61.-The great bridges comprise those over the rivers Hoogly and Soane upon the lower portion of the line, and the crossings of the Jumna, at Allahabad, and Agra, or Delhi, upon the upper portion; and although these structures will be very costly, yet there is nothing in their character that can cause them to be considered as insurmountable difficulties; the chief difficulty will be in their cost. 62.-With a view to enable contracting parties to open the whole line at the earliest period with the least possible outlay, it might be advisable to permit of the laying down, in the first instance, of a single line of railway, with all necessary passing places; but this should distinctly apply to the permanent way only, as the earthworks and masonry (but more especially the masonry works) should be constructed for the reception of a double line this latter observation regarding the masonry should apply also to the branches, so that at any future time a second line could thereon also be applied without difficulty. The earthworks upon the branches might with safety refer to a single line only, as they will, in the branches already named, amount altogether to a trifle. : 63. It is highly probable that a double line of rails will be absolutely necessary upon the main trunk-line at no distant period, if not required in the first instance, and therefore we would recommend, that in consenting to a single line to begin with, it should be understood to imply that such single line is only admissible until the whole length is opened to the public, when a second line should be added forthwith, if the Railway Company be called upon by the Government to do so. 64. We cannot but view the whole distance from Calcutta to Delhi as one line, for we are of opinion that as such it would be better worked and conducted under the management of one company than if it were divided and in the hands of more numerous bodies; besides which, we consider that it would also be advantageous as well as fair, that the whole should be granted to one company, if a sufficiently sound party will come forward to undertake it, because they would then have a great length of line for a reasonable average outlay. The lower half, from Calcutta to Mirzapore, costing considerably above that average, and the upper half, from Mirzapore to Delhi, as much below it. 65. We conclude by adding, that, in addition to the line from Bombay joining the main trunk-line between Allahabad and Calcutta, as before alluded to, it has been suggested to us by his Honor the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Provinces, that a suitable line of country may hereafter be found for the construction of a railway from Agra to Bombay; by these two lines, the NorthWestern Provinces would be effectually supplied with communication, not only with the seat of the Supreme Government at Calcutta, but with the great seaports on the two opposite coasts of the continent of India. REPORT ON THE INTRODUCTION OF RAILWAYS IN BENGAL, ADDRESSED TO SIR ARCHIBALD GALLOWAY, K.C.B., CHAIRMAN OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, 1849. By W. P. Andrew, with Introductory Remarks, by the Editor, reprinted from the Artizan, of June. 1859.* "THOSE who recollect our former articles upon railways in India, (says the Editor of the Artizan) will remember, that in the district of Bengal two distinct projects presented themselves before the public for favourable acceptation. The first of these proposed to connect Calcutta with the great central mart of Mirzapore, by means of a line four hundred and fifty miles long, carried by the most direct route between the two termini, and running for the greatest part of its length nearly parallel with the great trunk road which connects Calcutta and Benares. The other project proposed to accomplish the same objects by connecting Calcutta with Rajmahl, a town lying on the main stream of the Ganges, at the head of the Delta, one hundred and eighty miles from Calcutta, and below which the chief difficulties in the navigation of the river are found to exist; and, as that part of the Ganges lying between Mirzapore and Rajmahl and Calcutta, and in which the water is split up into many streams, would be superseded by the proposed railway, an efficient * The line seems to have been adopted which was originally recommended by Mr. W. P. Andrew.-Times, 19th Nov. 1851. 6 system of communication with the interior would, it was contended, be obtained by the proposed railway at a comparatively small expense. The line between Calcutta and Mirzapore was the line proposed by the East India Railway Company, of which Mr. Macdonald Stephenson was the originator, and Sir George Larpent, and subsequently Mr. Aglionby, was chairman, and was also the line recommended by Mr. Simms and the Indian Railway Commission. The line between Calcutta and Rajmahl was the line advocated by the Great Western of Bengal Railway Company, of which General Macleod was chairman, but which was first brought prominently into notice by the Old Indian Postmaster,' Mr. W. P. Andrew, who obtained for it, by his writings, the recognition of the authorities. The advocates of the East India Railway maintained that the speed of the existing Ganges steamers, which did not exceed fifty miles a day, was quite inadequate to warrant such an expedient of communication to be accepted as part of the main line connecting the interior with the coast. It was also contended that the transhipment of merchandise at Rajmahl would be attended with loss and inconvenience. Mr. Andrew contended, on the contrary, that a railway four hundred and fifty miles long was too gigantic a work for the commencement of railways in India; that some parts of the line, especially the bridge over the Hoogly at Sooksauger, and that over the Soane (the absurdity of the former is now acknowledged, while the latter is upwards of two miles long, with only quicksand for a foundation, and with a rise of water in the river of thirty or forty feet during the rains,) would be liable to be carried away by the floods; and that as the rivers in Bengal have not in general defined channels but deviate over the plains, the bridges, even if they stood, might be deserted by the rivers, and new bridges be made necessary elsewhere. At Rajmahl, however, the river happens to run in a rocky bed, and there are no great rivers lying between that point and Calcutta; so that it was contended this particular line would be free from physical impediments of a weighty character. With regard to the deficient speed of the steam vessels navigating the Ganges, it was maintained that vessels of an improved class might be introduced, by which in all probability a superior speed would be obtained; but that a high speed was not the great desideratum in India, as much as cheapness with a moderate speed, and safety and regularity in the arrivals. "We have never been among the advocates of the Rajmahl line, and the opinions we have on former occasions expressed respecting it we still entertain. But when the East India Railway Company, finding their undertaking too gigantic, proposed to make a fragment of the line leading from Calcutta into the jungle, and which never could possibly acquire a remunerative traffic, it became very obvious to us that the alternative lay between making the Rajmahl line, and having no railway at all in Bengal. Accordingly we find the East India Railway Company at length abandoning its fragments, and proposing to itself the formation of the Great Western of Bengal line, which for years it has sought to discredit. But it succumbs, as all human powers must do, to the gravitation of fact. It has tried all issues, and now finds, at the eleventh hour, that it must adopt the very counsels which years ago it rejected. Years ago we saw that to |