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98-586: The Gutta Percha Company was an English company formed in 1845 to make a variety of products from the recently introduced natural rubber gutta-percha . Unlike other natural rubbers , this material was thermoplastic allowing it to be easily moulded . Nothing else like it was available to manufacturing until well into the twentieth century when synthetic plastics were developed. Gutta-percha proved to be an ideal insulator for submarine telegraph cables . The company started making this type of cable in 1848 and it rapidly became their main product, on which it had

196-423: A polymer of isoprene , or polyisoprene , specifically ( trans -1,4-polyisoprene). The cis structure of polyisoprene is the common latex elastomer . While latex rubbers are amorphous in molecular structure, gutta-percha (the trans structure) crystallizes , leading to a more rigid material. It exists in alpha and beta forms, with the alpha form being brittle at room temperature. Long before gutta-percha

294-560: A 2-mile (3.2 km) length for experiment. South Eastern Railway, in collaboration with the Submarine Telegraph Company , wished to extend their telegraph line through to France. The cable was successfully tested off Folkestone from the ship Princess Clementine with messages sent through the cable to London. The railway afterwards used the cable in a wet railway tunnel. This trial was followed in 1849 by an order for 25 nautical miles (46 km) of cable from

392-668: A LCDR service from Queenborough to Flushing, Netherlands in 1876, the SER was allowed to build the Hundred of Hoo Railway from its line near Gravesend to a new port on the across the Medway from Queenborough, called Port Victoria . The line opened in September 1882. In 1860 the LCDR had a more direct route to Dover than the SER, and both the company's rivals had access to a London terminus in

490-544: A branch from Corbett's Lane to a new temporary passenger terminus and goods station at Bricklayers Arms railway station , for use by both railways, removing the need to use the Greenwich Railway. This opened 1 May 1844. According to Charles Vignoles , 'the making of Bricklayers Arms station was a matter of compulsion in driving the Greenwich people to reasonable terms'. Plans to extend from Bricklayers Arms to

588-549: A conductor seamlessly. Hancock's machine was an adaptation of Bewley's tube extruding machine. However, Hancock denied Bewley the right to use the machine. The dispute resulted in Hancock leaving and setting up the rival West Ham Gutta Percha Company. Hancock lost the dispute in court and his company went bankrupt. The first order for gutta-percha electrical cable came in 1848 from the South Eastern Railway for

686-475: A connecting line between their stations at Reading. The line now (2015) forms part of the North Downs Line . During the first years, relations between the SER, L&CR and L&BR were cordial, with the companies pooling locomotives and forming a joint locomotive committee. However, all three considered they were disadvantaged by this arrangement and in 1845 gave notice of withdrawal. The merger of

784-517: A late stage when Parliament sought to limit the fares charged by the SER to those of the LB&;SCR, and the SER withdrew. A further attempt to merge the SER and LCDR in 1875 failed when the latter withdrew after shareholders felt it favoured the SER. Watkin had long-term ambitions for the SER to become one link in a chain of 'Watkin' railways from the industrial north of England to the Continent via

882-538: A line connecting the London to Brighton main line at Redhill with the Great Western Railway (GWR) main line at Reading , and agreed to operate its services. The new line was completed 4 July 1849, and in 1852 was absorbed by SER. Both the LB&SCR and London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) regarded this line as a significant incursion into their areas of operation. Likewise the acquisition of

980-598: A line so remote from its main area of operation, and of doubtful profitability, caused heated discussion and the resignation of several directors, who felt that the company should rather secure its territory and develop services in Kent, as the LB&SCR was doing in Sussex. It would also ultimately bring about Macgregor's downfall. Nevertheless, in 1858 the GWR, L&SWR, and SER made a three-year agreement to share traffic and provide

1078-690: A line to Brighton , and the LB&SCR had inherited plans for a line into mid-Kent from the L&;CR, and from Bulverhythe (St Leonards) to Ashford via Hastings from the L&BR. Matters were further complicated in 1846 when the SER was empowered to build a line from its existing branch at Tunbridge Wells to Hastings. Unsuccessful discussions took place regarding a merger of the two companies, but eventually an agreement on 10 July 1848 (ratified in Parliament in 1849) abolished tolls for using each other's lines and prevented further eastward expansion by

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1176-493: A monopoly on this product, and the cores for nearly all submarine cables made before 1865 were made by them. The Gutta Percha Company never made finished cables; they supplied the cores and other companies, mostly wire rope manufacturers, laid them into the steel armouring to make complete cables. In April 1864, the Gutta Percha Company merged with Glass, Elliot and Company , one of these wire rope makers, to form

