respectively, and are set in chairs, and secured with wooden keys. The chairs are spiked down to cross-sleepers of kyanized wood, 9 feet long. Many of the sleepers are of beech, and cost 3s. 6d. each, exclusive of kyanizing. In the process of kyanizing, the sleepers remained in the solution six or seven days.

Besides the stations at London and Southampton, there are twelve intermediate stations, the principal of which are at Woking and Basingstoke. The station at Nine Elms is on an extensive scale, occupying with the depot, about seven acres. The passenger shed is 290 feet in length, and 75 feet in width, and has four lines of way for the entry and departure of trains, and near the end of the line, a transverse line with four turn-tables at the points of intersection, running to the carriage landing.

The cost of this railway, to December 31, 1840, was £2,283,837. The amount of capital authorized to be raised is £2,540,100. The original intention of the projectors of the railway was to carry it directly to Portsmouth, but the opposition of the Portsmouth people, prevented the execution of this design, and fixed the main termination at Southampton. The inhabitants of Portsmouth have discovered their error, but it is too late to repair it. Instead of a main line to Portsmouth, a branch has been undertaken by the proprietors of the Southwestern railway, leading to Gosport, on the opposite side of Portsmouth harbor. This branch is 153 miles in length, and it is yet unfinished.

The receipts from July 1, to December 31, 1841, derived chiefly from passengers, amounted to £144,166, and the current expenses, including mileage duty and taxes, amounted to £67,475. The net profits for the six months, after payment of interest, amounted to £62,422. The fare for passengers by the first class trains, which perform the journey from London to Southampton in three hours, is 3d. per mile; first class in the mixed trains, 2 4-5d. per mile, and second class 13d. per mile; or 64, 5 3-5, and 32 cents per mile, for the three classes of fare.

The Great Western Railway is the most gigantic work of the kind in the world, and it is hardly to be expected that it will have its parallel. It is not only of vast extent, and made to surmount most formidable obstacles, but it is of gigantic proportions, in comparison with all other railways which have yet been built. It extends across the kingdom, from the Thames to the Severn, from London to Bristol, a distance of 1181 miles. It is distinguished from all railroads which preceded it, by its width of gauge, which is seven feet, instead of 4 feet 8 inches, the prevailing gauge in Great Britain and in this country. Great expense has been incurred in rendering the gradients and curves as favorable as possible. With the excep

which descend towards the west, at the rate of 52.8 feet per mile, the steepest gradient is 15 feet in a mile, and this is for but a short distance. There are 57 planes, 20 of which are ascending, from London at different rates, from two to eight feet in a mile, 23 are descending, at rates of 1 to 52 8-10 feet per mile, and 14 are level. To reduce the line to these planes, required a heavy amount of cutting and embankment, and eight tunnels. The cuttings are 38 feet wide at the level of the rails. The banks vary from a perpendicular, to slopes of 3 to 1. The average cost of the earth-work was 19d. per cubic yard. The Salford cutting measures 525,000 cubic yards, and the Salford embankment 583,000. The Box tunnel eastern cuting, contained 1,533,000 cubic yards.

The Box tunnel is 3123 yards in length, or over 12 miles. The clear width of the tunnel, at 7 feet from the bottom, is 30 feet, and the clear height above the rail is 25 feet. Where the tunnel is lined. with brick, the sides are constructed of seven rings, the arch of six rings, and the invert of four rings. The foundation is 36 feet in width. At the eastern entrance, the surface of the ground is 69 feet above the level of the rails, and at the western entrance, 64 feet. There are eleven shafts, varying from 94 to 293 feet deep, most of them exceeding 230 feet. They are generally 25 feet in diameter. They are partly of stone masonry, 2 feet thick, and partly of brick, 1 foot 10 inches thick. The bricks were from Chippenham, and cost 41s. 6d. per thousand. The brick-work in mortar cost 42s. per cubic yard, and in cement, 47s. including the excavation for brickwork. This is equal to about $15, and $16 75 per thousand bricks. The cement was mixed with sand in equal proportions. The total quantity of excavation in this tunnel, was 247,000 cubic yards, of which 174,000 consisted of freestone and marl, and the remainder of freestone. The excavation in freestone was estimated at 9s. per cubic yard, and in marl and freestone, at 10s. 6d. Ten miners, and six fellers, were employed at each heading; altogether about 500 men, night and day. The miner's wages were 5 to 6s. per day; bricklayers, 6s. and laborers, 3s. 6d. In freestone, the miners had but 3s. 6d. to 4s. and the laborers, 3s. per day. Three of the shafts were worked by steam engines, the others by horse gins, each shaft having two gins driven by three horses, one brakeman, and two tippers. In one shaft were two engines, one for raising and lowering material, and the other for pumping out the water. In another, were three engines, one for pumping, and the two others for raising stone, and lowering bricks and mortar. The cutting at the eastern entrance of this tunnel, above mentioned, is 2 1-2 miles long; and the average depth is 30 feet, with slopes varying from vertical, to 12 to 1. The quantity of powder used in blasting freestone, was estimated to be 1 lb.

