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THE CIVIL KNCHNKER AND ARCHlTECrS JOURNAL. 



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ceiline itself represents tlie sky, and is of peculiar form, partly elliptic and 

 partly hyperbolic, so as to be in conformity with acoustic principles. It is 

 also coveil all round. We may note, too, that the proscenium forms a 

 splayed arch, so as to throw the voice into the centre of the house. All 

 that could be done to make the house a good hearing house has been 

 effected. 



The ceiling is in keeping with the decorations of the houSe, of which the 

 leading colours are %vhite and gold, here and there set off with a slight 

 turquoise blue. The relieved ornaments are all in the cannabic composition, 

 which admits of the gilding being highly burnished. The whole effect of 

 the decorations is chaste and picturesque, while, by the boldness of the 

 proportions, grandeur is preserved. 



We may note that the ventilation has been the subject of the special care 

 of the architect, and in which he seems to have attained much success. 



The approaches to the house have all been re-arranged, separate entrances 

 being provided to the royal boxes, to the boxes and stalls, to the pit, and to 

 the gallery, with fire-proof staircases. The details in every part are also so 

 arranged as to give the greatest comfort, and to enable a large audience 

 conveniently to sit through a long performance, as well as to hear perfectly. 

 This is really as great an advantage to the actor as to the bearer, as, without 

 it, due attention cannot be paid to any representation, however skilful. 



While we cannot withhold our testimony to the solidity of the construc- 

 tion, having inspected it in detail, we are bound also to notice the rapidity 

 with which the alterations were completed, the old interior having been 

 pulled down, and the new one erected from the foundations, within four 

 months. This is a great feat, performed by Mr. Albano ; and we must state 

 that great credit is due to Mr. Holland, the builder, and Mr. Ponsonhy, the 

 decorator, for the rapid manner they have executed the work. The brilliancy 

 of the gas also, it is to be observed, is due to the use of .Mr. Low's patent 

 for napthalizing it. 



STATE AND PROSPECTS OF FRENCH RUI.WaYS.* 

 One of the greatest advances that has yet taken place in the progress of 

 European civilisation is slowly but surely approaching in the comprehensive 

 system of railways in course of construction in France. The object of the 

 following review is rather to glance rapidly at the present position of French 

 railwavs than to dwell at any length on the reflections that naturally present 

 themselves on entering into the consideration of such a subject. 



Paris to Rouen. — The lirst line that comes under our notice is that from 

 Paris to Rouen, opened for traffic on Ist May, 1843, being the first of the 

 French railways, in tlironological order, which was comjileted to the north 

 of Paris. It is eighty-fuur English miles in length, and was constructed 

 from the plans of -Mr. Locke, the engineer of the South Western Railway. 

 The present net returns are about 8 per cent, on the capital, and the receipts 

 which were 8,832/. from passenger traffic, and 3,722/. from goods traffic in 

 Januarv, 1844, were respectively 10,038/., and 14,693/. in the same month 

 of the present year. The extension of this railway, S7 miles in length, from 

 /loucn /o //acre, is completed, and opened last mouth: it has occupied a 

 long time in constructicui, from the numerous works of art necessitated by 

 the uneven character of the country through which it runs: among others, 

 six important viaducts, one of which — that at I'.arentin — fell down shortly 

 after it was completed, ahput fourteen months ago, aird has since been re- 

 built. There is also a bridge over the Seine, at Rnuen, about 1.200 feet 

 long. This line will complete the railway communication between Paris and 

 Havre, which is the port of the capital, as far as its maritime trade with 

 countries out of Europe is concerned, and where it will communicate directly 

 with extensive docks now building. The terminus of the Uouen raiUvay, at 

 Paris, in common with that of the short lines from Paris to St. Germains, 

 and to Versailles, by the right bank of the Si ine, opened in IS37 and 1839 

 rcspectivelv. In 1840 another railway was comjileicd to Versailles by the 

 left bank of the Seine. Neither has proved very ]irofifable ; but it has been 

 proposed for the two companies to amalgamate, and from a joint station at 

 Versailles, to extend their lines to Chartres, Rennes, and liritanny. 



Paris la (jrleans. — Going westward, the next line we meet is that from 

 Paris to Orleans, completed at the same time as that from Paris to Rouen, in 

 1843. The length of this line, including a branch to Corbeil, is 93 miles; 

 the share capital ],fiO0,O00/., and the net returns about 10 per cent. It not 

 only unites I'aris with the flourishing city of Orleans, but also is extended 

 thence in several directions; Ist, by tlie Orleans, Tours, and Bordeaux Rail- 

 way, 300 miles long, now in progress throughout, and already opened from 

 Orleans to Tours, a distance of 60 miles ; 2nd, by the Tours and Nantes 

 Kailway, a branch from this to the principal centre of commerce on the west 

 coast of France, 120 miles in length, the works of which are in a very for- 

 ward state for about 6.') miles, from Tours to Angers ; 3rd, by the central 

 railway from Orleans to Vierzon, Bourges, and Chiteauroux. From Orleans 



* This intereBting document lately appeared in the " Daily News." 



to Bourges by Vierzon, a distance of 70 miles is completed, and may be 

 opened for traffic as soon as a bridge over the Loire at Orleans is fioiehed. 

 As the construction of such a bridge will require a considerable time, a tem- 

 porary bridge is about to be thrown over to connect the two railways in the 

 interim. 



