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diff --git a/27710.txt b/27710.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6d1ec99 --- /dev/null +++ b/27710.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13981 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Lives of the Engineers, by Samuel Smiles + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Lives of the Engineers + The Locomotive. George and Robert Stephenson + + +Author: Samuel Smiles + + + +Release Date: January 5, 2009 [eBook #27710] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF THE ENGINEERS*** + + +This ebook was transcribed by Les Bowler. + + [Picture: George Stephenson] + + + + + + LIVES + OF THE + ENGINEERS. + + + THE LOCOMOTIVE. + + GEORGE AND ROBERT STEPHENSON. + + BY SAMUEL SMILES, + AUTHOR OF 'CHARACTER,' 'SELF-HELP,' ETC. + + "Bid Harbours open, Public Ways extend; + Bid Temples, worthier of God, ascend; + Bid the broad Arch the dang'rous flood contain, + The Mole projected break the roaring main, + Back to his bounds their subject sea command, + And roll obedient rivers through the land. + These honours, Peace to happy Britain brings; + These are imperial works, and worthy kings." + + POPE. + + _A NEW AND REVISED EDITION_. + + * * * * * + + LONDON: + JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET + 1879. + + _The right of Translation is reserved_. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Since the appearance of this book in its original form, some seventeen +years since, the construction of Railways has continued to make +extraordinary progress. Although Great Britain, first in the field, had +then, after about twenty-five years' work, expended nearly 300 millions +sterling in the construction of 8300 miles of railway, it has, during the +last seventeen years, expended about 288 millions more in constructing +7780 additional miles. + +But the construction of railways has proceeded with equal rapidity on the +Continent. France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, +Holland, have largely added to their railway mileage. Austria is +actively engaged in carrying new lines across the plains of Hungary, +which Turkey is preparing to meet by lines carried up the valley of the +Lower Danube. Russia is also occupied with extensive schemes for +connecting Petersburg and Moscow with her ports in the Black Sea on the +one hand, and with the frontier towns of her Asiatic empire on the other. + +Italy is employing her new-born liberty in vigorously extending railways +throughout her dominions. A direct line of communication has already +been opened between France and Italy, through the Mont Cenis Tunnel; +while another has been opened between Germany and Italy through the +Brenner Pass,--so that the entire journey may now be made by two +different railway routes (excepting only the short sea-passage across the +English Channel) from London to Brindisi, situated in the south-eastern +extremity of the Italian peninsula. + +During the last sixteen years, nearly the whole of the Indian railways +have been made. When Edmund Burke, in 1783, arraigned the British +Government for their neglect of India in his speech on Mr. Fox's Bill, he +said: "England has built no bridges, made no high roads, cut no +navigations, dug out no reservoirs. . . . Were we to be driven out of +India this day, nothing would remain to tell that it had been possessed, +during the inglorious period of our dominion, by anything better than the +ourang-outang or the tiger." + +But that reproach no longer exists. Some of the greatest bridges erected +in modern times--such as those over the Sone near Patna, and over the +Jumna at Allahabad--have been erected in connection with the Indian +railways. More than 5000 miles are now at work, and they have been +constructed at an expenditure of about 88,000,000 pounds of British +capital, guaranteed by the British Government. The Indian railways +connect the capitals of the three Presidencies--uniting Bombay with +Madras on the south, and with Calcutta on the north-east--while a great +main line, 2200 miles in extent, passing through the north-western +provinces, and connecting Calcutta with Lucknow, Delhi, Lahore, Moultan, +and Kurrachee, unites the mouths of the Hooghly in the Bay of Bengal with +those of the Indus in the Arabian Sea. + +When the first edition of this work appeared, in the beginning of 1857, +the Canadian system of railways was but in its infancy. The Grand Trunk +was only begun, and the Victoria Bridge--the greatest of all railway +structures--was not half erected. The Colony of Canada has now more than +3000 miles in active operation along the great valley of the St. +Lawrence, connecting Riviere du Loup at the mouth of that river, and the +harbour of Portland in the State of Maine, _via_ Montreal and Toronto, +with Sarnia on Lake Huron, and with Windsor, opposite Detroit in the +State of Michigan. During the same time the Australian Colonies have +been actively engaged in providing themselves with railways, many of +which are at work, and others are in course of formation. The Cape of +Good Hope has several lines open, and others making. France has +constructed about 400 miles in Algeria; while the Pasha of Egypt is the +proprietor of 360 miles in operation across the Egyptian desert. The +Japanese are also making railroads. + +But in no country has railway construction been prosecuted with greater +vigour than in the United States. There the railway furnishes not only +the means of intercommunication between already established settlements, +as in the Old World; but it is regarded as the pioneer of colonization, +and as instrumental in opening up new and fertile territories of vast +extent in the west,--the food-grounds of future nations. Hence railway +construction in that country was scarcely interrupted even by the great +Civil War,--at the commencement of which Mr. Seward publicly expressed +the opinion that "physical bonds--such as highways, railroads, rivers, +and canals--are vastly more powerful for holding civil communities +together than any mere covenants, though written on parchment or engraved +on iron." + +The people of the United States were the first to follow the example of +England, after the practicability of steam locomotion had been proved on +the Stockton and Darlington, and Liverpool and Manchester Railways. The +first sod of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway was cut on the 4th of July, +1828, and the line was completed and opened for traffic in the following +year, when it was worked partly by horse-power, and partly by a +locomotive built at Baltimore, which is still preserved in the Company's +workshops. In 1830, the Hudson and Mohawk Railway was begun, while other +lines were under construction in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New +Jersey; and in the course of ten years, 1843 miles were finished and in +operation. In ten more years, 8827 miles were at work; at the end of +1864, 35,000 miles; and at the 31st of December, 1873, not less than +70,651 miles were in operation, of which 3916 had been made during that +year. One of the most extensive trunk-lines is the Great Pacific +Railroad, connecting the lines in the valleys of the Mississippi and the +Missouri with the city of San Francisco on the shores of the Pacific, by +means of which it is possible to make the journey from England to Hong +Kong, via New York, in little more than a month. + + * * * * * + +The results of the working of railways have been in many respects +different from those anticipated by their projectors. One of the most +unexpected has been the growth of an immense passenger-traffic. The +Stockton and Darlington line was projected as a coal line only, and the +Liverpool and Manchester as a merchandise line. Passengers were not +taken into account as a source of revenue, for at the time of their +projection, it was not believed that people would trust themselves to be +drawn upon a railway by an "explosive machine," as the locomotive was +described to be. Indeed, a writer of eminence declared that he would as +soon think of being fired off on a ricochet rocket, as travel on a +railway at twice the speed of the old stagecoaches. So great was the +alarm which existed as to the locomotive, that the Liverpool and +Manchester Committee pledged themselves in their second prospectus, +issued in 1825, "not to require any clause empowering its use;" and as +late as 1829, the Newcastle and Carlisle Act was conceded on the express +condition that the line should not be worked by locomotives, but by +horses only. + +Nevertheless, the Liverpool and Manchester Company obtained powers to +make and work their railway without any such restriction; and when the +line was made and opened, a locomotive passenger train was advertised to +be run upon it, by way of experiment. Greatly to the surprise of the +directors, more passengers presented themselves as travellers by the +train than could conveniently be carried. + +The first arrangements as to passenger-traffic were of a very primitive +character, being mainly copied from the old stage-coach system. The +passengers were "booked" at the railway office, and their names were +entered in a way-bill which was given to the guard when the train +started. Though the usual stage-coach bugleman could not conveniently +accompany the passengers, the trains were at first played out of the +terminal stations by a lively tune performed by a trumpeter at the end of +the platform; and this continued to be done at the Manchester Station +until a comparatively recent date. + +But the number of passengers carried by the Liverpool and Manchester line +was so unexpectedly great, that it was very soon found necessary to +remodel the entire system. Tickets were introduced, by which a great +saving of time was effected. More roomy and commodious carriages were +provided, the original first-class compartments being seated for four +passengers only. Everything was found to have been in the first instance +made too light and too slight. The prize 'Rocket,' which weighed only +4.5 tons when loaded with its coke and water, was found quite unsuited +for drawing the increasingly heavy loads of passengers. There was also +this essential difference between the old stage-coach and the new railway +train, that, whereas the former was "full" with six inside and ten +outside, the latter must be able to accommodate whatever number of +passengers came to be carried. Hence heavier and more powerful engines, +and larger and more substantial carriages were from time to time added to +the carrying stock of the railway. + +The speed of the trains was also increased. The first locomotives used +in hauling coal-trains ran at from four to six miles an hour. On the +Stockton and Darlington line the speed was increased to about ten miles +an hour; and on the Liverpool and Manchester line the first +passenger-trains were run at the average speed of seventeen miles an +hour, which at that time was considered very fast. But this was not +enough. When the London and Birmingham line was opened, the mail-trains +were run at twenty-three miles an hour; and gradually the speed went up, +until now the fast trains are run at from fifty to sixty miles an +hour,--the pistons in the cylinders, at sixty miles, travelling at the +inconceivable rapidity of 800 feet per minute! + +To bear the load of heavy engines run at high speeds, a much stronger and +heavier road was found necessary; and shortly after the opening of the +Liverpool and Manchester line, it was entirely relaid with stronger +materials. Now that express passenger-engines are from thirty to +thirty-five tons each, the weight of the rails has been increased from 35 +lbs. to 75 lbs. or 86 lbs. to the yard. Stone blocks have given place to +wooden sleepers; rails with loose ends resting on the chairs, to rails +with their ends firmly "fished" together; and in many places, where the +traffic is unusually heavy, iron rails have been replaced by those of +steel. + +And now see the enormous magnitude to which railway passenger-traffic has +grown. In the year 1873, 401,465,086 passengers were carried by day +tickets in Great Britain alone. But this was not all. For in that year +257,470 periodical tickets were issued by the different railways; and +assuming half of them to be annual, one-fourth half-yearly, and the +remainder quarterly tickets, and that their holders made only five +journeys each way weekly, this would give an additional number of +47,024,000 journeys, or a total of 448,489,086 passengers carried in +Great Britain in one year. + +It is difficult to grasp the idea of the enormous number of persons +represented by these figures. The mind is merely bewildered by them, and +can form no adequate notion of their magnitude. To reckon them singly +would occupy twenty-five years, counting at the rate of one a second for +twelve hours every day. Or take another illustration. Supposing every +man, woman, and child in Great Britain to make ten journeys by rail +yearly, the number would greatly fall short of the passengers carried in +1873. + +Mr. Porter, in his 'Progress of the Nation,' estimated that thirty +millions of passengers, or about eighty-two thousand a day, travelled by +coaches in Great Britain in 1834, an average distance of twelve miles +each, at an average cost of 5s. a passenger, or at the rate of 5d. a +mile; whereas above 448 millions are now carried by railway an average +distance of 8.5 miles each, at an average cost of 1s. 1.5d. per +passenger, or about three halfpence per mile, in considerably less than +one-fourth of the time. + +But besides the above number of passengers, over one hundred and +sixty-two million tons of minerals and merchandise were carried by +railway in the United Kingdom in 1873, besides mails, cattle, parcels, +and other traffic. The distance run by passenger and goods trains in the +year was 162,561,304 miles; to accomplish which it is estimated that four +miles of railway must have been covered by running trains during every +second all the year round. + +To perform this service, there were, in 1873, 11,255 locomotives at work +in the United Kingdom, consuming about four million tons of coal and +coke, and flashing into the air every minute some forty tons of water in +the form of steam in a high state of elasticity. There were also 24,644 +passenger-carriages, 9128 vans and breaks attached to passenger-trains, +and 329,163 trucks, waggons, and other vehicles appropriated to +merchandise. Buckled together, buffer to buffer, the locomotives and +tenders would extend from London to Peterborough; while the carrying +vehicles, joined together, would form two trains occupying a double line +of railway extending from London to beyond Inverness. + +A notable feature in the growth of railway traffic of late years has been +the increase in the number of third-class passengers, compared with first +and second class. Sixteen years since, the third-class passengers +constituted only about one-third; ten years later, they were about +one-half; whereas now they form more than three-fourths of the whole +number carried. In 1873, there were about 23 million first-class +passengers, 62 million second-class, and not less than 306 million +third-class. Thus George Stephenson's prediction, "that the time would +come when it would be cheaper for a working man to make a journey by +railway than to walk on foot," is already verified. + +The degree of safety with which this great traffic has been conducted is +not the least remarkable of its features. Of course, so long as railways +are worked by men they will be liable to the imperfections belonging to +all things human. Though their machinery may be perfect and their +organisation as complete as skill and forethought can make it, workmen +will at times be forgetful and listless; and a moment's carelessness may +lead to the most disastrous results. Yet, taking all circumstances into +account, the wonder is, that travelling by railway at high speed should +have been rendered comparatively so safe. + +To be struck by lightning is one of the rarest of all causes of death; +yet more persons are killed by lightning in Great Britain than are killed +on railways from causes beyond their own control. Most persons would +consider the probability of their dying by hanging to be extremely +remote; yet, according to the Registrar-General's returns, it is +considerably greater than that of being killed by railway accident. + +The remarkable safety with which railway traffic is on the whole +conducted, is due to constant watchfulness and highly-applied skill. The +men who work the railways are for the most part the picked men of the +country, and every railway station may be regarded as a practical school +of industry, attention, and punctuality. + +Few are aware of the complicated means and agencies that are in constant +operation on railways day and night, to ensure the safety of the +passengers to their journey's end. The road is under a system of +continuous inspection. The railway is watched by foremen, with "gangs" +of men under them, in lengths varying from twelve to five miles, +according to circumstances. Their continuous duty is to see that the +rails and chairs are sound, their fastenings complete, and the line clear +of all obstructions. + +Then, at all the junctions, sidings, and crossings, pointsmen are +stationed, with definite instructions as to the duties to be performed by +them. At these places, signals are provided, worked from the station +platforms, or from special signal boxes, for the purpose of protecting +the stopping or passing trains. When the first railways were opened, the +signals were of a very simple kind. The station men gave them with their +arms stretched out in different positions; then flags of different +colours were used; next fixed signals, with arms or discs of rectangular +or triangular shape. These were followed by a complete system of +semaphore signals, near and distant, protecting all junctions, sidings, +and crossings. + +When Government inspectors were first appointed by the Board of Trade to +examine and report upon the working of railways, they were alarmed by the +number of trains following each other at some stations, in what then +seemed to be a very rapid succession. A passage from a Report written in +1840 by Sir Frederick Smith, as to the traffic at "Taylor's Junction," on +the York and North Midland Railway, contrasts curiously with the railway +life and activity of the present day:--"Here," wrote the alarmed +Inspector, "the passenger trains from York as well as Leeds and Selby, +meet four times a day. No less than 23 passenger-trains stop at or pass +this station in the 21 hours--an amount of traffic requiring not only the +utmost perfect arrangements on the part of the management, but the utmost +vigilance and energy in the servants of the Company employed at this +place." + +Contrast this with the state of things now. On the Metropolitan Line, +667 trains pass a given point in one direction or the other during the +eighteen hours of the working day, or an average of 36 trains an hour. +At the Cannon Street Station of the South-Eastern Railway, 627 trains +pass in and out daily, many of them crossing each other's tracks under +the protection of the station-signals. Forty-five trains run in and out +between 9 and 10 A.M., and an equal number between 4 and 5 P.M. Again, +at the Clapham Junction, near London, about 700 trains pass or stop +daily; and though to the casual observer the succession of trains coming +and going, running and stopping, coupling and shunting, appears a scene +of inextricable confusion and danger, the whole is clearly intelligible +to the signalmen in their boxes, who work the trains in and out with +extraordinary precision and regularity. + +The inside of a signal-box reminds one of a pianoforte on a large scale, +the lever-handles corresponding with the keys of the instrument; and, to +an uninstructed person, to work the one would be as difficult as to play +a tune on the other. The signal-box outside Cannon Street Station +contains 67 lever-handles, by means of which the signalmen are enabled at +the same moment to communicate with the drivers of all the engines on the +line within an area of 800 yards. They direct by signs, which are quite +as intelligible as words, the drivers of the trains starting from inside +the station, as well as those of the trains arriving from outside. By +pulling a lever-handle, a distant signal, perhaps out of sight, is set +some hundred yards off, which the approaching driver--reading it quickly +as he comes along--at once interprets, and stops or advances as the +signal may direct. + +The precision and accuracy of the signal-machinery employed at important +stations and junctions have of late years been much improved by an +ingenious contrivance, by means of which the setting of the signal +prepares the road for the coming train. When the signal is set at +"Danger," the points are at the same time worked, and the road is +"locked" against it; and when at "Safety," the road is open,--the signal +and the points exactly corresponding. + +The Electric Telegraph has also been found a valuable auxiliary in +ensuring the safe working of large railway traffics. Though the +locomotive may run at 60 miles an hour, electricity, when at its fastest, +travels at the rate of 288,000 miles a second, and is therefore always +able to herald the coming train. The electric telegraph may, indeed, be +regarded as the nervous system of the railway. By its means the whole +line is kept throbbing with intelligence. The method of working the +electric signals varies on different lines; but the usual practice is, to +divide a line into so many lengths, each protected by its +signal-stations,--the fundamental law of telegraph-working being, that +two engines are not to be allowed to run on the same line between two +signal-stations at the same time. + +When a train passes one of such stations, it is immediately signalled +on--usually by electric signal-bells--to the station in advance, and that +interval of railway is "blocked" until the signal has been received from +the station in advance that the train has passed it. Thus an interval of +space is always secured between trains following each other, which are +thereby alike protected before and behind. And thus, when a train starts +on a journey, it may be of hundreds of miles, it is signalled on from +station to station--it "lives along the line,"--until at length it +reaches its destination and the last signal of "train in" is given. By +this means an immense number of trains can be worked with regularity and +safety. On the South-Eastern Railway, where the system has been brought +to a state of high efficiency, it is no unusual thing during Easter week +to send 600,000 passengers through the London Bridge Station alone; and +on some days as many as 1200 trains a-day. + +While such are the expedients adopted to ensure safety, others equally +ingenious are adopted to ensure speed. In the case of express and mail +trains, the frequent stopping of the engines to take in a fresh supply of +water occasions a considerable loss of time on a long journey, each +stoppage for this purpose occupying from ten to fifteen minutes. To +avoid such stoppages, larger tenders have been provided, capable of +carrying as much as 2000 gallons of water each. But as a considerable +time is occupied in filling these, a plan has been contrived by Mr. +Ramsbottom, the Locomotive Engineer of the London and North-Western +Railway, by which the engines are made to _feed themselves_ while running +at full speed! The plan is as follows:--An open trough, about 440 feet +long, is laid longitudinally between the rails. Into this trough, which +is filled with water, a dip-pipe or scoop attached to the bottom of the +tender of the running train is lowered; and, at a speed of 50 miles an +hour, as much as 1070 gallons of water are scooped up in the course of a +few minutes. The first of such troughs was laid down between Chester and +Holyhead, to enable the Express Mail to run the distance of 841 miles in +two hours and five minutes without stopping; and similar troughs have +since been laid down at Bushey near London, at Castlethorpe near +Wolverton, and at Parkside near Liverpool. At these four troughs about +130,000 gallons of water are scooped up daily. + +Wherever railways have been made, new towns have sprung up, and old towns +and cities been quickened into new life. When the first English lines +were projected, great were the prophecies of disaster to the inhabitants +of the districts through which they were proposed to be forced. Such +fears have long since been dispelled in this country. The same +prejudices existed in France. When the railway from Paris to Marseilles +was laid out so as to pass through Lyons, a local prophet predicted that +if the line were made the city would be ruined--"_Ville traversee_, +_ville perdue_;" while a local priest denounced the locomotive and the +electric telegraph as heralding _the reign of Antichrist_. But such +nonsense is no longer uttered. Now it is the city without the railway +that is regarded as the "city lost;" for it is in a measure shut out from +the rest of the world, and left outside the pale of civilisation. + +Perhaps the most striking of all the illustrations that could be offered +of the extent to which railways facilitate the locomotion, the industry, +and the subsistence of the population of large towns and cities, is +afforded by the working of the railway system in connection with the +capital of Great Britain. + +The extension of railways to London has been of comparatively recent +date; the whole of the lines connecting it with the provinces and +terminating at its outskirts, having been opened during the last thirty +years, while the lines inside London have for the most part been opened +within the last sixteen years. + +The first London line was the Greenwich Railway, part of which was opened +for traffic to Deptford in February 1836. The working of this railway +was first exhibited as a show, and the usual attractions were employed to +make it "draw." A band of musicians in the garb of the Beef-eaters was +stationed at the London end, and another band at Deptford. For +cheapness' sake the Deptford band was shortly superseded by a large +barrel-organ, which played in the passengers; but, when the traffic +became established, the barrel organ, as well as the beef-eater band at +the London end, were both discontinued. The whole length of the line was +lit up at night by a row of lamps on either side like a street, as if to +enable the locomotives or the passengers to see their way in the dark; +but these lamps also were eventually discontinued as unnecessary. + +As a show, the Greenwich Railway proved tolerably successful. During the +first eleven months it carried 456,750 passengers, or an average of about +1300 a-day. But the railway having been found more convenient to the +public than either the river boats or the omnibuses, the number of +passengers rapidly increased. When the Croydon, Brighton, and +South-Eastern Railways began to pour their streams of traffic over the +Greenwich viaduct, its accommodation was found much too limited; and it +was widened from time to time, until now nine lines of railway are laid +side by side, over which more than twenty millions of passengers are +carried yearly, or an average of about 60,000 a day all the year round. + +Since the partial opening of the Greenwich Railway in 1836, a large +extent of railways has been constructed in and about the metropolis, and +convenient stations have been established almost in the heart of the +City. Sixteen of these stations are within a circle of half a mile +radius from the Mansion House, and above three hundred stations are in +actual use within about five miles of Charing Cross. + +To accommodate this vast traffic, not fewer than 3600 local trains are +run in and out daily, besides 340 trains which depart to and arrive from +distant places, north, south, east, and west. In the morning hours, +between 8.30 and 10.30, when business men are proceeding inwards to their +offices and counting-houses, and in the afternoon between four and six, +when they are returning outwards to their homes, as many as two thousand +stoppages are made in the hour, within the metropolitan district, for the +purpose of taking up and setting down passengers, while about two miles +of railway are covered by the running trains. + +One of the remarkable effects of railways has been to extend the +residential area of all large towns and cities. This is especially +notable in the case of London. Before the introduction of railways, the +residential area of the metropolis was limited by the time occupied by +business men in making the journey outwards and inwards daily; and it was +for the most part bounded by Bow on the east, by Hampstead and Highgate +on the north, by Paddington and Kensington on the west, and by Clapham +and Brixton on the south. But now that stations have been established +near the centre of the city, and places so distant as Waltham, Barnet, +Watford, Hanwell, Richmond, Epsom, Croydon, Reigate, and Erith, can be +more quickly reached by rail than the old suburban quarters were by +omnibus, the metropolis has become extended in all directions along its +railway lines, and the population of London, instead of living in the +City or its immediate vicinity, as formerly, have come to occupy a +residential area of not less than six hundred square miles! + +The number of new towns which have consequently sprung into existence +near London within the last twenty years has been very great; towns +numbering from ten to twenty thousand inhabitants, which before were but +villages,--if, indeed, they existed. This has especially been the case +along the lines south of the Thames, principally in consequence of the +termini of those lines being more conveniently situated for city men of +business. Hence the rapid growth of the suburban towns up and down the +river, from Richmond and Staines on the west, to Erith and Gravesend on +the east, and the hives of population which have settled on the high +grounds south of the Thames, in the neighbourhood of Norwood and the +Crystal Palace, rapidly spreading over the Surrey Downs, from Wimbledon +to Guildford, and from Bromley to Croydon, Epsom, and Dorking. And now +that the towns on the south and south-east coast can be reached by city +men in little more time than it takes to travel to Clapham or Bayswater +by omnibus, such places have become as it were parts of the great +metropolis, and Brighton and Hastings are but the marine suburbs of +London. + +The improved state of the communications of the City with the country has +had a marked effect upon its population. While the action of the +railways has been to add largely to the number of persons living in +London, it has also been accompanied by their dispersion over a much +larger area. Thus the population of the central parts of London is +constantly decreasing, whereas that of the suburban districts is as +constantly increasing. The population of the City fell off more than +10,000 between 1851 and 1861; and during the same period, that of +Holborn, the Strand, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, St. James's, +Westminster, East and West London, showed a considerable decrease. But, +as regards the whole mass of the metropolitan population, the increase +has been enormous. Thus, starting from 1801, when the population of +London was 958,863, we find it increasing in each decennial period at the +rate of between two and three hundred thousand, until the year 1841, when +it amounted to 1,948,369. Railways had by that time reached London, +after which its population increased at nearly double the former ratio. +In the ten years ending 1851, the increase was 513,867; and in the ten +years ending 1861, 441,753: until now, to quote the words of the +Registrar-General in a recent annual Report, "the population within the +registration limits is by estimate 2,993,513; but beyond this central +mass there is a ring of life growing rapidly, and extending along railway +lines over a circle of fifteen miles from Charing Cross. The population +within that circle, patrolled by the metropolitan police, is about +3,463,771"! + +The aggregation of so vast a number of persons within so comparatively +limited an area--the immense quantity of food required for their daily +sustenance, as well as of fuel, clothing, and other necessaries--would be +attended with no small inconvenience and danger, but for the facilities +again provided by the railways. The provisioning of a garrison of even +four thousand men is considered a formidable affair; how much more so the +provisioning of nearly four millions of people! + +The whole mystery is explained by the admirable organisation of the +railway service, and the regularity and despatch with which it is +conducted. We are enabled by the courtesy of the General Managers of the +London railways to bring together the following brief summary of facts +relating to the food supply of London, which will probably be regarded by +most readers as of a very remarkable character. + +Generally speaking, the railways to the south of the Thames contribute +comparatively little towards the feeding of London. They are, for the +most part passenger and residential lines, traversing a limited and not +very fertile district bounded by the sea-coast; and, excepting in fruit +and vegetables, milk and hops, they probably carry more food from London +than they bring to it. The principal supplies of grain, flour, potatoes, +and fish, are brought by railway from the eastern counties of England and +Scotland; and of cattle and sheep, beef and mutton, from the grazing +counties of the west and north-west of Britain, as far as the Highlands +of Scotland, which have, through the instrumentality of railways, become +part of the great grazing grounds of the metropolis. + +Take first "the staff of life"--bread and its constituents. Of wheat, +not less than 222,080 quarters were brought into London by railway in +1867, besides what was brought by sea; of oats 151,757 quarters; of +barley 70,282 quarters; of beans and peas 51,448 quarters. Of the wheat +and barley, by far the largest proportion is brought by the Great Eastern +Railway, which delivers in London in one year 155,000 quarters of wheat +and 45,500 quarters of barley, besides 600,429 quarters more in the form +of malt. The largest quantity of oats is brought by the Great Northern +Railway, principally from the north of England and the East of +Scotland,--the quantity delivered by that Company in 1867 having been +97,500 quarters, besides 24,664 quarters of wheat, 5560 quarters of +barley, and 103,917 quarters of malt. Again, of 1,250,566 sacks of flour +and meal delivered in London in one year, the Great Eastern brings +654,000 sacks, the Great Northern 232,022 sacks, and the Great Western +136,312 sacks; the principal contribution of the London and North-Western +Railway towards the London bread-stores being 100,760 boxes of American +flour, besides 24,300 sacks of English. The total quantity of malt +delivered at the London railway stations in 1867 was thirteen hundred +thousand sacks. + +Next, as to flesh meat. In 1867, not fewer than 172,300 head of cattle +were brought to London by railway,--though this was considerably less +than the number carried before the cattle-plague, the Great Eastern +Railway alone having carried 44,672 less than in 1864. But this loss has +since been more than made up by the increased quantities of fresh beef, +mutton, and other kinds of meat imported in lieu of the live animals. +The principal supplies of cattle are brought, as we have said, by the +Western, Northern, and Eastern lines: by the Great Western from the +western counties and Ireland; by the London and North-Western, the +Midland, and the Great Northern from the northern counties and from +Scotland; and by the Great Eastern from the eastern counties and from the +ports of Harwich and Lowestoft. + +In 1867, also, 1,147,609 sheep were brought to London by railway, of +which the Great Eastern delivered not less than 265,371 head. The London +and North-Western and Great Northern between them brought 390,000 head +from the northern English counties, with a large proportion from the +Scotch Highlands. While the Great Western brought up 130,000 head from +the Welsh mountains and from the rich grazing districts of Wilts, +Gloucester, Somerset, and Devon. Another important freight of the London +and North-Western Railway consists of pigs, of which they delivered +54,700 in London, principally Irish; while the Great Eastern brought up +27,500 of the same animal, partly foreign. + +While the cattle-plague had the effect of greatly reducing the number of +live stock brought into London yearly, it gave a considerable impetus to +the Fresh Meat traffic. Thus, in addition to the above large numbers of +cattle and sheep delivered in London in 1867, the railways brought 76,175 +tons of meat, which--taking the meat of an average beast at 800 lbs., and +of an average sheep at 64 lbs.--would be equivalent to about 112,000 more +cattle, and 1,267,500 more sheep. The Great Northern brought the largest +quantity; next the London and North-Western;--these two Companies having +brought up between them, from distances as remote as Aberdeen and +Inverness, about 42,000 tons of fresh meat in 1867, at an average freight +of about 0.5d. a lb. + +Again as regards Fish, of which six-tenths of the whole quantity consumed +in London is now brought by rail. The Great Eastern and the Great +Northern are by far the largest importers of this article, and justify +their claim to be regarded as the great food lines of London. Of the +61,358 tons of fish brought by railway in 1867, not less than 24,500 tons +were delivered by the former, and 22,000 tons, brought from much longer +distances, by the latter Company. The London and North-Western brought +about 6000 tons, the principal part of which was salmon from Scotland and +Ireland. The Great Western also brought about 4000 tons, partly salmon, +but the greater part mackerel from the south-west coast. During the +mackerel season, as much as a hundred tons at a time are brought into the +Paddington Station by express fish-train from Cornwall. + +The Great Eastern and Great Northern Companies are also the principal +carriers of turkeys, geese, fowls, and game; the quantity delivered in +London by the former Company having been 5042 tons. In Christmas week no +fewer than 30,000 turkeys and geese were delivered at the Bishopsgate +Station, besides about 300 tons of poultry, 10,000 barrels of beer, and +immense quantities of fish, oysters, and other kinds of food. As much as +1600 tons of poultry and game were brought last year by the South-Western +Railway; 600 tons by the Great Northern Railway; and 130 tons of turkeys, +geese, and fowls, by the London, Chatham and Dover line, principally from +France. + +Of miscellaneous articles, the Great Northern and the Midland each +brought about 3000 tons of cheese, the South-Western 2600 tons, and the +London and North-Western 10,034 cheeses in number; while the +South-Western and Brighton lines brought a splendid contribution to the +London breakfast-table in the shape of 11,259 _tons_ of French eggs; +these two Companies delivering between them an average of more than three +millions of eggs a week all the year round! The same Companies delivered +in London 14,819 tons of butter, for the most part the produce of the +farms of Normandy,--the greater cleanness and neatness with which the +Normandy butter is prepared for market rendering it a favourite both with +dealers and consumers of late years compared with Irish butter. The +London, Chatham and Dover Company also brought from Calais 96 tons of +eggs. + +Next, as to the potatoes, vegetables, and fruit, brought by rail. Forty +years since, the inhabitants of London relied for their supply of +vegetables on the garden-grounds in the immediate neighbourhood of the +metropolis, and the consequence was that they were both very dear and +limited in quantity. But railways, while they have extended the +grazing-grounds of London as far as the Highlands, have at the same time +extended the garden-grounds of London into all the adjoining +counties--into East Kent, Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, the vale of +Gloucester, and even as far as Penzance in Cornwall. The London, Chatham +and Dover, one of the youngest of our main lines, brought up from East +Kent in 1867 5279 tons of potatoes, 1046 tons of vegetables, and 5386 +tons of fruit, besides 542 tons of vegetables from France. The +South-Eastern brought 25,163 tons of the same produce. The Great Eastern +brought from the eastern counties 21,315 tons of potatoes, and 3596 tons +of vegetables and fruit; while the Great Northern brought no less than +78,505 tons of potatoes--a large part of them from the east of +Scotland--and 3768 tons of vegetables and fruit. About 6000 tons of +early potatoes were brought from Cornwall, with about 5000 tons of +broccoli, and the quantities are steadily increasing. "Truly London hath +a large belly," said old Fuller, two hundred years since. But how much +more capacious is it now! + +One of the most striking illustrations of the utility of railways in +contributing to the supply of wholesome articles of food to the +population of large cities, is to be found in the rapid growth of the +traffic in Milk. Readers of newspapers may remember the descriptions +published some years since of the horrid dens in which London cows were +penned, and of the odious compound sold by the name of milk, of which the +least deleterious ingredient in it was supplied by the "cow with the iron +tail." That state of affairs is now completely changed. What with the +greatly improved state of the London dairies and the better quality of +the milk supplied by them, together with the large quantities brought by +railway from a range of a hundred miles and more all round London, even +the poorest classes in the metropolis are now enabled to obtain as +wholesome a supply of the article as the inhabitants of most country +towns. + +These great streams of food, which we have thus so summarily described, +flow into London so continuously and uninterruptedly, that comparatively +few persons are aware of the magnitude and importance of the process thus +daily going forward. Though gathered from an immense extent of +country--embracing England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland--the influx is +so unintermitted that it is relied upon with as much certainty as if it +only came from the counties immediately adjoining London. The express +meat-train from Aberdeen arrives in town as punctually as the Clapham +omnibus, and the express milk-train from Aylesbury is as regular in its +delivery as the penny post. Indeed London now depends so much upon +railways for its subsistence, that it may be said to be fed by them from +day to day, having never more than a few days' food in stock. And the +supply is so regular and continuous, that the possibility of its being +interrupted never for a moment occurs to any one. Yet in these days of +strikes amongst workmen, such a contingency is quite within the limits of +possibility. Another contingency, which might arise during a state of +war, is probably still more remote. But were it possible for a war to +occur between England and a combination of foreign powers possessed of +stronger ironclads than ours, and that they were able to ram our ships +back into port and land an enemy of overpowering force on the Essex +coast, it would be sufficient for them to occupy or cut the railways +leading from the north, to starve London into submission in less than a +fortnight. + +Besides supplying London with food, railways have also been instrumental +in ensuring the more regular and economical supply of fuel,--a matter of +almost as vital importance to the population in a climate such as that of +England. So long as the market was supplied with coal brought by sea in +sailing ships, fuel in winter often rose to a famine price, especially +during long-continued easterly winds. But now that railways are in full +work, the price is almost as steady in winter as in summer, and (but for +strikes) the supply is more regular at all seasons. + +But the carriage of food and fuel to London forms but a small part of the +merchandise traffic carried by railway. Above 600,000 tons of goods of +various kinds yearly pass through one station only, that of the London +and North-Western Company, at Camden Town; and sometimes as many as +20,000 parcels daily. Every other metropolitan station is similarly +alive with traffic inwards and outwards, London having since the +introduction of railways become more than ever a great distributive +centre, to which merchandise of all kinds converges, and from which it is +distributed to all parts of the country. Mr. Bazley, M.P., stated at a +late public meeting at Manchester, that it would probably require ten +millions of horses to convey by road the merchandise traffic which is now +annually carried by railway. + +Railways have also proved of great value in connection with the Cheap +Postage system. By their means it has become possible to carry letters, +newspapers, books and post parcels, in any quantity, expeditiously, and +cheaply. The Liverpool and Manchester line was no sooner opened in 1830, +than the Post Office authorities recognised its utility, and used it for +carrying the mails between the two towns. When the London and Birmingham +line was opened eight years later, mail trains were at once put on,--the +directors undertaking to perform the distance of 113 miles within 5 hours +by day and 5.5 hours by night. As additional lines were opened, the old +four-horse mail coaches were gradually discontinued, until in 1858, the +last of them, the "Derby Dilly," which ran between Manchester and Derby, +was taken off on the opening of the Midland line to Rowsley. + +The increased accommodation provided by railways was found of essential +importance, more particularly after the adoption of the Cheap Postage +system; and that such accommodation was needed will be obvious from the +extraordinary increase which has taken place in the number of letters and +packets sent by post. Thus, in 1839, the number of chargeable letters +carried was only 76 millions, and of newspapers 44.5 millions; whereas, +in 1865, the numbers of letters had increased to 720 millions, and in +1867 to 775 millions, or more than ten-fold, while the number of +newspapers, books, samples and patterns (a new branch of postal business +began in 1864) had increased, in 1865, to 98.5 millions. + +To accommodate this largely-increasing traffic, the bulk of which is +carried by railway, the mileage run by mail trains in the United Kingdom +has increased from 25,000 miles a day in 1854 (the first year of which we +have any return of the mileage run) to 60,000 miles a day in 1867, or an +increase of 240 per cent. The Post Office expenditure on railway service +has also increased, but not in like proportion, having been 364,000 +pounds in the former year, and 559,575 pounds in the latter, or an +increase of 154 per cent. The revenue, gross and net, has increased +still more rapidly. In 1841, the first complete year of the Cheap +Postage system, the gross revenue was 1,359,466 pounds and the net +revenue 500,789 pounds; in 1854, the gross revenue was 2,574,407 pounds, +and the net revenue 1,173,723 pounds; and in 1867, the gross revenue was +4,548,129 pounds, and the net revenue 2,127,125 pounds, being an increase +of 420 per cent. compared with 1841, and of 180 per cent. compared with +1854. How much of this net increase might fairly be credited to the +Railway Postal service we shall not pretend to say; but assuredly the +proportion must be very considerable. + +One of the great advantages of railways in connection with the postal +service is the greatly increased frequency of communication which they +provide between all the large towns. Thus Liverpool has now six +deliveries of Manchester letters daily; while every large town in the +kingdom has two or more deliveries of London letters daily. In 1863, 393 +towns had two mails daily from London; 50 had three mails daily; 7 had +four mails a day _from_ London, and 15 had four mails a day _to_ London; +while 3 towns had five mails a day _from_ London, and 6 had five mails a +day _to_ London. + +Another feature of the railway mail train, as of the passenger train, is +its capacity to carry any quantity of letters and post parcels that may +require to be carried. In 1838, the aggregate weight of all the evening +mails despatched from London by twenty-eight mail coaches was 4 tons 6 +cwt., or an average of about 3.25 cwt. each, though the maximum contract +weight was 15 cwt. The mails now are necessarily much heavier, the +number of letters and packets having, as we have seen, increased more +than ten-fold since 1839. But it is not the ordinary so much as the +extraordinary mails that are of considerable weight,--more particularly +the American, the Continental, and the Australian mails. It is no +unusual thing, we are informed, for the last-mentioned mail to weigh as +much as 40 tons. How many of the old mail coaches it would take to carry +such a mail the 79 miles journey to Southampton, with a relay of four +horses every five or seven miles, is a problem for the arithmetician to +solve. But even supposing each coach to be loaded to the maximum weight +of 15 cwt. per coach, it would require about sixty vehicles and about +1700 horses to carry the 40 tons, besides the coachman and guards. + +Whatever may be said of the financial management of railways, there can +be no doubt as to the great benefits conferred by them on the public +wherever made. Even those railways which have exhibited the most +"frightful examples" of financing and jobbing, have been found to prove +of unquestionable public convenience and utility. And notwithstanding +all the faults and imperfections that have been alleged against railways, +we think that they must, nevertheless, be recognised as by far the most +valuable means of communication between men and nations that has yet been +given to the world. + +The author's object in publishing this book in its original form, was to +describe, in connection with the 'Life of George Stephenson,' the origin +and progress of the railway system,--to show by what moral and material +agencies its founders were enabled to carry their ideas into effect, and +work out results which even then were of a remarkable character, though +they have since, as above described, become so much more extraordinary. +The favour with which successive editions of the book have been received, +has justified the author in his anticipation that such a narrative would +prove of general, if not of permanent interest. + +The book was written with the concurrence and assistance of Robert +Stephenson, who also supplied the necessary particulars relating to +himself. Such portions of these were accordingly embodied in the +narrative as could with propriety be published during his lifetime, and +the remaining portions have since been added, with the object of +rendering more complete the record of the son's life as well as of the +early history of the Railway system. + + + + +CONTENTS + + CHAPTER I. + + NEWCASTLE AND THE GREAT NORTHERN COAL-FIELDS. + +The colliery districts of the Pages 1-11 +North--Newcastle-upon-Tyne in ancient times--The +Roman settlement--Social insecurity in the Middle +Ages--Northumberland roads--The coal-trade--Modern +Newcastle--Coal haulage--Early waggon-roads, +tram-roads, and railways--Machinery of +coal-mines--Newcomen's fire-engine--The colliers, +their character and habits--Coal-staiths--The +keelmen + + CHAPTER II. + + WYLAM AND DEWLEY BURN--GEORGE STEPHENSON'S EARLY YEARS. + +Wylam Colliery and village--George Stephenson's 12-30 +birth-place--His parents--The Stephenson family--Old +Robert Stephenson--George's boyhood--Dewley Burn +Colliery--Sister Nell's bonnet--Employed as a +herd-boy--Makes clay engines--Follows the +plough--Employed as corf-bitter--Drives the +gin-horse--Black Callerton Colliery--Love of +animals--Made assistant-fireman--Old Robert and +family shift their home--Jolly's Close, +Newburn--Family earnings--George as fireman--His +athletic feats--Throckley Bridge--"A made man for +life!"--Appointed engineman--Studies his +engine--Experiments in egg-hatching--Puts himself to +school, and learns to read--His +schoolmasters--Progress in arithmetic--His +dog--Learns to brake--Brakesman at Black +Callerton--Duties of brakesman--Begins +shoe-making--Fanny Henderson--Saves his first +guinea--Fight with a pitman + + CHAPTER III. + + ENGINEMAN AT WILLINGTON QUAY AND KILLINGWORTH. + +Sobriety and studiousness--Inventiveness--Removes to 31-46 +Willington Quay--Marries Fanny Henderson--Their +cottage at Willington--Attempts at perpetual +motion--William Fairbairn and George +Stephenson--Ballast-heaving--Chimney on fire, and +clock-cleaning--Birth of Robert Stephenson--George +removes to West Moor, Killingworth--Death of his +wife--Engineman at Montrose, Scotland--His +pump-boot--Saves money--His return to +Killingworth--Brakesman at West Moor--Is drawn for +the Militia--Thinks of emigrating to America--Takes +a contract for brakeing engines--Improves the +winding-engine--Cures a pumping-engine--Becomes +famous as an engine-doctor--Appointed engine-wright +of a colliery + + CHAPTER IV. + + THE STEPHENSONS AT KILLINGWORTH--EDUCATION AND SELF-EDUCATION OF + FATHER AND SON. + +George Stephenson's self-improvement--John 47-62 +Wigham--Studies in Natural +Philosophy--Sobriety--Education of Robert +Stephenson--Sent to Rutter's school, Benton--Bruce's +school, Newcastle--Literary and Philosophical +Institute--George educates his son in +Mechanics--Ride to Killingworth--Robert's boyish +tricks--Repeats the Franklin +kite-experiment--Stephenson's cottage, West +Moor--Odd mechanical expedients--Competition in +last-making--Father and son make a +sun-dial--Colliery improvements--Stephenson's +mechanical expertness + + CHAPTER V. + + EARLY HISTORY OF THE LOCOMOTIVE--GEORGE STEPHENSON BEGINS ITS + IMPROVEMENT. + +Various expedients for 63-88 +coal-haulage--Sailing-waggons--Mr. Edgworth's +experiments--Cugnot's first locomotive +steam-carriage--Murdock's model +locomotive--Trevithick's steam-carriage and +tram-engine--Blenkinsop's engine--Chapman and +Brunton's locomotives--The Wylam waggon-way--Mr. +Blackett's experiments--Jonathan Foster--William +Hedley--The Wylam engine--Stephenson determines to +build a locomotive--Lord Ravensworth--The first +Killingworth engine described--The steam-blast +invented--Stephenson's second locomotive + + CHAPTER VI. + + INVENTION OF THE "GEORDY" SAFETY-LAMP. + +Frequency of colliery explosions--Accident in the 89-108 +Killingworth Pit--Stephenson's heroic conduct--A +safety-lamp described--Dr. Clanny's +lamp--Stephenson's experiments on fire-damp--Designs +a lamp, and tests it in the pit--Cottage experiments +with coal-gas--Stephenson's second and third +lamps--The Stephenson and Davy controversy--Scene at +the Newcastle Institute--The Davy testimonial--The +Stephenson testimonial--Merits of the "Geordy" lamp + + CHAPTER VII. + + GEORGE STEPHENSON'S FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LOCOMOTIVE--THE +HETTON RAILWAY--ROBERT STEPHENSON AS VIEWER'S APPRENTICE AND STUDENT. + +The Killingworth mine machinery--Stephenson improves 109-122 +his locomotive--Strengthens the road--His +patent--His steam-springs--Experiments on +friction--Steam-locomotion on common roads--Early +neglect of the locomotive--Stephenson again thinks +of emigration--Constructs the Hetton Railway--The +working power employed--Robert Stephenson viewer's +apprentice--His pursuits at Killingworth--His father +sends him to Edinburgh University--His application +to the studies of Chemistry, Natural History, and +Natural Philosophy--His MS. volumes of +Lectures--Geological tour with Professor Jameson in +the Highlands + + CHAPTER VIII. + + GEORGE STEPHENSON ENGINEER OF THE STOCKTON AND DARLINGTON RAILWAY. + +The Bishop Auckland Coal-field--Edward Pease 123-145 +projects a railway from Witton to Stockton--The Bill +rejected--The line re-surveyed, and the Act +obtained--George Stephenson's visit to Edward +Pease--Appointed engineer of the railway--Again +surveys the line--Mr. Pease visits Killingworth--The +Newcastle locomotive works projected--The railway +constructed--Locomotives ordered--Stephenson's +anticipations as to railways--Public opening of the +line--The coal traffic--The first railway +passenger-coach--The coaching traffic described--The +"Locomotion" engine--Race with +stage-coach--Commercial results of the Stockton and +Darlington Railway--The town of Middlesborough +created + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY PROJECTED. + +Insufficient communications between Manchester and 146-172 +Liverpool--The canal monopoly--A tramroad +projected--Joseph Sanders--Sir R. Phillip's +speculations as to railways--Thomas Gray--William +James surveys a line between Liverpool and +Manchester--Opposition to the survey--Mr. James's +visits to Killingworth--Robert Stephenson assists in +the survey--George Stephenson appointed +engineer--The first prospectus--Stephenson's survey +opposed--The canal companies--Speculations as to +railway speed--Stephenson's notions thought +extravagant--Article in the 'Quarterly'--The Bill +before Parliament--The Evidence--George Stephenson +in the witness box--Examined as to speed--His +cross-examination--The survey found defective--Mr. +Harrison's speech--Evidence of opposing +engineers--Mr. Alderson's speech--The Bill +withdrawn--Stephenson's vexation--The scheme +prosecuted--The line re-surveyed--Sir Isaac Coffin's +speech--The Act passed + + CHAPTER X. + + CHAT MOSS--CONSTRUCTION OF THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY. + +George Stephenson appointed engineer--Chat Moss 173-192 +described--The resident engineers--Mr. Dixon's visit +of inspection--Stephenson's theory of a floating +road--Operations begun--Tar-barrel drains--The +embankment sinks in the Moss--Proposed abandonment +of the work--Stephenson perseveres--The obstacles +conquered--Road across Parr Moss--The road +formed--Stephenson's organization of labour--The +Liverpool Tunnel--Olive Mount Cutting--Sankey +Viaduct--Stephenson and Cropper--Stephenson's +labours--Pupils and assistants--His daily +life--Practical education--Evenings at home + + CHAPTER XI. + + ROBERT STEPHENSON'S RESIDENCE IN COLOMBIA AND RETURN--THE BATTLE OF + THE LOCOMOTIVE--THE "ROCKET." + +Robert Stephenson mining engineer in Colombia--Mule 193-220 +journey to Bogota--Mariquita--Silver +mining--Difficulties with the Cornishmen--His +cottage at Santa Anna--Longs to return home--Resigns +his post--Meeting with Trevithick--Voyage to New +York, and shipwreck--Returns to Newcastle, and takes +charge of the factory--The working power of the +Liverpool and Manchester Railway--Fixed engines and +locomotives, and their respective advocates--Walker +and Rastrick's report--A prize offered for the best +locomotive--Conferences of the Stephensons--Boiler +arrangements and heating surface--Mr. Booth's +contrivance--Building of the "Rocket"--The +competition of engines at Rainhill--The "Novelty" +and "Sanspareil"--Triumph of the "Rocket," and its +destination + + CHAPTER XII. + +OPENING OF THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY, AND EXTENSION OF THE + RAILWAY SYSTEM. + +The railway finished--The traffic arrangements 221-236 +organized--Public opening of the line--Accident to +Mr. Huskisson--Arrival of the trains at +Manchester--The traffic results--Improvement of the +road and rolling stock--Improvements in the +locomotive--The railway a wonder--Extension of the +railway system--Joint-stock railway companies--New +lines projected--New engineers--The Grand +Junction--Public opposition to railways--Robert +Stephenson engineer to the Leicester and Swannington +Railway--George Stephenson removes to +Snibston--Sinks for and gets coal--Stimulates local +enterprise--His liberality + + CHAPTER XIII. + + ROBERT STEPHENSON CONSTRUCTS THE LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY. + +The line projected--George and Robert Stephenson 237-252 +appointed engineers--Opposition--Hostile pamphlets +and public meetings--Robert Stephenson and Sir +Astley Cooper--The survey obstructed--The opposing +clergyman--The Bill in Parliament--Thrown out in the +Lords--Proprietors conciliated, and the Act +obtained--The works let in contracts--The +difficulties of the undertaking--The line +described--Blisworth Cutting--Primrose Hill +Tunnel--Kilsby Tunnel--Its construction +described--Cost of the Railway greatly +increased--Failure of contractors--Magnitude of the +works--Railway navvies + + CHAPTER XIV. + + MANCHESTER AND LEEDS, AND MIDLAND RAILWAYS--STEPHENSON'S LIFE AT + ALTON--VISIT TO BELGIUM--GENERAL EXTENSION OF RAILWAYS AND THEIR + RESULTS. + +Projection of new lines--Dutton Viaduct, Grand 253-274 +Junction--The Manchester and Leeds--Summit Tunnel, +Littleborough--Magnitude of the work--The Midland +Railway--The works compared with the Simplon +road--Slip near Ambergate--Bull Bridge--The York and +North Midland--George Stephenson on his surveys--His +quick observation--Travelling and +correspondence--Life at Alton Grange--The +Stephensons' London office--Visits to +Belgium--Interviews with the King--Public openings +of English railways--Stephenson's pupils and +assistants--Prophecies falsified concerning +railways--Their advantageous results + + CHAPTER XV. + + GEORGE STEPHENSON'S COAL MINES--THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM--RAILWAY + MANIA--VISITS TO BELGIUM AND SPAIN. + +George Stephenson on railways and 275-300 +coal-traffic--Leases the Claycross estate, and sinks +for coal--His extensive lime-works--Removes to +Tapton House--British Association at +Newcastle--Appears at Mechanics' Institutes--Speech +at Leeds--His self-acting brake--His views of +railway speed--Theory of "undulating lines"--Chester +and Birkenhead Company--Stephenson's +liberality--Atmospheric railways +projected--Stephenson opposes the principle of +working--The railway mania--Stephenson resists, and +warns against it--George Hudson, "Railway +King"--Parliament and the mania--Stephenson's letter +to Sir R. Peel--Again visits Belgium--Interviews +with King Leopold--Journey into Spain + + CHAPTER XVI. + + ROBERT STEPHENSON'S CAREER--THE STEPHENSONS AND BRUNEL--EAST COAST + ROUTE TO SCOTLAND--ROYAL BORDER BRIDGE, BERWICK--HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE, + NEWCASTLE. + +George Stephenson's retirement--Robert's employment 301-319 +as Parliamentary Engineer--His rival Brunel--The +Great Western Railway--The width of gauge--Robert +Stephenson's caution as to investments--The +Newcastle and Berwick Railway--Contest in +Parliament--George Stephenson's interview with Lord +Howick--Royal Border Bridge, Berwick--Progress of +iron-bridge building--Robert Stephenson constructs +the High Level Bridge, Newcastle--Pile-driving by +steam--Characteristics of the structure--Through +railway to Scotland completed + + CHAPTER XVII. + + ROBERT STEPHENSON'S TUBULAR BRIDGES AT MENAI AND CONWAY. + +George Stephenson surveys a line from Chester to 320-340 +Holyhead--Robert Stephenson's construction of the +works at Penmaen Mawr--Crossing of the Menai +Strait--Various plans proposed--A tubular beam +determined on--Strength of wrought-iron tubes--Mr. +William Fairbairn consulted--His experiments--The +design settled--The Britannia Bridge described--The +Conway Bridge--Floating of the tubes--Lifting of the +tubes--Robert Stephenson's anxieties--Bursting of +the Hydraulic Press--The works completed--Merits of +the Britannia and Conway Bridges + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + GEORGE STEPHENSON'S CLOSING YEARS--ILLNESS AND DEATH. + +George Stephenson's Life at Tapton--Experiments in 341-356 +Horticulture, Gardening, and Farming--Affection for +animals--Bird-hatching and bee-keeping--Reading and +conversation--Rencontre with Lord +Denman--Hospitality at Tapton--Experiments with the +microscope--Frolics--"A crowdie night"--Visits to +London--Visit to Sir Robert Peel at Drayton +Manor--Encounter with Dr. Buckland--Coal formed by +the sun's light--Opening of the Trent Valley +Railway--Meeting with Emerson--Illness, death, and +funeral--Memorial Statues + + CHAPTER XIX. + + ROBERT STEPHENSON'S VICTORIA BRIDGE, LOWER CANADA--ILLNESS AND + DEATH--STEPHENSON CHARACTERISTICS. + +Robert Stephenson's inheritances--Gradual retirement 357-380 +from the profession of engineer--His last great +works--Tubular Bridges over the St. Lawrence and the +Nile--The Grand Trunk Railway, Canada--Necessity for +a great railway bridge near Montreal--Discussion as +to the plan--Robert Stephenson's report--A tubular +bridge determined on--Massiveness of the +piers--Ice-floods in the St. Lawrence--Victoria +Bridge constructed and completed--Tubular bridges in +Egypt--The Suez Canal--Robert Stephenson's +employment as arbitrator--Assists Brunel at +launching of the "Great Eastern"--Regardlessness of +health--Death and Funeral--Characteristics of the +Stephensons and resume of their history--Politics of +father and son--Services rendered to civilization by +the Stephensons + +INDEX 381 + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + PAGE +Portrait of George Stephenson _to face title page_ +High Level Bridge, _to face_ 1 +Map of Newcastle District 2 +Flange rail 6 +Coal-staith on the Tyne 10 +Coal waggons 11 +Wylam Colliery and village 12 +High Street House, Wylam--George Stephenson's birthplace 14 +Newburn on the Tyne 20 +Colliery Whimsey 30 +Stephenson's Cottage, Willington Quay 31 +West Moor Colliery 37 +Killingworth High Pit 46 +Glebe Farm House, Benton 47 +Rutter's School House, Long Benton 51 +Bruce's School, Newcastle 53 +Stephenson's Cottage, West Moor 57 +Sun-dial at Killingworth 60 +Colliers' Cottages at Long Benton 62 +Cugnot's Engine 64 +Section of Murdock's Model Locomotive 66 +Trevithick's high-pressure Tram-Engine 70 +Improved Wylam Engine 78 +Spur-gear 83 +The Pit-head, West Moor 91 +Davy's and Stephenson's Safety-lamps 101 +West Moor Pit, Killingworth 108 +Half-lap joint 111 +Old Killingworth Locomotive 113 +Map of Stockton and Darlington Railway 123 +Portrait of Edward Pease 124 +The first Railway Coach 139 +The No. 1 Engine at Darlington 142 +Middlesborough-on-Tees 145 +Map of Liverpool and Manchester Railway (Western Part) 150 + ,, (Eastern part) 151 +Surveying on Chat Moss 172 +Olive Mount Cutting 184 +Sankey Viaduct 186 +Robert Stephenson's Cottage at Santa Anna 198 +The "Rocket" 212 +Locomotive competition, Rainhill 215 +Railway _versus_ Road 220 +Map of Leicester and Swannington Railway 233 +Stephenson's House at Alton Grange 236 +Portrait of Robert Stephenson, _to face_ 237 +Map of London and Birmingham Railway (Rugby to Watford) 242 +Blisworth Cutting 243 +Shafts over Kilsby Tunnel 246 +Dutton Viaduct 254 +Entrance to Summit Tunnel, Lancashire and Yorkshire 256 +Railway +Land-slip, near Ambergate, North Midland Railway 259 +Bullbridge, near Ambergate 260 +Coalville and Snibston Colliery 274 +Tapton House, near Chesterfield 275 +Lime-works at Ambergate 278 +Newcastle, from the High Level Bridge 301 +Royal Border Bridge, Berwick-upon-Tweed 311 +High Level Bridge--Elevation of one Arch 318 +Penmaen Mawr 322 +Map of Menai Straits 325 +Conway Tubular Bridge 334 +Britannia Bridge 339 +Conway Bridge--Floating the first Tube 340 +View in Tapton Gardens 341 +Pathway to Tapton House 347 +Trinity Church, Chesterfield 355 +Tablet in Trinity Church, Chesterfield 356 +The Victoria Bridge, Montreal 357 +Robert Stephenson's Burial-place in Westminster Abbey 369 +The Stephenson Memorial Schools, Willington Quay 380 + + [Picture: Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the High-level Bridge] + + + + +CHAPTER I. +NEWCASTLE AND THE GREAT NORTHERN COAL-FIELD. + + +In no quarter of England have greater changes been wrought by the +successive advances made in the practical science of engineering than in +the extensive colliery districts of the North, of which +Newcastle-upon-Tyne is the centre and the capital. + +In ancient times the Romans planted a colony at Newcastle, throwing a +bridge across the Tyne near the site of the low-level bridge shown in the +prefixed engraving, and erecting a strong fortification above it on the +high ground now occupied by the Central Railway Station. North and +north-west lay a wild country, abounding in moors, mountains, and +morasses, but occupied to a certain extent by fierce and barbarous +tribes. To defend the young colony against their ravages, a strong wall +was built by the Romans, extending from Wallsend on the north bank of the +Tyne, a few miles below Newcastle, across the country to Burgh-upon-Sands +on the Solway Firth. The remains of the wall are still to be traced in +the less populous hill-districts of Northumberland. In the neighbourhood +of Newcastle they have been gradually effaced by the works of succeeding +generations, though the "Wallsend" coal consumed in our household fires +still serves to remind us of the great Roman work. + + [Picture: Map of Newcastle District] + +After the withdrawal of the Romans, Northumbria became planted by +immigrant Saxons from North Germany and Norsemen from Scandinavia, whose +Eorls or Earls made Newcastle their principal seat. Then came the +Normans, from whose _New_ Castle, built some eight hundred years since, +the town derived its present name. The keep of this venerable structure, +black with age and smoke, still stands entire at the northern end of the +noble high-level bridge--the utilitarian work of modern times thus +confronting the warlike relic of the older civilisation. + +The nearness of Newcastle to the Scotch Border was a great hindrance to +its security and progress in the middle ages of English history. Indeed, +the district between it and Berwick continued to be ravaged by +moss-troopers long after the union of the Crowns. The gentry lived in +their strong Peel castles; even the larger farm-houses were fortified; +and bloodhounds were trained for the purpose of tracking the +cattle-reavers to their retreats in the hills. The Judges of Assize rode +from Carlisle to Newcastle guarded by an escort armed to the teeth. A +tribute called "dagger and protection money" was annually paid by the +Sheriff of Newcastle for the purpose of providing daggers and other +weapons for the escort; and, though the need of such protection has long +since ceased, the tribute continues to be paid in broad gold pieces of +the time of Charles the First. + +Until about the middle of last century the roads across Northumberland +were little better than horse-tracks, and not many years since the +primitive agricultural cart with solid wooden wheels was almost as common +in the western parts of the county as it is in Spain now. The tract of +the old Roman road continued to be the most practicable route between +Newcastle and Carlisle, the traffic between the two towns having been +carried along it upon packhorses until a comparatively recent period. + +Since that time great changes have taken place on the Tyne. When wood +for firing became scarce and dear, and the forests of the South of +England were found inadequate to supply the increasing demand for fuel, +attention was turned to the rich stores of coal lying underground in the +neighbourhood of Newcastle and Durham. It then became an article of +increasing export, and "seacoal" fires gradually supplanted those of +wood. Hence an old writer described Newcastle as "the Eye of the North, +and the Hearth that warmeth the South parts of this kingdom with Fire." +Fuel has become the staple product of the district, the quantity exported +increasing from year to year, until the coal raised from these northern +mines amounts to upwards of sixteen millions of tons a year, of which not +less than nine millions are annually conveyed away by sea. + +Newcastle has in the mean time spread in all directions far beyond its +ancient boundaries. From a walled mediaeval town of monks and merchants, +it has been converted into a busy centre of commerce and manufactures +inhabited by nearly 100,000 people. It is no longer a Border fortress--a +"shield and defence against the invasions and frequent insults of the +Scots," as described in ancient charters--but a busy centre of peaceful +industry, and the outlet for a vast amount of steam-power, which is +exported in the form of coal to all parts of the world. Newcastle is in +many respects a town of singular and curious interest, especially in its +older parts, which are full of crooked lanes and narrow streets, wynds, +and chares, {4} formed by tall, antique houses, rising tier above tier +along the steep northern bank of the Tyne, as the similarly precipitous +streets of Gateshead crowd the opposite shore. + +All over the coal region, which extends from the Coquet to the Tees, +about fifty miles from north to south, the surface of the soil exhibits +the signs of extensive underground workings. As you pass through the +country at night, the earth looks as if it were bursting with fire at +many points; the blaze of coke-ovens, iron-furnaces, and coal-heaps +reddening the sky to such a distance that the horizon seems to be a +glowing belt of fire. + +From the necessity which existed for facilitating the transport of coals +from the pits to the shipping places, it is easy to understand how the +railway and the locomotive should have first found their home in such a +district as we have thus briefly described. At an early period the coal +was carried to the boats in panniers, or in sacks upon horses' backs. +Then carts were used, to facilitate the progress of which tramways of +flag-stone were laid down. This led to the enlargement of the vehicle, +which became known as a waggon, and it was mounted on four wheels instead +of two. A local writer about the middle of the seventeenth century says, +"Many thousand people are engaged in this trade of coals; many live by +working of them in the pits; and many live by conveying them in waggons +and wains to the river Tyne." + +Still further to facilitate the haulage of the waggons, pieces of +planking were laid parallel upon wooden sleepers, or imbedded in the +ordinary track, by which friction was still further diminished. It is +said that these wooden rails were first employed by one Beaumont, about +1630; and on a road thus laid, a single horse was capable of drawing a +large loaded waggon from the coal-pit to the shipping staith. Roger +North, in 1676, found the practice had become extensively adopted, and he +speaks of the large sums then paid for way-leaves; that is, the +permission granted by the owners of lands lying between the coal-pit and +the river-side to lay down a tramway between the one and the other. A +century later, Arthur Young observed that not only had these roads become +greatly multiplied, but important works had been constructed to carry +them along upon the same level. "The coal-waggon roads from the pits to +the water," he says, "are great works, carried over all sorts of +inequalities of ground, so far as the distance of nine or ten miles. The +tracks of the wheels are marked with pieces of wood let into the road for +the wheels of the waggons to run on, by which one horse is enabled to +draw, and that with ease, fifty or sixty bushels of coals." {5} + +Similar waggon-roads were laid down in the coal districts of Wales, +Cumberland, and Scotland. At the time of the Scotch rebellion in 1745, a +tramroad existed between the Tranent coal-pits and the small harbour of +Cockenzie in East Lothian; and a portion of the line was selected by +General Cope as a position for his cannon at the battle of Prestonpans. + +In these rude wooden tracks we find the germ of the modern railroad. +Improvements were gradually made in them. Thus, at some collieries, thin +plates of iron were nailed upon their upper surface, for the purpose of +protecting the parts most exposed to friction. Cast-iron rails were also +tried, the wooden rails having been found liable to rot. The first rails +of this kind are supposed to have been used at Whitehaven as early as +1738. This cast-iron road was denominated a "plate-way," from the +plate-like form in which the rails were cast. In 1767, as appears from +the books of the Coalbrookdale Iron Works, in Shropshire, five or six +tons of rails were cast, as an experiment, on the suggestion of Mr. +Reynolds, one of the partners; and they were shortly after laid down to +form a road. + +In 1776, a cast-iron tramway, nailed to wooden sleepers, was laid down at +the Duke of Norfolk's colliery near Sheffield. The person who designed +and constructed this coal line was Mr. John Curr, whose son has +erroneously claimed for him the invention of the cast-iron railway. He +certainly adopted it early, and thereby met the fate of men before their +age; for his plan was opposed by the labouring people of the colliery, +who got up a riot in which they tore up the road and burnt the +coal-staith, whilst Mr. Curr fled into a neighbouring wood for +concealment, and lay there _perdu_ for three days and nights, to escape +the fury of the populace. The plates of these early tramways had a ledge +cast on their edge to guide the wheel along the road, after the manner +shown in the annexed cut. + + [Picture: Flange rail] + +In 1789, Mr. William Jessop constructed a railway at Loughborough, in +Leicestershire, and there introduced the cast-iron edge-rail, with +flanches cast upon the tire of the waggon-wheels to keep them on the +track, instead of having the margin or flanch cast upon the rail itself; +and this plan was shortly after adopted in other places. In 1800, Mr. +Benjamin Outram, of Little Eaton, in Derbyshire (father of the +distinguished General Outram), used stone props instead of timber for +supporting the ends or joinings of the rails. Thus the use of railroads, +in various forms, gradually extended, until they were found in general +use all over the mining districts. + +Such was the growth of the railway, which, it will be observed, +originated in necessity, and was modified according to experience; +progress in this, as in all departments of mechanics, having been +effected by the exertions of many men, one generation entering upon the +labours of that which preceded it, and carrying them onward to further +stages of improvement. We shall afterwards find that the invention of +the locomotive was made by like successive steps. It was not the +invention of one man, but of a succession of men, each working at the +proper hour, and according to the needs of that hour; one inventor +interpreting only the first word of the problem which his successors were +to solve after long and laborious efforts and experiments. "The +locomotive is not the invention of one man," said Robert Stephenson at +Newcastle, "but of a nation of mechanical engineers." + +The same circumstances which led to the rapid extension of railways in +the coal districts of the north tended to direct the attention of the +mining engineers to the early development of the powers of the +steam-engine as a useful instrument of motive power. The necessity which +existed for a more effective method of hauling the coals from the pits to +the shipping places was constantly present to many minds; and the daily +pursuits of a large class of mechanics occupied in the management of +steam power, by which the coal was raised from the pits, and the mines +were pumped clear of water, had the effect of directing their attention +to the same agency as the best means for accomplishing that object. + +Among the upper-ground workmen employed at the coal-pits, the principal +are the firemen, enginemen, and brakes-men, who fire and work the +engines, and superintend the machinery by means of which the collieries +are worked. Previous to the introduction of the steam-engine the usual +machine employed for the purpose was what is called a "gin." The gin +consists of a large drum placed horizontally, round which ropes attached +to buckets and corves are wound, which are thus drawn up or sent down the +shafts by a horse travelling in a circular track or "gin race." This +method was employed for drawing up both coals and water, and it is still +used for the same purpose in small collieries; but where the quantity of +water to be raised is great, pumps worked by steam power are called into +requisition. + +Newcomen's atmospheric engine was first made use of to work the pumps; +and it continued to be so employed long after the more powerful and +economical condensing engine of Watt had been invented. In the Newcomen +or "fire engine," as it was called, the power is produced by the pressure +of the atmosphere forcing down the piston in the cylinder, on a vacuum +being produced within it by condensation of the contained steam by means +of cold water injection. The piston-rod is attached to one end of a +lever, whilst the pump-rod works in connexion with the other,--the +hydraulic action employed to raise the water being exactly similar to +that of a common sucking-pump. + +The working of a Newcomen engine was a clumsy and apparently a very +painful process, accompanied by an extraordinary amount of wheezing, +sighing, creaking, and bumping. When the pump descended, there was heard +a plunge, a heavy sigh, and a loud bump: then, as it rose, and the sucker +began to act, there was heard a croak, a wheeze, another bump, and then a +strong rush of water as it was lifted and poured out. Where engines of a +more powerful and improved description are used, the quantity of water +raised is enormous--as much as a million and a half gallons in the +twenty-four hours. + +The pitmen, or "the lads belaw," who work out the coal below ground, are +a peculiar class, quite distinct from the workmen on the surface. They +are a people with peculiar habits, manners, and character, as much as +fishermen and sailors, to whom, indeed, they bear, in some respects, a +considerable resemblance. Some fifty years since they were a much +rougher and worse educated class than they are now; hard workers, but +very wild and uncouth; much given to "steeks," or strikes; and +distinguished, in their hours of leisure and on pay-nights, for their +love of cock-fighting, dog-fighting, hard drinking, and cuddy races. The +pay-night was a fortnightly saturnalia, in which the pitman's character +was fully brought out, especially when the "yel" was good. Though +earning much higher wages than the ordinary labouring population of the +upper soil, the latter did not mix nor intermarry with them; so that they +were left to form their own communities, and hence their marked +peculiarities as a class. Indeed, a sort of traditional disrepute seems +long to have clung to the pitmen, arising perhaps from the nature of +their employment, and from the circumstance that the colliers were among +the last classes enfranchised in England, as they were certainly the last +in Scotland, where they continued bondmen down to the end of last +century. The last thirty years, however, have worked a great improvement +in the moral condition of the Northumbrian pitmen; the abolition of the +twelve months' bond to the mine, and the substitution of a month's notice +previous to leaving, having given them greater freedom and opportunity +for obtaining employment; and day-schools and Sunday-schools, together +with the important influences of railways, have brought them fully up to +a level with the other classes of the labouring population. + +The coals, when raised from the pits, are emptied into the waggons placed +alongside, from whence they are sent along the rails to the staiths +erected by the river-side, the waggons sometimes descending by their own +gravity along inclined planes, the waggoner standing behind to check the +speed by means of a convoy or wooden brake bearing upon the rims of the +wheels. Arrived at the staiths, the waggons are emptied at once into the +ships waiting alongside for cargo. Any one who has sailed down the Tyne +from Newcastle Bridge cannot but have been struck with the appearance of +the immense staiths, constructed of timber, which are erected at short +distances from each other on both sides of the river. + + [Picture: Coal-Staith on the Tyne] + +But a great deal of the coal shipped from the Tyne comes from +above-bridge, where sea-going craft cannot reach, and is floated down the +river in "keels," in which the coals are sometimes piled up according to +convenience when large, or, when the coal is small or tender, it is +conveyed in tubs to prevent breakage. These keels are of a very ancient +model,--perhaps the oldest extant in England: they are even said to be of +the same build as those in which the Norsemen navigated the Tyne +centuries ago. The keel is a tubby, grimy-looking craft, rounded fore +and aft, with a single large square sail, which the keel-bullies, as the +Tyne watermen are called, manage with great dexterity; the vessel being +guided by the aid of the "swape," or great oar, which is used as a kind +of rudder at the stern of the vessel. These keelmen are an exceedingly +hardy class of workmen, not by any means so quarrelsome as their +designation of "bully" would imply--the word being merely derived from +the obsolete term "boolie," or beloved, an appellation still in familiar +use amongst brother workers in the coal districts. One of the most +curious sights upon the Tyne is the fleet of hundreds of these +black-sailed, black-hulled keels, bringing down at each tide their black +cargoes for the ships at anchor in the deep water at Shields and other +parts of the river below Newcastle. + +These preliminary observations will perhaps be sufficient to explain the +meaning of many of the occupations alluded to, and the phrases employed, +in the course of the following narrative, some of which might otherwise +have been comparatively unintelligible to the general reader. + + [Picture: Coal Waggons] + + [Picture: Wylam Colliery and Village] + + + + +CHAPTER II. +WYLAM AND DEWLEY BURN--GEORGE STEPHENSON'S EARLY YEARS. + + +The colliery village of Wylam is situated on the north bank of the Tyne, +about eight miles west of Newcastle. The Newcastle and Carlisle railway +runs along the opposite bank; and the traveller by that line sees the +usual signs of a colliery in the unsightly pumping-engines surrounded by +heaps of ashes, coal-dust, and slag; whilst a neighbouring iron-furnace +in full blast throws out dense smoke and loud jets of steam by day and +lurid flames at night. These works form the nucleus of the village, +which is almost entirely occupied by coal-miners and iron-furnacemen. +The place is remarkable for its large population, but not for its +cleanness or neatness as a village; the houses, as in most colliery +villages, being the property of the owners or lessees, who employ them in +temporarily accommodating the workpeople, against whose earnings there is +a weekly set-off for house and coals. About the end of last century the +estate of which Wylam forms part, belonged to Mr. Blackett, a gentleman +of considerable celebrity in coal-mining, then more generally known as +the proprietor of the 'Globe' newspaper. + +There is nothing to interest one in the village itself. But a few +hundred yards from its eastern extremity stands a humble detached +dwelling, which will be interesting to many as the birthplace of one of +the most remarkable men of our times--George Stephenson, the Railway +Engineer. It is a common two-storied, red-tiled, rubble house, portioned +off into four labourers' apartments. It is known by the name of High +Street House, and was originally so called because it stands by the side +of what used to be the old riding post road or street between Newcastle +and Hexham, along which the post was carried on horseback within the +memory of persons living. + +The lower room in the west end of this house was the home of the +Stephenson family; and there George Stephenson was born, the second of a +family of six children, on the 9th of June, 1781. The apartment is now, +what it was then, an ordinary labourer's dwelling,--its walls are +unplastered, its floor is of clay, and the bare rafters are exposed +overhead. + +Robert Stephenson, or "Old Bob," as the neighbours familiarly called him, +and his wife Mabel, were a respectable couple, careful and hard-working. +It is said that Robert Stephenson's father was a Scotchman, and came into +England as a gentleman's servant. Mabel, his wife, was the daughter of +Robert Carr, a dyer at Ovingham. When first married, they lived at +Walbottle, a village situated between Wylam and Newcastle, afterwards +removing to Wylam, where Robert was employed as fireman of the old +pumping engine at that colliery. + + [Picture: High-street House, Wylam, the Birthplace of George Stephenson] + +An old Wylam collier, who remembered George Stephenson's father, thus +described him:--"Geordie's fayther war like a peer o' deals nailed +thegither, an' a bit o' flesh i' th' inside; he war as queer as Dick's +hatband--went thrice aboot, an' wudn't tie. His wife Mabel war a +delicat' boddie, an' varry flighty. Thay war an honest family, but sair +hadden doon i' th' world." Indeed, the earnings of old Robert did not +amount to more than twelve shillings a week; and, as there were six +children to maintain, the family, during their stay at Wylam, were +necessarily in very straitened circumstances. The father's wages being +barely sufficient, even with the most rigid economy, for the sustenance +of the household, there was little to spare for clothing, and nothing for +education, so none of the children were sent to school. + +Old Robert was a general favourite in the village, especially amongst the +children, whom he was accustomed to draw about him whilst tending the +engine-fire, and feast their young imaginations with tales of Sinbad the +Sailor and Robinson Crusoe, besides others of his own invention; so that +"Bob's engine-fire" came to be the most popular resort in the village. +Another feature in his character, by which he was long remembered, was +his affection for birds and animals; and he had many tame favourites of +both sorts, which were as fond of resorting to his engine-fire as the +boys and girls themselves. In the winter time he had usually a flock of +tame robins about him; and they would come hopping familiarly to his feet +to pick up the crumbs which he had saved for them out of his humble +dinner. At his cottage he was rarely without one or more tame +blackbirds, which flew about the house, or in and out at the door. In +summer-time he would go a-birdnesting with his children; and one day he +took his little son George to see a blackbird's nest for the first time. +Holding him up in his arms, he let the wondering boy peep down, through +the branches held aside for the purpose, into a nest full of young +birds--a sight which the boy never forgot, but used to speak of with +delight to his intimate friends when he himself had grown an old man. + +The boy George led the ordinary life of working-people's children. He +played about the doors; went birdnesting when he could; and ran errands +to the village. He was also an eager listener, with the other children, +to his father's curious tales; and he early imbibed from him that +affection for birds and animals which continued throughout his life. In +course of time he was promoted to the office of carrying his father's +dinner to him while at work, and it was on such occasions his great +delight to see the robins fed. At home he helped to nurse, and that with +a careful hand, his younger brothers and sisters. One of his duties was +to see that the other children were kept out of the way of the chaldron +waggons, which were then dragged by horses along the wooden tramroad +immediately in front of the cottage-door. This waggon-way was the first +in the northern district on which the experiment of a locomotive engine +was tried. But at the time of which we speak, the locomotive had +scarcely been dreamt of in England as a practicable working power; horses +only were used to haul the coal; and one of the first sights with which +the boy was familiar was the coal-waggons dragged by them along the +wooden railway at Wylam. + +Thus eight years passed; after which, the coal having been worked out, +the old engine, which had grown "dismal to look at," as one of the +workmen described it, was pulled down; and then Robert, having obtained +employment as a fireman at the Dewley Burn Colliery, removed with his +family to that place. Dewley Burn, at this day, consists of a few +old-fashioned low-roofed cottages standing on either side of a babbling +little stream. They are connected by a rustic wooden bridge, which spans +the rift in front of the doors. In the central one-roomed cottage of +this group, on the right bank, Robert Stephenson lived for a time with +his family; the pit at which he worked standing in the rear of the +cottages. + +Young though he was, George was now of an age to be able to contribute +something towards the family maintenance; for in a poor man's house, +every child is a burden until his little hands can be turned to +profitable account. That the boy was shrewd and active, and possessed of +a ready mother wit, will be evident enough from the following incident. +One day his sister Nell went into Newcastle to buy a bonnet; and Geordie +went with her "for company." At a draper's shop in the Bigg Market, Nell +found a "chip" quite to her mind, but on pricing it, alas! it was found +to be fifteen pence beyond her means, and she left the shop very much +disappointed. But Geordie said, "Never heed, Nell; see if I canna win +siller enough to buy the bonnet; stand ye there, till I come back." Away +ran the boy and disappeared amidst the throng of the market, leaving the +girl to wait his return. Long and long she waited, until it grew dusk, +and the market people had nearly all left. She had begun to despair, and +fears crossed her mind that Geordie must have been run over and killed; +when at last up he came running, almost breathless. "I've gotten the +siller for the bonnet, Nell!" cried he. "Eh Geordie!" she said, "but hoo +hae ye gotten it?" "Haudin the gentlemen's horses!" was the exultant +reply. The bonnet was forthwith bought, and the two returned to Dewley +happy. + +George's first regular employment was of a very humble sort. A widow, +named Grace Ainslie, then occupied the neighbouring farmhouse of Dewley. +She kept a number of cows, and had the privilege of grazing them along +the waggon-road. She needed a boy to herd the cows, to keep them out of +the way of the waggons, and prevent their straying or trespassing on the +neighbours' "liberties;" the boy's duty was also to bar the gates at +night after all the waggons had passed. George petitioned for this post, +and, to his great joy, he was appointed at the wage of twopence a day. + +It was light employment, and he had plenty of spare time on his hands, +which he spent in birdnesting, making whistles out of reeds and scrannel +straws, and erecting Lilliputian mills in the little water-streams that +ran into the Dewley bog. But his favourite amusement at this early age +was erecting clay engines in conjunction with his chosen playmate, Bill +Thirlwall. The place is still pointed out where the future engineers +made their first essays in modelling. The boys found the clay for their +engines in the adjoining bog, and the hemlocks which grew about supplied +them with imaginary steam-pipes. They even proceeded to make a miniature +winding-machine in connexion with their engine, and the apparatus was +erected upon a bench in front of the Thirlwalls' cottage. The corves +were made out of hollowed corks; the ropes were supplied by twine; and a +few bits of wood gleaned from the refuse of the carpenter's shop +completed their materials. With this apparatus the boys made a show of +sending the corves down the pit and drawing them up again, much to the +marvel of the pitmen. But some mischievous person about the place seized +the opportunity early one morning of smashing the fragile machinery, much +to the grief of the young engineers. + +As Stephenson grew older and abler to work, he was set to lead the horses +when ploughing, though scarce big enough to stride across the furrows; +and he used afterwards to say that he rode to his work in the mornings at +an hour when most other children of his age were asleep in their beds. +He was also