London, Brighton & South Coast Railway

From Historical Hastings

One of the two railway companies that eventually serviced Hastings Railway Station, this one extending along the coast towards Brighton. At the dawn of the 20th Century, they had a booking office at East Parade.

For a period soon after the opening of the railway line from Brighton to Hastings, the company was in dispute with the South Eastern Railway Company during 1851, when the lines through Bo Peep junction were blocked as a result of a technicality arising from the renaming of the company. Brett has the following reporting of this and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in general:-

The first travellers on the Ashford and Hastings line were Mr. Tucker and family, who stayed for a few days had 107 Marina.

Opening of the Ashford Line. the opening of the Ashford branch to St. Leonards took place on the 13th of February — just seven years, to a day, after the meeting at Hastings to promote the same. On the preceding evening the crier was sent round to announce the opening on the following day, and when the morrow came, the Saint Clement’s church bells were rung in honour of the event. The first train left the St. Leonards station at 7.20, and exploded fog signals as a feu de joie. Six trains (3 each way) traversed the line during the day, variously timed to reach Ashford in about 1h. 20m. and London, on an average of about 4 hours. This was held to be a fair rate of travelling, considering that the distance between St. Leonards and London was 95 miles. Mr. Talbot was station-master at Hastings, for the South-Eastern Company, whilst Mr. Sutton was station-master at St. Leonards for the Brighton Company, whose trains at first did not run through.

The Companies in Collision. — When the South-Eastern Railway from Ashford was opened on the 13th of February it was understood that the South-Coast Company’s trains would run through from Bopeep to Hastings and vice versa. The Hastings station had been built for that purpose and arrangements had been made for such traffic with the “Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway Company”, which had afterwards changed its name to that of the “London, Brighton and South-Coast Company”. Taking advantage of this technicality, and refusing to acknowledge its rival by the latter name, the S.E. Company gave orders for the South Coast trains not to be admitted; so, when on the morning of the 14th, the first down train of the Brighton line arrived, it was stopped by the hoisting of danger signals, and had to be backed, with its passengers, to Bopeep. Communications passed between the officials of the two companies, and on the following day (Saturday) the Brighton trains ran through to the Hastings station agreeably with the original arrangement. Notice, however, was given that the line would be permanently blocked on Monday. In the mean time the Brighton Company had got Pg.76  seventeen carriages and two engines at the Hastings station, but, on Sunday night the rival company tore up a portion of the rails between the station and the tunnels, placed blocks of stone in the way and drew some trucks across, so as to form an efficient barricade. Thus, a portion of the rolling stock of the Brighton Company was impounded, and no further traffic between Bopeep and Hastings could be carried on. The Company however, were prompt in issuing bills to the effect that a four-horse omnibus would be at the Hastings station to convey intending passengers to Bopeep; and many persons, indignant at the conduct of the South-Eastern Company, availed themselves of the omnibus service thus provided. But even this was only permitted for one day; there being at night a bar, secured by a padlock, put across the ​road​ leading up to the station, through which only vehicles for the Ashford line were permitted. Trucks, laden with earth, and fixed down to the rails, with padlocks, were placed on the line at the Bopeep end to increase the effectiveness of the blockade. The next thing was to cut off the gas on the side of the station that was built for the Brighton Company, and then to saw down the partition that divided the two platforms, whilst about £7,000 worth of rolling stock had been impounded for an alleged trespass. [Here go to the interpolated loose sheet]*

  • The rival companies continued their mysterious contention for a fortnight, the engines and carriages of the Brighton Company remaining impounded at the Hastings station until the 26th or 27th of February, and the barricade remaining on the line at Bopeep. Then it was that an announcement appeared that the Court of Chancery had granted an injunction to restrain the South-Eastern Company from continuing the obstruction, and that the trains of the South-Coast Company would immediately recommence running through to Hastings. During the night, the South-Eastern Company were busy in removing the obstacles, and on the morning of the 27th all was clear for the resumption of traffic between Bopeep and Hastings. But instead of the South-Coast Company removing their detained engines and carriages, they were merely shunted back, and it was reported that it was intended to have them valued for the purpose of assessing damages. In any case it was evident from the decision of the Chancery Court that the South-Eastern Company were not legally justified in the hasty step thus taken.

