We arrived at Montreal at eight o'clock on the evening of the 24th, and
walked a little about the town. The moon was so bright that colours
could be clearly distinguished. We yesterday spent many hours on the
Victoria bridge which is building here across the river in connection
with the Grand Trunk Railway. It is a most wonderful work, and I must
refer you to an interesting article in the last _Edinburgh Review_ for a
full account of it. Papa had letters to the chief officials of the
railway, which procured us the advantage of being shown the work in
every detail by Mr. Hodges (an Englishman), who has undertaken the
superintendence of it--the plans having been given him by Stephenson.
The expense will be enormous--about a million and a quarter sterling;
almost all raised in England. The great difficulties to be contended
with are:--the width of the river--it being two miles wide at this
point; its rapidity--the current running at the rate of seven miles an
hour; and the enormous masses of ice which accumulate in the river in
the winter; rising as high sometimes as the houses on either side, and
then bursting their bounds and covering the road. The stone piers are
built with a view to resist as much as possible this pressure; and a
great number of them are finished, and have never yet received a
scratch from the ice, which is satisfactory.
Pages:
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79