per cubic yard, and for red sandstone, 2 1-2 lbs. The vertical shafts of the Box tunnel were begun in 1836, and the tunnel itself in December, 1838, and it was finished in June, 1841.

There are besides the Box tunnel, seven others on the Great Western railway, one of which, the Brislington, is 3148 feet in length; another near Bristol, is 990 feet; and a third is 767 feet. The extent of the whole is nearly three miles. They are much more spacious, and have more ample shafts for ventilation, than are to be found on the other railways.

The principal viaducts are the Wharncliffe, over the valley of the Brent, at Hanwell; one over the Thames, at Maidenhead; and one at Bath. The first named is of brick-work, with stone imposts, cornices, and copings, and consists of eight semi-elliptical arches, each of 70 feet span, and rising 19 feet. The length of the structure is 886 feet, and its height, from the bottom of the foundation to the top of the parapet, is 81 feet. The clear width between the parapet walls, is 30 feet. The bridge at Maidenhead, is 768 feet in length, and is built of six semi-elliptical arches, of 128 feet span each, with a rise of 24 1-4 feet. The arches are built of brick rings, 63 inches in thickness at the crown, and 85 at the haunches. The whole height of the bridge, is 56 feet. The bridge at Bath, is 306 feet in length, and is of a chaste and beautiful design, in keeping with the architecture of the celebrated city of Bath. There are several other viaducts of considerable extent.

The width of gauge, as already stated, is 7 feet, the intermediate space, 6 feet, and the side spaces on the embankment, 4 feet 9 inches, making the whole width, 30 feet. The weight of rail, is 44 and 63 lbs. per lineal yard. The 44 lb. rails are found to be too light for the heavy trains which pass over them. The plan originally designed by Mr. Brunell for laying the rails, was not persevered in beyond Maidenhead. Piles were driven into the earth in pairs, at intervals of five yards, which were held together by cross-ties of white pine. On these ties are laid longitudinal sleepers, also of white pine, 15 inches wide by 7 inches deep. These sleepers are firmly secured to the cross-ties, by screw bolts and nuts. On the top of the sleepers is firmly secured a 1 inch elm planking, 8 inches wide, between which and the sleepers, is a layer of tar. The rails are fastened down to the planking by screw bolts passing through perforations in the flanches of the rail, a thickness of felt being introduced between the rails and the planking. The whole of the timbers as far as Maidenhead, are kyanized. The width of land enclosed for the railway, exclusive of slopes, is 64 feet 6 inches. The area of land enclosed for the railway, averages 12 acres a mile, and the cost of land, with compensation for damages, was £718,068.

