62 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [February, 



Railways to Portsmouth. 

 Ju favour of the — Against the — 



Guildford, Chichester, PortBmouth, and BriKhton and Chichsster— Portsmouth 



Fareliaui Brunch -, Extension, 



Direct London and Portsmouth, 

 London and Portsmouth, with Branches 

 to Shoreham-brldge, Fareham and 

 Reigate. 



The Metropolitan District. 

 In favour oj the — Against the — 



Metropolitan Extension of the Loudou GroBvenor Railway, 



and South Western, Great Western, Uxbrldge, and Staines 



Richmond and West-End Junction, Junction, 



Staines and Rlclraiondi London and Brighton— Wandsworth 



Branch, 

 London and South Western— Epsom 

 Branch, 



And recommending the postponement until a future period of the — 

 Epsom and Dorking, 



London and Croydon— Dorking Branch, 

 London and Urightcm— Dorking Branch, 

 South Eastern Branch— Reigate to Dorking. 



The District of North Kent, and in the District ^of Kent and Sussej: between the 

 South Eastern and Brighton Railwau. 



I„f,wou,-qfth,— 



South Eastern— Maidstone and Roches- 

 ter, 



South Eastern — branches to Deal and 

 Walmer. and extension and deviation 

 to Margate, 



South EHStern — Ashford to Hastings, 



South Eastern— Hungerford-bridge to 

 Tuiibridge and Paddock-wood and 

 branches. 



South Eastern— North Kent. Hunger- 

 ford-bridge to Chilham, with branch 

 to Sheerness, subject to any modinca- 

 tlons which may appear to be desirable 

 for the naval and military establish- 

 ments of the tounti7; and reserving 

 consideration of the brauch to connect 

 Greenwich and Woolwich ; 



Against the— 

 Central Kent, 

 London and Croydon — Orpington 



Branch, 

 London and Maidstone, 

 London and Ashfurd, 

 London, Chatham, and Chilham, 

 London, Chatham and Gravesend, 

 London, Chatham, and North Kent, 

 Rye, Tenterden, and Headcorn, 

 South Eastern— Tun bridge to Hastings. 

 Rye, and St. Leonard's (with the ex- 

 ctptlon of so much of the line ag lies 

 between Tunbridge and Tunbridge- 

 wells,) 

 South Eastern— Headcorn and Rye. 



Districts of Norfolk and Suffolk. 



In favour of the — Against the — 



Bury and Ipswich, Diss and Colchester, 



Ipswich and Norwich Extension, Eastern Counties— Colchester and Bury 



Lyiin and Ely ; Extension, 



London and Norwich Direct, 

 Norwich and Brandon— Diss Branch, 

 Wells and Thetford ; 



And recommending the postponement until a future period of the — 

 Direct East Dereham and Norwich, 

 Norwich and Brandon — Dereham Branch, 

 I-ynii and East Dereham, 

 Diss, Beccles, and Varmouth. 

 Diss and Colchester— Redbam and Loddeu Branches. 



TUstricls completing the eastern line of railway communicaiiou to Scotland— 

 In favour of tfie— Against the— 



Newcastle and Berwick Railway, with Northumberland Railway, with Branch 



Branch to Kelso i from Berwick to Kelso. 



IRELAND. 

 Districts north and ?wrth-west of Ireland. 

 In favour of the — Against the — 



Belfast and Ballymeua, Great North Western (Irish), 



Dublin and Btlfast Junction, with Northern Railway, inland line (Armagh 



Brauch to Drogheda and Kells, to Dublin). 



Dublin and Drogheda— Howth Branch, 

 Ulster Extension— Portadown to Ar- 

 magh, 

 and of the 



Dundalk and Ennlsklllen (with the ex- 

 ception of the Monaghan Branch), 

 Newry and Enniskilleo (with the excep- 

 tion of the portion of the line between 

 Newry and Armagh) ; 

 subject to equitable arrangements for 

 the construction and joint use ol the 

 line betwtten Enniskillen and Clones 

 common to the two schemes ; and also 

 for improving the railway communi- 

 cation by the Belfast Junction line to 

 Newry. and fur securing due facilities 

 to the Newry traflic; 



DALHOUSIE, 



C. W. PASLEY, a. R. PORTER, 



D. O'BRIEN. S. LAING. 



PflEsnuvATiON OF TiMEER. — In llic Shipping Gazette of the 1st inst., there 

 Is, in the shape of an advertisement, the following recipe : — " Introduce into the poros of 

 the timber (by means well known) a solution of sulphate or of muriate of iron. The solu- 

 tion may be in tlie proportion of about two pounds of the suit lo four or live gallons of 

 Wiiter. — Charles Toplis. — London. Jan. 1st." The following number of tho samo journal 

 toniainaa long explanatory later from Mr. Toplis on the subject, in which he snys, 

 •'The object ot the above brief notice in the form of an advertisement was merely to afford 

 me the ready means, should It at any time hereafter be desirable, <pf establishing theexaet 

 date of ray publication of this process to the world." We are sorry to disturb Mr. Top- 

 lis's self-complacency, but it Is proper he should be informed that the same thing has 

 besn proposed oftea bei^gre. Oi the efficacy of the process we have no doubt. 