1274-509: A near monopoly. The world's first international telegraph connection under the sea, a link from Dover to Calais in 1851, used a cable made by the company. Except for a few early ones, submarine cables were armoured with iron, then later steel, wires. The Gutta Percha Company made only the insulated cores, not the complete cable, until April 1864 when it merged into the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company , which

1372-491: A new SER terminus at Hungerford Bridge , nearer the centre of London, were rejected by Parliament. Similarly, a revised proposal to extend the line to Waterloo Road in 1846 was rejected by a committee of Parliament . The L&GR was nearly bankrupt in 1844 and the SER leased its line from 1 January 1845. It became the Greenwich branch of that railway. Thereafter further developments were at London Bridge, and following

1470-431: A patent for bottle stoppers made from gutta-percha. The company was formed on 4 February 1845 by partners Charles Hancock and Henry Bewley, a Dublin chemist making soda water , initially to make Hancock's bottle stoppers. Their premises were at Wharf Road, Islington , London. The range of products was soon greatly expanded, and included machine belts , shoe soles, and toys. However, one of their most important products

1568-542: A proposed Channel Tunnel . His plans for a Channel Tunnel were ultimately blocked by the War Office , and suspicion fell on James Staats Forbes , chairman of the LCDR for having urged the decision. One result of improved relations between the SER and the LB&SCR during the 1870s was that the two collaborated in construction of a line between South Croydon on the main Brighton line and Oxted . The completion of

1666-462: A public meeting at Rochester in 1850. Following Macgregor's resignation in 1854, there followed a decade of factionalism among the directors and equally poor management, described by Samuel Smiles the company Secretary as 'not so much business as speech-making, that seemed to be the work of the Board.' It was during this period that there was a continuing failure to deal with underlying problems in

1764-743: A railway between London and Dover in 1825, 1832 and 1835, but they came to nothing due to opposition from landowners or the difficulties of bridging the River Medway near its mouth. On 21 June 1836, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed a local act the South Eastern Railway Act 1836 ( 6 & 7 Will. 4 . c. lxxv) incorporating the South Eastern and Dover Railway , which shortly afterwards changed to

1862-405: A shunting accident during August 1850 which caused the collapse of a large part of the station roof, the SER closed Bricklayers Arms terminus to passenger traffic in 1852 converting it into a goods facility. Over the next two decades the SER system spread throughout Kent and Surrey, building lines to connect towns to its main line or acquiring those already in existence. In 1844 the SER took over

1960-567: A southerly route to Dover via Tonbridge , Ashford and Folkestone . This was less direct than the northerly route but passed through easier country. It involved one significant 1,387-yard (1,268 m) tunnel through the Shakespeare Cliff near Dover. This was the route first chosen by the SER at its inauguration. During parliamentary discussions on the proposed route of the London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) during 1837, pressure

2058-411: A submarine cable, such as hemp impregnated with tar, were tested by Charles Wheatstone who had suggested a cable between England and France as early as 1840. None of these schemes were successful. Wheatstone had looked at gutta-percha but could not find a good way of applying it to the conductor. On hearing of this possible application for gutta-percha, Hancock designed a machine for applying it to

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2156-405: A white corolla with four to seven (mostly six) acute lobes. The fruit is an ovoid 3–7 cm (1–3 in) berry, containing one to four seeds; in many species, the fruit is edible. In Australia, gutta-percha is a common name specifically used for the euphorbiaceous tree Excoecaria parvifolia , which yields an aromatic, heavy, dark-brown timber. Chemically, gutta-percha is a polyterpene ,

2254-489: Is added to reduce brittleness and improve plasticity. Barium sulfate is added to provide radiopacity so that its presence and location can be verified in dental X-ray images. Gutta-percha remained an industrial staple well into the 20th century, when it was gradually replaced with superior synthetic materials, such as Bakelite . A similar and cheaper natural material called balatá was often used in gutta-percha's place. The two materials are almost identical, and balatá

2352-425: Is likely a derivative amalgamation of the original native names. Palaquium gutta trees are 5–30 metres (20–100 ft) tall and up to 1 m (3 ft) in trunk diameter. The leaves are evergreen , alternate or spirally arranged, simple, entire, 8–25 cm (3–10 in) long, glossy green above, and often yellow or glaucous below. The flowers are produced in small clusters along the stems, each flower with

