A RAILWAY IN THE SEA.

Golden Bay Argus, Volume VI, Issue 72, 14 October 1897, Page 2

A RAILWAY IN THE SEA.

The railway in the sen, which is now being constructed near Brighton, is one of the most remarkable locomotive experiments ever made There is at St. Malo, in Brittany, a car resting on a submerged line of rails which is pulled across iheharbour by a chain, and thus conveys passengers a distance of 110 yards. But the Brighton car will be sell-propelling, and the lino is more than three miles long, being laid along the coast from Brighton to ltottingdean, about 100 yards from the chalk cliffs. The car will start from a small iron jetty at Brighton, and there is a similar structure at Rottiiigdeau. The rails are hud on concrete blocks about. 3 feet apart, and morticed into the sound rock, the height of the blocks varying with the irregular!ti< sof the shore. The line couisls of tour rails laid as two tracks of lift. Bj.ni. in gauge, spaced about 10ft. outer rails, thus giving an ellective gauge i t 18lt., ti,i., being neeessaiy to give the required stability to the cars. At high tide the depth of water over the rails is 15ft, Although most violent gales occurred in the winter of 1894-5, no damage whatever was done to the permanent wav, so that it possesses ample strength to resist the force of (ire sea. The car is oil sixteen wheels, 33in. in diameter, carrying the pasengers at a height el 24tt.above the level of the rails. The four main legs are tubes of drawn steel llin. in diameter. At the bottom of each leg is a bogie truck having four wheels, (ho outside of the bogie being shaped like a double-ended boat to facilitate its passage through the water and also to remove any i bsiructions from the rails. The tops of the main legs are firmly built into lattice girder woi k cairying the deck, and the structure is of great strength, although offering but a small surface to the waves. the main deck measure s 50ft. long and 22ft. wide. Seats with rovi rsible backs are provided to enable passengers io face the direction in which the car is going. The centre space of the deck is occupied by tl.e saloon, and the roof of the saloon is railed round and forms a promenade deck. On this upper deck is placed the cuntro'.ing appaiatus for driving and stopping the cars. The accommodation is for 100 to 150 passengers. The spud will be between six and eight miles an hour. Tho driving machinery consists of two 30-horse power elcetiie motors placed vertically immediately over two of the main legs, one on each side of the car, the shafting being carried down inside and communicated with tootl ed gearing which actuates the wheels. The brakes are worked by rods passing down the lernainii g two legs. This novel sea railway is the idea of Mr. Magnus Volk, of the Brighton lilectiic Railway. It will he opened in May.