The carriages used on this railway, are of several kinds. The posting carriage is fitted up in a style of great elegance, and is suited for the conveyance of 18 persons. It is furnished with cushioned seats all round, except at the door-ways, with a table in the middle. The length of the body is 18 1-2 feet, width 7 1-2 feet, and height 6 feet 8 inches. It is mounted on four wheels, the axles being placed 10 feet from centre to centre. The weight is 11,856 lbs. The large first class carriages are 24 feet in length, 9 feet 6 inches wide, and 6 feet high, and mounted on six wheels. They have four compartments, each adapted to holding eight persons. The extreme length, buffers included, is 26 feet 2 inches. The floor of the carriage is 3 feet 7 inches above the level of the rail. The weight is 15,232 lbs. The small posting carriages are on four wheels, have three compartments, and carry 24 persons. The weight is 10,528 lbs. The large second class carriage is open at the sides, and divided into six compartments, each of a sufficient capacity for 12 persons, or 72 in all. The compartments are 8 feet 7 inches by 4 feet 4 1-2 inches, and each seat 15 inches in width. The carriages are 27 feet 2 1-2 inches long, and 9 feet wide, and are mounted on six wheels, of 4 feet diameter. The weight is 12,712. The small second class carriages are 18 feet in length, have four compartments, and carry 48 persons. The carriage trucks for the conveyance of private carriages, are 15 feet 4 inches long, and 6 feet 8 inches wide. They are mounted on 4 wheels, of 4 feet diameter, and weigh 7442 lbs. The horse boxes are of a size to carry four horses each. They are 9 feet 8 inches in length, and 8 feet 10 inches wide.

The work upon the Great Western Railway, was begun in November, 1835. The first portion of it was opened from London to Maidenhead, 22 1-2 miles, June 4, 1838, other portions were opened at successive periods, and the final opening of the whole road to Bristol, took place June 30, 1841. The average number of passengers during the first year and a half, from the date of the opening, was about 1500 daily. The amount of receipts in the week ending July 11, 1841, was £12,826.

There are seven daily passenger trains from London to Bristol, leaving London at 8, 10, 11, 12, 2, and 5, o'clock, and the mail train at 8h. 55m. P. M. The mail train makes the passage in 4 hours and 20 minutes,—the other trains in near the same space of time. The speed may probably be increased to 30 miles an hour, stops included, so as to complete the journey in four hours. On portions of the road the ordinary rate of travelling is 30 to 35 miles an hour.

The engines on this railway, are of greater weight and power than are used on the other English railways. The net weight varies from

15 to 19 tons. The cost of the engines is from £1850 to £2150. In 25 practical experiments, made on this railway by Mr. Whishaw, the whole distance travelled being 540 miles, the average velocity was 25.43 miles per hour, and in six experiments, the highest velocity reached was 50 miles an hour. In 13 other experiments, the highest rate of velocity was 35 to 48 miles an hour.

The cost of this work will be about five and a half millions of pounds sterling. The amount expended up to the 1st of July, 1841, were £5,288,043. Being but just opened, the extent of its usefulness is not yet tested. It will afford a great facility to the intercourse with the western part of the kingdom, and to the trade of the city of Bristol, the seat of the first successful attempt of transatlantic steam navigation.

In connexion with this work, the Bristol and Exeter railway will extend the line of communication 76 miles further, in the direction of Dartmouth and Plymouth. This railway, which is leased for a period of 5 years to the Great Western company, [see Monthly Chronicle, vol. I. p. 328,] was opened June 1, 1841, from Bristol to Bridgewater, a distance of 33 miles. It corresponds, in the width of gauge, with the Great Western, and the same engines and carriages run upon it. This road passes through a rich and attractive region of country, and it will undoubtedly bring a large accession of travel and business to the principal road. Four regular trains already run daily between London and Bridgewater.

The Cheltenham Railway unites with the Great Western at Swindon, and is now operated for a distance of 18 miles, the only part finished, under a lease to the Great Western, at a rent of £17,000 per annum. It was opened as far as Cirencester, in May, 1842. When finished, it will be 42 miles in length, and by its connexion with the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, it will unite the Great Western with the central parts of the kingdom, and with the London and Birmingham and Grand Junction Railways. The extent of the Great Western with the two branches, having a common gauge with it, will be 236 miles.

The next, and most extensive line of railways leading from London, consisting of the London and Birmingham Grand Junction, and their numerous accessories, was described in the article above referred to, [Mon. Chron. Vol. I. pp. 318, 321, and 326.] The extent and importance of this series of works, intersecting the kingdom in several directions, and uniting the principal cities with the metropolis, by the most rapid and easy mode of communication known, will be best comprehended by aid of the map.

The amount of expenditures on the London and Birmingham