Construction Difficulties
The Hastings Line is built over difficult terrain across the Weald. As a result there are seven tunnels constructed through the Sandstone Hastings Beds. The SER was anxious to construct the line as quickly as possible, since it was in competition with the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway to obtain entry to the south coast seaside resort of Hastings; the line, in spite of its problems, was opened from Tunbridge Wells in a year. The contractors responsible for building the tunnels cheated the SER by reducing the planned six layers of bricks through the tunnels to four.
It was only when the Wadhurst tunnel collapsed in 1862 that this was discovered. It was too expensive to re-bore the tunnels, so the SER added the two missing layers. This obviously reduced the width, and from then on, until 1986, it was necessary to work the line with Restriction 0 rolling stock.
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Famous quotes containing the words construction and/or difficulties:
“There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“It appeared that he had once represented his tribe at Augusta, and also once at Washington, where he had met some Western chiefs. He had been consulted at Augusta, and gave advice, which he said was followed, respecting the eastern boundary of Maine, as determined by highlands and streams, at the time of the difficulties on that side. He was employed with the surveyors on the line. Also he called on Daniel Webster in Boston, at the time of his Bunker Hill oration.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)