230 THE TUNNEL AT LIVERPOOL. CHAP. XII. 



Railway are of a much less formidable character than 

 those of many lines that have since been constructed, 

 they were then regarded as of the most stupendous 

 description. Indeed, the like of them had not before 

 been executed in England. Several of the heaviest and 

 most expensive works were caused by the opposition of 

 Lords Derby and Sefton, whose objections to the line 

 passing near or through their properties forced it more 

 to the south, and thereby involved much tunnelling 

 and heavy stone cutting. It had been our engineer's 

 original intention to carry the railway from, the north 

 end of Liverpool, round the red-sandstone ridge on 

 which the upper part of the town is built, and also 

 round the higher rise of the coal formation at Rainhill, 

 by following the natural levels to the north of Knowsley. 

 But the line having been forced to the south, it was 

 rendered necessary to cut through the hills, and go over 

 the high grounds instead of round them. The first 

 consequence of this alteration in the plans was the 

 necessity for constructing a tunnel under the town of 

 Liverpool a mile, and a half in length, from the docks at 

 Wapping to the top of Edgehill ; the second was the 

 necessity for forming a long and deep cutting through 

 the red-sandstone rock; at . Olive Mount; and the third 

 and worst of all, was, the necessity for ascending and 

 descending the Whiston and Sutton hills by means of 

 inclined planes of 1 in ,96. The line was also, by the 

 same forced deviation, . prevented passing through the 

 Lancashire coal-field, and the engineer was compelled to 

 carry it across the Sankey valley, at a point where the 

 waters of the brook had dug out an excessively deep 

 channel through the marl-beds of the district. 



The principal difficulty was experienced in pushing 

 on the works connected with the formation of the tunnel 

 under Liverpool, 2200 yards in length. The blasting 

 and hewing of the rock were vigorously carried on 

 night and day ; and the engineer's practical experience 



