COPY.
His Excellency,
The Minister of Railways,
NANKING.
sir,
7th March, 1935.
43
CANTON KOWLOON RAILWAY.
I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that
I have received from Mr. V.M. Stratton, the Engineer-in-
Chief of the Railway, a copy of a report made by him to
the Managing Director of a serious encroachment by the
local Military authorities upon the property of the Rail-
way at the approach to one of the major bridges over the
East River near Sheklung.
It transpires, from this report, which supple-
ments a telegram sent from Sheklung by Mr. Stratton to the
Managing Director on the 27th February last, that the Engin-
eering Corps of the Third Army were constructing an earth-
work ramp on Railway land, at the Southern approach of the
Tung Kun Bridge, from the highways to connect the latter
with the formation at the entrance to the bridge, with the
apparent intention of enabling motor vehicles to travel
across the bridge towards the Station of Sheklung, which is
located between the two large bridges across the branches
of the East River.
The Tung Kun Bridge consists of four through
truss steel spans of 224 feet and two 60 feet neck spans,
for single-line track, and it is obvious that the safety of
the trains, and of the travelling public, would be gravely
endangered by any attempt to run road vehicles over the
bridge, and that the interests of the Canton-Kowloon Rail-
way would be seriously impaired by such action.
/I