Volume Six - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Select Aspects - The subway under the river Ely story . . .

In 1906 the Institution of Mechanical Engineers undertook a "Visit to Works" which included the Penarth Dock, Ely Tidal Harbour and the Subway. Their report [016] is as follows:

"A subway connects Penarth Dock with the Penarth or Ely Harbour. Prior to 1900 there was a ferry at this point, but it was found to be so inconvenient that the company decided to abolish it, and obtained parliamentary sanction to construct the subway. It is 1,257 feet long, and has a diameter of 10 feet externally and 8 feet 10 inches internally; the footway is 6 feet wide with 7 1/2 feet headroom in the centre.

Provision has been made for carrying four pipes through it, so that the gas, hydraulic, and water services on both sides of the harbour can be joined. The lowest point of the footway is 65 3/4 feet below the dock coping, and the gradients at each end are 1 in 9, joined at the lowest part by a vertical curve of 800 feet radius. The cast-iron tube is of two thicknesses: 1 inch under the land and 1 3/4 inches under the water."

The iron segments of the subway and the header key. [002]