Genre:

Advertisement, Spoof

Subjects:

Railways, Transport, Engineering, Geology, Charlatanry

    Details a proposal to construct a railway from England to China that will pass through 'THE CENTRE OF THE GLOBE' to avoid the expense of purchasing land and the opposition of hostile nations. Stresses that Sinko Shaft, the engineer for the project, has dismissed speculation that the earth is a 'mere crust' and that its centre consists of soft soil intersected by rocks containing 'precious metals and jewels'. Adds that the train will stop under Mount Vesuvius to gather 'coals and lava, or Cyclops', and under the Mediterranean, to obtain 'a supply of water'. Believes the project will create a passage for the people who, following earthquakes in Europe, live beneath the earth.