The Chester and Holyhead Railway and Its Prospects — John Shaqi
The Chester and Holyhead Railway and Its ProspectsMorgan, William
History
The Chester and Holyhead Railway and Its Prospects
Morgan, William
Chester and Holyhead Railway; Railroads -- Wales, North
Of the geographical position of the Chester and Holyhead line, the public
at large are comparatively ignorant; and even on the Stock Exchange we
hear little more than that it has Chester at one end, and Holyhead at the
other, and that it crosses the Menai by means of stupendous iron tubes.
But let us examine for a moment into the advantages conferred and to be
derived by this line from its geographical position. In the first place
it traverses the beautiful vale of Clwyd, and the romantic vales of
Llangollen, Conway, and Ffestiniog, are situate conveniently for the
resort of visitors from its stations. The delightful watering places of
Rhyl, Abergele, Colwyn, Llandudno, and Beaumaris; the ancient and
castellated town of Conway, with its elegant suspension bridge, and
stupendous iron tunnel. Bangor, with its commodious hotels, slate
quarries, and slate shipping wharves; the sylvan and picturesque banks of
the Menai, with its celebrated suspension and tubular bridges. The whole
range of the Snowdonian Mountains, abounding with lakes such as would
gladden the hearts of all true Waltonians; the town of Carnarvon, with
its time-honoured castle, are all within easy distances from this line.
The influx of visitors from London, Manchester, Liverpool, &c. to North
Wales, is daily on the increase, and we may fully expect that North Wales
will enumerate as great a number of visitors in the course of the present
summer, as any other attractive spot in her Majesty’s dominions. To the
pleasure seekers, the antiquarians, the lovers of the gentle art, and
invalids, North Wales affords a combination of interests and advantages
not to be excelled.
Independent of its prospects from this essential and remunerative
description of traffic, and its guaranteed payment of £30,000 a year for
the conveyance of her Majesty’s mails, we may calculate on a very
extensive merchandize traffic. The conveyance of corn and agricultural
produce, slates, flag stones, and minerals, will form an important item
in the receipts of the line; the districts traversed are replete with
commodities of this kind, and capable of being rendered doubly productive
when transit has become so cheap and expeditious. And, while the best
railroads in England have to contend for the _share_ of the traffic of
one county, in consequence of competing lines, this railway has the
monopoly of the entire traffic of the districts through which it passes.
It is by no means a flight of imagination if we add another important
feature to this line by associating it with our vast interests in China,
New Zealand, Australia, &c. The completion of the great railway across
the Isthmus of Panama will greatly facilitate our intercourse with those
distant possessions; from the port of Galway our mails could reach those
places many weeks earlier than by the present circuitous voyage round the
Cape of Good Hope, or Cape Horn, with less danger, and at a lighter rate
of insurance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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