§ MR. CHANNING (Northampton, E.)asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade, in reference to the Londonderry Railway between Sunderland and Seaham Harbour, Whether he wil linform the House on what conditions as to the manner of working the line the Board of Trade gave their certificate authorizing 762 the line to be opened for passenger traffic in 1855; whether there have been subsequent inspections by officers of the Board of Trade; and, if so, what are the dates of the Reports of such inspection; whether the Reports have shown that the conditions laid down by the Board of Trade before authorizing passenger traffic on the line have or have not been fulfilled; and, whether the Board of Trade has any legal power to enforce the conditions, if any, attached to the certificate authorizing the opening of the line?
§ THE SECRETARY (Baron HENRY DE WORMS) (Liverpool, East Toxteth)The Londonderry Railway between Sunderland and Seaham Harbour was three times inspected in the year 1855. The railway was partly a single and partly a double line when first submitted; but the Board of Trade directed the postponement of the opening until it was made double throughout, sufficient stations and platforms provided, a timber viaduct replaced by a stone bridge, turn-tables erected at Sunderland and Seaham, the walls of a cabin removed from dangerous proximity to the windows of carriages, gates erected at level crossings, and signals put up. No further inspection of the line has since taken place. No conditions were imposed on the opening of the line; but the Company informed the Board of Trade of the system under which they proposed to work it. The Railway Acts give the Board no legal power with reference to the working of lines which have once been sanctioned for the public conveyance of passengers.