Alexandria Gazette

RAIL ROAD TRAVELLING IN ENGLAND.

Events, surpassing any [OCR garble], is not f[ ] because they are realities, not fictions, yet there are certain epochs in the transit which are peculiarly exciting. These are the startings, the explosive descents, the tunnels, the Chat Moss, etc., truly exciting.

Two, quies[ ] automaton belches forth an ex[ ] At the instant of starting, or rath[ ] These are the startings, the [ ] till they become x quickly the explosions are reiterated, and seems, for a second or bu[ ] still distinct. They [ ] and shorter intervals, [ ] he [ ] more nearly resemble t to be counted, though h[ ] er and slower, till the automaton wibrated on my ear. During the ascent rs of a lion or ti[ ] ger, than any sound that ags [ ] or explosions 65 ous effort to gain the higiest points of elabors like an animal out of breath, from trme slow[ ] fo The progression is proportionate; and bed[ ] the said point is gained, the train is not moving faster than a horse can pace. With the slow motion of the mighty and animated machine, and the breathing becomes more laborious, the growl more distinct, till, at length, the animal appears exhausted, and groans like the tiger when nearly overpowered in combat by the buf[ ] falo.

The moment that the height is reached and the descent commences, the pantings rapidly in[ ] crease; the engine, with its train, starts off with augmenting velocity; and in a few seconds it is flying down the declivity like lightning, and with a uniform growl or roar, like a continuous discharge of distant artillery. At this period, the whole train is going at the rate of thirty five or forty miles an hour! I was on the outside, and in front of the first carriage, just over the engine. The scene was magnificent, I had al[ ] most said terrific. Although it was a dead calm, the wind appeared to be blowing a hurricane, such was the velocity with which we darted through the air. Yet all was steady; and there was something in the precision of the machine[ ] ry that inspired a degree of confidence over fear—of safety over danger. A man may travel from the Pole to the Equator, from the Straits of Mallacca to the Isthmus of Darien, and he will see nothing so astonishing as this. The pangs of Etna and Vesuvius excite feelings of horror as well as of terror; the convulsion of the elements during a thunderstorm carries with it nothing but pride, much less of pleasure, to counteract the awe inspired by the fearful workings of per[ ] turbed nature; but the scene which is here pre[ ] sented, and which I cannot adequately describe, engenders a proud consciousness of superiority in human ingenuity, more intense and convinc[ ] ing than any effort or product of the poet, the painter, the philosopher, or the divine. The pro[ ] j"ctions or transits of the train through the tun[ ] nels or arches, are very electrifying. The deaf[ ] ening peal of thunder, the sudden emersion in gloom, and the clash of reverberated sounds in confined space, combine to produce a momen[ ] tary shudder or idea of destruction—a thrill of annihilation, which is instantly disspelled on e[ ] merging into cheerful light.

"The meetings or crossings of the steam trains flying in opposite directions are scarcely less agitating to the nerves, than their tran[ ] s ts through the tunnels. 'The velocity of their course, the propinquity or apparent identi[ ] ty of the iron orbits along which these meteors move, call forth the involuntary but fearful thought of a possible collision, with all its horri[ ] ble consequences. The period of suspense, however, though exquisitely painful, is but mo[ ] mentary; and in a few seconds the object of terror is far out of sight behind.

" Nor is the rapid passage across the Chat Moss unworthy of notice. The ingenuity with which two narrow rods of iron are made to bear whole trains of wagons, laden with many hundred tons of commerce, and bounding a[ ] cross a wide, semi-fluid morass, previously im[ ] passable by man or beast, is beyond all praise, and deserving of eternal record. Only con[ ] ceive a slender bridge of two minute iron rails several miles in length, level as Waterloo, elas[ ] tic as whalebone, yet firm as adamant! Along this splendid triumph of human genius—this veritable triumphalis—the train of carria[ ] ges bound with the velocity of the stricken deer; the vibrations of the resilient moss causing the ponderous engine and its enormous suite to glide along the surface of an extensive quag[ ] mire as safely as a practised skater skims the icy mirror of a frozen lake.

The first class or train is the most fashiona[ ] ble, but the second and third are the most amu[ ] sing. I travelled one day from Liverpool to Manchester in the lumber train. Many of the carriages were occupied by the "swinish multi[ ] tude," and others by a multitude of swine.— These last were neat as imported from the Emerald Isle, and therefore were naturally vocif. erous, if not eloquent. It was evident that the other passengers would have been considerably annoyed by the orators of this last group, had there not been stationed in each carriage an of. ficer somewhat analogous to the Usher of the Black Rod, but whose designation on the rail[ ] road I found to be Comptroller of the Gam[ ] mon.' No sooner did one of the long-faced gentlemen raise his note too high, or wag his jaw too long, than the 'Comptroller of the Gammon' gave him a whack over the snout with the but-end of his shillelagh; a snubber which never failed to stop his oratory for the remainder of the journey."