2-798-986 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Office of the Board of Trade - scene on Sunday night, 1845. Investors rush to lodge railway applications in Whitehall, London. 'The Legislature having, probably from an oversight, fixed the 30th of November as the last day for the reception of Railway plans, sections, &c., at the Board of Trade, many parties, pressed for time, left the completion of their work to the latest possible period, and, consequently, the vicinity of the office of the Board of Trade...presented a scene of excitement and bustle happily very unusual on the Sabbath...At one o'clock the offices were opened, and, during the afternoon, cabs and carriages of all descriptions came down...Having disgorged their freights ot parchment and paper, the cabs drew off, and the depositors exhibited unequivocal signs of joy at the triumphs they had secured'. From "Illustrated London News", 1845, Vol VII.