judgment, the latter space would
be much encumbered with four lines of railway,
even if the width of railway now laid down were
adhered to. But I think it will be found ul¬
timately, that a greater width of rail, than that
proposed originally, will be more convenient,
wherever much business is required to be done
at great speed.
When a railway forms no junction with any
other railway, nor is likely to do so, the exact
width of the rails may be arbitrarily fixed to any
gauge, to suit the circumstances of the case,
either with regard to convenience or cost, so as
to secure as much as possible of the one at the
the least possible cost of the other.
With regard to the space between the lines of
road, and between the outside roads and parapets,
the distance should not be less than six feet, as
there ought at all times, to be room for the
workmen to move about in safety, whilst the
carriages are in action ; and if the distance be¬
tween the roads were six feet, it would admit of
engines and waggons of a very superior de¬
scription being adopted. But as the adoption
of four lines of road on that scale, would very
much increase the width of the viaduct, it
becomes an important inquiry as to whether
í39
the passenger and merchandise traffic, on
this railway, will each require two lines of
road, because if they should not, three lines
of a wider and improved road might be put
upon a narrower viaduct, or at any rate,
upon one not exceeding the width originally
proposed. For instance, if three lines of road
should be deemed sufficient, and the original
width and spacings be kept to, the viaduct might
be reduced in breadth, in the proportion of
45.17 to 34.50, or, in round numbers, from 14
to 10 ; or if three lines and spacings of the
improved width, as above stated, should be
deemed desirable, the same might be comprised
within a space of forty-two feet between the
parapets, thereby allowing for thicker parapets,
say of one foot seven inches, making a total of
forty-five feet two inches, as in the original plan,
by which would be gained more space, and a
saving of one line of rails.
It is my opinion, that one line of railway
would be fully equal to the conveyance of goods
and merchandise, to and from Blackwall, and
the East and West India Docks,—and for the
following reasons.
From the best information I have been able
to obtain, the total quantity of tonnage from
Blackwall towards London, does not exceed (if
ever arrives at) 150,000 tons annually, and that
the traffic the other way, bears a very small pro-
4ü
portion to that amount ; moreover, that the
quantity to be carried exclusively by I'ailway, in
all probability, will never exceed that now con¬
veyed.
Now, taking three hundred as the working
days in the year, and ten hours as the average
of daily working, it would require but ten
waggon trains per day of fifty tons each train,
to transport the above quantity—that is to say,
one train only starting per hour, with a com¬
paratively light load, would do all the business :
whereas it is very clear, that more than double
that quantity of work could be done. Conse¬
quently, so far as goods are concerned, one line
of railway would suffice ; as also for the trans¬
port of passengers for short and intermediate
distances at a low charge ; for by an arrangement
to start a train with merchandise every half-
hour, a vast number of passengers might be
taken up and set down, at many intermediate
stations, without at all interfering with the
double line of rails, running from end to end,
with passengers only, at a quick pace.
As to the question of taking up and setting
down goods, I can only say, that the plan I
shall submit to the Board for that purpose, is of
the most simple and efficacious kind. The wag¬
gons will be loaded on the ground, be run to
the hoisting platform under the railway, and be
raised perpendicularly upwards, either singly or
41
in trains, by Hydraulic pressure, by the mere
operation of turning a cock, and the same power
will apply to lowering waggons from off stations
along the railway, at sidings made for the pur¬
pose, and that, be it observed, without any
complication of machinery, danger of chains
breaking, expensive cranage by manual labour,
loss of time, or any other of the many casualties,
so usual in raising and lowering heavy goods,
by the means at present in use.
The next consideration appears to be the lines
meant for passengers exclusively, and as to the
number of passengers which a double line of
railway of improved widths, would convey be¬
tween the two termini, viz. the India House,
and the Brunswick Wharf, the distance, to run,
being three miles and a half.
Now the time in which that distance could be
travelled, is perhaps very different from that in
which it would be travelled, inasmuch as that,
although quite possible to do it down in five
juinutes, or at the rate of forty-two miles per
hour, and back in about ten minutes, or twenty
miles per hour, I imagine the regular working
time would be about seven minutes down, and
ten minutes up, so that by starting every quarter
of an hour, with a train capable of carrying three
hundred passengers, fifteen thousand might be
carried each way, or thirty thousand per day of
twelve hours. But I believe it would be quite
D
42
possible, on such a line, with an improved width
of rails, and a corresponding adaption of engine
and carriages, to make such arrangements a
would take five hundred passengers every ten
minutes from both ends of the line, or a total o
seventy-two thousand per day, of twelve hours'
duration.
In concluding the above observations, it will
doubtless be understood that they are submitted
more for the consideration of the Board, than
recommended for immediate adoption, for,
during the time that must necessarily be oc¬
cupied in clearing the ground, before which
period no final determination need be come to,
relative to the details of the railway itself, and
the mode of working it, much information will
probably be derived from experience on various
other railways now in progress, which will help
to guide the judgment of the Directors in their
ultimate determination.
I have the honour to be.
Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) Wm. Cubitt.
THE END.
London ;
Printed by A. Spottiswoode,
New-Street-Square.