employed to hoe turnips, and do similar farm-work, for which +he was paid the advanced wage of fourpence a day. But his highest +ambition was to be taken on at the colliery where his father worked; and +he shortly joined his elder brother James there as a "corf-bitter," or +"picker," to clear the coal of stones, bats, and dross. His wages were +then advanced to sixpence a day, and afterwards to eightpence when he was +set to drive the gin-horse. + +Shortly after, George went to Black Callerton to drive the gin there; and +as that colliery lies about two miles across the fields from Dewley Burn, +he walked that distance early in the morning to his work, returning home +late in the evening. One of the old residents at Black Callerton, who +remembered him at that time, described him to the author as "a grit +growing lad, with bare legs an' feet;" adding that he was "very +quick-witted and full of fun and tricks: indeed, there was nothing under +the sun but he tried to imitate." He was usually foremost also in the +sports and pastimes of youth. + +Among his first strongly-developed tastes was the love of birds and +animals, which he inherited from his father. Blackbirds were his special +favourites. The hedges between Dewley and Black Callerton were capital +bird-nesting places; and there was not a nest there that he did not know +of. When the young birds were old enough, he would bring them home with +him, feed them, and teach them to fly about the cottage unconfined by +cages. One of his blackbirds became so tame, that, after flying about +the doors all day, and in and out of the cottage, it would take up its +roost upon the bed-head at night. And most singular of all, the bird +would disappear in the spring and summer months, when it was supposed to +go into the woods to pair and rear its young, after which it would +reappear at the cottage, and resume its social habits during the winter. +This went on for several years. George had also a stock of tame rabbits, +for which he built a little house behind the cottage, and for many years +he continued to pride himself upon the superiority of his breed. + +After he had driven the gin for some time at Dewley and Black Callerton, +he was taken on as an assistant to his father in firing the engine at +Dewley. This was a step of promotion which he had anxiously desired, his +only fear being lest he should be found too young for the work. Indeed, +he used afterwards to relate how he was wont to hide himself when the +owner of the colliery went round, in case he should be thought too little +a boy to earn the wages paid him. Since he had modelled his clay engines +in the bog, his young ambition was to be an engineman; and to be an +assistant fireman was the first step towards this position. Great +therefore was his joy when, at about fourteen years of age, he was +appointed assistant-fireman, at the wage of a shilling a day. + +But the coal at Dewley Burn being at length worked out, the pit was +ordered to be "laid in," and old Robert and his family were again under +the necessity of shifting their home; for, to use the common phrase, they +must "follow the wark." They removed accordingly to a place called +Jolly's Close, a few miles to the south, close behind the village of +Newburn, where another coal-mine belonging to the Duke of Northumberland, +called "the Duke's Winnin," had recently been opened out. + + [Picture: Newburn on the Tyne] + +One of the old persons in the neighbourhood, who knew the family well, +describes the dwelling in which they lived as a poor cottage of only one +room, in which the father, mother, four sons, and two daughters, lived +and slept. It was crowded with three low-poled beds. The one apartment +served for parlour, kitchen, sleeping-room, and all. + +The children of the Stephenson family were now growing apace, and several +of them were old enough to be able to earn money at various kinds of +colliery work. James and George, the two eldest sons, worked as +assistant-firemen; and the younger boys worked as wheelers or pickers on +the bank-tops. The two girls helped their mother with the household +work. + +Other workings of the coal were opened out in the neighbourhood; and to +one of these George was removed as fireman on his own account. This was +called the "Mid Mill Winnin," where he had for his mate a young man named +Coe. They worked together there for about two years, by twelve-hour +shifts, George firing the engine at the wage of a shilling a day. He was +now fifteen years old. His ambition was as yet limited to attaining the +standing of a full workman, at a man's wages; and with that view he +endeavoured to attain such a knowledge of his engine as would eventually +lead to his employment as an engineman, with its accompanying advantage +of higher pay. He was a steady, sober, hard-working young man, but +nothing more in the estimation of his fellow-workmen. + +One of his favourite pastimes in by-hours was trying feats of strength +with his companions. Although in frame he was not particularly robust, +yet he was big and bony, and considered very strong for his age. At +throwing the hammer George had no compeer. At lifting heavy weights off +the ground from between his feet, by means of a bar of iron passed +through them--placing the bar against his knees as a fulcrum, and then +straightening his spine and lifting them sheer up--he was also very +successful. On one occasion he lifted as much as sixty stones weight--a +striking indication of his strength of bone and muscle. + +When the pit at Mid Mill was closed, George and his companion Coe were +sent to work another pumping-engine erected near Throckley Bridge, where +they continued for some months. It was while working at this place that +his wages were raised to 12s. a week--an event to him of great +importance. On coming out of the foreman's office that Saturday evening +on which he received the advance, he announced the fact to his +fellow-workmen, adding triumphantly "I am now a made man for life!" + +The pit opened at Newburn, at which old Robert Stephenson worked, proving +a failure, it was closed; and a new pit was sunk at Water-row, on a strip +of land lying between the Wylam waggon-way and the river Tyne, about half +a mile west of Newburn Church. A pumping engine was erected there by +Robert Hawthorn, the Duke's engineer; and old Stephenson went to work it +as fireman, his son George acting as the engineman or plugman. At that +time he was about seventeen years old--a very youthful age at which to +fill so responsible a post. He had thus already got ahead of his father +in his station as a workman; for the plugman holds a higher grade than +the fireman, requiring more practical knowledge and skill, and usually +receiving higher wages. + +George's duty as plugman was to watch the engine, to see that it kept +well in work, and that the pumps were efficient in drawing the water. +When the water-level in the pit was lowered, and the suction became +incomplete through the exposure of the suction-holes, it was then his +duty to proceed to the bottom of the shaft and plug the tube so that the +pump should draw: hence the designation of "plugman." If a stoppage in +the engine took place through any defect which he was incapable of +remedying, it was for him to call in the aid of the chief engineer to set +it to rights. + +But from the time when George Stephenson was appointed fireman, and more +particularly afterwards as engineman, he applied himself so assiduously +and so successfully to the study of the engine and its gearing--taking +the machine to pieces in his leisure hours for the purpose of cleaning +and understanding its various parts--that he soon acquired a thorough +practical knowledge of its construction and mode of working, and very +rarely needed to call the engineer of the colliery to his aid. His +engine became a sort of pet with him, and he was never wearied of +watching and inspecting it with admiration. + +Though eighteen years old, like many of his fellow-workmen, Stephenson +had not yet learnt to read. All that he could do was to get some one to +read for him by his engine fire, out of any book or stray newspaper which +found its way into the neighbourhood. Buonaparte was then overrunning +Italy, and astounding Europe by his brilliant succession of victories; +and there was no more eager auditor of his exploits, as read from the +newspaper accounts, than the young engineman at the Water-row Pit. + +There were also numerous stray bits of information and intelligence +contained in these papers, which excited Stephenson's interest. One of +these related to the Egyptian method of hatching birds' eggs by means of +artificial heat. Curious about everything relating to birds, he +determined to test it by experiment. It was spring time, and he +forthwith went a birdnesting in the adjoining woods and hedges. He +gathered a collection of eggs of various sorts, set them in flour in a +warm place in the engine-house, covering the whole with wool, and then +waited the issue. The heat was kept as steady as possible, and the eggs +were carefully turned every twelve hours, but though they chipped, and +some of them exhibited well-grown chicks, they never hatched. The +experiment failed, but the incident shows that the inquiring mind of the +youth was fairly at work. + +Modelling of engines in clay continued to be another of his favourite +occupations. He made models of engines which he had seen, and of others +which were described to him. These attempts were an improvement upon his +first trials at Dewley Burn bog, when occupied there as a herd-boy. He +was, however, anxious to know something of the wonderful engines of +Boulton and Watt, and was told that they were to be found fully described +in books, which he must search for information as to their construction, +action and uses. But, alas! Stephenson could not read; he had not yet +learnt even his letters. + +Thus he shortly found, when gazing wistfully in the direction of +knowledge, that to advance further as a skilled workman, he must master +this wonderful art of reading--the key to so many other arts. Only thus +could he gain an access to books, the depositories of the wisdom and +experience of the past. Although a grown man, and doing the work of a +man, he was not ashamed to confess his ignorance, and go to school, big +as he was, to learn his letters. Perhaps, too, he foresaw that, in +laying out a little of his spare earnings for this purpose, he was +investing money judiciously, and that, in every hour he spent at school, +he was really working for better wages. + +His first schoolmaster was Robin Cowens, a poor teacher in the village of +Walbottle. He kept a night-school, which was attended by a few of the +colliers and labourers' sons in the neighbourhood. George took lessons +in spelling and reading three nights in the week. Robin Cowen's teaching +cost threepence a week; and though it was not very good, yet George, +being hungry for knowledge and eager to acquire it, soon learnt to read. +He also practised "pothooks," and at the age of nineteen he was proud to +be able to write his own name. + +A Scotch dominie, named Andrew Robertson, set up a night-school in the +village of Newburn, in the winter of 1799. It was more convenient for +George to attend this school, as it was nearer to his work, and only a +few minutes' walk from Jolly's Close. Besides, Andrew had the reputation +of being a skilled arithmetician; and this branch of knowledge Stephenson +was very desirous of acquiring. He accordingly began taking lessons from +him, paying fourpence a week. Robert Gray, the junior fireman at the +Water-row Pit, began arithmetic at the same time; and Gray afterwards +told the author that George learnt "figuring" so much faster than he did, +that he could not make out how it was--"he took to figures so wonderful." +Although the two started together from the same point, at the end of the +winter George had mastered "reduction," while Robert Gray was still +struggling with the difficulties of simple division. But George's secret +was his perseverance. He worked out the sums in his bye-hours, improving +every minute of his spare time by the engine-fire, and studying there the +arithmetical problems set for him upon his slate by the master. In the +evenings he took to Robertson the sums which he had "worked," and new +ones were "set" for him to study out the following day. Thus his +progress was rapid, and, with a willing heart and mind, he soon became +well advanced in arithmetic. Indeed, Andrew Robertson became very proud +of his scholar; and shortly after, when the Water-row Pit was closed, and +George removed to Black Callerton to work there, the poor schoolmaster, +not having a very extensive connexion in Newburn, went with his pupils, +and set up his night-school at Black Callerton, where he continued his +lessons. + +George still found time to attend to his favourite animals while working +at the Water-row Pit. Like his father, he used to tempt the +robin-redbreasts to hop and fly about him at the engine-fire, by the bait +of bread-crumbs saved from his dinner. But his chief favourite was his +dog--so sagacious that he almost daily carried George's dinner to him at +the pit. The tin containing the meal was suspended from the dog's neck, +and, thus laden, he proceeded faithfully from Jolly's Close to Water-row +Pit, quite through the village of Newburn. He turned neither to left nor +right, nor heeded the barking of curs at his heels. But his course was +not unattended with perils. One day the big strange dog of a passing +butcher espying the engineman's messenger with the tin can about his +neck, ran after and fell upon him. There was a terrible tussle and +worrying, which lasted for a brief while, and, shortly after, the dog's +master, anxious for his dinner, saw his faithful servant approaching, +bleeding but triumphant. The tin can was still round his neck, but the +dinner had been spilt in the struggle. Though George went without his +dinner that day, he was prouder of his dog than ever when the +circumstances of the combat were related to him by the villagers who had +seen it. + +It was while working at the Water-row Pit that Stephenson learnt the art +of brakeing an engine. This being one of the higher departments of +colliery labour, and among the best paid, George was very anxious to +learn it. A small winding-engine having been put up for the purpose of +drawing the coals from the pit, Bill Coe, his friend and fellow-workman, +was appointed the brakesman. He frequently allowed George to try his +hand at the machine, and instructed him how to proceed. Coe was, +however, opposed in this by several of the other workmen--one of whom, a +banksman named William Locke, {26} went so far as to stop the working of +the pit because Stephenson had been called in to the brake. But one day +as Mr. Charles Nixon, the manager of the pit, was observed approaching, +Coe adopted an expedient which put a stop to the opposition. He called +upon Stephenson to "come into the brake-house, and take hold of the +machine." Locke, as usual, sat down, and the working of the pit was +stopped. When requested by the manager to give an explanation, he said +that "young Stephenson couldn't brake, and, what was more, never would +learn, he was so clumsy." Mr. Nixon, however, ordered Locke to go on +with the work, which he did; and Stephenson, after some further practice, +acquired the art of brakeing. + +After working at the Water-row Pit and at other engines near Newburn for +about three years, George and Coe went to Black Callerton early in 1801. +Though only twenty years of age, his employers thought so well of him +that they appointed him to the responsible office of brakesman at the +Dolly Pit. For convenience' sake, he took lodgings at a small farmer's +in the village, finding his own victuals, and paying so much a week for +lodging and attendance. In the locality this was called "picklin in his +awn poke neuk." It not unfrequently happens that the young workman about +the collieries, when selecting a lodging, contrives to pitch his tent +where the daughter of the house ultimately becomes his wife. This is +often the real attraction that draws the youth from home, though a very +different one may be pretended. + +George Stephenson's duties as brakesman may be briefly described. The +work was somewhat monotonous, and consisted in superintending the working +of the engine and machinery by means of which the coals were drawn out of +the pit. Brakesman are almost invariably selected from those who have +had considerable experience as engine-firemen, and borne a good character +for steadiness, punctuality, watchfulness, and "mother wit." In George +Stephenson's day the coals were drawn out of the pit in corves, or large +baskets made of hazel rods. The corves were placed together in a cage, +between which and the pit-ropes there was usually from fifteen to twenty +feet of chain. The approach of the corves towards the pit mouth was +signalled by a bell, brought into action by a piece of mechanism worked +from the shaft of the engine. When the bell sounded, the brakesman +checked the speed, by taking hold of the hand-gear connected with the +steam-valves, which were so arranged that by their means he could +regulate the speed of the engine, and stop or set it in motion when +required. Connected with the fly-wheel was a powerful wooden brake, +acting by pressure against its rim, something like the brake of a +railway-carriage against its wheels. On catching sight of the chain +attached to the ascending corve-cage, the brakesman, by pressing his foot +upon a foot-step near him, was enabled, with great precision, to stop the +revolutions of the wheel, and arrest the ascent of the corves at the pit +mouth, when they were forthwith landed on the "settle board." On the +full corves being replaced by empty ones, it was then the duty of the +brakesman to reverse the engine, and send the corves down the pit to be +filled again. + +The monotony of George Stephenson's occupation as a brakesman was +somewhat varied by the change which he made, in his turn, from the day to +the night shift. His duty, on the latter occasions, consisted chiefly in +sending men and materials into the mine, and in drawing other men and +materials out. Most of the workmen enter the pit during the night shift, +and leave it in the latter part of the day, whilst coal-drawing is +proceeding. The requirements of the work at night are such, that the +brakesman has a good deal of spare time on his hands, which he is at +liberty to employ in his own way. From an early period, George was +accustomed to employ those vacant night hours in working the sums set for +him by Andrew Robertson upon his slate, practising writing in his +copy-book, and mending the shoes of his fellow-workmen. His wages while +working at the Dolly Pit amounted to from 1 pounds 15s. to 2 pounds in +the fortnight; but he gradually added to them as he became more expert at +shoe-mending, and afterwards at shoe-making. + +Probably he was stimulated to take in hand this extra work by the +attachment he had by this time formed for a young woman named Fanny +Henderson, who officiated as servant in the small farmer's house in which +he lodged. We have been informed that the personal attractions of Fanny, +though these were considerable, were the least of her charms. Mr. +William Fairbairn, who afterwards saw her in her home at Willington Quay, +describes her as a very comely woman. But her temper was one of the +sweetest; and those who knew her were accustomed to speak of the charming +modesty of her demeanour, her kindness of disposition, and withal her +sound good sense. + +Amongst his various mendings of old shoes at Callerton. George was on +one occasion favoured with the shoes of his sweetheart to sole. One can +imagine the pleasure with which he would linger over such a piece of +work, and the pride with which he would execute it. A friend of his, +still living, relates that, after he had finished the shoes, he carried +them about with him in his pocket on the Sunday afternoon, and that from +time to time he would pull them out and hold them up, exclaiming, "what a +capital job he had made of them!" + +Out of his earnings by shoe-mending at Callerton, George contrived to +save his first guinea. The first guinea saved by a working man is no +trivial thing. If, as in Stephenson's case, it has been the result of +prudent self-denial, of extra labour at bye-hours, and of the honest +resolution to save and economise for worthy purposes, the first guinea +saved is an earnest of better things. When Stephenson had saved this +guinea he was not a little elated at the achievement, and expressed the +opinion to a friend, who many years after reminded him of it, that he was +"now a rich man." + +Not long after he began to work at Black Callerton as brakesman, he had a +quarrel with a pitman named Ned Nelson, a roistering bully, who was the +terror of the village. Nelson was a great fighter; and it was therefore +considered dangerous to quarrel with him. Stephenson was so unfortunate +as not to be able to please this pitman by the way in which he drew him +out of the pit; and Nelson swore at him grossly because of the alleged +clumsiness of his brakeing. George defended himself, and appealed to the +testimony of the other workmen. But Nelson had not been accustomed to +George's style of self-assertion; and, after a great deal of abuse, he +threatened to kick the brakesman, who defied him to do so. Nelson ended +by challenging Stephenson to a pitched battle; and the latter accepted +the challenge, when a day was fixed on which the fight was to come off. + +Great was the excitement at Black Callerton when it was known that George +Stephenson had accepted Nelson's challenge. Everybody said he would be +killed. The villagers, the young men, and especially the boys of the +place, with whom George was a great favourite, all wished that he might +beat Nelson, but they scarcely dared to say so. They came about him +while he was at work in the engine-house to inquire if it was really true +that he was "goin to fight Nelson?" "Ay; never fear for me; I'll fight +him." And fight him he did. For some days previous to the appointed day +of battle, Nelson went entirely off work for the purpose of keeping +himself fresh and strong, whereas Stephenson went on doing his daily work +as usual, and appeared not in the least disconcerted by the prospect of +the affair. So, on the evening appointed, after George had done his +day's labour, he went into the Dolly Pit Field, where his already +exulting rival was ready to meet him. George stripped, and "went in" +like a practised pugilist--though it was his first and last fight. After +a few rounds, George's wiry muscles and practised strength enabled him +severely to punish his adversary, and to secure an easy victory. + +This circumstance is related in illustration of Stephenson's personal +pluck and courage; and it was thoroughly characteristic of the man. He +was no pugilist, and the very reverse of quarrelsome. But he would not +be put down by the bully of the colliery, and he fought him. There his +pugilism ended; they afterwards shook hands, and continued good friends. +In after life, Stephenson's mettle was often as hardly tried, though in a +different way; and he did not fail to exhibit the same resolute courage +in contending with the bullies of the railway world, as he showed in his +encounter with Ned Nelson, the fighting pitman of Callerton. + + [Picture: Colliery Whimsey] + + [Picture: Stephenson's Cottage at Wallington Quay] + + + + +CHAPTER III. +ENGINEMAN AT WILLINGTON QUAY AND KILLINGWORTH. + + +George Stephenson had now acquired the character of an expert workman. +He was diligent and observant while at work, and sober and studious when +the day's work was over. His friend Coe described him to the author as +"a standing example of manly character." On pay-Saturday afternoons, +when the pitmen held their fortnightly holiday, occupying themselves +chiefly in cock-fighting and dog-fighting in the adjoining fields, +followed by adjournments to the "yel-house," George was accustomed to +take his engine to pieces, for the purpose of obtaining "insight," and he +cleaned all the parts and put the machine in thorough working order +before leaving it. + +In the evenings he improved himself in the arts of reading and writing, +and occasionally took a turn at modelling. It was at Callerton, his son +Robert informed us, that he began to try his hand at original invention; +and for some time he applied his attention to a machine of the nature of +an engine-brake, which reversed itself by its own action. But nothing +came of the contrivance, and it was eventually thrown aside as useless. +Yet not altogether so; for even the highest skill must undergo the +inevitable discipline of experiment, and submit to the wholesome +correction of occasional failure. + +After working at Callerton for about two years, he received an offer to +take charge of the engine on Willington Ballast Hill at an advanced wage. +He determined to accept it, and at the same time to marry Fanny +Henderson, and begin housekeeping on his own account. Though he was only +twenty-one years old, he had contrived, by thrift, steadiness, and +industry, to save as much money as enabled him to take a cottage-dwelling +at Willington Quay, and furnish it in a humble but comfortable style for +the reception of his bride. + +Willington Quay lies on the north bank of the Tyne, about six miles below +Newcastle. It consists of a line of houses straggling along the +river-side; and high behind it towers up the huge mound of ballast +emptied out of the ships which resort to the quay for their cargoes of +coal for the London market. The ballast is thrown out of the ships' +holds into waggons laid alongside, which are run up to the summit of the +Ballast Hill, and emptied out there. At the foot of the great mound of +shot rubbish was the fixed engine of which George Stephenson acted as +brakesman. + +The cottage in which he took up his abode was a small two-storied +dwelling, standing a little back from the quay with a bit of garden +ground in front. {33} The Stephenson family occupied the upper room in +the west end of the cottage. Close behind rose the Ballast Hill. + +When the cottage dwelling had been made snug, and was ready for +occupation, the marriage took place. It was celebrated in Newburn +Church, on the 28th of November, 1802. After the ceremony, George, with +his newly-wedded wife, proceeded to the house of his father at Jolly's +Close. The old man was now becoming infirm, and, though he still worked +as an engine-fireman, contrived with difficulty "to keep his head above +water." When the visit had been paid, the bridal party set out for their +new home at Willington Quay, whither they went in a manner quite common +before travelling by railway came into use. Two farm horses, borrowed +from a neighbouring farmer, were each provided with a saddle and pillion, +and George having mounted one, his wife seated herself behind him, +holding on by his waist. The bridesman and bridesmaid in like manner +mounted the other horse; and in this wise the wedding party rode across +the country, passing through the old streets of Newcastle, and then by +Wallsend to Willington Quay--a ride of about fifteen miles. + +George Stephenson's daily life at Willington was that of a steady +workman. By the manner, however, in which he continued to improve his +spare hours in the evening, he was silently and surely paving the way for +being something more than a manual labourer. He set himself to study +diligently the principles of mechanics, and to master the laws by which +his engine worked. For a workman, he was even at that time more than +ordinarily speculative--often taking up strange theories, and trying to +sift out the truth that was in them. While sitting by his wife's side in +his cottage-dwelling in the winter evenings, he was usually occupied in +studying mechanical subjects, or in modelling experimental machines. +Amongst his various speculations while at Willington, he tried to +discover a means of Perpetual Motion. Although he failed, as so many +others had done before him, the very efforts he made tended to whet his +inventive faculties, and to call forth his dormant powers. He went so +far as to construct the model of a machine for the purpose. It consisted +of a wooden wheel, the periphery of which was furnished with glass tubes +filled with quicksilver; as the wheel rotated, the quicksilver poured +itself down into the lower tubes, and thus a sort of self-acting motion +was kept up in the apparatus, which, however, did not prove to be +perpetual. Where he had first obtained the idea of this machine--whether +from conversation or reading, is not known; but his son Robert was of +opinion that he had heard of the apparatus of this kind described in the +"History of Inventions." As he had then no access to books, and indeed +could barely read with ease, it is probable that he had been told of the +contrivance, and set about testing its value according to his own +methods. + +Much of his spare time continued to be occupied by labour more +immediately profitable, regarded in a pecuniary point of view. In the +evenings, after his day's labour at his engine, he would occasionally +employ himself for an hour or two in casting ballast out of the collier +ships, by which means he was enabled to earn a few extra shillings +weekly. Mr. William Fairbairn of Manchester has informed us that while +Stephenson was employed at Willington, he himself was working in the +neighbourhood as an engine apprentice at the Percy Main Colliery. He was +very fond of George, who was a fine, hearty fellow, besides being a +capital workman. In the summer evenings young Fairbairn was accustomed +to go down to the Quay to see his friend, and on such occasions he would +frequently take charge of George's engine while he took a turn at heaving +ballast out of the ships' holds. It is pleasant to think of the future +President of the British Association thus helping the future Railway +Engineer to earn a few extra shillings by overwork in the evenings, at a +time when both occupied the rank of humble working men in an obscure +northern village. + +Mr. Fairbairn was also a frequent visitor at George's cottage on the +Quay, where, though there was no luxury, there was comfort, cleanliness, +and a pervading spirit of industry. Even at home George was never for a +moment idle. When there was no ballast to heave out at the Quay he took +in shoes to mend; and from mending he proceeded to making them, as well +as shoe-lasts, in which he was admitted to be very expert. + +But an accident occurred in Stephenson's household about this time, which +had the effect of directing his industry into a new and still more +profitable channel. The cottage chimney took fire one day in his +absence, when the alarmed neighbours, rushing in, threw quantities of +water upon the flames; and some, in their zeal, even mounted the ridge of +the house, and poured buckets of water down the chimney. The fire was +soon put out, but the house was thoroughly soaked. When George came home +he found everything in disorder, and his new furniture covered with soot. +The eight-day clock, which hung against the wall--one of the most +highly-prized articles in the house--was much damaged by the steam with +which the room had been filled; and its wheels were so clogged by the +dust and soot that it was brought to a complete standstill. George was +always ready to turn his hand to anything, and his ingenuity, never at +fault, immediately set to work to repair the unfortunate clock. He was +advised to send it to the clockmaker, but that would cost money; and he +declared that he would repair it himself--at least he would try. The +clock was accordingly taken to pieces and cleaned; the tools which he had +been accumulating for the purpose of constructing his Perpetual Motion +machine, enabled him to do this readily; and he succeeded so well that, +shortly after, the neighbours sent him their clocks to clean, and he soon +became one of the most famous clock-doctors in the neighbourhood. + +It was while living at Willington Quay that George Stephenson's only son +was born, on the 16th of October, 1803. The child was a great favourite +with his father, and added much to the happiness of his evening hours. +George's "philoprogenitiveness," as phrenologists call it, had been +exercised hitherto upon birds, dogs, rabbits, and even the poor old +gin-horses which he had driven at the Callerton Pit; but in his boy he +now found a much more genial object for the exercise of his affection. + +The christening took place in the school-house at Wallsend, the old +parish church being at the time in so dilapidated a condition from the +"creeping" or subsidence of the ground, consequent upon the excavation of +the coal, that it was considered dangerous to enter it. On this +occasion, Robert Gray and Anne Henderson, who had officiated as bridesman +and bridesmaid at the wedding, came over again to Willington, and stood +godfather and godmother to little Robert,--so named after his +grandfather. + +After working for several years more as a brakesman at the Willington +machine, George Stephenson was induced to leave his situation there for a +similar one at the West Moor Colliery, Killingworth. It was not without +considerable persuasion that he was induced to leave the Quay, as he knew +that he should thereby give up the chance of earning extra money by +casting ballast from the keels. At last, however, he consented, in the +hope of making up the loss in some other way. + +The village of Killingworth lies about seven miles north of Newcastle, +and is one of the best-known collieries in that neighbourhood. The +workings of the coal are of vast extent, and give employment to a large +number of work-people. To this place Stephenson first came as a +brakesman about the beginning of 1805. He had not been long in his new +place, ere his wife died (in 1806), shortly after giving birth to a +daughter, who survived the mother only a few months. George deeply felt +the loss of his wife, for they had been very happy together. Their lot +had been sweetened by daily successful toil. The husband was sober and +hard-working, and his wife made his hearth so bright and his home so +snug, that no attraction could draw him from her side in the evening +hours. But this domestic happiness was all to pass away; and George felt +as one that had thenceforth to tread the journey of life alone. + + [Picture: West Moor Colliery] + +Shortly after this event, while his grief was still fresh, he received an +invitation from some gentlemen concerned in large spinning works near +Montrose in Scotland, to proceed thither and superintend the working of +one of Boulton and Watt's engines. He accepted the offer, and made +arrangements to leave Killingworth for a time. + +Having left his little boy in good keeping, he set out upon his long +journey to Scotland on foot, with his kit upon his back. While working +at Montrose he gave a striking proof of that practical ability in +contrivance for which he was afterwards so distinguished. It appears +that the water required for the purposes of his engine, as well as for +the use of the works, was pumped from a considerable depth, being +supplied from the adjacent extensive sand strata. The pumps frequently +got choked by the sand drawn in at the bottom of the well through the +snore-holes, or apertures through which the water to be raised is +admitted. The barrels soon became worn, and the bucket and clack +leathers destroyed, so that it became necessary to devise a remedy; and +with this object the engineman proceeded to adopt the following simple +but original expedient. He had a wooden box or boot made, twelve feet +high, which he placed in the sump or well, and into this he inserted the +lower end of the pump. The result was, that the water flowed clear from +the outer part of the well over into the boot, and being drawn up without +any admixture of sand, the difficulty was thus conquered. {38} + +Being paid good wages, Stephenson contrived, during the year he worked at +Montrose, to save a sum of 28 pounds, which he took back with him to +Killingworth. Longing to get back to his kindred, his heart yearning for +the son whom he had left behind, our engineman took leave of his +employers, and trudged back to Northumberland on foot as he had gone. +While on his journey southward he arrived late one evening, footsore and +wearied, at the door of a small farmer's cottage, at which he knocked, +and requested shelter for the night. It was refused, and then he +entreated that, being tired, and unable to proceed further, the farmer +would permit him to lie down in the outhouse, for that a little clean +straw would serve him. The farmer's wife appeared at the door, looked at +the traveller, then retiring with her husband, the two confabulated a +little apart, and finally they invited Stephenson into the cottage. +Always full of conversation and anecdote, he soon made himself at home in +the farmer's family, and spent with them a few pleasant hours. He was +hospitably entertained for the night, and when he left the cottage in the +morning, he pressed them to make some charge for his lodging, but they +refused to accept any recompense. They only asked him to remember them +kindly, and if he ever came that way, to be sure and call again. Many +years after, when Stephenson had become a thriving man, he did not forget +the humble pair who had succoured and entertained him on his way; he +sought their cottage again, when age had silvered their hair; and when he +left the aged couple, they may have been reminded of the old saying that +we may sometimes "entertain angels unawares." + +Reaching home, Stephenson found that his father had met with a serious +accident at the Blucher Pit, which had reduced him to great distress and +poverty. While engaged in the inside of an engine, making some repairs, +a fellow-workman accidentally let in the steam upon him. The blast +struck him full in the face; he was terribly scorched, and his eyesight +was irretrievably lost. The helpless and infirm man had struggled for a +time with poverty; his sons who were at home, poor as himself, were +little able to help him, while George was at a distance in Scotland. On +his return, however, with his savings in his pocket, his first step was +to pay off his father's debts, amounting to about 15 pounds; and shortly +after he removed the aged pair from Jolly's Close to a comfortable +cottage adjoining the tramroad near the West Moor at Killingworth, where +the old man lived for many years, supported entirely by his son. + +Stephenson was again taken on as a brakesman at the West Moor Pit. He +does not seem to have been very hopeful as to his prospects in life about +this time (1807-8). Indeed the condition of the working class generally +was very discouraging. England was engaged in a great war, which pressed +upon the industry, and severely tried the resources, of the country. +There was a constant demand for men to fill the army. The working people +were also liable to be pressed for the navy, or drawn for the militia; +and though they could not fail to be discontented under such +circumstances, they scarcely dared even to mutter their discontent to +their neighbours. + +Stephenson was drawn for the militia: he must therefore either quit his +work and go a-soldiering, or find a substitute. He adopted the latter +course, and borrowed 6 pounds, which, with the remainder of his savings, +enabled him to provide a militiaman to serve in his stead. Thus the +whole of his hard-won earnings were swept away at a stroke. He was +almost in despair, and contemplated the idea of leaving the country, and +emigrating to the United States. Although a voyage thither was then a +much more formidable thing for a working man to accomplish than a voyage +to Australia is now, he seriously entertained the project, and had all +but made up his mind to go. His sister Ann, with her husband, emigrated +about that time, but George could not raise the requisite money, and they +departed without him. After all, it went sore against his heart to leave +his home and his kindred, the scenes of his youth and the friends of his +boyhood; and he struggled long with the idea, brooding over it in sorrow. +Speaking afterwards to a friend of his thoughts at the time, he said: +"You know the road from my house at the West Moor to Killingworth. I +remember once when I went along that road I wept bitterly, for I knew not +where my lot in life would be cast." + +In 1808, Stephenson, with two other brakesmen, took a small contract +under the colliery lessees for brakeing the engines at the West Moor Pit. +The brakesmen found the oil and tallow; they divided the work amongst +them, and were paid so much per score for their labour. It was the +interest of the brakesmen to economise the working as much as possible, +and George no sooner entered upon the contract than he proceeded to +devise ways and means of making it "pay." He observed that the ropes +which, at other pits in the neighbourhood, lasted about three months, at +the West Moor Pit became worn out in about a month. He immediately set +about ascertaining the cause of the defect; and finding it to be +occasioned by excessive friction, he proceeded, with the sanction of the +head engine-wright and the colliery owners, to shift the pulley-wheels +and re-arrange the gearing, which had the effect of greatly diminishing +the tear and wear, besides allowing the work of the colliery to proceed +without interruption. + +About the same time he attempted an improvement in the winding-engine +which he worked, by placing a valve between the air-pump and condenser. +This expedient, although it led to no practical result, showed that his +mind was actively engaged in studying new mechanical adaptations. It +continued to be his regular habit, on Saturdays, to take his engine to +pieces, for the purpose, at the same time, of familiarising himself with +its action, and of placing it in a state of thorough working order. By +mastering its details, he was enabled, as opportunity occurred, to turn +to practical account the knowledge he thus diligently and patiently +acquired. + +Such an opportunity was not long in presenting itself. In the year 1810, +a new pit was sunk by the "Grand Allies" (the lessees of the mines) at +the village of Killingworth, now known as the Killingworth High Pit. An +atmospheric or Newcomen engine, made by Smeaton, was fixed there for the +purpose of pumping out the water from the shaft; but somehow it failed to +clear the pit. As one of the workmen has since described the +circumstance--"She couldn't keep her jack-head in water: all the +enginemen in the neighbourhood were tried, as well as Crowther of the +Ouseburn, but they were clean bet." The engine had been fruitlessly +pumping for nearly twelve months, and began to be spoken of as a total +failure. Stephenson had gone to look at it when in course of erection, +and then observed to the over-man that he thought it was defective; he +also gave it as his opinion that, if there were much water in the mine, +the engine would never keep it under. Of course, as he was only a +brakesman, his opinion was considered to be worth very little on such a +point. He continued, however, to make frequent visits to the engine, to +see "how she was getting on." From the bank-head where he worked his +brake he could see the chimney smoking at the High Pit; and as the men +were passing to and from their work, he would call out and inquire "if +they had gotten to the bottom yet?" And the reply was always to the same +effect--the pumping made no progress, and the workmen were still "drowned +out." + +One Saturday afternoon he went over to the High Pit to examine the engine +more carefully than he had yet done. He had been turning the subject +over thoughtfully in his mind; and seemed to have satisfied himself as to +the cause of the failure. Kit Heppel, one of the sinkers, asked him, +"Weel, George, what do you mak' o' her? Do you think you could do +anything to improve her?" Said George, "I could alter her, man, and make +her draw: in a week's time I could send you to the bottom." + +Forthwith Heppel reported this conversation to Ralph Dodds, the head +viewer, who, being now quite in despair, and hopeless of succeeding with +the engine, determined to give George's skill a trial. At the worst he +could only fail, as the rest had done. In the evening, Dodds went in +search of Stephenson, and met him on the road, dressed in his Sunday's +suit, on the way to "the preaching" in the Methodist Chapel, which he +attended. "Well, George," said Dodds, "they tell me that you think you +can put the engine at the High Pit to rights." "Yes, sir," said George. +"I think I could." "If that's the case, I'll give you a fair trial, and +you must set to work immediately. We are clean drowned out, and cannot +get a stop further. The engineers hereabouts are all bet; and if you +really succeed in accomplishing what they cannot do, you may depend upon +it I will make you a man for life." + +Stephenson began his operations early next morning. The only condition +that he made, before setting to work, was that he should select his own +workmen. There was, as he knew, a good deal of jealousy amongst the +"regular" men that a colliery brakesman should pretend to know more about +their engine than they themselves did, and attempt to remedy defects +which the most skilled men of their craft, including the engineer of the +colliery, had failed to do. But George made the condition a _sine qua +non_. "The workmen," said he, "must either be all Whigs or all Tories." +There was no help for it, so Dodds ordered the old hands to stand aside. +The men grumbled, but gave way; and then George and his party went in. + +The engine was taken entirely to pieces. The cistern containing the +injection water was raised ten feet; the injection cock, being too small, +was enlarged to nearly double its former size, and it was so arranged +that it should be shut off quickly at the beginning of the stroke. These +and other alterations were necessarily performed in a rough way, but, as +the result proved, on true principles. Stephenson also, finding that the +boiler would bear a greater pressure than five pounds to the inch, +determined to work it at a pressure of ten pounds, though this was +contrary to the directions of both Newcomen and Smeaton. The necessary +alterations were made in about three days, and many persons came to see +the engine start, including the men who had put her up. The pit being +nearly full of water, she had little to do on starting, and, to use +George's words, "came bounce into the house." Dodds exclaimed, "Why, she +was better as she was; now, she will knock the house down." After a +short time, however, the engine got fairly to work, and by ten o'clock +that night the water was lower in the pit than it had ever been before. +It was kept pumping all Thursday, and by the Friday afternoon the pit was +cleared of water, and the workmen were "sent to the bottom," as +Stephenson had promised. Thus the alterations effected in the pumping +apparatus proved completely successful. + +Dodds was particularly gratified with the manner in which the job had +been done, and he made Stephenson a present of ten pounds, which, though +very inadequate when compared with the value of the work performed, was +accepted with gratitude. George was proud of the gift as the first +marked recognition of his skill as a workman; and he used afterwards to +say that it was the biggest sum of money he had up to that time earned in +one lump. Ralph Dodds, however, did more than this. He released the +brakesman from the handles of his engine at West Moot, and appointed him +engineman at the High Pit, at good wages, during the time the pit was +sinking,--the job lasting for about a year; and he also kept him in mind +for further advancement. + +Stephenson's skill as an engine-doctor soon became noised abroad, and he +was called upon to prescribe remedies for all the old, wheezy, and +ineffective pumping-machines in the neighbourhood. In this capacity he +soon left the "regular" men far behind, though they in their turn were +very mach disposed to treat the Killingworth brakesman as no better than +a quack. Nevertheless, his practice was really founded upon a close +study of the principles of mechanics, and on an intimate practical +acquaintance with the details of the pumping-engine. + +Another of his smaller achievements in the same line is still told by the +people of the district. At the corner of the road leading to Long +Benton, there was a quarry from which a peculiar and scarce kind of ochre +was taken. In the course of working it out, the water had collected in +considerable quantities; and there being no means of draining it off, it +accumulated to such an extent that the further working of the ochre was +almost entirely stopped. Ordinary pumps were tried, and failed; and then +a windmill was tried, and failed too. On this, George was asked what +ought to be done to clear the quarry of the water. He said, "he would +set up for them an engine little bigger than a kail-pot, that would clear +them out in a week." And he did so. A little engine was speedily +erected, by means of which the quarry was pumped dry in the course of a +few days. Thus his skill as a pump-doctor soon became the marvel of the +district. + +In elastic muscular vigour, Stephenson was now in his prime, and he still +continued to be zealous in measuring his strength and agility with his +fellow workmen. The competitive element in his nature was always strong; +and his success in these feats of rivalry was certainly remarkable. Few, +if any, could lift such weights, throw the hammer and putt the stone so +far, or cover so great a space at a standing or running leap. One day, +between the engine hour and the rope-rolling hour, Kit Heppel challenged +him to leap from one high wall to another, with a deep gap between. To +Heppel's surprise and dismay, George took the standing leap, and cleared +the eleven feet at a bound. Had his eye been less accurate, or his limbs +less agile and sure, the feat must have cost him his life. + +But so full of redundant muscular vigour was he, that leaping, putting, +or throwing the hammer were not enough for him. He was also ambitious of +riding on horseback, and, as he had not yet been promoted to an office +enabling him to keep a horse of his own, he sometimes borrowed one of the +gin-horses for a ride. On one of these occasions, he brought the animal +back reeking; when Tommy Mitcheson, the bank horse-keeper, a rough-spoken +fellow, exclaimed to him: "Set such fellows as you on horseback, and +you'll soon ride to the De'il." But Tommy Mitcheson lived to tell the +joke, and to confess that, after all, there had been a better issue to +George's horsemanship than that which he predicted. + +Old Cree, the engine-wright at Killingworth High Pit, having been killed +by an accident, George Stephenson was, in 1812, appointed engine-wright +of the colliery at the salary of 100 pounds a year. He was also allowed +the use of a galloway to ride upon in his visits of inspection to the +collieries leased by the "Grand Allies" in that neighbourhood. The +"Grand Allies" were a company of gentlemen, consisting of Sir Thomas +Liddell (afterwards Lord Ravensworth), the Earl of Strathmore, and Mr. +Stuart Wortley (afterwards Lord Wharncliffe), the lessees of the +Killingworth collieries. Having been informed of the merits of +Stephenson, of his indefatigable industry, and the skill which he had +displayed in the repairs of the pumping-engines, they readily acceded to +Mr. Dodds' recommendation that he should be appointed the colliery +engine-wright; and, as we shall afterwards find, they continued to honour +him by distinguished marks of their approval. + + [Picture: Killingworth High Pit] + + [Picture: Glebe Farm House, Benton] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. +THE STEPHENSONS AT KILLINGWORTH--EDUCATION AND SELF-EDUCATION OF FATHER +AND SON. + + +George Stephenson had now been diligently employed for several years in +the work of self-improvement, and he experienced the usual results in +increasing mental strength, capability, and skill. Perhaps the secret of +every man's best success is to be found in the alacrity and industry with +which he takes advantage of the opportunities which present themselves +for well-doing. Our engineman was an eminent illustration of the +importance of cultivating this habit of life. Every spare moment was +laid under contribution by him, either for the purpose of adding to his +earnings, or to his knowledge. He missed no opportunity of extending his +observations, especially in his own department of work, ever aiming at +improvement, and trying to turn all that he did know to useful practical +account. + +He continued his attempts to solve the mystery of Perpetual Motion, and +contrived several model machines with the object of embodying his ideas +in a practical working shape. He afterwards used to lament the time he +had lost in these futile efforts, and said that if he had enjoyed the +opportunity which most young men now have, of learning from books what +previous experimenters had accomplished, he would have been spared much +labour and mortification. Not being acquainted with what other mechanics +had done, he groped his way in pursuit of some idea originated by his own +independent thinking and observation; and, when he had brought it into +some definite form, lo! he found that his supposed invention had long +been known and recorded in scientific books. Often he thought he had hit +upon discoveries, which he subsequently found were but old and exploded +fallacies. Yet his very struggle to overcome the difficulties which lay +in his way, was of itself an education of the best sort. By wrestling +with them, he strengthened his judgment and sharpened his skill, +stimulating and cultivating his inventiveness and mechanical ingenuity. +Being very much in earnest, he was compelled to consider the subject of +his special inquiry in all its relations; and thus he gradually acquired +practical ability even through his very efforts after the impracticable. + +Many of his evenings were now spent in the society of John Wigham, whose +father occupied the Glebe Farm at Benton, close at hand. John was a fair +penman and a sound arithmetician, and Stephenson sought his society +chiefly for the purpose of improving himself in writing and "figures." +Under Andrew Robertson, he had never quite mastered the Rule of Three, +and it was only when Wigham took him in hand that he made much progress +in the higher branches of arithmetic. He generally took his slate with +him to the Wighams' cottage, when he had his sums set, that he might work +them out while tending his engine on the following day. When too busy to +be able to call upon Wigham, he sent the slate to have the former sums +corrected and new ones set. Sometimes also, at leisure moments, he was +enabled to do a little "figuring" with chalk upon the sides of the +coal-waggons. So much patient perseverance could not but eventually +succeed; and by dint of practice and study, Stephenson was enabled to +master successively the various rules of arithmetic. + +John Wigham was of great use to his pupil in many ways. He was a good +talker, fond of argument, an extensive reader as country reading went in +those days, and a very suggestive thinker. Though his store of +information might be comparatively small when measured with that of more +highly-cultivated minds, much of it was entirely new to Stephenson, who +regarded him as a very clever and ingenious person. Wigham taught him to +draw plans and sections; though in this branch Stephenson proved so apt +that he soon surpassed his master. A volume of 'Ferguson's Lectures on +Mechanics,' which fell into their hands, was a great treasure to both the +students. One who remembers their evening occupations says he used to +wonder what they meant by weighing the air and water in so odd a way. +They were trying the specific gravities of objects; and the devices which +they employed, the mechanical shifts to which they were put, were often +of the rudest kind. In these evening entertainments, the mechanical +contrivances were supplied by Stephenson, whilst Wigham found the +scientific rationale. The opportunity thus afforded to the former of +cultivating his mind by contact with one wiser than himself proved of +great value, and in after-life Stephenson gratefully remembered the +assistance which, when a humble workman, he had derived from John Wigham, +the farmer's son. + +His leisure moments thus carefully improved, it will be inferred that +Stephenson continued a sober man. Though his notions were never extreme +on this point, he was systematically temperate. It appears that on the +invitation of his master, he had, on one or two occasions, been induced +to join him in a forenoon glass of ale in the public-house of the +village. But one day, about noon, when Dodds had got him as far as the +public-house door, on his invitation to "come in and take a glass o' +yel," Stephenson made a dead stop, and said, firmly, "No, sir, you must +excuse me; I have made a resolution to drink no more at this time of +day." And he went back. He desired to retain the character of a steady +workman; and the instances of men about him who had made shipwreck of +their character through intemperance, were then, as now, unhappily but +too frequent. + +But another consideration besides his own self-improvement had already +begun to exercise an important influence on his life. This was the +training and education of his son Robert, now growing up an active, +intelligent boy, as full of fun and tricks as his father had been. When +a little fellow, scarcely able to reach so high as to put a clock-head on +when placed upon the table, his father would make him mount a chair for +the purpose; and to "help father" was the proudest work which the boy +then, and ever after, could take part in. When the little engine was set +up at the Ochre Quarry to pump it dry, Robert was scarcely absent for an +hour. He watched the machine very eagerly when it was set to work; and +he was very much annoyed at the fire burning away the grates. The man +who fired the engine was a sort of wag, and thinking to get a laugh at +the boy, he said, "Those bars are getting varra bad, Robert; I think we +main cut up some of that hard wood, and put it in instead." "What would +be the use of that, you fool?" said the boy quickly. "You would no +sooner have put them in than they would be burnt out again!" + +So soon as Robert was of proper age, his father sent him over to the +road-side school at Long Benton, kept by Rutter, the parish clerk. But +the education which Rutter could give was of a very limited kind, +scarcely extending beyond the primer and pothooks. While working as a +brakesman on the pit-head at Killingworth, the father had often bethought +him of the obstructions he had himself encountered in life through his +want of schooling; and he formed the noble determination that no labour, +nor pains, nor self-denial on his part should be spared to furnish his +son with the best education that it was in his power to bestow. + + [Picture: Rutter's School House, Long Benton] + +It is true his earnings were comparatively small at that time. He was +still maintaining his infirm parents; and the cost of living continued +excessive. But he fell back upon his old expedient of working up his +spare time in the evenings at home, or during the night shifts when it +was his turn to tend the engine, in mending and making shoes, cleaning +clocks and watches, making shoe-lasts for the shoe-makers of the +neighbourhood, and cutting out the pitmen's clothes for their wives; and +we have been told that to this day there are clothes worn at Killingworth +made after "Geordy Steevie's cut." To give his own words:--"In the +earlier period of my career," said he, "when Robert was a little boy, I +saw how deficient I was in education, and I made up my mind that he +should not labour under the same defect, but that I would put him to a +good school, and give him a liberal training. I was, however, a poor +man; and how do you think I managed? I betook myself to mending my +neighbours' clocks and watches at nights, after my daily labour was done, +and thus I procured the means of educating my son." {52} + +Carrying out the resolution as to his boy's education, Robert was sent to +Mr. Bruce's school in Percy Street, Newcastle, at Midsummer, 1815, when +he was about twelve years old. His father bought for him a donkey, on +which he rode into Newcastle and back daily; and there are many still +living who remember the little boy, dressed in his suit of homely grey +stuff, cut out by his father, cantering along to school upon the "cuddy," +with his wallet of provisions for the day and his bag of books slung over +his shoulder. + +When Robert went to Mr. Bruce's school, he was a shy, unpolished country +lad, speaking the broad dialect of the pitmen; and the other boys would +occasionally tease him, for the purpose of provoking an outburst of his +Killingworth Doric. As the shyness got rubbed off, his love of fun began +to show itself, and he was found able enough to hold his own amongst the +other boys. As a scholar he was steady and diligent, and his master was +accustomed to hold him up to the laggards of the school as an example of +good conduct and industry. But his progress, though satisfactory, was by +no means extraordinary. He used in after-life to pride himself on his +achievements in mensuration, though another boy, John Taylor, beat him at +arithmetic. He also made considerable progress in mathematics; and in a +letter written to the son of his teacher, many years after, he said, "It +was to Mr. Bruce's tuition and methods of modelling the mind that I +attribute much of my success as an engineer; for it was from him that I +derived my taste for mathematical pursuits and the facility I possess of +applying this kind of knowledge to practical purposes and modifying it +according to circumstances." + + [Picture: Bruce's School, Newcastle] + +During the time Robert attended school at Newcastle, his father made the +boy's education instrumental to his own. Robert was accustomed to spend +some of his spare time at the rooms of the Literary and Philosophical +Institute; and when he went home in the evening, he would recount to his +father the results of his reading. Sometimes he was allowed to take with +him to Killingworth a volume of the 'Repertory of Arts and Sciences,' +which father and son studied together. But many of the most valuable +works belonging to the Newcastle Library were not lent out; these Robert +was instructed to read and study, and bring away with him descriptions +and sketches for his father's information. His father also practised him +in reading plans and drawings without reference to the written +descriptions. He used to observe that "A good plan should always explain +itself;" and, placing a drawing of an engine or machine before the youth, +would say, "There, now, describe that to me--the arrangement and the +action." Thus he taught him to read a drawing as easily as he would read +a page of a book. Both father and son profited by this excellent +practice, which enabled them to apprehend with the greatest facility the +details of even the most difficult and complicated mechanical drawing. + +While Robert went on with his lessons in the evenings, his father was +usually occupied with his watch and clock cleaning; or in contriving +models of pumping-engines; or endeavouring to embody in a tangible shape +the mechanical inventions which he found described in the odd volumes on +Mechanics which fell in his way. This daily and unceasing example of +industry and application, in the person of a loving and beloved father, +imprinted itself deeply upon the boy's heart in characters never to be +effaced. A spirit of self-improvement was thus early and carefully +planted and fostered in Robert's mind, which continued to influence him +through life; and to the close of his career, he was proud to confess +that if his professional success had been great, it was mainly to the +example and training of his father that he owed it. + +Robert was not, however, exclusively devoted to study, but, like most +boys full of animal spirits, he was very fond of fun and play, and +sometimes of mischief. Dr. Bruce relates that an old Killingworth +labourer, when asked by Robert, on one of his last visits to Newcastle, +if he remembered him, replied with emotion, "Ay, indeed! Haven't I paid +your head many a time when you came with your father's bait, for you were +always a sad hempy?" + +The author had the pleasure, in the year 1854, of accompanying Robert +Stephenson on a visit to his old home and haunts at Killingworth. He had +so often travelled the road upon his donkey to and from school, that +every foot of it was familiar to him; and each turn in it served to +recall to mind some incident of his boyish days. His eyes glistened when +he came in sight of Killingworth pit-head. Pointing to a humble +red-tiled house by the road-side at Benton, he said, "You see that +house--that was Rutter's, where I learnt my A B C, and made a beginning +of my school learning. And there," pointing to a colliery chimney on the +left, "there is Long Benton, where my father put up his first +pumping-engine; and a great success it was. And this humble clay-floored +cottage you see here, is where my grandfather lived till the close of his +life. Many a time have I ridden straight into the house, mounted on my +cuddy, and called upon grandfather to admire his points. I remember the +old man feeling the animal all over--he was then quite blind--after which +he would dilate upon the shape of his ears, fetlocks, and quarters, and +usually end by pronouncing him to be a 'real blood.' I was a great +favourite with the old man, who continued very fond of animals, and +cheerful to the last; and I believe nothing gave him greater pleasure +than a visit from me and my cuddy." + +On the way from Benton to High Killingworth, Mr. Stephenson pointed to a +corner of the road where he had once played a boyish trick upon a +Killingworth collier. "Straker," said he, "was a great bully, a coarse, +swearing fellow, and a perfect tyrant amongst the women and children. He +would go tearing into old Nanny the huxter's shop in the village, and +demand in a savage voice, 'What's ye'r best ham the pund?' 'What's floor +the hunder?' 'What d'ye ax for prime bacon?'--his questions often ending +with the miserable order, accompanied with a tremendous oath, of 'Gie's a +penny rrow (roll) an' a baubee herrin!' The poor woman was usually set +'all of a shake' by a visit from this fellow. He was also a great +boaster, and used to crow over the robbers whom he had put to flight; +mere men in buckram, as everybody knew. We boys," he continued, +"believed him to be a great coward, and determined to play him a trick. +Two other boys joined me in waylaying Straker one night at that corner," +pointing to it. "We sprang out and called upon him, in as gruff voices +as we could assume, to 'stand and deliver!' He dropped down upon his +knees in the dirt, declaring he was a poor man, with a sma' family, +asking for 'mercy,' and imploring us, as 'gentlemen, for God's sake, t' +let him a-be!' We couldn't stand this any longer, and set up a shout of +laughter. Recognizing our boys' voices, he sprang to his feet and +rattled out a volley of oaths; on which we cut through the hedge, and +heard him shortly after swearing his way along the road to the +yel-house." + +On another occasion, Robert played a series of tricks of a somewhat +different character. Like his father, he was very fond of reducing his +scientific reading to practice; and after studying Franklin's description +of the lightning experiment, he proceeded to expend his store of Saturday +pennies in purchasing about half a mile of copper wire at a brazier's +shop in Newcastle. Having prepared his kite, he sent it up in the field +opposite his father's door, and bringing the wire, insulated by means of +a few feet of silk cord, over the backs of some of Farmer Wigham's cows, +he soon had them skipping about the field in all directions with their +tails up. One day he had his kite flying at the cottage-door as his +father's galloway was hanging by the bridle to the paling, waiting for +the master to mount. Bringing the end of the wire just over the pony's +crupper, so smart an electric shock was given it, that the brute was +almost knocked down. At this juncture the father issued from the door, +riding-whip in hand, and was witness to the scientific trick just played +off upon his galloway. "Ah! you mischievous scoondrel!" cried he to the +boy, who ran off. He inwardly chuckled with pride, nevertheless, at +Robert's successful experiment. {57} + + [Picture: Stephenson's Cottage, West Moor] + +At this time, and for many years after, Stephenson dwelt in a cottage +standing by the side of the road leading from the West Moor colliery to +Killingworth. The railway from the West Moor Pit crosses this road close +by the east end of the cottage. The dwelling originally consisted of but +one apartment on the ground-floor, with the garret over-head, to which +access was obtained by means of a step-ladder. But with his own hands +Stephenson built an oven, and in the course of time he added rooms to the +cottage, until it became a comfortable four-roomed dwelling, in which he +lived as long as he remained at Killingworth. + +He continued as fond of birds and animals as ever, and seemed to have the +power of attaching them to him in a remarkable degree. He had a +blackbird at Killingworth so fond of him that it would fly about the +cottage, and on holding out his finger, would come and perch upon it. A +cage was built for "blackie" in the partition between the passage and the +room, a square of glass forming its outer wall; and Robert used +afterwards to take pleasure in describing the oddity of the bird, +imitating the manner in which it would cock its head on his father's +entering the house, and follow him with its eye into the inner apartment. + +Neighbours were accustomed to call at the cottage and have their clocks +and watches set to rights when they went wrong. One day, after looking +at the works of a watch left by a pitman's wife, George handed it to his +son; "Put her in the oven, Robert," said he, "for a quarter of an hour or +so." It seemed an odd way of repairing a watch; nevertheless, the watch +was put into the oven, and at the end of the appointed time it was taken +out, going all right. The wheels had merely got clogged by the oil +congealed by the cold; which at once explains the rationale of the remedy +adopted. + +There was a little garden attached to the cottage, in which, while a +workman, Stephenson took a pride in growing gigantic leeks and astounding +cabbages. There was great competition amongst the villagers in the +growth of vegetables, all of whom he excelled, excepting one of his +neighbours, whose cabbages sometimes outshone his. In the protection of +his garden-crops from the ravages of the birds, he invented a strange +sort of "fley-craw," which moved its arms with the wind; and he fastened +his garden-door by means of a piece of ingenious mechanism, so that no +one but himself could enter it. His cottage was quite a curiosity-shop +of models of engines, self-acting planes, and perpetual-motion machines. +The last-named contrivances, however, were only unsuccessful attempts to +solve a problem which had effectually baffled hundreds of preceding +inventors. His odd and eccentric contrivances often excited great wonder +amongst the Killingworth villagers. He won the women's admiration by +connecting their cradles with the smoke-jack, and making them +self-acting. Then he astonished the pitmen by attaching an alarum to the +clock of the watchman whose duty it was to call them betimes in the +morning. He also contrived a wonderful lamp which burned under water, +with which he was afterwards wont to amuse the Brandling family at +Gosforth,--going into the fish-pond at night, lamp in hand, attracting +and catching the fish, which rushed wildly towards the flame. + +Dr. Bruce tells of a competition which Stephenson had with the joiner at +Killingworth, as to which of them could make the best shoe-last; and when +the former had done his work, either for the humour of the thing, or to +secure fair play from the appointed judge, he took it to the Morrisons in +Newcastle, and got them to put their stamp upon it. So that it is +possible the Killingworth brakesman, afterwards the inventor of the +safety lamp and the originator of the railway system, and John Morrison, +the last-maker, afterwards the translator of the Scriptures into the +Chinese language, may have confronted each other in solemn contemplation +over the successful last, which won the verdict coveted by its maker. + +Sometimes he would endeavour to impart to his fellow-workmen the results +of his scientific reading. Everything that he learnt from books was so +new and so wonderful to him, that he regarded the facts he drew from them +in the light of discoveries, as if they had been made but yesterday. +Once he tried to explain to some of the pitmen how the earth was round, +and kept turning round. But his auditors flatly declared the thing to be +impossible, as it was clear that "at the bottom side they must fall off!" +"Ah!" said George, "you don't quite understand it yet." His son Robert +also early endeavoured to communicate to others the information which he +had gathered at school; and Dr. Bruce has related that, when visiting +Killingworth on one occasion, he found him engaged in teaching algebra to +such of the pitmen's boys as would become his pupils. + + [Picture: The Sundial] + +While Robert was still at school, his father proposed to him during the +holidays that he should construct a sun-dial, to be placed over their +cottage-door at West Moor. "I expostulated with him at first," said +Robert, "that I had not learnt sufficient astronomy and mathematics to +enable me to make the necessary calculations. But he would have no +denial. 'The thing is to be done,' said he; 'so just set about it at +once.' Well; we got a 'Ferguson's Astronomy,' and studied the subject +together. Many a sore head I had while making the necessary calculations +to adapt the dial to the latitude of Killingworth. But at length it was +fairly drawn out on paper, and then my father got a stone, and we hewed, +and carved, and polished it, until we made a very respectable dial of it; +and there it is, you see," pointing to it over the cottage-door, "still +quietly numbering the hours when the sun is shining. I assure you, not a +little was thought of that piece of work by the pitmen when it was put +up, and began to tell its tale of time." The date carved upon the dial +is "August 11th, MDCCCXVI." Both father and son were in after-life very +proud of the joint production. Many years after, George took a party of +savans, when attending the meeting of the British Association at +Newcastle, over to Killingworth to see the pits, and he did not fail to +direct their attention to the sun-dial; and Robert, on the last visit +which he made to the place, a short time before his death, took a friend +into the cottage, and pointed out to him the very desk, still there, at +which he had sat while making his calculations of the latitude of +Killingworth. + +From the time of his appointment as engineer at the Killingworth Pit, +George Stephenson was in a measure relieved from the daily routine of +manual labour, having, as we have seen, advanced himself to the grade of +a higher class workman. But he had not ceased to be a worker, though he +employed his industry in a different way. It might, indeed, be inferred +that he had now the command of greater leisure; but his spare hours were +as much as ever given to work, either necessary or self-imposed. So far +as regarded his social position, he had already reached the summit of his +ambition; and when he had got his hundred a year, and his dun galloway to +ride on, he said he never wanted to be any higher. When Robert Whetherly +offered to give him an old gig, his travelling having so much increased +of late, he accepted it with great reluctance, observing, that he should +be ashamed to get into it, "people would think him so proud." + +When the High Pit had been sunk, and the coal was ready for working, +Stephenson erected his first winding-engine to draw the coals out of the +pit, and also a pumping-engine for Long Benton Colliery, both of which +proved quite successful. Amongst other works of this time, he projected +and laid down a self-acting incline along the declivity which fell +towards the coal-loading place near Willington, where he had officiated +as brakesman; and he so arranged it, that the full waggons descending +drew the empty waggons up the railroad. This was one of the first +self-acting inclines laid down in the district. + +Stephenson had now much better opportunities than hitherto for improving +himself in mechanics. His familiar acquaintance with the steam-engine +proved of great value to him. His shrewd insight, and his intimate +practical acquaintance with its mechanism, enabled him to apprehend, as +if by intuition, its most abstruse and difficult combinations. The +practical study which he had given to it when a workman, and the patient +manner in which he had groped his way through all the details of the +machine, gave him the power of a master in dealing with it as applied to +colliery purposes. + +Sir Thomas Liddell was frequently about the works, and took pleasure in +giving every encouragement to the engine-wright in his efforts after +improvement. The subject of the locomotive engine was already closely +occupying Stephenson's attention; although it was still regarded as a +curious and costly toy, of comparatively little real use. But he had at +an early period detected its practical value, and formed an adequate +conception of the might which as yet slumbered within it; and he now bent +his entire faculties to the development of its extraordinary powers. + + [Picture: Colliers' Cottages at Long Benton] + + + + +CHAPTER V. +EARLY HISTORY OF THE LOCOMOTIVE--GEORGE STEPHENSON BEGINS ITS +IMPROVEMENT. + + +The rapid increase in the coal-trade of the Tyne about the beginning of +the present century had the effect of stimulating the ingenuity of +mechanics, and encouraging them to devise improved methods of +transporting the coal from the pits to the shipping places. From our +introductory chapter, it will have been observed that the improvements +which had thus far been effected were confined almost entirely to the +road. The railway waggons still continued to be drawn by horses. By +improving and flattening the tramway, considerable economy in horse-power +had indeed been secured; but unless some more effective method of +mechanical traction could be devised, it was clear that railway +improvement had almost reached its limits. + +Many expedients had been tried with this object. One of the earliest was +that of hoisting sails upon the waggons, and driving them along the +waggon-way, as a ship is driven through the water by the wind. This +method seems to have been employed by Sir Humphrey Mackworth, an +ingenious coal-miner at Neath in Glamorganshire, about the end of the +seventeenth century. + +After having been lost sight of for more than a century, the same plan of +impelling carriages was revived by Richard Lovell Edgworth, with the +addition of a portable railway, since revived also, in Boydell's patent. +But although Mr. Edgworth devoted himself to the subject for many years, +he failed in securing the adoption of his sailing carriage. It is indeed +quite clear that a power so uncertain as wind could never be relied on +for ordinary traffic, and Mr. Edgworth's project was consequently left to +repose in the limbo of the Patent Office, with thousands of other equally +useless though ingenious contrivances. + +A much more favourite scheme was the application of steam power for the +purpose of carriage traction. Savery, the inventor of the working +steam-engine, was the first to propose its employment to propel vehicles +along the common roads; and in 1759 Dr. Robison, then a young man +studying at Glasgow College, threw out the same idea to his friend James +Watt; but the scheme was not matured. + + [Picture: Cugnot's Engine] + +The first locomotive steam-carriage was built at Paris by the French +engineer Cugnot, a native of Lorraine. It is said to have been invented +for the purpose of dragging cannon into the field independent of horses. +The original model of this machine was made in 1763. Count Saxe was so +much pleased with it, that on his recommendation a full-sized engine was +constructed at the cost of the French monarch; and in 1769 it was tried +in the presence of the Duc de Choiseul, Minister of War, General +Gribeauval, and other officers. At one of the experiments it ran with +such force as to knock down a wall in its way. But the new vehicle, +loaded with four persons, could not travel faster than two and a half +miles an hour. The boiler was insufficient in size, and it could only +work for about fifteen minutes; after which it was necessary to wait +until the steam had again risen to a sufficient pressure. To remedy this +defect, Cugnot constructed a new machine in 1770, the working of which +was more satisfactory. It was composed of two parts--the fore part +consisting of a small steam-engine, formed of a round copper boiler, with +a furnace inside, provided with two small chimneys and two single-acting +brass steam cylinders, whose pistons acted alternately upon the single +driving-wheel. The hinder part consisted merely of a rude carriage on +two wheels to carry the load, furnished with a seat in front for the +conductor. This engine was tried in the streets of Paris; but when +passing near where the Madeleine now stands, it overbalanced itself on +turning a corner, and fell over with a crash; after which, its employment +being thought dangerous, it was locked up in the arsenal to prevent +further mischief. The machine is, however, still to be seen in the +collection of the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers at Paris. It has +very much the look of a long brewer's cart, with the addition of the +circular boiler hung on at one end. Rough though it looks, it was a +highly creditable piece of work, considering the period at which it was +executed; and as the first actual machine constructed for the purpose of +travelling on ordinary roads by the power of steam, it is certainly a +most curious and interesting mechanical relic, well worthy of +preservation. + +But though Cugnot's road locomotive remained locked up from public sight, +the subject was not dead; for we find inventors employing themselves from +time to time in attempting to solve the problem of steam locomotion in +places far remote from Paris. The idea had taken root in the minds of +inventors, and was striving to grow into a reality. Thus Oliver Evans, +the American, invented a steam carriage in 1772 to travel on common +roads; in 1787 he obtained from the State of Maryland an exclusive right +to make and use steam-carriages, but his invention never came into use. +Then, in 1784, William Symington, one of the early inventors of the +steamboat, was similarly occupied in Scotland in endeavouring to develop +the latent powers of the steam-carriage. He had a working model of one +constructed, which he exhibited in 1786 to the professors of Edinburgh +College; but the state of the Scotch roads was then so bad that he found +it impracticable to proceed further with his scheme, which he shortly +after abandoned in favour of steam navigation. + + [Picture: Section of Murdock's Model] + +The same year in which Symington was occupied upon his steam-carriage, +William Murdock, the friend and assistant of Watt, constructed his model +of a locomotive at the opposite end of the island--at Redruth in +Cornwall. His model was of small dimensions, standing little more than a +foot high; and it was until recently in the possession of the son of the +inventor, at whose house we saw it a few years ago. The annexed section +will give an idea of the arrangements of this machine. + +It acted on the high-pressure principle, and, like Cugnot's engine, ran +upon three wheels, the boiler being heated by a spirit-lamp. Small +though the machine was, it went so fast on one occasion that it fairly +outran its inventor. It seems that one night after returning from his +duties at the Redruth mine, Murdock determined to try the working of his +model locomotive. For this purpose he had recourse to the walk leading +to the church, about a mile from the town. It was rather narrow, and was +bounded on each side by high hedges. The night was dark, and Murdock set +out alone to try his experiment. Having lit his lamp, the water boiled +speedily, and off started the engine with the inventor after it. He soon +heard distant shouts of terror. It was too dark to perceive objects; but +he found, on following up the machine, that the cries proceeded from the +worthy pastor of the parish, who, going towards the town, was met on this +lonely road by the hissing and fiery little monster, which he +subsequently declared he had taken to be the Evil One _in propria +persona_. No further steps were, however, taken by Murdock to embody his +idea of a locomotive carriage in a more practical form. + +The idea was next taken up by Murdock's pupil, Richard Trevithick, who +resolved on building a steam-carriage adapted for common roads as well as +railways. He took out a patent to secure the right of his invention in +1802. Andrew Vivian, his cousin, joined with him in the patent--Vivian +finding the money, and Trevithick the brains. The steam-carriage built +on this patent presented the appearance of an ordinary stage-coach on +four wheels. The engine had one horizontal cylinder, which, together +with the boiler and the furnace-box, was placed in the rear of the hind +axle. The motion of the piston was transmitted to a separate crank-axle, +from which, through the medium of spur-gear, the axle of the +driving-wheel (which was mounted with a fly-wheel) derived its motion. +The steam-cocks and the force-pump, as also the bellows used for the +purpose of quickening combustion in the furnace, were worked off the same +crank-axle. + +John Petherick, of Camborne, has related that he remembers this first +English steam-coach passing along the principal street of his native +town. Considerable difficulty was experienced in keeping up the pressure +of steam; but when there was pressure enough, Trevithick would call upon +the people to "jump up," so as to create a load upon the engine. It was +soon covered with men attracted by the novelty, nor did their number seem +to make any difference in the speed of the engine so long as there was +steam enough; but it was constantly running short, and the horizontal +bellows failed to keep it up. + +This road-locomotive of Trevithick's was one of the first high-pressure +working engines constructed on the principle of moving a piston by the +elasticity of steam against the pressure only of the atmosphere. Such an +engine had been described by Leopold, though in his apparatus it was +proposed that the pressure should act only on one side of the piston. In +Trevithick's engine the piston was not only raised, but was also +depressed by the action of the steam, being in this respect an entirely +original invention, and of great merit. The steam was admitted from the +boiler under the piston moving in a cylinder, impelling it upward. When +the motion had reached its limit, the communication between the piston +and the under side was shut off, and the steam allowed to escape into the +atmosphere. A passage being then opened between the boiler and the upper +side of the piston, which was pressed downwards, the steam was again +allowed to escape as before. Thus the power of the engine was equal to +the difference between the pressure of the atmosphere and the elasticity +of the steam in the boiler. + +This steam-carriage excited considerable interest in the remote district +near the Land's End where it had been erected. Being so far removed from +the great movements and enterprise of the commercial world, Trevithick +and Vivian determined upon exhibiting their machine in the metropolis. +They accordingly set out with it to Plymouth, whence it was conveyed by +sea to London. + +The carriage safely reached the metropolis, and excited much public +interest. It also attracted the notice of scientific men, amongst others +of Mr. Davies Gilbert, President of the Royal Society, and Sir Humphry +Davy, both Cornishmen like Trevithick, who went to see the private +performances of the engine, and were greatly pleased with it. Writing to +a Cornish friend shortly after its arrival in town, Sir Humphry said: "I +shall soon hope to hear that the roads of England are the haunts of +Captain Trevithick's dragons--a characteristic name." The machine was +afterwards publicly exhibited in an enclosed piece of ground near Euston +Square, where the London and North-Western Station now stands, and it +dragged behind it a wheel-carriage full of passengers. On the second day +of the performance, crowds flocked to see it; but Trevithick, in one of +his odd freaks, shut up the place, and shortly after removed the engine. +It is, however, probable that the inventor came to the conclusion that +the state of the roads at that time was such as to preclude its coming +into general use for purposes of ordinary traffic. + +While the steam-carriage was being exhibited, a gentleman was laying +heavy wagers as to the weight which could be hauled by a single horse on +the Wandsworth and Croydon iron tramway; and the number and weight of +waggons drawn by the horse were something surprising. Trevithick very +probably put the two things together--the steam-horse and the +iron-way--and kept the performance in mind when he proceeded to construct +his second or railway locomotive. The idea was not, however, entirely +new to him; for, although his first engine had been constructed with a +view to its employment upon common roads, the specification of his patent +distinctly alludes to the application of his engine to travelling on +railroads. Having been employed at the iron-works of Pen-y-darran, in +South Wales, to erect a forge engine for the Company, a convenient +opportunity presented itself, on the completion of this work, for +carrying out his design of a locomotive to haul the minerals along the +Pen-y-darran tramway. Such an engine was erected by him in 1803, in the +blacksmiths' shop at the Company's works, and it was finished and ready +for trial before the end of the year. + +The boiler of this second engine was cylindrical in form, flat at the +ends, and made of wrought iron. The furnace and flue were inside the +boiler, within which the single cylinder, eight inches in diameter and +four feet six inches stroke, was placed horizontally. As in the first +engine, the motion of the wheels was produced by spur gear, to which was +also added a fly-wheel on one side, to secure a rotatory motion in the +crank at the end of each stroke of the piston in the single cylinder. +The waste steam was thrown into the chimney through a tube inserted into +it at right angles; but it will be obvious that this arrangement was not +calculated to produce any result in the way of a steam-blast in the +chimney. In fact, the waste steam seems to have been turned into the +chimney in order to get rid of the nuisance caused by throwing the jet +directly into the air. Trevithick was here hovering on the verge of a +great discovery; but that he was not aware of the action of the blast in +contributing to increase the draught and thus quicken combustion, is +clear from the fact that he employed bellows for this special purpose; +and at a much later date (1815) he took out a patent which included a +method of urging the fire by means of fanners. {70} + + [Picture: Trevithick's High Pressure Tram-Engine] + +At the first trial of this engine it succeeded in dragging after it +several waggons, containing ten tons of bar-iron, at the rate of about +five miles an hour. Rees Jones, who worked at the fitting of the engine, +and remembers its performances, says, "She was used for bringing down +metal from the furnaces to the Old Forge. She worked very well; but +frequently, from her weight, broke the tram-plates and the hooks between +the trams. After working for some time in this way, she took a load of +iron from Pen-y-darran down the Basin-road, upon which road she was +intended to work. On the journey she broke a great many of the +tram-plates, and before reaching the basin ran off the road, and had to +be brought back to Pen-y-darran by horses. The engine was never after +used as a locomotive." {71} + +It seems to have been felt that unless the road were entirely +reconstructed so as to bear the heavy weight of the locomotive--so much +greater than that of the tram-waggons, to carry which the original rails +had been laid down--the regular employment of Trevithick's high-pressure +tram-engine was altogether impracticable; and as the owners of the works +were not prepared to incur so serious a cost, it was determined to take +the locomotive off the road, and employ it as an engine for other +purposes. It was accordingly dismounted, and used for some time after as +a pumping-engine, for which purpose it was found well adapted. +Trevithick himself seems from this time to have taken no further steps to +bring the locomotive into general use. We find him, shortly after, +engaged upon schemes of a more promising character, abandoning the engine +to other mechanical inventors, though little improvement was made in it +for several years. An imaginary difficulty seems to have tended, amongst +other obstacles, to prevent its adoption; viz., the idea that, if a heavy +weight were placed behind the engine, the "grip" or "bite" of its smooth +wheels upon the equally smooth iron rail, must necessarily be so slight +that they would whirl round upon it, and, consequently, that the machine +would not make progress. Hence Trevithick, in his patent, provided that +the periphery of the driving-wheels should be made rough by the +projection of bolts or cross-grooves, so that the adhesion of the wheels +to the road might be secured. + +Following up the presumed necessity for a more effectual adhesion between +the wheels and the rails, Mr. Blenkinsop of Leeds, in 1811, took out a +patent for a racked or tooth-rail laid along one side of the road, into +which the toothed-wheel of his locomotive worked as pinions work into a +rack. The boiler of his engine was supported by a carriage with four +wheels without teeth, and rested immediately upon the axles. These +wheels were entirely independent of the working parts of the engine, and +therefore merely supported its weight upon the rails, the progress being +effected by means of the cogged-wheel working into the cogged-rail. The +engine had two cylinders, instead of one as in Trevithick's engine. The +invention of the double cylinder was due to Matthew Murray, of Leeds, one +of the best mechanical engineers of his time; Mr. Blenkinsop, who was not +a mechanic, having consulted him as to all the practical arrangements. +The connecting-rods gave the motion to two pinions by cranks at right +angles to each other; these pinions communicating the motion to the wheel +which worked into the cogged-rail. + +Mr. Blenkinsop's engines began running on the railway from the Middleton +Collieries to Leeds, about 3.5 miles, on the 12th of August, 1812. They +continued for many years to be one of the principal curiosities of the +place, and were visited by strangers from all parts. In 1816, the Grand +Duke Nicholas (afterwards Emperor) of Russia observed the working of +Blenkinsop's locomotive with curious interest and admiration. An engine +dragged as many as thirty coal-waggons at a speed of about 3.25 miles per +hour. These engines continued for many years to be thus employed in the +haulage of coal, and furnished the first instance of the regular +employment of locomotive power for commercial purposes. + +The Messrs. Chapman, of Newcastle, in 1812, endeavoured to overcome the +same fictitious difficulty of the want of adhesion between