1868. | Engineering—Oivil and Mechanical. 237 
wrought-iron main girders, and on two smaller girders of cast-iron, 
which span the staircase constructed at the back of one of the 
retaining-walls of the station. The widening of the Metropolitan 
Railway between King’s Cross and Farringdon Street stations was 
officially inspected, upon completion, on 15th January last. The 
widening commences in King’s Cross station, and for some distance 
it runs parallel with the old line; then dipping, it crosses beneath 
the Metropolitan, and rising on the other side, again runs parallel 
with it. The covered way on the East London Railway 1s com- 
pleted to within 200 yards of the Thames Tunnel, and the works 
to connect the covered way with the Tunnel are in progress. The 
embankment is nearly completed to the junction with the Brighton 
Railway, and from this point to the north bank of the Thames the 
line may be ready for traffic before the end of the summer. It is 
expected that the Sutherland Railway, extending from Bonar 
- Bridge to Golspie, will be opened for traffic about the end of 
March. ‘The Swansea section of the Llanelly Railway was opened 
for passenger traffic throughout on January Ist. By the opening 
of this section the narrow gauge has been completed from Swansea 
to Carmarthen, and, by means of the Central Wales line, the London 
and North Western system will now have direct access to the ports 
of Swansea and Llanelly. On Saturday, December 7th, an im- 
portant step in the construction of the railway viaduct across the 
Solway Firth was accomplished by the meeting of the two portions 
which have been worked from the English and Scotch shores. 
The portion of the viaduct now completed, which was commenced 
about two years ago, is about a mile in length, consists of 183 
piers, and has a height of about forty feet above low water. The 
three large bridges on the Callander and Oban Railway, and which 
span the Teith three times between Callander village and Loch 
Lubnaig, are now finished. The middle one, which is at the Pass 
of Leny, is 140 feet span, and the others are within a few feet of 
the same length. 
The progress of the Mont Cenis tunnel in December last was 
73°25 metres in length; 35°40 metres having been pierced on 
the Italian side, and 37°85 metres on the French side. Up to 
31st December last 7,846°65 metres had been excavated, leaving 
4,373°35 métres still to be done. The Summit Railway over 
Mont Cenis still hangs fire, and has not yet been brought into use, 
although it was officially opened some months since. It is now, 
however, given out that it will commence regular work on 1st May. 
Meanwhile, the railway over the Brenner seems to be acquiring 
popularity as a means of transit from Western Europe to Italy. 
On the Ligurian line of railway the Porto Vado tunnel, 1,200 
métres in length, is nearly finished, as is also the section of railway 
between Vado and Sportono. 
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