2450-431: Is often called gutta-balatá . South Eastern Railway (UK) The South Eastern Railway ( SER ) was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover . Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells , Hastings , Canterbury and other places in Kent. The SER absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including

2548-475: The Bricklayers Arms goods facility). Further difficulties between occurred at East Croydon railway station in 1862. With completion of the LB&SCR line to Victoria station , extra platforms were needed to accommodate the service. The platforms were treated by the LB&SCR as a separate station, named "New Croydon", with its own ticket office, and ran exclusively LB&SCR services. This enabled

2646-641: The Gravesend and Rochester Canal and a single track railway had been added to form the Gravesend and Rochester Railway. The SER offered to buy the canal and railway in 1845, filled in the canal through the Higham to Strood tunnel and doubled the track. The first section (built by the SER) connected Woolwich and Dartford to the railway network. In 1852 a freight branch was constructed from this line at Charlton to

2744-697: The Great Eastern Railway (GER), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), the Metropolitan Railway , and the District Railway . Over the next four years it was converted to railway use and connected with existing lines. The line was principally used for freight across London but the SER introduced a service between Addiscombe and Liverpool Street from April 1880 until March 1884. From March to September 1884

2842-475: The House of Commons and the difficult terrain between Westerham and Oxted. During the 1880s and 1890s the SER was accused of only caring about Continental travellers and of neglecting the interests of its other customers. A series of letters to The Times in London in 1883 demonstrated how unpopular the railway had become with its regular commuters. Ernest Foxwell, also writing in 1883, stated 'The great blots on

2940-626: The London and Greenwich Railway and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway . Most of the company's routes were in Kent , eastern Sussex and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route from Redhill in Surrey to Reading, Berkshire . Much of the company's early history saw attempts at expansion and feuding with its neighbours; the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in

3038-511: The Orpington cut-off in 1866 reduced services to and from the growing town of Croydon . The LB&SCR had supported a plan to build the Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway along this route in 1865, but its involvement had been opposed by the SER as being contrary to their agreement, and the scheme was abandoned during the 1867 financial crisis. However, following a revised agreement, the scheme

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3136-490: The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company who could supply completed cables and provide maintenance for them. The merger was at the instigation of John Pender who became chairman of the company. Pender's motivation in this was that the new company should make the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable for the Atlantic Telegraph Company . The quality of gutta-percha, as supplied by

3234-428: The electrical resistance of the material until the content reaches a threshold of around 2–3%. Highly purified gutta-percha is almost entirely resistant to chemical attack and ingress of water. However, obtaining this level of purity was not economical for submarine cables. Impure gutta-percha oxidises and becomes brittle. The rate of deterioration is very slow for cable permanently in the water, but cable crossing

3332-436: The 19th century. The use in electrical cables generated a huge demand which led to unsustainable harvesting and collapse of supply. Gutta-percha latex is biologically inert , resilient, and is a good electrical insulator with a high dielectric strength . Michael Faraday discovered its value as an insulator soon after the introduction of the material to Britain in 1843. Allowing this fluid to evaporate and coagulate in

3430-454: The Board in 1855. Macgregor's lack of accountability, his opaque and at times dubious working methods led to a number of strategic errors in the building of new lines and in the company's relations with its neighbours, which would have an adverse impact on the company for decades to come. In 1846 the SER supported the formation of the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway, a scheme to build

3528-563: The Continental Traffic Agreement. A new and protracted dispute with the LB&SCR took place between 1855 and 1862 over the Caterham branch line , which was built by an independent company in SER territory but connected to the railway network at the former LB&SCR station at Purley . The SER refused to allow the line to be leased to the LB&SCR, which in turn refused to re-open its station, delayed opening of

3626-458: The Gutta Percha Company had a high sulphur content. This, together with poor joints and poor manufacturing by Siemens, caused many of the early Siemens cables to quickly fail. Gutta-percha The word "gutta-percha" comes from the plant's name in Malay : getah translates as 'sticky gum' and pertja ( perca ) is the name of a less-sought-after gutta tree. The western term therefore

3724-489: The Gutta Percha Company's product. Gutta-percha from different regions contains different amounts of resin, resulting in variations in quality. For electrical cables, the resin content needs to be minimal. The best gutta-percha came from Java and Makassar , the worst came from Borneo . The factory purification process could also make a difference. A good commercial gutta-percha would have around 80% gutta and 15% or less of resin. Water content has no appreciable effect on

