The Chester and Holyhead Railway and Its Prospects

by William Morgan

Transcribed from the 1849? H. Hughes edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org

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THE
CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD
RAILWAY
AND
ITS PROSPECTS.

BY
WILLIAM MORGAN,
A SHAREHOLDER.

LONDON:
H. HUGHES, BOOKSELLER, ST. MARTINS’-LE-GRAND.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Price 4d.

THE CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY.

Amongst the Railway enterprises in England, the above line must be considered as possessing peculiar claims to our attention. The stupendous character of the work—the difficulties which had to be overcome, and the vast sum invested in the undertaking, place this line in the foremost rank amongst the splendid achievements of our days; indeed, we may justly consider it the masterpiece of the human intellect, and the wonder of the 19th century. In its course, it divides broad estuaries, it penetrates the bowels of the loftiest hills, and the hardest rocks have succumbed to the irresistible energy of human action and scientific skill—it crosses the important navigable river of Conway, and the Menai Straits, by the means of immense iron tubes, at such an elevation as not to impede the progress of the largest vessels. The practicability and safety of the tubes over the Conway have been amply tested during the last six months, and the greatest difficulty attending the elevation of the tube into its position over the Menai, was satisfactorily overcome on the 22nd of June, and in a short time we shall have an uninterrupted journey between London and Holyhead, at a considerable saving of time and expense.

Whether we contemplate the magnitude of the undertaking, or the vastness of the interests, which it is intended to accommodate, it is hardly possible to exaggerate its importance. Indeed, we may safely affirm that there is not a line in England which links together interests of greater importance in a social, political, and commercial point of view, than the Chester and Holyhead Railway. To our vast American and West India trade this line will prove itself a most valuable adjunct; and on the completion of the Irish Midland Great Western line, which will unite the important harbours of Dublin and Galway in the West of Ireland, the mails and passengers from the United States, Canada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, in fact, from every part of the western world, will be conveyed to the shores of England in about seven days, or three days earlier than by the present route, and by which means the most dangerous part of the voyage will be avoided. It is well known that the voyage along the north coasts of Ireland to Liverpool, has been attended with as many disasters as any in the annals of navigation.