The South-Coast Company Explains. The Chairman and Directors of the South-Eastern Company at their meeting on March 1st, having cast imputations on the L.B. & S.C. Company, the latter immediately issued a long reply, from which the following is extracted.

“The L.B. & S.C. Company having a joint right, with the S.E. Company under Act of parliament, to use the Hastings, Rye and Ashford line and stations, no alterations seriously affecting the engineering character of the line should have been made without previous communication. Repeated overtures had been made by this Company to negotiate for some arrangement by which the obvious waste of capital in constructing three lines to Hastings might be avoided; but the S.E. Company invariably refused to come to any understanding respect in the construction of the Hastings lines and the mode of conducting the Hastings traffic. The title of the L.B. & S.C. Company to exercise the right and privileges of the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway Company, over Hastings, Rye and Ashford line and stations is founded on the Act 9 and 10 Vict., c 28, by which the Brighton, and Lewes and Hastings Company is amalgamated with the L.B. & Hastings Company, and all the rights and privileges are expressly vested in this Company. The directors are advised by eminent counsel that it is impossible to have a clearer title; and not a question has ever been raised respecting it by the S.E. Company. They have built a station for this Company at Hastings and otherwise have recognized the title throughout all the transactions for the Pg.77 last five years, until at the last moment when a technical objection was made the plea of forcibly interrupting the passage of this Company’s trains. . . . The directors would add that so far from the opening of the Ashford and Hastings line having been delayed by objections raised by this Company, they were officially informed by the Commissioners of Railways that the certificate was withheld in consequence of the incompleteness of the works.”

The South-Coast Company removed their impounded rolling stock on the 3rd and 4th of March, it having been shown that the S.E. Company were legally in the wrong. But the latter, by way of retaliation, entered into a fierce competition with the former by a system of low fares; hence, at the half-yearly meeting, on the 24th of July.

The Report of the L.B. & S.C. Company stated that the principal increase of expenses had arisen from competition with the S.E. Company at Hastings, together with £3,000 for new and lighter engines for branch lines. It also stated that the Directors notified to the S.E. Company their determination to take no step in the direction of competition unless compelled to do it in self-defence; but as the S.E. Company, after the first month, increased the number and speed of their trains at reduced fares for the 94 miles from London through Ashford, the Directors had no alternative but to place an additional trains on their lines also, and at the same fares. Expense was thus entailed on both companies, with diminished receipts. The loss, however, it was stated, was less than it would have been had not the demand for half the profits of the entire traffic from London been resisted. The chairman (Mr. Laing) congratulated the shareholders on the progressive increase of traffic to an annual extent of £100,000 during the last three years, and the present year, to probably £120,000. He did not blame the S.E. Company for the course they had taken so much as he did the Legislature for sanctioning two lines to a town for which one line was ample. He had noticed generally that in such cases an injury was inflicted on the town; for, when the companies got tired of competition, they entered into an arrangement, not to develop the traffic, but to make the best of a bad job; and it might be so in the present instance. When the Tunbridge Wells line was opened it might be shorter than their own line, but the gradients would be a much steeper. The directors would be glad to settle the dispute with the S.E. Company, but if they divided the traffic before the Tunbridge Wells line was opened, the S.C. Company would be doing all the work at a loss of £20,000 a year. Mr. Laing was right in his view of the results of unprofitable competition; and such a result was clearly foreshadowed in the present case; for after the arrangement made by the two companies when tired of a ruinous rivalry, the facilities were never so good, and the fares were never so reasonable as when there was only one line.