the wheel and +the rail, by patenting a locomotive to work along the road by means of a +chain stretched from one end of it to the other. This chain was passed +once round a grooved barrel-wheel under the centre of the engine: so +that, when the wheel turned, the locomotive, as it were, dragged itself +along the railway. An engine, constructed after this plan, was tried on +the Heaton Railway, near Newcastle; but it was so clumsy in its action, +there was so great a loss of power by friction, and it was found to be so +expensive and difficult to keep in repair, that it was soon abandoned. +Another remarkable expedient was adopted by Mr. Brunton, of the Butterley +Works, Derbyshire, who, in 1813, patented his Mechanical Traveller, to go +_upon legs_ working alternately like those of a horse. {73} But this +engine never got beyond the experimental state, for, at its very first +trial, the driver, to make sure of a good start, overloaded the +safety-valve, when the boiler burst and killed a number of the +bystanders, wounding many more. These, and other contrivances with the +same object, projected about the same time, show that invention was +actively at work, and that many minds were anxiously labouring to solve +the important problem of locomotive traction upon railways. + +But the difficulties contended with by these early inventors, and the +step-by-step progress which they made, will probably be best illustrated +by the experiments conducted by Mr. Blackett, of Wylam, which are all the +more worthy of notice, as the persevering efforts of this gentleman in a +great measure paved the way for the labours of George Stephenson, who, +shortly after, took up the question of steam locomotion, and brought it +to a successful issue. + +The Wylam waggon-way is one of the oldest in the north of England. Down +to the year 1807 it was formed of wooden spars or rails, laid down +between the colliery at Wylam--where old Robert Stephenson had +worked--and the village of Lemington, some four miles down the Tyne, +where the coals were loaded into keels or barges, and floated down past +Newcastle, to be shipped for London. Each chaldron-waggon had a man in +charge of it, and was originally drawn by one horse. The rate at which +the waggons were hauled was so slow that only two journeys were performed +by each man and horse in one day, and three on the day following. This +primitive waggon-way passed, as before stated, close in front of the +cottage in which George Stephenson was born; and one of the earliest +sights which met his infant eyes was this wooden tramroad worked by +horses. + +Mr. Blackett was the first colliery owner in the North who took an active +interest in the locomotive. Having formed the acquaintance of Trevithick +in London, and inspected the performances of his engine, he determined to +repeat the Pen-y-darran experiment upon the Wylam waggon-way. He +accordingly obtained from Trevithick, in October, 1804, a plan of his +engine, provided with "friction-wheels," and employed Mr. John Whinfield, +of Pipewellgate, Gateshead, to construct it at his foundry there. The +engine was constructed under the superintendence of one John Steele, an +ingenious mechanic who had been in Wales, and worked under Trevithick in +fitting the engine at Pen-y-darran. When the Gateshead locomotive was +finished, a temporary way was laid down in the works, on which it was run +backwards and forwards many times. For some reason, however--it is said +because the engine was deemed too light for drawing the coal-trains--it +never left the works, but was dismounted from the wheels, and set to blow +the cupola of the foundry, in which service it long continued to be +employed. + +Several years elapsed before Mr. Blackett took any further steps to carry +out his idea. The final abandonment of Trevithick's locomotive at +Pen-y-darran perhaps contributed to deter him from proceeding further; +but he had the wooden tramway taken up in 1808, and a plate-way of +cast-iron laid down instead--a single line furnished with sidings to +enable the laden waggons to pass the empty ones. The new iron road +proved so much smoother than the old wooden one, that a single horse, +instead of drawing one, was now enabled to draw two, or even three, laden +waggons. + +Encouraged by the success of Mr. Blenkinsop's experiment at Leeds, Mr. +Blackett determined to follow his example; and in 1812 he ordered a +second engine, to work with a toothed driving-wheel upon a rack-rail. +This locomotive was constructed by Thomas Waters, of Gateshead, under the +superintendence of Jonathan Foster, Mr. Blackett's principal +engine-wright. It was a combination of Trevithick's and Blenkinsop's +engines; but it was of a more awkward construction than either. The +boiler was of cast-iron. The engine was provided with a single cylinder +six inches in diameter, with a fly-wheel working at one side to carry the +crank over the dead points. Jonathan Foster described it to the author +in 1854, as "a strange machine, with lots of pumps, cog-wheels, and +plugs, requiring constant attention while at work." The weight of the +whole was about six tons. + +When finished, it was conveyed to Wylam on a waggon, and there mounted +upon a wooden frame supported by four pairs of wheels, which had been +constructed for its reception. A barrel of water, placed on another +frame upon wheels, was attached to it as a tender. After a great deal of +labour, the cumbrous machine was got upon the road. At first it would +not move an inch. Its maker, Tommy Waters, became impatient, and at +length enraged, and taking hold of the lever of the safety valve, +declared in his desperation, that "either _she_ or _he_ should go." At +length the machinery was set in motion, on which, as Jonathan Foster +described to the author "she flew all to pieces, and it was the biggest +wonder i' the world that we were not all blewn up." The incompetent and +useless engine was declared to be a failure; it was shortly after +dismounted and sold; and Mr. Blackett's praiseworthy efforts thus far +proved in vain. + +He was still, however, desirous of testing the practicability of +employing locomotive power in working the coal down to Lemington, and he +determined on another trial. He accordingly directed his engine-wright +to proceed with the building of a third engine in the Wylam workshops. +This new locomotive had a single 8-inch cylinder, was provided with a +fly-wheel like its predecessor, and the driving-wheel was cogged on one +side to enable it to travel in the rack-rail laid along the road. This +engine proved more successful than the former one; and it was found +capable of dragging eight or nine loaded waggons, though at the rate of +little more than a mile an hour, from the colliery to the shipping-place. +It sometimes took six hours to perform the journey of five miles. Its +weight was found too great for the road, and the cast-iron plates were +constantly breaking. It was also very apt to get off the rack-rail, and +then it stood still. The driver was one day asked how he got on? "Get +on?" said he, "we don't get on; we only get off!" On such occasions, +horses had to be sent to drag the waggons as before, and others to haul +the engine back to the work-shops. It was constantly getting out of +order; its plugs, pumps, or cranks, got wrong; it was under repair as +often as at work; at length it became so cranky that the horses were +usually sent out after it to drag it when it gave up; and the workmen +generally declared it to be a "perfect plague." Mr. Blackett did not +obtain credit amongst his neighbours for these experiments. Many laughed +at his machines, regarding them only in the light of +crotchets,--frequently quoting the proverb that "a fool and his money are +soon parted." Others regarded them as absurd innovations on the +established method of hauling coal; and pronounced that they would "never +answer." + +Notwithstanding, however, the comparative failure of this second +locomotive, Mr. Blackett persevered with his experiments. He was +zealously assisted by Jonathan Foster the engine-wright, and William +Hedley, the viewer of the colliery, a highly ingenious person, who proved +of great use in carrying out the experiments to a successful issue. One +of the chief causes of failure being the rack-rail, the idea occurred to +Mr. Hedley that it might be possible to secure adhesion enough between +the wheel and the rail by the mere weight of the engine, and he proceeded +to make a series of experiments for the purpose of determining this +problem. He had a frame placed on four wheels, and fitted up with +windlasses attached by gearing to the several wheels. The frame having +been properly weighted, six men were set to work the windlasses; when it +was found that the adhesion of the smooth wheels on the smooth rails was +quite sufficient to enable them to propel the machine without slipping. +Having found the proportion which the power bore to the weight, he +demonstrated by successive experiments that the weight of the engine +would of itself produce sufficient adhesion to enable it to draw upon a +smooth railroad the requisite number of waggons in all kinds of weather. +And thus was the fallacy which had heretofore prevailed on this subject +completely exploded, and it was satisfactorily proved that rack-rails, +toothed wheels, endless chains, and legs, were alike unnecessary for the +efficient traction of loaded waggons upon a moderately level road. + +From this time forward considerably less difficulty was experienced in +working the coal trains upon the Wylam tramroad. At length the rack-rail +was dispensed with. The road was laid with heavier rails; the working of +the old engine was improved; and a new engine was shortly after built and +placed upon the road, still on eight wheels, driven by seven rack-wheels +working inside them--with a wrought-iron boiler through which the flue +was returned so as largely to increase the heating surface, and thus give +increased power to the engine. + + [Picture: Improved Wylam Engine] + +As may readily be imagined, the jets of steam from the piston, blowing +off into the air at high pressure while the engine was in motion, caused +considerable annoyance to horses passing along the Wylam road, at that +time a public highway. The nuisance was felt to be almost intolerable, +and a neighbouring gentleman threatened to have it put down. To diminish +the noise as much as possible, Mr. Blackett gave orders that so soon as +any horse, or horses, came in sight, the locomotive was to be stopped, +and the frightful blast of the engine thus suspended until the passing +animals had got out of hearing. Much interruption was thus caused to the +working of the railway, and it excited considerable dissatisfaction +amongst the workmen. The following plan was adopted to abate the +nuisance: a reservoir was provided immediately behind the chimney (as +shown in the preceding cut) into which the waste steam was thrown after +it had performed its office in the cylinder; and from this reservoir, the +steam gradually escaped into the atmosphere without noise. + +While Mr. Blackett was thus experimenting and building locomotives at +Wylam, George Stephenson was anxiously studying the same subject at +Killingworth. He was no sooner appointed engine-wright of the collieries +than his attention was directed to the means of more economically hauling +the coal from the pits to the river-side. We have seen that one of the +first important improvements which he made, after being placed in charge +of the colliery machinery, was to apply the surplus power of a pumping +steam-engine, fixed underground, to drawing the coals out of the deeper +workings of the Killingworth mines,--by which he succeeded in effecting a +large reduction in the expenditure on manual and horse labour. + +The coals, when brought above ground, had next to be laboriously dragged +by horses to the shipping staiths on the Tyne, several miles distant. +The adoption of a tramroad, it is true, had tended to facilitate their +transit. Nevertheless the haulage was both tedious and costly. With the +view of economising labour, Stephenson laid down inclined planes where +the nature of the ground would admit of this expedient. Thus, a train of +full waggons let down the incline by means of a rope running over wheels +laid along the tramroad, the other end of which was attached to a train +of empty waggons placed at the bottom of the parallel road on the same +incline, dragged them up by the simple power of gravity. But this +applied only to a comparatively small part of the road. An economical +method of working the coal trains, instead of by horses,--the keep of +which was at that time very costly, from the high price of corn,--was +still a great desideratum; and the best practical minds in the collieries +were actively engaged in the attempt to solve the problem. + +In the first place Stephenson resolved to make himself thoroughly +acquainted with what had already been done. Mr. Blackett's engines were +working daily at Wylam, past the cottage where he had been born; and +thither he frequently went to inspect the improvements made by Mr. +Blackett from time to time both in the locomotive and in the plateway +along which it worked. Jonathan Foster informed us that, after one of +these visits, Stephenson declared to him his conviction that a much more +effective engine might be made, that should work more steadily and draw +the load more effectively. + +He had also the advantage, about the same time, of seeing one of +Blenkinsop's Leeds engines, which was placed on the tramway leading from +the collieries of Kenton and Coxlodge, on the 2nd September, 1813. This +locomotive drew sixteen chaldron waggons containing an aggregate weight +of seventy tons, at the rate of about three miles an hour. George +Stephenson and several of the Killingworth men were amongst the crowd of +spectators that day; and after examining the engine and observing its +performances, he observed to his companions, that "he thought he could +make a better engine than that, to go upon legs." Probably he had heard +of the invention of Brunton, whose patent had by this time been +published, and proved the subject of much curious speculation in the +colliery districts. Certain it is, that, shortly after the inspection of +the Coxlodge engine, he contemplated the construction of a new +locomotive, which was to surpass all that had preceded it. He observed +that those engines which had been constructed up to this time, however +ingenious in their arrangements, had proved practical failures. Mr. +Blackett's was as yet both clumsy and expensive. Chapman's had been +removed from the Heaton tramway in 1812, and was regarded as a total +failure. And the Blenkinsop engine at Coxlodge was found very unsteady +and costly in its working; besides, it pulled the rails to pieces, the +entire strain being upon the rack-rail on one side of the road. The +boiler, however, having soon after blown up, there was an end of that +engine; and the colliery owners did not feel encouraged to try any +further experiment. + +An efficient and economical working locomotive, therefore, still remained +to be invented; and to accomplish this object Mr. Stephenson now applied +himself. Profiting by what his predecessors had done, warned by their +failures and encouraged by their partial successes, he commenced his +labours. There was still wanting the man who should accomplish for the +locomotive what James Watt had done for the steam-engine, and combine in +a complete form the best points in the separate plans of others, +embodying with them such original inventions and adaptations of his own +as to entitle him to the merit of inventing the working locomotive, in +the same manner as James Watt is to be regarded as the inventor of the +working condensing-engine. This was the great work upon which George +Stephenson now entered, though probably without any adequate idea of the +ultimate importance of his labours to society and civilization. + +He proceeded to bring the subject of constructing a "Travelling Engine," +as he then denominated the locomotive, under the notice of the lessees of +the Killingworth Colliery, in the year 1813. Lord Ravensworth, the +principal partner, had already formed a very favourable opinion of the +new engine-wright, from the improvements which he had effected in the +colliery engines, both above and below ground; and, after considering the +matter, and hearing Stephenson's explanations, he authorised him to +proceed with the construction of a locomotive,--though his lordship was, +by some, called a fool for advancing money for such a purpose. "The +first locomotive that I made," said Stephenson, many years after, {82} +when speaking of his early career at a public meeting in Newcastle, "was +at Killingworth Colliery, and with Lord Ravensworth's money. Yes; Lord +Ravensworth and partners were the first to entrust me, thirty-two years +since, with money to make a locomotive engine. I said to my friends, +there was no limit to the speed of such an engine, if the works could be +made to stand." + +Our engine-wright had, however, many obstacles to encounter before he +could get fairly to work with the erection of his locomotive. His chief +difficulty was in finding workmen sufficiently skilled in mechanics, and +in the use of tools, to follow his instructions and embody his designs in +a practical shape. The tools then in use about the collieries were rude +and clumsy; and there were no such facilities as now exist for turning +out machinery of an entirely new character. Stephenson was under the +necessity of working with such men and tools as were at his command; and +he had in a great measure to train and instruct the workmen himself. The +engine was built in the workshops at the West Moor, the leading mechanic +employed being the colliery blacksmith, an excellent workman in his way, +though quite new to the work now entrusted to him. + +In this first locomotive constructed at Killingworth, Stephenson to some +extent followed the plan of Blenkinsop's engine. The boiler was +cylindrical, of wrought iron, 8 feet in length and 34 inches in diameter, +with an internal flue-tube 20 inches wide passing through it. The engine +had two vertical cylinders of 8 inches diameter, and 2 feet stroke, let +into the boiler, working the propelling gear with cross heads and +connecting rods. The power of the two cylinders was combined by means of +spurwheels, which communicated the motive power to the wheels supporting +the engine on the rail, instead of, as in Blenkinsop's engine, to +cogwheels which acted on the cogged rail independent of the four +supporting wheels. The engine thus worked upon what is termed the second +motion. The chimney was of wrought iron, round which was a chamber +extending back to the feed-pumps, for the purpose of heating the water +previous to its injection into the boiler. The engine had no springs, +and was mounted on a wooden frame supported on four wheels. In order to +neutralise as much as possible the jolts and shocks which such an engine +would necessarily encounter from the obstacles and inequalities of the +then very imperfect plateway, the water-barrel which served for a tender +was fixed to the end of a lever and weighted, the other end of the lever +being connected with the frame of the locomotive carriage. By this means +the weight of the two was more equally distributed, though the +contrivance did not by any means compensate for the absence of springs. + + [Picture: The Spur-gear] + +The wheels of the locomotive were all smooth, Mr. Stephenson having +satisfied himself by experiment that the adhesion between the wheels of a +loaded engine and the rail would be sufficient for the purpose of +traction. Robert Stephenson informed us that his father caused a number +of workmen to mount upon the wheels of a waggon moderately loaded, and +throw their entire weight upon the spokes on one side, when he found that +the waggon could thus be easily propelled forward without the wheels +slipping. This, together with other experiments, satisfied him of the +expediency of adopting smooth wheels on his engine, and it was so +finished accordingly. + +The engine was, after much labour and anxiety, and frequent alterations +of parts, at length brought to completion, having been about ten months +in hand. It was placed upon the Killingworth Railway on the 25th July, +1814; and its powers were tried on the same day. On an ascending +gradient of 1 in 450, the engine succeeded in drawing after it eight +loaded carriages of thirty tons' weight at about four miles an hour; and +for some time after it continued regularly at work. + +Although a considerable advance upon previous locomotives, "Blutcher" (as +the engine was popularly called) was nevertheless a somewhat cumbrous and +clumsy machine. The parts were huddled together. The boiler constituted +the principal feature; and being the foundation of the other parts, it +was made to do duty not only as a generator of steam, but also as a basis +for the fixings of the machinery and for the bearings of the wheels and +axles. The want of springs was seriously felt; and the progress of the +engine was a succession of jolts, causing considerable derangement to the +machinery. The mode of communicating the motive power to the wheels by +means of the spur-gear also caused frequent jerks, each cylinder +alternately propelling or becoming propelled by the other, as the +pressure of the one upon the wheels became greater or less than the +pressure of the other; and when the teeth of the cogwheels became at all +worn, a rattling noise was produced during the travelling of the engine. + +As the principal test of the success of the locomotive was its economy as +compared with horse power, careful calculations were made with the view +of ascertaining this important point. The result was, that it was found +the working of the engine was at first barely economical; and at the end +of the year the steam power and the horse power were ascertained to be as +nearly as possible upon a par in point of cost. The fate of the +locomotive in a great measure depended on this very engine. Its speed +was not beyond that of a horse's walk, and the heating surface presented +to the fire being comparatively small, sufficient steam could not be +raised to enable it to accomplish more on an average than about four +miles an hour. The result was anything but decisive; and the locomotive +might have been condemned as useless, had not our engineer at this +juncture applied the steam-blast, and by its means carried his experiment +to a triumphant issue. + +The steam, after performing its duty in the cylinders, was at first +allowed to escape into the open atmosphere with a hissing blast, to the +terror of horses and cattle. It was complained of as a nuisance; and an +action at law against the colliery lessees was threatened unless it was +stopped. Stephenson's attention had been drawn to the much greater +velocity with which the steam issued from the exit pipe compared with +that at which the smoke escaped from the chimney. He conceived that, by +conveying the eduction steam into the chimney, by means of a small pipe, +after it had performed its office in the cylinders, allowing it to escape +in a vertical direction, its velocity would be imparted to the smoke from +the fire, or to the ascending current of air in the chimney, thereby +increasing the draft, and consequently the intensity of combustion in the +furnace. + +The experiment was no sooner made than the power of the engine was at +once more than doubled; combustion was stimulated by the blast; +consequently the capability of the boiler to generate steam was greatly +increased, and the effective power of the engine augmented in precisely +the same proportion, without in any way adding to its weight. This +simple but beautiful expedient was really fraught with the most important +consequences to railway communication; and it is not too much to say that +the success of the locomotive has in a great measure been the result of +its adoption. Without the steam-blast, by means of which the intensity +of combustion is maintained at its highest point, producing a +correspondingly rapid evolution of steam, high rates of speed could not +have been kept up; the advantages of the multi-tubular boiler (afterwards +invented) could never have been fairly tested; and locomotives might +still have been dragging themselves unwieldily along at little more than +five or six miles an hour. + +The steam-blast had scarcely been adopted, with so decided a success, +when Stephenson, observing the numerous defects in his engine, and +profiting by the experience which he had already acquired, determined to +construct a second engine, in which to embody his improvements in their +best form. Careful and cautious observation of the working of his +locomotive had convinced him that the complication arising out of the +action of the two cylinders being combined by spur-wheels would prevent +its coming into practical use. He accordingly directed his attention to +an entire change in the construction and mechanical arrangements of the +machine; and in the following year, conjointly with Mr. Dodds, who +provided the necessary funds, he took out a patent, dated the 28th of +February, 1815, for an engine which combined in a remarkable degree the +essential requisites of an economical locomotive; that is to say, few +parts, simplicity in their action, and directness in the mode by which +the power was communicated to the wheels supporting the engine. + +This locomotive, like the first, had two vertical cylinders, which +communicated _directly_ with each pair of the four wheels that supported +the engine, by means of a cross head and a pair of connecting rods. But +in attempting to establish a direct communication between the cylinders +and the wheels that rolled upon the rails, considerable difficulties +presented themselves. The ordinary joints could not be employed to unite +the parts of the engine, which was a rigid mass, with the wheels lolling +upon the irregular surface of the rails; for it was evident that the two +rails of the line of way--more especially in those early days of +imperfect construction of the permanent road--could not always be +maintained at the same level,--that the wheel at one end of the axle +might be depressed into one part of the line which had subsided, whilst +the other wheel would be comparatively elevated; and in such a position +of the axle and wheels, it was obvious that a rigid communication between +the cross head and the wheels was impracticable. Hence it became +necessary to form a joint at the top of the piston-rod where it united +with the cross head, so as to permit the cross head to preserve complete +parallelism with the axle of the wheels with which it was in +communication. + +In order to obtain that degree of flexibility combined with direct +action, which was essential for ensuring power and avoiding needless +friction and jars from irregularities in the road, Stephenson made use of +the "ball and socket" joint for effecting a union between the ends of the +cross heads where they united with the connecting rods, and between the +ends of the connecting rods where they were united with the crank-pins +attached to each driving-wheel. By this arrangement the parallelism +between the cross head and the axle was at all times maintained and +preserved, without producing any serious jar or friction on any part of +the machine. Another important point was, to combine each pair of wheels +by means of some simple mechanism instead of by the cogwheels which had +formerly been used. And, with this object, Stephenson made cranks in +each axle at right angles to each other, with rods communicating +horizontally between them. + +A locomotive was constructed upon this plan in 1815, and was found to +answer extremely well. But at that period the mechanical skill of the +country was not equal to forging cranked axles of the soundness and +strength necessary to stand the jars incident to locomotive work. +Stephenson was accordingly compelled to fall back upon a substitute, +which, although less simple and efficient, was within the mechanical +capabilities of the workmen of that day, in respect of construction as +well as repair. He adopted a chain which rolled over indented wheels +placed on the centre of each axle, and was so arranged that the two pairs +of wheels were effectually coupled and made to keep pace with each other. +The chain, however, after a few years' use, became stretched; and then +the engines were liable to irregularity in their working, especially in +changing from working back to working forward again. Eventually the +chain was laid aside, and the front and hind wheels were united by rods +on the outside, instead of by rods and crank axles inside, as specified +in the original patent. This expedient completely answered the purpose +required, without involving any expensive or difficult workmanship. + +Thus, in 1815, by dint of patient and persevering labour,--by careful +observation of the works of others, and never neglecting to avail himself +of their suggestions,--Stephenson succeeded in manufacturing an engine +which included the following important improvements on all previous +attempts in the same direction:--viz., simple and direct communication +between the cylinders and the wheels rolling upon the rails; joint +adhesion of all the wheels, attained by the use of horizontal +connecting-rods; and finally, a beautiful method of exciting the +combustion of the fuel by employing the waste steam, which had formerly +been allowed to escape uselessly into the air. Although many +improvements in detail were afterwards introduced in the locomotive by +George Stephenson himself, as well as by his equally distinguished son, +it is perhaps not too much to say that this engine, as a mechanical +contrivance, contained the germ of all that has since been effected. It +may in fact be regarded as the type of the present locomotive engine. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. +INVENTION OF THE "GEORDY" SAFETY-LAMP. + + +Explosions of fire-damp were unusually frequent in the coal mines of +Northumberland and Durham about the time when George Stephenson was +engaged in the construction of his first locomotives. These explosions +were often attended with fearful loss of life and dreadful suffering to +the workpeople. Killingworth Colliery was not free from such deplorable +calamities; and during the time that Stephenson was employed as a +brakesman at the West Moor, several "blasts" took place in the pit, by +which many workmen were scorched and killed, and the owners of the +colliery sustained heavy losses. One of the most serious of these +accidents occurred in 1806, not long after he had been appointed +brakesman, by which 10 persons were killed. Stephenson was working at +the mouth of the pit at the time, and the circumstances connected with +the accident made a deep impression on his mind. + +Another explosion took place in the same pit in 1809, by which 12 persons +lost their lives. The blast did not reach the shaft as in the former +case; the unfortunate persons in the pit having been suffocated by the +after-damp. More calamitous still were the explosions which took place +in the neighbouring collieries; one of the worst being that of 1812, in +the Felling Pit, near Gateshead, by which no fewer than 90 men and boys +were suffocated or burnt to death. And a similar accident occurred in +the same pit in the year following, by which 22 persons perished. + +It was natural that George Stephenson should devote his attention to the +causes of these deplorable accidents, and to the means by which they +might if possible be prevented. His daily occupation led him to think +much and deeply on the subject. As engine-wright of a colliery so +extensive as that of Killingworth, where there were nearly 160 miles of +gallery excavation, in which he personally superintended the working of +the inclined planes along which the coals were sent to the pit entrance, +he was necessarily very often underground, and brought face to face with +the dangers of fire-damp. From fissures in the roofs of the galleries, +carburetted hydrogen gas was constantly flowing; in some of the more +dangerous places it might be heard escaping from the crevices of the coal +with a hissing noise. Ventilation, firing, and all conceivable modes of +drawing out the foul air had been adopted, and the more dangerous parts +of the galleries were built up. Still the danger could not be wholly +prevented. The miners must necessarily guide their steps through the +extensive underground ways with lighted lamps or candles, the naked flame +of which, coming in contact with the inflammable air, daily exposed them +and their fellow-workers in the pit to the risk of death in one of its +most dreadful forms. + +One day, in 1814, a workman hurried into Stephenson's cottage with the +startling information that the deepest main of the colliery was on fire! +He immediately hastened to the pit-head, about a hundred yards off, +whither the women and children of the colliery were running, with +wildness and terror depicted in every face. In a commanding voice +Stephenson ordered the engineman to lower him down the shaft in the +corve. There was peril, it might be death, before him, but he must go. + +He was soon at the bottom, and in the midst of the men, who were +paralysed by the danger which threatened the lives of all in the pit. +Leaping from the corve on its touching the ground, he called out; "Are +there six men among you who have courage to follow me? If so, come, and +we will put the fire out." The Killingworth pitmen had the most perfect +confidence in their engine-wright, and they readily volunteered to follow +him. + + [Picture: The Pit Head, West Moor] + +Silence succeeded the frantic tumult of the previous minute, and the men +set to work with a will. In every mine, bricks, mortar, and tools enough +are at hand, and by Stephenson's direction the materials were forthwith +carried to the required spot, where, in a very short time a wall was +raised at the entrance to the main, he himself taking the most active +part in the work. The atmospheric air was by this means excluded, the +fire was extinguished, the people were saved from death, and the mine was +preserved. + +This anecdote of Stephenson was related to the writer, near the +pit-mouth, by one of the men who had been present and helped to build up +the brick wall by which the fire was stayed, though several workmen were +suffocated. He related that, when down the pit some days after, seeking +out the dead bodies, the cause of the accident was the subject of +conversation, and Stephenson was asked, "Can nothing be done to prevent +such awful occurrences?" His reply was that he thought something might +be done. "Then," said the other, "the sooner you start the better; for +the price of coal-mining now is _pitmen's lives_." + +Fifty years since, many of the best pits were so full of the inflammable +gas given forth by the coal, that they could not be worked without the +greatest danger; and for this reason some were altogether abandoned, The +rudest possible methods were adopted of producing light sufficient to +enable the pitmen to work by. The phosphorescence of decayed fish-skins +was tried; but this, though safe, was very inefficient. The most common +method employed was what was called a steel mill, the notched wheel of +which, being made to revolve against a flint, struck a succession of +sparks, which scarcely served to do more than make the darkness visible. +A boy carried the apparatus after the miner, working the wheel, and by +the imperfect light thus given forth he plied his dangerous trade. +Candles were only used in those parts of the pit where gas was not +abundant. Under this rude system not more than one-third of the coal +could be worked; and two-thirds were left. + +What the workmen, not less than the coal-owners, eagerly desired was, a +lamp that should give forth sufficient light, without communicating flame +to the inflammable gas which accumulated in certain parts of the pit. +Something had already been attempted towards the invention of such a lamp +by Dr. Clanny, of Sunderland, who, in 1813, contrived an apparatus to +which he gave air from the mine through water, by means of bellows. This +lamp went out of itself in inflammable gas. It was found, however, too +unwieldy to be used by the miners for the purposes of their work, and did +not come into general use. A committee of gentlemen was formed to +investigate the causes of the explosions, and to devise, if possible, +some means of preventing them. At the invitation of that Committee, Sir +Humphry Davy, then in the full zenith of his reputation, was requested to +turn his attention to the subject. He accordingly visited the collieries +near Newcastle on the 24th of August, 1815; and on the 9th of November +following, he read before the Royal Society of London his celebrated +paper "On the Fire-Damp of Coal Mines, and on Methods of lighting the +Mine so as to prevent its explosion." + +But a humbler though not less diligent and original thinker had been at +work before him, and had already practically solved the problem of the +Safety-Lamp. Stephenson was of course well aware of the anxiety which +prevailed in the colliery districts as to the invention of a lamp which +should give light enough for the miners to work by without exploding the +fire-damp. The painful incidents above described only served to quicken +his eagerness to master the difficulty. + +For several years he had been engaged, in his own rude way, in making +experiments with the fire-damp in the Killingworth mine. The pitmen used +to expostulate with him on these occasions, believing his experiments to +be fraught with danger. One of the sinkers, observing him holding up +lighted candles to the windward of the "blower" or fissure from which the +inflammable gas escaped, entreated him to desist; but Stephenson's answer +was, that "he was busy with a plan by which he hoped to make his +experiments useful for preserving men's lives." On these occasions the +miners usually got out of the way before he lit the gas. + +In 1815, although he was very much occupied with the business of the +collieries and the improvement of his locomotive engine, he was also +busily engaged in making experiments upon inflammable gas in the +Killingworth pit. According to the explanation afterwards given by him, +he imagined that if he could construct a lamp with a chimney so arranged +as to cause a strong current, it would not fire at the top of the +chimney; as the burnt air would ascend with such a velocity as to prevent +the inflammable air of the pit from descending towards the flame; and +such a lamp, he thought, might be taken into a dangerous atmosphere +without risk of exploding. + +Such was Stephenson's theory when he proceeded to embody his idea of a +miner's safety-lamp in a practical form. In the month of August, 1815, +he requested his friend Nicholas Wood, the head viewer, to prepare a +drawing of a lamp according to the description which he gave him. After +several evenings' careful deliberations, the drawing was made, and shown +to several of the head men about the works. + +Stephenson proceeded to order a lamp to be made by a Newcastle tinman, +according to his plan; and at the same time he directed a glass to be +made for the lamp at the Northumberland Glass House. Both were received +by him from the makers on the 21st October, and the lamp was taken to +Killingworth for the purpose of immediate experiment. + +"I remember that evening as distinctly as if it had been but yesterday," +said Robert Stephenson, describing the circumstances to the author in +1857: "Moodie came to our cottage about dusk, and asked, 'if father had +got back yet with the lamp?' 'No.' 'Then I'll wait till he comes,' said +Moodie, 'he can't be long now.' In about half-an-hour, in came my +father, his face all radiant. He had the lamp with him! It was at once +uncovered, and shown to Moodie. Then it was filled with oil, trimmed, +and lighted. All was ready, only the head viewer hadn't arrived. 'Run +over to Benton for Nichol, Robert,' said my father to me, 'and ask him to +come directly; say we're going down the pit to try the lamp.' By this +time it was quite dark; and off I ran to bring Nicholas Wood. His house +was at Benton, about a mile off. There was a short cut through the +Churchyard, but just as I was about to pass the wicket, I saw what I +thought was a white figure moving about amongst the grave-stones. I took +it for a ghost! My heart fluttered, and I was in a great fright, but to +Wood's house I must get, so I made the circuit of the Churchyard; and +when I got round to the other side I looked, and lo! the figure was still +there. But what do you think it was? Only the grave-digger, plying his +work at that late hour by the light of his lanthorn set upon one of the +gravestones! I found Wood at home, and in a few minutes he was mounted +and off to my father's. When I got back, I was told they had just +left--it was then about eleven--and gone down the shaft to try the lamp +in one of the most dangerous parts of the mine." + +Arrived at the bottom of the shaft with the lamp, the party directed +their steps towards one of the foulest galleries in the pit, where the +explosive gas was issuing through a blower in the roof of the mine with a +loud hissing noise. By erecting some deal boarding round that part of +the gallery into which the gas was escaping, the air was made more foul +for the purpose of the experiment. After waiting about an hour, Moodie, +whose practical experience of fire-damp in pits was greater than that of +either Stephenson or Wood, was requested to go into the place which had +thus been made foul; and, having done so, he returned, and told them that +the smell of the air was such, that if a lighted candle were now +introduced, an explosion must inevitably take place. He cautioned +Stephenson as to the danger both to themselves and to the pit, if the gas +took fire. But Stephenson declared his confidence in the safety of his +lamp, and, having lit the wick, he boldly proceeded with it towards the +explosive air. The others, more timid and doubtful, hung back when they +came within hearing of the blower; and apprehensive of the danger, they +retired into a safe place, out of sight of the lamp, which gradually +disappeared with its bearer in the recesses of the mine. {95} + +Advancing to the place of danger, and entering within the fouled air, his +lighted lamp in hand, Stephenson held it finally out, in the full current +of the blower, and within a few inches of its mouth. Thus exposed, the +flame of the lamp at first increased, then flickered, and then went out; +but there was no explosion of the gas. Returning to his companions, who +were still at a distance, he told them what had occurred. Having now +acquired somewhat more confidence, they advanced with him to a point from +which they could observe him repeat his experiment, but still at a safe +distance. They saw that when the lighted lamp was held within the +explosive mixture, there was a great flame; the lamp became almost full +of fire; and then it smothered out. Again returning to his companions, +he relighted the lamp, and repeated the experiment several times with the +same result. At length Wood and Moodie ventured to advance close to the +fouled part of the pit; and, in making some of the later trials, Mr. Wood +himself held up the lighted lamp to the blower. + +Before leaving the pit, Stephenson expressed his opinion that by an +alteration of the lamp which he then contemplated, he could make it burn +better; this was by a change in the slide through which the air was +admitted into the lower part, under the flame. After making some +experiments on the air collected at the blower, by bladders which were +mounted with tubes of various diameters, he satisfied himself that, when +the tube was reduced to a certain diameter, the foul air would not pass +through; and he fashioned his slide accordingly, reducing the diameter of +the tube until he conceived it was quite safe. In about a fortnight the +experiments were repeated, in a place purposely made foul as before; on +this occasion a larger number of persons ventured to witness them, and +they again proved successful. The lamp was not yet, however, so +efficient as the inventor desired. It required, he observed, to be kept +very steady when burning in the inflammable gas, otherwise it was liable +to go out, in consequence, as he imagined, of the contact of the burnt +air (as he then called it), or azotic gas, which lodged round the +exterior of the flame. If the lamp was moved horizontally, the azote +came in contact with the flame and extinguished it. "It struck me," said +he, "that if I put more tubes in, I should discharge the poisonous matter +that hung round the flame, by admitting the air to its exterior part." +Although he had then no access to scientific books, nor intercourse with +scientific men, nor anything that could assist him in his investigation, +besides his own indefatigable spirit of inquiry, he contrived a rude +apparatus by which he tested the explosive properties of the gas and the +velocity of current (for this was the direction of his inquiries) +necessary to enable the explosive gas to pass through tubes of different +diameters. In making these experiments in his humble cottage at the West +Moor, Nicholas Wood and George's son Robert usually acted as his +assistants, and sometimes the gentlemen of the neighbourhood interested +in coal-mining attended as spectators. + +These experiments were not performed without risk, for on one occasion +the experimenting party had nearly blown off the roof of the cottage. +One of these "blows up" was described by Stephenson himself before the +Committee on Accidents in Coal Mines, in 1835: "I made several +experiments," said he, "as to the velocity required in tubes of different +diameters, to prevent explosion from fire-damp. We made the mixtures in +all proportions of light carburetted hydrogen with atmospheric air in the +receiver, and we found by the experiments that when a current of the most +explosive mixture that we could make was forced up a tube 4/10 of an inch +in diameter, the necessary current was 9 inches in a second to prevent +its coming down that tube. These experiments were repeated several +times. We had two or three blows up in making the experiments, by the +flame getting down into the receiver, though we had a piece of very fine +wire-gauze put at the bottom of the pipe, between the receiver and the +pipe through which we were forcing the current. In one of these +experiments I was watching the flame in the tube, my son was taking the +vibrations of the pendulum of the clock, and Mr. Wood was attending to +give me the column of water as I called for it, to keep the current up to +a certain point. As I saw the flame descending in the tube I called for +more water, and Wood unfortunately turned the cock the wrong way, the +current ceased, the flame went down the tube, and all our implements were +blown to pieces, which at the time we were not very able to replace." + +Stephenson followed up those experiments by others of a similar kind, +with the view of ascertaining whether ordinary flame would pass through +tubes of a small diameter and with this object he filed off the barrels +of several small keys. Placing these together, he held them +perpendicularly over a strong flame, and ascertained that it did not pass +upward. This was a further proof to him of the soundness of the course +he was pursuing. + +In order to correct the defect of his first lamp he resolved to alter it +so as to admit the air to the flame by several tubes of reduced diameter, +instead of by a single tube. He inferred that a sufficient quantity of +air would thus be introduced into the lamp for the purposes of +combustion, while the smallness of the apertures would still prevent the +explosive gas passing downwards, at the same time that the "burnt air" +(the cause, in his opinion, of the lamp going out) would be more +effectually dislodged. He accordingly took the lamp to a tinman in +Newcastle, and had it altered so that the air was admitted by three small +tubes inserted in the bottom of the lamp, the openings of which were +placed on the outside of the burner, instead of having (as in the +original lamp) the one tube opening directly under the flame. + +This second or altered lamp was tried in the Killingworth pit on the 4th +November, and was found to burn better than the first, and to be +perfectly safe. But as it did not yet come quite up to the inventor's +expectations, he proceeded to contrive a third lamp, in which he proposed +to surround the oil vessel with a number of capillary tubes. Then it +struck him, that if he cut off the middle of the tubes, or made holes in +metal plates, placed at a distance from each other, equal to the length +of the tubes, the air would get in better, and the effect in preventing +explosion would be the same. + +He was encouraged to persevere in the completion of his safety-lamp by +the occurrence of several fatal accidents about this time in the +Killingworth pit. On the 9th November a boy was killed by a blast in the +_A_ pit, at the very place where Stephenson had made the experiments with +his first lamp; and, when told of the accident, he observed that if the +boy had been provided with his lamp, his life would have been saved. On +the 20th November he went over to Newcastle to order his third lamp from +a plumber in that town. The plumber referred him to his clerk, whom +Stephenson invited to join him at a neighbouring public-house, where they +might quietly talk over the matter, and finally settle the plan of the +new lamp. They adjourned to the "Newcastle Arms," near the present High +Level Bridge, where they had some ale, and a design of the lamp was drawn +in pencil upon a half-sheet of foolscap, with a rough specification +subjoined. The sketch, when shown to us by Robert Stephenson some years +since, still bore the marks of the ale. It was a very rude design, but +sufficient to work from. It was immediately placed in the hands of the +workmen, finished in the course of a few days, and experimentally tested +in the Killingworth pit like the previous lamps, on the 30th November. +At that time neither Stephenson nor Wood had heard of Sir Humphry Davy's +experiments nor of the lamp which that gentleman proposed to construct. + +An angry controversy afterwards took place as to the respective merits of +George Stephenson and Sir Humphry Davy in respect of the invention of the +safety-lamp. A committee was formed on both sides, and the facts were +stated in various ways. It is perfectly clear, however, that Stephenson +had ascertained _the fact_ that flame will not pass through tubes of a +certain diameter--the principle on which the safety-lamp is +constructed--before Sir Humphry Davy had formed any definite idea on the +subject, or invented the model lamp afterwards exhibited by him before +the Royal Society. Stephenson had actually constructed a lamp on such a +principle, and proved its safety, before Sir Humphry had communicated his +views on the subject to any person; and by the time that the first public +intimation had been given of his discovery, Stephenson's second lamp had +been constructed and tested in like manner in the Killingworth pit. The +_first_ was tried on the 21st October, 1815; the _second_ was tried on +the 4th November; but it was not until the 9th November that Sir Humphry +Davy presented his first lamp to the public. And by the 30th of the same +month, as we have seen, Stephenson had constructed and tested his _third_ +safety-lamp. + + [Picture: Davy's and Stephenson's Safety Lamps] + +Stephenson's theory of the "burnt air" and the "draught" was no doubt +wrong; but his lamp was right, and that was the great fact which mainly +concerned him. Torricelli did not know the rationale of his tube, nor +Otto Gurike that of his air-pump; yet no one thinks of denying them the +merit of their inventions on that account. The discoveries of Volta and +Galvani were in like manner independent of theory; the greatest +discoveries consisting in bringing to light certain grand facts, on which +theories are afterwards framed. Our inventor had been pursuing the +Baconian method, though he did not think of that, but of inventing a safe +lamp, which he knew could only be done through the process of repeated +experiment. He experimented upon the fire-damp at the blowers in the +mine, and also by means of the apparatus which was blown up in his +cottage, as above described by himself. By experiment he distinctly +ascertained that the explosion of fire-damp could not pass through small +tubes; and he also did what had not before been done by any inventor--he +constructed a lamp on this principle, and repeatedly proved its safety at +the risk of his life. At the same time, there is no doubt that it was to +Sir Humphry Davy that the merit belonged of having pointed out the true +law on which the safety-lamp is constructed. + +The subject of this important invention excited so much interest in the +northern mining districts, and Stephenson's numerous friends considered +his lamp so completely successful--having stood the test of repeated +experiments--that they urged him to bring his invention before the +Philosophical and Literary Society of Newcastle, of whose apparatus he +had availed himself in the course of his experiments on fire-damp. After +much persuasion he consented, and a meeting was appointed for the purpose +of receiving his explanations, on the evening of the 5th December, 1815. +Stephenson was at that time so diffident in manner and unpractised in +speech, that he took with him his friend Nicholas Wood, to act as his +interpreter and expositor on the occasion. From eighty to a hundred of +the most intelligent members of the society were present at the meeting, +when Mr. Wood stood forward to expound the principles on which the lamp +had been formed, and to describe the details of its construction. +Several questions were put, to which Mr. Wood proceeded to give replies +to the best of his knowledge. But Stephenson, who up to that time had +stood behind Wood, screened from notice, observing that the explanations +given were not quite correct, could no longer control his reserve, and, +standing forward, he proceeded in his strong Northumbrian dialect, to +describe the lamp, down to its minutest details. He then produced +several bladders full of carburetted hydrogen, which he had collected +from the blowers in the Killingworth mine, and proved the safety of his +lamp by numerous experiments with the gas, repeated in various ways; his +earnest and impressive manner exciting in the minds of his auditors the +liveliest interest both in the inventor and his invention. + +Shortly after, Sir H. Davy's model lamp was received and exhibited to the +coal-miners at Newcastle, on which occasion the observation was made by +several gentlemen, "Why, it is the same as Stephenson's!" + +Notwithstanding Stephenson's claim to be regarded as the first inventor +of the Tube Safety-lamp, his merits do not seem to have been generally +recognised; and Sir Humphry Davy carried off the larger share of the +_eclat_ which attached to the discovery. What chance had the unknown +workman of Killingworth with so distinguished a competitor? The one was +as yet but a colliery engine-wright, scarce raised above the +manual-labour class, pursuing his experiments in obscurity, with a view +only to usefulness; the other was the scientific prodigy of his day, the +most brilliant of lecturers, and the most popular of philosophers. + +No small indignation was expressed by the friends of Sir Humphry Davy at +Stephenson's "presumption" in laying claim to the invention of the +safety-lamp. In 1831 Dr. Paris, in his 'Life of Sir Humphry Davy,' thus +wrote:--"It will hereafter be scarcely believed that an invention so +eminently scientific, and which could never have been derived but from +the sterling treasury of science, should have been claimed on behalf of +an engine-wright of Killingworth, of the name of Stephenson--a person not +even possessing a knowledge of the elements of chemistry." + +But Stephenson was far above claiming for himself any invention not his +own. He had already accomplished a far greater feat than the making of a +safety-lamp--he had constructed a successful locomotive, which was to be +seen in daily work on the Killingworth railway. By the improvements he +had made in the engine, he might almost be said to have _invented_ it; +but no one--not even the philosophers--detected the significance of that +wonderful machine. What railways were to become, rested in a great +measure with that "engine-wright of Killingworth, of the name of +Stephenson," though he was scarcely known as yet beyond the bounds of his +own district. + +As to the value of the invention of the safety-lamp there could be no +doubt; and the colliery owners of Durham and Northumberland, to testify +their sense of its importance, determined to present a testimonial to its +inventor. The friends of Sir H. Davy met in August, 1816, to take steps +for raising a subscription for the purpose. The advertised object of the +meeting was to present him with a reward for "the invention of _his_ +safety-lamp." To this no objection could be taken; for though the +principle on which the safety-lamps of Stephenson and Davy were +constructed was the same; and although Stephenson's lamp was, +unquestionably, the first successful lamp that had been constructed on +such principle, and proved to be efficient,--yet Sir H. Davy did invent a +safety-lamp, no doubt quite independent of all that Stephenson had done; +and having directed his careful attention to the subject, and elucidated +the true theory of explosion of carburetted hydrogen, he was entitled to +all praise and reward for his labours. But when the meeting of +coal-owners proposed to raise a subscription for the purpose of +presenting Sir H. Davy with a reward for "his invention of _the_ +safety-lamp," the case was entirely altered; and Stephenson's friends +then proceeded to assert his claims to be regarded as its first inventor. + +Many meetings took place on the subject, and much discussion ensued, the +result of which was that a sum of 2000 pounds was presented to Sir +Humphry Davy as "the inventor of the safety-lamp;" but, at the same time, +a purse of 100 guineas was voted to George Stephenson, in consideration +of what he had done in the same direction. This result was, however very +unsatisfactory to Stephenson, as well as to his friends, and Mr. +Brandling, of Gosforth, suggested to him that, the subject being now +fairly before the public, he should publish a statement of the facts on +which his claim was founded. + +This was not at all in George's line. He had never appeared in print; +and it seemed to him a more formidable thing to write a letter for "the +papers" than to invent a safety-lamp or design a locomotive. However, he +called to his aid his son Robert, set him down before a sheet of +foolscap, and told him to "put down there just what I tell you." The +composition of this letter, as we were informed by the writer of it, +occupied more evenings than one; and when it was at length finished, +after many corrections, and fairly copied out, the father and son set +out--the latter dressed in his Sunday's round jacket--to lay the joint +production before Mr. Brandling, at Gosforth House. Glancing over the +letter, Mr. Brandling said, "George, this will never do." "It is all +true, sir," was the reply. "That may be; but it is badly written." +Robert blushed, for he thought the penmanship was called in question, and +he had written his best. Mr. Brandling, however, revised the letter, +which was shortly after published in the local journals. + +Stephenson's friends, fully satisfied of his claims to priority as the +inventor of the safety-lamp used in the Killingworth and other +collieries, held a public meeting for the purpose of presenting him with +a reward "for the valuable service he had thus rendered to mankind." A +subscription was immediately commenced with this object, and a committee +was formed, consisting of the Earl of Strathmore, C. J. Brandling, and +others. The subscriptions, when collected, amounted to 1000 pounds. +Part of the money was devoted to the purchase of a silver tankard, which +was presented to the inventor, together with the balance of the +subscription, at a public dinner given in the Assembly Rooms at +Newcastle. {105} But what gave Stephenson even greater pleasure than the +silver tankard and purse of sovereigns was the gift of a silver watch, +purchased by small subscriptions amongst the colliers themselves, and +presented by them as a token of their personal esteem and regard for him, +as well as of their gratitude for the perseverance and skill with which +he had prosecuted his valuable and lifesaving invention to a successful +issue. + +However great the merits of Stephenson in connexion with the invention of +the tube safety-lamp, they cannot be regarded as detracting from the +reputation of Sir Humphry Davy. His inquiries into the explosive +properties of carburetted hydrogen gas were quite original; and his +discovery of the fact that explosion will not pass through tubes of a +certain diameter was made independently of all that Stephenson had done +in verification of the same fact. It even appears that Mr. Smithson +Tennant and Dr. Wollaston had observed the same fact several years +before, though neither Stephenson nor Davy knew it while they were +prosecuting their experiments. Sir Humphry Davy's subsequent +modification of the tube-lamp, by which, while diminishing the diameter, +he in the same ratio shortened the tubes without danger, and in the form +of wire-gauze enveloped the safety-lamp by a multiplicity of tubes, was a +beautiful application of the true theory which he had formed upon the +subject. + +The increased number of accidents which have occurred from explosions in +coal-mines since the general introduction of the Davy lamp, have led to +considerable doubts as to its safety, and to inquiries as to the means by +which it may be further improved; for experience has shown that, under +certain circumstances, the Davy lamp is _not_ safe. Stephenson was +himself of opinion that the modification of his own and Sir Humphry +Davy's lamp, combining the glass cylinder with the wire-gauze, was the +most secure; at the same time it must be admitted that the Davy and the +Geordy lamps alike failed to stand the severe tests to which they were +submitted by Dr. Pereira, before the Committee on Accidents in Mines. +Indeed, Dr. Pereira did not hesitate to say, that when exposed to a +current of explosive gas the Davy lamp is "decidedly unsafe," and that +the experiments by which its safety had been "demonstrated" in the +lecture-room had proved entirely "fallacious." + +It is worthy of remark, that under circumstances in which the wire-gauze +of the Davy lamp becomes red-hot from the high explosiveness of the gas, +the Geordy lamp is extinguished; and we cannot but think that this fact +testifies to the decidedly superior safety of the Geordy. An accident +occurred in the Oaks colliery Pit at Barnsley, on the 20th August, 1857, +which strikingly exemplified the respective qualities of the lamps. A +sudden outburst of gas took place from the floor of the mine, along a +distance of fifty yards. Fortunately the men working in the pit at the +time were all supplied with safety-lamps--the hewers with Stephenson's, +and the hurriers with Davy's. Upon this occasion, the whole of the +Stephenson's lamps, over a space of five hundred yards, were extinguished +almost instantaneously; whereas the Davy lamps were filled with fire, and +became red-hot--so much so, that several of the men using them had their +hands burnt by the gauze. Had a strong current of air been blowing +through the gallery at the time, an explosion would most probably have +taken place--an accident which, it will be observed, could not, under +such circumstances, occur from the use of the Geordy, which is +immediately extinguished as soon as the air becomes explosive. {107} + +Nicholas Wood, a good judge, has said of the two inventions, "Priority +has been claimed for each of them--I believe the inventions to be +parallel. By different roads they both arrived at the same result. +Stephenson's is the superior lamp. Davy's is safe--Stephenson's is +safer." + +When the question of priority was under discussion at the studio of Mr. +Lough, the sculptor, in 1857, Sir Matthew White Ridley asked Robert +Stephenson, who was present, for his opinion on the subject. His answer +was, "I am not exactly the person to give an unbiassed opinion; but, as +you ask me frankly, I will as frankly say, that if George Stephenson had +never lived, Sir Humphry Davy could and most probably would have invented +the safety-lamp; but again, if Sir Humphry Davy had never lived, George +Stephenson certainly would have invented the safety-lamp, as I believe he +did, independent of all that Sir Humphry Davy had ever done in the +matter." + + [Picture: West Moor Pit, Killingworth] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. +GEORGE STEPHENSON'S FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LOCOMOTIVE--THE HETTON +RAILWAY--ROBERT STEPHENSON AS VIEWER'S APPRENTICE AND STUDENT. + + +Stephenson's experiments on fire-damp, and his labours in connexion with +the invention of the safety-lamp, occupied but a small portion of his +time, which was necessarily devoted for the most part to the ordinary +business of the colliery. From the day of his appointment as +engine-wright, one of the subjects which particularly occupied his +attention was the best practical method of winning and raising the coal. +He was one of the first to introduce steam machinery underground with the +latter object. Indeed, the Killingworth mines came to be regarded as the +models of the district; the working arrangements generally being +conducted in a skilful and efficient manner, reflecting the highest +credit on the colliery engineer. + +Besides attending to the underground arrangements, the improved transit +of the coals above-ground from the pithead to the shipping-place, +demanded an increasing share of his attention. Every day's experience +convinced him that the locomotive constructed by him after his patent of +the year 1815, was far from perfect; though he continued to entertain +confident hopes of its eventual success. He even went so far as to say +that the locomotive would yet supersede every other traction-power for +drawing heavy loads. Many still regarded his travelling engine as little +better than a curious toy; and some, shaking their heads, predicted for +it "a terrible blow-up some day." Nevertheless, it was daily performing +its work with regularity, dragging the coal-waggons between the colliery +and the staiths, and saving the labour of many men and horses. There was +not, however, so marked a saving in haulage as to induce the colliery +masters to adopt locomotive power generally as a substitute for horses. +How it could be improved and rendered more efficient as well as +economical, was constantly present to Stephenson's mind. + +At an early period of his labours, or about the time when he had +completed his second locomotive, he began to direct his particular +attention to the state of the Road; as he perceived that the extended use +of the locomotive must necessarily depend in a great measure upon the +perfection, solidity, continuity, and smoothness of the way along which +the engine travelled. Even at that early period, he was in the habit of +regarding the road and the locomotive as one machine, speaking of the +rail and the wheel as "man and wife." + +All railways were at that time laid in a careless and loose manner, and +great inequalities of level were allowed to occur without much attention +being paid to repairs. The consequence was a great loss of power, as +well as much tear and wear of the machinery, by the frequent jolts and +blows of the wheels against the rails. His first object therefore was, +to remove the inequalities produced by the imperfect junction between +rail and rail. At that time, (in 1816) the rails were made of cast iron, +each rail being about three feet long; and sufficient care was not taken +to maintain the points of junction on the same level. The chairs, or +cast-iron pedestals into which the rails were inserted, were flat at the +bottom; so that, whenever any disturbance took place in the stone blocks +or sleepers supporting them, the flat base of the chair upon which the +rails rested being tilted by unequal subsidence, the end of one rail +became depressed, whilst that of the other was elevated. Hence constant +jolts and shocks, the reaction of which very often caused the fracture of +the rails, and occasionally threw the engine off the road. + +To remedy this imperfection Mr. Stephenson devised a new chair, with an +entirely new mode of fixing the rails therein. Instead of adopting the +_butt-joint_ which had hitherto been used in all cast-iron rails, he +adopted the _half-lap joint_, by which means the rails extended a certain +distance over each other at the ends, like a scarf-joint. These ends, +instead of resting upon the flat chair, were made to rest upon the apex +of a curve forming the bottom of the chair. The supports were also +extended from three feet to three feet nine inches or four feet apart. +These rails were accordingly substituted for the old cast-iron plates on +the Killingworth Colliery Railway, and they were found to be a very great +improvement upon the previous system, adding both to the efficiency of +the horse-power, still employed in working the railway, and to the smooth +action of the locomotive engine, but more particularly increasing the +efficiency of the latter. + + [Picture: Half-lap Joint] + +This improved form of rail and chair was embodied in a patent taken out +in the joint names of Mr. Losh, of Newcastle, iron-founder, and of Mr. +Stephenson, bearing date 30th September, 1816. Mr. Losh being a wealthy, +enterprising iron-manufacturer, and having confidence in George +Stephenson and his improvements, found the money for the purpose of +taking out the patent, which, in those days, was a very costly as well as +troublesome affair. + +The specification of the same patent also described various important +improvements in the locomotive itself. The wheels of the engine were +improved, being altered from cast to malleable iron, in whole or in part, +by which they were made lighter as well as more durable and safe. But +the most ingenious and original contrivance embodied in this patent was +the substitute for springs which Mr. Stephenson invented. He contrived +that the steam generated in the boiler should perform this important +office. The method by which this was effected displayed such genuine +mechanical genius, that we would particularly call attention to the +device, which was the more remarkable, as it was contrived long before +the possibility of steam locomotion had become an object of general +inquiry or of public interest. + +It has already been observed that up to, and indeed after, the period of +which we speak, there was no such class of skilled mechanics, nor were +there any such machines and tools in use, as are now available to +inventors and manufacturers. Although skilled workmen were in course of +gradual training in a few of the larger manufacturing towns, they did +not, at the date of Stephenson's patent, exist in any considerable +numbers, nor was there then any class of mechanics capable of +constructing springs of sufficient strength and elasticity to support +locomotive engines of ten tons weight. + +In order to avoid the dangers arising from the inequalities of the road, +Stephenson so arranged the boiler of his new patent locomotive that it +was supported upon the frame of the engine by four cylinders, which +opened into the interior of the boiler. These cylinders were occupied by +pistons with rods, which passed downwards and pressed upon the upper side +of the axles. The cylinders opening into the interior of the boiler, +allowed the pressure of steam to be applied to the upper side of the +piston; and the pressure being nearly equivalent to one-fourth of the +weight of the engine, each axle, whatever might be its position, had at +all times nearly the same amount of weight to bear, and consequently the +entire weight was pretty equally distributed amongst the four wheels of +the locomotive. Thus the four floating pistons were ingeniously made to +serve the purpose of springs in equalising the weight, and in softening +the jerks of the machine; the weight of which, it must also be observed, +had been increased, on a road originally calculated to bear a +considerably lighter description of carriage. This mode of supporting +the engine remained in use until the progress of spring-making had so far +advanced that steel springs could be manufactured of sufficient strength +to bear the weight of locomotive engines. + + [Picture: Old Killingworth Locomotive, still in use] + +The result of the actual working of the new locomotive on the improved +road amply justified the promises held forth in the specification. The +traffic was conducted with greater regularity and economy, and the +superiority of the engine, as compared with horse traction, became still +more marked. It is a fact worthy of notice, that the identical engines +constructed in 1816 after the plan above described are to this day to be +seen in regular useful work upon the Killingworth Railway, conveying +heavy coal-trains at the speed of between five and six miles an hour, +probably as economically as any of the more perfect locomotives now in +use. + +Mr. Stephenson's endeavours having been attended with such marked success +in the adaptation of locomotive power to railways, his attention was +called by many of his friends, about the year 1818, to the application of +steam to travelling on common roads. It was from this point that the +locomotive started, Trevithick's first engine having been constructed +with this special object. Stephenson's friends having observed how far +behind he had left the original projector of the locomotive in its +application to railroads, perhaps naturally inferred that he would be +equally successful in applying it to the purpose for which Trevithick and +Vivian had intended their first engine. But the accuracy with which he +estimated the resistance to which loads were exposed on railways, arising +from friction and gravity, led him at a very early stage to reject the +idea of ever applying steam power economically to common-road travelling. +In October, 1818, he made a series of careful experiments in conjunction +with Nicholas Wood, on the resistance to which carriages were exposed on +railways, testing the results by means of a dynamometer of his own +construction. The series of practical observations made by means of this +instrument were interesting, as the first systematic attempt to determine +the precise amount of resistance to carriages moving along railways. It +was then for the first time ascertained by experiment that the friction +was a constant quantity at all velocities. Although this theory had long +before been developed by Vince and Coulomb, and was well known to +scientific men as an established truth, yet, at the time when Stephenson +made his experiments, the deductions of philosophers on the subject were +neither believed in nor acted upon by practical engineers. + +He ascertained that the resistances to traction were mainly three; the +first being upon the axles of the carriages, the second, or rolling +resistance, being between the circumference of the wheel and the surface +of the rail, and the third being the resistance of gravity. The amount +of friction and gravity he could accurately ascertain; but the rolling +resistance was a matter of greater difficulty, being subject to much +variation. He satisfied himself, however, that it was so great when the +surface presented to the wheel was of a rough character, that the idea of +working steam carriages economically on common roads was dismissed by him +as entirely impracticable. Taking it as 10 lbs to a ton weight on a +level railway, it became obvious to him that so small a rise as 1 in 100 +would diminish the useful effort of a locomotive by upwards of 50 per +cent. This was demonstrated by repeated experiments, and the important +fact, thus rooted in his mind, was never lost sight of in the course of +his future railway career. + +It was owing in a great measure to these painstaking experiments that he +early became convinced of the vital importance, in an economical point of +view, of reducing the country through which a railway was intended to +pass as nearly as possible to a level. Where, as in the first coal +railways of Northumberland and Durham, the load was nearly all one +way,--that is, from the colliery to the shipping-place,--it was an +advantage to have an inclination in that direction. The strain on the +powers of the locomotive was thus diminished, and it was easy for it to +haul the empty waggons back to the colliery up even a pretty steep +incline. But when the loads were both ways, he deemed it of great +importance that the railroad should be constructed as nearly as possible +on a level. + +These views, thus early entertained, originated in Stephenson's mind the +peculiar character of railroad works as distinguished from other roads; +for, in railways, he early contended that large sums would be wisely +expended in perforating barriers of hills with long tunnels, and in +raising the lower levels with the excess cut down from the adjacent high +ground. In proportion as these views forced themselves upon his mind and +were corroborated by his daily experience, he became more and more +convinced of the hopelessness of applying steam locomotion to common +roads; for every argument in favour of a level railway was, in his view, +an argument against the rough and hilly course of a common road. + +Although Stephenson's locomotive engines were in daily use for many years +on the Killingworth Railway, they excited comparatively little interest. +They were no longer experimental, but had become an established tractive +power. The experience of years had proved that they worked more +steadily, drew heavier loads, and were, on the whole, considerably more +economical than horses. Nevertheless eight years passed before another +locomotive railway was constructed and opened for the purposes of coal or +other traffic. + +Stephenson had no means of bringing his important invention prominently +under the notice of the public. He himself knew well its importance, and +he already anticipated its eventual general adoption; but being an +unlettered man, he could not give utterance to the thoughts which brooded +within him on the subject. Killingworth Colliery lay far from London, +the centre of scientific life in England. It was visited by no savans +nor literary men, who might have succeeded in introducing to notice the +wonderful machine of Stephenson. Even the local chroniclers seem to have +taken no notice of the Killingworth Railway. + +There seemed, indeed, to be so small a prospect of introducing the +locomotive into general use, that Stephenson,--perhaps feeling the +capabilities within him,--again recurred to his old idea of emigrating to +the United States. Before joining Mr. Burrel as partner in a small +foundry at Forth Banks, Newcastle, he had thrown out to him the +suggestion that it would be a good speculation for them to emigrate to +North America, and introduce steamboats upon the great inland lakes +there. The first steamers were then plying upon the Tyne before his +eyes; and he saw in them the germ of a great revolution in navigation. +It occurred to him that North America presented the finest field for +trying their wonderful powers. He was an engineer, his partner was an +iron-founder; and between them he thought they might strike out a path to +fortune in the mighty West. Fortunately, this idea remained a mere +speculation so far as Stephenson was concerned: and it was left to others +to do what he had dreamt of achieving. After all his patient waiting, +his skill, industry, and perseverance were at length about to bear fruit. + +In 1819 the owners of the Hetton Colliery, in the county of Durham, +determined to have their waggon-way altered to a locomotive railroad. +The result of the working of the Killingworth Railway had been so +satisfactory, that they resolved to adopt the same system. One reason +why an experiment so long continued and so successful as that at +Killingworth should have been so slow in producing results, perhaps was, +that to lay down a railway and furnish it with locomotives, or fixed +engines where necessary, required a very large capital, beyond the means +of ordinary coal-owners; whilst the small amount of interest felt in +railways by the general public, and the supposed impracticability of +working them to a profit, as yet prevented ordinary capitalists from +venturing their money in the promotion of such undertakings. The Hetton +Coal Company were, however, possessed of adequate means; and the local +reputation of the Killingworth engine-wright pointed him out as the man +best calculated to lay out their line, and superintend their works. They +accordingly invited him to act as the engineer of the proposed railway, +which was to be the longest locomotive line that had, up to that time, +been constructed. It extended from the Hetton Colliery, situated about +two miles south of Houghton-le-Spring, in the county of Durham, to the +shipping-places on the banks of the Wear, near Sunderland. Its length +was about eight miles; and in its course it crossed Warden Law, one of +the highest hills in the district. The character of the country forbade +the construction of a flat line, or one of comparatively easy gradients, +except by the expenditure of a much larger capital than was placed at the +engineer's disposal. Heavy works could not be executed; it was therefore +necessary to form the line with but little deviation from the natural +conformation of the district which it traversed, and also to adapt the +mechanical methods employed for its working to the character of the +gradients, which in some places were necessarily heavy. + +Although Stephenson had, with every step made towards its increased +utility, become more and more identified with the success of the +locomotive engine, he did not allow his enthusiasm to carry him away into +costly mistakes. He carefully drew the line between the cases in which +the locomotive could be usefully employed, and those in which stationary +engines were calculated to be more economical. This led him, as in the +instance of the Hetton Railway, to execute lines through and over rough +countries, where gradients within the powers of the locomotive engine of +that day could not be secured, employing in their stead stationary +engines where locomotives were not practicable. In the present case, +this course was adopted by him most successfully. On the original Hetton +line, there were five self-acting inclines,--the full waggons drawing the +empty ones up,--and two inclines worked by fixed reciprocating engines of +sixty horse power each. The locomotive travelling engine, or "the iron +horse," as the people of the neighbourhood then styled it, did the rest. +On the day of the opening of the Hetton Railway, the 18th November, 1822, +crowds of spectators assembled from all parts to witness the first +operations of this ingenious and powerful machinery, which was entirely +successful. On that day five of Stephenson's locomotives were at work +upon the railway, under the direction of his brother Robert; and the +first shipment of coal was then made by the Hetton Company, at their new +staiths on the Wear. The speed at which the locomotives travelled was +about 4 miles an hour, and each engine dragged after it a train of 17 +waggons, weighing about 64 tons. + +While thus advancing step by step,--attending to the business of the +Killingworth Colliery, and laying out railways in the neighbourhood,--he +was carefully watching over the education of his son. We have already +seen that Robert was sent to Bruce's school at Newcastle, where he +remained about four years. He left it in the summer of 1819, and was +then put apprentice to Mr. Nicholas Wood, the head viewer at +Killingworth, to learn the business of the colliery. He served in that +capacity for about three years, during which time he became familiar with +most departments of underground work. The occupation was not unattended +with peril, as the following incident will show. Though the use of the +Geordy lamp had become general in the Killingworth pits, and the workmen +were bound, under a penalty of half-a-crown, not to use a naked candle, +it was difficult to enforce the rule, and even the masters themselves +occasionally broke it. One day Nicholas Wood, the head viewer, Moodie +the under viewer, and Robert Stephenson, were proceeding along one of the +galleries, Wood with a naked candle in his hand, and Robert following him +with a lamp. They came to a place where a fall of stones from the roof +had taken place, on which Wood, who was first, proceeded to clamber over +the stones, holding high the naked candle. He had nearly reached the +summit of the heap, when the fire-damp, which had accumulated in the +hollow of the roof, exploded, and instantly the whole party were blown +down, and the lights extinguished. They were a mile from the shaft, and +quite in the dark. There was a rush of the workpeople from all quarters +towards the shaft, for it was feared that the fire might extend to more +dangerous parts of the pit, where, if the gas had exploded, every soul in +the mine must inevitably have perished. Robert Stephenson and Moodie, on +the first impulse, ran back at full speed along the dark gallery leading +to the shaft, coming into collision, on their way, with the hind quarters +of a horse stunned by the explosion. When they had gone halfway, Moodie +halted, and bethought him of Nicholas Wood. "Stop, laddie!" said he to +Robert, "stop; we maun gang back, and seek the maister." So they +retraced their steps. Happily, no further explosion had taken place. +They found the master lying on the heap of stones, stunned and bruised, +with his hands severely burnt. They led him to the bottom of the shaft; +and he took care afterwards not to venture into the dangerous parts of +the mine without the protection of a Geordy lamp. + +The time that Robert spent at Killingworth as viewer's apprentice was of +advantage both to his father and himself. The evenings were generally +devoted to reading and study, the two from this time working together as +friends and co-labourers. One who used to drop in at the cottage of an +evening, well remembers the animated and eager discussions which on some +occasions took place, more especially with reference to the growing +powers of the locomotive engine. The son was even more enthusiastic than +the father on this subject. Robert would suggest numerous alterations +and improvements in details. His father, on the contrary, would offer +every possible objection, defending the existing arrangements,--proud, +nevertheless of his son's suggestions, and often warmed and excited by +his brilliant anticipations of the ultimate triumph of the locomotive. + +These discussions probably had considerable influence in inducing +Stephenson to take the next important step in the education of his son. +Although Robert, who was only nineteen years of age, was doing well, and +was certain at the expiration of his apprenticeship to rise to a higher +position, his father was not satisfied with the amount of instruction +which he had as yet given him. Remembering the disadvantages under which +he had himself laboured through his ignorance of practical chemistry +during his investigations connected with the safety-lamp, more especially +with reference to the properties of gas, as well as in the course of his +experiments with the object of improving the locomotive engine, he +determined to furnish his son with as complete a scientific culture as +his means would afford. He also believed that a proper training in +technical science was indispensable to success in the higher walks of the +engineer's profession; and he determined to give to his son that kind and +degree of education which he so much desired for himself. He would thus, +he knew, secure a hearty and generous co-worker in the elaboration of the +great ideas now looming before him, and with their united practical and +scientific knowledge he probably felt that they would be equal to any +enterprise. + +He accordingly took Robert from his labours as under-viewer in the West +Moor Pit, and in October, 1822, sent him to the Edinburgh University, +there being then no college in England accessible to persons of moderate +means, for purposes of scientific culture. Robert was furnished with +letters of introduction to several men of literary eminence in Edinburgh; +his father's reputation in connexion with the safety-lamp being of +service to him in this respect. He lodged in Drummond Street, in the +immediate vicinity of the college, and attended the Chemical Lectures of +Dr. Hope, the Natural Philosophy Lectures of Sir John Leslie, and the +Natural History Class of Professor Jameson. He also devoted several +evenings in each week to the study of practical Chemistry under Dr. John +Murray, himself one of the numerous designers of a safety-lamp. He took +careful notes of all the lectures, which he copied out at night before he +went to bed; so that, when he returned to Killingworth, he might read +them over to his father. He afterwards had the notes bound up, and +placed in his library. Long years after, when conversing with Thomas +Harrison, C.E., at his house in Gloucester Square, he rose from his seat +and took down a volume from the shelves. Mr. Harrison observed that the +book was in MS., neatly written out. "What have we here?" he asked. The +answer was--"When I went to college, I knew the difficulty my father had +in collecting the funds to send me there. Before going I studied +short-hand; while at Edinburgh, I took down verbatim every lecture; and +in the evenings, before I went to bed, I transcribed those lectures word +for word. You see the result in that range of books." + +One of the practical sciences in the study of which Robert Stephenson +took special interest while at Edinburgh was that of geology. The +situation of the city, in the midst of a district of highly interesting +geological formation, easily accessible to pedestrians, is indeed most +favourable to the pursuit of such a study; and it was the practice of +Professor Jameson frequently to head a band of his pupils, armed with +hammers, chisels, and clinometers, and take them with him on a long +ramble into the country, for the purpose of teaching them habits of +observation and reading to them from the open book of Nature itself. At +the close of this session, the professor took with him a select body of +his pupils on an excursion along the Great Glen of the Highlands, in the +line of the Caledonian Canal, and Robert formed one of the party. They +passed under the shadow of Ben Nevis, examined the famous old sea-margins +known as the "parallel roads of Glen Roy," and extended their journey as +far as Inverness; the professor teaching the young men as they travelled +how to observe in a mountain country. Not long before his death, Robert +Stephenson spoke in glowing terms of the great pleasure and benefit which +he had derived from that interesting excursion. "I have travelled far, +and enjoyed much," he said; "but that delightful botanical and geological +journey I shall never forget; and I am just about to start in the +_Titania_ for a trip round the east coast of Scotland, returning south +through the Caledonian Canal, to refresh myself with the recollection of +that first and brightest tour of my life." + +Towards the end of the summer of 1822 the young student returned to +Killingworth to re-enter upon the active business of life. The six +months' study had cost his father 80 pounds; but he was amply repaid by +the better scientific culture which his son had acquired, and the +evidence of ability and industry which he was enabled to exhibit in a +prize for mathematics which he had won at the University. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. +GEORGE STEPHENSON ENGINEER OF THE STOCKTON AND DARLINGTON RAILWAY. + + +The district west of Darlington, in Durham, is one of the richest mineral +fields of the North. Vast stores of coal underlie the Bishop Auckland +Valley; and from an early period new and good roads to market were felt +to be exceedingly desirable. As yet it remained almost a closed field, +the cost of transport of the coal in carts, or on horses' or donkeys' +backs, greatly limiting the sale. Long ago, in the days of canal +formations, Brindley was consulted about a canal; afterwards, in 1812, a +tramroad was surveyed by Rennie; and eventually, in 1817, a railway was +projected from Darlington to Stockton-on-Tees. + + [Picture: Map of Stockton and Darlington Railway] + +Of this railway Edward Pease was the projector. A thoughtful and +sagacious man, ready in resources, possessed of indomitable energy and +perseverance, he was eminently qualified to undertake what appeared to +many the hopeless enterprise of obtaining an Act for a railway through +such an unpromising district. One who knew him in 1818 said, "he was a +man who could see a hundred years ahead." + + [Picture: Edward Pease] + +When the writer last saw him, in the autumn of 1854, Mr. Pease was in his + eighty-eighth year; yet he still possessed the hopefulness and mental +vigour of a man in his prime. Hale and hearty, and full of reminiscences + of the past, he continued to take an active interest in all measures + calculated to render men happier and better. Still sound in health, his + eye had not lost its brilliancy, nor his cheek its colour; and there was + an elasticity in his step which younger men might have envied. {125} + +In getting up a company for surveying and forming a railway, Mr. Pease +had great difficulties to encounter. The people of the neighbourhood +spoke of it as a ridiculous undertaking, and predicted that it would be +ruinous to all concerned. Even those most interested in the opening of +new markets for their coal, were indifferent, if not actually hostile. +The Stockton merchants and shipowners, whom it was calculated so greatly +to benefit, gave the project no support; and not twenty shares were +subscribed for in the whole town. Mr. Pease nevertheless persevered; and +he induced many of his friends and relations to subscribe the capital +required. + +The necessary preliminary steps were taken in 1818 to apply for an act to +authorise the construction of a tramroad from Witton to Stockton. The +measure was however, strongly opposed by the Duke of Cleveland, because +the proposed line passed close by one of his fox covers; and the bill was +rejected. A new survey was then made, avoiding the Duke's cover; and in +1819 a renewed application was made to Parliament. The promoters were +this time successful, and the royal assent was given to the first +Stockton and Darlington Railway Act on the 19th April, 1821. + +The projectors did not originally contemplate the employment of +locomotives. The Act provided for the making and maintaining of +tramroads for the passage "of waggons and other carriages" "_with men and +horses_ or otherwise," and a further clause made provision for damages +done in course of traffic by the "waggoners." The public were to be free +"to use with horses, cattle and carriages," the roads formed by the +company, on payment of the authorised rates, "between the hours of seven +in the morning and six in the evening," during winter; "between six in +the morning and eight in the evening," in two of the spring and autumn +months; and "between five in the morning and ten in the evening," in the +summer months of May, June, July, and August. From this it will be +obvious that the projectors of the line had themselves at first no very +large conceptions as to the scope of their project. + +One day, in the spring of 1821, two strangers knocked at the door of Mr. +Pease's house in Darlington; and the message was brought to him that some +persons from Killingworth wanted to speak with him. They were invited +in, on which one of the visitors introduced himself as Nicholas Wood, +viewer at Killingworth, and then turning to his companion, he introduced +him as George Stephenson, engine-wright, of the same place. + +Mr. Pease entered into conversation with his visitors, and was soon told +their object. Stephenson had heard of the passing of the Stockton and +Darlington Act, and desiring to increase his railway experience, and also +to employ in some larger field the practical knowledge he had already +gained, he determined to visit the known projector of the undertaking, +with the view of being employed to carry it out. He had brought with him +his friend Wood, for the purpose at the same time of relieving his +diffidence, and supporting his application. + +Mr. Pease liked the appearance of his visitor: "there was," as he +afterwards remarked when speaking of Stephenson, "such an honest, +sensible look about him, and he seemed so modest and unpretending. He +spoke in the strong Northumbrian dialect of his district, and described +himself as 'only the engine-wright at Killingworth; that's what he was.'" + +Mr. Pease soon saw that our engineer was the very man for his purpose. +The whole plans of the railway were still in an undetermined state, and +Mr. Pease was therefore glad to have the opportunity of profiting by +Stephenson's experience. In the course of their conversation, the latter +strongly recommended a _railway_ in preference to a tramroad. They also +discussed the kind of tractive power to be employed: Mr. Pease stating +that the company had based their whole calculations on the employment of +_horse_ power. "I was so satisfied," said he afterwards, "that a horse +upon an iron road would draw ten tons for one ton on a common road, that +I felt sure that before long the railway would become the King's +highway." But Mr. Pease was scarcely prepared for the bold assertion +made by his visitor, that the locomotive engine with which he had been +working the Killingworth Railway for many years past was worth fifty +horses, and that engines made after a similar plan would yet entirely +supersede all horse power upon railroads. Stephenson was daily becoming +more positive as to the superiority of his locomotive; and hence he +strongly urged Mr. Pease to adopt it. "Come over to Killingworth," said +he, "and see what my engines can do; seeing is believing, sir." Mr. +Pease accordingly promised that on some early day he would go over to +Killingworth, and take a look at the wonderful machine that was to +supersede horses. The result of the interview was, that Mr. Pease +promised to bring Stephenson's application for the appointment of +engineer before the Directors, and to support it with his influence; +whereon the two visitors prepared to take their leave, informing Mr. +Pease that they intended to return to Newcastle "by nip;" that is, they +expected to get a smuggled lift on the stage-coach, by tipping Jehu,--for +in those days the stage coachmen regarded all casual roadside passengers +as their proper perquisites. They had, however, been so much engrossed +by their conversation, that the lapse of time was forgotten, and when +Stephenson and his friend made enquiries about the return coach, they +found the last had left; and they had to walk the 18 miles to Durham on +their way back to Newcastle. + +Mr. Pease having made further inquiries respecting Stephenson's character +and qualifications, and having received a very strong recommendation of +him as the right man for the intended work, he brought the subject of his +application before the directors of the Stockton and Darlington Company. +They resolved to adopt his recommendation that a railway be formed +instead of a tramroad; and they further requested Mr. Pease to write to +Stephenson, desiring him to undertake a re-survey of the line at the +earliest practicable period. + +A man was despatched on a horse with the letter, and when he reached +Killingworth he made diligent enquiry after the person named upon the +address, "George Stephenson, Esquire, Engineer." No such person was +known in the village. It is said that the man was on the point of giving +up all further search, when the happy thought struck some of the +colliers' wives who had gathered about him, that it must be "Geordie the +engine-wright" the man was in search of; and to Geordie's cottage he +accordingly went, found him at home, and delivered the letter. + +About the end of September, Stephenson went carefully over the line of +the proposed railway, for the purpose of suggesting such improvements and +deviations as he might consider desirable. He was accompanied by an +assistant and a chainman,--his son Robert entering the figures while his +father took the sights. After being engaged in the work at intervals for +about six weeks, Stephenson reported the result of his survey to the +Board of Directors, and showed that by certain deviations, a line shorter +by about three miles might be constructed at a considerable saving in +expense, while at the same time more favourable gradients--an important +consideration--would be secured. + +It was, however, determined in the first place to proceed with the works +at those parts of the line where no deviation was proposed; and the first +rail of the Stockton and Darlington Railway was laid with considerable +ceremony, near Stockton, on the 23rd May, 1822. + +It is worthy of note that Stephenson, in making his first estimate of the +cost of forming the railway according to the Instructions of the +directors, set down, as part of the cost, 6200 pounds for stationary +engines, not mentioning locomotives at all. The directors as yet +confined their views to the employment only of horses for the haulage of +the coals, and of fixed engines and ropes where horse-power was not +applicable. The whole question of steam locomotive power was, in the +estimation of the public, as well as of practical and scientific men, as +yet in doubt. The confident anticipations of George Stephenson, as to +the eventual success of locomotive engines, were regarded as mere +speculations; and when he gave utterance to his views, as he frequently +took the opportunity of doing, it even had the effect of shaking the +confidence of some of his friends in the solidity of his judgment and his +practical qualities as an engineer. + +When Mr. Pease discussed the question with Stephenson, his remark was, +"Come over and see my engines at Killingworth, and satisfy yourself as to +the efficiency of the locomotive. I will show you the colliery books, +that you may ascertain for yourself the actual cost of working. And I +must tell you that the economy of the locomotive engine is no longer a +matter of theory, but a matter of fact." So confident was the tone in +which Stephenson spoke of the success of his engines, and so important +were the consequences involved in arriving at a correct conclusion on the +subject, that Mr. Pease at length resolved upon paying a visit to +Killingworth in the summer of 1822, to see with his own eyes the +wonderful new power so much vaunted by the engineer. + +When Mr. Pease arrived at Killingworth village, he inquired for George +Stephenson, and was told that he must go over to the West Moor, and seek +for a cottage by the roadside, with a dial over the door--"that was where +George Stephenson lived." They soon found the house with the dial; and +on knocking, the door was opened by Mrs. Stephenson--his second wife +(Elizabeth Hindmarsh), the daughter of a farmer at Black Callerton, whom +he had married in 1820. {129} Her husband, she said, was not in the +house at present, but she would send for him to the colliery. And in a +short time Stephenson appeared before them in his working dress, just as +he had come out of the pit. + +He very soon had his locomotive brought up to the crossing close by the +end of the cottage,--made the gentlemen mount it, and showed them its +paces. Harnessing it to a train of loaded waggons, he ran it along the +railroad, and so thoroughly satisfied his visitors of its power and +capabilities, that from that day Edward Pease was a declared supporter of +the locomotive engine. In preparing the Amended Stockton and Darlington +Act, at Stephenson's urgent request Mr. Pease had a clause inserted, +taking power to work the railway by means of locomotive engines, and to +employ them for the haulage of passengers as well as of merchandise. +{130} The Act was obtained in 1823, on which Stephenson was appointed +the company's engineer at a salary of 300 pounds per annum; and it was +determined that the line should be constructed and opened for traffic as +soon as practicable. + +He at once proceeded, accompanied by his assistants, with the working +survey of the line, laying out every foot of the ground himself. Railway +surveying was as yet in its infancy, and was slow and difficult work. It +afterwards became a separate branch of railway business, and was +entrusted to a special staff. Indeed on no subsequent line did George +Stephenson take the sights through the spirit level with his own hands +and eyes as he did on this railway. He started very early--dressed in a +blue tailed coat, breeches, and top-boots--and surveyed until dusk. He +was not at any time particular as to his living; and during the survey, +he took his chance of getting a little milk and bread at some cottager's +house along the line, or occasionally joined in a homely dinner at some +neighbouring farmhouse. The country people were accustomed to give him a +hearty welcome when he appeared at their door; for he was always full of +cheery and homely talk, and, when there were children about the house, he +had plenty of humorous chat for them as well as for their seniors. + +After the day's work was over, George would drop in at Mr. Pease's, to +talk over the progress of the survey, and discuss various matters +connected with the railway. Mr. Pease's daughters were usually present; +and on one occasion, finding the young ladies learning the art of +embroidery, he volunteered to instruct them. {131} "I know all about +it," said he; "and you will wonder how I learnt it. I will tell you. +When I was a brakesman at Killingworth, I learnt the art of embroidery +while working the pitmen's buttonholes by the engine fire at nights." He +was never ashamed, but on the contrary rather proud, of reminding his +friends of these humble pursuits of his early life. Mr. Pease's family +were greatly pleased with his conversation, which was always amusing and +instructive; full of all sorts of experience, gathered in the oddest and +most out-of-the-way places. Even at that early period, before he mixed +in the society of educated persons, there was a dash of speculativeness +in his remarks, which gave a high degree of originality to his +conversation; and he would sometimes, in a casual remark, throw a flash +of light upon a subject, which called up a train of pregnant suggestions. + +One of the most important subjects of discussion at these meetings with +Mr. Pease, was the establishment of a manufactory at Newcastle for the +building of locomotive engines. Up to this time all the locomotives +constructed after Stephenson's designs, had been made by ordinary +mechanics working among the collieries in the North of England. But he +had long felt that the accuracy and style of their workmanship admitted +of great improvement, and that upon this the more perfect action of the +locomotive engine, and its general adoption, in a great measure depended. +One great object that he had in view in establishing the proposed factory +was, to concentrate a number of good workmen, for the purpose of carrying +out the improvements in detail which he was constantly making in his +engine. He felt hampered by the want of efficient help from skilled +mechanics, who could work out in a practical form the ideas of which his +busy mind was always so prolific. Doubtless, too, he believed that the +manufactory would prove a remunerative investment, and that, on the +general adoption of the railway system which he anticipated, he would +derive solid advantages from the fact of his establishment being the only +one of the kind for the special construction of locomotive engines. + +Mr. Pease approved of his design, and strongly recommended him to carry +it into effect. But there was the question of means; and Stephenson did +not think he had capital enough for the purpose. He told Mr. Pease that +he could advance 1000 pounds--the amount of the testimonial presented by +the coal-owners for his safety-lamp invention, which he had still left +untouched; but he did not think this sufficient for the purpose, and he +thought that he should require at least another 1000 pounds. Mr. Pease +had been very much struck with the successful performances of the +Killingworth engine; and being an accurate judge of character, he +believed that he could not go far wrong in linking a portion of his +fortune with the energy and industry of George Stephenson. He consulted +his friend Thomas Richardson in the matter; and the two consented to +advance 500 pounds each for the purpose of establishing the engine +factory at Newcastle. A piece of land was accordingly purchased in Forth +Street, in August, 1823, on which a small building was erected--the +nucleus of the gigantic establishment which was afterwards formed around +it; and active operations were begun early in 1824. + +While the Stockton and Darlington Railway works were in progress, our +engineer had many interesting discussions with Mr. Pease, on points +connected with its construction and working, the determination of which +in a great measure affected the formation and working of all future +railways. The most important points were these: + +1. The comparative merits of cast and wrought iron rails. + +2. The gauge of the railway. + +3. The employment of horse or engine power in working it, when ready for +traffic. + +The kind of rails to be laid down to form the permanent road was a matter +of considerable importance. A wooden tramroad had been contemplated when +the first Act was applied for; but Stephenson having advised that an iron +road should be laid down, he was instructed to draw up a specification of +the rails. He went before the directors to discuss with them the kind of +material to be specified. He was himself interested in the patent for +cast-iron rails, which he had taken out in conjunction with Mr. Losh in +1816; and, of course, it was to his interest that his articles should be +used. But when requested to give his opinion on the subject, he frankly +said to the directors, "Well, gentlemen, to tell you the truth, although +it would put 500 pounds in my pocket to specify my own patent rails, I +cannot do so after the experience I have had. If you take my advice, you +will not lay down a single cast-iron rail." "Why?" asked the directors. +"Because they will not stand the weight, and you will be at no end of +expense for repairs and relays." "What kind of road, then," he was +asked, "would you recommend?" "Malleable rails, certainly," said he; +"and I can recommend them with the more confidence from the fact that at +Killingworth we have had some Swedish bars laid down--nailed to wooden +sleepers--for a period of fourteen years, the waggons passing over them +daily; and there they are, in use yet, whereas the cast rails are +constantly giving way." + +The price of malleable rails was, however, so high--being then worth +about 12 pounds per ton as compared with cast-iron rails at about 5 +pounds 10s.--and the saving of expense was so important a consideration +with the subscribers, that Stephenson was directed to provide, in the +specification, that only one-half of the rails required--or about 800 +tons--should be of malleable iron, and the remainder of cast-iron. The +malleable rails were of the kind called "fish-bellied," and weighed 28 +lbs. to the yard, being 2.25 inches broad at the top, with the upper +flange 0.75 inch thick. They were only 2 inches in depth at the points +at which they rested on the chairs, and 3.25 inches in the middle or +bellied part. + +When forming the road, the proper gauge had also to be determined. What +width was this to be? The gauge of the first tramroad laid down had +virtually settled the point. The gauge of wheels of the common vehicles +of the country--of the carts and waggons employed on common roads, which +were first used on the tramroads--was about 4 feet 8.5 inches. And so +the first tramroads were laid down of this gauge. The tools and +machinery for constructing coal-waggons and locomotives were formed with +this gauge in view. The Wylam waggon-way, afterwards the Wylam +plate-way, the Killingworth railroad, and the Hetton rail road, were as +nearly as possible on the same gauge. Some of the earth-waggons used to +form the Stockton and Darlington road were brought from the Hetton +railway; and others which were specially constructed were formed of the +same dimensions, these being intended to be afterwards employed in the +working of the traffic. + +As the period drew near for the opening of the line, the question of the +tractive power to be employed was anxiously discussed. At the Brusselton +incline, fixed engines must necessarily be made use of; but with respect +to the mode of working the railway generally, it was decided that horses +were to be largely employed, and arrangements were made for their +purchase. The influence of Mr. Pease also secured that a fair trial +should be given to the experiment of working the traffic by locomotive +power; and three engines were ordered from the firm of Stephenson and +Co., Newcastle, which were put in hand forthwith, in anticipation of the +opening of the railway. These were constructed after Mr. Stephenson's +most matured designs, and embodied all the improvements which he had +contrived up to that time. No. I. engine, the "Locomotion," which was +first delivered, weighed about eight tons. It had one large flue or tube +through the boiler, by which the heated air passed direct from the +furnace at one end, lined with fire-bricks, to the chimney at the other. +The combustion in the furnace was quickened by the adoption of the +steam-blast in the chimney. The heat raised was sometimes so great, and +it was so imperfectly abstracted by the surrounding water, that the +chimney became almost red-hot. Such engines, when put to their speed, +were found capable of running at the rate of from twelve to sixteen miles +an hour; but they were better adapted for the heavy work of hauling +coal-trains at low speeds--for which, indeed, they were specially +constructed--than for running at the higher speeds afterwards adopted. +Nor was it contemplated by the directors as possible, at the time when +they were ordered, that locomotives could be made available for the +purposes of passenger travelling. Besides, the Stockton and Darlington +Railway did not run through a district in which passengers were supposed +to be likely to constitute any considerable portion of the traffic. + +We may easily imagine the anxiety felt by Mr. Stephenson during the +progress of the works towards completion, and his mingled hopes and +doubts (though his doubts were but few) as to the issue of this great +experiment. When the formation of the line near Stockton was well +advanced, Mr. Stephenson one day, accompanied by his son Robert and John +Dixon, made a journey of inspection of the works. The party reached +Stockton, and proceeded to dine at one of the inns there. After dinner, +Stephenson ventured on the very unusual measure of ordering in a bottle +of wine, to drink success to the railway. John Dixon relates with pride +the utterance of the master on the occasion. "Now, lads," said he to the +two young men, "I venture to tell you that I think you will live to see +the day when railways will supersede almost all other methods of +conveyance in this country--when mail-coaches will go by railway, and +railroads will become the great highway for the king and all his +subjects. The time is coming when it will be cheaper for a working man +to travel upon a railway than to walk on foot. I know there are great +and almost insurmountable difficulties to be encountered; but what I have +said will come to pass as sure as you live. I only wish I may live to +see the day, though that I can scarcely hope for, as I know how slow all +human progress is, and with what difficulty I have been able to get the +locomotive thus far adopted, notwithstanding my more than ten years' +successful experiment at Killingworth." The result, however, outstripped +even the most sanguine anticipations of Stephenson; and his son Robert, +shortly after his return from America in 1827, saw his father's +locomotive generally employed as the tractive power on railways. + +The Stockton and Darlington line was opened for traffic on the 27th +September, 1825. An immense concourse of people assembled from all parts +to witness the ceremony of opening this first public railway. The +powerful opposition which the project had encountered, the threats which +were still uttered against the company by the road-trustees and others, +who declared that they would yet prevent the line being worked, and +perhaps the general unbelief as to its success which still prevailed, +tended to excite the curiosity of the public as to the result. Some went +to rejoice at the opening, some to see the "bubble burst;" and there were +many prophets of evil who would not miss the blowing up of the boasted +travelling engine. The opening was, however, auspicious. The +proceedings commenced at Brusselton Incline, about nine miles above +Darlington, where the fixed engine drew a train of loaded waggons up the +incline from the west, and lowered them on the east side. At the foot of +the incline a locomotive was in readiness to receive them, Stephenson +himself driving the engine. The train consisted of six waggons loaded +with coals and flour; after these was the passenger-coach, filled with +the directors and their friends, and then twenty-one waggons fitted up +with temporary seats for passengers; and lastly came six waggon-loads of +coals, making in all a train of thirty-eight vehicles. The local +chronicler of the day almost went beside himself in describing the +extraordinary event:--"The signal being given," he says, "the engine +started off with this immense train of carriages; and such was its +velocity, that in some parts the speed was frequently 12 miles an hour!" +By the time it reached Stockton there were about 600 persons in the train +or hanging on to the waggons, which must have gone at a safe and steady +pace of from four to six miles an hour from Darlington. "The arrival at +Stockton," it is added, "excited a deep interest and admiration." + +The working of the line then commenced, and the results were such as to +surprise even the most sanguine of its projectors. The traffic upon +which they had formed their estimates of profit proved to be small in +comparison with that which flowed in upon them which they had never +dreamt of. Thus, what the company had principally relied upon for their +receipts was the carriage of coals for land sale at the stations along +the line, whereas the haulage of coals to the seaports for exportation to +the London market was not contemplated as possible. When the bill was +before Parliament, Mr. Lambton (afterwards Earl of Durham) succeeded in +getting a clause inserted, limiting the charge for the haulage of all +coal to Stockton-on-Tees for the purpose of shipment to 0.5d. per ton per +mile; whereas a rate of 4d. per ton was allowed to be taken for all coals +led upon the railway for land sale. Mr. Lambton's object in enforcing +the low rate of 0.5d. was to protect his own trade in coal exported from +Sunderland and the northern ports. He believed, in common with everybody +else, that the 0.5d. rate would effectually secure him against +competition on the part of the Company; for it was not considered +possible to lead coals at that price, and the proprietors of the railway +themselves considered that such a rate would be utterly ruinous. The +projectors never contemplated sending more than 10,000 tons a year to +Stockton, and those only for shipment as ballast; they looked for their +profits almost exclusively to the land sale. The result, however, was as +surprising to them as it must have been to Mr. Lambton. The 0.5d. rate +which was forced upon them, instead of being ruinous, proved the vital +element in the success of the railway. In the course of a few years, the +annual shipment of coal, led by the Stockton and Darlington Railway to +Stockton and Middlesborough, was more than 500,000 tons; and it has since +far exceeded this amount. Instead of being, as anticipated, a +subordinate branch of traffic, it proved, in fact, the main traffic, +while the land sale was merely subsidiary. + +The anticipations of the company as to passenger traffic were in like +manner more than realised. At first, passengers were not thought of; and +it was only while the works were in progress that the starting of a +passenger coach was seriously contemplated. The number of persons +travelling between the two towns was very small; and it was not known +whether these would risk their persons upon the iron road. It was +determined, however, to make trial of a railway coach; and Mr. Stephenson +was authorised to have one built at Newcastle, at the cost of the +company. This was done accordingly; and the first railway passenger +carriage was built after our engineer's design. It was, however, a very +modest, and indeed a somewhat uncouth machine, more resembling the +caravans still to be seen at country fairs containing the "Giant and the +Dwarf" and other wonders of the world, than a passenger-coach of any +extant form. A row of seats ran along each side of the interior, and a +long deal table was fixed in the centre; the access being by means of a +door at the back end, in the manner of an omnibus. + + [Picture: The First Railway Coach] + +This coach arrived from Newcastle the day before the opening, and formed +part of the railway procession above described. Mr. Stephenson was +consulted as to the name of the coach, and he at once suggested "The +Experiment;" and by this name it was called. The Company's arms were +afterwards painted on her side, with the motto "Periculum privatum +utilitas publica." Such was the sole passenger-carrying stock of the +Stockton and Darlington Company in the year 1825. But the "Experiment" +proved the forerunner of a mighty traffic: and long time did not elapse +before it was displaced, not only by improved coaches (still drawn by +horses), but afterwards by long trains of passenger-carriages drawn by +locomotive engines. + +"The Experiment" was fairly started as a passenger-coach on the 10th +October, 1825, a fortnight after the opening of the line. It was drawn +by one horse, and performed a journey daily each way between the two +towns, accomplishing the distance of twelve miles in about two hours. +The fare charged was a shilling without distinction of class; and each +passenger was allowed fourteen pounds of luggage free. "The Experiment" +was not, however, worked by the company, but was let to contractors who +worked it under an arrangement whereby toll was paid for the use of the +line, rent of booking-cabins, etc. + +The speculation answered so well, that several private coaching companies +were shortly after got up by innkeepers at Darlington and Stockton, for +the purpose of running other coaches upon the railroad; and an active +competition for passenger traffic sprang up. "The Experiment" being +found too heavy for one horse to draw, besides being found an +uncomfortable machine, was banished to the coal district. Its place was +then supplied by other and better vehicles,--though they were no other +than old stage-coach bodies purchased by the company, and each mounted +upon an underframe with flange-wheels. These were let on hire to the +coaching companies, who horsed and managed them under an arrangement as +to tolls, in like manner as the "Experiment" had been worked. Now began +the distinction of inside and outside passengers, equivalent to first and +second class, paying different fares. The competition with each other +upon the railway, and with the ordinary stagecoaches upon the road, soon +brought up the speed, which was increased to ten miles an hour--the +mail-coach rate of travelling in those days, and considered very fast. + +Mr. Clephan, a native of the district, has described some of the curious +features of the competition between the rival coach companies:--"There +were two separate coach companies in Stockton, and amusing collisions +sometimes occurred between the drivers--who found on the rail a novel +element for contention. Coaches cannot pass each other on the rail as on +the road; and, as the line was single, with four sidings in the mile, +when two coaches met, or two trains, or coach and train, the question +arose which of the drivers must go back? This was not always settled in +silence. As to trains, it came to be a sort of understanding that empty +should give way to loaded waggons; and as to trains and coaches, that the +passengers should have preference over coals; while coaches, when they +met, must quarrel it out. At length, midway between sidings, a post was +erected, and a rule was laid down that he who had passed the pillar must +go on, and the 'coming man' go back. At the Goose Pool and Early Nook, +it was common for these coaches to stop; and there, as Jonathan would +say, passengers and coachmen 'liquored.' One coach, introduced by an +innkeeper, was a compound of two mourning-coaches,--an approximation to +the real railway-coach, which still adheres, with multiplying exceptions, +to the stage-coach type. One Dixon, who drove the 'Experiment' between +Darlington and Shildon, is the inventor of carriage-lighting on the rail. +On a dark winter night, having compassion on his passengers, he would buy +a penny candle, and place it lighted amongst them on the table of the +'Experiment'--the first railway-coach (which, by the way, ended its days +at Shildon as a railway cabin), being also the first coach on the rail +(first, second, and third class jammed all into one) that indulged its +customers with light in darkness." + +The traffic of all sorts increased so steadily and so rapidly that +considerable difficulty was experienced in working it satisfactorily. It +had been provided by the first Stockton and Darlington Act that the line +should be free to all parties who chose to use it at certain prescribed +rates, and that any person might put horses and waggons on the railway, +and carry for himself. But this arrangement led to increasing confusion +and difficulty, and could not continue in the face of a large and +rapidly-increasing traffic. The goods trains got so long that the +carriers found it necessary to call in the aid of the locomotive engine +to help them on their way. Then mixed trains of passengers and +merchandise began to run; and the result was that the railway company +found it necessary to take the entire charge and working of the traffic. +In course of time new coaches were specially built for the better +accommodation of the public, until at length regular passenger-trains +were run, drawn by the locomotive engine,--though this was not until +after the Liverpool and Manchester Company had established this as a +distinct branch of their traffic. + + [Picture: The No. I. Engine at Darlington] + +The three Stephenson locomotives were from the first regularly employed +to work the coal trains; and their proved efficiency for this purpose led +to the gradual increase of the locomotive power. The speed of the +engines--slow though it seems now--was in those days regarded as +something marvellous. A race actually came off between No. I. engine, +the "Locomotion," and one of the stage-coaches travelling from Darlington +to Stockton by the ordinary road; and it was regarded as a great triumph +of mechanical skill that the locomotive reached Stockton first, beating +the stage-coach by about a hundred yards! The same engine continued in +good working order in the year 1846, when it headed the railway +procession on the opening of the Middlesborough and Redcar Railway, +travelling at the rate of about fourteen miles an hour. This engine, the +first that travelled upon the first public railway, has recently been +placed upon a pedestal in front of the railway station at Darlington. + +For some years, however, the principal haulage of the line was performed +by horses. The inclination of the gradients being towards the sea, this +was perhaps the cheapest mode of traction, so long as the traffic was not +very large. The horse drew the train along the level road, until, on +reaching a descending gradient, down which the train ran by its own +gravity, the animal was unharnessed, and, when loose, he wheeled round to +the other end of the waggons, to which a "dandy-cart" was attached, its +bottom being only a few inches from the rail. Bringing his step into +unison with the speed of the train, the horse learnt to leap nimbly into +his place in this waggon, which was usually fitted with a well-filled +hay-rack. + +The details of the working were gradually perfected by experience, the +projectors of the line being scarcely conscious at first of the +importance and significance of the work which they had taken in hand, and +little thinking that they were laying the foundations of a system which +was yet to revolutionise the internal communications of the world, and +confer the greatest blessings on mankind. It is important to note that +the commercial results of the enterprise were considered satisfactory +from the opening of the railway. Besides conferring a great public +benefit upon the inhabitants of the district and throwing open entirely +new markets for coal, the profits derived from the traffic created by the +railway yielded increasing dividends to those who had risked their +capital in the undertaking, and thus held forth an encouragement to the +projectors of railways generally, which was not without an important +effect in stimulating the projection of similar enterprises in other +districts. These results, as displayed in the annual dividends, must +have been eminently encouraging to the astute commercial men of Liverpool +and Manchester, who were then engaged in the prosecution of their +railway. Indeed, the commercial success of the Stockton and Darlington +Company may be justly characterised as the turning-point of the railway +system. + +Before leaving this subject, we cannot avoid alluding to one of its most +remarkable and direct results--the creation of the town of +Middlesborough-on-Tees. When the railway was opened in 1825, the site of +this future metropolis of Cleveland was occupied by one solitary +farmhouse and its outbuildings. All round was pasture-land or mud-banks; +scarcely another house was within sight. In 1829 some of the principal +proprietors of the railway joined in the purchase of about 500 or 600 +acres of land five miles below Stockton--the site of the modern +Middlesborough--for the purpose of there forming a new seaport for the +shipment of coals brought to the Tees by the railway. The line was +accordingly extended thither; docks were excavated; a town sprang up; +churches, chapels, and schools were built, with a custom-house, +mechanics' institute, banks, shipbuilding yards, and iron-factories. In +ten years a busy population of some 6000 persons (since increased to +about 23,000) occupied the site of the original farmhouse. {144} More +recently, the discovery of vast stores of ironstone in the Cleveland +Hills, closely adjoining Middlesborough, has tended still more rapidly to +augment the population and increase the commercial importance of the +place. + +It is pleasing to relate, in connexion with this great work--the Stockton +and Darlington Railway, projected by Edward Pease and executed by George +Stephenson--that when Mr. Stephenson became a prosperous and a celebrated +man, he did not forget the friend who had taken him by the hand, and +helped him on in his early days. He continued to remember Mr. Pease with +gratitude and affection, and that gentleman, to the close of his life, +was proud to exhibit a handsome gold watch, received as a gift from his +celebrated _protege_, bearing these words;--"Esteem and gratitude: from +George Stephenson to Edward Pease." + + [Picture: Middlesborough-on-Tees] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. +THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY PROJECTED. + + +The rapid growth of the trade and manufactures of South Lancashire gave +rise, about the year 1821, to the project of a tramroad for the +conveyance of goods between Liverpool and Manchester. Since the +construction of the Bridgewater Canal by Brindley, some fifty years +before, the increase in the business transacted between the two towns had +become quite marvellous. The steam-engine, the spinning-jenny, and the +canal, working together, had accumulated in one focus a vast aggregate of +population, manufactures, and trade. + +Such was the expansion of business caused by the inventions to which we +have referred, that the navigation was found altogether inadequate to +accommodate the traffic, which completely outgrew all the Canal +Companies' appliances of wharves, boats, and horses. Cotton lay at +Liverpool for weeks together, waiting to be removed; and it occupied a +longer time to transport the cargoes from Liverpool to Manchester than it +had done to bring them across the Atlantic from the United States to +England. Carts and waggons were tried, but proved altogether +insufficient. Sometimes manufacturing operations had to be suspended +altogether, and during a frost, when the canals were frozen up, the +communication was entirely stopped. The consequences were often +disastrous, alike to operatives, merchants, and manufacturers. + +Expostulation with the Canal Companies was of no use. They were +overcrowded with business at their own prices, and disposed to be very +dictatorial. When the Duke first constructed his canal, he had to +encounter the fierce opposition of the Irwell and Mersey Navigation, +whose monopoly his new line of water conveyance threatened to interfere +with. {147} But the innovation of one generation often becomes the +obstruction of the next. The Duke's agents would scarcely listen to the +remonstrances of the Liverpool merchants and Manchester manufacturers, +and the Bridgewater Canal was accordingly, in its turn, denounced as a +monopoly. + +Under these circumstances, any new mode of transit between the two towns +which offered a reasonable prospect of relief was certain to receive a +cordial welcome. The scheme of a tramroad was, however, so new and +comparatively untried, that it is not surprising that the parties +interested should have hesitated before committing themselves to it. Mr. +Sandars, a Liverpool merchant, was amongst the first to broach the +subject. He had suffered in his business, in common with many others, +from the insufficiency of the existing modes of communication, and was +ready to give consideration to any plan presenting elements of practical +efficiency which proposed a remedy for the generally admitted grievance. +Having caused inquiry to be made as to the success which had attended the +haulage of heavy coal-trains by locomotive power on the northern +railways, he was led to the opinion that the same means might be equally +efficient in conducting the increasing traffic in merchandise between +Liverpool and Manchester. He ventilated the subject amongst his friends, +and about the beginning of 1821 a committee was formed for the purpose of +bringing the scheme of a railroad before the public. + +The novel project having become noised abroad, attracted the attention of +the friends of railways in other quarters. Tramroads were by no means +new expedients for the transit of heavy articles. The Croydon and +Wandsworth Railway, laid down by William Jessop as early as the year +1801, had been regularly used for the conveyance of lime and stone in +waggons hauled by mules or donkeys from Merstham to London. The sight of +this humble railroad in 1813 led Sir Richard Phillips in his 'Morning +Walk to Kew' to anticipate the great advantages which would be derived by +the nation from the general adoption of Blenkinsop's engine for the +conveyance of mails and passengers at ten or even fifteen miles an hour. +In the same year we find Mr. Lovell Edgworth, who had for fifty years +been advocating the superiority of tram or rail roads over common roads, +writing to James Watt (7th August, 1813): "I have always thought that +steam would become the universal lord, and that we should in time scorn +post-horses; an iron railroad would be a cheaper thing than a road upon +the common construction." + +Thomas Gray, of Nottingham, was another speculator on the same subject. +Though he was no mechanic nor inventor, he had an enthusiastic belief in +the powers of the railroad system. Being a native of Leeds, he had, when +a boy, seen Blenkinsop's locomotive at work on the Middleton cogged +railroad, and from an early period he seems to have entertained almost as +sanguine views on the subject as Sir Richard Phillips. It would appear +that Gray was residing in Brussels in 1816, when the project of a canal +from Charleroi, for the purpose of connecting Holland with the mining +districts of Belgium, was the subject of discussion; and, in conversation +with Mr. John Cockerill and others, he took the opportunity of advocating +the superior advantages of a railway. He was absorbed for some time with +the preparation of a pamphlet on the subject. He shut himself up, +secluded from his wife and relations, declining to give them any +information as to his mysterious studies, beyond the assurance that his +scheme "would revolutionise the whole face of the material world and of +society." In 1820 Mr. Gray published the result of his studies in his +'Observations on a General Iron Railway,' in which, with great cogency, +he urged the superiority of a locomotive railway over common roads and +canals, pointing out, at the same time, the advantages to all classes of +the community of this mode of conveyance for merchandise and persons. In +this book Mr. Gray suggested a railway between Manchester and Liverpool, +"which," he observed, "would employ many thousands of the distressed +population of Lancashire." The treatise must have met with a ready sale, +as we find that two years later it had passed into a fourth edition. In +1822 Mr. Gray added diagrams to the book, showing, in one, suggested +lines of railway connecting the principal towns of England, and in +another, the principal towns of Ireland. + +These speculations show that the subject of railways was gradually +becoming familiar to the public mind, and that thoughtful men were +anticipating with confidence the adoption of steam-power for the purposes +of railway traction. At the same time, a still more profitable class of +labourers was at work--first, men like Stephenson, who were engaged in +improving the locomotive and making it a practicable and economical +working power; and next, those like Edward Pease of Darlington, and +Joseph Sandars of Liverpool, who were organising the means of laying down +the railways. Mr. William James, of West Bromwich, belonged to the +active class of projectors. He was a man of considerable social +influence, of an active temperament, and had from an early period taken a +warm interest in the formation of tramroads. Acting as land-agent for +gentlemen of property in the mining districts, he had laid down several +tramroads in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, Gloucester, and Bristol; +and he published many pamphlets urging their formation in other places. +At one period of his life he was a large iron-manufacturer. The times, +however, went against him. It was thought he was too bold, some +considered him even reckless, in his speculations; and he lost almost his +entire fortune. He continued to follow the business of a land-agent, and +it was while engaged in making a survey for one of his clients in the +neighbourhood of Liverpool early in 1821, that he first heard of the +project of a railway between that town and Manchester. He at once called +upon Mr. Sandars, and offered his services as surveyor of the proposed +line, and his offer was accepted. + + [Picture: Map of Liverpool and Manchester Railway. (Western Part.)] + + [Picture: Map of Liverpool and Manchester Railway. (Eastern Part.)] + +A trial survey was then begun, but it was conducted with great +difficulty, the inhabitants of the district entertaining the most violent +prejudices against the scheme. In some places Mr. James and his surveying +party even encountered personal violence. The farmers stationed men at +the field-gates with pitchforks, and sometimes with guns, to drive them +back. At St. Helen's, one of the chainmen was laid hold of by a mob of +colliers, and threatened to be hurled down a coal-pit. A number of men, +women, and children, collected and ran after the surveyors wherever they +made their appearance, bawling nicknames and throwing stones at them. As +one of the chainmen was climbing over a gate one day, a labourer made at +him with a pitchfork, and ran it through his clothes into his back; other +watchers running up, the chainman, who was more stunned than hurt, took +to his heels and fled. But that mysterious-looking instrument---the +theodolite---most excited the fury of the natives, who concentrated on +the man who carried it their fiercest execrations and most offensive +nicknames. + +A powerful fellow, a noted bruiser, was hired by the surveyors to carry +the instrument, with a view to its protection against all assailants; but +one day an equally powerful fellow, a St. Helen's collier, cock of the +walk in his neighbourhood, made up to the theodolite bearer to wrest it +from him by sheer force. A battle took place, the collier was soundly +pummelled, but the natives poured in volleys of stones upon the surveyors +and their instruments, and the theodolite was smashed to pieces. + +An outline-survey having at length been made, notices were published of +an intended application to Parliament. In the mean time Mr. James +proceeded to Killingworth to see Stephenson's locomotives at work. +Stephenson was not at home at the time, but James saw his engines, and +was very much struck by their power and efficiency. He saw at a glance +the magnificent uses to which the locomotive might be applied. "Here," +said he, "is an engine that will, before long, effect a complete +revolution in society." Returning to Moreton-in-the-Marsh, he wrote to +Mr. Losh (Stephenson's partner in the patent) expressing his admiration +of the Killingworth engine. "It is," said he, "the greatest wonder of +the age, and the forerunner, as I firmly believe, of the most important +changes in the internal communications of the kingdom." Shortly after, +Mr. James, accompanied by his two sons, made a second journey to +Killingworth, where he met both Losh and Stephenson. The visitors were +at once taken to where the locomotive was working, and invited to mount +it. The uncouth and extraordinary appearance of the machine, as it came +snorting along, was somewhat alarming to the youths, who expressed their +fears lest it should burst; and they were with some difficulty induced to +mount. + +The engine went through its usual performances, dragging a heavy load of +coal-waggons at about six miles an hour, with apparent ease, at which Mr. +James expressed his extreme satisfaction, and declared to Mr. Losh his +opinion that Stephenson "was the greatest practical genius of the age," +and that, "if he developed the full powers of that engine (the +locomotive), his fame in the world would rank equal with that of Watt." +Mr. James informed Stephenson and Losh of his survey of the proposed +tramroad between Liverpool and Manchester, and did not hesitate to state +that he would thenceforward advocate the construction of a locomotive +railroad instead of the tramroad which had originally been proposed. + +Stephenson and Losh were naturally desirous of enlisting James's good +services on behalf of their patent locomotive, for as yet it had proved +comparatively unproductive. They believed that he might be able so to +advocate it in influential quarters as to ensure its more extensive +adoption, and with this object they proposed to give him an interest in +the patent. Accordingly they assigned him one-fourth of any profits +which might be derived from the use of the patent locomotive on any +railways constructed south of a line drawn across England from Liverpool +to Hull. The arrangement, however, led to no beneficial results. Mr. +James endeavoured to introduce the engine on the Moreton-on-Marsh +Railway; but it was opposed by the engineer of the line, and the attempt +failed. He next urged that a locomotive should be sent for trial upon +the Merstham tramroad; but, anxious though Stephenson was respecting its +extended employment, he was too cautious to risk an experiment which +might only bring discredit upon the engine; and the Merstham road being +only laid with cast-iron plates, which would not bear its weight, the +invitation was declined. + +It turned out that the first survey of the Liverpool and Manchester line +was very imperfect, and it was determined to have a second and more +complete one made in the following year. Robert Stephenson was sent over +by his father to Liverpool to assist in this survey. He was present with +Mr. James on the occasion on which he tried to lay out the line across +Chat Moss,--a proceeding which was not only difficult but dangerous. The +Moss was very wet at the time, and only its edges could be ventured on. +Mr. James was a heavy, thick-set man; and one day, when endeavouring to +obtain a stand for his theodolite, he felt himself suddenly sinking. He +immediately threw himself down, and rolled over and over until he reached +firm ground again, in a sad mess. Other attempts which he subsequently +made to enter upon the Moss for the same purpose, were abandoned for the +same reason--the want of a solid stand for the theodolite. + +On the 4th October, 1822, we find Mr. James writing to Mr. Sandars, "I +came last night to send my aid, Robert Stephenson, to his father, and +to-morrow I shall pay off Evans and Hamilton, two other assistants. I +have now only Messrs. Padley and Clarke to finish the copy of plans for +Parliament, which will be done in about a week or nine days' time." It +would appear however, that, notwithstanding all his exertions, Mr. James +was unable to complete his plans and estimates in time for the ensuing +Session; and another year was thus lost. The Railroad Committee became +impatient at the delay. Mr. James's financial embarrassments reached +their climax; and, what with illness and debt, he was no longer in a +position to fulfil his promises to the Committee. They were, therefore, +under the necessity of calling to their aid some other engineer. + +Mr. Sandars had by this time visited George Stephenson at Killingworth, +and, like all who came within reach of his personal influence, was +charmed with him at first sight. The energy which he had displayed in +carrying on the works of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, now +approaching completion; his readiness to face difficulties, and his +practical ability in overcoming them; the enthusiasm which he displayed +on the subject of railways and railway locomotion,--concurred in +satisfying Mr. Sandars that he was, of all men, the best calculated to +help forward the Liverpool undertaking at this juncture. On his return +he stated this opinion to the Committee, who approved his recommendation, +and George Stephenson was unanimously appointed engineer of the projected +railway. + +It will be observed that Mr. Sandars had held to his original purpose +with great determination and perseverance, and he gradually succeeded in +enlisting on his side an increasing number of influential merchants and +manufacturers both at Liverpool and Manchester. Early in 1824 he +published a pamphlet, in which he strongly urged the great losses and +interruptions to the trade of the district by the delays in the +forwarding of merchandise; and in the same year he had a Public +Declaration drawn up, and signed by upwards of 150 of the principal +merchants of Liverpool, setting forth that they considered "the present +establishments for the transport of goods quite inadequate, and that a +new line of conveyance has become absolutely necessary to conduct the +increasing trade of the country with speed, certainty, and economy." + +A public meeting was then held to consider the best plan to be adopted, +and resolutions were passed in favour of a railroad. A committee was +appointed to take the necessary measures; but, as if reluctant to enter +upon their arduous struggle with the "vested interests," they first +waited on Mr. Bradshaw, the Duke of Bridgewater's canal agent, in the +hope of persuading him to increase the means of conveyance, as well as to +reduce the charges; but they were met by an unqualified refusal. They +suggested the expediency of a railway, and invited Mr. Bradshaw to become +a proprietor of shares in it. But his reply was--"All or none!" The +canal proprietors, confident in their imagined security, ridiculed the +proposed railway as a chimera. It had been spoken about years before, +and nothing had come of it then: it would be the same now. + +In order to form a better opinion as to the practicability of the +railroad, a deputation of gentlemen interested in the project proceeded +to Killingworth, to inspect the engines which had been so long in use +there. They first went to Darlington, where they found the works of the +Stockton line in progress, though still unfinished. Proceeding next to +Killingworth with Mr. Stephenson, they there witnessed the performances +of his locomotive engines. The result of their visit was, on the whole, +so satisfactory, that on their report being delivered to the committee at +Liverpool, it was finally determined to form a company of proprietors for +the construction of a double line of railway between Liverpool and +Manchester. + +The first prospectus of the scheme was dated the 29th October, 1824, and +had attached to it the names of the leading merchants of Liverpool and +Manchester. It was a modest document, very unlike the inflated balloons +which were sent up by railway speculators in succeeding years. It set +forth as its main object the establishment of a safe and cheap mode of +transit for merchandise, by which the conveyance of goods between the two +towns would be effected in 5 or 6 hours (instead of 36 hours by the +canal), whilst the charges would be reduced one-third. On looking at the +prospectus now, it is curious to note that, while the advantages +anticipated from the carriage of merchandise were strongly insisted upon, +the conveyance of passengers--which proved to be the chief source of +profit--was only very cautiously referred to. "As a cheap and +expeditious means of conveyance for travellers," says the prospectus in +conclusion, "the railway holds out the fair prospect of a public +accommodation, the magnitude and importance of which cannot be +immediately ascertained." The estimated expense of forming the line was +set down at 400,000 pounds,--a sum which was eventually found quite +inadequate. The subscription list when opened was filled up without +difficulty. + +While the project was still under discussion, its promoters, desirous of +removing the doubts which existed as to the employment of steam power on +the proposed railway, sent a second deputation to Killingworth for the +purpose of again observing the action of Stephenson's engines. The +cautious projectors of the railway were not yet quite satisfied; and a +third journey was made to Killingworth, in January, 1825, by several +gentlemen of the committee, accompanied by practical engineers, for the +purpose of being personal eye-witnesses of what steam-carriages were able +to perform upon a railway. There they saw a train, consisting of a +locomotive and loaded waggons, weighing in all 54 tons, travelling at the +average rate of about 7 miles an hour, the greatest speed being about 9.5 +miles an hour. But when the engine was run with only one waggon attached +containing twenty gentlemen, five of whom were engineers, the speed +attained was from 10 to 12 miles an hour. + +In the mean time the survey was proceeded with, in the face of great +opposition from the proprietors of the lands through which the railway +was intended to pass. The prejudices of the farming and labouring +classes were strongly excited against the persons employed upon the +ground, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the levels could be +taken. At one place, Stephenson was driven off the ground by the +keepers, and threatened to be ducked in the pond if found there again. +The farmers also turned out their men to watch the surveying party, and +prevent them entering upon any lands where they had the power of driving +them off. + +One of the proprietors declared that he would order his game-keepers to +shoot or apprehend any persons attempting a survey over his property. +But one moonlight night a survey was obtained by the following ruse. +Some men, under the orders of the surveying party, were set to fire off +guns in a particular quarter; on which all the game-keepers on the watch +made off in that direction, and they were drawn away to such a distance +in pursuit of the supposed poachers, as to enable a rapid survey to be +made during their absence. + +When the canal companies found that the Liverpool merchants were +determined to proceed with their scheme--that they had completed their +survey, and were ready to apply to Parliament for an Act to enable them +to form the railway--they at last reluctantly, and with a bad grace, made +overtures of conciliation. They promised to employ steam-vessels both on +the Mersey and on the Canal. One of the companies offered to reduce its +length by three miles, at a considerable outlay. At the same time they +made a show of lowering their rates. But it was too late; for the +project of the railway had now gone so far that the promoters (who might +have been conciliated by such overtures at an earlier period) felt they +were fully committed to it, and that now they could not well draw back. +Besides, the remedies offered by the canal companies could only have had +the effect of staving off the difficulty for a brief season,--the +absolute necessity of forming a new line of communication between +Liverpool and Manchester becoming more urgent from year to year. +Arrangements were therefore made for proceeding with the bill in the +parliamentary session of 1825. + +On this becoming known, the canal companies prepared to resist the +measure tooth and nail. The public were appealed to on the subject; +pamphlets were written and newspapers were hired to revile the railway. +It was declared that its formation would prevent cows grazing and hens +laying. The poisoned air from the locomotives would kill birds as they +flew over them, and render the preservation of pheasants and foxes no +longer possible. Householders adjoining the projected line were told +that their houses would be burnt up by the fire thrown from the +engine-chimneys; while the air around would be polluted by clouds of +smoke. There would no longer be any use for horses; and if railways +extended, the species would become extinguished, and oats and hay be +rendered unsaleable commodities. Travelling by rail would be highly +dangerous, and country inns would be ruined. Boilers would burst and +blow passengers to atoms. But there was always this consolation to wind +up with--that the weight of the locomotive would completely prevent its +moving, and that railways, even if made, could _never_ be worked by +steam-power. + +Indeed, when Mr. Stephenson, at the interviews with counsel, held +previous to the Liverpool and Manchester bill going into Committee of the +House of Commons, confidently stated his expectation of being able to +impel his locomotive at the rate of 20 miles an hour, Mr. William +Brougham, who was retained by the promoters to conduct their case, +frankly told him that if he did not moderate his views, and bring his +engine within a _reasonable_ speed, he would "inevitably damn the whole +thing, and be himself regarded as a maniac fit only for Bedlam." + +The idea thrown out by Stephenson, of travelling at a rate of speed +double that of the fastest mail-coach, appeared at the time so +preposterous that he was unable to find any engineer who would risk his +reputation in supporting such "absurd views." Speaking of his isolation +at the time, he subsequently observed, at a public meeting of railway men +in Manchester: "He remembered the time when he had very few supporters in +bringing out the railway system--when he sought England over for an +engineer to support him in his evidence before Parliament, and could find +only one man, James Walker, but was afraid to call that gentleman, +because he knew nothing about railways. He had then no one to tell his +tale to but Mr. Sandars, of Liverpool, who did listen to him, and kept +his spirits up; and his schemes had at length been carried out only by +dint of sheer perseverance." + +George Stephenson's idea was at that time regarded as but the dream of a +chimerical projector. It stood before the public friendless, struggling +hard to gain a footing, scarcely daring to lift itself into notice for +fear of ridicule. The civil engineers generally rejected the notion of a +Locomotive Railway; and when no leading man of the day could be found to +stand forward in support of the Killingworth mechanic, its chances of +success must indeed have been pronounced but small. + +When such was the hostility of the civil engineers, no wonder the +reviewers were puzzled. The 'Quarterly,' in an able article in support +of the projected Liverpool and Manchester Railway,--while admitting its +absolute necessity, and insisting that there was no choice left but a +railroad, on which the journey between Liverpool and Manchester, whether +performed by horses or engines, would always be accomplished "within the +day,"--nevertheless scouted the idea of travelling at a greater speed +than eight or nine miles an hour. Adverting to a project for forming a +railway to Woolwich, by which passengers were to be drawn by locomotive +engines, moving with twice the velocity of ordinary coaches, the reviewer +observed:--"What can be more palpably absurd and ridiculous than the +prospect held out of locomotives travelling _twice as fast_ as +stagecoaches! We would as soon expect the people of Woolwich to suffer +themselves to be fired off upon one of Congreve's ricochet rockets, as +trust themselves to the mercy of such a machine going at such a rate. We +will back old Father Thames against the Woolwich Railway for any sum. We +trust that Parliament will, in all railways it may sanction, limit the +speed to _eight or nine miles an hour_, which we entirely agree with Mr. +Sylvester is as great as can be ventured on with safety." + +At length the survey was completed, the plans were deposited, the +requisite preliminary arrangements were made, and the promoters of the +scheme applied to Parliament for the necessary powers to construct the +railway. The Bill went into Committee of the Commons on the 21st of +March, 1825. There was an extraordinary array of legal talent on the +occasion, but especially on the side of the opponents to the measure; +their counsel including Mr. (afterwards Baron) Alderson, Mr. (afterwards +Baron) Parke, Mr. Harrison, and Mr. Erle. The counsel for the bill were +Mr. Adam, Mr. Serjeant Spankie, Mr. William Brougham, and Mr. Joy. + +Evidence was taken at great length as to the difficulties and delays in +forwarding raw material of all kinds from Liverpool to Manchester, as +also in the conveyance of manufactured goods from Manchester to +Liverpool. The evidence adduced in support of the bill on these grounds +was overwhelming. The utter inadequacy of the existing modes of +conveyance to carry on satisfactorily the large and rapidly-growing trade +between the two towns was fully proved. But then came the gist of the +promoter's case--the evidence to prove the practicability of a railroad +to be worked by locomotive power. Mr. Adam, in his opening speech, +referred to the cases of the Hetton and the Killingworth railroads, where +heavy goods were safely and economically transported by means of +locomotive engines. "None of the tremendous consequences," he observed, +"have ensued from the use of steam in land carriage that have been +stated. The horses have not started, nor the cows ceased to give their +milk, nor have ladies miscarried at the sight of these things going +forward at the rate of four miles and a half an hour." Notwithstanding +the petition of two ladies alleging the great danger to be apprehended +from the bursting of the locomotive boilers, he urged the safety of the +high-pressure engine when the boilers were constructed of wrought-iron; +and as to the rate at which they could travel, he expressed his full +conviction that such engines "could supply force to drive a carriage at +the rate of five or six miles an hour." + +The taking of the evidence as to the impediments thrown in the way of +trade and commerce by the existing system extended over a month, and it +was the 21st of April before the Committee went into the engineering +evidence, which was the vital part of the question. + +On the 25th George Stephenson was called into the witness-box. It was +his first appearance before a Committee of the House of Commons, and he +well knew what he had to expect. He was aware that the whole force of +the opposition was to be directed against him; and if they could break +down his evidence, the canal monopoly might yet be upheld for a time. +Many years afterwards, when looking back at his position on this trying +occasion, he said:--"When I went to Liverpool to plan a line from thence +to Manchester, I pledged myself to the directors to attain a speed of 10 +miles an hour. I said I had no doubt the locomotive might be made to go +much faster, but that we had better be moderate at the beginning. The +directors said I was quite right; for that if, when they went to +Parliament, I talked of going at a greater rate than 10 miles an hour, I +should put a cross upon the concern. It was not an easy task for me to +keep the engine down to 10 miles an hour, but it must be done, and I did +my best. I had to place myself in that most unpleasant of all +positions--the witness-box of a Parliamentary Committee. I was not long +in it, before I began to wish for a hole to creep out at! I could not +find words to satisfy either the Committee or myself. I was subjected to +the cross-examination of eight or ten barristers, purposely, as far as +possible, to bewilder me. Some member of the Committee asked if I was a +foreigner, and another hinted that I was mad. But I put up with every +rebuff, and went on with my plans, determined not to be put down." + +Mr. Stephenson stood before the Committee to prove what the public +opinion of that day held to be impossible. The self-taught mechanic had +to demonstrate the practicability of accomplishing that which the most +distinguished engineers of the time regarded as impracticable. Clear +though the subject was to himself, and familiar as he was with the powers +of the locomotive, it was no easy task for him to bring home his +convictions, or even to convey his meaning, to the less informed minds of +his hearers. In his strong Northumbrian dialect, he struggled for +utterance, in the face of the sneers, interruptions, and ridicule of the +opponents of the measure, and even of the Committee, some of whom shook +their heads and whispered doubts as to his sanity, when he energetically +avowed that he could make the locomotive go at the rate of 12 miles an +hour! It was so grossly in the teeth of all the experience of honourable +members, that the man "must certainly be labouring under a delusion!" + +And yet his large experience of railways and locomotives, as described by +himself to the Committee, entitled this "untaught, inarticulate genius," +as he has so well been styled, to speak with confidence on such a +subject. Beginning with his experience as a brakesman at Killingworth in +1803, he went on to state that he was appointed to take the entire charge +of the steam-engines in 1813, and had superintended the railroads +connected with the numerous collieries of the Grand Allies from that time +downwards. He had laid down or superintended the railways at Burradon, +Mount Moor, Springwell, Bedlington, Hetton, and Darlington, besides +improving those at Killingworth, South Moor, and Derwent Crook. He had +constructed fifty-five steam-engines, of which sixteen were locomotives. +Some of these had been sent to France. The engines constructed by him +for the working of the Killingworth Railroad, eleven years before, had +continued steadily at work ever since, and fulfilled his most sanguine +expectations. He was prepared to prove the safety of working +high-pressure locomotives on a railroad, and the superiority of this mode +of transporting goods over all others. As to speed, he said he had +recommended 8 miles an hour with 20 tons, and 4 miles an hour with 40 +tons; but he was quite confident that much more might be done. Indeed, +he had no doubt they might go at the rate of 12 miles. As to the charge +that locomotives on a railroad would so terrify the horses in the +neighbourhood, that to travel on horseback or to plough the adjoining +fields would be rendered highly dangerous, the witness said that horses +learnt to take no notice of them, though there _were_ horses that would +shy at a wheelbarrow. A mail-coach was likely to be more shied at by +horses than a locomotive. In the neighbourhood of Killingworth, the +cattle in the fields went on grazing while the engines passed them, and +the farmers made no complaints. + +Mr. Alderson, who had carefully studied the subject, and was well skilled +in practical science, subjected the witness to a protracted and severe +cross-examination as to the speed and power of the locomotive, the stroke +of the piston, the slipping of the wheels upon the rails, and various +other points of detail. Mr. Stephenson insisted that no slipping took +place, as attempted to be extorted from him by the counsel. He said, "It +is impossible for slipping to take place so long as the adhesive weight +of the wheel upon the rail is greater than the weight to be dragged after +it." As to accidents, Stephenson said he knew of none that had occurred +with his engines. There had been one, he was told, at the Middleton +Colliery, near Leeds, with a Blenkinsop engine. The driver had been in +liquor, and put a considerable load on the safety-valve, so that upon +going forward the engine blew up and the man was killed. But he added, +if proper precautions had been used with that boiler, the accident could +not have happened. The following cross-examination occurred in reference +to the question of speed:-- + +"Of course," he was asked, "when a body is moving upon a road, the +greater the velocity the greater the momentum that is generated?" +"Certainly."--"What would be the momentum of 40 tons moving at the rate +of 12 miles an hour?" "It would be very great."--"Have you seen a +railroad that would stand that?" "Yes."--"Where?" "Any railroad that +would bear going 4 miles an hour: I mean to say, that if it would bear +the weight at 4 miles an hour, it would bear it at 12."--"Taking it at 4 +miles an hour, do you mean to say that it would not require a stronger +railway to carry the same weight 12 miles an hour?" "I will give an +answer to that. I dare say every person has been over ice when skating, +or seen persons go over, and they know that it would bear them better at +a greater velocity than it would if they went slower; when they go quick, +the weight in a measure ceases."--"Is not that upon the hypothesis that +the railroad is perfect?" "It is; and I mean to make it perfect." + +It is not necessary to state that to have passed the ordeal of so severe +a cross-examination scatheless, needed no small amount of courage, +intelligence, and ready shrewdness on the part of the witness. Nicholas +Wood, who was present on the occasion, has since stated that the point on +which Stephenson was hardest pressed was that of speed. "I believe," he +says, "that it would have lost the Company their bill if he had gone +beyond 8 or 9 miles an hour. If he had stated his intention of going 12 +or 15 miles an hour, not a single person would have believed it to be +practicable." + +The Committee also seem to have entertained considerable alarm as to the +high rate of speed which had been spoken of, and proceeded to examine the +witness further on the subject. They supposed the case of the engine +being upset when going at 9 miles an hour, and asked what, in such a +case, would become of the cargo astern. To which the witness replied +that it would not be upset. One of the members of the Committee pressed +the witness a little further. He put the following case:--"Suppose, now, +one of these engines to be going along a railroad at the rate of 9 or 10 +miles an hour, and that a cow were to stray upon the line and get in the +way of the engine; would not that, think you, be a very awkward +circumstance?" "Yes," replied the witness, with a twinkle in his eye, +"very awkward--_for the coo_!" The honourable member did not proceed +further with his cross-examination; to use a railway phrase, he was +"shunted." Another asked if animals would not be very much frightened by +the engine passing them, especially by the glare of the red-hot chimney? +"But how would they know that it wasn't painted?" said the witness. + +On the following day, the engineer was subjected to a very severe +examination. On that part of the scheme with which he was most +practically conversant, his evidence was clear and conclusive. Now, he +had to give evidence on the plans made by his surveyors, and the +estimates which had been founded on such plans. So long as he was +confined to locomotive engines and iron railroads, with the minutest +details of which he was more familiar than any man living, he felt at +home, and in his element. But when the designs of bridges and the cost +of constructing them had to be gone into, the subject being in a great +measure new to him, his evidence was much less satisfactory. + +Mr. Alderson cross-examined him at great length on the plans of the +bridges, the tunnels, the crossings of the roads and streets, and the +details of the survey, which, it soon clearly appeared, were in some +respects seriously at fault. It seems that, after the plans had been +deposited, Stephenson found that a much more favourable line might be +made; and he made his estimates accordingly, supposing that Parliament +would not confine the Company to the precise plan which had been +deposited. This was felt to be a serious blot in the parliamentary case, +and one very difficult to be got over. + +For three entire days was our engineer subjected to this +cross-examination. He held his ground bravely, and defended the plans +and estimates with remarkable ability and skill; but it was clear they +were imperfect, and the result was on the whole damaging to the measure. + +The case of the opponents was next gone into, in the course of which the +counsel indulged in strong vituperation against the witnesses for the +bill. One of them spoke of the utter impossiblity of making a railway +upon so treacherous a material as Chat Moss, which was declared to be an +immense mass of pulp, and nothing else. "It actually," said Mr. +Harrison, "rises in height, from the rain swelling it like a sponge, and +sinks again in dry weather; and if a boring instrument is put into it, it +sinks immediately by its own weight. The making of an embankment out of +this pulpy, wet moss, is no very easy task. Who but Mr. Stephenson would +have thought of entering into Chat Moss, carrying it out almost like wet +dung? It is ignorance almost inconceivable. It is perfect madness, in a +person called upon to speak on a scientific subject, to propose such a +plan. Every part of this scheme shows that this man has applied himself +to a subject of which he has no knowledge, and to which he has no science +to apply." Then adverting to the proposal to work the intended line by +means of locomotives, the learned gentleman proceeded: "When we set out +with the original prospectus, we were to gallop, I know not at what rate; +I believe it was at the rate of 12 miles an hour. My learned friend, Mr. +Adam, contemplated--possibly alluding to Ireland--that some of the Irish +members would arrive in the waggons to a division. My learned friend +says that they would go at the rate of 12 miles an hour with the aid of +the devil in the form of a locomotive, sitting as postilion on the fore +horse, and an honourable member sitting behind him to stir up the fire, +and keep it at full speed. But the speed at which these locomotive +engines are to go has slackened: Mr. Adam does not go faster now than 5 +miles an hour. The learned serjeant (Spankie) says he should like to +have 7, but he would be content to go 6. I will show he cannot go 6; and +probably, for any practical purposes, I may be able to show that I can +keep up with him _by the canal_. . . . Locomotive engines are liable to +be operated upon by the weather. You are told they are affected by rain, +and an attempt has been made to cover them; but the wind will affect +them; and any gale of wind which would affect the traffic on the Mersey +would render it _impossible_ to set off a locomotive engine, either by +poking of the fire, or keeping up the pressure of the steam till the +boiler was ready to burst." How amusing it now is to read these +extraordinary views as to the formation of a railway over Chat Moss, and +the impossibility of starting a locomotive engine in the face of a gale +of wind! + +Evidence was called to show that the house property passed by the +proposed railway would be greatly deteriorated--in some places almost +destroyed; that the locomotive engines would be terrible nuisances, in +consequence of the fire and smoke vomited forth by them; and that the +value of land in the neighbourhood of Manchester alone would be +deteriorated by no less than 20,000 pounds! Evidence was also given at +great length showing the utter impossibility of forming a road of any +kind upon Chat Moss. A Manchester builder, who was examined, could not +imagine the feat possible, unless by arching it across in the manner of a +viaduct from one side to the other. It was the old story of "nothing +like leather." But the opposition mainly relied upon the evidence of the +leading engineers--not like Stephenson, self-taught men, but regular +professionals. One of these, Mr. Francis Giles, C.E., had been +twenty-two years an engineer, and could speak with some authority. His +testimony was mainly directed to the utter impossibility of forming a +railway over Chat Moss. "_No engineer in his senses_," said he, "would +go through Chat Moss if he wanted to make a railroad from Liverpool to +Manchester. . . . In my judgment _a railroad certainly cannot be safely +made over Chat Moss without going to the bottom __of the Moss_. The soil +ought all to be taken out, undoubtedly; in doing which, it will not be +practicable to approach each end of the cutting, as you make it, with the +carriages. No carriages would stand upon the Moss short of the bottom. +My estimate for the whole cutting and embankment over Chat Moss is +270,000 pounds nearly, at those quantities and those prices which are +decidedly correct . . . It will be necessary to take this Moss completely +out at the bottom, in order to make a solid road." + +When the engineers had given their evidence, Mr. Alderson summed up in a +speech which extended over two days. He declared Mr. Stephenson's plan +to be "the most absurd scheme that ever entered into the head of man to +conceive. My learned friends," said he, "almost endeavoured to stop my +examination; they wished me to put in the plan, but I had rather have the +exhibition of Mr. Stephenson in that box. I say he never had a plan--I +believe he never had one--I do not believe he is capable of making one. +His is a mind perpetually fluctuating between opposite difficulties: he +neither knows whether he is to make bridges over roads or rivers, of one +size or of another; or to make embankments, or cuttings, or inclined +planes, or in what way the thing is to be carried into effect. Whenever +a difficulty is pressed, as in the case of a tunnel, he gets out of it at +one end, and when you try to catch him at that, he gets out at the +other." Mr. Alderson proceeded to declaim against the gross ignorance of +this so-called engineer, who proposed to make "impossible ditches by the +side of an impossible railway" upon Chat Moss; "I care not," he said, +"whether Mr. Giles is right or wrong in his estimate, for whether it be +effected by means of piers raised up all the way for four miles through +Chat Moss, whether they are to support it on beams of wood or by erecting +masonry, or whether Mr. Giles shall put a solid bank of earth through +it,--in all these schemes there is not one found like that of Mr. +Stephenson's, namely, to cut impossible drains on the side of this road; +and it is sufficient for me to suggest and to show, that this scheme of +Mr. Stephenson's is impossible or impracticable, and that no other +scheme, if they proceed upon this line, can be suggested which will not +produce enormous expense. I think that has been irrefragably made out. +Every one knows Chat Moss--every one knows that the iron sinks +immediately on its being put upon the surface. I have heard of culverts, +which have been put upon the Moss, which, after having been surveyed the +day before, have the next morning disappeared; and that a house (a poet's +house, who may be supposed in the habit of building castles even in the +air), story after story, as fast as one is added, the lower one sinks! +There is nothing, it appears, except long sedgy grass, and a little soil +to prevent its sinking into the shades of eternal night. I have now +done, sir, with Chat Moss, and there I leave this railroad." + +The case of the principal petitioners against the bill occupied many more +days, and on its conclusion the committee proceeded to divide on the +preamble, which was carried by a majority of only _one_--37 voting for +it, and 36 against it. The clauses were next considered, and on a +division the first clause, empowering the Company to make the railway, +was lost by a majority of 19 to 13. In like manner, the next clause, +empowering the Company to take land, was lost; on which the bill was +withdrawn. + +Thus ended this memorable contest, which had extended over two +months--carried on throughout with great pertinacity and skill, +especially on the part of the opposition, who left no stone unturned to +defeat the measure. The want of a third line of communication between +Liverpool and Manchester had been clearly proved; but the engineering +evidence in support of the proposed railway having been thrown almost +entirely upon Stephenson, who fought this, the most important part of the +battle, single-handed, was not brought out so clearly as it would have +been, had he secured more efficient engineering assistance--which he was +not able to do, as the principal engineers of that day were against the +locomotive railway. The obstacles thrown in the way of the survey by the +landowners and canal companies, by which the plans were rendered +exceedingly imperfect, also tended in a great measure to defeat the bill. + +The rejection of the bill was probably the most severe trial George +Stephenson underwent in the whole course of his life. The circumstances +connected with the defeat of the measure, the errors in the levels, his +rigid cross-examination, followed by the fact of his being superseded by +another engineer, all told fearfully upon him, and for some time he was +as much weighed down as if a personal calamity of the most serious kind +had befallen him. + +Stephenson had been so terribly abused by the leading counsel for the +opposition in the course of the proceedings before the +Committee--stigmatised by them as an ignoramus, a fool, and a +maniac--that even his friends seem for a time to have lost faith in him +and in the locomotive system, whose efficiency he nevertheless continued +to uphold. Things never looked blacker for the success of the railway +system than at the close of this great parliamentary struggle. And yet +it was on the very eve of its triumph. + +The Committee of Directors appointed to watch the measure in Parliament +were so determined to press on the project of a railway, even though it +should have to be worked merely by horse-power, that the bill had +scarcely been thrown out ere they met in London to consider their next +step. They called their parliamentary friends together to consult as to +future proceedings; and the result was that they went back to Liverpool +determined to renew their application to Parliament in the ensuing +session. + +It was not considered desirable to employ Mr. Stephenson in making the +new survey. He had not as yet established his reputation as an engineer +beyond the boundaries of his own district; and the promoters of the bill +had doubtless felt the disadvantages of this in the course of their +parliamentary struggle. They therefore resolved now to employ engineers +of the highest established reputation, as well as the best surveyors that +could be obtained. In accordance with these views they engaged Messrs. +George and John Rennie to be the engineers of the railway; and Mr. +Charles Vignolles was appointed to prepare the plans and sections. The +line which was eventually adopted differed somewhat from that surveyed by +Mr. Stephenson. The principal parks and game-preserves of the district +were carefully avoided. The promoters thus hoped to get rid of the +opposition of the most influential of the resident landowners. The +crossing of certain of the streets of Liverpool was also avoided, and the +entrance contrived by means of a tunnel and an inclined plane. The new +line stopped short of the river Irwell at the Manchester end, by which +the objections grounded on an illegal interruption to the canal or river +traffic were in some measure removed. The opposition of the Duke of +Bridgewater's trustees was also got rid of, and the Marquis of Stafford +became a subscriber for a thousand shares. With reference to the use of +the locomotive engine, the promoters, remembering with what effect the +objections to it had been urged by the opponents of the bill, intimated, +in their second prospectus, that "as a guarantee of their good faith +towards the public they will not require any clause empowering them to +use it; or they will submit to such restrictions in the employment of it +as Parliament may impose." + +The survey of the new line having been completed, the plans were +deposited, the standing orders duly complied with, and the bill went +before Parliament. The same counsel appeared for the promoters, but the +examination of witnesses was not nearly so protracted as on the previous +occasion. The preamble was declared proved by a majority of 43 to 18. +On the third reading in the House of Commons, an animated, and what now +appears a very amusing discussion took place. The Hon. Edward Stanley +moved that the bill be read that day six months; and in his speech he +undertook to prove that the railway trains would take _ten hours_ on the +journey, and that they could only be worked by horses. Sir Isaac Coffin +seconded the motion, and in doing so denounced the project as a most +flagrant imposition. He would not consent to see widows' premises +invaded; and "What, he would like to know, was to be done with all those +who had advanced money in making and repairing turnpike-roads? What was +to become of coach-makers and harness-makers, coach-masters and coachmen, +inn-keepers, horse-breeders, and horse-dealers? Was the house aware of +the smoke and the noise, the hiss and the whirl, which locomotive +engines, passing at the rate of 10 or 12 miles an hour, would occasion? +Neither the cattle ploughing in the fields or grazing in the meadows +could behold them without dismay. Iron would be raised in price 100 per +cent., or more probably exhausted altogether! It would be the greatest +nuisance, the most complete disturbance of quiet and comfort in all parts +of the kingdom, that the ingenuity of man could invent!" + +Mr. Huskisson and other speakers, though unable to reply to such +arguments as these, strongly supported the bill; and it was carried on +the third reading by a majority of 88 to 41. The bill passed the House +of Lords almost unanimously, its only opponents being the Earl of Derby +and his relative the Earl of Wilton. + + [Picture: Surveying on Chat Moss] + + + + +CHAPTER X. +CHAT MOSS--CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY. + + +The appointment of principal engineer to the railway was taken into +consideration at the first meeting of the directors held at Liverpool +subsequent to the passing of the Act. The magnitude of the proposed +works, and the vast consequences involved in their experiment, were +deeply impressed upon their minds; and they resolved to secure the +services of a resident engineer of proved experience and ability. Their +attention was naturally directed to Mr. Stephenson; at the same time they +desired to have the benefit of the Messrs. Rennie's professional +assistance in superintending the works. Mr. George Rennie had an +interview with the Board on the subject, at which he proposed to +undertake the chief superintendence, making six visits in each year, and +stipulating that he should have the appointment of the resident engineer. +But the responsibility attaching to the direction in the matter of the +efficient carrying on of the works, would not admit of their being +influenced by ordinary punctilios on the occasion; and they accordingly +declined this proposal, and proceeded to appoint Mr. Stephenson their +principal engineer at a salary of 1000 pounds per annum. + +He at once removed his residence to Liverpool, and made arrangements to +commence the works. He began with the "impossible thing"--to do that +which the most distinguished engineers of the day had declared that "no +man in his senses would undertake to do"--namely, to make the road over +Chat Moss! It was indeed a most formidable undertaking; and the project +of carrying a railway along, under, or over such a material as that of +which it consisted, would certainly never have occurred to an ordinary +mind. Michael Drayton supposed the Moss to have had its origin at the +Deluge. Nothing more impassable could have been imagined than that +dreary waste; and Mr. Giles only spoke the popular feeling of the day +when he declared that no carriage could stand on it "short of the +bottom." In this bog, singular to say, Mr. Roscoe, the accomplished +historian of the Medicis, buried his fortune in the hopeless attempt to +cultivate a portion of it which he had bought. + +Chat Moss is an immense peat bog of about twelve square miles in extent. +Unlike the bogs or swamps of Cambridge and Lincolnshire, which consist +principally of soft mud or silt, this bog is a vast mass of spongy +vegetable pulp, the result of the growth and decay of ages. The spagni, +or bog-mosses, cover the entire area; one year's growth rising over +another,--the older growths not entirely decaying, but remaining +partially preserved by the antiseptic properties peculiar to peat. Hence +the remarkable fact that, although a semifluid mass, the surface of Chat +Moss rises above the level of the surrounding country. Like a turtle's +back, it declines from the summit in every direction, having from thirty +to forty feet gradual slope to the solid land on all sides. From the +remains of trees, chiefly alder and birch, which have been dug out of it, +and which must have previously flourished upon the surface of soil now +deeply submerged, it is probable that the sand and clay base on which the +bog rests is saucer-shaped, and so retains the entire mass in position. +In rainy weather, such is its capacity for water that it sensibly swells, +and rises in those parts where the moss is the deepest. This occurs +through the capillary attraction of the fibres of the submerged moss, +which is from 20 to 30 feet in depth, whilst the growing plants +effectually check evaporation from the surface. This peculiar character +of the Moss has presented an insuperable difficulty in the way of +reclaiming it by any system of extensive drainage--such as by sinking +shafts, and pumping up the water by steam power, as has been proposed. +Supposing a shaft of 30 feet deep to be sunk, it has been calculated that +this would only be effectual for draining a circle of about 100 yards, +the water running down an incline of about 5 to 1; for it was found in +the course of draining the bog, that a ditch 3 feet deep only served to +drain a space of less than 5 yards on each side, and two ditches of this +depth, 10 yards apart, left a portion of the Moss between them scarcely +affected by the drains. + +The three resident engineers selected by Mr. Stephenson to superintend +the construction of the line, were Joseph Locke, William Allcard, and +John Dixon. The last was appointed to that portion which lay across the +Moss, neither of the other two envying his lot. On Mr. Dixon's arrival, +about July, 1826, Mr. Locke proceeded to show him over the length he was +to take charge of, and to instal him in office. When they reached Chat +Moss, Mr. Dixon found that the line had already been staked out and the +levels taken in detail by the aid of planks laid upon the bog. The +cutting of the drains along each side of the proposed road had also been +commenced; but the soft pulpy stuff had up to this time flowed into the +drains and filled them up as fast as they were cut. Proceeding across +the Moss, on the first day's inspection, the new resident, when about +halfway over, slipped off the plank on which he walked, and sank to his +knees in the bog. Struggling only sent him the deeper, and he might have +disappeared altogether, but for the workmen, who hastened to his +assistance upon planks, and rescued him from his perilous position. Much +disheartened, he desired to return, and even thought of giving up the +job; but Mr. Locke assured him that the worst part was now past; so the +new resident plucked up heart again, and both floundered on until they +reached the further edge of the Moss, wet and plastered over with +bog-sludge. Mr. Dixon's companions endeavoured to comfort him by the +assurance that he might avoid similar perils, by walking upon "pattens," +or boards fastened to the soles of his feet, as they had done when taking +the levels, and as the workmen did when engaged in making drains in the +softest parts of the Moss. The resident engineer was sorely puzzled in +the outset by the problem of constructing a road for heavy locomotives, +with trains of passengers and goods, upon a bog which he had found +incapable of supporting his own weight! + +Mr. Stephenson's idea was, that such a road might be made to _float_ upon +the bog, simply by means of a sufficient extension of the bearing +surface. As a ship, or a raft, capable of sustaining heavy loads floated +in water, so in his opinion, might a light road be floated upon a bog, +which was of considerably greater consistency than water. Long before +the railway was thought of, Mr. Roscoe had adopted the remarkable +expedient of fitting his plough-horses with flat wooden soles or pattens, +to enable them to walk upon the Moss land which he had brought into +cultivation. These pattens were fitted on by means of a screw apparatus, +which met in front of the foot and was easily fastened. The mode by +which these pattens served to sustain the horse is capable of easy +explanation, and it will be observed that the _rationale_ likewise +explains the floating of a railway train. The foot of an ordinary +farm-horse presents a base of about five inches diameter, but if this +base be enlarged to seven inches--the circles being to each other as the +squares of the diameters--it will be found that, by this slight +enlargement of the base, a circle of nearly double the area has been +secured; and consequently the pressure of the foot upon every unit of +ground upon which the horse stands has been reduced one half. In fact, +this contrivance has an effect tantamount to setting the horse upon eight +feet instead of four. + +Apply the same reasoning to the ponderous locomotive, and it will be +found, that even such a machine may be made to stand upon a bog, by means +of a similar extension of the bearing surface. Suppose the engine to be +20 feet long and 5 feet wide, thus covering a surface of 100 square feet, +and, provided the bearing has been extended by means of cross sleepers +supported on a matting of heath and branches of trees covered with a few +inches of gravel, the pressure of an engine of 20 tons will be only equal +to about 3 pounds per inch over the whole surface on which it stands. +Such was George Stephenson's idea in contriving his floating +road--something like an elongated raft across the Moss; and we shall see +that he steadily kept it in view in carrying the work into execution. + +The first thing done was to form a footpath of ling or heather along the +proposed road, on which a man might walk without risk of sinking. A +single line of temporary railway was then laid down, formed of ordinary +cross-bars about 3 feet long and an inch square, with holes punched +through them at the ends and nailed down to temporary sleepers. Along +this way ran the waggons in which were conveyed the materials requisite +to form the permanent road. These waggons carried about a ton each, and +they were propelled by boys running behind them along the narrow iron +rails. The boys became so expert that they would run the 4 miles across +at the rate of 7 or 8 miles an hour without missing a step; if they had +done so, they would have sunk in many places up to their middle. A +comparatively slight extension of the bearing surface being found +sufficient to enable the bog to bear this temporary line, the +circumstance was a source of increased confidence and hope to our +engineer in proceeding with the formation of the permanent roadway +alongside. + +The digging of drains had been proceeding for some time along each side +of the intended line; but they filled up almost as soon as dug, the sides +flowing in, and the bottom rising up. It was only in some of the drier +parts of the bog that a depth of three or four feet could be reached. +The surface-ground between the drains, containing the intertwined roots +of heather and long grass, was left untouched, and upon this was spread +branches of trees and hedge-cuttings. In the softest places, rude gates +or hurdles, some 8 or 9 feet long by 4 feet wide, interwoven with +heather, were laid in double thicknesses, their ends overlapping each +other; and upon this floating bed was spread a thin layer of gravel, on +which the sleepers, chairs, and rails were laid in the usual manner. +Such was the mode in which the road was formed upon the Moss. + +It was found, however, after the permanent way had been thus laid, that +there was a tendency to sinking at those parts where the bog was softest. +In ordinary cases, where a bank subsides, the sleepers are packed up with +ballast or gravel; but in this case the ballast was dug away and removed +in order to lighten the road, and the sleepers were packed instead with +cakes of dry turf or bundles of heath. By these expedients the subsided +parts were again floated up to the level, and an approach was made +towards a satisfactory road. But the most formidable difficulties were +encountered at the centre and towards the edges of the Moss; and it +required no small degree of ingenuity and perseverance on the part of the +engineer successfully to overcome them. + +The Moss, as already observed, was highest in the centre, and it there +presented a sort of hunchback with a rising and falling gradient. At +that point it was found necessary to cut deeper drains in order to +consolidate the ground between them on which the road was to be formed. +But, as at other places, the deeper the cutting the more rapid was the +flow of fluid bog into the drain, the bottom rising up almost as fast as +it was removed. To meet this emergency, numbers of empty tar-barrels +were brought from Liverpool; and as soon as a few yards of drain were +dug, the barrels were laid down end to end, firmly fixed to each other by +strong slabs laid over the joints, and nailed. They were then covered +over with clay, and thus formed an underground sewer of wood instead of +bricks. This expedient was found to answer the purpose intended, and the +road across the centre of the Moss having been so prepared, it was then +laid with the permanent materials. + +The greatest difficulty was, however, experienced in forming an +embankment upon the edge of the bog at the Manchester end. Moss as dry +as it could be cut, was brought up in small waggons, by men and boys, and +emptied so as to form an embankment; but the bank had scarcely been +raised three or four feet in height, when the stuff broke through the +heathery surface of the bog and sank out of sight. More moss was brought +up and emptied with no better result; and for weeks the filling was +continued without any visible embankment having been made. It was the +duty of the resident engineer to proceed to Liverpool every fortnight to +obtain the wages for the workmen employed under him; and on these +occasions he was required to colour up, on a section drawn to a working +scale suspended against the wall of the directors' room, the amount of +excavation and embankment from time to time executed. But on many of +these occasions, Mr. Dixon had no progress whatever to show for the money +expended on the Chat Moss embankment. Sometimes, indeed, the visible +work done was _less_ than it had appeared a fortnight or a month before! + +The directors now became seriously alarmed, and feared that the evil +prognostications of the eminent engineers were about to be fulfilled. +The resident engineer was even called upon to supply an estimate of the +cost of forming an embankment of solid stuff throughout, as also of the +cost of piling the roadway, and in effect constructing a four mile +viaduct of timber across the Moss, from twenty to thirty feet high from +the foundation. The expense appalled the directors, and the question +arose, whether the work was to be proceeded with or _abandoned_! + +Mr. Stephenson afterwards described the alarming position of affairs at a +public dinner at Birmingham (23rd December, 1837), on the occasion of a +piece of plate being presented to his son, upon the completion of the +London and Birmingham Railway. He related the anecdote, he said, for the +purpose of impressing upon the minds of those who heard him the necessity +of perseverance. + +"After working for weeks and weeks," said he, "in filling in materials to +form the road, there did not yet appear to be the least sign of our being +able to raise the solid embankment one single inch; in short we went on +filling in without the slightest apparent effect. Even my assistants +began to feel uneasy, and to doubt of the success of the scheme. The +directors, too, spoke of it as a hopeless task: and at length they became +seriously alarmed, so much so, indeed, that a board meeting was held on +Chat Moss to decide whether I should proceed any further. They had +previously taken the opinion of other engineers, who reported +unfavourably. There was no help for it, however, but to go on. An +immense outlay had been incurred; and great loss would have been +occasioned had the scheme been then abandoned, and the line taken by +another route. So the directors were _compelled_ to allow me to go on +with my plans, of the ultimate success of which I myself never for one +moment doubted." + +During the progress of this part of the works, the Worsley and Trafford +men, who lived near the Moss, and plumed themselves upon their practical +knowledge of bog-work, declared the completion of the road to be utterly +impracticable. "If you knew as much about Chat Moss as we do," they +said, "you would never have entered on so rash an undertaking; and depend +upon it, all you have done and are doing will prove abortive. You must +give up the idea of a floating railway, and either fill the Moss hard +from the bottom, or deviate so as to avoid it altogether." Such were the +conclusions of science and experience. + +In the midst of all these alarms and prophecies of failure, Stephenson +never lost heart, but held to his purpose. His motto was "Persevere!" +"You must go on filling in," he said; "there is no other help for it. +The stuff emptied in is doing its work out of sight, and if you will but +have patience, it will soon begin to show." And so the filling in went +on; several hundreds of men and boys were employed to skin the Moss all +round for many thousand yards, by means of sharp spades, called by the +turf cutters "tommy-spades;" and the dried cakes of turf were afterwards +used to form the embankment, until at length as the stuff sank and rested +upon the bottom, the bank gradually rose above the surface, and slowly +advanced onwards, declining in height and consequently in weight, until +it became joined to the floating road already laid upon the Moss. In the +course of forming the embankment, the pressure of the bog turf tipped out +of the waggons caused a copious stream of bog-water to flow from the end +of it, in colour resembling Barclay's double stout; and when completed, +the bank looked like a long ridge of tightly pressed tobacco-leaf. The +compression of the turf may be imagined from the fact that 670,000 cubic +yards of raw moss formed only 277,000 cubic yards of embankment at the +completion of the work. + +At the western, or Liverpool end of the Chat Moss, there was a like +embankment; but, as the ground there was solid, little difficulty was +experienced in forming it, beyond the loss of substance caused by the +oozing out of the water held by the moss-earth. + +At another part of the Liverpool and Manchester line, Parr Moss was +crossed by an embankment about 1.5 mile in extent. In the immediate +neighbourhood was found a large excess of cutting, which it would have +been necessary to "put out in spoil-banks" (according to the technical +phrase); but the surplus clay, stone, and shale, were tipped, waggon +after waggon, into Parr Moss, until a solid but concealed embankment, +from fifteen to twenty-five feet high, was formed, although to the eye it +appears to be laid upon the level of the adjoining surface, as at Chat +Moss. + +The road across Chat Moss was finished by the 1st January, 1830, when the +first experimental train of passengers passed over it, drawn by the +"Rocket;" and it turned out that, instead of being the most expensive +part of the line, it was about the cheapest. The total cost of forming +the line over the Moss was 28,000 pounds, whereas Mr. Giles's estimate +was 270,000 pounds! It also proved to be one of the best portions of the +railway. Being a floating road, it was smooth and easy to run upon, just +as Dr. Arnott's water-bed is soft and easy to lie upon--the pressure +being equal at all points. There was, and still is, a sort of +springiness in the road over the Moss, such as is felt in passing along a +suspended bridge; and those who looked along the line as a train passed +over it, said they could observe a waviness, such as precedes and follows +a skater upon ice. + +During the progress of these works the most ridiculous rumours were set +afloat. The drivers of the stage-coaches who feared for their calling, +brought the alarming intelligence into Manchester from time to time, that +"Chat Moss was blown up!" "Hundreds of men and horses had sunk; and the +works were completely abandoned!" The engineer himself was declared to +have been swallowed up in the Serbonian bog; and "railways were at an end +for ever!" + +In the construction of the railway, Mr. Stephenson's capacity for +organising and directing the labours of a large number of workmen of all +kinds eminently displayed itself. A vast quantity of ballast-waggons had +to be constructed, and implements and materials collected, before the +army of necessary labourers could be efficiently employed at the various +points of the line. There were not at that time, as there are now, large +contractors possessed of railway plant, capable of executing earth-works +on a large scale. The first railway engineer had not only to contrive +the plant, but to organise and direct the labour. The labourers +themselves had to be trained to their work; and it was on the Liverpool +and Manchester line that Mr. Stephenson organised the staff of that +mighty band of railway navvies, whose handiworks will be the wonder and +admiration of succeeding generations. Looking at their gigantic traces, +the men of some future age may be found to declare of the engineer and of +his workmen, that "there were giants in those days." + +Although the works of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway are of a much +less formidable character than those of many lines that have since been +constructed, they were then regarded as of the most stupendous +description. In deed, the like of them had not before been executed in +England. It had been our engineer's original intention carry the railway +from the north end of Liverpool, round the red-sandstone ridge on which +the upper part of the town is built, and also round the higher rise of +the coal formation at Rainhill, by following the natural levels. But the +opposition of the landowners having forced the line more to the south, it +was rendered necessary to cut through the hills, and go over the high +grounds instead of round them. The first consequence of this alteration +in the plans was the necessity for constructing a tunnel under the town +of Liverpool 1.5 mile in length; the second, a long and deep cutting +through the red-sandstone rock at Olive Mount; and the third and most +serious of all, was the necessity for surmounting the Whiston and Sutton +hills by inclined planes of 1 in 96. The line was also, by the same +forced deviation, prevented passing through the Lancashire coal-field, +and the engineer was compelled to carry it across the Sankey valley, at a +point where the waters of the brook had dug out an excessively deep +channel through the marl-beds of the district. + +The principal difficulty was experienced in pushing on the works +connected with the formation of the tunnel under Liverpool, 2200 yards in +length. The blasting and hewing of the rock were vigorously carried on +night and day; and the engineer's practical experience in the collieries +here proved of great use to him. Many obstacles had to be encountered +and overcome in the formation of the tunnel, the rock varying in hardness +and texture at different parts. In some places the miners were deluged +by water, which surged from the soft blue shale found at the lowest level +of the tunnel. In other places, beds of wet sand were cut through; and +there careful propping and pinning were necessary to prevent the roof +from tumbling in, until the masonry to support it could be erected. On +one occasion, while the engineer was absent from Liverpool, a mass of +loose moss-earth and sand fell from the roof, which had been +insufficiently propped. The miners withdrew from the work; and on +Stephenson's return, he found them in a refractory state, refusing to +re-enter the tunnel. He induced them, however, by his example, to return +to their labours; and when the roof had been secured, the work went on +again as before. When there was danger, he was always ready to share it +with the men; and gathering confidence from his fearlessness, they +proceeded vigorously with the undertaking, boring and mining their way +towards the light. + + [Picture: Olive Mount Cutting] + +The Olive Mount cutting was the first extensive stone cutting executed on +any railway, and to this day it is one of the most formidable. It is +about two miles long, and in some parts 80 feet deep. It is a narrow +ravine or defile cut out of the solid rock; and not less than 480,000 +cubic yards of stone were removed from it. Mr. Vignolles, afterwards +describing it, said it looked as if it had been dug out by giants. + +The crossing of so many roads and streams involved the necessity for +constructing an unusual number of bridges. There were not fewer than 63, +under or over the railway, on the 30 miles between Liverpool and +Manchester. Up to this time, bridges had been applied generally to high +roads where inclined approaches were of comparatively small importance, +and in determining the rise of his arch the engineer selected any headway +he thought proper. Every consideration was indeed made subsidiary to +constructing the bridge itself, and the completion of one large structure +of this sort was regarded as an epoch in engineering history. Yet here, +in the course of a few years, no fewer than 63 bridges were constructed +on one line of railway! Mr. Stephenson early found that the ordinary +arch was inapplicable in certain cases, where the headway was limited, +and yet the level of the railway must be preserved. In such cases he +employed simple cast-iron beams, by which he safely bridged gaps of +moderate width, economizing headway, and introducing the use of a new +material of the greatest possible value to the railway engineer. The +bridges of masonry upon the line were of many kinds; several of them +askew bridges, and others, such as those at Newton and over the Irwell at +Manchester, straight and of considerable dimensions; but the principal +piece of masonry was the Sankey viaduct. + + [Picture: Sankey Viaduct] + +This fine work is principally of brick, with stone facings. It consists +of nine arches of fifty feet span each. The massive piers are supported +on two hundred piles driven deep into the soil; and they rise to a great +height,--the coping of the parapet being seventy feet above the level of +the valley, in which flow the Sankey brook and canal. Its total cost was +about 45,000 pounds. + +By the end of 1828 the directors found they had expended 460,000 pounds +on the works, and that they were still far from completion. They looked +at the loss of interest on this large investment, and began to grumble at +the delay. They desired to see their capital becoming productive; and in +the spring of 1829 they urged the engineer to push on the works with +increased vigour. Mr. Cropper, one of the directors, who took an active +interest in their progress, said to Stephenson one day, "Now, George, +thou must get on with the railway, and have it finished without further +delay; thou must really have it ready for opening by the first day of +January next." "Consider the heavy character of the works, sir, and how +much we have been delayed by the want of money, not to speak of the +wetness of the weather: it is impossible." "Impossible!" rejoined +Cropper; "I wish I could get Napoleon to thee--he would tell thee there +is no such word as 'impossible' in the vocabulary." "Tush!" exclaimed +Stephenson, with warmth; "don't speak to me about Napoleon! Give me men, +money, and materials, and I will do what Napoleon couldn't do--drive a +railway from Liverpool to Manchester over Chat Moss!" + +The works made rapid progress in the course of the year 1829. Double +sets of labourers were employed on Chat Moss and at other points, by +night and day, the night shifts working by torch and fire light; and at +length, the work advancing at all points, the directors saw their way to +the satisfactory completion of the undertaking. + +It may well be supposed that Mr. Stephenson's time was fully occupied in +superintending the extensive, and for the most part novel works, +connected with the railway, and that even his extraordinary powers of +labour and endurance were taxed to the utmost during the four years that +they were in progress. Almost every detail in the plans was directed and +arranged by himself. Every bridge, from the simplest to the most +complicated, including the then novel structure of the "skew bridge," +iron girders, siphons, fixed engines, and the machinery for working the +tunnel at the Liverpool end, had to be thought out by his own head, and +reduced to definite plans under his own eyes. Besides all this, he had +to design the working plant in anticipation of the opening of the +railway. He must be prepared with waggons, trucks, and carriages, +himself superintending their manufacture. The permanent road, +turntables, switches, and crossings,--in short, the entire structure and +machinery of the line, from the turning of the first sod to the running +of the first train of carriages upon the railway,--were executed under +his immediate supervision. And it was in the midst of this vast +accumulation of work and responsibility that the battle of the locomotive +engine had to be fought,--a battle, not merely against material +difficulties, but against the still more trying obstructions of +deeply-rooted mistrust and prejudice on the part of a considerable +minority of the directors. + +He had no staff of experienced assistants,--not even a staff of +draughtsmen in his office,--but only a few pupils learning their +business; and he was frequently without even their help. The time of his +engineering inspectors was fully occupied in the actual superintendence +of the works at different parts of the line; and he took care to direct +all their more important operations in person. The principal draughtsman +was Mr. Thomas Gooch, a pupil he had brought with him from Newcastle. "I +may say," writes Mr. Gooch, "that nearly the whole of the working and +other drawings, as well as the various land-plans for the railway, were +drawn by my own hand. They were done at the Company's office in Clayton +Square during the day, from instructions supplied in the evenings by Mr. +Stephenson, either by word of mouth, or by little rough hand-sketches on +letter-paper. The evenings were also generally devoted to my duties as +secretary, in writing (mostly from his own dictation) his letters and +reports, or in making calculations and estimates. The mornings before +breakfast were not unfrequently spent by me in visiting and lending a +helping hand in the tunnel and other works near Liverpool,--the untiring +zeal and perseverance of George Stephenson never for an instant flagging +and inspiring with a like enthusiasm all who were engaged under him in +carrying forward the works." {189} + +The usual routine of his life at this time--if routine it might be +called--was, to rise early, by sunrise in summer and before it in winter, +and thus "break the back of the day's work" by mid-day. While the tunnel +under Liverpool was in progress, one of his first duties in a morning +before breakfast was to go over the various shafts, clothed in a suitable +dress, and inspect their progress at different points; on other days he +would visit the extensive workshops at Edgehill, where most of the +"plant" for the line was in course of manufacture. Then, returning to +his house, in Upper Parliament Street, Windsor, after a hurried +breakfast, he would ride along the works to inspect their progress, and +push them on with greater energy where needful. On other days he would +prepare for the much less congenial engagement of meeting the Board, +which was often a cause of great anxiety and pain to him; for it was +difficult to satisfy men of all tempers, and some of these not of the +most generous sort. On such occasions he might be seen with his +right-hand thumb thrust through the topmost button-hole of his +coat-breast, vehemently hitching his right shoulder, as was his habit +when labouring under any considerable excitement. Occasionally he would +take an early ride before breakfast, to inspect the progress of the +Sankey viaduct. He had a favourite horse, brought by him from Newcastle, +called "Bobby,"--so tractable that, with his rider on his back, he would +walk up to a locomotive with the steam blowing off, and put his nose +against it without shying. "Bobby," saddled and bridled, was brought to +Mr. Stephenson's door betimes in the morning; and mounting him, he would +ride the fifteen miles to Sankey, putting up at a little public house +which then stood upon the banks of the canal. There he had his breakfast +of "crowdie," which he made with his own hands. It consisted of oatmeal +stirred into a basin of hot water,--a sort of porridge,--which was supped +with cold sweet milk. After this frugal breakfast, he would go upon the +works, and remain there, riding from point to point for the greater part +of the day. When he returned before mid-day, he examined the pay-sheets +in the different departments, sent in by the assistant engineers, or by +the foremen of the workshops. To all these he gave his most careful +personal attention, requiring when necessary a full explanation of the +items. + +After a late dinner, which occupied very short time and was always of a +plain and frugal description, he disposed of his correspondence, or +prepared sketches of drawings, and gave instructions as to their +completion. He would occasionally refresh himself for this evening work +by a short doze, which, however, he would never admit had exceeded the +limits of "winking," to use his own term. Mr. Frederick Swanwick, who +officiated as his secretary, after the appointment of Mr. Gooch as +Resident Engineer to the Bolton and Leigh Railway, has informed us that +he then remarked--what in after years he could better appreciate--the +clear, terse, and vigorous style of Mr. Stephenson's dictation. There +was nothing superfluous in it; but it was close, direct, and to the +point,--in short, thoroughly businesslike. And if, in passing through +the pen of the amanuensis, his meaning happened in any way to be +distorted or modified, it did not fail to escape his detection, though he +was always tolerant of any liberties taken with his own form of +expression, so long as the words written down conveyed his real meaning. + +His letters and reports written, and his sketches of drawings made and +explained, the remainder of the evening was usually devoted to +conversation with his wife and those of his pupils who lived under his +roof, and constituted, as it were, part of the family. He then delighted +to test the knowledge of his young companions, and to question them upon +the principles of mechanics. If they were not quite "up to the mark" on +any point, there was no escaping detection by evasive or specious +explanations. These always brought out the verdict, "Ah! you know nought +about it now; but think it over again, and tell me when you understand +it." If there were even partial success in the reply, it was at once +acknowledged, and a full explanation given, to which the master would add +illustrative examples for the purpose of impressing the principle more +deeply upon the pupil's mind. + +It was not so much his object and purpose to "cram" the minds of the +young men committed to his charge with the _results_ of knowledge, as to +stimulate them to educate themselves--to induce them to develop their +mental and moral powers by the exercise of their own free energies, and +thus acquire that habit of self-thinking and self-reliance which is the +spring of all true manly action. In a word, he sought to bring out and +invigorate the _character_ of his pupils. He felt that he himself had +been made stronger and better through his encounters with difficulty; and +he would not have the road of knowledge made too smooth and easy for +them. "Learn for yourselves,--think for yourselves," he would +say:--"make yourselves masters of principles,--persevere,--be +industrious,--and there is then no fear of you." And not the least +emphatic proof of the soundness of this system of education, as conducted +by Mr. Stephenson, was afforded by the after history of these pupils +themselves. There was not one of those trained under his eye who did not +rise to eminent usefulness and distinction as an engineer. He sent them +forth into the world braced with the spirit of manly self-help--inspired +by his own noble example; and they repeated in their after career the +lessons of earnest effort and persistent industry which his daily life +had taught them. + +Stephenson's evenings at home were not, however, exclusively devoted +either to business or to the graver exercises above referred to. He +would often indulge in cheerful conversation and anecdote, falling back +from time to time upon the struggles and difficulties of his early life. +The not unfrequent winding up of his story addressed to the young men +about him, was, "Ah! ye young fellows don't know what _wark_ is in these +days!" Mr. Swanwick takes pleasure in recalling to mind how seldom, if +ever, a cross or captious word, or an angry look, marred the enjoyment of +those evenings. The presence of Mrs. Stephenson gave them an additional +charm: amiable, kind-hearted, and intelligent, she shared quietly in the +pleasure of the party; and the atmosphere of comfort which always +pervaded her home contributed in no small degree to render it a centre of +cheerful, hopeful intercourse, and of earnest, honest industry. She was +a wife who well deserved, what she through life retained, the strong and +unremitting affection of her husband. + +When Mr. Stephenson retired for the night, it was not always that he +permitted himself to sink into slumber. Like Brindley, he worked out +many a difficult problem in bed; and for hours he would turn over in his +mind and study how to overcome some obstacle, or to mature some project, +on which his thoughts were bent. Some remark inadvertently dropped by +him at the breakfast-table in the morning, served to show that he had +been stealing some hours from the past night in reflection and study. +Yet he would rise at his accustomed early hour, and there was no +abatement of his usual energy in carrying on the business of the day. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. +ROBERT STEPHENSON'S RESIDENCE IN COLOMBIA, AND RETURN--THE BATTLE OF THE +LOCOMOTIVE--"THE ROCKET." + + +We return to the career of Robert Stephenson, who had been absent from +England during the construction of the Liverpool railway, but was shortly +about to join his father and take part in "the battle of the locomotive," +which was now impending. + +On his return from Edinburgh College in the summer of 1823, he had +assisted in the survey of the Stockton and Darlington line; and when the +Locomotive Engine Works were started in Forth Street, Newcastle, he took +an active part in that concern. "The factory," he says, "was in active +operation early in 1824; I left England for Colombia in June of that +year, having finished drawing the designs of the Brusselton stationary +engines for the Stockton and Darlington Railway before I left." {193} + +Speculation was very rife at the time; and amongst the most promising +adventures were the companies organised for the purpose of working the +gold and silver mines of South America. Great difficulty was experienced +in finding mining engineers capable of carrying out those projects, and +young men of even the most moderate experience were eagerly sought after. +The Columbian Mining Association of London offered an engagement to young +Stephenson, to go out to Mariquita and take charge of the engineering +operations of that company. Robert was himself desirous of accepting it, +but his father said it would first be necessary to ascertain whether the +proposed change would be for his good. His health had been very delicate +for some time, partly occasioned by his rapid growth, but principally +because of his close application to work and study. Father and son +together called upon Dr. Headlam, the eminent physician of Newcastle, to +consult him on the subject. During the examination which ensued, Robert +afterwards used to say that he felt as if he were upon trial for life or +death. To his great relief, the doctor pronounced that a temporary +residence in a warm climate was the very thing likely to be most +beneficial to him. The appointment was accordingly accepted, and, before +many weeks had passed, Robert Stephenson set sail for South America. + +After a tolerably prosperous voyage he landed at La Guayra, on the north +coast of Venezuela, on the 23rd July, from thence proceeding to Caraccas, +the capital of the district, about 15 miles inland. There he remained +for two months, unable to proceed in consequence of the wretched state of +the roads in the interior. He contrived, however, to make occasional +excursions in the neighbourhood, with an eye to the mining business on +which he had come. About the beginning of October he set out for Bogota, +the capital of Columbia or New Granada. The distance was about 1200 +miles, through a very difficult region, and it was performed entirely +upon mule-back after the fashion of the country. + +In the course of the journey Robert visited many of the districts +reported to be rich in minerals, but he met with few traces except of +copper, iron, and coal, with occasional indications of gold and silver. +He found the people ready to furnish information, which, however, when +tested, usually proved worthless. A guide whom he employed for weeks, +kept him buoyed up with the hope of richer mining quarters than he had +yet seen; but when he professed to be able to show him mines of "brass, +steel, alcohol, and pinchbeck," Stephenson discovered him to be an +incorrigible rogue, and immediately dismissed him. At length our +traveller reached Bogota, and after an interview with Mr. Illingworth, +the commercial manager of the mining Company, he proceeded to Honda, +crossed the Magdalena, and shortly after reached the site of his intended +operations on the eastern slopes of the Andes. + +Mr. Stephenson used afterwards to speak in glowing terms of this his +first mule-journey in South America. Everything was entirely new to him. +The variety and beauty of the indigenous plants, the luxurious tropical +vegetation, the appearance, manners, and dress of the people, and the +mode of travelling, were altogether different from everything he had +before seen. His own travelling garb also must have been strange even to +himself. "My hat," he says, "was of plaited grass, with a crown nine +inches in height, surrounded by a brim of six inches; a white cotton +suit; and a _ruana_ of blue and crimson plaid, with a hole in the centre +for the head to pass through. This cloak is admirably adapted for the +purpose, amply covering the rider and mule, and at night answering the +purpose of a blanket in the net-hammock, which is made from fibres of the +aloe, and which every traveller carries before him on his mule, and +suspends to the trees or in houses, as occasion may require." The part +of the journey which seems to have made the most lasting impression on +his mind was that between Bogota and the mining district in the +neighbourhood of Mariquita. As he ascended the slopes of the +mountain-range, and reached the first step of the table-land, he was +struck beyond expression with the noble view of the valley of the +Magdalena behind him, so vast that he failed in attempting to define the +point at which the course of the river blended with the horizon. Like +all travellers in the district, he noted the remarkable changes of +climate and vegetation, as he rose from the burning plains towards the +fresh breath of the mountains. From an atmosphere as hot as that of an +oven he passed into delicious cool air; until, in his onward and upward +journey, a still more temperate region was reached, the very perfection +of climate. Before him rose the majestic Cordilleras, forming a rampart +against the western skies, at certain times of the day looking black, +sharp, and, at their summit, almost as even as a wall. + +Our engineer took up his abode for a time at Mariquita, a fine old city, +though then greatly decayed. During the period of the Spanish dominion, +it was an important place, most of the gold and silver convoys passing +through it on their way to Cartagena, there to be shipped in galleons for +Europe. The mountainous country to the west was rich in silver, gold, +and other metals, and it was Mr. Stephenson's object to select the best +site for commencing operations for the Company. With this object he +"prospected" about in all directions, visiting long-abandoned mines, and +analysing specimens obtained from many quarters. The mines eventually +fixed upon as the scene of his operations were those of La Manta and +Santa Anna, long before worked by the Spaniards, though, in consequence +of the luxuriance and rapidity of the vegetation, all traces of the old +workings had become completely overgrown and lost. Everything had to be +begun anew. Roads had to be cut to the mines, machinery to be erected, +and the ground opened up, in course of which some of the old adits were +hit upon. The native peons or labourers were not accustomed to work, and +at first they usually contrived to desert when they were not watched, so +that very little progress could be made until the arrival of the expected +band of miners from England. The authorities were by no means helpful, +and the engineer was driven to an old expedient with the object of +overcoming this difficulty. "We endeavour all we can," he says, in one +of his letters, "to make ourselves popular, and this we find most +effectually accomplished by 'regaling the venal beasts.'" {196} He also +gave a ball at Mariquita, which passed off with _eclat_, the governor +from Honda, with a host of friends, honouring it with their presence. It +was, indeed, necessary to "make a party" in this way, as other schemers +were already trying to undermine the Colombian company in influential +directions. The engineer did not exaggerate when he said, "The +uncertainty of transacting business in this country is perplexing beyond +description." + +At last, his party of miners arrived from England, but they gave him even +more trouble than the peons had done. They were rough, drunken, and +sometimes altogether ungovernable. He set them to work at the Santa Anna +mine without delay, and at the same time took up his abode amongst them, +"to keep them," he said, "if possible, from indulging in the detestable +vice of drunkenness, which, if not put a stop to, will eventually destroy +themselves, and involve the mining association in ruin." To add to his +troubles, the captain of the miners displayed a very hostile and +insubordinate spirit, quarrelled and fought with the men, and was +insolent to the engineer himself. The captain and his gang, being +Cornish men, told Robert to his face, that because he was a North-country +man, and not born in Cornwall it was impossible he should know anything +of mining. Disease also fell upon him,--first fever, and then visceral +derangement, followed by a return of his "old complaint, a feeling of +oppression in the breast." No wonder that in the midst of these troubles +he should longingly speak of returning to his native land. But he stuck +to his post and his duty, kept up his courage, and by a mixture of +mildness and firmness, and the display of great coolness of judgment, he +contrived to keep the men to their work, and gradually to carry forward +the enterprise which he had undertaken. By the beginning of July, 1826, +we find that quietness and order had been restored, and the works were +proceeding more satisfactorily, though the yield of silver was not as yet +very promising. Mr. Stephenson calculated that at least three years' +diligent and costly operations would be needed to render the mines +productive. + +In the mean time he removed to the dwelling which had been erected for +his accommodation at Santa Anna. It was a structure speedily raised +after the fashion of the country. + + [Picture: Robert Stephenson's Cottage at Santa Anna] + +The walls were of split and flattened bamboo, tied together with the long +fibres of a dried climbing plant; the roof was of palm-leaves, and the +ceiling of reeds. When an earthquake shook the district--for earthquakes +were frequent--the inmates of such a fabric merely felt as if shaken in a +basket, without sustaining any harm. In front of the cottage lay a woody +ravine, extending almost to the base of the Andes, gorgeously clothed in +primeval vegetation--magnolias, palms, bamboos, tree-ferns, acacias, +cedars; and, towering over all, the great almendrons, with their smooth, +silvery stems, bearing aloft noble clusters of pure white blossom. The +forest was haunted by myriads of gay insects, butterflies with wings of +dazzling lustre, birds of brilliant plumage, humming-birds, golden +orioles, toucans, and a host of solitary warblers. But the glorious +sunsets seen from his cottage-porch more than all astonished and +delighted the young engineer; and he was accustomed to say that, after +having witnessed them, he was reluctant to accuse the ancient Peruvians +of idolatry. + +But all these natural beauties failed to reconcile him to the harassing +difficulties of his situation, which continued to increase rather than +diminish. He was hampered by the action of the Board at home, who gave +ear to hostile criticisms on his reports; and, although they afterwards +made handsome acknowledgment of his services, he felt his position to be +altogether unsatisfactory. He therefore determined to leave at the +expiry of his three years engagement, and communicated his decision to +the directors accordingly. On receiving his letter, the Board, through +Mr. Richardson, of Lombard street, one of the directors, communicated +with his father at Newcastle, representing that if he would allow his son +to remain in Colombia the Company would make it "worth his while." To +this the father gave a decided negative, and intimated that he himself +needed his son's assistance, and that he must return at the expiry of his +three years' term,--a decision, writes Robert, "at which I feel much +gratified, as it is clear that he is as anxious to have me back in +England as I am to get there." {199} At the same time, Edward Pease, a +principal partner in the Newcastle firm, privately wrote Robert to the +following effect, urging his return home:--"I can assure thee that thy +business at Newcastle, as well as thy father's engineering, have suffered +very much from thy absence, and, unless thou soon return, the former will +be given up, as Mr. Longridge is not able to give it that attention it +requires; and what is done is not done with credit to the house." The +idea of the manufactory being given up, which Robert had laboured so hard +to establish before leaving England, was painful to him in the extreme, +and he wrote to the manager of the Company, strongly urging that +arrangements should be made for him to leave without delay. In the mean +time he was again laid prostrate by another violent attack of aguish +fever; and when able to write in June, 1827, he expressed himself as +"completely wearied and worn down with vexation." + +At length, when he was sufficiently recovered from his attack and able to +travel, he set out on his voyage homeward in the beginning of August. At +Mompox, on his way down the river Magdalena, he met Mr. Bodmer, his +successor, with a fresh party of miners from England, on their way up the +country to the quarters which he had just quitted. Next day, six hours +after leaving Mompox, a steamboat was met ascending the river, with +Bolivar the Liberator on board, on his way to St. Bogota; and it was a +mortification to our engineer that he had only a passing sight of that +distinguished person. It was his intention, on leaving Mariquita, to +visit the Isthmus of Panama on his way home, for the purpose of inquiring +into the practicability of cutting a canal to unite the Atlantic and +Pacific--a project which then formed the subject of considerable public +discussion; but his presence being so anxiously desired at home, he +determined to proceed to New York without delay. + +Arrived at the port of Cartagena, he had to wait some time for a ship. +The delay was very irksome to him, the more so as the city was then +desolated by the ravages of the yellow fever. While sitting one day in +the large, bare, comfortless public room at the miserable hotel at which +he put up, he observed two strangers, whom he at once perceived to be +English. One of the strangers was a tall, gaunt man, shrunken and +hollow-looking, shabbily dressed, and apparently poverty-stricken. On +making inquiry, he found it was Trevithick, the builder of the first +railroad locomotive! He was returning home from the gold-mines of Peru +penniless. He had left England in 1816, with powerful steam-engines, +intended for the drainage and working of the Peruvian mines. He met with +almost a royal reception on his landing at Lima. A guard of honour was +appointed to attend him, and it was even proposed to erect a statue of +Don Ricardo Trevithick in solid silver. It was given forth in Cornwall +that his emoluments amounted to 100,000 pounds a year, {201} and that he +was making a gigantic fortune. Great, therefore, was Robert Stephenson's +surprise to find this potent Don Ricardo in the inn at Cartagena, reduced +almost to his last shilling, and unable to proceed further. He had +indeed realised the truth of the Spanish proverb, that "a silver-mine +brings misery, a gold-mine ruin." He and his friend had lost everything +in their journey across the country from Peru. They had forded rivers +and wandered through forests, leaving all their baggage behind them, and +had reached thus far with little more than the clothes upon their backs. +Almost the only remnant of precious metal saved by Trevithick was a pair +of silver spurs, which he took back with him to Cornwall. Robert +Stephenson lent him 50 pounds to enable him to reach England; and though +he was afterwards heard of as an inventor there, he had no further part +in the ultimate triumph of the locomotive. + +But Trevithick's misadventures on this occasion had not yet ended, for +before he reached New York he was wrecked, and Robert Stephenson with +him. The following is the account of the voyage, "big with adventures," +as given by the latter in a letter to his friend Illingworth:--"At first +we had very little foul weather, and indeed were for several days +becalmed amongst the islands, which was so far fortunate, for a few +degrees further north the most tremendous gales were blowing, and they +appear (from our future information) to have wrecked every vessel exposed +to their violence. We had two examples of the effects of the hurricane; +for, as we sailed north we took on board the remains of two crews found +floating about on dismantled hulls. The one had been nine days without +food of any kind, except the carcasses of two of their companions who had +died a day or two previously from fatigue and hunger. The other crew had +been driven about for six days, and were not so dejected, but reduced to +such a weak state that they were obliged to be drawn on board our vessel +by ropes. A brig bound for Havannah took part of the men, and we took +the remainder. To attempt any description of my feelings on witnessing +such scenes would be in vain. You will not be surprised to learn that I +felt somewhat uneasy at the thought that we were so far from England, and +that I also might possibly suffer similar shipwreck; but I consoled +myself with the hope that fate would be more kind to us. It was not so +much so, however, as I had flattered myself; for on voyaging towards New +York, after we had made the land, we ran aground about midnight. The +vessel soon filled with water, and, being surrounded by the breaking +surf, the ship was soon split up, and before morning our situation became +perilous. Masts and all were cut away to prevent the hull rocking; but +all we could do was of no avail. About 8 o'clock on the following +morning, after a most miserable night, we were taken off the wreck, and +were so fortunate as to reach the shore. I saved my minerals, but Empson +lost part of his botanical collection. Upon the whole, we got off well; +and, had I not been on the American side of the Atlantic, I 'guess' I +would not have gone to sea again." + +After a short tour in the United States and Canada, Robert Stephenson and +his friend took ship for Liverpool, where they arrived at the end of +November, and at once proceeded to Newcastle. The factory was by no +means in a prosperous state. During the time Robert had been in America +it had been carried on at a loss; and Edward Pease, much disheartened, +wished to retire, but George Stephenson was unable to buy him out, and +the establishment had to be carried on in the hope that the locomotive +might yet be established in public estimation as a practical and +economical working power. Robert Stephenson immediately instituted a +rigid inquiry into the working of the concern, unravelled the accounts, +which had fallen into confusion during his father's absence at Liverpool; +and he soon succeeded in placing the affairs of the factory in a more +healthy condition. In all this he had the hearty support of his father, +as well as of the other partners. + +The works of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway were now approaching +completion. But, singular to say, the directors had not yet decided as +to the tractive power to be employed in working the line when opened for +traffic. The differences of opinion among them were so great as +apparently to be irreconcilable. It was necessary, however, that they +should come to some decision without further loss of time; and many Board +meetings were accordingly held to discuss the subject. The old-fashioned +and well-tried system of horse haulage was not without its advocates; +but, looking at the large amount of traffic which there was to be +conveyed, and at the probable delay in the transit from station to +station if this method were adopted, the directors, after a visit made by +them to the Northumberland and Durham railways in 1828, came to the +conclusion that the employment of horse power was inadmissible. + +Fixed engines had many advocates; the locomotive very few: it stood as +yet almost in a minority of one--George Stephenson. The prejudice +against the employment of the latter power had even increased since the +Liverpool and Manchester Bill underwent its first ordeal in the House of +Commons. In proof of this, we may mention that the Newcastle and +Carlisle Railway Act was conceded in 1829, on the express condition that +it should _not_ be worked by locomotives, but by horses only. + +Grave doubts existed as to the practicability of working a large traffic +by means of travelling engines. The most celebrated engineers offered no +opinion on the subject. They did not believe in the locomotive, and +would scarcely take the trouble to examine it. The ridicule with which +George Stephenson had been assailed by the barristers before the +Parliamentary Committee had not been altogether distasteful to them. +Perhaps they did not relish the idea of a man who had picked up his +experience in Newcastle coal-pits appearing in the capacity of a leading +engineer before Parliament, and attempting to establish a new system of +internal communication in the country. The directors could not disregard +the adverse and conflicting views of the professional men whom they +consulted. But Mr. Stephenson had so repeatedly and earnestly urged upon +them the propriety of making a trial of the locomotive before coming to +any decision against it, that they at length authorised him to proceed +with the construction of one of his engines by way of experiment. In +their report to the proprietors at their annual meeting on, the 27th +March, 1828, they state that they had, after due consideration, +authorised the engineer "to prepare a locomotive engine, which, from the +nature of its construction and from the experiments already made, he is +of opinion will be effective for the purposes of the Company, without +proving an annoyance to the public." The locomotive thus ordered was +placed upon the line in 1829, and was found of great service in drawing +the waggons full of marl from the two great cuttings. + +In the mean time the discussion proceeded as to the kind of power to be +permanently employed for the working of the railway. The directors were +inundated with schemes of all sorts for facilitating locomotion. The +projectors of England, France, and America, seemed to be let loose upon +them. There were plans for working the waggons along the line by water +power. Some proposed hydrogen, and others carbonic acid gas. +Atmospheric pressure had its eager advocates. And various kinds of fixed +and locomotive steam-power were suggested. Thomas Gray urged his plan of +a greased road with cog rails; and Messrs. Vignolles and Ericsson +recommended the adoption of a central friction rail, against which two +horizontal rollers under the locomotive, pressing upon the sides of this +rail, were to afford the means of ascending the inclined planes. The +directors felt themselves quite unable to choose from amidst this +multitude of projects. The engineer expressed himself as decidedly as +heretofore in favour of smooth rails and locomotive engines, which, he +was confident, would be found the most economical and by far the most +convenient moving power that could be employed. The Stockton and +Darlington Railway being now at work, another deputation went down +personally to inspect the fixed and locomotive engines on that line, as +well as at Hetton and Killingworth. They returned to Liverpool with much +information; but their testimony as to the relative merits of the two +kinds of engines was so contradictory, that the directors were as far +from a decision as ever. + +They then resolved to call to their aid two professional engineers of +high standing, who should visit the Darlington and Newcastle railways, +carefully examine both modes of working--the fixed and the +locomotive,--and report to them fully on the subject. The gentlemen +selected were Mr. Walker of Limehouse, and Mr. Rastrick of Stourbridge. +After carefully examining the modes of working the northern railways, +they made their report to the directors in the spring of 1829. They +concurred in the opinion that the cost of an establishment of fixed +engines would be somewhat greater than that of locomotives to do the same +work; but thought the annual charge would be less if the former were +adopted. They calculated that the cost of moving a ton of goods thirty +miles by fixed engines would be 6.40d., and by locomotives, +8.36d.,--assuming a profitable traffic to be obtained both ways. At the +same time it was admitted that there appeared more ground for expecting +improvements in the construction and working of locomotives than of +stationary engines. On the whole, however, and looking especially at the +computed annual charge of working the road on the two systems on a large +scale, the two reporting engineers were of opinion that fixed engines +were preferable, and accordingly recommended their adoption. And, in +order to carry the system recommended by them into effect, they proposed +to divide the railroad between Liverpool and Manchester into nineteen +stages of about a mile and a half each, with twenty-one engines fixed at +the different points to work the trains forward. + +Such was the result, so far, of George Stephenson's labours. Two of the +best practical engineers of the day concurred in reporting substantially +in favour of the employment of fixed engines. Not a single professional +man of eminence supported the engineer in his preference for locomotive +over fixed engine power. He had scarcely an adherent, and the locomotive +system seemed on the eve of being abandoned. Still he did not despair. +With the profession as well as public opinion against him--for the most +frightful stories were abroad respecting the dangers, the unsightliness, +and the nuisance which the locomotive would create--Stephenson held to +his purpose. Even in this, apparently the darkest hour of the +locomotive, he did not hesitate to declare that locomotive railroads +would, before many years had passed, be "the great highways of the +world." + +He urged his views upon the directors in all ways, and, as some of them +thought, at all seasons. He pointed out the greater convenience of +locomotive power for the purposes of a public highway, likening it to a +series of short unconnected chains, any one of which could be removed and +another substituted without interruption to the traffic; whereas the +fixed engine system might be regarded in the light of a continuous chain +extending between the two termini, the failure of any link of which would +derange the whole. {206} He represented to the Board that the locomotive +was yet capable of great improvements, if proper inducements were held +out to inventors and machinists to make them; and he pledged himself +that, if time were given him, he would construct an engine that should +satisfy their requirements, and prove itself capable of working heavy +loads along the railway with speed, regularity and safety. At length, +influenced by his persistent earnestness not less than by his arguments, +the directors, at the suggestion of Mr. Harrison, determined to offer a +prize of 500 pounds for the best locomotive engine, which, on a certain +day, should be produced on the railway, and perform certain specified +conditions in the most satisfactory manner. {207} + +It was now felt that the fate of railways in a great measure depended +upon the issue of this appeal to the mechanical genius of England. When +the advertisement of the prize for the best locomotive was published, +scientific men began more particularly to direct their attention to the +new power which was thus struggling into existence. In the mean time +public opinion on the subject of railway working remained suspended, and +the progress of the undertaking was watched with intense interest. + +During the progress of the discussion with reference to the kind of power +to be employed, Mr. Stephenson was in constant communication with his son +Robert, who made frequent visits to Liverpool for the purpose of +assisting his father in the preparation of his reports to the Board on +the subject. They had also many conversations as to the best mode of +increasing the powers and perfecting the mechanism of the locomotive. +These became more frequent and interesting, when the prize was offered +for the best locomotive, and the working plans of the engine which they +proposed to construct came to be settled. + +One of the most important considerations in the new engine was the +arrangement of the boiler and the extension of its heating surface to +enable steam enough to be raised rapidly and continuously, for the +purpose of maintaining high rates of speed,--the effect of high-pressure +engines being ascertained to depend mainly upon the quantity of steam +which the boiler can generate, and upon its degree of elasticity when +produced. The quantity of steam so generated, it will be obvious, must +depend chiefly upon the quantity of fuel consumed in the furnace, and by +necessary consequence, upon the high rate of temperature maintained +there. + +It will be remembered that in Stephenson's first Killingworth engines he +invented and applied the ingenious method of stimulating combustion in +the furnace, by throwing the waste steam into the chimney after +performing its office in the cylinders, thus accelerating the ascent of +the current of air, greatly increasing the draught, and consequently the +temperature of the fire. This plan was adopted by him, as we have +already seen, as early as 1815; and it was so successful that he himself +attributed to it the greater economy of the locomotive as compared with +horse power. Hence the continuance of its use upon the Killingworth +Railway. + +Though the adoption of the steam-blast greatly quickened combustion and +contributed to the rapid production of high-pressure steam, the limited +amount of heating surface presented to the fire was still felt to be an +obstacle to the complete success of the locomotive engine. Mr. +Stephenson endeavoured to overcome this by lengthening the boilers and +increasing the surface presented by the flue-tubes. The "Lancashire +Witch," which he built for the Bolton and Leigh Railway, and used in +forming the Liverpool and Manchester Railway embankments, was constructed +with a double tube, each of which contained a fire and passed +longitudinally through the boiler. But this arrangement necessarily led +to a considerable increase in the weight of the engine, which amounted to +about twelve tons; and as six tons was the limit allowed for engines +admitted to the Liverpool competition, it was clear that the time was +come when the Killingworth locomotive must undergo a further important +modification. + +For many years previous to this period, ingenious mechanics had been +engaged in attempting to solve the problem of the best and most +economical boiler for the production of high-pressure steam. As early as +1803, Mr. Woolf patented a tubular boiler, which was extensively employed +at the Cornish mines, and was found greatly to facilitate the production +of steam, by the extension of the heating surface. The ingenious +Trevithick, in his patent of 1815, seems also to have entertained the +idea of employing a boiler constructed of "small perpendicular tubes," +with the same object of increasing the heating surface. These tubes were +to be closed at the bottom, and open into a common reservoir, from which +they were to receive their water, and where the steam of all the tubes +was to be united. + +About the same time George Stephenson was trying the effect of +introducing small tubes in the boilers of his locomotives, with the +object of increasing their evaporative power. Thus, in 1829, he sent to +France two engines constructed at the Newcastle works for the Lyons and +St. Etienne Railway, in the boilers of which tubes were placed containing +water. The heating surface was thus found to be materially increased; +but the expedient was not successful, for the tubes, becoming furred with +deposit, shortly burned out and were removed. It was then that M. +Seguin, the engineer of the railway, pursuing the same idea, adopted his +plan of employing horizontal tubes through which the heated air passed in +streamlets. Mr. Henry Booth, the secretary of the Liverpool and +Manchester Railway, without any knowledge of M. Seguin's proceedings, +next devised his plan of a tubular boiler, which he brought under the +notice of Mr. Stephenson, who at once adopted it, and settled the mode in +which the fire-box and tubes were to be mutually arranged and connected. +This plan was adopted in the construction of the celebrated "Rocket" +engine, the building of which was immediately proceeded with at the +Newcastle works. + +The principal circumstances connected with the construction of the +"Rocket," as described by Robert Stephenson to the author, may be briefly +stated. The tubular principle was adopted in a more complete manner than +had yet been attempted. Twenty-five copper tubes, each three inches in +diameter, extended from one end of the boiler to the other, the heated +air passing through them on its way to the chimney; and the tubes being +surrounded by the water of the boiler, it will be obvious that a large +extension of the _heating surface_ was thus effectually secured. The +principal difficulty was in fitting the copper tubes within the boiler so +as to prevent leakage. They were made by a Newcastle coppersmith, and +soldered to brass screws which were screwed into the boiler ends, +standing out in great knobs. When the tubes were thus fitted, and the +boiler was filled with water, hydraulic pressure was applied; but the +water squirted out at every joint, and the factory floor was soon +flooded. Robert went home in despair; and in the first moment of grief, +he wrote to his father that the whole thing was a failure. By return of +post came a letter from his father, telling him that despair was not to +be thought of--that he must "try again;" and he suggested a mode of +overcoming the difficulty, which his son had already anticipated and +proceeded to adopt. It was, to bore clean holes in the boiler ends, fit +in the smooth copper tubes as tightly as possible, solder up, and then +raise the steam. This plan succeeded perfectly, the expansion of the +copper tubes completely filling up all interstices, and producing a +perfectly watertight boiler, capable of withstanding extreme internal +pressure. + +The mode of employing the steam-blast for the purpose of increasing the +draught in the chimney, was also the subject of numerous experiments. +When the engine was first tried, it was thought that the blast in the +chimney was not strong enough to keep up the intensity of the fire in the +furnace, so as to produce high-pressure steam in sufficient quantity. +The expedient was therefore adopted of hammering the copper tubes at the +point at which they entered the chimney, whereby the blast was +considerably sharpened; and on a further trial it was found that the +draught was increased to such an extent as to enable abundance of steam +to be raised. The rationale of the blast may be simply explained by +referring to the effect of contracting the pipe of a water-hose, by which +the force of the jet of water is proportionately increased. Widen the +nozzle of the pipe, and the force is in like manner diminished. So is it +with the steam-blast in the chimney of the locomotive. + +Doubts were, however, expressed whether the greater draught secured by +the contraction of the blast-pipe was not counterbalanced in some degree +by the negative pressure upon the piston. A series of experiments was +made with pipes of different diameters; the amount of vacuum produced +being determined by a glass tube open at both ends, which was fixed to +the bottom of the smoke-box, and descended into a bucket of water. As +the rarefaction took place, the water would of course rise in the tube; +and the height to which it rose above the surface of the water in the +bucket was made the measure of the amount of rarefaction. These +experiments proved that a considerable increase of draught was obtained +by the contraction of the orifice; accordingly, the two blast-pipes +opening from the cylinders into either side of the "Rocket" chimney, and +turned up within it, were contracted slightly below the area of the +steam-ports; and before the engine left the factory, the water rose in +the glass tube three inches above the water in the bucket. + + [Picture: The "Rocket"] + +The other arrangements of the "Rocket" were briefly these:--the boiler +was cylindrical with flat ends, 6 feet in length, and 3 feet 4 inches in +diameter. The upper half of the boiler was used as a reservoir for the +steam, the lower half being filled with water. Through the lower part, +25 copper tubes of 3 inches diameter extended, which were open to the +fire-box at one end, and to the chimney at the other. The fire-box, or +furnace, 2 feet wide and 3 feet high, was attached immediately behind the +boiler, and was also surrounded with water. The cylinders of the engine +were placed on each side of the boiler, in an oblique position, one end +being nearly level with the top of the boiler at its after end, and the +other pointing towards the centre of the foremost or driving pair of +wheels, with which the connection was directly made from the piston-rod, +to a pin on the outside of the wheel. The engine, together with its load +of water, weighed only 4.25 tons, and was supported on four wheels, not +coupled. The tender was four-wheeled, and similar in shape to a +waggon,--the foremost part holding the fuel, and the hind part a +water-cask. + +When the "Rocket" was finished, it was placed upon the Killingworth +railway for the purpose of experiment. The new boiler arrangement was +found perfectly successful. The steam was raised rapidly and +continuously, and in a quantity which then appeared marvellous. The same +evening Robert despatched a letter to his father at Liverpool, informing +him, to his great joy, that the "Rocket" was "all right," and would be in +complete working trim by the day of trial. The engine was shortly after +sent by waggon to Carlisle, and thence shipped for Liverpool. + +The time so much longed for by George Stephenson had now arrived, when +the merit of the passenger locomotive was to be put to a public test. He +had fought the battle for it until now almost single-handed. Engrossed +by his daily labours and anxieties, and harassed by difficulties and +discouragements which would have crushed the spirit of a less resolute +man, he had held firmly to his purpose through good and through evil +report. The hostility which he experienced from some of the directors +opposed to the adoption of the locomotive, was the circumstance that +caused him the greatest grief of all; for where he had looked for +encouragement, he found only carping and opposition. But his pluck never +failed him; and now the "Rocket" was upon the ground,--to prove, to use +his own words, "whether he was a man of his word or not." + +Great interest was felt at Liverpool, as well as throughout the country, +in the approaching competition. Engineers, scientific men, and +mechanics, arrived from all quarters to witness the novel display of +mechanical ingenuity on which such great results depended. The public +generally were no indifferent spectators either. The inhabitants of +Liverpool, Manchester, and the adjacent towns felt that the successful +issue of the experiment would confer upon them individual benefits and +local advantages almost incalculable, whilst populations at a distance +waited for the result with almost equal interest. + +On the day appointed for the great competition of locomotives at +Rainhill, the following engines were entered for the prize:-- + +1. Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericsson's "Novelty." {214} + +2. Mr. Timothy Hackworth's "Sanspareil." + +3. Messrs. R. Stephenson and Co.'s "Rocket." + +4. Mr. Burstall's "Perseverance." + +Another engine was entered by Mr. Brandreth of Liverpool--the "Cycloped," +weighing 3 tons, worked by a horse in a frame, but it could not be +admitted to the competition. The above were the only four exhibited, out +of a considerable number of engines constructed in different parts of the +country in anticipation of this contest, many of which could not be +satisfactorily completed by the day of trial. + +The ground on which the engines were to be tried was a level piece of +railroad, about two miles in length. Each was required to make twenty +trips, or equal to a journey of 70 miles, in the course of the day; and +the average rate of travelling was to be not under 10 miles an hour. It +was determined that, to avoid confusion, each engine should be tried +separately, and on different days. + + [Picture: Locomotive competition at Rainhill] + +The day fixed for the competition was the 1st of October, but to allow +sufficient time to get the locomotives into good working order, the +directors extended it to the 6th. On the morning of the 6th, the ground +at Rainhill presented a lively appearance, and there was as much +excitement as if the St. Leger were about to be run. Many thousand +spectators looked on, amongst whom were some of the first engineers and +mechanicians of the day. A stand was provided for the ladies; the +"beauty and fashion" of the neighbourhood were present, and the side of +the railroad was lined with carriages of all descriptions. + +It was quite characteristic of the Stephensons, that, although their +engine did not stand first on the list for trial, it was the first that +was ready; and it was accordingly ordered out by the judges for an +experimental trip. Yet the "Rocket" was by no means "the favourite" with +either the judges or the spectators. A majority of the judges was +strongly predisposed in favour of the "Novelty," and nine-tenths of those +present were against the "Rocket" because of its appearance. Nearly +every person favoured some other engine, so that there was nothing for +the "Rocket" but the practical test. The first trip which it made was +quite successful. It ran about 12 miles, without interruption, in about +53 minutes. + +The "Novelty" was next called out. It was a light engine, very compact +in appearance, carrying the water and fuel upon the same wheels as the +engine. The weight of the whole was only 3 tons and 1 hundredweight. A +peculiarity of this engine was that the air was driven or forced through +the fire by means of bellows. The day being now far advanced, and some +dispute having arisen as to the method of assigning the proper load for +the "Novelty," no particular experiment was made, further than that the +engine traversed the line by way of exhibition, occasionally moving at +the rate of 24 miles an hour. The "Sanspareil," constructed by Mr. +Timothy Hackworth, was next exhibited; but no particular experiment was +made with it on this day. + +The contest was postponed until the following day, but before the judges +arrived on the ground, the bellows for creating the blast in the +"Novelty" gave way, and it was found incapable of going through its +performance. A defect was also detected in the boiler of the +"Sanspareil;" and some further time was allowed to get it repaired. The +large number of spectators who had assembled to witness the contest were +greatly disappointed at this postponement; but, to lessen it, Stephenson +again brought out the "Rocket," and, attaching to it a coach containing +thirty persons, he ran them along the line at the rate of from 24 to 30 +miles an hour, much to their gratification and amazement. Before +separating, the judges ordered the engine to be in readiness by eight +o'clock on the following morning, to go through its definitive trial +according to the prescribed conditions. + +On the morning of the 8th October, the "Rocket" was again ready for the +contest. The engine was taken to the extremity of the stage, the +fire-box was filled with coke, the fire lighted, and the steam raised +until it lifted the safety-valve loaded to a pressure of 50 pounds to the +square inch. This proceeding occupied fifty-seven minutes. The engine +then started on its journey, dragging after it about 13 tons weight in +waggons, and made the first ten trips backwards and forwards along the +two miles of road, running the 35 miles, including stoppages, in one hour +and 48 minutes. The second ten trips were in like manner performed in 2 +hours and 3 minutes. The maximum velocity attained during the trial trip +was 29 miles an hour, or about three times the speed that one of the +judges of the competition had declared to be the limit of possibility. +The average speed at which the whole of the journeys were performed was +15 miles an hour, or 5 miles beyond the rate specified in the conditions +published by the Company. The entire performance excited the greatest +astonishment amongst the assembled spectators; the directors felt +confident that their enterprise was now on the eve of success; and George +Stephenson rejoiced to think that in spite of all false prophets and +fickle counsellors, the locomotive system was now safe. When the +"Rocket," having performed all the conditions of the contest, arrived at +the "grand stand" at the close of its day's successful run, Mr. +Cropper--one of the directors favourable to the fixed-engine +system--lifted up his hands, and exclaimed, "Now has George Stephenson at +last delivered himself!" + +Neither the "Novelty" nor the "Sanspareil" was ready for trial until the +10th, on the morning of which day an advertisement appeared, stating that +the former engine was to be tried on that day, when it would perform more +work than any engine upon the ground. The weight of the carriages +attached to it was only about 7 tons. The engine passed the first post +in good style; but in returning, the pipe from the forcing-pump burst and +put an end to the trial. The pipe was afterwards repaired, and the +engine made several trips by itself, in which it was said to have gone at +the rate of from 24 to 28 miles an hour. + +The "Sanspareil" was not ready until the 13th; and when its boiler and +tender were filled with water, it was found to weigh 4 cwt. beyond the +weight specified in the published conditions as the limit of four-wheeled +engines; nevertheless the judges allowed it to run on the same footing as +the other engines, to enable them to ascertain whether its merits +entitled it to favourable consideration. It travelled at the average +speed of about 14 miles an hour, with its load attached; but at the +eighth trip the cold-water pump got wrong, and the engine could proceed +no further. + +It was determined to award the premium to the successful engine on the +following day, the 14th, on which occasion there was an unusual +assemblage of spectators. The owners of the "Novelty" pleaded for +another trial; and it was conceded. But again it broke down. The owner +of the "Sanspareil" also requested the opportunity for making another +trial of his engine. But the judges had now had enough of failures; and +they declined, on the ground that not only was the engine above the +stipulated weight, but that it was constructed on a plan which they could +not recommend for adoption by the directors of the Company. One of the +principal practical objections to this locomotive was the enormous +quantity of coke consumed or wasted by it--about 692 lbs. per hour when +travelling--caused by the sharpness of the steam-blast in the chimney, +which blew a large proportion of the burning coke into the air. + +The "Perseverance" was found unable to move at more than five or six +miles an hour; and it was withdrawn from the contest at an early period. +The "Rocket" was thus the only engine that had performed, and more than +performed, all the stipulated conditions; and its owners were declared to +be fully entitled to the prize of 500 pounds, which was awarded to the +Messrs. Stephenson and Booth accordingly. And further, to show that the +engine had been working quite within its powers, Mr. Stephenson ordered +it to be brought upon the ground and detached from all incumbrances, +when, in making two trips, it was found to travel at the astonishing rate +of 35 miles an hour. + +The "Rocket" had thus eclipsed the performances of all locomotive engines +that had yet been constructed, and outstripped even the sanguine +expectations of its constructors. It satisfactorily answered the report +of Messrs. Walker and Rastrick; and established the efficiency of the +locomotive for working the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and indeed +all future railways. The "Rocket" showed that a new power had been born +into the world, full of activity and strength, with boundless capability +of work. It was the simple but admirable contrivance of the steam-blast, +and its combination with the multitubular boiler, that at once gave the +locomotive a vigorous life, and secured the triumph of the railway +system. {219} It has been well observed, that this wonderful ability to +increase and multiply its powers of performance with the emergency that +demands them, has made this giant engine the noblest creation of human +wit, the very lion among machines. The success of the Rainhill +experiment, as judged by the public, may be inferred from the fact that +the shares of the Company immediately rose ten per cent., and nothing +more was heard of the proposed twenty-one fixed engines, engine-houses, +ropes, etc. All this cumbersome apparatus was thenceforward effectually +disposed of. + +Very different now was the tone of those directors who had distinguished +themselves by the persistency of their opposition to Mr. Stephenson's +plans. Coolness gave way to eulogy, and hostility to unbounded offers of +friendship--after the manner of many men who run to the help of the +strong. Deeply though the engineer had felt aggrieved by the conduct +pursued towards him during this eventful struggle, by some from whom +forbearance was to have been expected, he never entertained towards them +in after life any angry feelings; on the contrary, he forgave all. But +though the directors afterwards passed unanimous resolutions eulogising +"the great skill and unwearied energy" of their engineer, he himself, +when speaking confidentially to those with whom he was most intimate, +could not help pointing out the difference between his "foul-weather and +fair-weather friends." Mr. Gooch says of him that though naturally most +cheerful and kind-hearted in his disposition, the anxiety and pressure +which weighed upon his mind during the construction of the railway, had +the effect of making him occasionally impatient and irritable, like a +spirited horse touched by the spur; though his original good-nature from +time to time shone through it all. When the line had been brought to a +successful completion, a very marked change in him became visible. The +irritability passed away, and when difficulties and vexations arose they +were treated by him as matters of course, and with perfect composure and +cheerfulness. + + [Picture: Railway versus Road] + + + + +CHAPTER XII. +OPENING OF THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY, AND EXTENSION OF THE +RAILWAY SYSTEM. + + +The directors of the Railway now began to see daylight; and they derived +encouragement from the skilful manner in which their engineer had +overcome the principal difficulties of the undertaking. He had formed a +solid road over Chat Moss, and thus achieved one "impossibility;" and he +had constructed a locomotive that could run at a speed of 30 miles an +hour, thus vanquishing a still more formidable difficulty. + +A single line of way was completed over Chat Moss by the 1st of January, +1830; and on that day, the "Rocket" with a carriage full of directors, +engineers, and their friends, passed along the greater part of the road +between Liverpool and Manchester. Mr. Stephenson continued to direct his +close attention to the improvement of the details of the locomotive, +every successive trial of which proved more satisfactory. In this +department he had the benefit of the able and unremitting assistance of +his son, who, in the workshops at Newcastle, directly superintended the +construction of the new engines required for the public working of the +railway. He did not by any means rest satisfied with the success, +decided though it was, which had been achieved by the "Rocket." He +regarded it but in the light of a successful experiment; and every +succeeding engine placed upon the railway exhibited some improvement on +its predecessors. The arrangement of the parts, and the weight and +proportions of the engines, were altered, as the experience of each +successive day, or week, or month, suggested; and it was soon found that +the performances of the "Rocket" on the day of trial had been greatly +within the powers of the locomotive. + +The first entire trip between Liverpool and Manchester was performed on +the 14th of June, 1830, on the occasion of a Board meeting being held at +the latter town. The train was on this occasion drawn by the "Arrow," +one of the new locomotives, in which the most recent improvements had +been adopted. Mr. Stephenson himself drove the engine, and Captain +Scoresby, the circumpolar navigator, stood beside him on the foot-plate, +and minuted the speed of the train. A great concourse of people +assembled at both termini, as well as along the line, to witness the +novel spectacle of a train of carriages dragged by an engine at a speed +of 17 miles an hour. On the return journey to Liverpool in the evening, +the "Arrow" crossed Chat Moss at a speed of nearly 27 miles an hour, +reaching its destination in about an hour and a half. + +In the mean time Mr. Stephenson and his assistants were diligently +occupied in making the necessary preliminary arrangements for the conduct +of the traffic against the time when the line should be ready for +opening. The experiments made with the object of carrying on the +passenger traffic at quick velocities were of an especially harassing and +anxious character. Every week, for nearly three months before the +opening, trial trips were made to Newton and back, generally with two or +three trains following each other, and carrying altogether from 200 to +300 persons. These trips were usually made on Saturday afternoons, when +the works could be more conveniently stopped and the line cleared. In +these experiments Mr. Stephenson had the able assistance of Mr. Henry +Booth, the secretary of the Company, who contrived many of the +arrangements in the rolling stock, not the least valuable of which was +his invention of the coupling screw, still in use on all passenger +railways. + +At length the line was finished, and ready for the public ceremony of the +opening, which took place on the 15th September, 1830, and attracted a +vast number of spectators. The completion of the railway was justly +regarded as an important national event, and the opening was celebrated +accordingly. The Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister, Sir Robert +Peel, and Mr. Huskisson, one of the members for Liverpool, were among the +number of distinguished public personages present. + +Eight locomotive engines, constructed at the Stephenson works, had been +delivered and placed upon the line, the whole of which had been tried and +tested weeks before, with perfect success. The several trains of +carriages accommodated in all about six hundred persons. The procession +was cheered in its progress by thousands of spectators--through the deep +ravine of Olive Mount; up the Sutton incline; over the great Sankey +viaduct, beneath which a great multitude of persons had +assembled,--carriages filling the narrow lanes, and barges crowding the +river; the people below gazing with wonder and admiration at the trains +which sped along the line, far above their heads, at the rate of some 24 +miles an hour. + +At Parkside, about 17 miles from Liverpool, the engines stopped to take +in water. Here a deplorable accident occurred to one of the illustrious +visitors, which threw a deep shadow over the subsequent proceedings of +the day. The "Northumbrian" engine, with the carriage containing the +Duke of Wellington, was drawn up on one line, in order that the whole of +the trains on the other line might pass in review before him and his +party. Mr. Huskisson had alighted from the carriage, and was standing on +the opposite road, along which the "Rocket" was observed rapidly coming +up. At this moment the Duke of Wellington, between whom and Mr. +Huskisson some coolness had existed, made a sign of recognition, and held +out his hand. A hurried but friendly grasp was given; and before it was +loosened there was a general cry from the bystanders of "Get in, get in!" +Flurried and confused, Mr. Huskisson endeavoured to get round the open +door of the carriage, which projected over the opposite rail; but in so +doing he was struck down by the "Rocket," and falling with his leg +doubled across the rail, the limb was instantly crushed. His first +words, on being raised, were, "I have met my death," which unhappily +proved true, for he expired that same evening in the parsonage of Eccles. +It was cited at the time as a remarkable fact, that the "Northumbrian" +engine, driven by George Stephenson himself, conveyed the wounded body of +the unfortunate gentleman a distance of about 15 miles in 25 minutes, or +at the rate of 36 miles an hour. This incredible speed burst upon the +world with the effect of a new and unlooked-for phenomenon. + +The accident threw a gloom over the rest of the day's proceedings. The +Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel expressed a wish that the +procession should return to Liverpool. It was, however, represented to +them that a vast concourse of people had assembled at Manchester to +witness the arrival of the trains; that report would exaggerate the +mischief, if they did not complete the journey; and that a false panic on +that day might seriously affect future railway travelling and the value +of the Company's property. The party consented accordingly to proceed to +Manchester, but on the understanding that they should return as soon as +possible, and refrain from further festivity. + +As the trains approached Manchester, crowds of people were found covering +the banks, the slopes of the cuttings, and even the railway itself. The +multitude, become impatient and excited by the rumours which reached +them, had outflanked the military, and all order was at an end. The +people clambered about the carriages, holding on by the door-handles, and +many were tumbled over; but, happily no fatal accident occurred. At the +Manchester station, the political element began to display itself; +placards about "Peterloo," etc., were exhibited, and brickbats were +thrown at the carriage containing the Duke. On the carriages coming to a +stand in the Manchester station the Duke did not descend, but remained +seated, shaking hands with the women and children who were pushed forward +by the crowd. Shortly after, the trains returned to Liverpool, which +they reached, after considerable interruptions, in the dark, at a late +hour. + +On the following morning the railway was opened for public traffic. The +first train of 140 passengers was booked and sent on to Manchester, +reaching it in the allotted period of two hours; and from that time the +traffic has regularly proceeded from day to day until now. + +It is scarcely necessary that we should speak at any length of the +commercial results of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Suffice it +to say that its success was complete and decisive. The anticipations of +its projectors were, however, in many respects at fault. They had based +their calculations almost entirely on the heavy merchandise traffic--such +as coal, cotton, and timber,--relying little upon passengers; whereas the +receipts derived from the conveyance of passengers far exceeded those +derived from merchandise of all kinds, which, for a time continued a +subordinate branch of the traffic. + +For some time after the public opening of the line, Mr. Stephenson's +ingenuity continued to be employed in devising improved methods for +securing the safety and comfort of the travelling public. Few are aware +of the thousand minute details which have to be arranged--the forethought +and contrivance that have to be exercised--to enable the traveller by +railway to accomplish his journey in safety. After the difficulties of +constructing a level road over bogs, across valleys, and through deep +cuttings, have been overcome, the maintenance of the way has to be +provided for with continuous care. Every rail with its fastenings must +be complete, to prevent risk of accident; and the road must be kept +regularly ballasted up to the level, to diminish the jolting of vehicles +passing over it at high speeds. Then the stations must be protected by +signals observable from such a distance as to enable the train to be +stopped in event of an obstacle, such as a stopping or shunting train +being in the way. For some years the signals employed on the Liverpool +railway were entirely given by men with flags of different colours +stationed along the line; there were no fixed signals, nor electric +telegraphs; but the traffic was nevertheless worked quite as safely as +under the more elaborate and complicated system of telegraphing which has +since been established. + +From an early period it became obvious that the iron road as originally +laid down was far too weak for the heavy traffic which it had to carry. +The line was at first laid with fish-bellied rails weighing thirty-five +pounds to the yard, calculated only for horse-traffic, or, at most, for +engines like the "Rocket," of very light weight. But as the power and +the weight of the locomotives were increased, it was found that such +rails were quite insufficient for the safe conduct of the traffic, and it +therefore became necessary to re-lay the road with heavier and stronger +rails at considerably increased expense. + +The details of the carrying stock had in like manner to be settled by +experience. Everything had, as it were, to be begun from the beginning. +The coal-waggon, it is true, served in some degree as a model for the +railway-truck; but the railway passenger-carriage was an entirely novel +structure. It had to be mounted upon strong framing, of a peculiar kind, +supported on springs to prevent jolting. Then there was the necessity +for contriving some method of preventing hard bumping of the +carriage-ends when the train was pulled up; and hence the contrivance of +buffer-springs and spring frames. For the purpose of stopping the train, +brakes on an improved plan were also contrived, with new modes of +lubricating the carriage-axles, on which the wheels revolved at an +unusually high velocity. In all these arrangements, Mr. Stephenson's +inventiveness was kept constantly on the stretch; and though many +improvements in detail have been effected since his time, the foundations +were then laid by him of the present system of conducting railway +traffic. As an illustration of the inventive ingenuity which he +displayed in providing for the working of the Liverpool line, we may +mention his contrivance of the Self-acting Brake. He early entertained +the idea that the momentum of the running train might itself be made +available for the purpose of checking its speed. He proposed to fit each +carriage with a brake which should be called into action immediately on +the locomotive at the head of the train being pulled up. The impetus of +the carriages carrying them forward, the buffer-springs would be driven +home and, at the same time, by a simple arrangement of the mechanism, the +brakes would be called into simultaneous action; thus the wheels would be +brought into a state of sledge, and the train speedily stopped. This +plan was adopted by Mr. Stephenson before he left the Liverpool and +Manchester Railway, though it was afterwards discontinued; but it is a +remarkable fact, that this identical plan, with the addition of a +centrifugal apparatus, has quite recently been revived by M. Guerin, a +French engineer, and extensively employed on foreign railways, as the +best method of stopping railway trains in the most efficient manner and +in the shortest time. + +Finally, Mr. Stephenson had to attend to the improvement of the power and +speed of the locomotive--always the grand object of his study,--with a +view to economy as well as regularity of working. In the "Planet" +engine, delivered upon the line immediately subsequent to the public +opening, all the improvements which had up to that time been contrived by +him and his son were introduced in combination--the blast-pipe, the +tubular boiler, horizontal cylinders inside the smoke-box, the cranked +axle, and the fire-box firmly fixed to the boiler. The first load of +goods conveyed from Liverpool to Manchester by the "Planet" was 80 tons +in weight, and the engine performed the journey against a strong head +wind in 2.5 hours. On another occasion, the same engine brought up a +cargo of voters from Manchester to Liverpool, during a contested +election, within a space of sixty minutes! The "Samson," delivered in +the following year, exhibited still further improvements, the most +important of which was that of _coupling_ the fore and hind wheels of the +engine. By this means, the adhesion of the wheels on the rails was more +effectually secured, and thus the full hauling power of the locomotive +was made available. The "Samson," shortly after it was placed upon the +line, dragged after it a train of waggons weighing 150 tons at a speed of +about 20 miles an hour; the consumption of coke being reduced to only +about a third of a pound per ton per mile. + +The success of the Liverpool and Manchester experiment naturally excited +great interest. People flocked to Lancashire from all quarters to see +the steam-coach running upon a railway at three times the speed of a +mailcoach, and to enjoy the excitement of actually travelling in the wake +of an engine at that incredible velocity. The travellers returned to +their respective districts full of the wonders of the locomotive, +considering it to be the greatest marvel of the age. Railways are +familiar enough objects now, and our children who grow up in their midst +may think little of them; but thirty years since it was an event in one's +life to see a locomotive, and to travel for the first time upon a public +railroad. + +The practicability of railway