74 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[MarcH) 



AMSTERDAM AND ROTTERDAM RAILWAY. 



^^ Account of the Railway from Jlmsterdam to Rotterdam, and of the 

 principal works tqjon it." By the Chevalier Frederick Willk.m 

 Conrad, M. Inst. C.E. ; transluted from the French by Charles 

 Manby, Assoc. Inst. C.E., Secretary, and read at the Institution of 

 Civil Engineers. ^ 



This railway, the first that has been constructed in Holland, is due 

 to the enlerprize of a public company, called "The Railway Company 

 of Holland ;" whose affairs are managed by a council of administra- 

 tion, consisting of five commissaries and the engineer. The difficul- 

 ties of construction, arising from the peculiar physical character of 

 the localitv, were amongst the least that the company had to contend 

 against; the directors were however satisfied, that the utility of the 

 undertaking would be fin, illy understood in the country, and that by 

 perseverance, all obstacles would be overcome. 



The company was formed on the 8th August, 1S37, at Amsterdam, 

 and within a short period, the statutes received the royal sanction ; 

 but no sooner had the contract been made, for the execution of the 

 first division, from Amsterdam to Haarlem, than numerous law-suits 

 arose, owing to the hostility of the proprietors of the land, over which 

 it was intended the railway should pass; the consequent difficulty of 

 exprojiriation, and serious discussions with the engineer, to whom, at 

 that period, the execution of tlie line was entrusted, and which ter- 

 minated in his resignation, caused great delays, which were prejudi- 

 cial to the undertaking. 



At length, the Government, at the request of the council of admi- 

 nistration, appointed the author of this paper 'Engineer Director,' 

 and he entered on his duties in March 1S39. After a minute inspec- 

 tion of the line, he found it necessary to complete the first division, 

 between Amsterdam and Haarlem, according to the designs of the 

 former engineer, but to adopt different and more eligible plans for all 

 the other divisions. This first jjart was opened on the 20th Septem- 

 ber, 1S39, and the dispatch that had been used, enabled the council to 

 announce, at the general meeting held in April 1840, their intention 

 to continue the execution of the remainder of the line, without delay. - 

 The assent of the government being granted, the greater part of the 

 year 1840 was occupied, in gaining the concurrence of the regencies 

 of the difi'erent towns and the 'polders,'^ through which the railway 

 would pass, and in effecting the expropriations. 



In the beginning of the year 1841, the first contract for works was 

 made, including the bridge over the river Spaarne at Haarlem, fig. 5, 

 This bridge, which is of iron, has six openings, the piers are of brick- 

 work, faced with cut stone. The two middle openings have an iron 

 swing bridge, see figs. 5 to 10, of a very simple and solid construction, 

 which opens and shuts both openings, at the same time, to render the 

 passage of the vessels as rapid as possible, as between fourteen and 

 fifteen thousand pass through annually. Tlie principal beams of this 

 swing bridge, fig. 7, are each upwards of 75 feet G inches, and were 

 cast in a single piece; the whole bridge weighs upwards of 110 tons, 

 and the machinery for moving it is so perfect, that one man turns it 

 easily in two minutes. There is also a method of holding the bridge 

 firmly shut, during the passage of the train, at wdiich times alone it is 

 closed, and a self-acting signal is attached to it. During the con- 

 struction of this bridge, the channel of the river was diverted, that 

 the navigation might not be interrupted, and the whole was completed 

 in one season. There are also five fixed bridges, of the same style of 

 architecture, ove.r the canals within the town of Haarlem, the station 

 at which place is neat and simple. 



After much difficulty in obtaining possession of the h;nd for the 

 railway, a contract for the cuttings and embankments, at a given price 

 per cubic metre was made, to be executed as fast as each individual 

 portion should be obtained, cither by private purchase or otherwise ; 

 by this means, much time was saved, and the line was completed to 

 Hellegom, during the season of 1841. 



At Vogelenzung, near Bcnncbrock, the canal ofLeyden, and the 

 high road, are both crossed by a trellis bridge, figs. 11, 12, and 13, in 

 length 177 feet at angle of 30" with the canal. This bridge is built 

 entirely of red deal, excepting the roadway beams, which are of oak, 



1 We are indebted to the Edilor of the " Railway Chronicle," for the principal part of 

 .1,. „.„„,i ongraviiigs illustrating this article, which originally appeared in that valuable 



n Amsterdnm to Hanrlem 

 Haarlem to Leyden 

 I-eydou to the Hague 

 the Hague to Rotterdam 



StJtres. English Vards. 