3822-485: The Gutta Percha Company, was extensively discussed by Charles Bright in his book Submarine Telegraphs . Bright's father, Charles Tilston Bright , was the chief electrician (chief engineer) of the Magnetic Telegraph Company , a major customer of the Gutta Percha Company, and later electrician-in-chief of the first transatlantic telegraph cable project of the Atlantic Telegraph Company , also using

3920-450: The L&BR and L&CR to form the LB&SCR in July 1846 created a powerful rival to the SER in areas of east Sussex and east Surrey not yet connected to the railway. Relations between the two companies were bad from the outset, especially at those sites where they shared facilities, such as the approaches to London Bridge, East Croydon , and Redhill . Also the SER had long wanted to build

4018-551: The LB&SCR beyond Hastings and westward further expansion by the SER. Under this agreement the LB&SCR, would share the line from Bulverhythe to Hastings and transfer to the SER its rights to build a line to Ashford but at the same time it retained the right to use the Bricklayers Arms branch and construct its own 15-acre (61,000 m ) goods depot on the site for a rent of one shilling (£0.05) per year. The 1848/9 agreement did not prevent further squabbling between

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4116-452: The LB&SCR lines into Pimlico and, after 1860, to Victoria Station . The EKR became the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1859 and completed its rival route to Dover on 22 July 1861. By July 1863 the LCDR had its own independent route to Victoria, and in 1864 its own terminus on the edge of the City of London at Ludgate Hill . For 36 years it would be an important competitor of

4214-405: The LB&SCR was also on the brink of bankruptcy. The directors and shareholders saw that constant quarrelling between the three companies had damaged their interests and began talks to merge or to work together. In 1868 a Bill was presented to Parliament to allow for co-operative working of railways of southern England (the SER, the LCDR, the LB&SCR and the L&SWR). However this failed at

4312-431: The LCDR agreed to pool Continental traffic receipts between Hastings and Margate , together with local receipts to Dover and Folkestone. It then re-allocated them to a formula which gave the SER two-thirds of the receipts in 1863, gradually reducing to one half in 1872. The agreement appeared to unduly favour the LCDR, particularly after 1870. It did not prevent competition as the railways could claim additional funds from

4410-581: The London and Greenwich Railway from 1 January 1845 gave the company control of its main line into London and provided a branch line to Greenwich . Further eastward extension was not possible due to opposition from the Greenwich Hospital , but it was eventually opened in 1878 when the line joined the North Kent Line at Charlton . A secondary main line from Tonbridge to the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells opened 20 September 1845. It

4508-429: The SER both for Continental and also local traffic in Kent. A further serious strategic mistake was the refusal of the SER to accept the terms of the contract for the cross-channel carriage of mails in 1862, as this stipulated the use of Dover rather than Folkestone. This enabled the LCDR, which had only reached Dover in 1861, to secure the contract and the following year would give it leverage when it came to negotiating

4606-451: The SER built a new bridge over the Thames and a city terminus at Cannon Street railway station , which opened 1 September 1866. These extensions were difficult to operate and were congested at peak times. On 16 August 1866 the SER agreed with the London and North Western Railway to build a joint line between Euston railway station and Charing Cross, with interchange of traffic, but

4704-613: The SER line into London: instead the SER reluctantly agreed to handle London traffic from the line. Many SER directors were convinced the line would never be built, or would go bankrupt, and so took no interest in the scheme or in suggestions that the line should amalgamate with their railway. They were proved wrong. In 1856 the EKR again unsuccessfully sought running powers over the SER into London, and then obtained powers to build its own route via St Mary Cray railway station and Bromley South railway station . The EKR secured running powers over

4802-525: The SER opened another secondary main line from Ashford to Ramsgate with a branch from there to Margate on 1 December 1846. A further branch from this line from Minster to Deal was opened 7 July 1847. As the SER was prevented from extending its Greenwich line, it opened a secondary main line from Lewisham to Gravesend and then to Strood on the banks of the Medway on 30 July 1849. The second half between Gravesend and Strood had been built as

4900-560: The SER opened its lines from Tunbridge Wells, reducing the distance by rail to Hastings from London. Macgregor's greatest strategic mistake was his failure to address the concerns of the proposers of the East Kent Railway , which ultimately led to the creation of an important rival in northern Kent and also for the Continental rail traffic. Between 1844 and 1858, the SER had a monopoly of rail transport in Kent, but served