RAILWAY FROM DUBLIN TO THE PORT OF GALWAY. 

 To Thomas Bermingham, Esq., late Chairman of the General Irish Railway 

 Committee. 

 I\fy dear Sir,— In consequence of your protracted illness, I was only too happy to have 

 been atTorded the opportunity of taking your place, and examining most minutely, as you 

 requested me to do, the proposed projects for connecting the bays of Galway and Dublin 

 by railway, and so in fact making Ireland the high roiid between the Old and New World. 

 I hitve carelully examined the country; have been alongthe Aoyal Canal to Mullingar and 

 Longford; down the river Shannon to Athlone, Bsmagher and Portumna; have visited 

 the Bay of Galway and its important town ; the Isles of Arran, which form a landmark as 

 well as a great slielter to the bay; and have seen a most extraordinary phenomenon, a 

 sheet of fresh water raised about 20 feet above the level of the sea, which might be turned 

 to great advantage. 



In sheltering vessels bound to Galway the situation of Mutton Island, upon which i» 

 the lighthouse, is particularly favourable, you can almost ride across to it from the maiu 

 and, a distance ot about a quarter of a mile, at low water ; if, then, the able-bodied popu- 

 lation of Galway were to be employed in making this a complete breakwater, and if the 

 same wofii were carried on beyond the lighthouse some short distance, you would have 

 the most perfect bay in Europe ; the holding ground is excellent, and a glance at the map 

 of Ireland will show at oncu Sline Head on the one hand and the Isles of Arran and Black 

 Head on the other, sn that, in fact, if this breakwater were added the whole bay is com- 

 pletely sheltered. Messrs. Bald and Henry have gone into the calculation of expense for 

 such a breakwater at not exceeding fi,()<JO/., and I feel sure that they are right ; how, th^n, 

 could we spend 6 or 10,000/. better than by making such a bay at the termination of the 

 u ^Ptern Badroad, running along a level unprecedented for the distance of 120 statute miles, 

 and thus bringing the quickest and most direct communication between London and New 

 York. I am not surprised at your ardour in this cause ; I am only surprised that this was 

 not the first railway that was made in Ireland. 



I returned from Galway by the Grand Canal, so that I feel myself perfectly master of the 

 capabilities of the country, and should be quite ready to give my testimony before any 

 Parliamentary Committee or, if called upon, before the Board of Trade. I was much 

 struck with the magnilicence of the river Shannon and the public works carrying on upon 

 it~both canals are splendid water communicaiious, and if the interest of the railway and 

 canals could be brought together, a vast deal of loss to the original shareholders and gain 

 to the public would doubtless follow— how that can best be done is what I will endeavour 

 shortly to explain. The proposition made by one highly respectable party of making a 

 railway along the Royal Canal, devititinf^ a little from its bank as circumstances may re- 

 quire, fruui Dublin by Mullingar to Longford, with a branch to Athlone, and through a 

 most populous and rich country, I hiyhly approve of— and it would appear the public 

 think so too, as their shares are stated at a premium in the public papers— this company 

 have closed a very fair bargain with the Royal Canal Company, therefore they stand now 

 in a most favourable position, and in rather a novel one- that is, having a railway and 

 canal puiling together— howevvr, the public interest requires that this company should 

 undertake to carry on the line ' the whole way to Galway,' otherwise the work will be only 

 hMit done; great dissatisfaction will be felt by the whole province of Connaught, and the 

 county and the county of the town of Galway in particular, and with every reason. 



