1844.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



455 



RAILWAY COMMUNICATION WITH IRELAND. 



The Report op James Walker, Esq.., C.E. 

 (Slightly Abridged, with an Engraving, Plate XVIII.) 



To Sir John Barrow, Bart., Secretary to the Admiralty. 



* * I now proceed in the order pointed out to me in your letter. First, 

 to give my opinion of Holyhead for a packet station, and also for a harbour 

 of refuge ; these being two distinct questions. My instructions may be 

 taken as having reference chiefly to the engineering part of the subject ; but 

 it was impossible for me to do justice to this, without extending my consi- 

 deration out to sea, and even across the channel, and considering how the 

 day and night beacons, the land-marks, and the shoals, affect the passage 

 and the entrance into the harbour. I have, therefore, examined the charts 

 and pursued the reports on this subject, particularly that of Sir James 

 Gordon and Captain Beechy, which, with the observations on the petition of 

 Mr. Ormsby Gore, and others, and the replies to these observations, together 

 with the opinions of the various naval officers, including Lieutenant She- 

 ringham, appear to me to have completely exhausted the naval part of the 

 question, and must be well known to the Lords of the Admiralty, and all 

 who have attended to the subject ; so that very little need be said by me on 

 that head. The natural advantages of Holyhead are described to consist of 

 its being the nearest point of land to Dublin, being situated under a pro- 

 jecting and very conspicuous head-land, giving facilities for keeping out at 

 sea in case of missing, or being unable to enter the harbour, the Skerries 

 forming another good sea-mark, the entrance being free from bar, and the 

 shelter which the bay affords to vessels from all winds, excepting between 

 north-west and north-north-east. 



Holyhead Harbour. — This bay, and the shallow estuary now forming the 

 inner Holyhead harbour, appear always to have been a shelter for coasters ; 

 and the creation of a town there, before art had done almost anything to 

 assist nature, confirms the opinion. It was not until 1715 that a light was 

 shown upon the Skerries, nor was the South Stack lighted until 1809. These 

 lights being one on each side of the harbour, at the distance of eight miles 

 from each other, together with the pier, and the excellent light upon it, be- 

 tween the two outer leading lights, have much added to the natural advan- 

 tages of Holyhead, and mark the direct course to, and the entrance into, the 

 harbour in a superior manner. 



The Stag Rock, which has now fifteen feet upon it at low water of spring 

 tides, and the platters, which are within half a mile of the shore, are the 

 only sunk rocks in the direct course of the entrance. There is one uninter- 

 rupted course, clear of shoals, between Holyhead and Kingstown, with the 

 exception of the Burford Bank, which has upon the shoalest part two fa- 

 thoms at low water spring tides. 



The prominent disadvantages (within the "head") of Holyhead in its 

 present state, as a harbour of refuge, are, that the bottom of the bay is bad 

 holding ground, so that vessels at anchor there are exposed, during heavy 

 northerly gales, to great danger of their anchors dragging, and their being 

 driven upon the rocks, which, with some exception, encompass the bay ; 

 also, that from the pier pointing so much towards the shore, there is not 

 room for a vessel to work in with a strong westerly, or to get out with an 

 easterly wind, without danger of getting upon the rocks. I have not re- 

 ceived a list of the losses and damage that have occurred. The depth along- 

 side the pier for 300 feet is 10 feet at low water: this decreases rapidly, 

 leaving but little space, even near the entrance, covered with water at low 

 water of spring tides, and one half of the estuary or inner harbour is dry 

 before half ebb. 



As a harbour of refuge, therefore, Holyhead has at present but little pre- 

 tensions, and yet it is much used by wind-bound coasters. I was informed 

 by Captain Evans, the harbour-master, that during the three first months of 

 this year, 394 vessels used the harbour for shelter, or being wind-bound or 

 laid up. 



As a mail-packet station, Holyhead has, even now, much to boast of. The 

 certainty has indeed been extraordinary. Lieutenant Jones informed me 

 that during the six years he has been on the station, there has been no in- 

 stance of his packet, in the very worst weather, not having started so soon 

 as the mail was on board, or of having put back after having started, or of 

 being unable to enter after approaching the harbour. A few of the 

 crossings have however been long. During the six years he has had 

 one passage of 21 hours and two or three of eighteen hours. Com- 

 mander Kaines also, the agent for all the packets, stated, that the Holyhead 

 packets had never missed starting, and that they can make the passage at all 

 weathers. Lieutenant Smail, of the Zephyr, said, that, excepting about six 

 times in winter, during excessive gales, his longest time has been 7$ hours, 

 the quickest 5}, and the average 6} hours. This information, added to the 

 letters which are attached to Sir James Gordon and Captain Beechey's re- 

 port, from the same, and from other officers who had left the station, is very 

 strong as an argument in favour of Holyhead, in even its present state. * 



I beg now to refer you to the accompanying design for improving and en- 

 larging Holyhead harbour. It maybe considered as of three divisions: — 

 1st. A steam-packet pier, sufficient to give accommodation to the proposed 

 larger packets. 2nd. A break-water pier, to form, upon a cheaper plan, a 

 shelter to shipping from the northerly winds ; and 3rd. The further extension 

 of the landing-pier in the same direction as before, and returning the end 

 over the Stag Rock, towards the termination of the breakwater, thus forming 



an inclosed harbour for refuge and the convenience of trade. Each of these 

 stages may be considered an independent work, and would be useful without 

 the other. The third or last division is a larger work. 