locomotion being now proved, and its great +social and commercial advantages ascertained, the general extension of +the system was merely a question of time, money, and labour. Although +the legislature took no initiative step in the direction of railway +extension, the public spirit and enterprise of the country did not fail +it at this juncture. The English people, though they may be defective in +their capacity for organization, are strong in individualism; and not +improbably their admirable qualities in the latter respect detract from +their efficiency in the former. Thus, in all times, their greatest +enterprises have not been planned by officialism and carried out upon any +regular system, but have sprung, like their constitution, their laws, and +their entire industrial arrangements, from the force of circumstances and +the individual energies of the people. + +The mode of action in the case of railway extension, was characteristic +and national. The execution of the new lines was undertaken entirely by +joint-stock associations of proprietors, after the manner of the Stockton +and Darlington, and Liverpool and Manchester companies. These +associations are conformable to our national habits, and fit well into +our system of laws. They combine the power of vast resources with +individual watchfulness and motives of self-interest; and by their means +gigantic undertakings, which otherwise would be impossible to any but +kings and emperors with great national resources at command, were carried +out by the co-operation of private persons. And the results of this +combination of means and of enterprise have been truly marvellous. +Within the life of the present generation, the private citizens of +England engaged in railway extension have, in the face of Government +obstructions, and without taking a penny from the public purse, executed +a system of communications involving works of the most gigantic kind, +which, in their total mass, their cost, and their public utility, far +exceed the most famous national undertakings of any age or country. + +Mr. Stephenson was of course, actively engaged in the construction of the +numerous railways now projected by the joint-stock companies. The desire +for railway extension principally pervaded the manufacturing districts, +especially after the successful opening of the Liverpool and Manchester +line. The commercial classes of the larger towns soon became eager for a +participation in the good which they had so recently derided. Railway +projects were set on foot in great numbers, and Manchester became a +centre from which main lines and branches were started in all directions. +The interest, however, which attaches to these later schemes is of a much +less absorbing kind than that which belongs to the earlier history of the +railway and the steps by which it was mainly established. We naturally +sympathise more keenly with the early struggles of a great principle, its +trials and its difficulties, than with its after stages of success; and, +however gratified and astonished we may be at its consequences, the +interest is in a great measure gone when its triumph has become a matter +of certainty. + +The commercial results of the Liverpool and Manchester line were so +satisfactory, and indeed so greatly exceeded the expectations of its +projectors, that many of the abandoned projects of the speculative year +1825 were forthwith revived. An abundant crop of engineers sprang up, +ready to execute railways of any extent. Now that the Liverpool and +Manchester line had been made, and the practicability of working it by +locomotive power had been proved, it was as easy for engineers to make +railways and to work them, as it was for navigators to find America after +Columbus had made the first voyage. Mr. Francis Giles attached himself +to the Newcastle and Carlisle and London and Southampton projects. Mr. +Brunel appeared as engineer of the line projected between London and +Bristol; and Mr. Braithwaite, the builder of the "Novelty" engine, acted +in the same capacity for a railway from London to Colchester. + +The first lines constructed subsequent to the opening of the Liverpool +and Manchester Railway, were mostly in connection with it, and +principally in the county of Lancaster. Thus a branch was formed from +Bolton to Leigh, and another from Leigh to Kenyon, where it formed a +junction with the main line between Liverpool and Manchester. Branches +to Wigan on the north, and to Runcorn Gap and Warrington on the south of +the same line, were also formed. A continuation of the latter, as far +south as Birmingham, was shortly after projected under the name of the +Grand Junction Railway. + +The last mentioned line was projected as early as the year 1824, when the +Liverpool and Manchester scheme was under discussion, and Mr. Stephenson +then published a report on the subject. The plans were deposited, but +the bill was thrown out through the opposition of the landowners and +canal proprietors. When engaged in making the survey, Stephenson called +upon some of the landowners in the neighbourhood of Nantwich to obtain +their assent, and was greatly disgusted to learn that the agents of the +canal companies had been before him, and described the locomotive to the +farmers as a most frightful machine, emitting a breath as poisonous as +the fabled dragon of old; and telling them that if a bird flew over the +district where one of these engines passed, it would inevitably drop down +dead! The application for the bill was renewed in 1826, and again +failed; and at length it was determined to wait the issue of the +Liverpool and Manchester experiment. The act was eventually obtained in +1833. + +When it was proposed to extend the advantages of railways to the +population of the midland and southern counties of England, an immense +amount of alarm was created in the minds of the country gentlemen. They +did not relish the idea of private individuals, principally resident in +the manufacturing districts, invading their domains; and they everywhere +rose up in arms against the "new-fangled roads." Colonel Sibthorpe +openly declared his hatred of the "infernal railroads," and said that he +"would rather meet a highwayman, or see a burglar on his premises, than +an engineer!" The impression which prevailed in the rural districts was, +that fox-covers and game-preserves would be seriously prejudiced by the +formation of railroads; that agricultural communications would be +destroyed, land thrown out of cultivation, landowners and farmers reduced +to beggary, the poor-rates increased through the number of persons thrown +out of employment by the railways,--and all this in order that Liverpool, +Manchester, and Birmingham shopkeepers and manufacturers might establish +a monstrous monopoly in railway traffic. + +The inhabitants of even some of the large towns were thrown into a state +of consternation by the proposal to provide them with the accommodation +of a railway. The line from London to Birmingham would naturally have +passed close to the handsome town of Northampton, and was so projected; +but the inhabitants of the shire, urged on by the local press, and +excited by men of influence and education, opposed the project, and +succeeded in forcing the promoters, in their survey of the line, to pass +the town at a distance. When the first railway through Kent was +projected, the line was laid out so as to pass by Maidstone, the county +town. But it had not a single supporter amongst the townspeople, whilst +the landowners for many miles round combined to oppose it. In like +manner, the line projected from London to Bristol was strongly denounced +by the inhabitants of the intermediate districts; and when the first bill +was thrown out, Eton assembled under the presidency of the Marquis of +Chandos to congratulate the country upon its defeat. + +During the time that the works of the Liverpool and Manchester line were +in progress, our engineer was consulted respecting a short railway +proposed to be formed between Leicester and Swannington, for the purpose +of opening up a communication between the town of Leicester and the +coal-fields in the western part of the county. The projector of this +undertaking had some difficulty in getting the requisite capital +subscribed for, the Leicester townspeople who had money being for the +most part interested in canals. George Stephenson was invited to come +upon the ground and survey the line. He did so, and then the projector +told him of the difficulty he had in finding subscribers to the concern. +"Give me a sheet," said Stephenson, "and I will raise the money for you +in Liverpool." The engineer was as good as his word, and in a short time +the sheet was returned with the subscription complete. Mr. Stephenson +was then asked to undertake the office of engineer for the line, but his +answer was that he had thirty miles of railway in hand, which were enough +for any engineer to attend to properly. Was there any person he could +recommend? "Well," said he, "I think my son Robert is competent to +undertake the thing." Would Mr. Stephenson be answerable for him? "Oh, +yes, certainly." And Robert Stephenson, at twenty-seven years of age, +was installed engineer of the line accordingly. + + [Picture: Map of Leicester and Swannington Railway] + +The requisite Parliamentary powers having been obtained, Robert +Stephenson proceeded with the construction of the railway, about 16 miles +in length, towards the end of 1830. The works were comparatively easy, +excepting at the Leicester end, where the young engineer encountered his +first stiff bit of tunnelling. The line passed underground for 1.75 +mile, and 500 yards of its course lay in loose dry running sand. The +presence of this material rendered it necessary for the engineer first to +construct a wooden tunnel to support the soil while the brickwork was +being executed. This proved sufficient, and the whole was brought to a +successful termination within a reasonable time. While the works were in +progress, Robert kept up a regular correspondence with his father at +Liverpool, consulting him on all points in which his greater experience +was likely to be of service. Like his father, Robert was very observant, +and always ready to seize opportunity by the forelock. It happened that +the estate of Snibston, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, was advertised for sale; +and the young engineer's experience as a coal-viewer and practical +geologist suggested to his mind that coal was most probably to be found +underneath. He communicated his views to his father on the subject. The +estate lay in the immediate neighbourhood of the railway; and if the +conjecture proved correct, the finding of coal would necessarily greatly +enhance its value. He accordingly requested his father to come over to +Snibston and look at the property, which he did; and after a careful +inspection of the ground, he arrived at the same conclusion as his son. + +The large manufacturing town of Leicester, about fourteen miles distant, +had up to that time been exclusively supplied with coal brought by canal +from Derbyshire; and Mr. Stephenson saw that the railway under +construction from Swannington to Leicester, would furnish him with a +ready market for any coals which he might find at Snibston. Having +induced two of his Liverpool friends to join him in the venture, the +Snibston estate was purchased in 1831: and shortly after, Stephenson +removed his home from Liverpool to Alton Grange, for the purpose of +superintending the sinking of the pit. He travelled thither by gig with +his wife,--his favourite horse "Bobby" performing the journey by easy +stages. + +Sinking operations were immediately begun, and proceeded satisfactorily +until the old enemy, water, burst in upon the workmen, and threatened to +drown them out. But by means of efficient pumping-engines, and the +skilful casing of the shaft with segments of cast-iron--a process called +"tubbing," {234} which Mr. Stephenson was the first to adopt in the +Midland Counties--it was eventually made water-tight, and the sinking +proceeded. When a depth of 166 feet had been reached, a still more +formidable difficulty presented itself--one which had baffled former +sinkers in the neighbourhood, and deterred them from further operations. +This was a remarkable bed of whinstone or green-stone, which had +originally been poured out as a sheet of burning lava over the denuded +surface of the coal measures; indeed it was afterwards found that it had +turned to cinders one part of the seam of coal with which it had come in +contact. The appearance of this bed of solid rock was so unusual a +circumstance in coal mining, that some experienced sinkers urged +Stephenson to proceed no further, believing the occurrence of the dyke at +that point to be altogether fatal to his enterprise. But, with his faith +still firm in the existence of coal underneath, he fell back on his old +motto of "Persevere." He determined to go on boring; and down through +the solid rock he went until, twenty-two feet lower, he came upon the +coal measures. In the mean time, however, lest the boring at that point +should prove unsuccessful, he had commenced sinking another pair of +shafts about a quarter of a mile west of the "fault;" and after about +nine months' labour he reached the principal seam, called the "main +coal." + +The works were then opened out on a large scale, and Mr. Stephenson had +the pleasure and good fortune to send the first train of main coal to +Leicester by railway. The price was immediately reduced to about 8s. a +ton, effecting a pecuniary saving to the inhabitants of the town of about +40,000 pounds per annum, or equivalent to the whole amount then collected +in Government taxes and local rates, besides giving an impetus to the +manufacturing prosperity of the place, which has continued down to the +present day. The correct principles upon which the mining operations at +Snibston were conducted offered a salutary example to the neighbouring +colliery owners. The numerous improvements there introduced were freely +exhibited to all, and they were afterwards reproduced in many forms all +over the Midland Counties, greatly to the advantage of the mining +interest. + +Nor was Mr. Stephenson less attentive to the comfort and well-being of +those immediately dependent upon him--the workpeople of the Snibston +colliery and their families. Unlike many of those large employers who +have "sprung from the ranks," he was one of the kindest and most +indulgent of masters. He would have a fair day's work for a fair day's +wages; but he never forgot that the employer had his duties as well as +his rights. First of all, he attended to the proper home accommodation +of his workpeople. He erected a village of comfortable cottages, each +provided with a snug little garden. He was also instrumental in erecting +a church adjacent to the works, as well as Church schools for the +education of the colliers' children; and with that broad catholicity of +sentiment which distinguished him, he further provided a chapel and a +school-house for the use of the Dissenting portion of the colliers and +their families--an example of benevolent liberality which was not without +a salutary influence upon the neighbouring employers. + + [Picture: Stephenson's House at Alton Grange] + + [Picture: Robert Stephenson] + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. +ROBERT STEPHENSON CONSTRUCTS THE LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY. + + +Of the numerous extensive projects which followed close upon the +completion of the Liverpool and Manchester line, and the Locomotive +triumph at Rainhill, that of a railway between London and Birmingham was +the most important. The scheme originated at the latter place in 1830. +Two committees were formed, and two plans were proposed. One was of a +line to London by way of Oxford, and the other by way of Coventry. The +simple object of the promoters of both schemes being to secure the +advantages of railway communication with the metropolis, they wisely +determined to combine their strength to secure it. They then resolved to +call George Stephenson to their aid, and requested him to advise them as +to the two schemes which were before them. After a careful examination +of the country, Mr. Stephenson reported in favour of the Coventry route, +when the Lancashire gentlemen, who were the principal subscribers to the +project, having every confidence in his judgment, supported his decision, +and the line recommended by him was adopted accordingly. + +At the meeting of the promoters held at Birmingham to determine on the +appointment of the engineer for the railway, there was a strong party in +favour of associating with Mr. Stephenson a gentleman with whom he had +been brought into serious collision in the course of the Liverpool and +Manchester undertaking. When the offer was made to him that he should be +joint engineer with the other, he requested leave to retire and consider +the proposal with his son. The father was in favour of accepting it. +His struggle heretofore had been so hard that he could not bear the idea +of missing so promising an opportunity of professional advancement. But +the son, foreseeing the jealousies and heartburnings which the joint +engineership would most probably create, recommended his father to +decline the connection. George adopted the suggestion, and returning to +the Committee, he announced to them his decision; on which the promoters +decided to appoint him the engineer of the undertaking in conjunction +with his son. + +This line, like the Liverpool and Manchester, was very strongly opposed, +especially by the landowners. Numerous pamphlets were published, calling +on the public to "beware of the bubbles," and holding up the promoters of +railways to ridicule. They were compared to St. John Long and similar +quacks, and pronounced fitter for Bedlam than to be left at large. The +canal proprietors, landowners, and road trustees, made common cause +against them. The failure of railways was confidently predicted--indeed, +it was elaborately attempted to be proved that they had failed; and it +was industriously spread abroad that the locomotive engines, having been +found useless and highly dangerous on the Liverpool and Manchester line, +were immediately to be abandoned in favour of horses--a rumour which the +directors of the Company thought it necessary publicly to contradict. + +Public meetings were held in all the counties through which the line +would pass between London and Birmingham, at which the project was +denounced, and strong resolutions against it were passed. The attempt +was made to conciliate the landlords by explanations, but all such +efforts proved futile, the owners of nearly seven-eighths of the land +being returned as dissentients. "I remember," said Robert Stephenson, +describing the opposition, "that we called one day on Sir Astley Cooper, +the eminent surgeon, in the hope of overcoming his aversion to the +railway. He was one of our most inveterate and influential opponents. +His country house at Berkhampstead was situated near the intended line, +which passed through part of his property. We found a courtly, +fine-looking old gentleman, of very stately manners, who received us +kindly and heard all we had to say in favour of the project. But he was +quite inflexible in his opposition to it. No deviation or improvement +that we could suggest had any effect in conciliating him. He was opposed +to railways generally, and to this in particular. 'Your scheme,' said +he, 'is preposterous in the extreme. It is of so extravagant a +character, as to be positively absurd. Then look at the recklessness of +your proceedings! You are proposing to cut up our estates in all +directions for the purpose of making an unnecessary road. Do you think +for one moment of the destruction of property involved by it? Why, +gentlemen, if this sort of thing be permitted to go on, you will in a +very few years _destroy the noblesse_!' We left the honourable baronet +without having produced the slightest effect upon him, excepting perhaps, +it might be, increased exasperation against our scheme. 1 could not help +observing to my companions as we left the house, 'Well, it is really +provoking to find one who has been made a "Sir" for cutting that wen out +of George the Fourth's neck, charging us with contemplating the +destruction of the _noblesse_, because we propose to confer upon him the +benefits of a railroad.'" + +Such being the opposition of the owners of land, it was with the greatest +difficulty that an accurate survey of the line could be made. At one +point the vigilance of the landowners and their servants was such, that +the surveyors were effectually prevented taking the levels by the light +of day; and it was only at length accomplished at night by means of dark +lanterns. There was one clergyman, who made such alarming demonstrations +of his opposition, that the extraordinary expedient was resorted to of +surveying his property during the time he was engaged in the pulpit. +This was managed by having a strong force of surveyors in readiness to +commence their operations, who entered the clergyman's grounds on one +side the moment they saw him fairly off them on the other. By a +well-organised and systematic arrangement each man concluded his allotted +task just as the reverend gentleman concluded his sermon; so that, before +he left the church, the deed was done, and the sinners had all decamped. +Similar opposition was offered at many other points, but ineffectually. +The laborious application of Robert Stephenson was such, that in +examining the country to ascertain the best line, he walked the whole +distance between London and Birmingham upwards of twenty times. + +When the bill went before the Committee of the Commons in 1832, a +formidable array of evidence was produced. All the railway experience of +the day was brought to bear in support of the measure, and all that +interested opposition could do was set in motion against it. The +necessity for an improved mode of communication between London and +Birmingham was clearly demonstrated; and the engineering evidence was +regarded as quite satisfactory. Not a single fact was proved against the +utility of the measure, and the bill passed the Committee, and afterwards +the third reading in the Commons, by large majorities. + +It was then sent to the Lords, and went into Committee, when a similar +mass of testimony was again gone through. But it had been evident, from +the opening of the proceedings, that the fate of the bill had been +determined before even a word of the evidence had been heard. At that +time the committees were open to all peers; and the promoters of the bill +found, to their dismay, many of the lords who were avowed opponents of +the measure as landowners, sitting as judges to decide its fate. Their +principal object seemed to be, to bring the proceedings to a termination +as quickly as possible. An attempt at negotiation was indeed made in the +course of the proceedings in committee, but failed, and the bill was +thrown out. + +As the result had been foreseen, measures were taken to neutralise the +effect of this decision as regarded future operations. Not less than +32,000 pounds had been expended in preliminary and parliamentary expenses +up to this stage; but the promoters determined not to look back, and +forthwith made arrangements for prosecuting the bill in the next session. +Strange to say, the bill then passed both Houses silently and almost +without opposition. The mystery was afterwards solved by the appearance +of a circular issued by the directors of the company, in which it was +stated, that they had opened "negotiations" with the most influential of +their opponents; that "these measures had been successful to a greater +extent than they had ventured to anticipate; and the most active and +formidable had been conciliated." An instructive commentary on the mode +by which these noble lords and influential landed proprietors had been +"conciliated," was the simple fact that the estimate for land was nearly +trebled, and that the owners were paid about 750,000 pounds for what had +been originally estimated at 250,000 pounds. + +The landowners having thus been "conciliated," the promoters of the +measure were permitted to proceed with the formation of their great +highway. Robert Stephenson was, with the sanction of his father, +appointed sole engineer; and steps were at once taken by him to make the +working survey, to prepare the working drawings, and arrange for the +construction of the railway. Eighty miles of the road were shortly under +contract, having been let within the estimates; and the works were in +satisfactory progress by the beginning of 1834. + +The difficulties encountered in their construction were very great; the +most formidable of them originating in the character of the works +themselves. Extensive tunnels had to be driven through unknown strata, +and miles of underground excavation had to be carried out in order to +form a level road from valley to valley, under the intervening ridges. +This kind of work was the newest of all to the contractors of that day. +Robert Stephenson's experience in the collieries of the North rendered +him well fitted to grapple with such difficulties; yet even he, with all +his practical knowledge, could scarcely have foreseen the serious +obstacles which he was called upon to encounter in executing the +formidable cuttings, embankments, and tunnels of the London and +Birmingham Railway. It would be an uninteresting, as it would be a +fruitless task, to attempt to describe the works in detail; but a general +outline of their extraordinary character and extent may not be out of +place. + + [Picture: Rugby to Watford] + +The length of railway to be constructed between London and Birmingham was +112.5 miles. The line crossed a series of low-lying districts separated +from each other by considerable ridges of hills; and it was the object of +the engineer to cross the valleys at as high, and the hills at as low, +elevations as possible. The high ground was therefore cut down and the +"stuff" led into embankments, in some places of great height and extent, +so as to form a road upon as level a plane as was considered practicable +for the working of the locomotive engine. In some places, the high +grounds were passed in open cuttings, whilst in others it was necessary +to bore through them in tunnels with deep cuttings at each end. + +The most formidable excavations on the line are those at Tring, Denbigh +Hall, and Blisworth. The Tring cutting is an immense chasm across the +great chalk ridge of Ivinghoe. It is 2.5 miles long, and for 0.25 of a +mile is 57 feet deep. A million and a half cubic yards of chalk and +earth were taken out of this cutting by means of horse-runs and deposited +in spoil banks; besides the immense quantity run into the embankment +north of the cutting, forming a solid mound nearly 6 miles long and about +30 feet high. Passing over the Denbigh Hall cutting, and the Wolverton +embankment of 1.5 mile in length across the valley of the Ouse, we come +to the excavation at Blisworth, a brief description of which will give +the reader an idea of one of the most difficult kinds of railway work. + + [Picture: Blisworth Cutting] + +The Blisworth Cutting is one of the longest and deepest grooves cut in +the solid earth. It is 1.5 mile long, in some places 65 feet deep, +passing through earth, stiff clay, and hard rock. Not less than a +million cubic yards of these materials were dug, quarried, and blasted +out of it. One-third of the cutting was stone, and beneath the stone lay +a thick bed of clay, under which were found beds of loose shale so full +of water that almost constant pumping was necessary at many points to +enable the works to proceed. For a year and a half the contractor went +on fruitlessly contending with these difficulties, and at length he was +compelled to abandon the adventure. The engineer then took the works in +hand for the Company, and they were vigorously proceeded with. +Steam-engines were set to work to pump out the water; two locomotives +were put on, one at each end of the cutting, to drag away the excavated +rock and clay; and 800 men and boys were employed along the work, in +digging, wheeling, and blasting, besides a large number of horses. Some +idea of the extent of the blasting operations may be formed from the fact +that 25 barrels of gunpowder were used weekly; the total quantity +exploded in forming this one cutting being about 3,000 barrels. +Considerable difficulty was experienced in supporting the bed of rock cut +through, which overlaid the clay and shale along each side of the +cutting. It was found necessary to hold it up by strong retaining walls, +to prevent the clay bed from bulging out, and these walls were further +supported by a strong invert,--that is, an arch placed in an inverted +position under the road,--thus binding together the walls on both sides. +Behind the retaining walls, a drift or horizontal drain was provided to +enable the water to run off, and occasional openings were left in the +walls themselves for the same purpose. The work was at length brought to +a successful completion, but the extraordinary difficulties encountered +in forming the cutting had the effect of greatly increasing the cost of +this portion of the railway. + +The Tunnels on the line are eight in number, their total length being +7336 yards. The first high ground encountered was Primrose Hill, where +the stiff London clay was passed through for a distance of about 1164 +yards. The clay was close, compact, and dry, more difficult to work than +stone itself. It was entirely free from water; but the absorbing +properties of the clay were such that when exposed to the air it swelled +out rapidly. Hence an unusual thickness of brick lining was found +necessary; and the engineer afterwards informed the author that for some +time he entertained an apprehension lest the pressure should force in the +brickwork altogether. It was so great that it made the face of the +bricks to fly off in minute chips which covered his clothes whilst he was +inspecting the work. The materials used in the building were, however, +of excellent quality; and the tunnel was happily brought to a completion +without any accident. + +At Watford the chalk ridge was penetrated by a tunnel about 1800 yards +long; and at Northchurch, Lindslade, and Stowe Hill, there were other +tunnels of minor extent. But the chief difficulty of the undertaking was +the execution of that under the Kilsby ridge. Though not the largest, +this is in many respects one of the most interesting works of the kind in +England. It is about 2400 yards long, and runs at an average depth of +about 160 feet below the surface. The ridge under which it extends is of +considerable extent, the famous battle of Naseby having been fought upon +one of the spurs of the same high ground about seven miles to the +eastward. + +Previous to the letting of the contract, the character of the underground +soil was examined by trial-shafts. The tests indicated that it consisted +of shale of the lower oolite, and the works were let accordingly. But +they had scarcely been commenced when it was discovered that, at an +interval between the two trial-shafts which had been sunk, about 200 +yards from the south end of the tunnel, there existed an extensive +quicksand under a bed of clay 40 feet thick, which the borings had +escaped in the most singular manner. At the bottom of one of these +shafts the excavation and building of the tunnel were proceeding, when +the roof at one part suddenly gave way, a deluge of water burst in, and +the party of workmen with the utmost difficulty escaped with their lives. +They were only saved by means of a raft, on which they were towed by one +of the engineers swimming with the rope in his mouth to the lower end of +the shaft, out of which they were safely lifted to the daylight. The +works were of course at that point immediately stopped. + + [Picture: The Shafts over Kilsby Tunnel] + +The contractor, who had undertaken the construction of the tunnel, was so +overwhelmed by the calamity, that, though he was relieved by the Company +from his engagement, he took to his bed and shortly after died. +Pumping-engines were then erected for the purpose of draining off the +water, but for a long time it prevailed, and sometimes even rose in the +shaft. The question then presented itself, whether in the face of so +formidable a difficulty, the works should be proceeded with or abandoned. +Robert Stephenson sent over to Alton Grange for his father, and the two +took serious counsel together. George was in favour of pumping out the +water from the top by powerful engines erected over each shaft, until the +water was mastered. Robert concurred in that view, and although other +engineers pronounced strongly against the practicability of the scheme +and advised its abandonment, the directors authorised him to proceed; and +powerful steam-engines were ordered to be constructed and delivered +without loss of time. + +In the mean time, Robert suggested to his father the expediency of +running a drift along the heading from the south end of the tunnel, with +the view of draining off the water in that way. George said he thought +it would scarcely answer, but that it was worth a trial, at all events +until the pumping-engines were got ready. Robert accordingly gave orders +for the drift to be proceeded with. The excavators were immediately set +to work; and they were very soon close upon the sand bed. One day, when +the engineer, his assistants, and the workmen were clustered about the +open entrance of the drift-way, they heard a sudden roar as of distant +thunder. It was hoped that the water had burst in--for all the workmen +were out of the drift,--and that the sand bed would now drain itself off +in a natural way. Instead of which, very little water made its +appearance; and on examining the inner end of the drift, it was found +that the loud noise had been caused by the sudden discharge into it of an +immense mass of sand, which had completely choked up the passage, and +prevented the water from flowing away. + +The engineer now found that there was nothing for it but to sink numerous +additional shafts over the line of the tunnel at the points at which it +crossed the quicksand, and endeavour to master the water by sheer force +of engines and pumps. The engines erected, possessed an aggregate power +of 160 horses; and they went on pumping for eight successive months, +emptying out an almost incredible quantity of water. It was found that +the water, with which the bed of sand extending over many miles was +charged, was to a certain degree held back by the particles of the sand +itself, and that it could only percolate through at a certain average +rate. It appeared in its flow to take a slanting direction to the +suction of the pumps, the angle of inclination depending upon the +coarseness or fineness of the sand, and regulating the time of the flow. +Hence the distribution of the pumping power at short intervals along the +line of the tunnel had a much greater effect than the concentration of +that power at any one spot. It soon appeared that the water had found +its master. Protected by the pumps, which cleared a space for the +engineering operations--carried on in the midst, as it were, of two +almost perpendicular walls of water and sand on either side--the workmen +proceeded with the building of the tunnel at numerous points. Every +exertion was used to wall in the dangerous parts as quickly as possible; +the excavators and bricklayers labouring night and day until the work was +finished. Even while under the protection of the immense pumping power +above described, it often happened that the bricks were scarcely covered +with cement ready for the setting, ere they were washed quite clean by +the streams of water which poured from overhead. The men were +accordingly under the necessity of holding over their work large whisks +of straw and other appliances to protect the bricks and cement at the +moment of setting. + +The quantity of water pumped out of the sand bed during eight months of +incessant pumping, averaged 2,000 gallons per minute, raised from an +average depth of 120 feet. It is difficult to form an adequate idea of +the bulk of the water thus raised, but it may be stated that if allowed +to flow for three hours only, it would fill a lake one acre square to the +depth of one foot, and if allowed to flow for one entire day it would +fill the lake to over eight feet in depth, or sufficient to float vessels +of 100 tons burthen. The water pumped out of the tunnel while the work +was in progress would be nearly equivalent to the contents of the Thames +at high water, between London and Woolwich. It is a curious circumstance +that notwithstanding the quantity thus removed, the level of the surface +of the water in the tunnel was only lowered about 2.5 to 3 inches per +week, proving the vast area of the quicksand, which probably extended +along the entire ridge of land under which the railway passed. + +The cost of the line was greatly increased by the difficulties +encountered at Kilsby. The original estimate for the tunnel was only +99,000 pounds; but before it was finished it had cost more than 100 +pounds per lineal yard forward, or a total of nearly 300,000 pounds. The +expenditure on the other parts of the line also greatly exceeded the +amount first set down by the engineer; and before the works were finished +it was more than doubled. The land cost three times more than the +estimate; and the claims for compensation were enormous. Although the +contracts were let within the estimates, very few of the contractors were +able to complete them without the assistance of the Company, and many +became bankrupt. + +The magnitude of the works, which were unprecedented in England, was one +of the most remarkable features in the undertaking. The following +striking comparison has been made between this railway and one of the +greatest works of ancient times. The Great Pyramid of Egypt was, +according to Diodorus Siculus, constructed by 300,000--according to +Herodotus, by 100,000--men. It required for its execution twenty years, +and the labour expended upon it has been estimated as equivalent to +lifting 15,733,000,000 of cubic feet of stone one foot high. Whereas, if +the labour expended in constructing the London and Birmingham Railway be +in like manner reduced to one common denomination the result is +25,000,000,000 of cubic feet _more_ than was lifted for the Great +Pyramid; and yet the English work was performed by about 20,000 men in +less than five years. And whilst the Egyptian work was executed by a +powerful monarch concentrating upon it the labour and capital of a great +nation, the English railway was constructed, in the face of every +conceivable obstruction and difficulty, by a company of private +individuals out of their own resources, without the aid of Government or +the contribution of one farthing of public money. + +The labourers who executed this formidable work were in many respects a +remarkable class. The "railway navvies," as they are called, were men +drawn by the attraction of good wages from all parts of the kingdom; and +they were ready for any sort of hard work. Some of the best came from +the fen districts of Lincoln and Cambridge, where they had been trained +to execute works of excavation and embankment. These old practitioners +formed a nucleus of skilled manipulation and aptitude, which rendered +them of indispensable utility in the immense undertakings of the period. +Their expertness in all sorts of earthwork, in embanking, boring, and +well-sinking--their practical knowledge of the nature of soils and rocks, +the tenacity of clays, and the porosity of certain stratifications--were +very great; and, rough-looking though they were, many of them were as +important in their own department as the contractor or the engineer. + +During the railway-making period the navvy wandered about from one public +work to another--apparently belonging to no country and having no home. +He usually wore a white felt hat with the brim turned up, a velveteen or +jean square-tailed coat, a scarlet plush waistcoat with little black +spots, and a bright-coloured kerchief round his herculean neck, when, as +often happened, it was not left entirely bare. His corduroy breeches +were retained in position by a leathern strap round the waist, and were +tied and buttoned at the knee, displaying beneath a solid calf and foot +encased in strong high-laced boots. Joining together in a "butty gang," +some ten or twelve of these men would take a contract to cut out and +remove so much "dirt"--as they denominated earth-cutting--fixing their +price according to the character of the "stuff," and the distance to +which it had to be wheeled and tipped. The contract taken, every man put +himself on his mettle; if any was found skulking, or not putting forth +his full working power, he was ejected from the gang. Their powers of +endurance were extraordinary. In times of emergency they would work for +12 and even 16 hours, with only short intervals for meals. The quantity +of flesh-meat which they consumed was something enormous; but it was to +their bones and muscles what coke is to the locomotive--the means of +keeping up the steam. They displayed great pluck, and seemed to +disregard peril. Indeed the most dangerous sort of labour--such as +working horse-barrow runs, in which accidents are of constant +occurrence--has always been most in request amongst them, the danger +seeming to be one of its chief recommendations. + +Working, eating, drinking, and sleeping together, and daily exposed to +the same influences, these railway labourers soon presented a distinct +and well-defined character, strongly marking them from the population of +the districts in which they laboured. Reckless alike of their lives as +of their earnings, the navvies worked hard and lived hard. For their +lodging, a hut of turf would content them; and, in their hours of +leisure, the meanest public-house would serve for their parlour. +Unburdened, as they usually were, by domestic ties, unsoftened by family +affection, and without much moral or religious training, the navvies came +to be distinguished by a sort of savage manners, which contrasted +strangely with those of the surrounding population. Yet, ignorant and +violent though they might be, they were usually good-hearted fellows in +the main--frank and openhanded with their comrades, and ready to share +their last penny with those in distress. Their pay-nights were often a +saturnalia of riot and disorder, dreaded by the inhabitants of the +villages along the line of works. The irruption of such men into the +quiet hamlet of Kilsby must, indeed, have produced a very startling +effect on the recluse inhabitants of the place. Robert Stephenson used +to tell a story of the clergyman of the parish waiting upon the foreman +of one of the gangs to expostulate with him as to the shocking +impropriety of his men working during Sunday. But the head navvy merely +hitched up his trousers, and said, "Why, Soondays hain't cropt out here +yet!" In short, the navvies were little better than heathens, and the +village of Kilsby was not restored to its wonted quiet until the +tunnel-works were finished, and the engines and scaffoldings removed, +leaving only the immense masses of _debris_ around the line of shafts +which extend along the top of the tunnel. + +In illustration of the extraordinary working energy and powers of +endurance of the English navvies, we may mention that when railway-making +extended to France, the English contractors for the works took with them +gangs of English navvies, with the usual plant, which included +wheelbarrows. These the English navvy was accustomed to run out rapidly +and continuously, piled so high with "stuff" that he could barely see +over the summit of his load, the gang-board along which he wheeled his +barrow. While he thus easily ran out some 3 or 4 cwt. at a time, the +French navvy was contented with half the weight. Indeed, the French +navvies on one occasion struck work because of the size of the English +barrows, and there was an _emeute_ on the Rouen Railway, which was only +quelled by the aid of the military. The consequence was that the big +barrows were abandoned to the English workmen, who earned nearly double +the wages of the Frenchmen. The manner in which they stood to their work +was matter of great surprise and wonderment to the French countrypeople, +who came crowding round them in their blouses, and, after gazing +admiringly at their expert handling of the pick and mattock, and the +immense loads of "dirt" which they wheeled out, would exclaim to each +other, "_Mon Dieu_, _voila_! _voila ces Anglais_, _comme ils +travaillent_!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. +MANCHESTER AND LEEDS, AND MIDLAND RAILWAYS--STEPHENSON'S LIFE AT +ALTON--VISIT TO BELGIUM--GENERAL EXTENSION OF RAILWAYS AND THEIR RESULTS. + + +The rapidity with which railways were carried out, when the spirit of the +country became roused, was indeed remarkable. This was doubtless in some +measure owing to the increased force of the current of speculation at the +time, but chiefly to the desire which the public began to entertain for +the general extension of the system. It was even proposed to fill up the +canals, and convert them into railways. The new roads became the topic +of conversation in all circles; they were felt to give a new value to +time; their vast capabilities for "business" peculiarly recommended them +to the trading classes; whilst the friends of "progress" dilated on the +great benefits they would eventually confer upon mankind at large. It +began to be seen that Edward Pease had not been exaggerating when he +said, "Let the country but make the railroads, and the railroads will +make the country!" They also came to be regarded as inviting objects of +investment to the thrifty, and a safe outlet for the accumulations of +inert men of capital. Thus new avenues of iron road were soon in course +of formation, branching in all directions, so that the country promised +in a wonderfully short time to become wrapped in one vast network of +iron. + +In 1836 the Grand Junction Railway was under construction between +Warrington and Birmingham--the northern part by Mr. Stephenson, and the +southern by Mr. Rastrick. The works on that line embraced heavy +cuttings, long embankments, and numerous viaducts; but none of these are +worthy of any special description. Perhaps the finest piece of masonry +on the railway is the Dutton Viaduct across the valley of the Weaver. It +consists of twenty arches of 60 feet span, springing 16 feet from the +perpendicular shaft of each pier, and 60 feet in height from the crown of +the arches to the level of the river. The foundations of the piers were +built on piles driven 20 feet deep. The structure has a solid and +majestic appearance, and is perhaps the finest of George Stephenson's +viaducts. + + [Picture: The Dutton Viaduct] + +The Manchester and Leeds line was in progress at the same time--an +important railway connecting the principal manufacturing towns of +Yorkshire and Lancashire. An attempt was made to obtain the Act as early +as 1831; but its promoters were defeated by the powerful opposition of +the landowners aided by the canal companies, and the project was not +revived for several years. The line was somewhat circuitous, and the +works were heavy; but on the whole the gradients were favourable, and it +had the advantage of passing through a district full of manufacturing +towns and villages, teeming hives of population, industry, and +enterprise. The Act authorising the construction of the railway was +obtained in 1836; it was greatly amended in the succeeding year, and the +first ground was broken on the 18th August, 1837. + +In conducting this project to an issue, the engineer had the usual +opposition and prejudices to encounter. Predictions were confidently +made in many quarters that the line could never succeed. It was declared +that the utmost engineering skill could not construct a railway through +such a country of hills and hard rocks; and it was maintained that, even +if the railroad were practicable, it could only be made at a ruinous +cost. + +During the progress of the works, as the Summit Tunnel, near +Littleborough, was approaching completion, the rumour was spread abroad +in Manchester that the tunnel had fallen in and buried a number of the +workmen. The last arch had been keyed in, and the work was all but +finished, when the accident occurred which was thus exaggerated by the +lying tongue of rumour. An invert had given way through the irregular +pressure of the surrounding earth and rock at a part of the tunnel where +a "fault" had occurred in the strata. A party of the directors +accompanied the engineer to inspect the scene of the accident. They +entered the tunnel's mouth preceded by upwards of fifty navvies, each +bearing a torch. + +After walking a distance of about half a mile, the inspecting party +arrived at the scene of the "frightful accident," about which so much +alarm had been spread. All that was visible was a certain unevenness of +the ground, which had been forced up by the invert under it giving way; +thus the ballast had been loosened, the drain running along the centre of +the road had been displaced, and small pools of water stood about. But +the whole of the walls and the roof were still as perfect as at any other +part of the tunnel. + + [Picture: Entrance to the Summit Tunnel, Littleborough] + +The engineer explained the cause of the accident; the blue shale, he +said, through which the excavation passed at that point, was considered +so hard and firm, as to render it unnecessary to build the invert very +strong there. But shale is always a deceptive material. Subjected to +the influence of the atmosphere, it gives but a treacherous support. In +this case, falling away like quicklime, it had left the lip of the invert +alone to support the pressure of the arch above, and hence its springing +inwards and upwards. Mr. Stephenson directed the attention of the +visitors to the completeness of the arch overhead, where not the +slightest fracture or yielding could be detected. Speaking of the work, +in the course of the same day, he said, "I will stake my character and my +head, if that tunnel ever give way, so as to cause danger to any of the +public passing through it. Taking it as a whole, I don't think there is +such another piece of work in the world. It is the greatest work that +has yet been done of this kind, and there has been less repairing than is +usual,--though an engineer might well be beaten in his calculations, for +he cannot beforehand see into those little fractured parts of the earth +he may meet with." As Stephenson had promised, the invert was put in; +and the tunnel was made perfectly safe. + +The construction of this subterranean road employed the labour of above a +thousand men for nearly four years. Besides excavating the arch out of a +solid rock, they used 23,000,000 of bricks, and 8000 tons of Roman cement +in the building of the tunnel. Thirteen stationary engines, and about +100 horses, were also employed in drawing the earth and stone out of the +shafts. Its entire length is 2869 yards, or nearly 1.75 mile--exceeding +the famous Kilsby Tunnel by 471 yards. + +The Midland Railway was a favourite line of Mr. Stephenson's for several +reasons. It passed through a rich mining district, in which it opened up +many valuable coalfields, and it formed part of the great main line of +communication between London and Edinburgh. The Act was obtained in +1836, and the first ground was broken in February, 1837. + +Although the Midland Railway was only one of the many great works of the +same kind executed at that time, it was almost enough of itself to be the +achievement of a life. Compare it, for example with Napoleon's military +road over the Simplon, and it will at once be seen how greatly it excels +that work, not only in the constructive skill displayed in it, but also +in its cost and magnitude, and the amount of labour employed in its +formation. The road of the Simplon is 45 miles in length; the North +Midland Railway is 72.5 miles. The former has 50 bridges and 5 tunnels, +measuring together 1338 feet in length; the latter has 200 bridges and 7 +tunnels, measuring together 11,400 feet, or about 2.25 miles. The former +cost about 720,000 pounds sterling, the latter above 3,000,000 pounds. +Napoleon's grand military road was constructed in six years, at the +public cost of the two great kingdoms of France and Italy; while +Stephenson's railway was formed in about three years, by a company of +private merchants and capitalists out of their own funds, and under their +own superintendence. + +It is scarcely necessary that we should give any account in detail of the +North Midland works. The making of one tunnel so much resembles the +making of another,--the building of bridges and viaducts, no matter how +extensive, so much resembles the building of others,--the cutting out of +"dirt," the blasting of rocks, and the wheeling of excavation into +embankments, is so much a matter of mere time and hard work,--that is +quite unnecessary for us to detain the reader by any attempt at their +description. Of course there were the usual difficulties to encounter +and overcome,--but the railway engineer regarded these as mere matters of +course, and would probably have been disappointed if they had not +presented themselves. + +On the Midland, as on other lines, water was the great enemy to be fought +against,--water in the Claycross and other tunnels,--water in the boggy +or sandy foundations of bridges,--and water in cuttings and embankments. +As an illustration of the difficulties of bridge building, we may mention +the case of the five-arch bridge over the Derwent, where it took two +years' work, night and day, to get in the foundations of the piers alone. +Another curious illustration of the mischief done by water in cuttings +may be briefly mentioned. At a part of the North Midland Line, near +Ambergate, it was necessary to pass along a hillside in a cutting a few +yards deep. As the cutting proceeded, a seam of shale was cut across, +lying at an inclination of 6 to 1; and shortly after, the water getting +behind the bed of shale, the whole mass of earth along the hill above +began to move down across the line of excavation. The accident +completely upset the estimates of the contractor, who, instead of 50,000 +cubic yards, found that he had about 500,000 to remove; the execution of +this part of the railway occupying fifteen months instead of two. + + [Picture: Land-slip on North Midland Line, near Ambergate] + +The Oakenshaw cutting near Wakefield was also of a very formidable +character. About 600,000 yards of rock shale and bind were quarried out +of it, and led to form the adjoining Oakenshaw embankment. The Normanton +cutting was almost as heavy, requiring the removal of 400,000 yards of +the same kind of excavation into embankment and spoil. But the progress +of the works on the line was so rapid in 1839, that not less than 450,000 +cubic yards of excavation were removed monthly. + + [Picture: Bullbridge, near Ambergate] + +As a curiosity in construction, we may also mention a very delicate piece +of work executed on the same railway at Bullbridge in Derbyshire, where +the line at the same point passes _over_ a bridge which here spans the +river Amber, and _under_ the bed of the Cromford Canal. Water, bridge; +railway, and canal, were thus piled one above the other, four stories +high; such another curious complication probably not existing. In order +to prevent the possibility of the waters of the canal breaking in upon +the works of the railroad, Mr. Stephenson had an iron trough made, 150 +feet long, of the width of the canal, and exactly fitting the bottom. It +was brought to the spot in three pieces, which were firmly welded +together, and the trough was then floated into its place and sunk; the +whole operation being completed without in the least interfering with the +navigation of the canal. The railway works underneath were then +proceeded with and finished. + +Another line of the same series constructed by George Stephenson, was the +York and North Midland, extending from Normanton--a point on the Midland +Railway--to York; but it was a line of easy formation, traversing a +comparatively level country. + +During the time that our engineer was engaged in superintending the +execution of these undertakings, he was occupied upon other projected +railways in various parts of the country. He surveyed several lines in +the neighbourhood of Glasgow, and afterwards routes along the east coast +from Newcastle to Edinburgh, with the view of completing the main line of +communication with London. When out on foot in the fields, on these +occasions, he was ever foremost in the march; and he delighted to test +the prowess of his companions by a good jump at any hedge or ditch that +lay in their way. His companions used to remark his singular quickness +of observation. Nothing escaped his attention--the trees, the crops, the +birds, or the farmer's stock; and he was usually full of lively +conversation, everything in nature affording him an opportunity for +making some striking remark, or propounding some ingenious theory. When +taking a flying survey of a new line, his keen observation proved very +useful to him, for he rapidly noted the general configuration of the +country, and inferred its geological structure. He afterwards remarked +to a friend, "I have planned many a railway travelling along in a +postchaise, and following the natural line of the country." And it was +remarkable that his first impressions of the direction to be taken almost +invariably proved correct; and there are few of the lines surveyed and +recommended by him which have not been executed, either during his +lifetime or since. As an illustration of his quick and shrewd +observation on such occasions, we may mention that when employed to lay +out a line to connect Manchester, through Macclesfield, with the +Potteries, the gentleman who accompanied him on the journey of inspection +cautioned him to provide large accommodation for carrying off the water, +observing--"You must not judge by the appearance of the brooks; for after +heavy rains these hills pour down volumes of _water_, of which you can +have no conception." "Pooh! pooh! _don't I see your bridges_?" replied +the engineer. He had noted the details of each as he passed along. + +Among the other projects which occupied his attention about the same +time, were the projected lines between Chester and Holyhead, between +Leeds and Bradford, and between Lancaster and Maryport by the western +coast. This latter was intended to form part of a west-coast line to +Scotland; Stephenson favouring it partly because of the flatness of the +gradients, and also because it could be formed at comparatively small +cost, whilst it would open out a valuable iron-mining district, from +which a large traffic in ironstone was expected. One of its collateral +advantages, in the engineer's opinion, was, that by forming the railway +directly across Morecambe Bay, on the north-west coast of Lancashire, a +large tract of valuable land might be reclaimed from the sea, the sale of +which would considerably reduce the cost of the works. He estimated that +by means of a solid embankment across the bay, not less than 40,000 acres +of rich alluvial land would be gained. He proposed to carry the road +across the ten miles of sands which lie between Poulton, near Lancaster, +and Humphrey Head on the opposite coast, forming the line in a segment of +a circle of five miles' radius. His plan was to drive in piles across +the entire length, forming a solid fence of stone blocks on the land side +for the purpose of retaining the sand and silt brought down by the rivers +from the interior. The embankment would then be raised from time to time +as the deposit accumulated, until the land was filled up to high-water +mark; provision being made by means of sufficient arches, for the flow of +the river waters into the bay. The execution of the railway after this +plan would, however, have occupied more years than the promoters of the +West Coast line were disposed to wait; and eventually Mr. Locke's more +direct but uneven line by Shap Fell was adopted. A railway has since +been carried across the head of the bay; and it is not improbable that +Stephenson's larger scheme of reclaiming the vast tract of land now left +bare at each receding tide, may yet be carried out. + +While occupied in carrying out the great railway undertakings which we +have above so briefly described, Mr. Stephenson's home continued, for the +greater part of the time, to be at Alton Grange, near Leicester. But he +was so much occupied in travelling about from one committee of directors +to another--one week in England, another in Scotland, and probably the +next in Ireland,--that he often did not see his home for weeks together. +He had also to make frequent inspections of the various important and +difficult works in progress, especially on the Midland and Manchester and +Leeds lines; besides occasionally going to Newcastle to see how the +locomotive works were going on there. During the three years ending in +1837--perhaps the busiest years of his life {263}--he travelled by +postchaise alone upwards of 20,000 miles, and yet not less than six +months out of the three years were spent in London. Hence there is +comparatively little to record of Mr. Stephenson's private life at this +period; during which he had scarcely a moment that he could call his own. + +His correspondence increased so much, that he found it necessary to +engage a private secretary, who accompanied him on his journeys. He was +himself exceedingly averse to writing letters. The comparatively +advanced age at which ho learnt the art of writing, and the nature of his +duties while engaged at the Killingworth colliery, precluded that +facility in correspondence which only constant practice can give. He +gradually, however, acquired great facility in dictation, and possessed +the power of labouring continuously at this work; the gentleman who acted +as his secretary in 1835, having informed us that during his busy season +he one day dictated not fewer than 37 letters, several of them embodying +the results of much close thinking and calculation. On another occasion, +he dictated reports and letters for twelve continuous hours, until his +secretary was ready to drop off his chair from sheer exhaustion, and at +length he pleaded for a suspension of the labour. This great mass of +correspondence, although closely bearing on the subjects under +discussion, was not, however, of a kind to supply the biographer with +matter for quotation, or give that insight into the life and character of +the writer which the letters of literary men so often furnish. They +were, for the most part, letters of mere business, relating to works in +progress, parliamentary contests, new surveys, estimates of cost, and +railway policy,--curt, and to the point; in short, the letters of a man +every moment of whose time was precious. He was also frequently called +upon to inspect and report upon colliery works, salt works, brass and +copper works, and such like, in addition to his own colliery and railway +business. And occasionally he would run up to London, for the purpose of +attending in person to the preparation and deposit of the plans and +sections of the projected undertakings of which he had been appointed +engineer. + +Fortunately Stephenson possessed a facility of sleeping, which enabled +him to pass through this enormous amount of fatigue and labour without +injury to his health. He had been trained in a hard school, and could +bear with ease conditions which, to men more softly nurtured, would have +been the extreme of physical discomfort. Many, many nights he snatched +his sleep while travelling in his chaise; and at break of day he would be +at work, surveying until dark, and this for weeks in succession. His +whole powers seemed to be under the control of his will, for he could +wake at any hour, and go to work at once. It was difficult for +secretaries and assistants to keep up with such a man. + +It is pleasant to record that in the midst of these engrossing +occupations, his heart remained as soft and loving as ever. In +spring-time he would not be debarred of his boyish pursuit of +bird-nesting; but would go rambling along the hedges spying for nests. +In the autumn he went nutting, and when he could snatch a few minutes he +indulged in his old love of gardening. His uniform kindness and good +temper, and his communicative, intelligent disposition, made him a great +favourite with the neighbouring farmers, to whom he would volunteer much +valuable advice on agricultural operations, drainage, ploughing, and +labour-saving processes. Sometimes he took a long rural ride on his +favourite "Bobby," now growing old, but as fond of his master as ever. +Towards the end of his life, "Bobby" lived in clover, its master's pet, +doing no work; and he died at Tapton, in 1845, more than twenty years +old. + +During one of George's brief sojourns at the Grange, he found time to +write to his son a touching account of a pair of robins that had built +their nest within one of the upper chambers of the house. One day he +observed a robin fluttering outside the windows, and beating its wings +against the panes, as if eager to gain admission. He went up stairs, and +there found, in a retired part of one of the rooms, a robin's nest, with +one of the parent birds sitting over three or four young--all dead. The +excluded bird outside still beat against the panes; and on the window +being let down, it flew into the room, but was so exhausted that it +dropped upon the floor. Mr. Stephenson took up the bird, carried it down +stairs, had it warmed and fed. The poor robin revived, and for a time +was one of his pets. But it shortly died too, as if unable to recover +from the privations it had endured during its three days' fluttering and +beating at the windows. It appeared that the room had been unoccupied, +and, the sash having been let down, the robins had taken the opportunity +of building their nest within it; but the servant having closed the +window again, the calamity befel the birds which so strongly excited Mr. +Stephenson's sympathies. An incident such as this, trifling though it +may seem, gives the true key to the heart of the man. + +The amount of their Parliamentary business having greatly increased with +the projection of new lines of railway, the Stephensons found it +necessary to set up an office in London in 1836. George's first office +was at 9, Duke Street, Westminster, from whence he removed in the +following year to 30.5, Great George-street. That office was the busy +scene of railway politics for several years. There consultations were +held, schemes were matured, deputations were received, and many +projectors called upon our engineer for the purpose of submitting to him +their plans of railways and railway working. His private secretary at +the time has informed us that at the end of the first Parliamentary +session in which he had been engaged as engineer for more companies than +one, it became necessary for him to give instructions as to the +preparation of the accounts to be rendered to the respective companies. +In the simplicity of his heart, he directed Mr. Binns to take his full +time at the rate of ten guineas a day, and charge the railway companies +in the proportion in which he had been actually employed on their +respective business during each day. When Robert heard of this +instruction, he went directly to his father and expostulated with him +against this unprofessional course; and, other influences being brought +to bear upon him, George at length reluctantly consented to charge as +other engineers did, an entire day's fee to each of the Companies for +which he was concerned whilst their business was going forward; but he +cut down the number of days charged for and reduced the daily amount from +ten to seven guineas. + +Besides his journeys at home, Mr. Stephenson was on more than one +occasion called abroad on railway business. Thus, at the desire of King +Leopold, he made several visits to Belgium to assist the Belgian +engineers in laying out the national lines of that kingdom. That +enlightened monarch at an early period discerned the powerful +instrumentality of railways in developing a country's resources, and he +determined at the earliest possible period to adopt them as the great +high-roads of the nation. The country, being rich in coal and minerals, +had great manufacturing capabilities. It had good ports, fine navigable +rivers, abundant canals, and a teeming, industrious population. Leopold +perceived that railways were eminently calculated to bring the industry +of the country into full play, and to render the riches of the provinces +available to the rest of the kingdom. He therefore openly declared +himself the promoter of public railways throughout Belgium. A system of +lines was projected, at his instance, connecting Brussels with the chief +towns and cities of the kingdom; extending from Ostend eastward to the +Prussian frontier, and from Antwerp southward to the French frontier. + +Mr. Stephenson and his son, as the leading railway-engineers of England, +were consulted by the King on the best mode of carrying out his important +plans, as early as 1835. In the course of that year they visited +Belgium, and had several interesting conferences with Leopold and his +ministers on the subject of the proposed railways. The King then +appointed George Stephenson by royal ordinance a Knight of the Order of +Leopold. At the invitation of the monarch, Mr. Stephenson made a second +visit to Belgium in 1837, on the occasion of the public opening of the +line from Brussels to Ghent. At Brussels there was a public procession, +and another at Ghent on the arrival of the train. Stephenson and his +party accompanied it to the Public Hall, there to dine with the chief +Ministers of State, the municipal authorities, and about five hundred of +the principal inhabitants of the city; the English Ambassador being also +present. After the King's health and a few others had been drunk, that +of Mr. Stephenson was proposed; on which the whole assembly rose up, +amidst great excitement and loud applause, and made their way to where he +sat, in order to jingle glasses with him, greatly to his own amazement. +On the day following, our engineer dined with the King and Queen at their +own table at Laaken, by special invitation; afterwards accompanying his +Majesty and suite to a public ball given by the municipality of Brussels, +in honour of the opening of the line to Ghent, as well as of their +distinguished English guest. On entering the room, the general and +excited inquiry was, "Which is Stephenson?" The English engineer had not +before imagined that he was esteemed to be so great a man. + +The London and Birmingham Railway having been completed in September, +1838, after being about five years in progress, the great main system of +railway communication between London, Liverpool, and Manchester was then +opened to the public. For some months previously, the line had been +partially opened, coaches performing the journey between Denbigh Hall +(near Wolverton) and Rugby,--the works of the Kilsby tunnel being still +incomplete. It was already amusing to hear the complaints of the +travellers about the slowness of the coaches as compared with the +railway, though the coaches travelled at the speed of eleven miles an +hour. The comparison of comfort was also greatly to the disparagement of +the coaches. Then the railway train could accommodate any quantity, +whilst the road conveyances were limited; and when a press of travellers +occurred--as on the occasion of the Queen's coronation--the greatest +inconvenience was experienced, and as much as 10 pounds was paid for a +seat on a donkey-chaise between Rugby and Denbigh. On the opening of the +railway throughout, of course all this inconvenience and delay was +brought to an end. + +Numerous other openings of railways constructed by Mr. Stephenson took +place about the same time. The Birmingham and Derby line was opened for +traffic in August, 1839; the Sheffield and Rotherham in November, 1839; +and in the course of the following year, the Midland, the York and North +Midland, the Chester and Crewe, the Chester and Birkenhead, the +Manchester and Birmingham, the Manchester and Leeds, and the Maryport and +Carlisle railways, were all publicly opened in whole or in part. Thus +321 miles of railway (exclusive of the London and Birmingham) constructed +under Mr. Stephenson's superintendence, at a cost of upwards of eleven +millions sterling, were, in the course of about two years, added to the +traffic accommodation of the country. + +The ceremonies which accompanied the public opening of these lines were +often of an interesting character. The adjoining population held general +holiday; bands played, banners waved, and assembled thousands cheered the +passing trains amidst the occasional booming of cannon. The proceedings +were usually wound up by a public dinner; and in the course of the +speeches which followed, Mr. Stephenson would revert to his favourite +topic--the difficulties which he had early encountered in the promotion +of the railway system, and in establishing the superiority of the +locomotive. On such occasions he always took great pleasure in alluding +to the services rendered to himself and the public by the young men +brought up under his eye--his pupils at first, and afterwards his +assistants. No great master ever possessed a more devoted band of +assistants and fellow-workers than he did. It was one of the most marked +evidences of his own admirable tact and judgment that he selected, with +such undeviating correctness, the men best fitted to carry out his plans. +Indeed, the ability to accomplish great things, and to carry grand ideas +into practical effect, depends in no small measure on that intuitive +knowledge of character, which Stephenson possessed in so remarkable a +degree. + +At the dinner at York, which followed the partial opening of the York and +North Midland Railway, Mr. Stephenson said, "he was sure they would +appreciate his feelings when he told them, that when he first began +railway business his hair was black, although it was now grey; and that +he began his life's labour as but a poor ploughboy. About thirty years +since, he had applied himself to the study of how to generate high +velocities by mechanical means. He thought he had solved that problem; +and they had for themselves seen, that day, what perseverance had brought +him too. He was, on that occasion, only too happy to have an opportunity +of acknowledging that he had, in the latter portion of his career, +received much most valuable assistance, particularly from young men +brought up in his manufactory. Whenever talent showed itself in a young +man he had always given that talent encouragement where he could, and he +would continue to do so." + +That this was no exaggerated statement is amply proved by many facts +which redound to Mr. Stephenson's credit. He was no niggard of +encouragement and praise when he saw honest industry struggling for a +footing. Many were the young men whom, in the course of his useful +career, he took by the hand and led steadily up to honour and emolument, +simply because he had noted their zeal, diligence, and integrity. One +youth excited his interest while working as a common carpenter on the +Liverpool and Manchester line; and before many years had passed, he was +recognised as an engineer of distinction. Another young man he found +industriously working away at his bye-hours, and, admiring his diligence, +engaged him for his private secretary, the gentleman shortly after rising +to a position of eminent influence and usefulness. Indeed, nothing gave +Mr. Stephenson greater pleasure than in this way to help on any deserving +youth who came under his observation, and, in his own expressive phrase, +to "make a man of him." + +The openings of the great main lines of railroad communication shortly +proved the fallaciousness of the numerous rash prophecies which had been +promulgated by the opponents of railways. The proprietors of the canals +were astounded by the fact that, notwithstanding the immense traffic +conveyed by rail, their own traffic and receipts continued to increase; +and that, in common with other interests, they fully shared in the +expansion of trade and commerce which had been so effectually promoted by +the extension of the railway system. The cattle-owners were equally +amazed to find the price of horse-flesh increasing with the extension of +railways, and that the number of coaches running to and from the new +railway stations gave employment to a greater number of horses than under +the old stage-coach system. Those who had prophesied the decay of the +metropolis, and the ruin of the suburban cabbage-growers, in consequence +of the approach of railways to London, were also disappointed; for, while +the new roads let citizens out of London, they let country-people in. +Their action, in this respect, was centripetal as well as centrifugal. +Tens of thousands who had never seen the metropolis could now visit it +expeditiously and cheaply; and Londoners who had never visited the +country, or but rarely, were enabled, at little cost of time or money, to +see green fields and clear blue skies, far from the smoke and bustle of +town. If the dear suburban-grown cabbages became depreciated in value, +there were truck-loads of fresh-grown country cabbages to make amends for +the loss: in this case, the "partial evil" was a far more general good. +The food of the metropolis became rapidly improved, especially in the +supply of wholesome meat and vegetables. And then the price of coals--an +article which, in this country, is as indispensable as daily food to all +classes--was greatly reduced. What a blessing to the metropolitan poor +is described in this single fact! + +The prophecies of ruin and disaster to landlords and farmers were equally +confounded by the openings of the railways. The agricultural +communications, so far from being "destroyed," as had been predicted, +were immensely improved. The farmers were enabled to buy their coals, +lime, and manure for less money, while they obtained a readier access to +the best markets for their stock and farm-produce. Notwithstanding the +predictions to the contrary, their cows gave milk as before, their sheep +fed and fattened, and even skittish horses ceased to shy at the passing +locomotive. The smoke of the engines did not obscure the sky, nor were +farmyards burnt up by the fire thrown from the locomotives. The farming +classes were not reduced to beggary; on the contrary, they soon felt +that, so far from having anything to dread, they had very much good to +expect from the extension of railways. + +Landlords also found that they could get higher rents for farms situated +near a railway than at a distance from one. Hence they became clamorous +for "sidings." They felt it to be a grievance to be placed at a distance +from a station. After a railway had been once opened, not a landlord +would consent to have the line taken from him. Owners who had fought the +promoters before Parliament, and compelled them to pass their domains at +a distance, at a vastly-increased expense in tunnels and deviations, now +petitioned for branches and nearer station accommodation. Those who held +property near towns, and had extorted large sums as compensation for the +anticipated deterioration in the value of their building land, found a +new demand for it springing up at greatly advanced prices. Land was now +advertised for sale, with the attraction of being "near a railway +station." + +The prediction that, even if railways were made, the public would not use +them, was also completely falsified by the results. The ordinary mode of +fast travelling for the middle classes had heretofore been by mail-coach +and stage-coach. Those who could not afford to pay the high prices +charged for such conveyances went by waggon, and the poorer classes +trudged on foot. George Stephenson was wont to say that he hoped to see +the day when it would be cheaper for a poor man to travel by railway than +to walk, and not many years passed before his expectation was fulfilled. +In no country in the world is time worth more money than in England; and +by saving time--the criterion of distance--the railway proved a great +benefactor to men of industry in all classes. + +It was some time before the more opulent, who could afford to post to +town in aristocratic style, became reconciled to railway travelling. In +the opinion of many, it was only another illustration of the levelling +tendencies of the age. It put an end to that gradation of rank in +travelling which was one of the few things left by which the nobleman +could be distinguished from the Manchester manufacturer and bagman. But +to younger sons of noble families the convenience and cheapness of the +railway did not fail to recommend itself. One of these, whose eldest +brother had just succeeded to an earldom, said one day to a railway +manager: "I like railways--they just suit young fellows like me with +'nothing per annum paid quarterly.' You know we can't afford to post, +and it used to be deuced annoying to me, as I was jogging along on the +box-seat of the stage-coach, to see the little Earl go by drawn by his +four posters, and just look up at me and give me a nod. But now, with +railways, it's different. It's true, he may take a first-class ticket, +while I can only afford a second-class one, but _we both go the same +pace_." + +For a time, however, many of the old families sent forward their servants +and luggage by railroad, and condemned themselves to jog along the old +highway in the accustomed family chariot, dragged by country post-horses. +But the superior comfort of the railway shortly recommended itself to +even the oldest families; posting went out of date; post-horses were with +difficulty to be had along even the great high-roads; and nobles and +servants, manufacturers and peasants, alike shared in the comfort, the +convenience, and the despatch of railway travelling. The late Dr. +Arnold, of Rugby, regarded the opening of the London and Birmingham line +as another great step accomplished in the march of civilisation. "I +rejoice to see it," he said, as he stood on one of the bridges over the +railway, and watched the train flashing along under him, and away through +the distant hedgerows--"I rejoice to see it, and to think that feudality +is gone for ever: it is so great a blessing to think that any one evil is +really extinct." + +It was long before the late Duke of Wellington would trust himself behind +a locomotive. The fatal accident to Mr. Huskisson, which had happened +before his eyes, contributed to prejudice him strongly against railways, +and it was not until the year 1843 that he performed his first trip on +the South-Western Railway, in attendance upon her Majesty. Prince Albert +had for some time been accustomed to travel by railway alone, but in 1842 +the Queen began to make use of the same mode of conveyance between +Windsor and London. Even Colonel Sibthorpe was eventually compelled to +acknowledge its utility. For a time he continued to post to and from the +country as before. Then he compromised the matter by taking a railway +ticket for the long journey, and posting only a stage or two nearest +town; until, at length, he undisguisedly committed himself, like other +people, to the express train, and performed the journey throughout upon +what he had formerly denounced as "the infernal railroad." + + [Picture: Coalville and Snibston Colliery] + + [Picture: Tapton House, near Chesterfield] + + + + +CHAPTER XV. +GEORGE STEPHENSON'S COAL MINES--APPEARS AT MECHANICS' INSTITUTES--HIS +OPINION ON RAILWAY SPEEDS--ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM--RAILWAY MANIA--VISITS TO +BELGIUM AND SPAIN. + + +While George Stephenson was engaged in carrying on the works of the +Midland Railway in the neighbourhood of Chesterfield, several seams of +coal were cut through in the Claycross Tunnel, and it occurred to him +that if mines were opened out there, the railway would provide the means +of a ready sale for the article in the midland counties, and as far south +as even the metropolis itself. + +At a time when everybody else was sceptical as to the possibility of +coals being carried from the midland counties to London, and sold there +at a price to compete with those which were seaborne, he declared his +firm conviction that the time was fast approaching when the London market +would be regularly supplied with north-country coals led by railway. One +of the greatest advantages of railways, in his opinion was that they +would bring iron and coal, the staple products of the country, to the +doors of all England. "The strength of Britain," he would say, "lies in +her iron and coal beds; and the locomotive is destined, above all other +agencies, to bring it forth. The Lord Chancellor now sits upon a bag of +wool; but wool has long ceased to be emblematical of the staple commodity +of England. He ought rather to sit upon a bag of coals, though it might +not prove quite so comfortable a seat. Then think of the Lord Chancellor +being addressed as the noble and learned lord _on the coal-sack_! I am +afraid it wouldn't answer, after all." + +To one gentleman he said: "We want from the coal-mining, the +iron-producing and manufacturing districts, a great railway for the +carriage of these valuable products. We want, if I may so say, a stream +of steam running directly through the country, from the North to London, +and from other similar districts to London. Speed is not so much an +object as utility and cheapness. It will not do to mix up the heavy +merchandise and coal trains with the passenger trains. Coal and most +kinds of goods can wait; but passengers will not. A less perfect road +and less expensive works will do well enough for coal trains, if run at a +low speed; and if the line be flat, it is not of much consequence whether +it be direct or not. Whenever you put passenger trains on a line, all +the other trains must be run at high speeds to keep out of their way. +But coal trains run at high speeds pull the road to pieces, besides +causing large expenditure in locomotive power; and I doubt very much +whether they will pay after all; but a succession of long coal trains, if +run at from ten to fourteen miles an hour, would pay very well. Thus the +Stockton and Darlington Company made a larger profit when running coal at +low speeds at a halfpenny a ton per mile, than they have been able to do +since they put on their fast passenger trains, when everything must needs +be run faster, and a much larger proportion of the gross receipts is +absorbed by working expenses." + +In advocating these views, Mr. Stephenson was considerably ahead of his +time; and although he did not live to see his anticipations fully +realised as to the supply of the London coal-market, he was nevertheless +the first to point out, and to some extent to prove, the practicability +of establishing a profitable coal trade by railway between the northern +counties and the metropolis. So long, however, as the traffic was +conducted on main passenger lines at comparatively high speeds, it was +found that the expenditure on tear and wear of road and locomotive +power,--not to mention the increased risk of carrying on the first-class +passenger traffic with which it was mixed up,--necessarily left a very +small margin of profit; and hence Mr. Stephenson was in the habit of +urging the propriety of constructing a railway which should be +exclusively devoted to goods and mineral traffic run at low speeds as the +only condition on which a large railway traffic of that sort could be +profitably conducted. + +Having induced some of his Liverpool friends to join him in a coal-mining +adventure at Chesterfield, a lease was taken of the Claycross estate, +then for sale, and operations were shortly after begun. At a subsequent +period Mr. Stephenson extended his coal-mining operations in the same +neighbourhood; and in 1841 he himself entered into a contract with owners +of land in adjoining townships for the working of the coal thereunder; +and pits were opened on the Tapton estate on an extensive scale. About +the same time he erected great lime-works, close to the Ambergate station +of the Midland Railway, from which, when in full operation he was able to +turn out upwards of 200 tons a day. The limestone was brought on a +tramway from the village of Crich, 2 or 3 miles distant, the coal being +supplied from his adjoining Claycross colliery. The works were on a +scale such as had not before been attempted by any private individual +engaged in a similar trade; and we believe they proved very successful. + + [Picture: Lime Works at Ambergate] + +Tapton House was included in the lease of one of the collieries, and as +it was conveniently situated--being, as it were, a central point on the +Midland Railway, from which he could readily proceed north or south, on +his journeys of inspection of the various lines then under construction +in the midland and northern counties,--he took up his residence there, +and it continued his home until the close of his life. + +Tapton House is a large roomy brick mansion, beautifully situated amidst +woods, upon a commanding eminence, about a mile to the north-east of the +town of Chesterfield. Green fields dotted with fine trees slope away +from the house in all directions. The surrounding country is undulating +and highly picturesque. North and south the eye ranges over a vast +extent of lovely scenery; and on the west, looking over the town of +Chesterfield, with its church and crooked spire, the extensive range of +the Derbyshire hills bounds the distance. The Midland Railway skirts the +western edge of the park in a deep rock cutting, and the shrill whistle +of the locomotive sounds near at hand as the trains speed past. The +gardens and pleasure-grounds adjoining the house were in a very neglected +state when Mr. Stephenson first went to Tapton; and he promised himself, +when he had secured rest and leisure from business, that he would put a +new face upon both. The first improvement he made was cutting a woodland +footpath up the hill-side, by which he at the same time added a beautiful +feature to the park, and secured a shorter road to the Chesterfield +station. But it was some years before he found time to carry into effect +his contemplated improvements in the adjoining gardens and +pleasure-grounds. He had so long been accustomed to laborious pursuits, +and felt himself still so full of work, that he could not at once settle +down into the habit of quietly enjoying the fruits of his industry. + +He had no difficulty in usefully employing his time. Besides directing +the mining operations at Claycross, the establishment of the lime-kilns +at Ambergate, and the construction of the extensive railways still in +progress, he occasionally paid visits to Newcastle, where his locomotive +manufactory was now in full work, and the proprietors were reaping the +advantages of his early foresight in an abundant measure of prosperity. +One of his most interesting visits to the place was in 1838, on the +occasion of the meeting of the British Association there, when he acted +as one of the Vice-Presidents in the section of Mechanical Science. +Extraordinary changes had occurred in his own fortunes, as well as in the +face of the country, since he had first appeared before a scientific body +in Newcastle--the members of the Literary and Philosophical Institute--to +submit his safety-lamp for their examination. Twenty-three years had +passed over his head, full of honest work, of manful struggle; and the +humble "colliery engine-wright of the name of Stephenson" had achieved an +almost worldwide reputation as a public benefactor. His fellow-townsmen, +therefore, could not hesitate to recognise his merits and do honour to +his name. During the sittings of the Association, Mr. Stephenson took +the opportunity of paying a visit to Killingworth, accompanied by some of +the distinguished _savans_ whom he numbered amongst his friends. He +there pointed out to them, with a degree of honest pride, the cottage in +which he had lived for so many years, showed what parts of it had been +his own handiwork, and told them the story of the sun-dial over the door, +describing the study and the labour it had cost him and his son to +calculate its dimensions, and fix it in its place. The dial had been +serenely numbering the hours through the busy years that had elapsed +since that humble dwelling had been his home; during which the +Killingworth locomotive had become a great working power, and its +contriver had established the railway system, which was now rapidly +becoming extended in all parts of the world. + +About the same time, his services were very much in request at the +meetings of Mechanics' Institutes held throughout the northern counties. +From an early period in his history, he had taken an active interest in +these institutions. While residing at Newcastle in 1824, shortly after +his locomotive foundry had been started in Forth-street, he presided at a +public meeting held in that town for the purpose of establishing a +Mechanics' Institute. The meeting was held; but as George Stephenson was +a man comparatively unknown even in Newcastle at that time, his name +failed to secure "an influential attendance." Among those who addressed +the meeting on the occasion was Joseph Locke, then his pupil, and +afterwards his rival as an engineer. The local papers scarcely noticed +the proceedings; yet the Mechanics' Institute was founded, and struggled +into existence. Years passed, and it was now felt to be an honour to +secure Mr. Stephenson's presence at any public meetings held for the +promotion of popular education. Among the Mechanics' Institutes in his +immediate neighbourhood at Tapton, were those of Belper and Chesterfield; +and at their soirees he was a frequent and a welcome visitor. On these +occasions he loved to tell his auditors of the difficulties which had +early beset him through want of knowledge, and of the means by which he +had overcome them. His grand text was--PERSEVERE; and there was manhood +in the very word. + +On more than one occasion, the author had the pleasure of listening to +George Stephenson's homely but forcible addresses at the annual soirees +of the Leeds Mechanics' Institute. He was always an immense favourite +with his audiences there. His personal appearance was greatly in his +favour. A handsome, ruddy, expressive face, lit up by bright dark-blue +eyes, prepared one for his earnest words when he stood up to speak and +the cheers had subsided which invariably hailed his rising. He was not +glib, but he was very impressive. And who, so well as he, could serve as +a guide to the working man in his endeavours after higher knowledge? His +early life had been all struggle--encounter with difficulty--groping in +the dark after greater light, but always earnestly and perseveringly. +His words were therefore all the more weighty, since he spoke from the +fulness of his own experience. + +Nor did he remain a mere inactive spectator of the improvements in +railway working which increasing experience from day to day suggested. +He continued to contrive improvements in the locomotive, and to mature +his invention of the carriage-brake. When examined before the Select +Committee on Railways in 1841, his mind seems principally to have been +impressed with the necessity which existed for adopting a system of self +acting brakes; stating that, in his opinion, this was the most important +arrangement that could be provided for increasing the safety of railway +travelling. "I believe," he said, "that if self-acting brakes were put +upon every carriage, scarcely any accident could take place." His plan +consisted in employing the momentum of the running train to throw his +proposed brakes into action, immediately on the moving power of the +engine being checked. He would also have these brakes under the control +of the guard, by means of a connecting