The Tunbridge Wells Line. Pg.78 At this time (Aug. 1st) the line could have been opened down to Robertsbridge if desired, but the completion of the work to Hastings was held to be not possible till the following spring. From Bopeep, where it would join the South Coast line, there was an ascending gradient of about 1 in 130, and after that, a descending gradient. The constructive works were both heavy and difficult, there being within a distance slightly exceeding 5 miles no fewer than 14 cuttings and 13 embankments, nearly all of which were of great declivity. Some of the valleys also were very precipitous, and of a loose and boggy character. One of the latter, like the Priory meadow at Hastings, swallowed up several thousand truck-loads of earth, which sometimes during 10 or 12 hours sank as many feet. The excavations as far as Whatlington required the removal of about 1,250,000 cubic yards of earth, of which a million yards up to that time had already been removed. The line also abounded with curves, which made it of a devious and varied character. It was during construction adversely criticised by some engineers as a very costly conception, and at an entertainment given by the Rev. J. A. Hatchard, many years later, was admitted by Sir Edward Watkin to have been the most expensive line for its distance out of London. The chief contractor was Mr. George Withers, but Mr. Richard Perry was a sub-contractor for the portion between St. Leonards and Robertsbridge. Later than anticipated, however, the line was not opened till 1853, but the fierce competition of the two companies came to an end in September, 1851. At the same time, the Winchelsea station on the Ashford and Hastings branch was closed, the traffic not being sufficient for its maintenance.

Low Railway Fares Ended

The Competition Ended. The system of low fares referred to at the half-yearly meeting of the L.B. & S.C. Company, were commenced on March 9th by the S.E. Company, by their trains via Ashford and the same low fares to London were adopted, two days later by the South-Coast Company. Most persons had a belief that such fares would not be maintained for any lengthened period, and were surprised at their continuance for six months at the then unremunerative scale. But no one appeared to be prepared for the extent of the reaction which was to follow. By an arrangement to share the profits, the fares were put up to the highest that the law permitted, the same fares being equal on both lines as pertaining to the journey between Hastings and London. The second-class tickets were 12/- and the first-class, 18/-. These prices could not fail to operate against the welfare of the borough, and one would but suppose that they would also act prejudiciously to the interests of the shareholders. The arrangement of the two Companies was that from Monday, Sept. 1st, the Brighton and South-Coast Company was to have two-thirds of the through-traffic to Hastings, and the South-Eastern one-third until the Tunbridge Wells line was completed, and after that, to share equally. Before this arrangement had been made, many persons visited the Great Exhibition, daily, even at ordinary fares, but afterwards it became  Pg.79 more the practice to wait for special excursions. One of these was on the 9th of October, when 800 persons were conveyed from Hastings and St. Leonards per L.B. & S.C. railway.

An Historical Sketch. the following is extracted from the Iron Roads Dictionary of 1881.

