GREENWICH PARK RAILWAY VIADUCT.

The 10th of Mr. Herapath's excellent series of papers on Railways, given in our present Number, is devoted to the Greenwich Railway, and will be found to contain a much fuller and clearer exposition of the merits of this interesting undertaking than has ever before been published. We have always thought most favourably of it, and are glad to find our opinion confirmed by so high an authority as Mr. Herapath's. On the completion of this railway-an event which cannot now be far distant-it is proposed to extend it to Woolwich and Gravesend, and, to avoid the inconvenience of a circuitous route, that it shall be carried, by means of a handsome viaduct, straight across Greenwich Park. Some opposition is threatened to this scheme, on the ground of the viaduct's being likely to mar the beauty of the park; but it is only necessary, we think, to take a glance at the accompanying engraving, which presents a view of the proposed structure as it will appear in combination with the surrounding landscape, to be satisfied that there is no ground for such fears. It will obviously increase rather than detract from the picturesqueness of the scenery. We have borrowed the engraving from the Railway Magazine-a monthly journal recently started, to which we could cordially wish a much more prosperous career, than the meagre character of its contents will allow us to anticipate.

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ported by about 1,000 arches, to Deptford and Greenwich. In so short a distance as 4 miles, great differences in the under soil were hardly to be expected. However, substrata of clay, gravel, sand, peat, bog, and floatingland, seem to have presented themselves in luxuriant variety, the best soil often But in juxta-position with the worst. with these the engineer has successfully contended, so that it would require a professional eye to discover any effect of settlement out of 575 arches already built.* In general, the arches are segments of circles; but almost every species of arch in use, except the Gothic, is pressed into service as circumstances need. The eye is occasionally arrested by an arch commencing with the segment of a circle, and when looked through, presenting a parabola or part of an ellipse. Professional men well know the difficulties of such oblique structures, yet, as far as I could perceive, there was no deficiency of symmetry or regularity, while the transition of figures seized the mind with its pleasing effects. The prevailing character of the work may be summed up in uniform neatness and strength without heaviness.

For the purpose of additional security, cross walls are built between the arches, over which the rails are to lie for the trains, and the intervals are filled with concrete. By this means the mass is rendered one solid piece, and the weight of the carriages is spread over a large space.

We cannot but regret that little minds should have the power of impeding a work of this magnitude; yet so it is. One mighty means of interruption had been happily avoided, by preventing meetings of the subscribers from confusing and marring the plans of the directors. It was owing to this judicious arrangement that the work proceeded so rapidly, that 422 arches reared their heads within the first year, from April the 4th, 1834, to April the

with the engineering details," I must here beg to observe, that a few of the piers on each side of the abutments supporting the elliptic arch over Earl's sewer, nod a little towards the sewer, from a circumstance of which it is unnecessary to go into the engineering details," but I will if Sir John wishes it.

4th, 1835. But, unfortunately, the Act empowers certain local committees to receive and judge of, or rather to chatter over and retard, for probably, poor fellows, this is all they can do, the engineer's plans for passing the several roads. Thus it is that we see the works brought up to and standing here and there at a road, the deliberating com. mittees not having decided whether the engineer shall pass them by arches of brick, or, I suppose, of air, with locomotive-engines or balloons. Were it not for these frivolous delays, I am informed that within five or six months the road would be opened from Deptford to London, and, of course, making returns to the shareholders.

It seems to be a favourite maxim with Colonel Landmann, the engineer, that wherever the lead is long, a viaduct is generally more economical than an embankment. Without implicitly subscribing to this doctrine, in which there is often more truth than some civil engineers are willing to admit, it is evident that embankment in the Greenwich Railway would have been little short of insanity. Putting out of the question the enormous expense of forming it where all the materials have to be raised to the embankment, not to be drawn out on a level, and of the additional ground to be purchased, both for the embankment and materials; setting, I repeat, all this aside, together with the immense rental which must ultimately result from near 1,000 manufactories, shops, houses, and warehouses, into which the arches are being converted, it is probable that long before such an embankment of 22 feet high could settle into a road fit for locomotive travelling, the Colonel's viaduct will be finished, and likely enough return a large portion of the capital expended.

At the Deptford end several of the arches are now occupied by the Company for smiths', carpenters', and other shops, which must obviously be a great saving to the concern. One or

two of the arches are also tenanted as public-houses. Over two, made into two five-room private-houses, I have been, and I must confess, contrary to my expectations, I found them comfortable, roomy, and compact. The inconvenience I anticipated in my former com

munication from the smoke, is removed by the use of gas stoves, with which the houses are furnished. In the neighbourhood of London many of these arches will doubtless be let for offices, vaults, and warehouses. I have heard that 5007. per annum have already been offered for some between Joiner-street and the Bridge terminus. At all events, it will be the managers' fault if ultimately they do not turn in a large revenue. It is said there will be about 1,000 of them, which some calculate will fetch 307. per annum each; or, on the whole, a rental of near 30,000l. per

annum.