line running along the whole +length of the train, by which they should at once be thrown out of gear +when necessary. At the same time he suggested, as an additional means of +safety, that the signals of the line should be self-acting, and worked by +the locomotives as they passed along the railway. He considered the +adoption of this plan of so much importance, that, with a view to the +public safety, he would even have it enforced upon railway companies by +the legislature. At the same time he was of opinion that it was the +interest of the companies themselves to adopt the plan, as it would save +great tear and wear of engines, carriages, tenders, and brake-vans, +besides greatly diminishing the risk of accidents upon railways. + +While before the same Committee, he took the opportunity of stating his +views with reference to railway speed, about which wild ideas were then +afloat--one gentleman of celebrity having publicly expressed the opinion +that a speed of 100 miles an hour was practicable in railway travelling! +Not many years had passed since George Stephenson had been pronounced +insane for stating his conviction that 12 miles an hour could be +performed by the locomotive; but now that he had established the fact, +and greatly exceeded that speed, he was thought behind the age because he +recommended the rate to be limited to 40 miles an hour. He said: "I do +not like either 40 or 50 miles an hour upon any line--I think it is an +unnecessary speed; and if there is danger upon a railway, it is high +velocity that creates it. I should say no railway ought to exceed 40 +miles an hour on the most favourable gradient; but upon a curved line the +speed ought not to exceed 24 or 25 miles an hour." He had, indeed, +constructed for the Great Western Railway an engine capable of running 50 +miles an hour with a load, and 80 miles without one. But he never was in +favour of a hurricane speed of this sort, believing it could only be +accomplished at an unnecessary increase both of danger and expense. + +"It is true," he observed on other occasions, "I have said the locomotive +engine _might_ be made to travel 100 miles an hour; but I always put a +qualification on this, namely, as to what speed would best suit the +public. The public may, however, be unreasonable; and 50 or 60 miles an +hour is an unreasonable speed. Long before railway travelling became +general, I said to my friends that there was no limit to the speed of the +locomotive, _provided the works could be made to stand_. But there are +limits to the strength of iron, whether it be manufactured into rails or +locomotives; and there is a point at which both rails and tyres must +break. Every increase of speed, by increasing the strain upon the road +and the rolling stock, brings us nearer to that point. At 30 miles a +slighter road will do, and less perfect rolling stock may be run upon it +with safety. But if you increase the speed by say 10 miles, then +everything must be greatly strengthened. You must have heavier engines, +heavier and better-fastened rails, and all your working expenses will be +immediately increased. I think I know enough of mechanics to know where +to stop. I know that a pound will weigh a pound, and that no more should +be put upon an iron rail than it will bear. If you could ensure perfect +iron, perfect rails, and perfect locomotives, I grant 50 miles an hour or +more might be run with safety on a level railway. But then you must not +forget that iron, even the best, will 'tire,' and with constant use will +become more and more liable to break at the weakest point--perhaps where +there is a secret flaw that the eye cannot detect. Then look at the +rubbishy rails now manufactured on the contract system--some of them +little better than cast metal: indeed, I have seen rails break merely on +being thrown from the truck on to the ground. How is it possible for +such rails to stand a 20 or 30 ton engine dashing over them at the speed +of 50 miles an hour? No, no," he would conclude, "I am in favour of low +speeds because they are safe, and because they are economical; and you +may rely upon it that, beyond a certain point, with every increase of +speed there is an increase in the element of danger." + +When railways became the subject of popular discussion, many new and +unsound theories were started with reference to them, which Stephenson +opposed as calculated, in his opinion, to bring discredit on the +locomotive system. One of these was with reference to what were called +"undulating lines." Among others, Dr. Lardner, who had originally been +somewhat sceptical about the powers of the locomotive, now promulgated +the idea that a railway constructed with rising and falling gradients +would be practically as easy to work as a line perfectly level. Mr. +Badnell went even beyond him, for he held that an undulating railway was +much better than a level one for purposes of working. For a time, this +theory found favour, and the "undulating system" was extensively adopted; +but Mr. Stephenson never ceased to inveigh against it; and experience has +amply proved that his judgment was correct. His practice, from the +beginning of his career until the end of it, was to secure a road as +nearly as possible on a level, following the course of the valleys and +the natural line of the country: preferring to go round a hill rather +than to tunnel under it or carry his railway over it, and often making a +considerable circuit to secure good, workable gradients. He studied to +lay out his lines so that long trains of minerals and merchandise, as +well as passengers, might be hauled along them at the least possible +expenditure of locomotive power. He had long before ascertained, by +careful experiments at Killingworth, that the engine expends half of its +power in overcoming a rising gradient of 1 in 260, which is about 20 feet +in the mile; and that when the gradient is so steep as 1 in 100, not less +than three-fourths of its power is sacrificed in ascending the acclivity. +He never forgot the valuable practical lesson taught him by the early +trials which he had made and registered long before the advantages of +railways had been recognised. He saw clearly that the longer flat line +must eventually prove superior to the shorter line of steep gradients as +respected its paying qualities. He urged that, after all, the power of +the locomotive was but limited; and, although he and his son had done +more than any other men to increase its working capacity, it provoked him +to find that every improvement made in it was neutralised by the steep +gradients which the new school of engineers were setting it to overcome. +On one occasion, when Robert Stephenson stated before a Parliamentary +Committee that every successive improvement in the locomotive was being +rendered virtually nugatory by the difficult and almost impracticable +gradients proposed on many of the new lines, his father, on his leaving +the witness-box, went up to him, and said, "Robert, you never spoke truer +words than those in all your life." + +To this it must be added, that in urging these views Mr. Stephenson was +strongly influenced by commercial considerations. He had no desire to +build up his reputation at the expense of railway shareholders, nor to +obtain engineering _eclat_ by making "ducks and drakes" of their money. +He was persuaded that, in order to secure the practical success of +railways, they must be so laid out as not only to prove of decided public +utility, but also to be worked economically and to the advantage of their +proprietors. They were not government roads, but private ventures--in +fact, commercial speculations. He therefore endeavoured to render them +financially profitable; and he repeatedly declared that if he did not +believe they could be "made to pay," he would have nothing to do with +them. He was not influenced by the sordid consideration of what he could +_make_ out of any company that employed him; indeed, in many cases he +voluntarily gave up his claim to remuneration where the promoters of +schemes which he thought praiseworthy had suffered serious loss. Thus, +when the first application was made to Parliament for the Chester and +Birkenhead Railway Bill, the promoters were defeated. They repeated +their application, on the understanding that in event of their +succeeding, the engineer and surveyor were to be paid their costs in +respect of the defeated measure. The Bill was successful, and to several +parties their costs were paid. Mr. Stephenson's amounted to 800 pounds, +and he very nobly said, "You have had an expensive career in Parliament; +you have had a great struggle; you are a young Company; you cannot afford +to pay me this amount of money. I will reduce it to 200 pounds, and I +will not ask you for that 200 pounds until your shares are at 20 pounds +premium: for whatever may be the reverses you will go through, I am +satisfied I shall live to see the day when your shares will be at 20 +pounds premium, and when I can legally and honourably claim that 200 +pounds." We may add that the shares did eventually rise to the premium +specified, and the engineer was no loser by his generous conduct in the +transaction. + +Another novelty of the time, with which George Stephenson had to contend, +was the substitution of atmospheric pressure for locomotive steam-power +in the working of railways. The idea of obtaining motion by means of +atmospheric pressure is said to have originated with Denis Papin, more +than 150 years ago; but it slept until revived in 1810 by Mr. Medhurst, +who published a pamphlet to prove the practicability of carrying letters +and goods by air. In 1824, Mr. Vallance of Brighton took out a patent +for projecting passengers through a tube large enough to contain a train +of carriages; the tube being previously exhausted of its atmospheric air. +The same idea was afterwards taken up, in 1835, by Mr. Pinkus, an +ingenious American. Scientific gentlemen, Dr. Lardner and Mr. Clegg +amongst others, advocated the plan; and an association was formed to +carry it into effect. Shares were created, and 18,000 pounds raised: and +a model apparatus was exhibited in London. Mr. Vignolles took his friend +Stephenson to see the model; and after carefully examining it, he +observed emphatically, "_It won't do_: it is only the fixed engines and +ropes over again, in another form; and, to tell you the truth, I don't +think this rope of wind will answer so well as the rope of wire did." He +did not think the principle would stand the test of practice, and he +objected to the mode of applying the principle. After all, it was only a +modification of the stationary-engine plan; and every day's experience +was proving that fixed engines could not compete with locomotives in +point of efficiency and economy. He stood by the locomotive engine; and +subsequent experience proved that he was right. + +Messrs. Clegg and Samuda afterwards, in 1840, patented their plan of an +atmospheric railway; and they publicly tested its working on an +unfinished portion of the West London Railway. The results of the +experiment were so satisfactory, that the directors of the Dublin and +Kingstown line adopted it between Kingstown and Dalkey. The London and +Croydon Company also adopted the atmospheric principle; and their line +was opened in 1845. The ordinary mode of applying the power was to lay +between the line of rails a pipe, in which a large piston was inserted, +and attached by a shaft to the framework of a carriage. The propelling +power was the ordinary pressure of the atmosphere acting against the +piston in the tube on one side, a vacuum being created in the tube on the +other side of the piston by the working of a stationary engine. Great +was the popularity of the atmospheric system; and still George Stephenson +said "It won't do: it's but a gimcrack." Engineers of distinction said +he was prejudiced, and that he looked upon the locomotive as a pet child +of his own. "Wait a little," he replied, "and you will see that I am +right." It was generally supposed that the locomotive system was about +to be snuffed out. "Not so fast," said Stephenson. "Let us wait to see +if it will pay." He never believed it would. It was ingenious, clever, +scientific, and all that; but railways were commercial enterprises, not +toys; and if the atmospheric railway could not work to a profit, it would +not do. Considered in this light, he even went so far as to call it "a +great humbug." "Nothing will beat the locomotive," said he, "for +efficiency in all weathers, for economy in drawing loads of average +weight, and for power and speed as occasion may require." + +The atmospheric system was fairly and fully tried, and it was found +wanting. It was admitted to be an exceedingly elegant mode of applying +power; its devices were very skilful, and its mechanism was most +ingenious. But it was costly, irregular in action, and, in particular +kinds of weather, not to be depended upon. At best, it was but a +modification of the stationary-engine system, and experience proved it to +be so expensive that it was shortly after entirely abandoned in favour of +locomotive power. {288} + +One of the remarkable results of the system of railway locomotion which +George Stephenson had by his persevering labours mainly contributed to +establish, was the outbreak of the railway mania towards the close of his +professional career. The success of the first main lines of railway +naturally led to their extension into many new districts; but a strongly +speculative tendency soon began to display itself, which contained in it +the elements of great danger. + +The extension of railways had, up to the year 1844, been mainly effected +by men of the commercial classes, and the shareholders in them +principally belonged to the manufacturing districts,--the capitalists of +the metropolis as yet holding aloof, and prophesying disaster to all +concerned in railway projects. But when the lugubrious anticipations of +the City men were found to be so entirely falsified by the results--when, +after the lapse of years, it was ascertained that railway traffic rapidly +increased and dividends steadily improved--a change came over the spirit +of the London capitalists. They then invested largely in railways, the +shares in which became a leading branch of business on the Stock +Exchange, and the prices of some rose to nearly double their original +value. + +A stimulus was thus given to the projection of further lines, the shares +in most of which came out at a premium, and became the subject of +immediate traffic. A reckless spirit of gambling set in, which +completely changed the character and objects of railway enterprise. The +public outside the Stock Exchange became also infected, and many persons +utterly ignorant of railways, knowing and caring nothing about their +national uses, but hungering and thirsting after premiums, rushed eagerly +into the vortex. They applied for allotments, and subscribed for shares +in lines, of the engineering character or probable traffic of which they +knew nothing. Provided they could but obtain allotments which they could +sell at a premium, and put the profit--in many cases the only capital +they possessed {289}--into their pocket, it was enough for them. The +mania was not confined to the precincts of the Stock Exchange, but +infected all ranks. It embraced merchants and manufacturers, gentry and +shopkeepers, clerks in public offices, and loungers at the clubs. Noble +lords were pointed at as "stags;" there were even clergymen who were +characterised as "bulls;" and amiable ladies who had the reputation of +"bears," in the share markets. The few quiet men who remained +uninfluenced by the speculation of the time were, in not a few cases, +even reproached for doing injustice to their families, in declining to +help themselves from the stores of wealth that were poured out on all +sides. + +Folly and knavery were, for a time, completely in the ascendant. The +sharpers of society were let loose, and jobbers and schemers became more +and more plentiful. They threw out railway schemes as lures to catch the +unwary. They fed the mania with a constant succession of new projects. +The railway papers became loaded with their advertisements. The +post-office was scarcely able to distribute the multitude of prospectuses +and circulars which they issued. For a time their popularity was +immense. They rose like froth into the upper heights of society, and the +flunkey FitzPlushe, by virtue of his supposed wealth, sat amongst peers +and was idolised. Then was the harvest-time of scheming lawyers, +parliamentary agents, engineers, surveyors, and traffic-takers, who were +ready to take up any railway scheme however desperate, and to prove any +amount of traffic even where none existed. The traffic in the credulity +of their dupes was, however, the great fact that mainly concerned them, +and of the profitable character of which there could be no doubt. + +Mr. Stephenson was anxiously entreated to lend his name to prospectuses +during the railway mania; but he invariably refused. He held aloof from +the headlong folly of the hour, and endeavoured to check it, but in vain. +Had he been less scrupulous, and given his countenance to the numerous +projects about which he was consulted, he might, without any trouble, +have thus secured enormous gains; but he had no desire to accumulate a +fortune without labour and without honour. He himself never speculated +in shares. When he was satisfied as to the merits of any undertaking, he +subscribed for a certain amount of capital in it, and held on, neither +buying nor selling. At a dinner of the Leeds and Bradford directors at +Ben Rydding in October, 1844, before the mania had reached its height, he +warned those present against the prevalent disposition towards railway +speculation. It was, he said, like walking upon a piece of ice with +shallows and deeps; the shallows were frozen over, and they would carry, +but it required great caution to get over the deeps. He was satisfied +that in the course of the next year many would step on to places not +strong enough to carry them, and would get into the deeps; they would be +taking shares, and afterwards be unable to pay the calls upon them. +Yorkshiremen were reckoned clever men, and his advice to them was, to +stick together and promote communication in their own neighbourhood,--not +to go abroad with their speculations. If any had done so, he advised +them to get their money back as fast as they could, for if they did not +they would not get it at all. He informed the company, at the same time, +of his earliest holding of railway shares; it was in the Stockton and +Darlington Railway, and the number he held was _three_--"a very large +capital for him to possess at the time." But a Stockton friend was +anxious to possess a share, and he sold him _one_ at a premium of 33s.; +he supposed he had been about the first man in England to sell a railway +share at a premium. + +During 1845, his son's offices in Great George-street, Westminster, were +crowded with persons of various conditions seeking interviews, presenting +very much the appearance of the levee of a minister of state. The burly +figure of Mr. Hudson, the "Railway King," surrounded by an admiring group +of followers, was often to be seen there; and a still more interesting +person, in the estimation of many, was George Stephenson, dressed in +black, his coat of somewhat old-fashioned cut, with square pockets in the +tails. He wore a white neckcloth, and a large bunch of seals was +suspended from his watch-ribbon. Altogether, he presented an appearance +of health, intelligence, and good humour, that rejoiced one to look upon +in that sordid, selfish and eventually ruinous saturnalia of railway +speculation. + +Powers were granted by Parliament, in 1843, to construct not less than +2883 miles of new railways in Britain, at an expenditure of about +forty-four millions sterling! Yet the mania was not appeased; for in the +following session of 1846, applications were made to Parliament for +powers to raise 389,000,000 pounds sterling for the construction of +further lines; and powers were actually conceded for forming 4790 miles +(including 60 miles of tunnels), at a cost of about 120,000,000 pounds +sterling. During this session, Mr. Stephenson appeared as engineer for +only one new line,--the Buxton, Macclesfield, Congleton, and Crewe +Railway--a line in which, as a coal-owner, he was personally +interested;--and of three branch-lines in connexion with existing +companies for which he had long acted as engineer. At the same time, all +the leading professional men were fully occupied, some of them appearing +as consulting engineers for upwards of thirty lines each! + +One of the features of the mania was the rage for "direct lines" which +everywhere displayed itself. There were "Direct Manchester," "Direct +Exeter," "Direct York," and, indeed, new direct lines between most of the +large towns. The Marquis of Bristol, speaking in favour of the "Direct +Norwich and London" project, at a public meeting at Haverhill, said, "If +necessary, they might _make a tunnel beneath his very drawing-room_, +rather than be defeated in their undertaking!" And the Rev. F. +Litchfield, at a meeting in Banbury, on the subject of a line to that +town, said "He had laid down for himself a limit to his approbation of +railways,--at least of such as approached the neighbourhood with which he +was connected,--and that limit was, that he did not wish them to approach +any nearer to him than _to run through his bedroom_, _with the bedposts +for a station_!" How different was the spirit which influenced these +noble lords and gentlemen but a few years before! + +The House of Commons became thoroughly influenced by the prevailing +excitement. Even the Board of Trade began to favour the views of the +fast school of engineers. In their "Report on the Lines projected in the +Manchester and Leeds District," they promulgated some remarkable views +respecting gradients, declaring themselves in favour of the "undulating +system." They there stated that lines of an undulating character "which +have gradients of 1 in 70 or in 80 distributed over them in short +lengths, may be positively _better_ lines, _i.e._, _more susceptible of +cheap and expeditious working_, than others which have nothing steeper +than 1 in 100 or 1 in 120!" They concluded by reporting in favour of the +line which exhibited the worst gradients and the sharpest curves, chiefly +on the ground that it could be constructed for less money. + +Sir Robert Peel took occasion to advert to this Report in the House of +Commons on the 4th of March following, as containing "a novel and highly +important view on the subject of gradients, which, he was certain, never +could have been taken by any Committee of the House of Commons, however +intelligent;" and he might have added, that the more intelligent, the +less likely they were to arrive at any such conclusion. When Mr. +Stephenson saw this report of the Premier's speech in the newspapers of +the following morning, he went forthwith to his son, and asked him to +write a letter to Sir Robert Peel on the subject. He saw clearly that if +these views were adopted, the utility and economy of railways would be +seriously curtailed. "These members of Parliament," said he, "are now as +much disposed to exaggerate the powers of the locomotive, as they were to +under-estimate them but a few years ago." Robert accordingly wrote a +letter for his father's signature, embodying the views which he so +strongly entertained as to the importance of flat gradients, and +referring to the experiments conducted by him many years before, in proof +of the great loss of working power which was incurred on a line of steep +as compared with easy gradients. It was clear, from the tone of Sir +Robert Peel's speech in a subsequent debate, that he had carefully read +and considered Mr. Stephenson's practical observations on the subject; +though it did not appear that he had come to any definite conclusion +thereon, further than that he strongly approved of the Trent Valley +Railway, by which Tamworth would be placed upon a direct main line of +communication. + +The result of the labours of Parliament was a tissue of legislative +bungling, involving enormous loss to the public. Railway Bills were +granted in heaps. Two hundred and seventy-two additional Acts were +passed in 1846. Some authorised the construction of lines running almost +parallel to existing railways, in order to afford the public "the +benefits of unrestricted competition." Locomotive and atmospheric lines, +broad-gauge and narrow-gauge lines, were granted without hesitation. +Committees decided without judgment and without discrimination; it was a +scramble for Bills, in which the most unscrupulous were the most +successful. + +Amongst the many ill effects of the mania, one of the worst was that it +introduced a low tone of morality into railway transactions. The bad +spirit which had been evoked by it unhappily extended to the commercial +classes, and many of the most flagrant swindles of recent times had their +origin in the year 1845. Those who had suddenly gained large sums +without labour, and also without honour, were too ready to enter upon +courses of the wildest extravagance; and a false style of living shortly +arose, the poisonous influence of which extended through all classes. +Men began to look upon railways as instruments to job with. Persons, +sometimes possessing information respecting railways, but more frequently +possessing none, got upon boards for the purpose of promoting their +individual objects, often in a very unscrupulous manner; landowners, to +promote branch lines through their property; speculators in shares, to +trade upon the exclusive information which they obtained; whilst some +directors were appointed through the influence mainly of solicitors, +contractors, or engineers, who used them as tools to serve their own +ends. In this way the unfortunate proprietors were, in many cases, +betrayed, and their property was shamefully squandered, much to the +discredit of the railway system. + +While the mania was at its height in England, railways were also being +extended abroad, and George Stephenson was requested on several occasions +to give the benefit of his advice to the directors of foreign +undertakings. One of the most agreeable of these excursions was to +Belgium in 1845. His special object was to examine the proposed line of +the Sambre and Meuse Railway, for which a concession had been granted by +the Belgian legislature. Arrived on the ground, he went carefully over +the entire length of the proposed line, to Convins, the Forest of +Ardennes, and Rocroi, across the French frontier; examining the bearings +of the coal-field, the slate and marble quarries, and the numerous +iron-mines in existence between the Sambre and the Meuse, as well as +carefully exploring the ravines which extended through the district, in +order to satisfy himself that the best possible route had been selected. +Mr. Stephenson was delighted with the novelty of the journey, the beauty +of the scenery, and the industry of the population. His companions were +entertained by his ample and varied stores of practical information on +all subjects, and his conversation was full of reminiscences of his +youth, on which he always delighted to dwell when in the society of his +more intimate friends. The journey was varied by a visit to the +coal-mines near Jemappe, where Stephenson examined with interest the mode +adopted by the Belgian miners of draining the pits, inspecting their +engines and brakeing machines, so familiar to him in early life. + +The engineers of Belgium took the opportunity of Mr. Stephenson's visit +to their country to invite him to a magnificent banquet at Brussels. The +Public Hall, in which they entertained him, was gaily decorated with +flags, prominent amongst which was the Union Jack, in honour of their +distinguished guest. A handsome marble pedestal, ornamented with his +bust crowned with laurels, occupied one end of the room. The chair was +occupied by M. Massui, the Chief Director of the National Railways of +Belgium; and the most eminent scientific men of the kingdom were present. +Their reception of "the Father of railways" was of the most enthusiastic +description. Mr. Stephenson was greatly pleased with the entertainment. +Not the least interesting incident of the evening was his observing, when +the dinner was about half over, a model of a locomotive engine placed +upon the centre table, under a triumphal arch. Turning suddenly to his +friend Sopwith, he exclaimed, "Do you see the 'Rocket'?" The compliment +thus paid him, was perhaps more prized than all the encomiums of the +evening. + +The next day (April 5th) King Leopold invited him to a private interview +at the palace. Accompanied by Mr. Sopwith, he proceeded to Laaken, and +was very cordially received by His Majesty. The king immediately entered +into familiar conversation with him, discussing the railway project which +had been the object of his visit to Belgium, and then the structure of +the Belgian coal-fields,--his Majesty expressing his sense of the great +importance of economy in a fuel which had become indispensable to the +comfort and well-being of society, which was the basis of all +manufactures, and the vital power of railway locomotion. The subject was +always a favourite one with Mr. Stephenson, and, encouraged by the king, +he proceeded to describe to him the geological structure of Belgium, the +original formation of coal, its subsequent elevation by volcanic forces, +and the vast amount of denudation. In describing the coal-beds he used +his hat as a sort of model to illustrate his meaning; and the eyes of the +king were fixed upon it as he proceeded with his interesting description. +The conversation then passed to the rise and progress of trade and +manufactures,--Mr. Stephenson pointing out how closely they everywhere +followed the coal, being mainly dependent upon it, as it were, for their +very existence. + +The king seemed greatly pleased with the interview, and at its close +expressed himself obliged by the interesting information which the +engineer had communicated. Shaking hands cordially with both the +gentlemen, and wishing them success in their important undertakings, he +bade them adieu. As they were leaving the palace Mr. Stephenson, +bethinking him of the model by which he had just been illustrating the +Belgian coal-fields, said to his friend, "By the bye, Sopwith, I was +afraid the king would see the inside of my hat; it's a shocking bad one!" +Little could George Stephenson, when brakesman at a coal-pit, have dreamt +that, in the course of his life, he should be admitted to an interview +with a monarch, and describe to him the manner in which the geological +foundations of his kingdom had been laid! + +Mr. Stephenson paid a second visit to Belgium in the course of the same +year, on the business of the West Flanders Railway; and he had scarcely +returned from it ere he made arrangements to proceed to Spain, for the +purpose of examining and reporting upon a scheme then on foot for +constructing "the Royal North of Spain Railway." A concession had been +made by the Spanish Government of a line of railway from Madrid to the +Bay of Biscay, and a numerous staff of engineers was engaged in surveying +it. The directors of the Company had declined making the necessary +deposits until more favourable terms had been secured; and Sir Joshua +Walmsley, on their part, was about to visit Spain and press the +Government on the subject. Mr. Stephenson, whom he consulted, was alive +to the difficulties of the office which Sir Joshua was induced to +undertake, and offered to be his companion and adviser on the +occasion,--declining to receive any recompense beyond the simple expenses +of the journey. He could only arrange to be absent for six weeks, and +set out from England about the middle of September, 1845. + +The party was joined at Paris by Mr. Mackenzie, the contractor for the +Orleans and Tours Railway, then in course of construction, who took them +over the works, and accompanied them as far as Tours. They soon reached +the great chain of the Pyrenees, and crossed over into Spain. It was on +a Sunday evening, after a long day's toilsome journey through the +mountains, that the party suddenly found themselves in one of those +beautiful secluded valleys lying amidst the Western Pyrenees. A small +hamlet lay before them, consisting of some thirty or forty houses and a +fine old church. The sun was low on the horizon, and, under the wide +porch, beneath the shadow of the church, were seated nearly all the +inhabitants of the place. They were dressed in their holiday attire. +The bright bits of red and amber colour in the dresses of the women, and +the gay sashes of the men, formed a striking picture, on which the +travellers gazed in silent admiration. It was something entirely novel +and unexpected. Beside the villagers sat two venerable old men, whose +canonical hats indicated their quality as village pastors. Two groups of +young women and children were dancing outside the porch to the +accompaniment of a simple pipe; and within a hundred yards of them, some +of the youths of the village were disporting themselves in athletic +exercises; the whole being carried on beneath the fostering care of the +old church, and with the sanction of its ministers. It was a beautiful +scene, and deeply moved the travellers as they approached the principal +group. The villagers greeted them courteously, supplied their present +wants, and pressed upon them some fine melons, brought from their +adjoining gardens. Mr. Stephenson used afterwards to look back upon that +simple scene, and speak of it as one of the most charming pastorals he +had ever witnessed. + +They shortly reached the site of the proposed railway, passing through +Irun, St. Sebastian, St. Andero, and Bilbao, at which places they met +deputations of the principal inhabitants who were interested in the +subject of their journey. At Raynosa Stephenson carefully examined the +mountain passes and ravines through which a railway could be made. He +rose at break of day, and surveyed until the darkness set in; and +frequently his resting-place at night was the floor of some miserable +hovel. He was thus laboriously occupied for ten days, after which he +proceeded across the province of Old Castile towards Madrid, surveying as +he went. The proposed plan included the purchase of the Castile Canal; +and that property was also surveyed. He next proceeded to El Escorial, +situated at the foot of the Guadarama mountains, through which he found +that it would be necessary to construct two formidable tunnels; added to +which he ascertained that the country between El Escorial and Madrid was +of a very difficult and expensive character to work through. Taking +these circumstances into account, and looking at the expected traffic on +the proposed line, Sir Joshua Walmsley, acting under the advice of Mr. +Stephenson, offered to construct the line from Madrid to the Bay of +Biscay, only on condition that the requisite land was given the Company +for the purpose; that they should be allowed every facility for cutting +such timber belonging the Crown as might be required for the purposes of +the railway; and also that the materials required from abroad for the +construction of the line should be admitted free of duty. In return for +these concessions the Company offered to clothe and feed several +thousands of convicts while engaged in the execution of the earthworks. +General Narvaez, afterwards Duke of Valencia, received Sir Joshua +Walmsley and Mr. Stephenson on the subject of their proposition, and +expressed his willingness to close with them; but it was necessary that +other influential parties should give their concurrence before the scheme +could be carried into effect. The deputation waited ten days to receive +the answer of the Spanish Government; but no answer of any kind was +vouchsafed. The authorities, indeed, invited them to be present at a +Spanish bullfight, but that was not quite the business Mr. Stephenson had +gone all the way to Spain to transact; and the offer was politely +declined. The result was, that Mr. Stephenson dissuaded his friend from +making the necessary deposit at Madrid. Besides, he had by this time +formed an unfavourable opinion of the entire project, and considered that +the traffic would not amount to one-eighth of the estimate. + +Mr. Stephenson was now anxious to be in England. During the journey from +Madrid he often spoke with affection of friends and relatives; and when +apparently absorbed by other matters, he would revert to what he thought +might then be passing at home. Few incidents worthy of notice occurred +on the journey homeward, but one may be mentioned. While travelling in +an open conveyance between Madrid and Vittoria, the driver urged his +mules down hill at a dangerous pace. He was requested to slacken speed; +but suspecting his passengers to be afraid, he only flogged the brutes +into a still more furious gallop. Observing this, Mr. Stephenson coolly +said, "Let us try him on the other tack; tell him to show us the fastest +pace at which Spanish mules can go." The rogue of a driver, when he +found his tricks of no avail, pulled up and proceeded at a more moderate +speed for the rest of the journey. + +Urgent business required Mr. Stephenson's presence in London on the last +day of November. They travelled therefore almost continuously, day and +night; and the fatigue consequent on the journey, added to the privations +voluntarily endured by the engineer while carrying on the survey among +the Spanish mountains, began to tell seriously on his health. By the +time he reached Paris he was evidently ill, but he nevertheless +determined on proceeding. He reached Havre in time for the Southampton +boat; but when on board, pleurisy developed itself, and it was necessary +to bleed him freely. During the voyage, he spent his time chiefly in +dictating letters and reports to Sir Joshua Walmsley, who never left him, +and whose kindness on the occasion he gratefully remembered. His friend +was struck by the clearness of his dictated composition, which exhibited +a vigour and condensation which to him seemed marvellous. After a few +weeks' rest at home, Mr. Stephenson gradually recovered, though his +health remained severely shaken. + + [Picture: Newcastle, from the High Level Bridge] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. +ROBERT STEPHENSON'S CAREER--THE STEPHENSONS AND BRUNEL--EAST COAST ROUTE +TO SCOTLAND--ROYAL BORDER BRIDGE, BERWICK--HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE, NEWCASTLE. + + +The career of George Stephenson was drawing to a close. He had for some +time been gradually retiring from the more active pursuit of railway +engineering, and confining himself to the promotion of only a few +undertakings in which he took a more than ordinary personal interest. In +1840, when the extensive main lines in the Midland districts had been +finished and opened for traffic, he publicly expressed his intention of +withdrawing from the profession. He had reached sixty, and, having spent +the greater part of his life in very hard work, he naturally desired rest +and retirement in his old age. There was the less necessity for his +continuing "in harness," as Robert Stephenson was now in full career as a +leading railway engineer, and his father had pleasure in handing over to +him, with the sanction of the companies concerned, nearly all the railway +appointments which he held. + +Robert Stephenson amply repaid his father's care. The sound education of +which he had laid the foundations at school, improved by his subsequent +culture, but more than all by his father's example of application, +industry, and thoroughness in all that he undertook, told powerfully in +the formation of his character, not less than in the discipline of his +intellect. His father had early implanted in him habits of mental +activity, familiarized him with the laws of mechanics, and carefully +trained and stimulated his inventive faculties, the first great fruits of +which, as we have seen, were exhibited in the triumph of the "Rocket" at +Rainhill. "I am fully conscious in my own mind," said the son at a +meeting of the Mechanical Engineers at Newcastle, in 1858, "how greatly +my civil engineering has been regulated and influenced by the mechanical +knowledge which I derived directly from my father; and the more my +experience has advanced, the more convinced I have become that it is +necessary to educate an engineer in the workshop. That is, emphatically, +the education which will render the engineer most intelligent, most +useful, and the fullest of resources in times of difficulty." + +Robert Stephenson was but twenty-six years old when the performances of +the "Rocket" established the practicability of steam locomotion on +railways. He was shortly after appointed engineer of the Leicester and +Swannington Railway; after which, at his father's request, he was made +joint engineer with himself in laying out the London and Birmingham +Railway, and the execution of that line was afterwards entrusted to him +as sole engineer. The stability and excellence of the works of that +railway, the difficulties which had been successfully overcome in the +course of its construction, and the judgment which was displayed by +Robert Stephenson throughout the whole conduct of the undertaking to its +completion, established his reputation as an engineer; and his father +could now look with confidence and with pride upon his son's +achievements. From that time forward, father and son worked together as +one man, each jealous of the other's honour; and on the father's +retirement, it was generally recognized that, in the sphere of railways, +Robert Stephenson was the foremost man, the safest guide, and the most +active worker. + +Robert Stephenson was subsequently appointed engineer of the Eastern +Counties, the Northern and Eastern, and the Blackwall railways, besides +many lines in the midland and southern districts. When the speculation +of 1844 set in, his services were, of course, greatly in request. Thus, +in one session, we find him engaged as engineer for not fewer than 33 new +schemes. Projectors thought themselves fortunate who could secure his +name, and he had only to propose his terms to obtain them. The work +which he performed at this period of his life was indeed enormous, and +his income was large beyond any previous instance of engineering gain. +But much of his labour was heavy hackwork of a very uninteresting +character. During the sittings of the committees of Parliament, almost +every moment of his time was occupied in consultations, and in preparing +evidence or in giving it. The crowded, low-roofed committee-rooms of the +old Houses of Parliament were altogether inadequate to accommodate the +rush of perspiring projectors of bills, and even the lobbies were +sometimes choked with them. To have borne that noisome atmosphere and +heat would have tested the constitutions of salamanders, and engineers +were only human. With brains kept in a state of excitement during the +entire day, no wonder their nervous systems became unstrung. Their only +chance of refreshment was during an occasional rush to the bun and +sandwich stand in the lobby, though sometimes even that resource failed +them. Then, with mind and body jaded--probably after undergoing a series +of consultations upon many bills after the rising of the committees--the +exhausted engineers would seek to stimulate nature by a late, perhaps a +heavy, dinner. What chance had any ordinary constitution of surviving +such an ordeal? The consequence was, that stomach, brain, and liver were +alike irretrievably injured; and hence the men who bore the brunt of +those struggles--Stephenson, Brunel, Locke, and Errington--have already +all died, comparatively young men. + +In mentioning the name of Brunel, we are reminded of him as the principal +rival and competitor of Robert Stephenson. Both were the sons of +distinguished men, and both inherited the fame and followed in the +footsteps of their fathers. The Stephensons were inventive, practical, +and sagacious; the Brunels ingenious, imaginative, and daring. The +former were as thoroughly English in their characteristics as the latter +were perhaps as thoroughly French. The fathers and the sons were alike +successful in their works, though not in the same degree. Measured by +practical and profitable results, the Stephensons were unquestionably the +safer men to follow. + +Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel were destined often to come +into collision in the course of their professional life. Their +respective railway districts "marched" with each other, and it became +their business to invade or defend those districts, according as the +policy of their respective boards might direct. The gauge of 7 feet +fixed by Mr. Brunel for the Great Western Railway, so entirely different +from that of 4ft. 8.5in. adopted by the Stephensons on the Northern and +Midland lines, was from the first a great cause of contention. But Mr. +Brunel had always an aversion to follow any man's lead; and that another +engineer had fixed the gauge of a railway, or built a bridge, or designed +an engine, in one way, was of itself often a sufficient reason with him +for adopting an altogether different course. Robert Stephenson, on his +part, though less bold, was more practical, preferring to follow the old +routes, and to tread in the safe steps of his father. + +Mr. Brunel, however, determined that the Great Western should be a +giant's road, and that travelling should be conducted upon it at double +speed. His ambition was to make the _best_ road that imagination could +devise; whereas the main object of the Stephensons, both father and son, +was to make a road that would _pay_. Although, tried by the Stephenson +test, Brunel's magnificent road was a failure so far as the shareholders +in the Great Western Company were concerned, the stimulus which his +ambitious designs gave to mechanical invention at the time proved a +general good. The narrow-gauge engineers exerted themselves to quicken +their locomotives to the utmost. They improved and re-improved them; the +machinery was simplified and perfected; outside cylinders gave place to +inside; the steadier and more rapid and effective action of the engine +was secured; and in a few years the highest speed on the narrow-gauge +lines went up from 30 to about 50 miles an hour. For this rapidity of +progress we are in no small degree indebted to the stimulus imparted to +the narrow-gauge engineers by Mr. Brunel. And it is well for a country +that it should possess men such as he, ready to dare the untried, and to +venture boldly into new paths. Individuals may suffer from the cost of +the experiments; but the nation, which is an aggregate of individuals, +gains, and so does the world at large. + +It was one of the characteristics of Brunel to believe in the success of +the schemes for which he was professionally engaged as engineer; and he +proved this by investing his savings largely in the Great Western +Railway, in the South Devon atmospheric line, and in the Great Eastern +steamship, with what results are well known. Robert Stephenson, on the +contrary, with characteristic caution, towards the latter years of his +life avoided holding unguaranteed railway shares; and though he might +execute magnificent structures, such as the Victoria Bridge across the +St. Lawrence, he was careful not to embark any portion of his own fortune +in the ordinary capital of these concerns. In 1845, he shrewdly foresaw +the inevitable crash that was about to follow the mania of that year; and +while shares were still at a premium he took the opportunity of selling +out all that he had. He urged his father to do the same thing, but +George's reply was characteristic. "No," said he; "I took my shares for +an investment, and not to speculate with, and I am not going to sell them +now because folks have gone mad about railways." The consequence was, +that he continued to hold the 60,000 pounds which he had invested in the +shares of various railways until his death, when they were at once sold +out by his son, though at a great depreciation on their original cost. + +One of the hardest battles fought between the Stephensons and Brunel was +for the railway between Newcastle and Berwick, forming part of the great +East Coast route to Scotland. As early as 1836, George Stephenson had +surveyed two lines to connect Edinburgh with Newcastle: one by Berwick +and Dunbar along the coast, and the other, more inland, by Carter Fell, +up the vale of the Gala, to the northern capital; but both projects lay +dormant for several years longer, until the completion of the Midland and +other main lines as far north as Newcastle, had the effect of again +reviving the subject of the extension of the route as far as Edinburgh. + +On the 18th of June, 1844, the Newcastle and Darlington line--an +important link of the great main highway to the north--was completed and +publicly opened, thus connecting the Thames and the Tyne by a continuous +line of railway. On that day the Stephensons, with a distinguished party +of railway men, travelled by express train from London to Newcastle in +about nine hours. It was a great event, and was worthily celebrated. +The population of Newcastle held holiday; and a banquet given in the +Assembly Rooms the same evening assumed the form of an ovation to George +Stephenson and his son. Thirty years before, in the capacity of a +workman, he had been labouring at the construction of his first +locomotive in the immediate neighbourhood. By slow and laborious steps +he had worked his way on, dragging the locomotive into notice, and +raising himself in public estimation; until at length he had victoriously +established the railway system, and went back amongst his townsmen to +receive their greeting. + +After the opening of this railway, the project of the East Coast line +from Newcastle to Berwick was revived; and George Stephenson, who had +already identified himself with the question, and was intimately +acquainted with every foot of the ground, was called upon to assist the +promoters with his judgment and experience. He again recommended as +strongly as before the line he had previously surveyed; and on its being +adopted by the local committee, the necessary steps were taken to have +the scheme brought before Parliament in the ensuing session. The East +Coast line was not, however, to be allowed to pass without a fight. On +the contrary, it had to encounter as stout an opposition as the +Stephensons had ever experienced. + +We have already stated that about this time the plan of substituting +atmospheric pressure for locomotive steam-power in the working of +railways, had become very popular. Many eminent engineers supported the +atmospheric system, and a strong party in Parliament, headed by the Prime +Minister, were greatly disposed in its favour. Mr. Brunel warmly +espoused the atmospheric principle, and his persuasive manner, as well as +his admitted scientific ability, unquestionably exercised considerable +influence in determining the views of many leading members of both +Houses. Amongst others, Lord Howick, one of the members for +Northumberland, adopted the new principle, and, possessing great local +influence, he succeeded in forming a powerful confederacy of the landed +gentry in favour of Brunel's atmospheric railway through that county. + +George Stephenson could not brook the idea of seeing the locomotive, for +which he had fought so many stout battles, pushed to one side, and that +in the very county in which its great powers had been first developed. +Nor did he relish the appearance of Mr. Brunel as the engineer of Lord +Howick's scheme, in opposition to the line which had occupied his +thoughts and been the object of his strenuous advocacy for so many years. +When Stephenson first met Brunel in Newcastle, he good-naturedly shook +him by the collar, and asked "What business he had north of the Tyne?" +George gave him to understand that they were to have a fair stand-up +fight for the ground, and, shaking hands before the battle like +Englishmen, they parted in good humour. A public meeting was held at +Newcastle in the following December, when, after a full discussion of the +merits of the respective plans, Stephenson's line was almost unanimously +adopted as the best. + +The rival projects went before Parliament in 1845, and a severe contest +ensued. The display of ability and tactics on both sides was great. +Robert Stephenson was examined at great length as to the merits of the +locomotive line, and Brunel at equally great length as to the merits of +the atmospheric system. Mr. Brunel, in his evidence, said that after +numerous experiments, he had arrived at the conclusion that the +mechanical contrivance of the atmospheric system was perfectly +applicable, and he believed that it would likewise be more economical in +most cases than locomotive power. "In short," said he, "rapidity, +comfort, safety, and economy, are its chief recommendations." + +But the locomotive again triumphed. The Stephenson Coast Line secured +the approval of Parliament; and the shareholders in the Atmospheric +Company were happily prevented investing their capital in what would +unquestionably have proved a gigantic blunder. For, less than three +years later, the whole of the atmospheric tubes which had been laid down +on other lines were pulled up and the materials sold--including Mr. +Brunel's immense tube on the South Devon Railway--to make way for the +working of the locomotive engine. George Stephenson's first verdict of +"It won't do," was thus conclusively confirmed. + +Robert Stephenson used afterwards to describe with great gusto an +interview which took place between Lord Howick and his father, at his +office in Great George Street, during the progress of the bill in +Parliament. His father was in the outer office, where he used to spend a +good deal of his spare time; occasionally taking a quiet wrestle with a +friend when nothing else was stirring. {309} On the day in question, +George was standing with his back to the fire, when Lord Howick called to +see Robert. Oh! thought George, he has come to try and talk Robert over +about that atmospheric gimcrack; but I'll tackle his Lordship. "Come in, +my Lord," said he, "Robert's busy; but I'll answer your purpose quite as +well; sit down here, if you please." George began, "Now, my Lord, I know +very well what you have come about: it's that atmospheric line in the +north; I will show you in less than five minutes that it can never +answer." "If Mr. Robert Stephenson is not at liberty, I can call again," +said his Lordship. "He's certainly occupied on important business just +at present," was George's answer; "but I can tell you far better than he +can what nonsense the atmospheric system is: Robert's good-natured, you +see, and if your Lordship were to get alongside of him you might talk him +over; so you have been quite lucky in meeting with me. Now, just look at +the question of expense,"--and then he proceeded in his strong Doric to +explain his views in detail, until Lord Howick could stand it no longer, +and he rose and walked towards the door. George followed him down +stairs, to finish his demolition of the atmospheric system, and his +parting words were, "You may take my word for it, my Lord, it will never +answer." George afterwards told his son with glee of "the settler" he +had given Lord Howick. + +So closely were the Stephensons identified with this measure, and so +great was the personal interest which they were both known to take in its +success, that, on the news of the triumph of the bill reaching Newcastle, +a sort of general holiday took place, and the workmen belonging to the +Stephenson Locomotive Factory, upwards of 800 in number, walked in +procession through the principal streets of the town, accompanied with +music and banners. + +It is unnecessary to enter into any description of the works on the +Newcastle and Berwick Railway. There are no fewer than 110 bridges of +all sorts on the line--some under and some over it. But by far the most +formidable piece of masonry work on this railway is at its northern +extremity, where it passes across the Tweed into Scotland, immediately +opposite the formerly redoubtable castle of Berwick. Not many centuries +had passed since the district amidst which this bridge stands was the +scene of almost constant warfare. Berwick was regarded as the key of +Scotland, and was fiercely fought for, sometimes held by a Scotch and +sometimes by an English garrison. Though strongly fortified, it was +repeatedly taken by assault. On its capture by Edward I., Boetius says +17,000 persons were slain, so that its streets "ran with blood like a +river." Within sight of the ramparts, a little to the west, is Halidon +Hill, where a famous victory was gained by Edward III., over the Scottish +army under Douglas; and there is scarcely a foot of ground in the +neighbourhood but has been the scene of contention in days long past. In +the reigns of James I. and Charles I., a bridge of 15 arches was built +across the Tweed at Berwick; and in our own day a railway-bridge of 28 +arches has been built a little above the old one, but at a much higher +level. The bridge built by the Kings, out of the national resources, +cost 15,000 pounds, and occupied 24 years and 4 months in the building; +the bridge built by the Railway Company, with funds drawn from private +resources, cost 120,000 pounds, and was finished in 3 years and 4 months +from the day of laying the foundation-stone. + + [Picture: The Royal Border Bridge, Berwick-upon-Tweed] + +This important viaduct, built after the design of Robert Stephenson, +consists of a series of 28 semicircular arches, each 61 feet 6 inches in +span, the greatest height above the bed of the river being 126 feet. The +whole is built of ashlar, with a hearting of rubble; excepting the river +parts of the arches, which are constructed with bricks laid in cement. +The total length of the work is 2160 feet. The foundations of the piers +were got in by coffer-dams in the ordinary way, Nasmyth's steam-hammer +being extensively used in driving the piles. The bearing piles, from +which the foundations of the piers were built up, were each capable of +carrying 70 tons. + +Another bridge, of still greater importance, necessary to complete the +continuity of the East Coast route, was the masterwork erected by Robert +Stephenson between the north and south banks of the Tyne at Newcastle, +commonly known as the High Level Bridge. Mr. R. W. Brandling, George +Stephenson's early friend, is entitled to the merit of originating the +idea of this bridge as it was eventually carried out, with a central +terminus for the northern railways in the Castle Garth. The plan was +first promulgated by him in 1841; and in the following year it was +resolved that George Stephenson should be consulted as to the most +advisable site for the proposed structure. A prospectus of a High Level +Bridge Company was issued in 1843, the names of George Stephenson and +George Hudson appearing on the committee of management, Robert Stephenson +being the consulting engineer. The project was eventually taken up by +the Newcastle and Darlington Railway Company, and an Act for the +construction of the bridge was obtained in 1845. + +The rapid extension of railways had given an extraordinary stimulus to +the art of bridge-building; the number of such structures erected in +Great Britain alone, since 1830, having been above 25,000, or more than +all that had before existed in the country. Instead of the erection a +single large bridge constituting, as formerly, an epoch in engineering, +hundreds of extensive bridges of novel design were simultaneously +constructed. The necessity which existed for carrying rigid roads, +capable of bearing heavy railway trains at high speeds, over extensive +gaps free of support, rendered it obvious that the methods which had up +to that time been employed for bridging space were altogether +insufficient. The railway engineer could not, like the ordinary road +engineer, divert his road and make choice of the best point for crossing +a river or a valley. He must take such ground as lay in the line of his +railway, be it bog, or mud, or shifting sand. Navigable rivers and +crowded thoroughfares had to be crossed without interruption to the +existing traffic, sometimes by bridges at right angles to the river or +road, sometimes by arches more or less oblique. In many cases great +difficulty arose from the limited nature of the headway; but, as the +level of the original road must generally be preserved, and that of the +railway was in a measure fixed and determined, it was necessary to modify +the form and structure of the bridge, in almost every case, in order to +comply with the public requirements. Novel conditions were met by fresh +inventions, and difficulties of the most unusual character were one after +another successfully surmounted. In executing these extraordinary works, +iron has been throughout the sheet-anchor of the engineer. In its +different forms of cast or wrought iron, it offered a valuable resource, +where rapidity of execution, great strength, and cheapness of +construction in the first instance, were elements of prime importance; +and by its skilful use, the railway architect was enabled to achieve +results which thirty years ago would scarcely have been thought possible. + +In many of the early cast-iron bridges the old form of the arch was +adopted, the stability of the structure depending wholly on compression, +the only novel feature being the use of iron instead of stone. But in a +large proportion of cases, the arch, with the railroad over it, was found +inapplicable in consequence of the limited headway which it provided. +Hence it early occurred to George Stephenson, when constructing the +Liverpool and Manchester Railway, to adopt the simple cast-iron beam for +the crossing of several roads and canals along that line--this beam +resembling in some measure the lintel of the early temples--the pressure +on the abutments being purely vertical. One of the earliest instances of +this kind of bridge was that erected over Water Street, Manchester, in +1829; after which, cast-iron girders, with their lower webs considerably +larger than their upper, were ordinarily employed where the span was +moderate; and wrought-iron tie rods below were added to give increased +strength where the span was greater. + +The next step was the contrivance of arched beams or bowstring girders, +firmly held together by horizontal ties to resist the thrust, instead of +abutments. Numerous excellent specimens of this description of bridge +were erected by Robert Stephenson on the original London and Birmingham +Railway; but by far the grandest work of the kind--perfect as a specimen +of modern constructive skill--was the High Level Bridge, which we owe to +the genius of the same engineer. + +The problem was, to throw a railway bridge across the deep ravine which +lies between the towns of Newcastle and Gateshead, at the bottom of which +flows the navigable river Tyne. Along and up the sides of the valley--on +the Newcastle bank especially--run streets of old-fashioned houses, +clustered together in the strange forms peculiar to the older cities. +The ravine is of great depth--so deep and so gloomy-looking towards dusk, +that local tradition records that when the Duke of Cumberland arrived +late in the evening at the brow of the hill overlooking the Tyne, on his +way to Culloden, he exclaimed to his attendants, on looking down into the +black gorge before him, "For God's sake, don't think of taking me down +that coal-pit at this time of night!" The road down the Gateshead High +Street is almost as steep as the roof of a house, and up the Newcastle +Side, as the street there is called, it is little better. During many +centuries the traffic north and south passed along this dangerous and +difficult route, over the old bridge which crosses the river in the +bottom of the valley. For about 30 years the Newcastle Corporation had +discussed various methods of improving the communication between the +towns; and the discussion might have gone on for 30 years more, but for +the advent of railways, when the skill and enterprise to which they gave +birth speedily solved the difficulty and bridged the ravine. The local +authorities adroitly took advantage of the opportunity, and insisted on +the provision of a road for ordinary vehicles and foot passengers in +addition to the railroad. In this circumstance originated one of the +striking peculiarities of the High Level Bridge, which serves two +purposes, being a railway above and a carriage roadway underneath. + +The breadth of the river at the point of crossing is 515 feet, but the +length of the bridge and viaduct between the Gateshead station and the +terminus on the Newcastle side is about 4000 feet. It springs from +Pipewell Gate Bank, on the south, directly across to Castle Garth, where, +nearly fronting the bridge, stands the fine old Norman keep of the _New_ +Castle, now nearly 800 years old, and a little beyond it is the spire of +St. Nicholas Church, with its light and graceful Gothic crown; the whole +forming a grand architectural group of unusual historic interest. The +bridge passes completely over the roofs of the houses which fill both +sides of the valley; and the extraordinary height of the upper parapet, +which is about 130 feet above the bed of the river, offers a prospect to +the passing traveller the like of which is perhaps nowhere else to be +seen. Far below are the queer chares and closes, the wynds and lanes of +old Newcastle; the water is crowded with pudgy, black, coal keels; and, +when there is a partial dispersion of the great smoke clouds which +usually obscure the sky, the funnels of steamers and the masts of +shipping may be seen far down the river. The old bridge lies so far +beneath that the passengers crossing it seem like so many bees passing to +and fro. + +The first difficulty encountered in building the bridge was in securing a +solid foundation for the piers. The dimensions of the piles to be driven +were so huge, that the engineer found it necessary to employ some +extraordinary means for the purpose. He called Nasmyth's Titanic +steam-hammer to his aid--the first occasion, we believe, on which this +prodigious power was employed in bridge pile-driving. A temporary +staging was erected for the steam-engine and hammer apparatus, which +rested on two keels, and, notwithstanding the newness and stiffness of +the machinery, the first pile was driven on the 6th October, 1846, to a +depth of 32 feet, in four minutes. Two hammers of 30 cwt. each were kept +in regular use, making from 60 to 70 strokes a minute; and the results +were astounding to those who had been accustomed to the old style of +pile-driving by means of the ordinary pile-frame, consisting of slide, +ram, and monkey. By the old system, the pile was driven by a +comparatively small mass of iron descending with great velocity from a +considerable height--the velocity being in excess and the mass deficient, +and calculated, like the momentum of a cannon-ball, rather for +destructive than impulsive action. In the case of the steam pile-driver, +on the contrary, the whole weight of a heavy mass is delivered rapidly +upon a driving-block of several tons weight placed directly over the head +of the pile, the weight never ceasing, and the blows being repeated at +the rate of a blow a second, until the pile is driven home. It is a +curious fact, that the rapid strokes of the steam-hammer evolved so much +heat, that on many occasions the pile-head burst into flames during the +process of driving. The elastic force of steam is the power that lifts +the ram, the escape permitting its entire force to fall upon the head of +the driving block; while the steam above the piston on the upper part of +the cylinder, acting as a buffer or recoil-spring, materially enhances +the effect of the downward blow. As soon as one pile was driven, the +traveller, hovering overhead, presented another, and down it went into +the solid bed of the river, with almost as much ease as a lady sticks +pins into a cushion. By the aid of this powerful machine, pile-driving, +formerly among the most costly and tedious of engineering operations, +became easy, rapid, and comparatively economical. + +When the piles had been driven and the coffer-dams formed and puddled, +the water within the enclosed spaces was pumped out by the aid of +powerful engines, so as, if possible, to lay bare the bed of the river. +Considerable difficulty was experienced in getting in the foundations of +the middle pier, in consequence of the water forcing itself through the +quicksand beneath as fast as it was removed, This fruitless labour went +on for months, and many expedients were tried. Chalk was thrown in in +large quantities outside the piling, but without effect. Cement concrete +was at last put within the coffer-dam, until it set, and the bottom was +then found to be secure. A bed of concrete was laid up to the level of +the heads of the piles, the foundation course of stone blocks being +commenced about two feet below low water, and the building proceeded +without further difficulty. It may serve to give an idea of the +magnitude of the work, when we state that 400,000 cubic feet of ashlar, +rubble, and concrete were worked up in the piers, and 450,000 cubic feet +in the land-arches and approaches. + +The most novel feature of the structure is the use of cast and wrought +iron in forming the double bridge, which admirably combines the two +principles of the arch and suspension; the railway being carried over the +back of the ribbed arches in the usual manner, while the carriage-road +and footpaths, forming a long gallery or aisle, are suspended from these +arches by wrought-iron vertical rods, with horizontal tie-bars to resist +the thrust. The suspension-bolts are enclosed within spandril pillars of +cast iron, which give great stiffness to the superstructure. This system +of longitudinal and vertical bracing has been much admired, for it not +only accomplishes the primary object of securing rigidity in the roadway, +but at the same time, by its graceful arrangement, heightens the beauty +of the structure. The arches consist of four main ribs, disposed in +pairs with a clear distance between the two inner arches of 20 feet 4 +inches, forming the carriage-road, while between each of the inner and +outer ribs there is a space of 6 feet 2 inches, constituting the +footpaths. Each arch is cast in five separate lengths or segments, +strongly bolted together. The ribs spring from horizontal plates of cast +iron, bedded and secured on the stone piers. All the abutting joints +were carefully executed by machinery, the fitting being of the most +perfect kind. In order to provide for the expansion and contraction of +the iron arching, and to preserve the equilibrium of the piers without +disturbance or racking of the other parts of the bridge, it was arranged +that the ribs of every two adjoining arches resting on the same pier +should be secured to the springing-plates by keys and joggles; whilst on +the next piers on either side, the ribs remained free and were at liberty +to expand or contract according to temperature--a space being left for +the purpose. Hence each arch is complete and independent in itself, the +piers having simply to sustain their vertical pressure. There are six +arches of 125 feet span each; the two approaches to the bridge being +formed of cast-iron pillars and bearers in keeping with the arches. + + [Picture: High Level Bridge--Elevation of one Arch] + +The result is a bridge that for massive solidity may be pronounced +unrivalled. It is perhaps the most magnificent and striking of all the +bridges to which railways have given birth, and has been worthily styled +"the King of railway structures." It is a monument of the highest +engineering skill of our time, with the impress of power grandly stamped +upon it. It will also be observed, from the drawing placed as the +frontispiece of this book, that the High Level Bridge forms a very fine +object in a picture of great interest, full of striking architectural +variety and beauty. The bridge was opened on the 15th August, 1849, and +a few days after the royal train passed over it, halting for a few +minutes to enable her Majesty to survey the wonderful scene below. In +the course of the following year the Queen opened the extensive stone +viaduct across the Tweed, above described, by which the last link was +completed of the continuous line of railway between London and Edinburgh. +Over the entrance to the Berwick station, occupying the site of the once +redoubtable Border fortress, so often the deadly battle-ground of the +ancient Scots and English, was erected an arch under which the royal +train passed, bearing in large letters of gold the appropriate words, +"_The last act of the Union_." + +The warders at Berwick no longer look out from the castle walls to descry +the glitter of Southron spears. The bell-tower, from which the alarm was +sounded of old, though still standing, is deserted; the only bell heard +within the precincts of the old castle being the railway porter's bell +announcing the arrival and departure of trains. You see the Scotch +express pass along the bridge and speed southward on the wings of steam. +But no alarm spreads along the border now. Northumbrian beeves are safe. +Chevy-Chase and Otterburn are quiet sheep-pastures. The only men at arms +on the battlements of Alnwick Castle are of stone. Bamborough Castle has +become an asylum for shipwrecked mariners, and the Norman Keep at +Newcastle has been converted into a Museum of Antiquities. The railway +has indeed consummated the Union. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. +ROBERT STEPHENSON'S TUBULAR BRIDGES AT MENAI AND CONWAY. + + +We have now to describe briefly another great undertaking, begun by +George Stephenson, and taken up and completed by his son, in the course +of which the latter carried out some of his greatest works--we mean the +Chester and Holyhead Railway, completing the railway connection with +Dublin, as the Newcastle and Berwick line completed the connection with +Edinburgh. It will thus be seen how closely Telford was followed by the +Stephensons in perfecting the highways of their respective epochs; the +former by means of turnpike-roads, and the latter by means of railways. + +George Stephenson surveyed a line from Chester to Holyhead in 1838, and +at the same time reported on the line through North Wales to Port +Dynllaen, proposed by the Irish Railway Commissioners. His advice was +strongly in favour of adopting the line to Holyhead, as less costly and +presenting better gradients. A public meeting was held at Chester, in +January, 1839, in support of the latter measure, at which he was present +to give explanations. Mr. Uniacke, the Mayor, in opening the +proceedings, said that Mr. Stephenson was present, ready to answer any +questions which might be put to him on the subject; and it was +judiciously remarked that "it would be better that he should be asked +questions than required to make a speech; for, though a very good +engineer, he was a bad speaker." One of the questions then put to Mr. +Stephenson related to the mode by which he proposed to haul the passenger +carriages over the Menai Suspension Bridge by horse power; and he was +asked whether he knew the pressure the bridge was capable of sustaining. +His answer was, that "he had not yet made any calculations; but he +proposed getting data which would enable him to arrive at an accurate +calculation of the actual strain upon the bridge during the late gale. +He had, however, no hesitation in saying that it was more than twenty +times as much as the strain of a train of carriages and a locomotive +engine. The only reason why he proposed to convey the carriages over by +horses, was in order that he might, by distributing the weight, not +increase the wavy motion. All the train would be on at once; but +distributed. This he thought better than passing them, linked together, +by a locomotive engine." It will thus be observed that the +practicability of throwing a rigid railway bridge across the Straits had +not yet been contemplated. + +The Dublin Chamber of Commerce passed resolutions in favour of +Stephenson's line, after hearing his explanation of its essential +features. The project, after undergoing much discussion, was at length +embodied in an Act passed in 1844; and the work was brought to a +successful completion by his son, with several important modifications, +including the grand original feature of the tubular bridges across the +Menai Straits and the estuary of the Conway. Excepting these great +works, the construction of this line presented no unusual features; +though the remarkable terrace cut for the accommodation of the railway +under the steep slope of Penmaen Mawr is worthy of a passing notice. + +About midway between Conway and Bangor, Penmaen Mawr forms a bold and +almost precipitous headland, at the base of which, in rough weather, the +ocean dashes with great fury. There was not space enough between the +mountain and the strand for the passage of the railway; hence in some +places the rock had to be blasted to form a terrace, and in others +sea-walls had to be built up to the proper level, on which to form an +embankment of sufficient width to enable the road to be laid. [Picture: +Penmaen Mawr. (By Percival Skelton.)] A tunnel 10.5 chains in length was +cut through the headland itself; and on its east and west sides the line +was formed by a terrace cut out of the cliff, and by embankments +protected by sea walls; the terrace being three times interrupted by +embankments in its course of about 1.25 mile. The road lies so close +under the steep mountain face, that it was even found necessary at +certain places to protect it against possible accidents from falling +stones, by means of a covered way. The terrace on the east side of the +headland was, however, in some measure protected against the roll of the +sea by the mass of stone run out from the tunnel, and forming a deep +shingle bank in front of the wall. + +The part of the work which lies on the westward of the headland +penetrated by the tunnel, was exposed to the full force of the sea; and +the formation of the road at that point was attended with great +difficulty. While the sea wall was still in progress, its strength was +severely tried by a strong north-westerly gale, which blew in October, +1846, with a spring tide of 17 feet. On the following morning it was +found that a large portion of the rubble was irreparably injured, and 200 +yards of the wall were then replaced by an open viaduct, with the piers +placed edgeways to the sea, the openings between them being spanned by +ten cast-iron girders each 42 feet long. This accident induced the +engineer to alter the contour of the sea wall, so that it should present +a diminished resistance to the force of the waves. But the sea repeated +its assaults, and made further havoc with the work; entailing heavy +expenses and a complete reorganisation of the contract. Increased +solidity was then given to the masonry, and the face of the wall +underwent further change. At some points outworks were constructed, and +piles were driven into the beach about 15 feet from the base of the wall, +for the purpose of protecting its foundations and breaking the force of +the waves. The work was at length finished after about three years' +anxious labour; but Mr. Stephenson confessed that if a long tunnel had +been made in the first instance through the solid rock of Penmaen Mawr, a +saving of from 25,000 to 30,000 pounds would have been effected. He also +said he had arrived at the conclusion that in railway works engineers +should endeavour as far as possible to avoid the necessity of contending +with the sea; {324} but if he were ever again compelled to go within its +reach, he would adopt, instead of retaining walls, an open viaduct, +placing all the piers edgeways to the force of the sea, and allowing the +waves to break upon a natural slope of beach. He was ready enough to +admit the errors he had committed in the original design of this work; +but he said he had always gained more information from studying the +causes of failures and endeavouring to surmount them than he had done +from easily-won successes. Whilst many of the latter had been forgotten, +the former were indelibly fixed in his memory. + +But by far the greatest difficulty which Robert Stephenson had to +encounter in executing this railway, was in carrying it across the +Straits of Menai and the estuary of the Conway, where, like his +predecessor Telford when forming his high road through North Wales, he +was under the necessity of resorting to new and altogether untried +methods of bridge construction. At Menai the waters of the Irish Sea are +perpetually vibrating along the precipitous shores of the strait; rising +and falling from 20 to 25 feet at each successive tide; the width and +depth of the channel being such as to render it available for navigation +by the largest ships. The problem was, to throw a bridge across this +wide chasm--a bridge of unusual span and dimensions--of such strength as +to be capable of bearing the heaviest loads at high speeds, and at such a +uniform height throughout as not in any way to interfere with the +navigation of the Strait. From an early period, Mr. Stephenson had fixed +upon the spot where the Britannia Rock occurs, nearly in the middle of +the channel, as the most eligible point for crossing; the water-width +from shore to shore at high water there being about 1100 feet. His first +idea was to construct the bridge of two cast-iron arches, each of 350 +feet span. There was no novelty in this idea; for, as early as the year +1801, Mr. Rennie prepared a design of a cast-iron bridge across the +Strait at the Swilly rocks, the great centre arch of which was to be 450 +feet span; and at a later period, in 1810, Telford submitted a design of +a similar bridge at Inys-y-Moch, with a single cast-iron arch of 500 +feet. But the same objections which led to the rejection of Rennie's and +Telford's designs, proved fatal to Robert Stephenson's, and his +iron-arched railway bridge was rejected by the Admiralty. The navigation +of the Strait was under no circumstances to be interfered with; and even +the erection of scaffolding from below, to support the bridge during +construction, was not to be permitted. The idea of a suspension bridge +was dismissed as inapplicable; a degree of rigidity and strength, greater +than could be secured by any bridge constructed on the principle of +suspension, being considered an indispensable condition of the proposed +structure. + + [Picture: Britannia Bridge] + +Various other plans were suggested; but the whole question remained +unsettled even down to the time when the Company went before Parliament, +in 1844, for power to construct the proposed bridges. No existing kind +of structure seemed to be capable of bearing the fearful extension to +which rigid bridges of the necessary spans would be subjected; and some +new expedient of engineering therefore became necessary. + +Mr. Stephenson was then led to reconsider a design which he had made in +1841 for a road bridge over the river Lea at Ware, with a span of 50 +feet,--the conditions only admitting of a platform 18 or 20 inches thick. +For this purpose a wrought-iron platform was designed, consisting of a +series of simple cells, formed of boiler-plates riveted together with +angle-iron. The bridge was not, however, carried out after this design, +but was made of separate wrought-iron girders composed of riveted plates. +Recurring to his first idea of this bridge, Mr. Stephenson thought that a +stiff platform might be constructed, with sides of strongly trussed +frame-work of wrought-iron, braced together at top and bottom with plates +of like material riveted together with angle-iron; and that such platform +might be suspended by strong chains on either side to give it increased +security. "It was now," says Mr. Stephenson, "that I came to regard the +tubular platform as a beam, and that the chains should be looked upon as +auxiliaries." It appeared, nevertheless, that without a system of +diagonal struts inside, which of course would have prevented the passage +of trains _through_ it, this kind of structure was ill-suited for +maintaining its form, and would be very liable to become lozenge-shaped. +Besides, the rectangular figure was deemed objectionable, from the large +surface which it presented to the wind. + +It then occurred to him that circular or elliptical tubes might better +answer the intended purpose; and in March, 1845, he gave instructions to +two of his assistants to prepare drawings of such a structure, the tubes +being made with a double thickness of plate at top and bottom. The +results of the calculations made as to the strength of such a tube, were +considered so satisfactory, that Mr. Stephenson says he determined to +fall back on a bridge of this description, on the rejection of his design +of the two cast-iron arches by the Parliamentary Committee. Indeed, it +became evident that a tubular wrought-iron beam was the only structure +which combined the necessary strength and stability for a railway, with +the conditions deemed essential for the protection of the navigation. "I +stood," says Mr. Stephenson, "on the verge of a responsibility from +which, I confess, I had nearly shrunk. The construction of a tubular +beam of such gigantic dimensions, on a platform elevated and supported by +chains at such a height, did at first present itself as a difficulty of a +very formidable nature. Reflection, however, satisfied me that the +principles upon which the idea was founded were nothing more than an +extension of those daily in use in the profession of the engineer. The +method, moreover, of calculating the strength of the structure which I +had adopted, was of the simplest and most elementary character; and +whatever might be the form of the tube, the principle on which the +calculations were founded was equally applicable, and could not fail to +lead to equally accurate results." {327} Mr. Stephenson accordingly +announced to the directors of the railway that he was prepared to carry +out a bridge of this general description, and they adopted his views, +though not without considerable misgivings. + +While the engineer's mind was still occupied with the subject, an +accident occurred to the _Prince of Wales_ iron steamship, at Blackwall, +which singularly corroborated his views as to the strength of +wrought-iron beams of large dimensions. When this vessel was being +launched, the cleet on the bow gave way, in consequence of the bolts +breaking, and let the vessel down so that the bilge came in contact with +the wharf, and she remained suspended between the water and the wharf for +a length of about 110 feet, but without any injury to the plates of the +ship; satisfactorily proving the great strength of this form of +construction. Thus, Mr. Stephenson became gradually confirmed in his +opinion that the most feasible method of bridging the strait at Menai and +the river at Conway was by means of a hollow beam of wrought-iron. As +the time was approaching for giving evidence before Parliament on the +subject, it was necessary for him to settle some definite plan for +submission to the committee. "My late revered father," says he, "having +always taken a deep interest in the various proposals which had been +considered for carrying a railway across the Menai Straits, requested me +to explain fully to him the views which led me to suggest the use of a +tube, and also the nature of the calculations I had made in reference to +it. It was during this personal conference that Mr. William Fairbairn +accidentally called upon me, to whom I also explained the principles of +the structure I had proposed. He at once acquiesced in their truth, and +expressed confidence in the feasibility of my project, giving me at the +same time some facts relative to the remarkable strength of iron +steamships, and invited me to his works at Millwall, to examine the +construction of an iron steamship which was then in progress." The date +of this consultation was early in April, 1845, and Mr. Fairbairn states +that, on that occasion, "Mr. Stephenson asked whether such a design was +practicable, and whether I could accomplish it: and it was ultimately +arranged that the subject should be investigated experimentally, to +determine not only the value of Mr. Stephenson's original conception (of +a circular or egg-shaped wrought-iron tube, supported by chains), but +that of any other tubular form of bridge which might present itself in +the prosecution of my researches. The matter was placed unreservedly in +my hands; the entire conduct of the investigation was entrusted to me; +and, as an experimenter, I was to be left free to exercise my own +discretion in the investigation of whatever forms or conditions of the +structure might appear to me best calculated to secure a safe passage +across the Straits." {329a} Mr. Fairbairn then proceeded to construct a +number of experimental models for the purpose of testing the strength of +tubes of different forms. The short period which elapsed, however, +before the bill was in committee, did not admit of much progress being +made with those experiments; but from the evidence in chief given by Mr. +Stephenson on the subject, on the 5th May following, it appears that the +idea which prevailed in his mind was that of a bridge with openings of +450 feet (afterwards increased to 460 feet); with a roadway formed of a +hollow wrought-iron beam, about 25 feet in diameter, presenting a rigid +platform, suspended by chains. At the same time, he expressed the +confident opinion that a tube of wrought iron would possess sufficient +strength and rigidity to support a railway train running inside of it +without the help of the chains. + +While the bill was still in progress, Mr. Fairbairn proceeded with his +experiments. He first tested tubes of a cylindrical form, in consequence +of the favourable opinion entertained by Mr. Stephenson of the tubes in +that shape, extending them subsequently to those of an elliptical form. +{329b} He found tubes thus shaped more or less defective, and proceeded +to test those of a rectangular kind. After the bill had received the +royal assent on the 30th June, 1845, the directors of the company, with +great liberality, voted a sum for the purpose of enabling the experiments +to be prosecuted, and upwards of 6000 pounds were thus expended to make +the assurance of their engineer doubly sure. Mr. Fairbairn's tests were +of the most elaborate and eventually conclusive character, bringing to +light many new and important facts of great practical value. The due +proportions and thicknesses of the top, bottom, and sides of the tubes +were arrived at after a vast number of trials; one of the results of the +experiments being the adoption of Mr. Fairbairn's invention of +rectangular hollow cells in the top of the beam for the purpose of giving +it the requisite degree of strength. About the end of August it was +thought desirable to obtain the assistance of a mathematician, who should +prepare a formula by which the strength of a full-sized tube might be +calculated from the results of the experiments made with tubes of smaller +dimensions. Professor Hodgkinson was accordingly called in, and he +proceeded to verify and confirm the experiments which Mr. Fairbairn had +made, and afterwards reduced them to the required formula. + +Mr. Stephenson's time was so much engrossed with his extensive +engineering business that he was in a great measure precluded from +devoting himself to the consideration of the practical details. The +results of the experiments were communicated to him from time to time, +and were regarded by him as exceedingly satisfactory. It would appear, +however, that while Mr. Fairbairn urged the rigidity and strength of the +tubes without the aid of chains, Mr. Stephenson had not quite made up his +mind upon the point. Mr. Hodgkinson, also, was strongly inclined to +retain them. Mr. Fairbairn held that it was quite practicable to make +the tubes "sufficiently strong to sustain not only their own weight, but, +in addition to that load, 2000 tons equally distributed over the surface +of the platform,--a load ten times greater than they will ever be called +upon to support." + +It was thoroughly characteristic of Mr. Stephenson, and of the caution +with which he proceeded in every step of this great undertaking--probing +every inch of the ground before he set down his foot upon it--that he +should, early in 1856, (_sic_) have appointed his able assistant, Mr. +Edwin Clark, to scrutinise carefully the results of every experiment, and +subject them to a separate and independent analysis before finally +deciding upon the form or dimensions of the structure, or upon any mode +of procedure connected with it. At length Mr. Stephenson became +satisfied that the use of auxiliary chains was unnecessary, and that the +tubular bridge might be made of such strength as to be entirely +self-supporting. + +While these important discussions were in progress, measures were taken +to proceed with the masonry of the bridges simultaneously at Conway and +the Menai Straits. The foundation-stone of the Britannia Bridge was laid +on the 10th April, 1846; and on the 12th May following that of the Conway +Bridge was laid. Suitable platforms and workshops were also erected for +proceeding with the punching, fitting, and riveting of the tubes; and +when these operations were in full progress, the neighbourhood of the +Conway and Britannia Bridges presented scenes of extraordinary bustle and +industry. About 1500 men were employed on the Britannia Bridge alone, +and they mostly lived upon the ground in wooden cottages erected for the +occasion. The iron plates were brought in ship-loads from Liverpool, +Anglesey marble from Penmon, and red sandstone from Runcorn, in Cheshire, +as wind and tide, and shipping and convenience, might determine. There +was an unremitting clank of hammers, grinding of machinery, and blasting +of rock, going on from morning till night. In fitting the Britannia +tubes together, not less than 2,000,000 of bolts were riveted, weighing +some 900 tons. + +The Britannia Bridge consists of two independent continuous tubular +beams, each 1511 feet in length, and each weighing 4680 tons, independent +of the cast-iron frames inserted at their bearings on the masonry of the +towers. These immense beams are supported at five places, namely, on the +abutments and on three towers, the central of which is known as the Great +Britannia Tower, 230 feet high, built on a rock in the middle of the +Strait. The side towers are 18 feet less in height than the central one, +and the abutment 35 feet lower than the side towers. The design of the +masonry is such as to accord with the form of the tubes, being somewhat +of an Egyptian character, massive and gigantic rather than beautiful, but +bearing the unmistakable impress of power. + +The bridge has four spans,--two of 460 feet over the water, and two of +230 feet over the land. The weight of the larger spans, at the points +where the tubes repose on the masonry, is not less than 1587 tons. On +the centre tower the tubes rest solid; but on the land towers and +abutments they lie on roller-beds, so as to allow of expansion and +contraction. The road within each tube is 15 feet wide, and the height +varies from 23 feet at the ends to 30 feet at the centre. To give an +idea of the vast size of the tubes by comparison with other structures, +it may be mentioned that each length constituting the main spans is twice +as long as London Monument is high; and if it could be set on end in St. +Paul's Churchyard, it would reach nearly 100 feet above the cross. + +The Conway Bridge is, in most respects, similar to the Britannia, +consisting of two tubes, of 400 feet span, placed side by side, each +weighing 1180 tons. The principle adopted in the construction of the +tubes, and the mode of floating and raising them, were nearly the same as +at the Britannia Bridge, though the general arrangement of the plates is +in many respects different. + +It was determined to construct the shorter outer tubes of the Britannia +Bridge on scaffoldings in the positions in which they were permanently to +remain, and to erect the larger tubes upon wooden platforms at +high-water-mark on the Caernarvon shore, from whence they were to be +floated in pontoons. + +The floating of the tubes on pontoons, from the places where they had +been constructed, to the recesses in the masonry of the towers, up which +they were to be hoisted to the positions they were permanently to occupy, +was an anxious and exciting operation. The first part of this process +was performed at Conway, where Mr. Stephenson directed it in person, +assisted by Captain Claxton, Mr. Brunel, and other engineering friends. +On the 6th March, 1848, the pontoons bearing the first great tube of the +up-line were floated round quietly and majestically into their place +between the towers in about twenty minutes. Unfortunately, one of the +sets of pontoons had become slightly slued by the stream, by which the +Conway end of the tube was prevented from being brought home; and five +anxious days to all concerned intervened before it could be set in its +place. In the mean time, the presses and raising machinery had been +fitted in the towers above, and the lifting process was begun on the 8th +April, when the immense mass was raised 8 feet, at the rate of about 2 +inches a minute. On the 16th, the tube had been raised and finally +lowered into its permanent bed; the rails were laid along it; and, on the +18th, Mr. Stephenson passed through with the first locomotive. The +second tube was proceeded with on the removal of the first from the +platform, and was completed and floated in seven months. The rapidity +with which this second tube was constructed was in no small degree owing +to the Jacquard punching-machine, contrived for the purpose by Mr. +Roberts of Manchester. This tube was finally fixed in its permanent bed +on the 2nd of January, 1849. + + [Picture: Conway Tubular Bridge] + +The floating and fixing of the great Britannia tubes was a still more +formidable enterprise, though the experience gained at Conway rendered it +easy compared with what it otherwise would have been. Mr. Stephenson +superintended the operation of floating the first in person, giving the +arranged signals from the top of the tube on which he was mounted, the +active part of the business being performed by a numerous corps of +sailors, under the immediate direction of Captain Claxton. Thousands of +spectators lined the shores of the Strait on the evening of the 19th +June, 1849. On the land attachments being cut, the pontoons began to +float off; but one of the capstans having given way from excessive +strain, the tube was brought home again for the night. By next morning +the defective capstan was restored, and all was in readiness for another +trial. At half-past seven in the evening the tube was afloat, and the +pontoons swung out into the current like a monster pendulum, held steady +by the shore guide-lines, but increasing in speed to almost a fearful +extent as they neared their destined place between the piers. "The +success of this operation," says Mr. Clark, "depended mainly on properly +striking the 'butt' beneath the Anglesey tower, on which, as upon a +centre, the tube was to be veered round into its position across the +opening. This position was determined by a 12-inch line, which was to be +paid out to a fixed mark from the Llanfair capstan. The coils of the +rope unfortunately over-rode each other upon this capstan, so that it +could not be paid out. In resisting the motion of the tube, the capstan +was bodily dragged out of the platform by the action of the palls, and +the tube was in imminent danger of being carried away by the stream, or +the pontoons crushed upon the rocks. The men at the capstan were all +knocked down, and some of them thrown into the water, though they made +every exertion to arrest the motion of the capstan-bars. In this dilemma +Mr. Rolfe, who had charge of the capstan, with great presence of mind, +called the visitors on shore to his assistance; and handing out the spare +coil of the 12-inch line into the field at the back of the capstan, it +was carried with great rapidity up the field, and a crowd of people, men, +women, and children, holding on to this huge cable, arresting the +progress of the tube, which was at length brought safely against the butt +and veered round. The Britannia end was then drawn into the recess of +the masonry by a chain passing through the tower to a crab on the far +side. The violence of the tide abated, though the wind increased, and +the Anglesey end was drawn into its place beneath the corbelling in the +masonry; and as the tide went down, the pontoons deposited their valuable +cargo on the welcome shelf at each end. The successful issue was greeted +by cannon from the shore and the hearty cheers of many thousands of +spectators, whose sympathy and anxiety were but too clearly indicated by +the unbroken silence with which the whole operation had been +accompanied." {335} By midnight all the pontoons had been got clear of +the tube, which now hung suspended over the waters of the Strait by its +two ends, which rested upon the edges cut in the rock for the purpose at +the base of the Britannia and Anglesey towers respectively, up which the +tube had now to be lifted by hydraulic power to its permanent place near +the summit. The accuracy with which the gigantic beam had been +constructed may be inferred from the fact that, after passing into its +place, a clear space remained between the iron plating and the rock +outside of it of only about three-quarters of an inch! + +Mr. Stephenson's anxiety was, of course, very great up to the time of +performing this trying operation. When he had got the first tube floated +at Conway, and saw all safe, he said to Captain Moorsom, "Now I shall go +to bed." But the Britannia Bridge was a still more difficult enterprise, +and cost him many a sleepless night. Afterwards describing his feelings +to his friend Mr. Gooch, he said: "It was a most anxious and harassing +time with me. Often at night I would lie tossing about, seeking sleep in +vain. The tubes filled my head. I went to bed with them and got up with +them. In the grey of the morning, when I looked across the Square, {336} +it seemed an immense distance across to the houses on the opposite side. +It was nearly the same length as the span of my tubular bridge!" When +the first tube had been floated, a friend observed to him, "This great +work has made you ten years older." "I have not slept sound," he +replied, "for three weeks." Sir F. Head, however relates, that when he +revisited the spot on the following morning, he observed, sitting on a +platform overlooking the suspended tube, a gentleman, reclining entirely +by himself, smoking a cigar, and gazing, as if indolently, at the aerial +gallery beneath him. It was the engineer himself, contemplating his new +born child. He had strolled down from the neighbouring village, after +his first sound and refreshing sleep for weeks, to behold in sunshine and +solitude, that which during a weary period of gestation had been either +mysteriously moving in his brain, or, like a vision--sometimes of good +omen, and sometimes of evil--had, by night as well as by day, been +flitting across his mind. + +The next process was the lifting of the tube into its place, which was +performed very deliberately and cautiously. It was raised by powerful +hydraulic presses, only a few feet at a time, and carefully under-built, +before being raised to a farther height. When it had been got up by +successive stages of this kind to about 24 feet, an extraordinary +accident occurred, during Mr. Stephenson's absence in London, which he +afterwards described to the author in as nearly as possible the following +words:--"In a work of such novelty and magnitude, you may readily imagine +how anxious I was that every possible contingency should be provided for. +Where one chain or rope was required, I provided two. I was not +satisfied with 'enough:' I must have absolute security, as far as that +was possible. I knew the consequences of failure would be most +disastrous to the Company, and that the wisest economy was to provide for +all contingencies at whatever cost. When the first tube at the Britannia +had been successfully floated between the piers, ready for being raised, +my young engineers were very much elated; and when the hoisting apparatus +had been fixed, they wrote to me saying,--'We are now all ready for +raising her: we could do it in a day, or in two at the most. But my +reply was, 'No: you must only raise the tube inch by inch, and you must +build up under it as you rise. Every inch must be made good. Nothing +must be left to chance or good luck.' And fortunate it was that I +insisted upon this cautious course being pursued; for, one day, while the +hydraulic presses were at work, the bottom of one of them burst clean +away! The crosshead and the chains, weighing more than 50 tons, +descended with a fearful crash upon the press, and the tube itself fell +down upon the packing beneath. Though the fall of the tube was not more +than nine inches, it crushed solid castings, weighing tons, as if they +had been nuts. The tube itself was slightly strained and deflected, +though it still remained sufficiently serviceable. But it was a +tremendous test to which it was put, for a weight of upwards of 5000 tons +falling even a few inches must be admitted to be a very serious matter. +That it stood so well was extraordinary. Clark immediately wrote me an +account of the circumstance, in which he said, 'Thank God, you have been +so obstinate. For if this accident had occurred without a bed for the +end of the tube to fall on, the whole would now have been lying across +the bottom of the Straits.' Five thousand pounds extra expense was +caused by this accident, slight though it might seem. But careful +provision was made against future failure; a new and improved cylinder +was provided: and the work was very soon advancing satisfactorily towards +completion." + +When the Queen first visited the Britannia Bridge, on her return from the +North in 1852, Robert Stephenson accompanied Her Majesty and Prince +Albert over the works, explaining the principles on which the bridge had +been built, and the difficulties which had attended its erection. He +conducted the Royal party to near the margin of the sea, and, after +describing to them the incident of the fall of the tube, and the reason +of its preservation, he pointed with pardonable pride to a pile of stones +which the workmen had there raised to commemorate the event. While +nearly all the other marks of the work during its progress had been +obliterated, that cairn had been left standing in commemoration of the +caution and foresight of their chief. + +The floating and raising of the remaining tubes need not be described in +detail. The second was floated on the 3rd December, and set in its +permanent place on the 7th January, 1850. The others were floated and +raised in due course. On the 5th March, Mr. Stephenson put the last +rivet in the last tube, and passed through the completed bridge, +accompanied by about a thousand persons, drawn by three locomotives. The +bridge was opened for public traffic on the 18th March. The cost of the +whole work was 234,450 pounds. + + [Picture: The Britannia Bridge. (By Percival Skelton)] + +The Britannia Bridge is one of the most remarkable monuments of the +enterprise and skill of the present century. Robert Stephenson was the +master spirit of the undertaking. To him belongs the merit of first +seizing the ideal conception of the structure best adapted to meet the +necessities of the case; and of selecting the best men to work out his +idea, himself watching, controlling, and testing every result, by +independent check and counter-check. And finally, he organised and +directed, through his assistants, the vast band of skilled workmen and +labourers who were for so many years occupied in carrying his magnificent +original conception to a successful practical issue. As he himself said +of the work,--"The true and accurate calculation of all the conditions +and elements essential to the safety of the bridge had been a source not +only of mental but of bodily toil; including, as it did, a combination of +abstract thought and well-considered experiment adequate to the magnitude +of the project." + +The Britannia Bridge was the result of a vast combination of skill and +industry. But for the perfection of our tools and the ability of our +mechanics to use them to the greatest advantage; but for the matured +powers of the steam-engine; but for the improvements in the iron +manufacture, which enabled blooms to be puddled of sizes before deemed +impracticable, and plates and bars of immense size to be rolled and +forged; but for these, the Britannia Bridge would have been designed in +vain. Thus, it was not the product of the genius of the railway engineer +alone, but of the collective mechanical genius of the English nation. + + [Picture: Conway Bridge.