THE SEVERN TUNNEL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1585, 15 June 1887, Page 2

THE SEVERN TUNNEL.

[bBUTBR'S TELKORAMS—OOPyHiaHT.] London, Jane IS* . The tunnel under the River Severn, between England and South Wales, has been opened. [The telegram printed above/ (says the "Press") ootlfiea the completion of one of the greatest engineering works of modern times. The Aot fot its eonatcao^ tlon m connection wlvh the Great Western ! railway was paesed la 1872. The Idea wu o tannel the bed off the Severn to connect the railway on each side. By October, 1879, seven years afterwards, the Company, who had sank five shafts and bored ihree miles to find bat the nature of the ground, were within 130 yards of making their, headings meet under the fiver, when a land spring on the Welsh side war tapped and flooded the workings. Mr Walker, of Westminster, then contracted to finish the task. Aboafc the end of 1880 the water was pamped oat. In Ootobar, 1883, the same land spring broke pat at ft lower level; and poared into the tannel a torrent of 27,000 gallons per minute* This difficulty was overcome, and heavy briokwork stoppings put la to prevent any other . outburst. The tunnel is 7664 yards long. . Tho entrance on the English side, is a outting one mile and a quarter long, and sb much as 60ft deep at the lower end ; and the approach from the Welsh side is about a mile long. It was neoessary to make large seabanks to keep out the high tide as the approaches lie through marsh lands. The tunnel is lined with briokwork from 2ft 3in to 2ft thick embedded with mortar of Portland cement. Sir John Hawkshaw was the Engineer-in-Chief . Although the formal opening has only just taken place, the work, whtoh ooit about two millions sterling, has &Ma open and In use for some time. The first coal tc«ln from South Wales ran throng In January, 1886, doing the journey ftoiq' Aberdare to Southampton m about eleven hoars. On September Ist list year the; tuonel wai opened for goods traffio, and it was arranged to run nine Irakis per night eaoh way. To guard against enter* genoles, there were on the spot duplicate sets of pumps capable of discharging twenty-six million gallons per day. xhe tunnel was opened for paesenger traffic without ceremony on December Ist last, and for some time ten trains hare been runniog daily each way. The time oooa* pied m the tunnel is from seven to nine minutes. The tunnel is ventilated by means of a Gaibal fan, whtoh oandliohargt 24,000 feet of air per tulnata J