4998-490: The Shakespeare Tunnel was complete by May 1841 . The L&BR line to Redhill opened on 12 July 1841 and the SER line from Redhill to Tonbridge on 26 May 1842, when SER train services began. The main line reached Ashford on 1 December 1842; the outskirts of Folkestone by 28 June 1843; and Dover by 7 February 1844. On the same day the SER offered to lease the L&BR for 21 years at £100,000 per year, but

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5096-606: The South Eastern Railway. At the time of inauguration there were two potential rail pathways south from London, and the Speaker of the House of Commons had said no further pathways would be permitted. The SER therefore considered routes to Dover from the proposed London and Southampton Railway line at Wimbledon , or from the existing London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) at Greenwich. The former left London in

5194-740: The South Eastern are its unpunctuality, its fares, its third class carriages, and the way in which local interests are sacrificed to Continental traffic.' Hamilton Ellis later described both the SER and the LCDR at this time as 'bywords of poverty stricken inefficiency and dirtiness'. In spite of these criticisms the shareholders stuck with their chairman, until they eventually realised that their own interests were suffering as well. A scathing article in The Investors Review for June 1894 demonstrated how poorly Watkin's railways had performed financially compared to others, and referred to

5292-482: The Submarine Telegraph Company to lay a cable from Dover to Calais . This cable, laid in 1850, soon failed, largely because the Submarine Telegraph Company failed to have it armoured . Undeterred, the company placed a new order in 1850, but this time the cable was to be sent to a wire rope manufacturer for armouring before laying. This order was four times as large as the 1849 order since

5390-479: The Thames at Angerstein's Wharf , used for landing coal. A line opened on 18 June 1856 up the Medway valley to Maidstone West . In September 1845 the SER appointed James Macgregor (sometimes spelled McGregor or M'Gregor) to a new post combining the roles of Chairman and Managing Director. He exercised absolute power over the company for the next nine years, until he was ultimately forced to resign in 1854 and leave

5488-522: The West. He was the first to appreciate the potential of this material in medicine, and he was awarded the gold medal by the Royal Society of Arts, London in 1843. Scientifically classified in 1843, it was found to be a useful natural thermoplastic . In 1851, 30,000  long cwt (1,500 t) of gutta-percha was imported into Britain. During the second half of the 19th century, gutta-percha

5586-475: The bankrupt Canterbury and Whitstable Railway , which had opened in 1830. This continued to be worked as an isolated line until the SER reached Canterbury from Ashford in 1846, with its line to Ramsgate . The first branch built by the SER was the Medway Valley Line on 24 September 1844, from Paddock Wood to Maidstone . This was continued to Strood railway station on 18 June 1856. Leasing

5684-506: The company bought the silted and nearly derelict harbour, built by Thomas Telford in 1809, for £18,000. The SER dredged the harbour and, after a trial with the paddle steamer Water Witch , which also demonstrated that a day excursion from London to Boulogne was feasible, arranged for a packet company to provide a ferry to Boulogne. The following year it established the independent South Eastern & Continental Steam Packet Company , which it absorbed in 1853. James Broadbridge Monger

5782-500: The company, and its relationships with its neighbours together with further strategic errors which weakened what might otherwise have been a profitable enterprise. One nickname for the SER in the 1860s was the Rattle and Smash Railway. The East Kent Railway (EKR) from Strood to Canterbury, proposed in 1850 achieved parliamentary approval in 1853, and also for an extension to Dover in 1855, but it failed to secure running powers over

5880-440: The construction costs, although it resulted in a route 20 miles (32 km) longer than by road, running south for 14.5 miles (23 km) and then turning east. It also meant that its trains from London Bridge passed over the lines of three other companies: the L&GR to Corbett's Lane Junction, the L&CR as far as 'Jolly Sailor', and the L&BR to Merstham. Construction began in 1838 at several places simultaneously, and

5978-452: The field open to rival projects, as would later prove to be the case. As a result, there was no planned service to the north Kent towns to the east of the River Medway . Likewise SER routes to Margate , Deal , and Canterbury were circuitous and other towns had no railway at all. As a result of the railway's unwillingness to act, plans for an independent line from the SER station at Strood to Faversham and Canterbury were made following

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6076-492: The first phase of which opened on 7 July 1881. Authorisation for line was first obtained in 1864, but no progress had been made by 1876, when local inhabitants sponsored a bill their own bill, forcing the hand of the SER. In the event only the first phase (from Dunton Green to Westerham) was built, leaving a Branch line rather than a through route. The remaining four miles (6 km) to the new Oxted Line (then still under construction) were never completed due to opposition in