The line projected L^y Capt. Moorsom, for the Great Western Company, from Sailing to 

 Galway would, for the distance from Athlone to Galway, be an excellent line; it passes 

 thruuuih or very near the town of Ballinasloe (the great Connaught cattle market), and 

 the residence of Earl Clancarty, a resident nobleman and one of our best hinried pro- 

 prietors, who has improved his town of Ballinasloe and attended to the comforts of the 

 traveller, and has expressed his determination to assist any railroad company which shall 

 go the whole way to Galway; it also passus near Loughrea, through a very fertile and im- 

 rruving country, and with a little deviation might then be brought to near the district of 

 Tuiiin, and thus enter Galivay Irom that side instead of keeping along the coast, but these 

 are alterations which could be easily made, and doubtless would be made if pointed out to 

 that talented engineer. The terminus of the Royal Canal, at Dublin, is particularly 

 favourable to that for a railway, and it must be borne in mind that by adopting the hne 

 of the Royal Canal, we establish a main trunk for the north-west as well as the west, how 

 easily, then, could a branch line be made along the level, which, by the important survey 

 of Mr. Mullens, made purposely for tlie canal, who most haodsomwiy furnished me with 

 the Information, is of 30 miles in leugth without requiring a lock, atid this would 

 be in the very line for a branch to Cavan and Enniskillen, we should by this line bring the 

 feeding countries of Leinster in quick communicrtion with the breeding countries of Con- 

 naught, and aflurd a great convenience to the frequenters of the fair of Ballinasloe, and 

 the others in that province ; imagine, then, a line of railway from Galway to Dublin, crossing 

 the rivers Liffey and Boyne, the great lakes of WVstmeath, through the Bog of Allen, 

 across the Shannon (navigable for 250 miles for steam) and the river Sue, and terminating 

 at the Bay of Galway, and the Lough Corrib, Lough Marsks and Conn, the immense 

 Conamara lakes abounding with fish ; then imagine the distant though not remote regioui 

 of Conamara and Joyce country, all beautifully situated, calling out for cultivation, the 

 supply of the towns with cheap fuel from the great bogs, the water power for sites for 

 mills every where on its course, and peculiarly Sue at Its termination; imagine further, 

 the branches under 50 miles each will connect by railway with Cavan, Lough Erne and 

 Euniskillen, Sligo Bay, Westport and Clew Bay, and the mouth of the Shannon by the 

 Fergus with Ennis— branches which are sure to follow the parent trunk; here, then, is a 

 work which presents the extraordinary advantages of uniting by railway communication 

 six uf our principal western porta with the capital, giving steam communication by land 

 apid on rivprs and lakes for full .'lOO miles continuous, encouraging the fisheries, both deep 

 sea and fresh water, also tlie cultivation of the wastelands, the employment of a peasantry 

 proverbially poor and not halt employed, the quickening the communication between the 

 Old and New Worlds (for in all the parliamentary enquiries and statements as to the Bay 

 of (Jalway, and objecting to its being so much inland, the employment of steam tugs has 

 been totally lost sight of, which renders her situation far preferable to any other port in 

 the British dominions), add to alt this that it passes through the most peacable iiart of 

 Ireland, where agriculture is making vast strides in improvement, and I think I may 

 safely assert, that when for the sura of one niilliou and a half sterling, the purchase of a 

 magnificent canal 80 miles in leugth, with all its buildings, land, &c., and that a railway 

 of about 120 statute miles can be made, there is no doubt that large dividends will arise to 

 the shareholders at present, and that every probabdity that before 10 years pass over the 

 value of thtfir shares will be doubled. I must add that this line of railway will pass 

 through or contiguous to 14 couniies, or one-third of Ireland, be of immediate advantage 

 to 1 00 principal towns, several of which in the time of the old post-office charges were set 

 down as contributing more than 500/. per year each to its revenue ; and, moreover, without 

 alluding to the trade of Dublin, it is shown by public documents that the revenue derived 

 from the Port dues and Customs of the seaport towns and others to which this line will be 

 a nittin road were but little, if any, short of 500,000/. per annum, thus giving the Eiche- 

 qiiar a deep Interest in the undertaking. 



I may further add; that but one opinion was felt along the whole line of country by the 

 population, rich and poor, viz. that the work would be highly remunerative, and that It 

 wa3 calitfd for by every principle of justice, especially as the south and north were pro- 

 vided fur, and that theautlmrs of the undertaking should meet with every assislance from 

 the country. Having said so much upon the general advantages of the line, I may be 

 allowed to remark, that however important the town of Athlone may be. which I fully 

 admit, and it« position as a military station, still I do think it will be more for the interest 

 of the company and the country at large to pass the Shannon at Lanesborough instead of 

 Athlune, it is so easily passed there and the main trunk can be so much further extended. 

 After passing Lanesboruugh the line can be run near the town of Roscommon, and with a 

 gentle curve approach Athlone at the Connaught side and so wind its way to Ballinasloe, 

 Loughrea, &c.. as before ; but this being matter of detail, 1 merely Ihrow It out /or the 

 couaiderutlou of Sir John MacfieU and Capt, Mooraom. 