Returning to the packet-pier (lettered A B on the design No. 1) its direc- 

 tion will be east-by-south nearly ; its length 700 feet, and width 80 feet — 

 both sides walled anil faced with ashlar, as the north side will form also one 

 side of the future harbour. The depth at low-water spring tides, at the 

 inner end, 12 feet, and at the outer end, 18 feet. A return jetty of 100 feet 

 is proposed at the outer end. The estimate of this division is .€78,000. 



Second. The breakwater (lettered E F G on the drawing No. 1) is de- 

 signed to be carried out from the rocks at the north end of Salt Island, in 

 an east-by-south straight direction 500 yards, and there returned by a curve 

 to a southerly direction. Its termination or head will bear north-east-by- 

 uorth of the Stag Rock, from which it will be distant 250 yards. This arm 

 as will be seen by the plan, will shelter a large space (upwards of 70 acres) 

 from all the heavy seas to which it is open. The low water depth, excepting 

 for a very small space ou the west side, will exceed 18 feet, the average 

 being 24 feet. It will also protect the north side of the steam-packet pier, 

 so that vessels may come alongside it. The estimate of this work, including 

 the removal of the inner platters, is £177,000. These two works, therefore, 

 amount to £255,000. 



By the third division it is proposed to extend the packet pier 750 feet 

 (from B to C on the drawing No. 1), and to project a jetty 150 feet to the 

 southward. Thus the present pier, with the pier before described, and this 

 extension, will form the south side of the harbour of refuge. A return in a 

 north-east-by-north direction for a length of 900 feet (lettered C D on the 

 drawing No. 1), will leave an entrance of 300 or 350 feet wide between it 

 and the termination of the breakwater, making a complete harbour of refuge 

 of about 80 acres, in which the large-class ships will be afloat at the lowest 

 water. The cost of this work will be £145,000. 



The amount of the three works is thus £400,000. When they are done 

 the accommodation will be of the first order for steamers, the length of deep 

 water quay being not less than 3900 feet, of which 2900 feet are within the 

 inclosed harbour. There will also be an excellent harbour of refuge, which 

 ships of the largest class may enter and leave with almost all winds, be al- 

 ways afloat, and in perfect safety while in the harbour. As I before said, 

 each may be finished independently of the other, and each will be most 

 useful after its kind, but not perfect as a whole, because the breakwater 

 alone would not give such complete refuge as when made an inclosed har- 

 bour, by the completion of the third division. The two first divisions, 

 amounting to £255,000, correspond nearly with what I have afterwards to 

 submit for Porth-dyn-llaen, where an inclosed harbour is not proposed. * 



Having already described the disadvantages of Holyhead in its present 

 state, it is but justice to say now, that I think the works I have just described 

 will almost entirely remove them. Thus, the bad holding ground outside the 

 harbour will be of very little consequence, if vessels, by entering the har- 

 bour, have little or no occasion to anchor outside ; and the same reason 

 renders the rocks round the bay comparatively harmless. I am not aware 

 that in my department there can be an objection to the plan but the expense ; 

 and as doubling the expense quadruples the area, and diminishes the swell, 

 I consider that if made at all the harbour should be capacious. * * * 



Porth-dyn-llaen Harbour. — Having thus given my opinion of Holyhead, 

 with its capability of improvement, I have now to state the result of my ob- 

 servations upon Porth-dyn-llaen. Its present state may be considered as a 

 state of nature, scarcely anything having been done to improve it ; nor does 

 it appear that any one connected with shipping has thought it his interest to 

 settle or build near it for furnishing supplies to the vessels that may have 

 frequented it. There is no shop or store of any kind nearer than Edern 

 (one mile) ; nor is there the appearance of their having been one ; a proof 

 that if on occasions a great number of ships have taken advantage of the 

 harbour, these occasions have not been frequent, or the ships must have re- 

 mained a very short time. Yet this may not be conclusive against Porth- 

 dyn-llaen having important natural facilities, for developing which a judicious 

 application of science might do much. There are points in which I consider 

 it has advantages. * * * * 



In its present state there is nothing to recommend Porth-dyn-llaen as a 

 station for packets. Everything would have to be done ; and it cannot be 

 denied that the elevation of the surrounding sandhills, which is 80 to 100 

 feet above high waeer, close to the sea, would cause considerable labour and 

 expense to make convenient buildings, approaches, and communications. An 

 example of this is given in the level at which Mr. Yignoles and Mr. Purdon, 

 the engineers, have proposed to terminate the Porth-dyn-llaen Railway near 

 the point, being 70 to 80 feet above the level of the sea at high water. 

 This may be lowered, but the inclination would be increased. 



Your instructions to me are, to prepare plans for a harbour, for a packet 

 station, and for a refuge harbour at Porth-dyn-llaen, as well as at Holyhead, 

 I have done so, and by enlarging Lieutenant Sheringbam's chart, have to 

 present a design for a pier and breakwater at Porth-dyn-llaen, drawn to the 

 same scale as that for Holyhead. 



Firstly. — For a packet station, the design proposes to form a pier from the 

 east angle of Porth-dyn-llaen point to Carreg-y-chwislan (lettered A B on 

 design No. 2), a length of about 300 yards, in an east-by-south direction, 

 which is terminated by a return jetty upon Carreg-y-chwislau. This would 

 give good length for steamers; the depth inside it, is ample. The width of 

 the quay or pier, exclusive of parapet, is shown to he 50 feet. I have sup- 

 posed a quay wall at the west end of the pier to le requisite for the purpose 