6174-414: The history of relations between the companies since the agreement of 1848–9. This set out the history although from the SER perspective. A branch from Lewisham to Beckenham opened in 1857, becoming the temporary terminus of the East Kent Railway . Following the dispute with the LB&SCR over New Croydon (see below) an extension of this line to Addiscombe (Croydon) was opened in 1864. The SER and

6272-457: The human body. It is used in a variety of surgical devices and during root canal therapy. It is the predominant material used to obturate , or fill, the empty space inside the root of a tooth after it has undergone endodontic therapy . Its physical and chemical properties, including its inertness and biocompatibility , melting point , ductility , and malleability , make it important in endodontics , e.g., as gutta-percha points. Zinc oxide

6370-584: The information to his brother Werner von Siemens . In 1847 Werner invented a machine, described as like a macaroni machine, for applying gutta-percha to a conductor seamlessly. His company, Siemens & Halske , then laid underground gutta-percha cables extensively around Germany, including one that crossed the Rhine in 1849. However, the Gutta Percha Company were the first to make a cable that crossed an ocean. The Gutta Percha Company does not appear to have had any intellectual property issues with Siemens. This

6468-419: The insulation was to prove problematic for underwater cables as it provided a route for the ingress of water. Gutta-percha made possible practical submarine telegraph cables because it was both waterproof and resistant to seawater as well as being thermoplastic. Gutta-percha's use as an electrical insulator was first suggested by Michael Faraday after he tested a sample. Many possible insulation schemes for

6566-475: The landing zone is exposed to frequent changes in temperature and cycles of exposure and submerging. This environment could cause the insulation to crumble and expose the conductor. For this reason, these sections of cable were protected with an additional layer of another material such as India rubber . Additives to the gutta-percha could greatly affect quality. The material supplied for the Siemens cables by

6664-559: The line for a year, and made the Caterham company bankrupt. The SER took over the line in 1859, but the LB&SCR made life difficult for passengers to London. The SER objected to the LB&SCR agreement with the East Kent Railway to provide access over its lines to its Pimlico station and later the jointly owned Victoria station (see below), and also for handling that company's freight traffic at 'Willow Walk', (a part of

6762-503: The line reached Tonbridge. Construction of the main line provided the opportunity to build an improved route to Dartford from Hither Green via Sidcup . This opened 1 September 1866. In 1865 the SER joined a consortium of six railways to form the East London Railway , which used the existing Thames Tunnel to connect Wapping on the north bank of the Thames with Rotherhithe on the south. The other partners were:

6860-525: The material is obtained are native. Montgomerie sent samples to the Society of Arts in London in 1843 with the idea that the material could be used for medical apparatus. In 1844, Montgomerie left samples with Charles Mackintosh 's raincoat company. A partner in the company, Thomas Hancock , passed samples to his brother Charles who was trying to invent a new bottle stopper made from cemented ground cork. Hancock then abandoned his original idea and took out

6958-457: The new cable was to have four gutta-percha insulated cores. This cable was a success, and became the first working oceanic submarine cable. Although the Gutta Percha Company were the first to make a cable for crossing an ocean, they were not the first to make a gutta-percha insulated underwater cable. Faraday published his suggestion in 1848, but had previously privately recommended gutta-percha to William Siemens of Siemens Brothers who passed

7056-466: The north of the county poorly. The SER line from Strood into London had opened in 1849. A plan to continue this line as far as Chilham where it would join the Ashford to Canterbury Line , was rejected by Parliament in 1847 due to financial considerations and never resurrected. One group of SER directors were anxious to 'close the capital account' and build no more lines, even though this might leave

7154-476: The offer was turned down. Later that year, the SER refunded to the L&BR £430,000 and took ownership of the southern half of the Croydon-Redhill line . Trains ran toll-free to both companies on this stretch but still had pay on the L&CR from Norwood Junction railway station to Corbett's Lane Junction, and the L&GR into London Bridge. In 1843, when the railway reached the edge of Folkestone,

7252-504: The pool if they carried more than their proportion of customers. Both companies sought to get round the agreement – the LCDR by establishing a Continental service from Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey , which was outside the scope of the agreement. Similarly, the SER built a local station at Shorncliffe on the edge of Folkestone, which it claimed was not part of Folkestone, and from which it charged lower fares. Following establishment of

