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The railway will be composed of two lines of rails with a space between
them of six feet, but at particular points two additional lines will be
required as turns-out to facilitate the passage of the locomotive engines
and carriages. If we assume the average rate of travelling on the railway
to be 20 miles an hour, (which is about the mark,) that 1,200 persons pass
along it in a day, and 120 are conveyed in each train of carriages, then
only ten trains of carriages would be required for all the passengers;
each train would separately take a minute and a half, and the ten trains
not more than fifteen minutes in passing over half a mile of ground. Allow
twice this time for the passage of cattle and merchandise, and it is
manifest that the traffic on railways can never be a source of annoyance
to persons residing near them. All who have travelled in carriages drawn
by locomotive steam-engines on the Liverpool and Manchester railway can
vouch for the safety and comfort, as well as the expedition, of this mode
of conveyance; but the strongest evidence of public opinion on this
subject is the fact, that twice as many persons go by the railway, as were
formerly carried in coaches running on the roads between the two
places--and yet, although the expense of travelling is reduced one-half,
and the works of the railway cost more than 800,000_l_., the proprietors
are in the receipt of a dividend of 9_l_. for a year on their 100_l_.
shares! Enough has been ascertained of the traffic in the districts
through which the London and Birmingham Railway will pass, to remove all
doubt as to an ample return for the necessary outlay.--_Metropolitan_.

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