On the 5th of June, 1839, a line of railway from London to West Croydon was opened for traffic under the auspices and control of a company known as the “London and Croydon”. Another company, incorporated as the “Croydon and Brighton”, constructed a line between those two places — via Red Hill, which was opened on the 1st of September, 1841. By the authority of an Act of Parliament, passed on the 27th of July, 1846, these two companies were amalgamated, and the undertaking then became that of the “London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company”. The western section of the South-Coast line — from Brighton was opened for traffic as far as Chichester, on the 8th of June, 1846, and the Eastern section — from Brighton to Hastings — on the 27th of June, 1846. The extension from Chichester to Portsmouth was completed on the 14th of June, 1847. By the purchase of the Mid-Sussex Railway, in 1860, the London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway Company provided an alternative route to the South-Coast. The Mid-Sussex Company was incorporated by an Act, of Aug, 10th, 1857, to construct a line from the Brighton Company’s Railway at Horsham to Pulborough, again joining the Brighton Company’s system at that place, with a branch to Petworth. The Horsham and Dorking Company, incorporated by Act of parliament July 17, 1842, constructed the line between those two places. This company was amalgamated with the Brighton Company, by the powers of an Act passed in 1864, the latter Company having obtained parliamentary sanction in the previous year, 1863, for making a line between Dorking and Leatherhead. Between Leatherhead and Epsom the line was constructed by the South-Western Railway Company. These ​road​s thus gave direct communication with Portsmouth. The extension to Portsmouth Harbour, opened on the 2nd of October, 1876, greatly increased the facilities of access to the Isle of Wight. By the imminent purchase of the interests of the Portsmouth and Ryde Steam-packet Company and the completion of the Ryde Railway Pier, the Brighton Company became possessed of the readiest route from the Metropolis to the “Garden Island of the South Coast”. The L.B. & S.C. Company [now 1881] will shortly secure a third direct route to the South Coast, and one which will slightly decrease the distance to Newhaven Harbour. On the 6th of July, 1865, the Surrey and Sussex Railway Company was incorporated and authorized to construct a railway from Brighton Railway, south of their South Croydon station to their station at East Grinstead — length 24¼ miles. The works were commenced, but abandoned on the Surrey and Sussex being amalgamated with the Brighton Company by the provisions of an Act passed on the 12th of July, 1869. The Brighton Company Act of June 17th, 1878, conferred powers for renewing the abandoned works with certain modifications. The line thus formed will connect with another — 17½ miles Pg.80  in length — between Barcombe and East Grinstead, and which, by the enactment of the Act referred to will, when opened, be amalgamated with the Brighton Company’s system. Newhaven will thus be brought about 10 miles nearer London than by the present route via Keymer junction. For the purpose of facilitating the Company’s continental traffic the following works are in progress at Newhaven: — 1. A breakwater extending about 900 yards out to sea. 2. Extension of quay accommodation, 570 yards from the railway wharf to the harbour mouth, and extension of the pier. 3. A new sea-wall or pier in connection with the above. 4. A tramway (1 mile, 2 furlongs, 7.30 chains) from near Newhaven Town station to the breakwater. 5. A dock on the eastern side of the river Ouse. 6. A sea-wall (750 yards long) from the said dock to the existing sea-wall of the Tide Mill. 7, 8, & 9. The straightening of Mill Creek and other works of improvements. By the Act of the 17th of June, 1878, before mentioned, a company was incorporated to carry out the work, but authorised the Brighton to raise money and to subscribe all or part of £150,000 towards the capital of the undertaking. This capital has been subscribed as authorized and a deposit of 10s. per share has been paid to the Harbour Company. By the terms of the Act this new route must be completed by June, 1882. Starting from East Croydon, the Company will then have three branch lines to the coast, the centre (Main line) being through Mid-Surrey and Mid-Sussex to Brighton; the right through West Surrey and West-Sussex to Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight; and the left through East-Surrey and East-Sussex to Newhaven Harbour, Eastbourne and Hastings.” . . . A curious fact is that the Company’s ​road​s, upwards of 400 miles in extent, are almost wholly comprised within the limits of two counties — those of Surrey and Sussex; not more than 25 miles being included in the three counties of Middlesex, Kent and Hants. The number of persons employed by the Company is over 10,000. The Company’s fleet of passenger and cargo steamers comprises 15 vessels. The number of passengers carried over the Company’s lines (exclusive of season and annual ticket-holders) from 1870 to 1880, graduated from over 19 millions to over 36 millions. The Company acquired what is now their principal sea-port station — Newhaven Harbour — by the provisions of an Act passed on the 13th of July, 1876. The improvements effected within the last two or three years have been considerable, but when those in progress are finished, Newhaven will boast of one of the most capacious and safest harbours in the Kingdom.