7350-412: The prosperous West End of London while the SER only had its terminal on the south side of the river Thames at London Bridge . The SER converted part of London Bridge to through platforms and extended to near Waterloo , over Hungerford Bridge to a station at Charing Cross which opened on 11 January 1864. When the LCDR built a line to Ludgate Hill railway station in the City of London in 1865,

7448-406: The railway to offer cheaper fares from New Croydon to London than the SER which only had use of East Croydon station. The SER responded by gaining parliamentary approval to build its own line from New Beckenham to a new station at Croydon ( Addiscombe Road ), which opened 1 April 1864. Relations with the LB&SCR reached a low point in 1863, when the general manager and secretary had to report

7546-593: The scheme was abandoned as a result of the 1867 financial crisis. The SER therefore constructed the direct line via Sevenoaks to Tonbridge . It involved crossing the North Downs by summits and long tunnels at Knockholt and Sevenoaks. The latter was the longest tunnel in southern England at 3,451 yards (3,156 m). This cut-off line, 24 miles (39 km) long, reached Chislehurst on 1 July 1865, but took three more years to reach Orpington and Sevenoaks (2 March 1868). The new main line opened on 1 May 1868 when

7644-645: The service ran from Addiscombe to St Mary's Whitechapel Road. This period of factionalism was eventually ended with the appointment of a new and able Chairman in March 1866. This was Edward (later Sir Edward) Watkin who was also chairman of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the Metropolitan Railway , as well as being a director of the Chemins de fer du Nord in France. However his appointment

7742-448: The sun produced a latex which could be made flexible again with hot water, but which did not become brittle, unlike rubber prior to the discovery of vulcanization . By 1845, telegraph wires insulated with gutta-percha were being manufactured in the UK. It served as the insulating material for early undersea telegraph cables, including the first transatlantic telegraph cable . The material

7840-400: The two companies, notably with the opening of the railway from Ashford to Hastings in 1851. The LB&SCR had originally sought to build it and then had attempted to delay its completion by the SER. In retaliation, the SER attempted to deny LB&SCR access to its station at Hastings. The matter was resolved in court in favour of the LB&SCR, but victory was short-lived as the following year

7938-517: The west and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) to the north-east. However, in 1899 the SER agreed with the LCDR to share operation of the two railways, work them as a single system (marketed as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway ) and pool receipts: but it was not a full amalgamation. The SER and LCDR remained separate companies until becoming constituents of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923. There had been proposals for

8036-737: The wrong direction and then on a roundabout route. The latter provided a useful way for a northern route via Gravesend , Rochester , and Canterbury , except that lengthening the line beyond Greenwich was blocked by opposition from the Admiralty , and this route would involve tunnelling through the North Downs . The engineer of the new line, William Cubitt , was also engineer of the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR), which planned to use L&GR lines as far as Corbett's Lane in Bermondsey before turning south towards Croydon . A new connection on this line near to Norwood could provide access to

8134-419: Was a major constituent of Chatterton's compound used as an insulating sealant for telegraph and other electrical cables. The dielectric constant of dried gutta-percha ranges from 2.56 to 3.01. Resistivity of dried gutta-percha ranges from 25 × 10 to 370 × 10  Ω⋅cm . Since about 1940, polyethylene has supplanted gutta-percha as an electrical insulator. In the mid-19th century, gutta-percha

8232-422: Was banned by The Football Association in the first codified set of rules in 1863. Gutta-percha was briefly used in bookbinding until the advent of vulcanization . The wood of many species is also valuable. Gutta-percha is used as a resist in silk painting, including some newer forms of batik . The same bioinertness that made it suitable for marine cables also means it does not readily react within

8330-539: Was because Siemens' work was largely for military purposes and consequently nothing was patented initially. Siemens even obtained the gutta-percha from the Gutta Percha Company. The cables were not just for military communications, one 1848 cable in Kiel harbour had the overtly military purpose of setting off mines. Gutta-percha insulated core rapidly became the chief product of the company. In 1851–1852 they produced 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km) of it. The company had

8428-496: Was better developed than that from Calais. In 1848 the SER served two steam ships a day between Folkestone and Boulogne, one a day between Dover and Calais, and one between Dover and Ostend. During 1843, before the main line was complete, the SER and the L&CR became anxious about the charges imposed by the L&GR for the use of the terminus at London Bridge and its approaches. Parliament had relaxed restrictions on new railways into London and so SER sought authority to construct

