ON LANDSLIPS. 309 



slips, until the banks there had become enormous works, as 

 may now be seen in passing along the railway. The cuttings, 

 also, through the same material, gave great trouble for some 

 years afterwards, new and large slips constantly occurring 

 after wet weather, and many hundreds of thousands of yards 

 having to be run away after the opening of the railway. 

 The contractor, Brotherhood, who had the maintenance of 

 the way there for many years, used to tell of an oak tree 

 which, when the line was first made, grew upon some higher 

 ground, nearly a quarter of a mile off the line. This tree, 

 as the slope of the cutting slipped, kept on slowly advancing 

 towards the line, always preserving its upright position, 

 until at the last, when it was cut down, the branches fell 

 across the rails. 



In passing along this part of the line, any one accustomed 

 to the appearance of landslips will observe that all the 

 meadows round about display everywhere the forms of 

 natural landslips, which, I have no doubt, still advance a 

 little more continually, after wet seasons, up to the present 

 time. 



Chalford Valley Slips. — There were some characteristic 

 landslips on anotJier portion of the same Cheltenham and 

 Gr.W. line of railway, subsequently constructed under my 

 charge, where it passes down the Chalford Valley. This is 

 a narrow valley cut through the oolitic formation. The 

 bottom is little more than 100 yards in width, and the sides 

 are very steep — in some places as steep as 3 to 1. 



Before the railway was made down it, this narrow valley 

 was already crowded with the Thames and Severn Canal and 

 towdng-path ; with the turnpike road, with the river, and 

 with the mill-ponds and tail-waters of the numerous cloth 

 mills there constructed, so that there was but little elbow- 

 room along it for the railway works. 



