8S 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



("March. 



haven, CliichpsttT, Portsmouth, Lvmington, Poole, Weymouth, Brid- 

 port, Lvme, Dartmouth, Exeter, Teignmouth, Plymouth and Falmouth. 

 That the merchant of Liverpool will be most anxious to profit bv this 

 opportunity of sharing, more largely, at an easy expense, in the supply 

 of the markets of the south-west of England, cannot be doubted, anil 

 that he will therefore freely use the port of Southampton, may be con- 

 sidered as certain. 



2. As to the merchant of London. 



He has also to consider how to deliver goods to the consumer with 

 the greatest despatch and incumbered with the least expense. Even 

 supposing him to determine not to deviate from the old and beaten 

 tracks of business, the eiTect must be, the abandonment of the markets 

 of the South West, to the activity and enterprize of the merchant in 

 the North West of England. Such a case, however, w ill not arise, nor 

 will tlie merchants of London be slow, although some may be unw illing, 

 to avail themselves of the means of despatcli, economy and other ad- 

 vantages attendant on the adoption of Southampton as a branch port. 



Nor are the inducements to prefer the Port of Southampton confined 

 to the home trade. The large quantities of merchandize now brought 

 to the Port of London to be re-shipped for colonial and foreign mar- 

 kets, will find a cheajier and more convenient depot at Southampton, 

 and especially the extensive class of imports from Java, the Brazils, 

 Havannah ami other foreign states or posses^ions, destinfil for foreign 

 consumption, will, as matter of course, be carried to that port which 

 can be the soonest reached, is the least expensive and the best situate 

 for general distribution to the consumer, and such will be the Port of 

 Southampton, being, at the same time, not less adapted for tlie collec- 

 tion of the outward cargo, now brought into the Port of London to be 

 carried out again at a heavy expense. 



The dock intended to be opened in September next, is to contain, as 

 already mentioned, IG acres. The second dock, also in progress, 

 which is to be a close dock, will contain 14 acres of water — the whole 

 of the enclosure of land and w ater, for these two docks, w ill compre- 

 hend about GO acres, affording an extent of accommodation capable of 

 yielding, if fully employed, at the rates charged by the docks of Lon- 

 don, a nett income of £ 1 50,000 per annum, upon an outlay of £500,000 

 or thereabouts, of which it is proposed, agreeably to the provisions of 

 the Act incorporating the Company, to borrow £150,000. There 

 would then remain to be enclosed 140 acres more of the dock land. It 

 would be premature to indicate by more than a slight sketch the pro- 

 bable occupation of tiiat part of the site. It rnay, however, be shown, 

 that there are easy, cheap and profitable means of using this ground 

 so soon as sufficient trade shall have been attracted to Southampton to 

 justify an extension cf the works already undertaken. About HO acres 

 of the 140, running south of the present works would furnish ample 

 accommod.ction for a trade in timber and coals — by being divided into 

 two parts — a dock for timber ships and colliers, and an enclosure for 

 timber ponds, where timber both afloat and iu stack, might be bonded 

 to a great extent. The then remaining part of the dock land would 

 be about 50 acres, on the western side, bounded by Southampton water, 

 a situation admirably calculated for a second close dock, should it ever 

 be required. The works of the first or tide dock are far advanced, — 

 it is intended to be opened to the merchant and shipowner in the 

 month of September next ; the second or close dock will require another 

 year. 



The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company is under engagement to 

 work to and from this dock. The extensive trade now conveyed by 

 the Peninsular Steam Packets has already located itself at Southampton, 

 several ships run to the Mauritius from this Port for sugar, and it is 

 well known that large commercial capitals both of London and Liver- 

 pool employed in the East and West India trades are awaiting the 

 accommodation of these docks, in order to avail themselves at the 

 earliest moment, of the advantages of supplying the large and flourish- 

 ing population of the South West cf England on terms with which it 

 will be impossible to compete, by subjecting merchandize (in bringing 

 it to London) to an average delay cot to be estimated at less than one 

 month (including the two passages), and at the same time to the heavy 

 aud oppressive expenses of the Port of Loudon, and of its export from 

 that Poit, for distribution for domestic and foreign consumption. 



