Genre:

Essay, Drollery

Subjects:

Railways, Engineering, Accidents, Pneumatics, Commerce, Public Health, Exhibitions

Institutions mentioned:

International Exhibition

    Presents Mr Punch's compliments to the directors of the 'Underground Railway, or Metropolitan Railway, or Sewer Railway, or whatever they call the thing that has been making such a horrible mess in the New Road', and asks them to explain to the public why they keep delaying the opening of the railway. He offers the public the reasons 'generally assigned for the delay', all of which are highly improbable: for example, 'the entire tunnel is fallen in' and 'the Pneumatic Company have taken it for experiments in transmitting parcels by air-pump'. Concludes by asking for the 'truth' about the railway.