A NOVEL RAILWAY PROJECT.

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 513, 1 May 1869, Page 4

A NOVEL RAILWAY PROJECT.

A project of a somewhat novel character is announced in the prospectus, of the '? Islington Railway Company." The object is the construction qf a line from Islington Green, near the. A^ricvjltural Hall, to a point adjoining the City station of the Metropolitan Railway, $ Mns.bury, with an intermediate station by the |jagle Tavern, City-road. $he railway is to form a continuous} bridge or viaduct^ and to have a gauge pf only three feet. It is stated that a line with a less gauge thi>n thp one cqntfimplaled, can be wopked with perfect safety and economy ; and the Festinoig Railway, which has only a gauge of two feet, is 'instajipgd {is a favorable illustration. The capital of the gompany is to be .£BOO,OOO, in shares of J2O each. A deposit of L 2 per share is, to be pajjd, and no call will be made till after the passing of the. Act, nor ig any cajl to be greater than 13 per cent, There are to be no debentures qr preference, stock, and the capital accqui}t ig to V)e closed immediately upon the completion qf tti§ railway, The construction of the whole, worlds is not to occupy more thaji one year, and the capir tal is eatjma.tpd tp be sufficient for the purchase pf the plans, rolling stock, property, anc} payment of expenses ans compensations. On this subject the Money Marlcei Beyiew writes •' — " Tjie line is intended to be built upon a continuous viaduct. The most remarkable feature of it is, perhaps, that the ordinary guage of 4ft. B£in. ia to departed from. For such a special and independent line there is nq need to adopt it, as there will be no junctions at either end or at any intermediate point. The guage will be only 3ft., with $ view to insure cheap construction and an inexpensive rolling-stock. There is the highest scientific and practical authority as to the safety of such a guage, and the facility with which it may be worked. Perhaps the most singular railway in the United Kingdom, and the .best paying also, is the Festinoig line, which runs from the slate-mountains of Carnarvonshire and Merionethshire towards the sea at Port Mafloc, The guage of that fine is only two feet, yet la^st year it carried 125,000 tons of freight and 120,000 passengers, and no.t a single accident has occurred upon it since its opening, four years ago. There are various other lines here and there of a narrower guage than the ordinary one, to which the same advantages attach. Experience, in short, has demonstrated its safety. The estimates put forward ° assume a gross traffic on this proposed Islington line of £150,000 a-year at minimum fares ; and, deducting forty per cent, for working expenses — a very high scale for so light a line — the return upon the capital is put at fully ten per cent, per annum. Moreover, it is proposed that the arches upon which the line is to be built shall be available for letting ; and it is pointed out that from this source a considerable revenue may bo gained qver and above that comprised in the estimate of the ten per cent, dividend. Finally, the promoters set forth that the proposed line will be a complete undertaking in itself, and have no extension projects attaching to." — The Bullionist says : — " The Metropolitan earns a net profit of between £28,000 and £29,000 per mile, and the North London between £14,000 and £15,000 per mile. The Islington Railway would have the advantage of being at the minimum of expense. It would be purely a passgnger line, with few servants, and light and inexpensive stations, In rejation to the general railway system of the metropolis its claims are also great. By its means the residents of Islington would be placed in communication with nearly all the railways having termini in London ; and it would supplement the northern traffic of the Metropolitan' Railway by opening up fresh inducements to residents in the north of London to avail themselves of it. The Parliamentary. expenses must bp light, seeing that the opposition of. any existing company would be highly unreasonable."