HARPER'S PATENT RAILWAY CHAIRS. 



/rc-ra/d'Hff 5(rain-;/oa^«.— Letters from Copenhagen of ihe 18th ult. state, 

 that M. C. M. !i jorih hr.s just resolved a i.roblem which, fir upwanis of ten 

 years, lias vainly exerciseil the sagacity o; naval engneers — and whose so- 

 lution has more than once been propoteii for competition, as well by the 

 General Administration of Vests, as by the corporation tf mercliants in the 

 capital. He has invcnte.i a steam-l.oat. capable of cutting its way tbrounh 

 (lie thickest ici'. with a speed r.early equal lo that of itstaanipelediiBvigation. 

 TIk General At ministration nf Posts have received a most favourabJe report 

 from a committee of ship-builders and mEchine-makers, to v.hom they had 

 sutniitted the model, and have applieil for authority to construct a vessel for 

 the transport of the mail Lags m winter. 



Perspective vieiv of improveil chair. 

 CC, Checks of chair ; V.'.Oak Hflge iipot. v. hich the rail rests; SS. Sleeper. 



The annexed engravings represent the patent chair which has been 

 introduced on one hundred yards of the Southwestern Railway, about 

 half a iniie below the Winchester station, in November 1S39, since 

 then the down trains have regularly passed over them. 



The resident engineer, Edatird Dixon, Esq., has favourably reported 

 upon them severaftimes down to the 2bth of December lb40, the fol- 

 lowing are extracts from his reports. 



" The principle is good in doing away with the use of spikes, and 

 the enormous injury arising from the splitting of sleepers by boring 

 and spiking. I have not paid sufficient attention to speak decidedly 

 as to the dirterence of noise, but the result shoidd certainly be favour- 

 able." 



" I should like to see it laid on alarge scale, as it has several advaa« 

 tages over the present method." 



" I do not think any of the chairs laid down broke in the fixing, and 

 none have broken since, I consider them less liable to breakage than 

 the old chairs, there being no spikes to drive in, the risk is reduced, 

 and in keeping the rail after the chair is fixed, there would be less 

 chance of breakage from a miss-blow of the keying hammer striking 

 the cheek of the chairs, on account of the wood which holds the chair 

 in its place allowing of a little elasticity." 



The Directors of the above Company have assented to an applica- 

 tion made by Mr. Harper, and the engineer-in-chief Joseph Locke, 

 Esq., h;is fixed for a further trial to be made on the Gosport Branch, 

 near Winchester. 



The saving of expense is staled by the patentee to he nearly 300?. 

 a mile, exclusive of any estimate for advantages derived. 



CHIMNEY POTS. 



Sir — A correspondent, J. R. B., in your last number, as a remedy 

 against the unsightly but unfortunately not altogether uselessness of 

 chimney pots, (although never applied as they only ought to be), calls 

 on builders to try the experiment of flues in the form cf a tin coach 

 horn, with the large end upwards. I am quite inclined to believe that 

 such a trial would be successful, but if applied to the whole length of 

 (say) a40 feet flue, as I understand him to intend, any useful dili'erence 

 in its diameter would, I fear, so swell the stack, as, if conveniently 

 practicable, would at once banish the beautiful shafts of the old English 

 style, and lead, in too many instances, to no very sightly sttbstitutes in 

 that or any other style. What if the principle were applied to the 

 last five or six feet merely ; even then it might perhaps letid to de- 

 formities too frequently ; this however is a secondary consideration, 

 and the genuine architect can never be at a loss to get over such a 

 difficulty, since it is his business to surmount difficulties, and therein 

 prove his superiority to mere pretenders. 



J. R. B. will perhaps favour us with his experience in, and valuable 

 remarks on, the practicability of his suggestions. 



I am, Sir, vour obedient servant, 



G. W. E. 



Ftbruary 16, ISil. 