8526-401: Was extended to Tunbridge Wells Central on 25 November 1846. By 1 September 1851 the line had reached Robertsbridge and was extended to Battle , Bopeep Junction and Hastings on 1 February 1852. By this time Hastings had already been reached by the SER in a roundabout route from Ashford , which opened 13 February 1851. From this line was a short branch to Rye Harbour . During 1846

8624-423: Was gutta-percha insulated electrical cable. Bewley was also a lead pipe maker. He had designed a machine for extruding lead pipes and on the formation of the Gutta Percha Company, he used this machine for extruding gutta-percha tubing. The company did not at first use this machine for insulating electrical cable. The method initially used was to apply strips of gutta-percha to copper wire. The resulting seam in

8722-408: Was hard and durable, though it fell into disuse when synthetic plastics such as Bakelite became available. Gutta-percha was used in canes and walking sticks. In 1856, United States Representative Preston Brooks used a cane made of gutta-percha as a weapon in his attack on Senator Charles Sumner . In the 1860s, gutta-percha was used to reinforce the soles of football players' boots before it

8820-545: Was introduced into the Western world, it was used in a less-processed form by the natives of the Malaysian archipelago for making knife handles, walking sticks, and other purposes. The first European to study this material was John Tradescant , who collected it in the far east in 1656. He named this material "Mazer wood". William Montgomerie , a medical officer in imperial service, introduced gutta-percha into practical use in

8918-596: Was later acquired by British Insulated Callender's Cables in 1959. Gutta-percha is a natural rubber that has the unusual property (for 19th-century materials) of being thermoplastic . It can be moulded after placing in hot water and will reharden when cool. It was brought to attention in Europe by William Montgomerie , a Scottish surgeon of the East India Company in Singapore where the trees from which

9016-410: Was originally a terminus, but in 1860 the line was continued to Admiralty Pier. Thereafter the SER concentrated most of its resources into developing Folkestone Harbour, which became its principal base for cross-channel ferries. The company had complete control of Folkestone whereas at Dover it had to negotiate with both the Admiralty and the local town council, and the rail route from Boulogne to Paris

9114-482: Was put on the SER to divert its proposed route so it could also share the L&BR mainline between Jolly Sailor (Norwood) and Earlswood Common , and then travel eastwards to Tonbridge . Under the scheme proposed by Parliament, the railway from Croydon to Redhill would be built by the L&BR but the SER would have the right to refund half the construction costs and own that part of the line between Merstham and Redhill. The SER gave way to this proposal as it reduced

9212-472: Was quickly followed by the collapse of bankers Overend, Gurney and Company on 10 May 1866 and the subsequent financial crisis during the following year. This had a severe effect on expansion plans of several railways. No new lines were built by the SER until the opening of the Sandling to Hythe branch line on 9 October 1874. The LCDR went bankrupt and was taken into administration 12 July 1866, and in 1867

9310-459: Was revived as a joint venture. Beyond Oxted the LB&SCR linked with its lines to East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells , while the SER joined its original main line to Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells and Hastings . Authority for construction of these lines was granted in 1878 and they opened in 1884. As a part of the same scheme, the SER at last began to implement plans for the a line from Dunton Green on its new main line to Oxted via Westerham ,

9408-546: Was the master of the Water Witch from 1839 to 1844. From 1844 on, he was master of three vessels which steamed from Dover and Folkestone to Boulogne, Calais and Ostend with passengers and cargo: Lord Warden , Princess Helena and Princess Maude . In December 1848 it opened a steeply graded branch from the Folkestone station to the harbour . The SER opened Dover (later Dover Town) station on 7 February 1844. This

9506-439: Was used for many domestic and industrial purposes, and it became a household word. Gutta-percha was particularly important for the manufacture of underwater telegraph cables . Compared to rubber, it does not degrade in seawater, is not damaged by marine life, and maintains good electrical insulation . These properties, along with its mouldability and flexibility made it ideal for the purpose, with no other material to match it in

9604-681: Was used to make furniture, notably by the Gutta Percha Company , established in 1847. Several of these ornate, revival-style pieces were shown at the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London. The company also made a range of utensils. The " guttie " golf ball (which had a solid gutta-percha core) revolutionized the game. Gutta-percha was used to make "mourning" jewelry, because it was dark in color and could be easily molded into beads or other shapes. Pistol hand grips and rifle shoulder pads were also made from gutta-percha, since it

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