Plans et Profils du Projet de Tunnel Sous-Marin entre l'Angleterre et la France

A rare and fascinating map illustrating one of the earliest plans for a railway tunnel connecting England and France beneath the English Channel.

This particular plan was proposed by the visionary French railway engineer Aimé Thomé de Gamond to Emperor Napoleon III in 1856. At a cost of just over £7 million, the scheme envisioned a 3.5 mile tunnel from Cap Gris-Nez near Calais to Eastware, just south of Dover (the modern-day Channel Tunnel follows a very similar route, but ends slightly further north on the French side). Halfway across the Channel, a large island was to be constructed housing a lighthouse, observation tower, and an enormous dock for loading and unloading ships bound for both France and England. An enormous tower with a gently sloping spiral ramp, 284 feet in height, would allow pedestrians to visit the island from the tunnel, and would allow railway carriages and hand carts to transport goods from the docks above down to the railway. The entire tunnel was to be lit by so many electric lights that "The traveller descending the immense tower from l'Etoile de Varne, or the station of the submarine railway, would find himself in a region of perpetual day" (New York Times: August 7th, 1866).

Thomé de Gamond's first proposals for a Channel Tunnel appeared in 1834, but only after decades of surveys did he select this route over three other contenders. Gamond conducted numerous highly dangerous underwater geological surveys of the route using rudimentary diving equipment, a testament to his bravery and dedication to the project.

Regrettably, this same enthusiasm for the scheme drove Gamond into bankruptcy after he poured all of his money into the venture. Despite gaining the approval of both Emperor Napoleon III and Queen Victoria, heightened political tension surrounding the Franco-Prussian War led to the abandonment of the project. Gamond died penniless in 1876 and his Channel Tunnel plans were quickly forgotten.

A New York Times article of 1866 judged the project thus:

"the plan of converting our island into a peninsula by means of a submarine isthmus is one within the range of the engineering science and mechanical applications of the present day. The grave and practical question, 'Will it pay?' involves the consideration of other and totally different questions."

Ultimately, it would be more than a century before that question could be answered.

Printed colour. [GB2090]