But suppose only 900 of them

let, and at 201. each, the rental will be 18,000l. per annum, or 2,000l. annually more than the interest of the whole capital (400,0007.) at 4 per cent.; a tolerable argument that the engineer had here good reason for preferring his viaduct to a profitless embankment.

There is an objection to the external fitting up of the houses, which, trifling as it may appear, I cannot help noticing, as disadvantageous to their letting. The fronts of those I have seen are with compo made to appear square, which detracts from their height, and gives them somewhat of a mean appearance. Had the arched fronts have been preserved, it would have been much more characteristic, and I conceive considerably more tasty and attractive.

Again, there is another fault, or rather an oversight, that I am surprised has been committed. The distance to Greenwich by the railway is said to be 33 miles; and by the road, 5 miles. A saving, therefore, of near 2 miles in 6 is effected. The projector, of course, instantly caught at this, and considered that a road for private carriages so materially abbreviating the distance and escaping the turnpikes, and a path for pedestrians with a trifling toll, could not fail to be a source of great profit. No doubt he is right. But the error I allude to is this:-The footpath is on the ground, and goes through an unvaried, monotonous track; whereas had it been raised, supported by brackets or otherwise, to a level with the railway, or 22 feet higher, the prospect would be extremely rich and attractive. What would have been the consequence but the making of it a favourite and fashionable promenade? And it might reasonably be expected that for every

person who goes on it for business, ten would for pleasure or health. Of course, the revenue would increase in proportion; at least, if 2 or 24 per cent. on the capital, as now calculated, be a fair estimate, five times as much, or 10 per cent., might then fairly be expected.

One of the most valuable features of this design is that of its coming so completely into the metropolis as London Bridge is. It was no doubt artfully projected to monopolise all railroads from the east and south-east of London, and in that must be successful. A Bill for a railroad to Croydon, for instance, joining the Greenwich about 2 miles from London, has already passed the Legislature. And if the Croydon should send an arm into Mr. Cundy's Brighton line, which is contemplated, it will add materially to the traffic, and, of course, to the profits of the Greenwich line. For let it be observed, whether the Croydon and Brighton lines pay or not of themselves, their contributions to the Greenwich shareholders, being in the shape of tolls, will be nearly all profit. Again, a line is projected from Greenwich to Gravesend; and others are talked of from Gravesend to Rochester, Maidstone, Dover, &c. Now, whatever be the fate of these railways, when formed they will all be so many tributary streams of profit to the Greenwich. Thus, with out considering its own traffic, which will doubtless be very great, the Greenwich line, like the trunk of a tree, must gather strength and bulk from every branch it sends forth.

What may be the profits from these sources it is no easy matter to estimate accurately, and I should be exceedingly sorry to mislead. But as my purpose is to inquire into these extraneous profits for an object which will presently be seen, I shall take that view which I think will furnish results rather within than without the truth. It is obvious, as I hinted before, that whatever these branch-lines pay to the Greenwich will be a toll, that is, a certain part of their gross revenue; as, for instance, the Croydon Company, in regard to persons, are to pay 3d.* per head for the 2 miles distance. Moreover, the London end being by far the most expen

• My information, I think, can here be scarcely correct. For this is only 1d. per person per mile, while the Birmingham and Southampton Companies are permitted to charge for the use of their lines 24., or 60 per cent more.

sive part of any line, the Greenwich Company will, I have no doubt, take care to mind that in their dealings with other Companies, and therefore charge higher than in proportion to the mileage. Now, the Brighton gross annual revenue is ealculated, in round numbers, at 500,0001. Let us suppose a half of it comes by way of Croydon, and the other goes in at the west end of the town. Then ath of 250,000l., which is a less proportion than it ought to be for 2 miles on the Greenwich, gives 10,0007, or 2 per cent. on the Greenwich capital for the Brighton Company's toll, exclusive of Croydon. Again, the Gravesend compute their gross returns at 120,0007, and they run 4 miles out of 21 on the Greenwich line. We may fairly, therefore, call their quota a fh, or 20,000l. per annum, that is, 5 per cent. more. What the Croydon, Rochester, Maidstone, and Dover revenues are, I do not know, but we may very reasonably put them at another 5 per cent. Thus, then, the annual returns from the branch-lines will be 12 per cent., for all of which the Greenwich Company will only have to keep the railway in repair, that is, on such a line, a mere bagatelle, if the rails are once laid down well and sufficiently strong. If to all this we add 4 per cent. for the rental of the arches, with 10 per cent., as I have shown before, which they might have if they will manage the footpath well, and 2 per cent., which is less than they calculate for the carriage-road on the north side, we shall obtain no less than 28 per cent. per annum, which this Company are likely to draw from the public without even their using their own line, and with scarcely any counterbalancing expense. Can any one suppose that the projectors of the scheme were not alive to this, and widely awake to their own interest, however little they may have said to the public?

It will be observed, that I have omit ted the expense of locomotive-power. The fact is, it is hardly worth noticing in So rough a calculation of per centages. For if the locomotive-power on the Darlington is contracted for at ths of a penny per ton per mile, it would be very trifling in persons, when about 14 go to the ton; and therefore in the per centage, even throwing goods and persons together, it would be an insignificant fraction.