RAILWAYS. 



799 



1830. The Leeds it nil Selby Railway begins at the 

 east side of Marshlane, Leeds, ami is carried east- 

 ward in nearly a straight line to the town of Selby, 

 where it ends on the banks of the Ouse, its entire 

 length being a small fraction under twenty miles, 

 The capital is 210,000, in 100 shares. The 

 object of this work was to facilitate the transmis- 

 sion of the manufactures of the West Riding of 

 Yorkshire towards Hull, and the reception of the 

 raw materials of manufacture which are principally 

 received through that port. Before the opening of 

 the Leeds and Selby railway, the number of per- 

 sons going and returning by coach during the sum- 

 mer did not exceed 400 weekly, while the average 

 number passing on the railway during the summer 

 of 1835 was 3,500 weekly. The wagons and 

 coaches on the railway are propelled by means of 

 locomotive engines. When the communication shall 

 be completed, as is intended, to H ull, there is reason 

 tor expecting a still greater traffic upon this line. 

 The Leicester and Swannington Railway begins 

 in the town of Leicester, at the Leicestershire and 

 Northamptonshire Union canal. Its course is first 

 north-west through a tunnel a mile and a quarter 

 long ; on leaving this it turns to the south-west for 

 about three and a half miles, when it again proceeds 

 north-westerly to the north end of the village of 



Swannington. Its length is 15| miles, 

 tal is 90,000, in shares of 50 each. 



The capi- 

 It is used 



tor the supply of coal and limestone to the town of 

 Leicester. The quantity of coal conveyed upon it in 

 1S.-J5 was 135,000 tons. 



1 83 1 . T/ie Dublin and Kingstown Railway was 

 constructed tor the more intimately uniting Dublin 

 with its suburbs Merrion, Black-rock, Booter's- 

 town, Monk's- town, and Kingstown, the last of 

 which is distant five miles and two-thirds from 

 Westland-row, where the railroad begins in Dublin, 

 and also the providing easy access to and from the 

 steam-packets for travellers passing between Dublin 

 and the coast of England. The railroad was 

 opened for traffic on the 17th December, 1834, 

 between which day and the 1st March, 1836, when 

 the last report of the Directors was made, the 

 number of passengers carried amounted to about 

 1,237,800, being on the average above 2,800 per- 

 sons daily. At its commencement the rails are 

 placed at an elevation of twenty feet from the 

 ground, and are carried over and across the streets 

 of Dublin by flat elliptical arches. The breadth of 

 this viaduct is sixty feet between the parapets, and 

 is calculated to receive four lines of rails, the two 

 central lines for trains of passengers going and 

 returning, and the exterior lines for lower vehicles 

 with coal, granite, timber, and general merchan- 

 dise. When past the Circular Road, the rails are 

 brought to the level of the road, the boundary on 

 each side is marked by a green sod bank, and pro- 

 tected by quickset hedges and a deep trench. 

 From Merrion to Black rock the road is elevated 

 across the strand, and at high water has the ap- 

 pearance of a long mole stretching into the sea. The 

 capital stock of the company is 200,000, divided 

 into shares of 100 each. The cost of constructing 

 the railroad and stations, locomotive engines, car- 

 riages, &c., and the expenses of obtaining the act 

 of incorporation, have together amounted to about 

 23 7,000, or up wards of 40, 000 per mile. This rail- 

 road has been almost wholly confined to passengers. 

 It yields about eight per cent, per annum upon the 

 amount of capital paid by the sliareholders. 



1833. The London and Greenwich Railway is 

 the first executed railroad having its commence- 

 ment in the metropolis. It connects tne city of 

 London with the populous towns of Deptford and 



1 Greenwich, by a line which shortens the distance 

 nearly one-third. It begins at the east side of the 

 south foot of London Bridge, and is carried in 

 nearly a straight line to the High street of Dept- 

 ford, whence it is continued with a gentle curve 

 across the Ravensborne river to its terminus, about 

 200 yards from the church at Greenwich. The rails 

 are laid throughout on a viaduct, composed of about 

 1,000 arches, each of eighteen feet span, twenty-two 

 feet high, and twenty-five feet in width from side 

 to side. To avoid even the appearance of danger 

 in passing rapidly along a viaduct twenty-two feet 

 above the ground, a parapet wall is built on each 

 side, about four feet high. A branch railway, 750 

 yards long, is carried from the main line at the 

 High-street, Deptford, to the river side, where a 

 pier is being constructed to facilitate the embark- 

 ing and landing of passengers by steam- vessels. 

 The capital is 400,000, divided into 20,000 shares 

 of 20 each. This work is so far advanced towards 

 completion, that the line is open for passengers 

 between London Bridge and Deptford, and trains 

 of carriages are dispatched in each direction every 

 half hour. 



The principal railways for which acts of parlia- 

 ment have been obtained since the erection of those 

 we have described, may now be referred to. The 

 London and Birmingham railway, part of which 

 was expected to be open in the month of July this 

 year (1837). The Birmingham and Manchester 

 railway is already opened, and it is worthy of re- 

 mark respecting it that the locomotive engines 

 have attained a speed on some parts of the line of 

 not less than sixty miles an hour. The Nervcastle 

 and Carlisle railway is opened to a very consider- 

 able extent, and the remainder is rapidly hastening 

 to completion. The Southampton, Grand Union, 

 and North Union railways are likewise in a very 

 advanced state. The same is to be said of the- 

 Great Western railway. The Glasgow and Edin- 

 burgh railway works are expected to commence 

 early next year, and also those of the Glasgow and 

 Ayr railway. A bill has been granted for the 

 Glasgow and Greenock railway ; but there are 

 many doubtful of the success of this speculation. 

 The Paisley and Renfrew railway has been open 

 since the month of April last, chiefly for the trans- 

 port of passengers. 



For a great portion of the information on British 

 1 Railways given above, we are indebted to a very 

 valuable article in the Companion to the Almanac 

 for the year 1837, published under the super- 

 intendence of " The Society for the Diffusion of 

 Useful Knowledge." 



France. The first railroad in France was a small 

 one at Mount Cenis, constructed, in 1783, by Wil- 

 kinson, an Englishman, for the use of the foundri"? 

 of Creusot. The St Etienne and Andrezieux rat*, 

 road extends from St Etienne, which is the seat of 

 extensive iron manufactures, and in the neighbour- 

 hood of rich coal-mines, to Andrezieux, on the 

 Loire. It was commenced in 1825, and is the first 

 railroad, of any extent, that has been constructed 

 in France. The road consists of but one track of 

 rails, and, with its branches, is about twelve miles 

 and three fifths in length The rails are of the edge 

 kind, formed of cast iron. The curves of the road 

 are from 250 feet to 333 feet radius. The cost 

 was 74,095 francs a kilometre, which is equal to 

 3280 feet 11 inches. The transportation upon 

 it is effected by means of horses. The yearly 

 transportation amounts to from 60,000 to 80,000 

 tons. This road is connected with the railroad from 

 Roanne to Andrezieux. 



The Roanne and Andrezieux rai'.road. This 