The Railway and Newhaven Harbour. 1878 – 1898

With a view of seeing how far the projected enlargements and general improvements of 1881 have been carried out, I, whilst writing this portion of “Local History”, went to Newhaven and by a special permission, traversed the greater portion of that town’s extensive harbour. Nearly 60 years had passed since my previous visit to the place, and my surprise was great at the change that had been effected — not so much in  Pg.81 the town itself as in the harbour and its adjuncts. Readers hardly need to be told that Newhaven is situate on the navigable river Ouse, and that a great storm in 1570 completely changed the outlet of that river from Seaford to a more direct course at Meeching; hence the altered name to Newhaven —a distance of about 3 miles from the then choked up haven at Seaford. In 1882 Newhaven was declared to be a port by the provisions of the Customs Consolidation Act of 1876. Its jurisdiction as a port was to be 3 miles seaward, and to extend eastwards to Galley Hill, near Hastings, and westward to Rottingdean, where its eastern boundary would meet the western boundary of Folkestone port, and its western boundary would meet the eastern boundary of Shoreham Port. The harbour, thus situated between Beachy Head and Brighton, is acknowledged to be the safest of its kind between Spithead and the Thames. The natural harbour was used for centuries by small coasting vessels, but it was of no importance until 1878, when the steamers plying to Dieppe forsook the Brighton Pier and made Newhaven their depot and starting point. From that date, at an immense expense, the harbour has rapidly improved its accommodation, and its traffic has proportionately increased. It is entered at all times of the tide and in all weathers. At spring tides (high water) there is as much as 30 feet of water on the bar and inside the harbour, and at neap tides the depth of water is not less than 26 feet. By the constant operation of powerful steam dredgers — of which I noticed six or seven, the water is kept to a depth of 12 feet even at low-water spring tides. By this means the silting-up process, which averages six inches per year, is entirely kept under, and the Continental steamers of the London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway and Ouest of France Railway, which draw 9 feet, are enabled to enter and depart at all times. I saw some of these splendid vessels alongside the quay, and another one entering during my comparatively short stay. The Dieppe steamers became the property of the London, Brighton & South-Coast and the Ouest of France Railway companies in 1878, and with a desire to keep pace with the times, these two companies resolved to build a larger and better class of vessels for the Continental traffic. Then it was that for their accommodation the great additions and improvements described in the Iron Roads Dictionary (published in 1881) were being put into operation by the Newhaven Harbour Company, which in 1878 was formed by members of the L.B. & S.C. Railway Company.

