20 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



I'Vom tlie moment it came into tlie Company's hands, no trouble or expense 

 was spared to remedy the evil of the previous slow progfress ; and nothing 

 could exceed the animation of the scene which the works presented when in 

 their most active state. I''roni 7(X) to 800 workmen in vigorous employment, 

 numerous barrows and waggon runs in continual motion, a steam-engine in 

 constant activity pumping out the water, locomotive enginesat either end, drag- 

 ging Ions trains of waggons full of earth, or bringing the empty ones back, and 

 blasts of the rock continually deafening the ear. In fact, the whole cutting 

 seemed alive ; and the busy hum of labour, resounding from the one end to the 

 other, gave ample testimony to the zealous exertions of the engineer. Of 

 course the expense was considerable. The article of gunpowder alone was, in 

 many cases, 25 barrels, of lOOlbs. each, )ier week ; enormous quantities being 

 used before the rock could be removed. 



The mode of blasting made use of was by drilling a hole in the stone, about 

 one inch in diameter, the depth being determined by the thickness of the bed. 

 This was done by means of a round iron bar shod with steel, which was lifted 

 up and then struck down, in the hole, water being used with it to cause the 

 stone to cut more readily, till tlic hole was drilled to the requisite depth. When 

 sufficiently deep it was dried out ; a piece of fuse of the requisite length was 

 then put in, and the gunpowder poured all round it, and secured by a covering 

 of pounded brick or stone. Several charges being thus prepared, tlie ends of 

 the fuses were lighted, and the workmen retreated to a sufficient distance for 

 security. In a few minutes the whole exploded, rending up large masses of 

 rock, and sending the lighter pieces high into the air. 



This excavation is crossed by five bridges, some of which are of considerable 

 span, and presents a fine appearance from the railway. They are composed of 

 a mixture of the stone of the cutting and brickwork. It was originally in- 

 tended that the whole of the materials which came out of the excavation 

 should be used in the formation of the embankments at each end of it ; but ow- 

 ing to the slowness with which the work advanced while under the contractor's 

 hands, it was found necessary to throw about 150,0110 cubic yards into spoil. 

 The land for receiving this, together with that necessary to make up the corre- 

 sponding deficiency in the embankments, of course still further increased the ex- 

 pense of the work. 



The stone, gravel, and clay which were taken from the south end, had to be 

 conveyed an average distance of about a mile and a half, and considerable diffi- 

 culty was found in the formation of the embankment near the village of Ashton, 

 owing to the unsound state of the valley which formed its base. Immense 

 quantities of materials were teemed daily, which, as in the case of the Wolver- 

 ton embankment, totally disappeared, and the natural surface of the ground 

 actually burst up outside the limits of the railway, in consequence of the 

 enormous pressure. A culvert near the spot was entirely destroyed from this 

 cause. 



The embankment at the north, or Birmingham end of the excavation, has 

 more earth in it than the other ; but the substratum on which its deepest part 

 rests is of a better description, and no slip of any importance took place in that 

 portion of the works ; but a culvert of considerable length was in great danger 

 of being crushed in ; the expedient, however, of completely filling it with peb- 

 ble stone was resorted to ; notwithstanding this precaution, it was carried con- 

 siderably out of its straight direction, so much so, that the light can but just be 

 perceived when it is looked through. It may, perhaps, be thought uninterest- 

 ing to mention works of so small a magnitude as culverts ; but no person, who 

 lias any knowledge of the difficulty of their erection, when they have to sustain 

 the weight of an embankment of 40 or 50 feet in height, could feel otherwise 

 than nervous during the process of placing the material over them. An en- 

 gineer could be wished no worse fortune than to he required to construct cul. 

 verts upon a soft foundation under a deep embankment. 



F'rom this view of the nature and extent of this contract, and the means 

 which were resorted to, in order to make up for the serious delay which oc- 

 curred while the work was under the contractor's hands, every body will be 

 prepared to expect that a sura of nearly 100,0001. has been expended beyond 

 the original estimate ; and bem expended wisely, too, as the loss would have 

 been considerably greater if these exertions had not been made. Viewing the 

 work altogether, it aifords one of the finest specimens of engineering this 

 country can boast of. It is a spot beset with difficulties of every kind, and 

 the bold and eft'ectivc manner in which it has been executed, is a bright ex- 

 ample of the talents of the Engineer-in-Chief. 



PAPIER MACHE ORNAMENTS, 



For file Aetmtn, Lwcrjwol and Glasgow Steniit Ship: 

 We have been favoured, within tlic last few days, with an inspection, at the 

 manufactory of Messrs. Jennoiis and Bettridge, of a set of panels, in piipirr 

 maclir, intended for the decoration of the Actieon, Liverpool and Glasgow 

 steamer ; which, as works of art, have not, we believe, been surpassed by any- 

 . thing of the kind over produced at this celebrated establishment. The panels 

 are 28 in number, four of which are very large, and consist of historical sub- 

 jects, some original, and others copies from the works of celebrated masters. 

