Item 221 - Letter from Peter Barlow

Woolwich - The Directors of the South Eastern Railway have asked PB to consult WW on some points concerning 'the mechanical working or advantages of their line of road for about 23 miles - with a view to your examination on the question in both Houses of Parliament - for which they have engaged my assistance also'. The opposition and preferred line is 37 miles but has less planes than the former: 'the question is whether 23 miles or the 37 will employ most power and time'. PB gives a table of the comparative gradients and explains how he obtained his results. The Directors would like to have WW's authority to call upon once the question passes through the Committee.