March 8, 1870.
THOMAS HAWKSLEY, Vice-President, in the Chair.No. 1.245.-"Description of the Line and Works of the São Paulo Railway in the Empire of Brazil.” By Daniel Makinson Fox, M. Inst. C.E.[1]
The São Paulo railway is the last in date of concession and of construction of the three Anglo-Brazilian railways, but if considered from an engineering or a commercial point of view, whether as regards the past difficulties and the cost of construction, the present success, or the prosperous future of the enterprise, it is entitled to the first place. Although the last to be realised, it is probable that the first railway project in the Empire was a line from Santos, passing by the city of São Paulo, into the interior of the province; for as early as 1837-8 such an idea was broached by Mr. Fred. Forum, an English merchant resident at Santos, and studies of a cursory nature were made under his auspices by Mr. A. de Mornay, and submitted to the late Mr. Robert Stephenson (Past-President Inst. C.E.), who reported thereon in 1839. It maybe interesting to quote the following remarks by Mr. Stephenson, in recommending an easy valley line, in preference to a shorter line with heavy works: "What is of the greatest importance, it is entirely free from works of magnitude, such as render an accurate calculation of expense not only extremely difficult, but absolutely impracticable, for throughout my experience I have found that the application of ordinary estimates to works of extraordinary magnitude is worse than useless, as it never fails to mislead. This remark is peculiarly applicable to your project, for you are preparing to execute work in a country where the facilities are not only few but limited, where the simplest and cheapest, rather than the most refined and expeditious, methods of operation must be made available." The year 1839 was, however, too early an era for such an enterprise, and the project remained in abeyance until 1853-4, when it was revived under the auspices of the Baron de Mauá and other distinguished Brazilians. Preliminary plans were commenced, but not completed, owing to the stagnation of affairs
- ↑ The discussion upon this Paper extended over portions of three evenings, but an abstract of the whole is given consecutively.