 The first represents, the triumphal entry of Alexander into Babylon ; the second 

 exhibits a view of a Grecian sea-port, and the arrival of a victorious fleet ; the 

 third describes the Olympic games, the combats of gladiators, &c. ; the fourth 

 gives a representation of the Hippodrome, the temple of Victory, and chariot 

 races. Each of these subjects is depicted by the artist with the vividness and 

 freshness of life. The various groups of Grecian, Egyptian, and Persian 

 figures, tlie richness and brilliancy of the costumes, the colossal statues, temples, 

 and columns, in their architectural grandeur and beauty, furnish a vivid repre- 

 sentatiwi of the barbaric porop and magnificence of bygone ages. The 



smaller panels are divided into the classes, devoted to the illustration of par- 

 ticular subjects. The first series represents full-length figures, emblematic of 

 Victory, Commerce, and the Arts and Sciences, surrounded with beautiful 

 ornamental work, drawn in imitation of uUu-relicvu ; the whole surmounted 

 with the arms of Liverpool and Glasgow. The second embraces mythological 

 subjects, representing the triumph of Neptuna, Juno, and the Graces, Actaeon, 

 &c. ; the whole adorned with an emblematic fr.-unework. The third comprises 

 mosaic heads, and emblems, ornamented with arabesque foliage, birds, flowers, 

 and fountains. Viewed separately, each of these paintings is an exquisite spe- 

 cimen of the advanced state of this depaitment of our manufactures and the 

 fine arts; and, as a whole, they form unquestionably one of the most unique 

 and splendid collections of the kind ever produced. The panels will not, we 

 believe, be removed for a few days from the show-rooms of the manufactory, 

 where artists and other visitors may have an opportunity of inspecting them. — 

 Hirntinnham HeniltL 



PRUSSIAN RAILWAY. 



The Prussian Slate Gazette publishes the text of a laic for the regulation of 

 raiUrnij euiiijiunics in the Prussian dominions. It consists of 49 articles, and is 

 framed in such a manner as to guard the public as much as possible from the 

 speculation and jobbing to wbicli undertakings of this nature are so liable to 

 give rise. Among the more essential stipulations which it makes with this 

 object in view, it provides, that while tlie shares may be made payable to 

 bearer and free from stamp duty, no promises of shares before the undertaking 

 of a railway is authorised, nor provisional acknowledgments are to be issued. 

 Every subscriber for shares is to be bound personally to pay 40 per cent, of 

 the nominal capital subscribed for by him, and he cannot get rid of this obli- 

 gation in favour of a third person or of the company, under any pretence 

 whatever. In case of a railway not being terminated within the time fixed 

 in tiie grant of privilege, the government is to have the power, after a delay 

 of si.x months, of ordering the road to be finished by public contract, at the 

 charge of the company. The privileges of the post establishment may be 

 exercised by railway companies under certain conditions. Railways are to 

 be charged with an impost proportioned to the amount of the reserved fund of 

 the company, but only after the railway shall have been opened three years, 

 and that the state of its returns admits of it, and no other taxes are to be laid 

 upon it. This impost is to indemnify the state for the diminution of revenue 

 caused by the railway in the post department, and to form a sinking fund for 

 the paying off the capital employed in the construction of the road. The 

 state reserves to itself the right of purchasing the railway after a lapse of 30 

 years, on paying to the company 2.5 times the amount of the mean annual 

 dividend received by it during the last five years of the 30, the state at the 

 same time taking upon itself the liabilities of the company, but becoming 

 absolute owners of all its property, including the reserved fund. No grant of 

 a rival line can be made for the first 30 years; but after the first three years 

 other companies may acquire the right from the state of conveying passengers 

 and merchandise by the same line, on paying a fixed rate of charge to the 

 original company. One of the concluding stipulations of this law is, that no 

 damage occasioned to the railway by measures adopted, even by order of 

 government in time of war, is to be paid for by the state. This law affects all 

 grants of railways already made, as well as those to come. 



OXFORD-STREET EXPERIMENTAL PAVEMENT. 



The importance of ascertaining the best species of pavement for the car- 

 riage-roads of the metropolis is some excuse for the confusion, accompanied 

 by the smoke and offensive odours from the cauldrons, which have prevailed 

 at the east end of Oxford-street for the last two months. The inhabitants 

 have, however, been great sufferers thereby ; but we may now congratulate 

 them that, at last, all the ground is assigned and set out for the diflferent 

 varieties, while many of them are completed, and the rest are in progress. 

 Commencing at Charles-street are the asplialimn blocks of Robinson, one half 

 laid straight, the other diagonally. This is followed by granite parement 

 nine inches deep, jointed with Clatidge's asphaltum ; then is to succeed a 

 granite pavement of stones only 4^ inches deep, also to be joined with the same 

 substance, Mr. Claridge being of opuiion, and desirous of proving, that his 

 cement is suflBcieutly strong to bind even these shallow stones into one solid 

 mass. To this succeeds the Bastcnnc Compani/s portion ; the blocks in this 

 part are in the form of bricks, but somewhat larger ; they have been laid 

 both ways, straight and diagonally. Next follows the granite pavement, laid 

 by the parish, which is undoubtedly one of the finest specimens of work of its 

 kind to be found in London. It consists of three parts : — 1. Stones laid in 

 the ordinary way, on a well-formed bed of concrete. 2. Similar stones laid 

 diagonally on a bed of the same material ; the joints of both these portions 

 are filled with a grouting of lime, sand, &c. 3. Stones laid in the usual 

 manner, but on the earth without any official bed, and the joints are filled in 

 with fine gravel. The whole of this work has a good curved surface, and 

 the regular thickness of the stones has evidently been carefully attended to. 

 The next experiment, going towards Tottenham-court-road, is what is called 

 the Scotch asphal/um granite (said to be a patented article). This composi- 

 tion has the appearance of stone, and the blocks are about six inches thick, 

 nine inches broad, and 18 inches long on one face, while the other is only 13 

 inches long. In laying them (which is done with Parker's ce' 

 ment), every alternate block is reversed, so that every second block 

 lies soiid on iis Use, or longest face, while the others fit in between 