The said operations have resulted in a magnificent concrete Breakwater, Sea-defence Esplanade and a West pier, which completely protect the harbour from W. and S.W. winds. There is also an East pier, 1400 feet long. The two piers are 250 feet apart, but narrow to 200 feet at the northern ends. The breakwater, running out in a south-easterly direction, is 3,000 feet long from the cliff, and the Pg.82 West pier 750 feet, the whole extending nearly 3,000 feet outside of the original harbour. The quays which on the east side of the harbour extend from the north end of the East pier to 1,090 feet north of the Town Bridge, are about a mile in length.[* 1] They are well fitted with steam and hydraulic cranes, thirty in number, for the rapid discharge of cargoes, either into waggons for inland or coast towns, or into storage sheds. The “Newhaven landmark” a gigantic pair of sheers, 110 feet high, such as very few harbours are provided with, and capable of lifting 80 tons, is situate near the Town Bridge, and a 15-ton hydraulic crane is placed at the south end of the railway quay. Large and convenient spaces are also provided for the deposit on the quays for all descriptions of timber, and water space for floating balk timber. The sheers are specially adapted for masting purposes and for shipping or unshipping heavy machinery. The Town itself is but little assistance either to the railway or the harbour, the quays being used almost exclusively by vessels having cargoes for inland delivery. I saw (or rather we saw, for I had a companion with me) a cargo of eggs, in the usual long boxes, lifted from the vessel on to the quay, and from the latter into railway waggons; and the thought occurred that the rapid discharge and despatch of Goods at Newhaven would indeed be hard to beat. The west side of the harbour is mainly used by vessels discharging over side, from which large quantities of grain, coal, timber and other goods are barged or rafted up the river to Lewes and Hailsham. Such is the connection of the Ouse and the harbour that there would be no engineering difficulty in continuing the latter right up to Lewes. The only requisite would be money and much of it; but even now the harbour keeps extending. A large gridiron, 250 feet in length, is located adjacent to the quay and near the town, adapted for examining ships’ bottoms and for executing repairs, but the use of this can only be had when it is not required by the Company’s vessels, and then a pilot must be engaged. A powerful tug commanded by an experienced master, with licensed pilots is always in attendance. The Railway keeps up a large engineering staff for repairing its own steamers, and also in cases of emergency for other vessels that may put in for such assistance. The prevailing winds, as at Hastings, are from the S.W. and W., and storm warnings are exhibited from the flagstaff, at the Berthing-Master’s office near the Town Bridge. Paddle and Screw steamers (of which there are twenty or more) ply daily to and from Dieppe in connection with the Western Railway of France, this route of being preferred by many for the beauty of the scenery from Dieppe to Paris, as well as for the cheapness of the journey throughout. Not only that, but to such as admire the scenery of the Downs and their surroundings, the parts about Newhaven must be extremely interesting. Numerous villages and hamlets are within easy walking distance, whilst Eastbourne,  Pg.83  Lewes, Brighton and other places may be reached in as short a time by rail. The adjacent villages are mostly on cultivated sites, with abundance of trees and green pastures, (though the Downs in which they lie are naturally bare) and many of them possessed each a Norman Church — quaint little flint ​building​s of an interesting character. The Newhaven Cricket Ground is situate about 300 yards from the west bank of the harbour. It has been made by Lord Sheffield, a large landowner and a renowned patron of sports (see Premier Cinque Port for military and other exploits of first Lord Sheffield in connection with Hastings). Football and golf are also played here in the seasons respectively for those sports. The links are, however, on the hill, just opposite to that on which the church is built. The Railway Company have three stations — namely, those of the Town and the Wharf on the line to Seaford, and that of the Harbour, which is only used by the trains for the Continental mail-boats. Continental passengers who desire to break the journey will find every convenience at the “London and Paris Hotel”, close to the quay from which the vessels sail, whilst the “Bridge”, the “Ship” and the “Sheffield Arms” will meet the requirements of business people staying in the town. During the summer months — from or about Whitsuntide till the 14th of September, the excursion steamers from Hastings, Eastbourne and Brighton frequently call and land passengers for a short time. Altogether, Newhaven is now a flourishing seaport, with a large passenger and cargo steam trade in connection with the Continent. The foreign import traffic — chiefly from Dieppe and Caen — consists of fruit, vegetables, grain, eggs, butter, wines, spirits, silks, leather, and all kinds of French and Italian manufacture and produce. It has also a good import trade in timber, grain and coal for neighbouring districts, and a steadily increasing traffic with St. Nazaire by the steamers of the Compagnie Generale Atlantique, and with Glasgow and other ports by the Clyde Shipping Company. The principal officials of the Newhaven Harbour Company at the time of writing this notice (1898), are:– Mr. J. F. S. Gooday, General Manager; Mr. W. F. Pollok, secy., London Bridge Station; Mr. C. L. Morgan, Engineer; Capt. H. M. Lambert, Harbour-Master; Capt, H. Noyes Lewis, Deputy Harbour-Master; Mr. W. Geering, Berthing-Master. The Harbour-Master’s offices are at Newhaven Wharf opposite to the Packet Berths, and West side, near the Coal Wharf, both connected by telephone. The Marine-Superintendent’s office is the same as the Harbour-Master’s, Newhaven Wharf. The (Boat) Station Master’s office is at the back of the Harbour-Master’s office, Newhaven Wharf. The Custom House is opposite to the London and Paris Hotel, on the east side of the Harbour. The Lifeboat House is nearly opposite to the said Hotel. Sentinel-constables are stationed at the various points of ingress and egress, and all the arrangements of this Huge establishment appeared to be efficiently complete.

  1. The southern quay 1,700 feet long, the middle quay 1,899 feet, and the northern quay (above the town bridge, 1,090 feet.)

As before intimated, my last previous visit to Newhaven was nearly 60 years anterior to 1898, and as when writing of the of London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway in connection with Hastings in 1851 (the year historically under review) I was anxious Pg.84 to see up-to-date condition of the harbour under the management of that Company, I solicited the requisite permission, and have to thank the officials, in general, and Capt. Lewis, in particular, for their courtesy in imparting to me the information here set forth. In the course of conversation I incidentally asked to “What think you of the prospects of the Hastings Harbour now in course of construction?” The reply to this question (accompanied by a smile) was “it is one thing to build a harbour and another thing to maintain it. The expense alone of keeping in the water and keeping out the drift is enormous”. Thus, although my object in going to Newhaven was purely one of historical enquiry, I became convinced that a harbour should be safe to enter, commodious when entered, and have not only a railway at its side, but also a navigable water-way behind it. I have been assured that even Rye Harbour could be endowed with all these advantages if sufficient capital were invested in the operation, though such an investment would have to be a large one. But these conditions cannot possibly be obtained at Hastings, and that fact will probably be realised by the harbour promoters when too late.