 IMITMO = 18381-4 

 282/11-30 = SOS'Jl\ 

 IMOil-SO « lrt72R-2 

 24000 = 26232-0 



64391-50 = 92230-7 



or about 52J English miles , with fllty-elght bridges inVbe three iirst divisions 



r 1 .t • Pp"""?" '",}''? ?I'"'^ "f '""<' «''iich hove been dioined and are n( 

 valed : their level la usually lieloiv that of the sea. 



and is formed by three series of planks, crossing each other in the 

 form of trellis-work ; there are three openings, of which, those on 

 either side are each 32 feet 4 inches span, and the centre one is 111 

 feet G inches span; the trains pass witliout causing any vibration. 



The next step, was to make a contract for the trussed timber 

 bridge, figs. 14 to 17, to cross the canal and the towing-path, at an angle 

 of G0°, near Leyden, for which the span was required to be 56 ft. 5 in. 

 Near this spot is the ' Warmonder Leede' one of the navigable 

 canals, which at the same time acts as a drain, for conveying water 

 from the interior of the country, into and out of the Lake of Haarlem, 

 by the dykes of Katwyk, as well as serving for commercial and agri- 

 cultural purposes. The regency of Rhynland, insisted that the bridge 

 to cross this canal, should have five openings, each 20 feet 10 inches, 

 of which, the centre one should have a swing bridge, figs. 14, 16, 17, 

 for the facility of the navigation of the canal. This is of a novel con- 

 struction, on the system of a sliding bridge; it is built of timber, and 

 the [ilatform is easily moved by one man. 



The nature of the soil, from the 'Warmonder Leede' to the town 

 ofLeyden, was such as to render it necessary, to form the railway on 

 fascines or faggots. This plan was also necessary, on all the first part \ 



of the line; and even at the Leyden station, the whole of the build- 

 ings were erected upon a similar foundation, which appears to answer 

 very well. 



Beyond Leyden, the railway crosses the Rhine at an angle of 82°, 

 by a trussed timber bridge with five openings ; the three centre ones ■ 

 have each a span of 32 feet 10 inches, and the two side ones are each M 

 19 feet 8 inches span. One [of these latter, is for the navigation of " 

 the river, and is furnished with sliding platforms, opening both ways; 

 they are easily managed by one man. 



It was not until the end of the year 1841, that the Company ob- 

 tained possession of part of the line of railway, at 'Sloterdyk,' in the 

 first division, after a law-suit of four years' duration, relative to the 

 expropriation, and after being obliged to pay a large sum to the pro- 

 prietor, for the permission to pass temporarily during the law-suit; 

 without which, the first division, between Amsterdam and Haarlem, 

 could not have been opened. These difficulties were encountered 

 throughout the whole line, to such an extent, that at a short distance 

 from Leyden the obstinacy of a single landowner entirely stopped the 

 progress of the works, and obliged the Company to build a temporary 

 station for that town ; v\ithout this step, tlie opening of that part of 

 the line would have have been retarded for three or four years, there 

 being no legal means of accelerating the process of expropriation. 

 The line was then opened from Haarlem to the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of Leyden. 



In the course of the year 1842, the whole of the second division, 

 and great part of the third, were completed. Several aqueducts, five 

 large bridges, and a number of small ones were built ; the latter being 

 all over navigable canals, were made to swing on simple brackets ; the 

 permanent station at Haarlem was completed ; the foundations were 

 laid of those at Leyden and Amsterdam; and the workshops for the 

 repairs of the engines, &c., were finished. These circumstances are 

 only mentioned to show, that considering the delays occasioned by the 

 defective jurisprudence in the matter of expropriation, more than 

 common diligence had been used to enable the line to be thus far 

 opened. 



After the opening of the second division, several of Stephenson's 

 new patent locomotive engines were added to the stock of the Com- 

 pany, and after ample trial of their qualities, they were considered to 

 be the best engines in the service. 



A part of the third division was opened as far as Voorschoten, in 

 the month of May, 1843, and thus, with the aid of omnibusses and 

 diligences, the line was completed as far as the Hague, although, 

 owing to the legal difiiculties already named, the swing bridge to 

 cross the Hague and Delft canal, could not be constructed, nor the 

 permanent station ot the Hague be built. These latter works have 

 onlj' been completed in the last year (1844). 



Such were the difficulties the Company had to contend with, from 

 the delay caused by the defective state of the law of expropriation, 

 and the rapacity and prejudice of the proprietors over whose land the 

 line had to pass, that it was only on the 6th December 1843, that the 

 railway was completely opened for public use, all the works, as well 

 as the dirt'ereut stations being- completed, and a simple and eflfective 

 system of management established. 



The stock of the company now consists of thirteen locomotive 

 engines, with their tenders complete, and one hundred and three car- 

 riages of three different classes, which number will be considerably 

 increased. 



From the opening of the different divisions up to the Ist. December 

 1843, the locomotive engines have traversed a distance of 239,786 

 English miles, and 1,513,935 passengers h-ave been conveyed. 



