there were calls for a floating dock to eliminate some of the difficulty. In July 1835 Parliamentary authority was given for the construction of a dock in Newport; it became known as the Town Dock, and it opened in October 1842. During and soon after the construction process, the volume of trade increased very considerably, and the Newport Dock Company Act of 1854 authorised an extension to the Town Dock. From the Town Dock's 4 acres, the total area became acres, and the extension was opened in 1858. Still the volume of trade increased, as did the size of vessels in use, and dissatisfaction with the dock accommodation increased. Railways At this period it was natural that heavy minerals and all bulky goods from or to locations outside Newport would be conveyed by rail. The South Wales Railway had opened its main line through Newport in 1850, connecting to London and the network of the Great Western Railway. In the 1840s the Monmouthshire Canal Company had realised that its plateway track was inefficient and obsolescent, and from 1849 it rebuilt its route using more modern forms of railway. It now styled itself the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company. At the same time the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was completing its line, which gave a direct railway connection to the River Mersey in connection with other friendly companies. The South Wales Railway was a broad gauge line, whereas the rebuilt Monmouthshire lines were narrow (standard) gauge. The Newport Abergavenny and Hereford Railway used the Monmouthshire line to reach Newport, and the London and North Western Railway developed an alliance with the NA&HR, intending to secure access for itself to Newport. (The Great Western Railway, as successor to the South Wales Railway, converted its South Wales routes to narrow (standard) gauge in 1872.) Alexandra Dock The unsatisfactory nature of the Town Dock and its extension encouraged the development of plans for an additional dock built on a much larger scale. This scheme became the Alexandra Dock, and the Alexandra (Newport) Dock Company was incorporated by Act of 6 July 1865 to build it. As well as construction of the dock itself, the scheme included a connecting railway line between the dock and the Monmouthshire and Great Western Railways. Alexandra Dock was opened on 10 April 1875. During the construction period the volume of traffic handled at Newport continued to increase rapidly,