Having thus traced the history of the London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway Company in connection with the Hastings and St. Leonards and followed the Company’s course until it became associated with the West of France Railway Company in the formation of the Newhaven Harbour Company; having also described the vast up-to-date enlargements and improvements of that harbour, I will return to the Railway Company, by a attaching a cutting from the Brighton Herald of its report of half-yearly meeting of the Company in 1889. In thatr report, as well as in the Company’s own report, is mentioned the agreement with the South-Eastern Railway Company — an agreement which, of whatsoever advantage it might be to the Companies themselves, was rightly or wrongly regarded as inimical to the interests of Hastings and St. Leonards. — To the credit of the South-Coast Company, however, be it said that until quite recently, that Company was the pioneer in railway improvements. It was the first to place third-class carriages to every train, and the first to adopt vastly improved carriages. It was the first to apply the new system of breaks (sic), and it led the way in some other facilities, including the electric light in carriages.

The half-yearly meeting of the shareholders of the London and Brighton Railway Company was held on Wednesday afternoon at London Bridge, under the presidency of the Chairman of the Directors (Mr. Samuel Laing), who was supported by the other members of the Board and the chief officials of the Company, including the General Manager and Secretary (Mr Allen Sarle). The report showed a large increase of traffic (due partly to the fine weather, partly to the Paris Exhibition, but chiefly to a general development of traffic over the system). In comparison with the corresponding half-year of 1888, there had been an increase of £67,933 in the gross revenue, and an increase of £21,274 in the working expenses; the total receipts being about £6,000 more and the expenses about £6,000 more than shown by the published monthly returns, owing to a reserve having been made to meet the possible result of Mr Oakley’s award between this Company and the South-Eastern Company. Under this award the Company would have to pay the South-Eastern Company under the two agreements, for the use of the Red Hill lines and for the division of the competitive traffic, about £20,000 a year instead of about £14,000 a year, which has been the average payment for the last three years under the competitive traffic agreement.

In reference to a circular issued in support of a resolution against affording facilities for Sunday travelling by excursion trains and cheap fares, on the ground “that such a course is really beneficial neither to the public nor to the Company,” the Directors intimated that, apart from any question of the effect on the Company's dividends, they intended to oppose this resolution, as there could be no doubt that trains were only run to meet the demand of the public for these facilities, and any restriction in them, which would obviously have to be accompanied by similar restrictions on Sunday traffic by steam vessels, omnibuses, and other conveyances, was a large question of public policy which no single Railway Company could be allowed to decide in a sense adverse to established practice and the wishes of the general community. The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, congratulated the shareholders on the conclusion of the arbitration with the South-Eastern Company, which he believed both sides would loyally accept, and, though it would make their future dividends worse by £5,000 or £6,000, the advantages of peace were cheaply purchased at that price. (Hear, hear.) He stigmatised as ridiculous and absurd the suggestion that this Company had been keeping up its sleeve a scheme for crossing the river to Cannon-street. The increase of traffic during the past year had far surpassed his most sanguine expectations, not having been paralleled since the present Board came into office. Searching for any exceptional causes for this increase, he found that the Paris Exhibition had affected the railway traffic favourably to the extent of £4,000, and the steamers to the extent of £3,000; whilst Eastertide had yielded an increase of £5,500; Whitsuntide, which was wet, led to a loss of £1,450; whilst the Derby yielded a surplus of £450. All the rest of the increase, namely, £56,500, was attributable to the regular expansion of the ordinary traffic (hear, hear), and, as usual, that was mainly due to the increase of third-class traffic, which had contributed £31,000. He warned the shareholders that that expansion might not be repeated in the current half-year, but at the same time they might congratulate themselves on having passed the goal of 6 per cent., and that the prospect of its being maintained looked exceedingly favourable.

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References & Notes