Each country has its own special enactments relative to the method of dealing with roads, rivers, streams, and public and private property proposed to be interfered with in the construction of any line, and a knowledge of these is absolutely necessary for the promoters of any new scheme, inasmuch as some of the requirements may, in certain instances, influence the precise route to be selected.
The English Government has passed several Acts of Parliament setting forth the general conditions which must be complied with in the construction of any railway in the United Kingdom. These conditions, or standing orders, relate both to the acquirement of land and property, the size and description of works for public or private accommodation, and the inspection and official approval of the undertaking when completed. These fixed regulations are alike valuable to the promoters and to the public; the former are informed of the principal points with which the scheme must conform, and the latter know the limit of their legal demands.
No line of railway, or extension of any railway, will obtain Parliamentary sanction unless it can be satisfactorily proved in the outset, that its construction would be of public advantage. This point is of paramount importance, and due weight must be given to it when preparing to refute the evidence of opponents to the scheme.
When conceding the right to make any railway, Parliament grants with it the power to purchase lands or property compulsorily, or by agreement, to change and divert roads and streams in the manner shown on the deposited plans, and to construct all necessary bridges and works in accordance with the standing orders, or such modifications of them as may be approved by the Board of Trade.
The standing orders, or Government regulations, are very comprehensive, and include much detailed information on all questions likely to arise. The following brief summary of some of the principal orders relating to deposited plans, and works of construction, will be found useful for reference.
Extract from Government Standing Orders and Regulations.—All plans and sections relative to proposed new railways must be lodged with the constituted Government Authorities on or before November 30.
Every deposited plan must be drawn to a scale of not less than four inches to a mile, and must describe the centre line, or situation of the work (no alternative line being allowed), and must show all lands, gardens, or buildings within the limits of deviation, each one being numbered with a reference number, and where powers to make lateral deviations are applied for, the limits of such deviation must be marked on the plan.
Unless the whole of such plan be drawn to a scale of not less than 400 feet to an inch, an enlarged plan must be drawn to that scale of every building and garden within the limits of deviation.