Paris to the Mediterranean. — The next grand trunk line leaving Paris is 

 that to the Mediterranean, the first section of which, from Paris to Lyons, 

 will he about 300 miles in length. It is in progress throughout, but will not 

 be completed until 1849 at the earliest. About 45 miles from Dijon to 

 Chalons, situated half-way between the two extremities of the line, are nearly 

 completed, and might be opened in the course of the present year. From 

 Lyons there are railways already open to St. Etienne, Andredieux, and 

 Roanne, remarkable as being the first lines of any length completed in 

 France. The total length is about 90 miles, and these afford communication 

 between the valleys of the Rhone and Loire, and pass through the Loire coal 

 fields. The great line to the Mediterranean is continued from Lyons through 

 .Vvignon to .Marseilles ; that part from Lyons to Avignon, 195 miles in length, 

 incluiling a branch to Grenoble, is not yet begun, although in the bands of a 

 company; from Avignon to Marseilles, 65 miles in length, is nearly finished, 

 and will probably be opened in the present year. A railway, which will 

 branch from this at Tarascon, and runs to Nimes, Montpellier, and Cette, a 

 rising port on the Mediterranean, with a branch to the mineral district about 

 Alais, is finished, as also a small line in the neighbourhood of Bordeaux. A 

 junction railway from Bordeaux to Cette through Toulouse has been pro- 

 posed, and a company has been formed to construct it. 



Paris to Strasburg. — A company has also taken the railway from Paris to 

 Strashurg, the length of which, including branches to Kheims and to Metz 

 and the Prussian frontier, is nearly three hundred and sixty miles. The 

 works are in rapid progress, and a tunnel under the Vosges, 2,800 yards in 

 length, completed. The greater part of the line will be finished in 1848, 

 and the rest in 1849, with the exception of the section from St. Pizier to 

 Nancy, which cannot be completed before 18.t0. A line from Strasburg to 

 Bale, the total length of which, including the branch from Mulhouse to 

 Thaun, is 95 miles, was opened in the summer of 1841 ; it has not enjoyed 

 much trafiic, and cannot until extended from Strashurg to the more important 

 towns on the lower part of tl.e Rhine. In the district enclosed between the 

 Paris and Lyons and Paris and Strasburg railways, one railway is in pro- 

 gress, viz., a branch from the former line to Troyes, and another is proposed 

 from Dijon to Mulhouse, uniting the two. One from St. Dizier to Gray, the 

 point where the Loine becomes navigable, has also been spoken of. 



The Xorthern Line from Paris. — The next line we arrive at, pursuing our 

 course r(mnd the French territory, is the Northern line from Paris through 

 Amiens and Arras to Douay, where the railway is continued in two direc- 

 tions, one branch proceeding through Lille to the Belgian frontier, where it 

 meets the Belgian state line from (jheut,and the other reaching the frontier 

 via Valenciennes, whence it is continued by the Belgian government line to 

 Brussels. The total length is 204 miles, and the railway was opened through- 

 out on the 20ih June last. Branches from Criel (on the main line) to St. 

 Quentin, and from Lille to Dunkirk and Calais are in progress. This line is 

 of great importance, as connecting Paris with Belgium, Holland, and the 

 North of Europe, and of still greater from the fact that 00 miles of it, as far 

 as .\miens, form part of the approaching railway communication between 

 London and Paris. The rest of the railway from Amiens to Boulogne, 75 

 miles in length, is in a very advanced state, and will be completed in less 

 than a year. 28 miles from Amiens to 'Abbeville have been finished for 

 some months past, and are expected to be opened for traffic in the course of 

 next month. When this is accomplished the journey between London and 

 Paris will be comfortably made in 17 hours ; and in 12 hours when the rail- 

 way is open to Boulogne. To complete our survey of French railways, we 

 have only now to notice the branches from theUouen and Havre Railway to 

 Dieppe and Fecamp, for the construction of which a company has been or- 

 ganised. 



The hasty enumeration we have made of the various French railways com- 

 pleted, in progress, or undertaken by companies who have already obtained 

 their acts, appear sufficient to justify the assertion, that when finished, they 

 will not only furnish ready communication between Paris and the various 

 centres of population and industry throughout the French territory, but also 

 with the adjacent countries ; and likewise afford great facilities on several 

 lines of transit which already enjoy considerable traffic, both in passengers 

 and goods, and some of which are indeed the high roads of Europe : such as 

 those from London to Switzerland, the Mediterranean, or Spain, through 

 Paris, from the United States to Switzerland, ria Havre (a route taken by a 

 large amount of goods-traffic). &c. 



Little remains to be said in addition to this almost tabular view of the 

 French system of railways; but it would be incomplete without a few re- 

 marks on the railway legislation of France. All the French railways, with 

 one or two exceptions, are only conceded to the companies who have under- 

 taken their construction, for a term of years, so that the companies have to 

 provide for the reimbursement of the capital at the expiration of the lease 

 by means of a sinking-funrl, varying according to the length to which it ex- 

 tends. The railways from Paris to Rouen and to Orleans were conceded 

 directly to the companies for terms of 99 years ; and that from llnuen 

 Havre for 97 ; their agreements with the government having been aUe''- 

 wards submitted to the Chambers for ratification. After 1842 the govern- 

 ment began to work on its own account on several of the great lines of rail- 