--Floating the First Tube] + + [Picture: View in Tapton Gardens] + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. +GEORGE STEPHENSON'S CLOSING YEARS--ILLNESS AND DEATH. + + +In describing the completion of the series of great works detailed in the +preceding chapter, we have somewhat anticipated the closing years of +George Stephenson's life. He could not fail to take an anxious interest +in the success of his son's designs, and he accordingly paid many visits +to Conway and to Menai, during the progress of the works. He was present +on the occasion of the floating and raising of the first Conway tube, and +there witnessed a clear proof of the soundness of Robert's judgment as to +the efficiency and strength of the tubular bridge, of which he had at +first expressed some doubts; but before the like test could be applied at +the Britannia Bridge, George Stephenson's mortal anxieties were at an +end, for he had then ceased from all his labours. + +Towards the close of his life, George Stephenson almost entirely withdrew +from the active pursuit of his profession; he devoted himself chiefly to +his extensive collieries and lime-works, taking a local interest only in +such projected railways as were calculated to open up new markets for +their products. + +At home he lived the life of a country gentleman, enjoying his garden and +grounds, and indulging his love of nature, which, through all his busy +life, had never left him. It was not until the year 1845 that he took an +active interest in horticultural pursuits. Then he began to build new +melon-houses, pineries, and vineries, of great extent; and he now seemed +as eager to excel all other growers of exotic plants in his +neighbourhood, as he had been to surpass the villagers of Killingworth in +the production of gigantic cabbages and cauliflowers some thirty years +before. He had a pine-house built 68 feet in length and a pinery 140 +feet. Workmen were constantly employed in enlarging them, until at +length he had no fewer than ten glass forcing-houses, heated with hot +water, which he was one of the first in that neighbourhood to make use of +for such a purpose. He did not take so much pleasure in flowers as in +fruits. At one of the county agricultural meetings, he said that he +intended yet to grow pineapples at Tapton as big as pumpkins. The only +man to whom he would "knock under" was his friend Paxton, the gardener to +the Duke of Devonshire; and he was so old in the service, and so skilful, +that he could scarcely hope to beat him. Yet his "Queen" pines did take +the first prize at a competition with the Duke,--though this was not +until shortly after his death, when the plants had become more fully +grown. His grapes also took the first prize at Rotherham, at a +competition open to all England. He was extremely successful in +producing melons, having invented a method of suspending them in baskets +of wire gauze, which, by relieving the stalk from tension, allowed +nutrition to proceed more freely, and better enabled the fruit to grow +and ripen. + +He took much pride also in his growth of cucumbers. He raised them very +fine and large, but he could not make them grow straight. Place them as +he would, notwithstanding all his propping of them, and humouring them by +modifying the application of heat and the admission of light for the +purpose of effecting his object, they would still insist on growing +crooked in their own way. At last he had a number of glass cylinders +made at Newcastle, for the purpose of an experiment; into these the +growing cucumbers were inserted, and then he succeeded in growing them +perfectly straight. Carrying one of the new products into his house one +day, and exhibiting it to a party of visitors, he told them of the +expedient he had adopted, and added gleefully, "I think I have bothered +them noo!" + +Mr. Stephenson also carried on farming operations with some success. He +experimented on manure, and fed cattle after methods of his own. He was +very particular as to breed and build in stock-breeding. "You see, sir," +he said to one gentleman, "I like to see the _coo's_ back at a gradient +something like this" (drawing an imaginary line with his hand), "and then +the ribs or girders will carry more flesh than if they were so--or so." +When he attended the county agricultural meetings, which he frequently +did, he was accustomed to take part in the discussions, and he brought +the same vigorous practical mind to bear upon questions of tillage, +drainage, and farm economy, which he had been accustomed to exercise on +mechanical and engineering matters. + +All his early affection for birds and animals revived. He had favourite +dogs, and cows, and horses; and again he began to keep rabbits, and to +pride himself on the beauty of his breed. There was not a bird's nest +upon the grounds that he did not know of; and from day to day he went +round watching the progress which the birds made with their building, +carefully guarding them from injury. No one was more minutely acquainted +with the habits of British birds, the result of a long, loving, and close +observation of nature. + +At Tapton he remembered the failure of his early experiment in hatching +birds' eggs by heat, and he now performed it successfully, being able to +secure a proper apparatus for maintaining a uniform temperature. He was +also curious about the breeding and fattening of fowls; and when his +friend Edward Pease of Darlington visited him at Tapton, he explained a +method which he had invented for fattening chickens in half the usual +time. + +Mrs. Stephenson tried to keep bees, but found they would not thrive at +Tapton. Many hives perished, and there was no case of success. The +cause of failure was a puzzle to the engineer; but one day his acute +powers of observation enabled him to unravel it. At the foot of the hill +on which Tapton House stands, he saw some bees trying to rise up from +amongst the grass, laden with honey and wax. They were already +exhausted, as if with long flying; and then it occurred to him that the +height at which the house stood above the bees' feeding-ground rendered +it difficult for them to reach their hives when heavy laden, and hence +they sank exhausted. He afterwards incidentally mentioned the +circumstance to Mr. Jesse the naturalist, who concurred in his view as to +the cause of failure, and was much struck by the keen observation which +had led to its solution. + +Mr. Stephenson had none of the in-door habits of the student. He read +very little; for reading is a habit which is generally acquired in youth; +and his youth and manhood had been for the most part spent in hard work. +Books wearied him, and sent him to sleep. Novels excited his feelings +too much, and he avoided them, though he would occasionally read through +a philosophical book on a subject in which he felt particularly +interested. He wrote very few letters with his own hand; nearly all his +letters were dictated, and he avoided even dictation when he could. His +greatest pleasure was in conversation, from which he gathered most of his +imparted information. + +It was his practice, when about to set out on a journey by railway, to +walk along the train before it started, and look into the carriages to +see if he could find "a conversable face." On one of these occasions, at +the Euston Station, he discovered in a carriage a very handsome, manly, +and intelligent face, which he afterwards found was that of the late Lord +Denman. He was on his way down to his seat at Stony Middleton, in +Derbyshire. Mr. Stephenson entered the carriage, and the two were +shortly engaged in interesting conversation. It turned upon chronometry +and horology, and the engineer amazed his lordship by the extent of his +knowledge on the subject, in which he displayed as much minute +information, even down to the latest improvements in watchmaking, as if +he had been bred a watchmaker and lived by the trade. Lord Denman was +curious to know how a man whose time must have been mainly engrossed by +engineering, had gathered so much knowledge on a subject quite out of his +own line, and he asked the question. "I learnt clockmaking and +watchmaking," was the answer, "while a working man at Killingworth, when +I made a little money in my spare hours, by cleaning the pitmen's clocks +and watches; and since then I have kept up my information on the +subject." This led to further questions, and then Mr. Stephenson told +Lord Denman the interesting story of his life, which held him entranced +during the remainder of the journey. + +Many of his friends readily accepted invitations to Tapton House to enjoy +his hospitality, which never failed. With them he would "fight his +battles o'er again," reverting to his battle for the locomotive; and he +was never tired of telling, nor were his auditors of listening to, the +lively anecdotes with which he was accustomed to illustrate the struggles +of his early career. Whilst walking in the woods or through the grounds, +he would arrest his friend's attention by allusion to some simple +object,--such as a leaf, a blade of grass, a bit of bark, a nest of +birds, or an ant carrying its eggs across the path,--and descant in +glowing terms upon the creative power of the Divine Mechanician, whose +contrivances were so exhaustless and so wonderful. This was a theme upon +which he was often accustomed to dwell in reverential admiration, when in +the society of his more intimate friends. + +One night, when walking under the stars, and gazing up into the field of +suns, each the probable centre of a system, forming the Milky Way, a +friend said to him, "What an insignificant creature is man in sight of so +immense a creation as that!" "Yes!" was his reply; "but how wonderful a +creature also is man, to be able to think and reason, and even in some +measure to comprehend works so infinite!" + +A microscope, which he had brought down to Tapton, was a source of +immense enjoyment to him; and he was never tired of contemplating the +minute wonders which it revealed. One evening, when some friends were +visiting him, he induced them each to puncture their skin so as to draw +blood, in order that he might examine the globules through the +microscope. One of the gentlemen present was a teetotaller, and Mr. +Stephenson pronounced his blood to be the most lively of the whole. He +had a theory of his own about the movement of the globules in the blood, +which has since become familiar. It was, that they were respectively +charged with electricity, positive at one end and negative at the other, +and that thus they attracted and repelled each other, causing a +circulation. No sooner did he observe anything new, than he immediately +set about devising a reason for it. His training in mechanics, his +practical familiarity with matter in all its forms, and the strong bent +of his mind, led him first of all to seek for a mechanical explanation. +And yet he was ready to admit that there was a something in the principle +of _life_--so mysterious and inexplicable--which baffled mechanics, and +seemed to dominate over and control them. He did not care much, either, +for abstruse mechanics, but only for the experimental and practical, as +is usually the case with those whose knowledge has been self-acquired. + +Even at his advanced age, the spirit of frolic had not left him. When +proceeding from Chesterfield station to Tapton House with his friends, he +would almost invariably challenge them to a race up the steep path, +partly formed of stone steps, along the hill side. And he would +struggle, as of old, to keep the front place, though by this time his +"wind" had greatly failed. He would occasionally invite an old friend to +take a quiet wrestle with him on the lawn, to keep up his skill, and +perhaps to try some new "knack" of throwing. In the evening, he would +sometimes indulge his visitors by reciting the old pastoral of "Damon and +Phyllis," or singing his favourite song of "John Anderson my Joe." But +his greatest glory amongst those with whom he was most intimate, was a +"crowdie!" "Let's have a crowdie night," he would say; and forthwith a +kettle of boiling water was ordered in, with a basin of oatmeal. Taking +a large bowl, containing a sufficiency of hot water, and placing it +between his knees, he poured in oatmeal with one hand, and stirred the +mixture vigorously with the other. When enough meal had been added, and +the stirring was completed, the crowdie was made. It was then supped +with new milk, and Stephenson generally pronounced it "capital!" It was +the diet to which he had been accustomed when a working man, and all the +dainties with which he had become familiar in recent years had not +spoiled his simple tastes. To enjoy crowdie at his age, besides, +indicated that he still possessed that quality on which no doubt much of +his practical success in life had depended,--a strong and healthy +digestion. + +He would also frequently invite to his house the humbler companions of +his early life, and take pleasure in talking over old times with them. +He never assumed any of the bearings of a great man on such occasions, +but treated the visitors with the same friendliness and respect as if +they had been his equals, sending them away pleased with themselves and +delighted with him. At other times, needy men who had known him in youth +would knock at his door, and they were never refused access. But if he +had heard of any misconduct on their part he would rate them soundly. +One who knew him intimately in private life has seen him exhorting such +backsliders, and denouncing their misconduct and imprudence with the +tears streaming down his cheeks. And he would generally conclude by +opening his purse, and giving them the help which they needed "to make a +fresh start in the world." + +Mr. Stephenson's life at Tapton during his latter years was occasionally +diversified with a visit to London. His engineering business having +become limited, he generally went there for the purpose of visiting +friends, or "to see what there was fresh going on." He found a new race +of engineers springing up on all hands--men who knew him not; and his +London journeys gradually ceased to yield him pleasure. A friend used to +take him to the opera, but by the end of the first act, he was generally +in a profound slumber. Yet on one occasion he enjoyed a visit to the +Haymarket with a party of friends on his birthday, to see T. P. Cooke, in +"Black-eyed Susan;"--if that can be called enjoyment which kept him in a +state of tears during half the performance. At other times he visited +Newcastle, which always gave him great pleasure. He would, on such +occasions, go out to Killingworth and seek up old friends, and if the +people whom he knew were too retiring, and shrunk into their cottages, he +went and sought them there. Striking the floor with his stick, and +holding his noble person upright, he would say, in his own kind way, +"Well, and how's all here to-day?" To the last he had always a warm +heart for Newcastle and its neighbourhood. + +Sir Robert Peel, on more than one occasion, invited George Stephenson to +his mansion at Drayton, where he was accustomed to assemble round him men +of the highest distinction in art, science, and legislation, during the +intervals of his parliamentary life. The first invitation was +respectfully declined. Sir Robert invited him a second time, and a +second time he declined: "I have no great ambition," he said, "to mix in +fine company, and perhaps should feel out of my element amongst such high +folks." But Sir Robert a third time pressed him to come down to Tamworth +early in January, 1845, when he would meet Buckland, Follett, and others +well known to both. "Well, Sir Robert," said he, "I feel your kindness +very much, and can no longer refuse: I will come down and join your +party." + +Mr. Stephenson's strong powers of observation, together with his native +humour and shrewdness, imparted to his conversation at all times much +vigour and originality, and made him, to young and old, a delightful +companion. Though mainly an engineer, he was also a profound thinker on +many scientific questions: and there was scarcely a subject of +speculation, or a department of recondite science, on which he had not +employed his faculties in such a way as to have formed large and original +views. At Drayton, the conversation usually turned upon such topics, and +Mr. Stephenson freely joined in it. On one occasion, an animated +discussion took place between himself and Dr. Buckland on one of his +favourite theories as to the formation of coal. But the result was, that +Dr. Buckland, a much greater master of tongue-fence than Mr. Stephenson, +completely silenced him. Next morning, before breakfast, when he was +walking in the grounds, deeply pondering, Sir William Follett came up and +asked what he was thinking about? "Why, Sir William, I am thinking over +that argument I had with Buckland last night; I know I am right, and that +if I had only the command of words which he has, I'd have beaten him." +"Let me know all about it," said Sir William, "and I'll see what I can do +for you." The two sat down in an arbour, and the astute lawyer made +himself thoroughly acquainted with the points of the case; entering into +it with all the zeal of an advocate about to plead the dearest interests +of his client. After he had mastered the subject, Sir William rose up, +rubbing his hands with glee, and said, "Now I am ready for him." Sir +Robert Peel was made acquainted with the plot, and adroitly introduced +the subject of the controversy after dinner. The result was, that in the +argument which followed, the man of science was overcome by the man of +law; and Sir William Follett had at all points the mastery over Dr. +Buckland. "What do _you_ say, Mr. Stephenson?" asked Sir Robert, +laughing. "Why," said he, "I will only say this, that of all the powers +above and under the earth, there seems to me to be no power so great as +the gift of the gab." {350} + +One Sunday, when the party had just returned from church, they were +standing together on the terrace near the Hall, and observed in the +distance a railway-train flashing along, tossing behind its long white +plume of steam. "Now, Buckland," said Stephenson, "I have a poser for +you. Can you tell me what is the power that is driving that train?" +"Well," said the other, "I suppose it is one of your big engines." "But +what drives the engine?" "Oh, very likely a canny Newcastle driver." +"What do you say to the light of the sun?" "How can that be?" asked the +doctor. "It is nothing else," said the engineer, "it is light bottled up +in the earth for tens of thousands of years,--light, absorbed by plants +and vegetables, being necessary for the condensation of carbon during the +process of their growth, if it be not carbon in another form,--and now, +after being buried in the earth for long ages in fields of coal, that +latent light is again brought forth and liberated, made to work as in +that locomotive, for great human purposes." + +During the same visit, Mr. Stephenson, one evening repeated his +experiment with blood drawn from the finger, submitting it to the +microscope in order to show the curious circulation of the globules. He +set the example by pricking his own thumb; and the other guests, by +turns, in like manner, gave up a small portion of their blood for the +purpose of ascertaining the comparative livelinesss of their circulation. +When Sir Robert Peel's turn came, Mr. Stephenson said he was curious to +know "how the blood globules of a great politician would conduct +themselves." Sir Robert held forth his finger for the purpose of being +pricked; but once, and again, he sensitively shrunk back, and at length +the experiment, so far as he was concerned, was abandoned. Sir Robert +Peel's sensitiveness to pain was extreme, and yet he was destined, a few +years after, to die a death of the most distressing agony. + +In 1847, the year before his death, Mr. Stephenson was again invited to +join a distinguished party at Drayton Manor, and to assist in the +ceremony of formally opening the Trent Valley Railway, which had been +originally designed and laid out by himself many years before. The first +sod of the railway had been cut by the Prime Minister, in November, 1845, +during the time when Mr. Stephenson was abroad on the business of the +Spanish railway. The formal opening took place on the 26th June, 1847, +the line having thus been constructed in less than two years. + +What a change had come over the spirit of the landed gentry since the +time when George Stephenson had first projected a railway through that +district! Then they were up in arms against him, characterising him as +the devastator and spoiler of their estates; now he was hailed as one of +the greatest benefactors of the age. Sir Robert Peel, the chief +political personage in England, welcomed him as a guest and friend, and +spoke of him as the chief among practical philosophers. A dozen members +of Parliament, seven baronets, with all the landed magnates of the +district, assembled to celebrate the opening of the railway. The clergy +were there to bless the enterprise, and to bid all hail to railway +progress, as "enabling them to carry on with greater facility those +operations in connexion with religion which were calculated to be so +beneficial to the country." The army, speaking through the mouth of +General A'Court, acknowledged the vast importance of railways, as tending +to improve the military defences of the country. And representatives +from eight corporations were there to acknowledge the great benefits +which railways had conferred upon the merchants, tradesmen, and working +classes of their respective towns and cities. + +In the spring of 1848 Mr. Stephenson was invited to Whittington House, +near Chesterfield, the residence of his friend and former pupil, Mr. +Swanwick, to meet the distinguished American, Emerson. Upon being +introduced, they did not immediately engage in conversation; but +presently Stephenson jumped up, took Emerson by the collar, and giving +him one of his friendly shakes, asked how it was that in England we could +always tell an American? This led to an interesting conversation, in the +course of which Emerson said how much he had been everywhere struck by +the haleness and comeliness of the English men and women; and then they +diverged into a further discussion of the influences which air, climate, +moisture, soil, and other conditions exercised upon the physical and +moral development of a people. The conversation was next directed to the +subject of electricity, upon which Stephenson launched out +enthusiastically, explaining his views by several simple and striking +illustrations. From thence it gradually turned to the events of his own +life, which he related in so graphic a manner as completely to rivet the +attention of the American. Afterwards Emerson said, "that it was worth +crossing the Atlantic to have seen Stephenson alone; he had such native +force of character and vigour of intellect." + +The rest of Mr. Stephenson's days were spent quietly at Tapton, amongst +his dogs, his rabbits, and his birds. When not engaged about the works +connected with his collieries, he was occupied in horticulture and +farming. He continued proud of his flowers, his fruits, and his crops; +and the old spirit of competition was still strong within him. Although +he had for some time been in delicate health, and his hand shook from +nervous affection, he appeared to possess a sound constitution. Emerson +had observed of him that he had the lives of many men in him. But +perhaps the American spoke figuratively, in reference to his vast stores +of experience. It appeared that he had never completely recovered from +the attack of pleurisy which seized him during his return from Spain. As +late, however, as the 26th July, 1848, he felt himself sufficiently well +to be able to attend a meeting of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers +at Birmingham, and to read to the members his paper "On the Fallacies of +the Rotatory Engine." It was his last appearance before them. Shortly +after his return to Tapton, he had an attack of intermittent fever, from +which he seemed to be recovering, when a sudden effusion of blood from +the lungs carried him off, on the 12th August, 1848, in the sixty-seventh +year of his age. When all was over, Robert wrote to Edward Pease, "With +deep pain I inform you, as one of his oldest friends, of the death of my +dear father this morning at 12 o'clock, after about ten days' illness +from severe fever." Mr. Starbuck, who was also present, wrote, "The +favourable symptoms of yesterday morning were towards evening followed by +a serious change for the worse. This continued during the night, and +early this morning it became evident that he was sinking. At a few +minutes before 12 to-day he breathed his last. All that the most devoted +and unremitting care of Mrs. Stephenson {354} and the skill of medicine +could accomplish, has been done, but in vain." + +George Stephenson's remains were followed to the grave by a large body of +his workpeople, by whom he was greatly admired and beloved. They +remembered him as a kind master, who was ever ready actively to promote +all measures for their moral, physical, and mental improvement. The +inhabitants of Chesterfield evinced their respect for the deceased by +suspending business, closing their shops, and joining in the funeral +procession, which was headed by the corporation of the town. Many of the +surrounding gentry also attended. The body was interred in Trinity +Church, Chesterfield, where a simple tablet marks the great engineer's +last resting-place. + +The statue of George Stephenson, which the Liverpool and Manchester and +Grand Junction Companies had commissioned, was on its way to England when +his death occurred; and it served for a monument, though his best +monument will always be his works. The statue referred to was placed in +St. George's Hall, Liverpool. A full-length statue of him, by Bailey, +was also erected a few years later, in the noble vestibule of the London +and North-Western Station, in Euston Square. A subscription for the +purpose was set on foot by the Society of Mechanical Engineers, of which +he had been the founder and president. A few advertisements were +inserted in the newspapers, inviting subscriptions; and it is a notable +fact that the voluntary offerings included an average of two shillings +each from 3150 working men, who embraced this opportunity of doing honour +to their distinguished fellow workman. + + [Picture: Trinity Church, Chesterfield] + +But unquestionably the finest and most appropriate statue to the memory +of George Stephenson is that erected in 1862, after the design of John +Lough, at Newcastle-upon Tyne. It is in the immediate neighbourhood of +the Literary and Philosophical Institute, to which both George and his +son Robert were so much indebted in their early years; close to the great +Stephenson locomotive foundry established by the shrewdness of the +father; and in the vicinity of the High Level Bridge, one of the grandest +products of the genius of the son. The head of Stephenson, as expressed +in this noble work, is massive, characteristic, and faithful; and the +attitude of the figure is simple yet manly and energetic. It stands on a +pedestal, at the respective corners of which are sculptured the recumbent +figures of a pitman, a mechanic, an engine-driver, and a plate-layer. +The statue appropriately stands in a very thoroughfare of working-men, +thousands of whom see it daily as they pass to and from their work; and +we can imagine them, as they look up to Stephenson's manly figure, +applying to it the words addressed by Robert Nicoll to Robert Burns, with +perhaps still greater appropriateness:-- + + "Before the proudest of the earth + We stand, with an uplifted brow; + Like us, thou wast a toiling man,-- + And we are noble, now!" + +The portrait prefixed to this volume gives a good indication of George +Stephenson's shrewd, kind, honest, manly face. His fair, clear +countenance was ruddy, and seemingly glowed with health. The forehead +was large and high, projecting over the eyes, and there was that massive +breadth across the lower part which is usually observed in men of eminent +constructive skill. The mouth was firmly marked, and shrewdness and +humour lurked there as well as in the keen grey eye. His frame was +compact, well-knit, and rather spare. His hair became grey at an early +age, and towards the close of his life it was of a pure silky whiteness. +He dressed neatly in black, wearing a white neckcloth; and his face, his +person, and his deportment at once arrested attention, and marked the +Gentleman. + + [Picture: Tablet in Trinity Church, Chesterfield] + + [Picture: Victoria Bridge, Montreal] + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. +ROBERT STEPHENSON'S VICTORIA BRIDGE, LOWER CANADA--ILLNESS AND +DEATH--STEPHENSON CHARACTERISTICS. + + +George Stephenson bequeathed to his son his valuable collieries, his +share in the engine manufactory at Newcastle, and his large accumulation +of savings, which, together with the fortune he had himself amassed by +railway work, gave Robert the position of an engineer millionaire--the +first of his order. He continued, however, to live in a quiet style; and +although he bought occasional pictures and statues, and indulged in the +luxury of a yacht, he did not live up to his income, which went on +rapidly accumulating until his death. + +There was no longer the necessity for applying himself to the laborious +business of a parliamentary engineer, in which he had now been occupied +for some fifteen years. Shortly after his father's death, Edward Pease +strongly recommended him to give up the more harassing work of his +profession; and his reply (15th June, 1850) was as follows:--"The +suggestion which your kind note contains is quite in accordance with my +own feelings and intentions respecting retirement; but I find it a very +difficult matter to bring to a close so complicated a connexion in +business as that which has been established by twenty-five years of +active and arduous professional duty. Comparative retirement is, +however, my intention; and I trust that your prayer for the Divine +blessing to grant me happiness and quiet comfort will be fulfilled. I +cannot but feel deeply grateful to the Great Disposer of events for the +success which has hitherto attended my exertions in life; and I trust +that the future will also be marked by a continuance of His mercies." + +Although Robert Stephenson, in conformity with this expressed intention, +for the most part declined to undertake new business, he did not +altogether lay aside his harness; and he lived to repeat his tubular +bridges both in Lower Canada and in Egypt. The success of the tubular +system, as adopted at Menai and Conway, was such as to recommend it for +adoption wherever great span was required; and the peculiar circumstances +connected with the navigation of the St. Lawrence and the Nile, may be +said to have compelled its adoption in carrying railways across those +great rivers. + +The Victoria Bridge, of which Robert Stephenson was the designer and +chief engineer, is, without exception, the greatest work of the kind in +the world. For gigantic proportions and vast length and strength there +is nothing to compare with it in ancient or modern times. The entire +bridge, with its approaches, is only about sixty yards short of _two +miles_, being five times longer than the Britannia across the Menai +Straits, seven and a half times longer than Waterloo Bridge, and more +than ten times longer than the new Chelsea Bridge across the Thames! It +has not less than twenty-four spans of 242 feet each, and one great +central span--itself an immense bridge--of 330 feet. The road is carried +within iron tubes 60 feet above the level of the St. Lawrence, which runs +beneath at a speed of about ten miles an hour, and in winter brings down +the ice of two thousand square miles of lakes and rivers, with their +numerous tributaries. The weight of iron in the tubes is about ten +thousand tons, supported on massive piers, which contain, some six, and +others ten thousand tons of solid masonry. + +So gigantic a work, involving so heavy an expenditure--about 1,300,000 +pounds--was not projected without sufficient cause. The Grand Trunk +Railway of Canada, upwards of 1200 miles in length, traverses British +North America from the shores of the Atlantic to the rich prairie country +of the Far West. It opens up a vast extent of fertile territory for +future immigration, and provides a ready means for transporting the +varied products of the Western States to the seaboard. So long as the +St. Lawrence was relied upon, the inhabitants along the Great Valley were +precluded from communication with each other for nearly six months of the +year, during which the navigation was closed by the ice. + +The Grand Trunk Railway was designed to furnish a line of communication +through this great district at all seasons; following the course of the +St. Lawrence along its north bank, and uniting the principal towns of +Canada. But stopping short on the north shore, it was still an +incomplete work; unconnected, except by a dangerous and often +impracticable ferry, with Montreal, the capital of the province, and shut +off from connection with the United States, as well as with the coast to +which the commerce of Canada naturally tends. Without a bridge at +Montreal, therefore, it was felt that the system of Canadian railway +communication would have been incomplete, and the benefits of the Grand +Trunk Railway in a great measure nugatory. + +As early as 1846 the construction of a bridge across the St. Lawrence at +Montreal was strongly advocated by the local press for the purpose of +directly connecting that city with the then projected Atlantic and St. +Lawrence Railway. A survey of the bridge was made, and the scheme was +reported to be practicable. A period of colonial depression, however, +intervened, and although the project was not lost sight of, it was not +until 1852, when the Grand Trunk Railway Company began their operations, +that there seemed to be any reasonable prospect of its being carried out. +In that year, Mr. A. M. Ross--who had superintended, under Robert +Stephenson, the construction of the tubular bridge over the +Conway--visited Canada, and inspected the site of the proposed bridge, +when he readily arrived at the conclusion that a like structure was +suitable for the crossing of the St. Lawrence. He returned to England to +confer with Robert Stephenson on the subject, and the result was the plan +of the Victoria Bridge, of which Robert Stephenson was the designer, and +Mr. A. M. Ross the joint and resident engineer. + +The particular kind of structure to be adopted, however, formed the +subject of much preliminary discussion. Even after the design of a +tubular bridge had been adopted, and the piers were commenced, the plan +was made the subject of severe criticism, on the ground of its alleged +excessive cost. It therefore became necessary for Mr. Stephenson to +vindicate the propriety of his design in a report to the directors of the +railway, in which he satisfactorily proved that as respected strength, +efficiency, and economy, with a view to permanency, the plan of the +Victoria Bridge was unimpeachable. There were various methods proposed +for spanning the St. Lawrence. The suspension bridge, such as that over +the river Niagara, was found inapplicable for several reasons, but +chiefly because of its defective rigidity, which greatly limited the +speed and weight of the trains, and consequently the amount of traffic +which could be passed over such a bridge. Thus, taking the length of the +Victoria Bridge into account, it was found that not more than 20 trains +could pass within the 24 hours, a number insufficient for the +accommodation of the anticipated traffic. To introduce such an amount of +material into the suspension bridge as would supply increased rigidity, +would only be approximating to the original beam, and neutralizing any +advantages in point of cheapness which might be derivable from this form +of structure, without securing the essential stiffness and strength. +Iron arches were also considered inapplicable, because of the large +headway required for the passage of the ice in winter, and the necessity +which existed for keeping the springing of the arches clear of the +water-line. This would have involved the raising of the entire road, and +a largely increased expenditure on the upper works. The question was +therefore reduced to the consideration of the kind of _horizontal beam_ +or _girder_ to be employed. + +Horizontal girders are of three kinds. The _Tubular_ is constructed of +riveted rectangular boiler plates. Where the span is large, the road +passes within the tube; where the span is comparatively small, the +roadway is supported by two or more rectangular beams. Next there is the +_Lattice_ girder, borrowed from the loose rough timber bridges of the +American engineers, consisting of a top and bottom flange connected by a +number of flat iron bars, riveted across each other at a certain angle, +the roadway resting on the top, or being suspended at the bottom between +the lattice on either side. Bridges on the same construction are now +extensively used for crossing the broad rivers of India, and are +especially designed with a view to their easy transport and erection. +The _Trellis_ or Warren girder is a modification of the same plan, +consisting of a top and bottom flange, with a connecting web of diagonal +flat bars, forming a complete system of triangulation--hence the name of +"Triangular girder," by which it is generally known. The merit of this +form consists in its comparative rigidity, strength, lightness, and +economy of material These bridges are also extensively employed in +spanning the rivers of India. One of the best specimens is the Crumlin +viaduct, 200 feet high at one point, which spans the river and valley of +the Ebbw near the village of Crumlin in South Wales. This viaduct is +about a third of a mile long, divided into two parts by a ridge of hills +which runs through the centre of the valley--each part forming a separate +viaduct, the one of seven equal spans of 150 feet, the other of three +spans of the same diameter. The bridge has been very skilfully designed +and constructed, and, by reason of its great dimensions and novel +arrangements, is entitled to be regarded as one of the most remarkable +engineering works of the day. + +"In calculating the strength of these different classes of girders," Mr. +Stephenson observed, "one ruling principle appertains, and is common to +all of them. Primarily and essentially, the ultimate strength is +considered to exist in the top and bottom,--the former being exposed to a +compression force by the action of the load, and the latter to a force of +tension; therefore, whatever be the class or denomination of girders, +they must all be alike in amount of effective material in these members, +if their spans and depths are the same, and they have to sustain the same +amount of load. Hence, the question of comparative merit amongst the +different classes of construction of beams or girders is really narrowed +to the method of connecting the top and bottom _webs_, so called." In +the tubular system the connexion is effected by continuous boiler plates +riveted together; and in the lattice and trellis bridges by flat iron +bars, more or less numerous, forming a series of struts and ties. Those +engineers who advocate the employment of the latter form of construction, +set forth as its principal advantage the saving of material which is +effected by employing bars instead of iron plates; whereas Mr. Stephenson +and his followers urge, that in point of economy the boiler plate side is +equal to the bars, whilst in point of effective strength and rigidity it +is decidedly superior. To show the comparative economy of material, he +contrasted the lattice girder bridge over the river Trent, on the Great +Northern Railway near Newark, with the tubes of the Victoria Bridge. In +the former case, where the span is 240.5 feet, and the bridge 13 feet +wide, the weight including bearings is 292 tons; in the latter, where the +span is 242 feet, the width of the tube 16 feet, the weight including +bearings is 275 tons, showing a balance in favour of the Victoria Tube of +17 tons. The comparison between the Newark Dyke Bridge and the Tubular +Bridge over the river Aire is equally favourable to the latter; and no +one can have travelled over the Great Northern line to York without +noting that, as respects rigidity under the passing train, the Tubular +Bridge is decidedly superior. It is ascertained that the deflection +caused by a passing load is considerably greater in the former case; and +Mr. Stephenson was also of opinion that the sides of all trellis or +lattice girders are useless, except for the purpose of connecting the top +and bottom, and keeping them in their position. They depend upon their +connexion with the top and bottom webs for their own support; and since +they could not sustain their shape, but would collapse immediately on +their being disconnected from their top and bottom members, it is evident +that they add to the strain upon them, and consequently to that extent +reduce the ultimate strength of the beams. "I admit," he added, "that +there is no formula for valuing the _solid_ sides for strains, and that +at present we only ascribe to them the value or use of connecting the top +and bottom; yet we are aware that, from their continuity and solidity, +they are of value to resist horizontal and many other strains, +independently of the top and bottom, by which they add very much to the +stiffness of the beam; and the fact of their containing more material +than is necessary to connect the top and bottom webs, has by no means +been fairly established." Another important advantage of the Tubular +bridge over the Trellis or Lattice structure, consists in its greater +safety in event of a train running off the line,--a contingency which has +more than once occurred on a tubular bridge without detriment, whereas in +event of such an accident occurring on a Trellis or Lattice bridge, it +must infallibly be destroyed. Where the proposed bridge is of the +unusual length of a mile and a quarter, it is obvious that this +consideration must have had no small weight with the directors, who +eventually decided on proceeding with the Tubular Bridge according to Mr. +Stephenson's original design. + +From the first projection of the Victoria Bridge, the difficulties of +executing such a work across a wide river, down which an avalanche of ice +rushes to the sea every spring, were pronounced almost insurmountable by +those best acquainted with the locality. The ice of two thousand miles +of inland lakes and upper rivers, besides their tributaries, is then +poured down stream, and, in the neighbourhood of Montreal especially, it +is often piled up to the height of from forty to fifty feet, placing the +surrounding country under water, and doing severe damage to the massive +stone buildings along the noble river front of the city. To resist so +prodigious a pressure, it was necessary that the piers of the proposed +bridge should be of the most solid and massive description. Their +foundations are placed in the solid rock; for none of the artificial +methods of obtaining foundations, suggested by some engineers for +cheapness' sake, were found practicable in this case. Where the force +exercised against the piers was likely to be so great, it was felt that +timber ice-breakers, timber or cast-iron piling, or even rubble-work, +would have proved but temporary expedients. The two centre piers are +eighteen feet wide, and the remaining twenty-two piers fifteen feet; to +arrest and break the ice, an inclined plane, composed of great blocks of +stone, was added to the up-river side of each pier--each block weighing +from seven to ten tons, and the whole were firmly clamped together with +iron rivets. + +To convey some idea of the immense force which these piers are required +to resist, we may briefly describe the breaking up of the ice in March, +1858, while the bridge was under construction. Fourteen out of the +twenty-four piers were then finished, together with the formidable +abutments and approaches to the bridge. The ice in the river began to +show signs of weakness on the 29th March, but it was not until the 31st +that a general movement became observable, which continued for an hour, +when it suddenly stopped, and the water rose rapidly. On the following +day, at noon, a grand movement commenced; the waters rose about four feet +in two minutes, up to a level with many of the Montreal streets. The +fields of ice at the same time were suddenly elevated to an incredible +height; and so overwhelming were they in appearance, that crowds of the +townspeople, who had assembled on the quay to watch the progress of the +flood, ran for their lives. This movement lasted about twenty minutes, +during which the jammed ice destroyed several portions of the quay-wall, +grinding the hardest blocks to atoms. The embanked approaches to the +Victoria Bridge had tremendous forces to resist. In the full channel of +the stream, the ice in its passage between the piers was broken up by the +force of the blow immediately on its coming in contact with the +cutwaters. Sometimes thick sheets of ice were seen to rise up and rear +on end against the piers, but by the force of the current they were +speedily made to roll over into the stream, and in a moment after were +out of sight. For the two next days the river was still high, until on +the 4th April the waters seemed suddenly to give way, and by the +following day the river was flowing clear and smooth as a millpond, +nothing of winter remaining except the masses of bordage ice which were +strewn along the shores of the stream. On examination of the piers of +the bridge, it was found that they had admirably resisted the tremendous +pressure; and though the timber "cribwork" erected to facilitate the +placing of floating pontoons to form the dams, was found considerably +disturbed and in some places seriously damaged, the piers, with the +exception of one or two heavy stone blocks, which were still unfinished, +escaped uninjured. One heavy block of many tons' weight was carried to a +considerable distance, and must have been torn out of its place by sheer +force, as several of the broken fragments were found left in the pier. + +The works in connection with the Victoria Bridge were begun on the 22nd +July, 1854, when the first stone was laid, and continued uninterruptedly +during a period of 5.5 years, until the 17th December, 1859, when the +bridge was finished and taken off the contractor's hands. It was +formally opened for traffic early in 1860; though Robert Stephenson did +not live to see its completion. + +The tubular system was also applied by the same engineer, in a modified +form, in the two bridges across the Nile, near Damietta in Lower Egypt. +That near Benha contains eight spans or openings of 80 feet each, and two +centre spans, formed by one of the largest swing bridges ever +constructed,--the total length of the swing-beam being 157 feet,--a clear +water-way of 60 feet being provided on either side of the centre pier. +The only novelty in these bridges consisted in the road being carried +_upon_ the tubes instead of within them; their erection being carried out +in the usual manner, by means of workmen, materials, and plant sent out +from England. + +During the later years of his life, Mr. Stephenson took considerable +interest in public affairs and in scientific investigations. In 1847 he +entered the House of Commons as member for Whitby; but he does not seem +to have been very devoted in his attendance, and only appeared on +divisions when there was a "whip" of the party to which he belonged. He +was a member of the Sanitary and Sewage Commissions, and of the +Commission which sat on Westminster Bridge. The last occasions on which +he addressed the House were on the Suez Canal and the cleansing of the +Serpentine. He pronounced the Suez Canal to be an impracticable scheme. +"I have surveyed the line," said he, "I have travelled the whole distance +on foot, and I declare there is no fall between the two seas. Honourable +members talk about a canal. A canal is impossible--the thing would only +be a ditch." + +Besides constructing the railway between Alexandria and Cairo, he was +consulted, like his father, by the King of Belgium, as to the railways of +that country; and he was made Knight of the Order of Leopold because of +the improvements which he had made in locomotive engines, so much to the +advantage of the Belgian system of inland transit. He was consulted by +the King of Sweden as to the railway between Christiana and Lake Miosen, +and in consideration of his services was decorated with the Grand Cross +of the Order of St. Olaf. He also visited Switzerland, Piedmont, and +Denmark, to advise as to the system of railway communication best suited +for those countries. At the Paris Exhibition of 1855 the Emperor of +France decorated him with the Legion of Honour in consideration of his +public services; and at home the University of Oxford made him a Doctor +of Civil Laws. In 1855 he was elected President of the Institute of +Civil Engineers, which office he held with honour and filled with +distinguished ability for two years, giving place to his friend Mr. Locke +at the end of 1857. + +Mr. Stephenson was frequently called upon to act as arbitrator between +contractors and railway companies, or between one company and +another,--great value being attached to his opinion on account of his +weighty judgment, his great experience, and his upright character, and we +believe his decisions were invariably stamped by the qualities of +impartiality and justice. He was always ready to lend a helping hand to +a friend, and no petty jealousy stood between him and his rivals in the +engineering world. The author remembers being with Mr. Stephenson one +evening at his house in Gloucester Square, when a note was put into his +hands from his friend Brunel, then engaged in his first fruitless efforts +to launch the _Great Eastern_. It was to ask Stephenson to come down to +Blackwall early next morning, and give him the benefit of his judgment. +Shortly after six next morning Stephenson was in Scott Russell's +building-yard, and he remained there until dusk. About midday, while +superintending the launching operations, the baulk of timber on which he +stood canted up, and he fell up to his middle in the Thames mud. He was +dressed as usual, without great-coat (though the day was bitter cold), +and with only thin boots upon his feet. He was urged to leave the yard, +and change his dress, or at least dry himself; but with his usual +disregard of health, he replied, "Oh, never mind me--I'm quite used to +this sort of thing;" and he went paddling about in the mud, smoking his +cigar, until almost dark, when the day's work was brought to an end. The +result of this exposure was an attack of inflammation of the lungs, which +kept him to his bed for a fortnight. + +He was habitually careless of his health, and perhaps he indulged in +narcotics to a prejudicial extent. Hence he often became "hipped" and +sometimes ill. When Mr. Sopwith accompanied him to Egypt in the +_Titania_, in 1856, he succeeded in persuading Mr. Stephenson to limit +his indulgence in cigars and stimulants, and the consequence was that by +the end of the voyage he felt himself, as he said, "quite a new man." +Arrived at Marseilles, he telegraphed from thence a message to Great +George Street, prescribing certain stringent and salutary rules for +observance in the office there on his return. But he was of a facile, +social disposition, and the old associations proved too strong for him. +When he sailed for Norway, in the autumn of 1859, though then ailing in +health, he looked a man who had still plenty of life in him. By the time +he returned, his fatal illness had seized him. He was attacked by +congestion of the liver, which first developed itself in jaundice, and +then ran into dropsy, of which he died on the 12th October, in the +fifty-sixth year of his age. {368} He was buried by the side of Telford +in Westminster Abbey, amidst the departed great men of his country, and +was attended to his resting-place by many of the intimate friends of his +boyhood and his manhood. Among those who assembled round his grave were +some of the greatest men of thought and action in England, who embraced +the sad occasion to pay the last mark of their respect to this +illustrious son of one of England's greatest working men. + + [Picture: Robert Stephenson's Burial-place in Westminster Abbey] + +It would be out of keeping with the subject thus drawn to a conclusion, +to pronounce any panegyric on the character and achievements of George +and Robert Stephenson. These for the most part speak for themselves. +Both were emphatically true men, exhibiting in their lives many sterling +qualities. No beginning could have been less promising than that of the +elder Stephenson. Born in a poor condition, yet rich in spirit, he was +from the first compelled to rely upon himself; and every step of advance +which he made was conquered by patient labour. Whether working as a +brakesman or an engineer, his mind was always full of the work in hand. +He gave himself thoroughly up to it. Like the painter, he might say that +he had become great "by neglecting nothing." Whatever he was engaged +upon, he was as careful of the details as if each were itself the whole. +He did all thoroughly and honestly. There was no "scamping" with him. +When a workman he put his brains and labour into his work; and when a +master he put his conscience and character into it. He would have no +slop-work executed merely for the sake of profit. The materials must be +as genuine as the workmanship was skilful. The structures which he +designed and executed were distinguished for their thoroughness and +solidity; his locomotives were famous for their durability and excellent +working qualities. The engines which he sent to the United States in +1832 are still in good condition; and even the engines built by him for +the Killingworth Colliery, upwards of thirty years ago, are working +steadily there to this day. All his work was honest, representing the +actual character of the man. + +He was ready to turn his hand to anything--shoes and clocks, railways and +locomotives. He contrived his safety-lamp with the object of saving +pitmen's lives, and perilled his own life in testing it. Whatever work +was nearest him, he turned to and did it. With him to resolve was to do. +Many men knew far more than he; but none were more ready forthwith to +apply what he did know to practical purposes. It was while working at +Willington as a brakes-man, that he first learnt how best to handle a +spade in throwing ballast out of the ships' holds. This casual +employment seems to have left upon his mind the strongest impression of +what "hard work" was; and he often used to revert to it, and say to the +young men about him, "Ah, ye lads! there's none o' ye know what _wark_ +is." Mr. Gooch says he was proud of the dexterity in handling a spade +which he had thus acquired, and that he has frequently seen him take the +shovel from a labourer in some railway cutting, and show him how to use +it more deftly in filling waggons of earth, gravel, or sand. Sir Joshua +Walmsley has also informed us, that, when examining the works of the +Orleans and Tours Railway, Mr. Stephenson, seeing a large number of +excavators filling and wheeling sand in a cutting, at a great waste of +time and labour, went up to the men and said he would show them how to +fill their barrows in half the time. He showed them the proper position +in which to stand so as to exercise the greatest amount of power with the +least expenditure of strength; and he filled the barrow with comparative +ease again and again in their presence, to the great delight of the +workmen. When passing through his own workshops, he would point out to +his men how to save labour, and to get through their work skilfully and +with ease. His energy imparted itself to others, quickening and +influencing them as strong characters always do--flowing down into +theirs, and bringing out their best powers. + +His deportment towards the workmen employed under him was familiar, yet +firm and consistent. As he respected their manhood, so did they respect +his masterhood. Although he comported himself towards his men as if they +occupied very much the same level as himself, he yet possessed that +peculiar capacity for governing which enabled him always to preserve +among them the strictest discipline, and to secure their cheerful and +hearty services. Mr. Ingham, M.P. for South Shields, on going over the +workshops at Newcastle, was particularly struck with this quality of the +master in his bearing towards his men. "There was nothing," said he, "of +undue familiarity in their intercourse, but they spoke to each other as +man to man; and nothing seemed to please the master more than to point +out illustrations of the ingenuity of his artisans. He took up a rivet, +and expatiated on the skill with which it had been fashioned by the +workman's hand--its perfectness and truth. He was always proud of his +workmen and his pupils; and, while indifferent and careless as to what +might be said of himself, he fired up in a moment if disparagement were +thrown upon any one whom he had taught or trained." + +In manner, George Stephenson was simple, modest, and unassuming, but +always manly. He was frank and social in spirit. When a humble workman, +he had carefully preserved his sense of self-respect. His companions +looked up to him, and his example was worth even more to many of them +than books or schools. His devoted love of knowledge made his poverty +respectable, and adorned his humble calling. When he rose to a more +elevated station, and associated with men of the highest position and +influence in Britain, he took his place amongst them with perfect +self-possession. They wondered at the quiet ease and simple dignity of +his deportment; and men in the best ranks of life have said of him that +"He was one of Nature's gentlemen." + +Probably no military chiefs were ever more beloved by their soldiers than +were both father and son by the army of men who, under their guidance, +worked at labours of profit, made labours of love by their earnest will +and purpose. True leaders of men and lords of industry, they were always +ready to recognise and encourage talent in those who worked for and with +them. Thus it was pleasant, at the openings of the Stephenson lines, to +hear the chief engineers attributing the successful completion of the +works to their able assistants; whilst the assistants, on the other hand, +ascribed the glory to their chiefs. + +Mr. Stephenson, though a thrifty and frugal man, was essentially +unsordid. His rugged path in early life made him careful of his +resources. He never saved to hoard, but saved for a purpose, such as the +maintenance of his parents or the education of his son. In later years +he became a prosperous and even a wealthy man; but riches never closed +his heart, nor stole away the elasticity of his soul. He enjoyed life +cheerfully, because hopefully. When he entered upon a commercial +enterprise, whether for others or for himself, he looked carefully at the +ways and means. Unless they would "pay," he held back. "He would have +nothing to do," he declared, "with stock-jobbing speculations." His +refusal to sell his name to the schemes of the railway mania--his survey +of the Spanish lines without remuneration--his offer to postpone his +claim for payment from a poor company until their affairs became more +prosperous--are instances of the unsordid spirit in which he acted. + +Another marked feature in Mr. Stephenson's character was his patience. +Notwithstanding the strength of his convictions as to the great uses to +which the locomotive might be applied, he waited long and patiently for +the opportunity of bringing it into notice; and for years after he had +completed an efficient engine he went on quietly devoting himself to the +ordinary work of the colliery. He made no noise nor stir about his +locomotive, but allowed another to take credit for the experiments on +velocity and friction made with it by himself upon the Killingworth +railroad. + +By patient industry and laborious contrivance, he was enabled, with the +powerful help of his son, to do for the locomotive what James Watt had +done for the condensing engine. He found it clumsy and inefficient; and +he made it powerful, efficient, and useful. Both have been described as +the improvers of their respective engines; but, as to all that is +admirable in their structure or vast in their utility, they are rather +entitled to be described as their Inventors. While the invention of Watt +increased the power, and at the same time so regulated the action of the +steam-engine, as to make it capable of being applied alike to the hardest +work and to the finest manufactures, the invention of Stephenson gave an +effective power to the locomotive, which enabled it to perform the work +of teams of the most powerful horses, and to outstrip the speed of the +fleetest. Watt's invention exercised a wonderfully quickening influence +on every branch of industry, and multiplied a thousand-fold the amount of +manufactured productions; and Stephenson's enabled these to be +distributed with an economy and despatch such as had never before been +thought possible. They have both tended to increase indefinitely the +mass of human comforts and enjoyments, and to render them cheap and +accessible to all. But Stephenson's invention, by the influence which it +is daily exercising upon the civilisation of the world, is even more +remarkable than that of Watt, and is calculated to have still more +important consequences. In this respect, it is to be regarded as the +grandest application of steam power that has yet been discovered. + +The Locomotive, like the condensing engine, exhibits the realisation of +various capital, but wholly distinct, ideas, promulgated by many +ingenious inventors. Stephenson, like Watt, exhibited a power of +selection, combination, and invention of his own, by which--while +availing himself of all that had been done before him, and superadding +the many skilful contrivances devised by himself--he was at length +enabled to bring his engine into a condition of marvellous power and +efficiency. He gathered together the scattered threads of ingenuity +which already existed, and combined them into one firm and complete +fabric of his own. He realised the plans which others had imperfectly +formed; and was the first to construct, what so many others had +unsuccessfully attempted, the practical and economical working +locomotive. + +Mr. Stephenson's close and accurate observation provided him with a +fulness of information on many subjects, which often appeared surprising +to those who had devoted to them a special study. On one occasion the +accuracy of his knowledge of birds came out in a curious way at a +convivial meeting of railway men in London. The engineers and railway +directors present knew each other as railway men and nothing more. The +talk had been all of railways and railway politics. Mr. Stephenson was a +great talker on those subjects, and was generally allowed, from the +interest of his conversation and the extent of his experience, to take +the lead. At length one of the party broke in with "Come now, +Stephenson, we have had nothing but railways; cannot we have a change and +try if we can talk a little about something else?" "Well," said Mr. +Stephenson, "I'll give you a wide range of subjects; what shall it be +about?" "Say _birds' nests_!" rejoined the other, who prided himself on +his special knowledge of this subject. "Then birds' nests be it." A +long and animated conversation ensued: the bird-nesting of his boyhood, +the blackbird's nest which his father had held him up in his arms to look +at when a child at Wylam, the hedges in which he had found the thrush's +and the linnet's nests, the mossy bank where the robin built, the cleft +in the branch of the young tree where the chaffinch had reared its +dwelling--all rose up clear in his mind's eye, and led him back to the +scenes of his boyhood at Callerton and Dewley Burn. The colour and +number of the bird's eggs, the period of their incubation, the materials +employed by them for the walls and lining of their nests, were described +by him so vividly, and illustrated by such graphic anecdotes, that one of +the party remarked that, if George Stephenson had not been the greatest +engineer of his day, he might have been one of the greatest naturalists. + +His powers of conversation were very great. He was so thoughtful, so +original, and so suggestive. There was scarcely a department of science +on which he had not formed some novel and sometimes daring theory. Thus +Mr. Gooch, his pupil, who lived with him when at Liverpool, informs us +that when sitting over the fire, he would frequently broach his favourite +theory of the sun's light and heat being the original source of the light +and heat given forth by the burning coal. "It fed the plants of which +that coal is made," he would say, "and has been bottled up in the earth +ever since, to be given out again now for the use of man." His son +Robert once said of him, "My father flashed his bull's eye full upon a +subject, and brought it out in its most vivid light in an instant: his +strong common sense, and his varied experience operating upon a +thoughtful mind, were his most powerful illuminators." + +Mr. Stephenson had once a conversation with a watchmaker, whom he +astonished by the extent and minuteness of his knowledge as to the parts +of a watch. The watchmaker knew him to be an eminent engineer, and asked +him how he had acquired so extensive a knowledge of a branch of business +so much out of his sphere. "It is very easy to be explained," said Mr. +Stephenson; "I worked long at watch-cleaning myself, and when I was at a +loss, I was never ashamed to ask for information." + +Towards the close of his life he frequently went down to Newcastle, and +visited the scenes of his boyhood. "I have been to Callerton," said he +one day to a friend, "and seen the fields in which I used to pull turnips +at twopence a day; and many a cold finger, I can tell you, I had." + +His hand was open to his former fellow-workmen whom old age had left in +poverty. To poor Robert Gray, of Newburn, who acted as his bridesman on +his marriage to Fanny Henderson, he left a pension for life. He would +slip a five-pound note into the hand of a poor man or a widow in such a +way as not to offend their delicacy, but to make them feel as if the +obligation were all on his side. When Farmer Paterson, who married a +sister of George's first wife, Fanny Henderson, died and left a large +young family fatherless, poverty stared them in the face. "But ye ken," +said our informant, "_George struck in fayther for them_." And perhaps +the providential character of the act could not have been more +graphically expressed than in these simple words. + +On his visit to Newcastle, he would frequently meet the friends of his +early days, occupying very nearly the same station, whilst he had +meanwhile risen to almost world-wide fame. But he was no less hearty in +his greeting of them than if their relative position had continued the +same. Thus, one day, after shaking hands with Mr. Brandling on alighting +from his carriage, he proceeded to shake hands with his coachman, Anthony +Wigham, a still older friend, though he only sat on the box. + +Robert Stephenson inherited his father's kindly spirit and benevolent +disposition. He almost worshipped his father's memory, and was ever +ready to attribute to him the chief merit of his own achievements as an +engineer. "It was his thorough training," we once heard him say, "his +example, and his character, which made me the man I am." On a more +public occasion he said, "It is my great pride to remember, that whatever +may have been done, and however extensive may have been my own connection +with railway development, all I know and all I have done is primarily due +to the parent whose memory I cherish and revere." {377} To Mr. Lough, +the sculptor, he said he had never had but two loves--one for his father, +the other for his wife. + +Like his father, he was eminently practical, and yet always open to the +influence and guidance of correct theory. His main consideration in +laying out his lines of railway was what would best answer the intended +purpose, or, to use his own words, to secure the maximum of result with +the minimum of means. He was pre-eminently a safe man, because cautious, +tentative, and experimental; following closely the lines of conduct +trodden by his father, and often quoting his maxims. + +In society Robert Stephenson was simple, unobtrusive, and modest; but +charming and even fascinating in an eminent degree. Sir John Lawrence +has said of him that he was, of all others, the man he most delighted to +meet in England--he was so manly, yet gentle, and withal so great. While +admired and beloved by men of such calibre, he was equally a favourite +with women and children. He put himself upon the level of all, and +charmed them no less by his inexpressible kindliness of manner than by +his simple yet impressive conversation. + +His great wealth enabled him to perform many generous acts in a right +noble and yet modest manner, not letting his right hand know what his +left hand did. Of the numerous kindly acts of his which have been made +public, we may mention the graceful manner in which he repaid the +obligations which both himself and his father owed to the Newcastle +Literary and Philosophical Institute, when working together as humble +experimenters in their cottage at Killingworth. The Institute was +struggling under a debt of 6200 pounds which seriously impaired its +usefulness as an educational agency. Robert Stephenson offered to pay +one-half of the sum, provided the local supporters of the Institute would +raise the remainder; and conditional also on the annual subscription +being reduced from two guineas to one, in order that the usefulness of +the institution might be extended. The generous offer was accepted, and +the debt extinguished. + +Both father and son were offered knighthood, and both declined it. +During the summer of 1847, George Stephenson was invited to offer himself +as a candidate for the representation of South Shields in Parliament. +But his politics were at best of a very undefined sort; indeed his life +had been so much occupied with subjects of a practical character, that he +had scarcely troubled himself to form any decided opinion on the party +political topics of the day, and to stand the cross fire of the electors +on the hustings might have been found an even more distressing ordeal +than the cross-questioning of the barristers in the Committees of the +House of Commons. "Politics," he used to say, "are all matters of +theory--there is no stability in them: they shift about like the sands of +the sea: and I should feel quite out of my element amongst them." He had +accordingly the good sense respectfully to decline the honour of +contesting the representation of South Shields. + +We have, however, been informed by Sir Joseph Paxton, that although +George Stephenson held no strong opinions on political questions +generally, there was one question on which he entertained a decided +conviction, and that was the question of Free-trade. The words used by +him on one occasion to Sir Joseph were very strong. "England," said he, +"is, and must be a shopkeeper; and our docks and harbours are only so +many wholesale shops, the doors of which should always be kept wide +open." It is curious that his son Robert should have taken precisely the +opposite view of this question, and acted throughout with the most rigid +party amongst the protectionists, supporting the Navigation Laws and +opposing Free Trade. + +But Robert Stephenson will be judged in after times by his achievements +as an engineer, rather than by his acts as a politician; and happily +these last were far outweighed in value by the immense practical services +which he rendered to trade, commerce, and civilisation, through the +facilities which the railways constructed by him afforded for free +intercommunication between men in all parts of the world. Speaking in +the midst of his friends at Newcastle, in 1850, he observed:-- + +"It seems to me but as yesterday that I was engaged as an assistant in +laying out the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Since then, the +Liverpool and Manchester and a hundred other great works have sprung into +existence. As I look back upon these stupendous undertakings, +accomplished in so short a time, it seems as though we had realised in +our generation the fabled powers of the magician's wand. Hills have been +cut down and valleys filled up; and when these simple expedients have not +sufficed, high and magnificent viaducts have been raised, and if +mountains stood in the way, tunnels of unexampled magnitude have pierced +them through, bearing their triumphant attestation to the indomitable +energy of the nation, and the unrivalled skill of our artisans." + +As respects the immense advantages of railways to mankind, there cannot +be two opinions. They exhibit, probably, the grandest organisation of +capital and labour that the world has yet seen. Although they have +unhappily occasioned great loss to many, the loss has been that of +individuals; whilst, as a national system, the gain has already been +enormous. As tending to multiply and spread abroad the conveniences of +life, opening up new fields of industry, bringing nations nearer to each +other, and thus promoting the great ends of civilisation, the founding of +the railway system by George Stephenson and his son must be regarded as +one of the most important events, if not the very greatest, in the first +half of this nineteenth century. + + [Picture: The Stephenson Memorial Schools, Willington Quay] + + + + +INDEX. + + +ACCIDENTS in coal-mines, 89, 119. + +Adam, Mr., counsel for Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 160, 166. + +Alderson, Mr. (afterwards Baron), 160, 163, 165, 168. + +Alton Grange, G. Stephenson's residence at, 234-6, 263. + +Ambergate Railway slip, 259; Lime-works, 278. + +Anna, Santa, mines at, 196. + +Arnold, Dr., on Railways, 273. + +Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 233. + +Atmospheric Railway system, 286, 308. + + * * * * * + +BEAUMONT, Mr., his wooden waggon-ways, 5. + +Belgium, G. Stephenson's visit to, 296. + +Benton Colliery and village, 44, 47, 51, 61. + +Berwick Royal Border Bridge, 311. + +Birds and bird-nesting, 15, 17, 25, 58, 353, 375. + +Birmingham and Derby Railway, 268. + +Bishop Auckland coal-field, 123. + +Black Callerton, 18, 26, 29, 32. + +Blackett, Mr., Wylam, 13, 74. + +Blast, invention of the Steam, 85, 208, 211. + +Blenkinsop's Locomotive, 72, 80. + +Blisworth Cutting, 243. + +Boiler, multi-tubular, 210. + +Booth, Henry, Liverpool, 210, 222. + +Bradshaw, Mr., opposes Liverpool and Manchester line, 155. + +Braithwaite, Isaac, Locomotive, 214, 230. + +Brakeing coal-engine, 27, 36, 40. + +Brandling, Messrs., 105, 312. + +Brandreth's Locomotive, "Cycloped," 214. + +Bridges, Railway, on Liverpool line, 185; + improved bridges, 310-19; + tubular bridges, 326-40, 360. + +Bridgewater Canal monopoly, 147, 157. + +Britannia Tubular Bridge, 339. + +British Association Meeting at Newcastle, 279. + +Brougham, Mr. William, counsel on Liverpool and Manchester Bill, 158, +160. + +Bruce's School, Newcastle, 53, 59. + +Brunel, I. K., 230, 304, 367. + +Brunton's Locomotive, 73. + +Brussels, railway celebrations at, 267. + +Brusselton incline, 135. + +Buckland, Dr., 350. + +Bullbridge, Ambergate, 260. + +Burstall's Locomotive, "Perseverance," 214, 218. + + * * * * * + +CALLERTON Colliery and village, 18, 26, 29, 32. + +Canal opposition to Railways, 146, 157, 238. + +Cartagena, R. Stephenson at, 200. + +Chapman's Locomotive, 73. + +Characteristics of the Stephensons, 368-80. + +Chat Moss, William James's attempted Survey, 151; + Mr. Harrison's speech, 166; + evidence of Francis Giles, C.E., 167; + Mr. Alderson's speech, 168; + description of, 174; + construction of Railway over, 177. + +Chester and Birkenhead Railway, 286. + +Chester and Holyhead Railway, 320. + +Chesterfield, 279, 283. + +Clanny, Dr., his safety-lamp, 92. + +Clark, Edwin, C.E., 331, 335, 338. + +Clay Cross Colliery, G. Stephenson leases, 277. + +Clegg and Samuda's Atmospheric Railway, 287. + +Clephan, Mr., description of first railway traffic, 140. + +Cleveland, Duke of, and Stockton and Darlington Railway, 125. + +Clock-mending and cleaning, 35, 51, 345. + +Coach, first railway, 139. + +Coal trade, 3, 11; + staiths, 10; + haulage, early expedients for, 5, 7, 63, 143; + traffic by Railway, 138, 276; + mining, George Stephenson's adventures in, 234, 277; + theory of formation of, 351. + +Coalbrookdale, rails early cast at, 6. + +Coe, Wm., fellow workman of G. Stephenson, 21, 26, 31. + +Coffin, Sir I., 172. + +Colliery districts, 1-4; + machinery and workmen, 7-11. + +Colombia, mining association of, 193; + Robert Stephenson's residence in, 196. + +Contractors, railway, 229, 249. + +Conway, tubular bridge at, 334. + +Cooper, Sir Astley, Robert Stephenson's interview with, 238. + +Crich Lime-works, Ambergate, 278. + +Cropper, Isaac, Liverpool, 187, 217. + +Cugnot's steam-carriage, 64-6. + +Curr, John, his cast-iron Railway at Sheffield, 6. + +Cuttings, railway, + Tring, 242; + Blisworth, 243; + Ambergate, 259; + Oakenshaw and Normanton, 259. + +"Cycloped" Locomotive, 214. + + * * * * * + +DARLINGTON and Stockton Railway, 123, 136. + +Davy, Sir Humphry, + his description of Trevithick's steam-carriage, 68; + his paper on fire-damp in mines, 92; + his safety-lamp, 101-3; + testimonial, 104. + +Denman, Lord, 345. + +Derby, Earl of, 172. + +Dewley Burn Colliery, 16. + +Direct lines, mania for, 292. + +Dixon, John, C.E., + assists in survey of Stockton and Darlington line, 136; + assistant engineer, Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 175-9. + +Dodds, Ralph, Killingworth, 42-4, 50, 86. + +Drayton Manor, George Stephenson's visit to, 349. + +Dutton Viaduct, 254. + +Durham, Earl of, _See_ Lambton. + + * * * * * + +EAST COAST Railway to Scotland, 306-9. + +Edgworth, Mr., + sailing-waggons, 63; + advocacy of Railways, 148. + +Edinburgh University, Robert Stephenson at, 121. + +Education, + George Stephenson's self-education, 24, 47; + Robert Stephenson's, 50, 121; + George Stephenson's ideas of, 191, 281. + +Egg-hatching by artificial heat, 23, 344. + +Egyptian Tubular Bridges, Robert Stephenson's, 357. + +Emerson, George Stephenson's meeting with, 353. + +Emigration, George Stephenson contemplates, 40, 116. + +Engine, study of, 22, 62, 78, 80. + +Ericsson, Mr., engineer, 204, 214. + +Estimates, railway, 165, 249. + +"Experiment," the first railway coach, 139. + +Explosion of fire-damp, 89. + +Evans's steam-carriage, 65. + + * * * * * + +FAIRBAIRN, Wm., C.E., 28; + at Percy Main Colliery, 34; + experiments on iron tubes, 328-30. + +Fire-damp, explosions of, 89. + +Fixed-engine power, 118, 129, 135, 203, 205. + +Floating road, Chat Moss, 176. + +Floating Conway and Britannia Tubes, 332. + +Follett, Sir Wm., 350. + +Forth-street Works, Newcastle, 132, 193. + +Foster, Jonathan, Wylam. 75, 77, 80, 310. + +Franklin's lightning experiment repeated by Robert Stephenson, 56. + +Free trade, George Stephenson's views on, 379. + +Friction on common roads and Railways, 113. + + * * * * * + +GARDENING, George Stephenson's pursuits in, 58, 342. + +Gateshead, 4, 314. + +Gauge of Railways, 134, 304. + +"Geordy" safety-lamp, invention of, 93. + +Giles, Francis, C.E., 167, 174, 230. + +Gooch, F. L., C.E., 188, 190, 220, 336, 371. + +Gradients, George Stephenson's views on, 115, 284. + +Grand Allies, Killingworth, 41, 46. + ,, Junction Railway, 230, 253. + ,, Trunk Railway, Canada, 359. + +Gray, Robert, 24, 36, 376. + +Gray, Thomas, 148. + +Great Western Railway, 230, 232, 304. + + * * * * * + +HACKWORTH, Timothy, his engine "Sanspareil," 214, 216, 218. + +Half-lap joint, G. Stephenson's, 111. + +Harrison, Mr., barrister, 160, 166. + +Hawthorn, Robert, C.E., 22. + +Heating surface in Locomotives, 208, 209. + +Hedley, William, Wylam, 77. + +Henderson, Fanny, 32. + +Heppel, Kit, 42, 45. + +Hetton Railway, 117. + +High Level Bridge, Newcastle, 2, 312. + ,, Street House, Wylam, 14. + +Holyhead, Railway to, 320. + +Howick, Lord, and the Northumberland Atmospheric Railway, 307, 309. + +Hudson, George, the Railway King, 291, 312. + +Huskisson, Mr., M.P., + and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 172; + killed at its opening, 223. + +Hydraulic presses at the Britannia Bridge, 237. + + * * * * * + +INCLINES, self-acting, 9, 61. + +Iron railway bridges, 312, 325. + + * * * * * + +JAMES, William, + surveys a line between Liverpool and Manchester, 150; + visits Killingworth, 151; + superseded by George Stephenson, 154. + +Jameson, Professor, Edinburgh, 122. + +Jessop, William, C.E., 6. + +Jolly's Close, Newburn, 20, 24. + +Jones, Rees, on Trevithick's Locomotive, 71. + + * * * * * + +KEELMEN of the Tyne, 10-11. + +Killingworth, + West Moor, 31, 36, 38, 40; + High Pit, 41; + colliery explosions and mining, 89; + Locomotive, 84, 88; + the underground machinery, 109. + +Kilsby Tunnel, 245. + + * * * * * + +LAMBTON, Mr. (Earl of Durham), 137. + +Lamp, safety, invention of, 93. + +Last-making competition, 59. + +Lardner, Dr., and Railways, 284, 286. + +Lattice Girder Bridges, 361. + +Leeds Mechanics' Institute, George Stephenson's Speech at, 281. + +Leicester and Swannington Railway, 232. + +Lemington Coal-staith, 74. + +Leopold, King of the Belgians, and Railways, 266; + George Stephenson's interviews with, 268, 296. + +Level Railways, advantages of, 115, 284. + +Liddell, Sir T. (Lord Ravensworth), 46, 62. + +Lime-works at Ambergate, George Stephenson's, 278. + +Literary and Philosophical Institute, Newcastle, 53, 102, 280, 378. + +Littleborough Tunnel, 255. + +Liverpool and Manchester Railway projected, 147; + surveyed by Wm. James, 150; + the survey opposed, 151; + George Stephenson engaged, 154; + prospectus issued, 155; + deputations visit Killingworth, 151, 154-5; + opposition of the land-owners and canal companies, 156-7; + the bill in committee, 160; + rejected, 169; + scheme prosecuted, 170; + Messrs. Rennie appointed engineers, 171; + the bill passed, 172; + George Stephenson again engaged as engineer, 173; + construction of the line across Chat Moss, 176; + discussions as to the working power to be employed, 203; + George Stephenson advocates the Locomotive, 201; + prize of 500 pounds for best engine, 207; + won by Stephenson's "Rocket," 218; + public opening of the line, 222; + results of the traffic, 228. + +Locke, Mr. Joseph, C.E., 26, 175, 367. + +"Locomotion" engine, No. I, Darlington, 135, 142. + +Locomotive engine, invention of, 7; + Robison and Watt's idea, Cugnot's steam-carriage, 64; + Evans and Symington's, 65; + Murdock's model, 66; + Trevithick's steam-carriage, 67; + his tram engine, 69, 74; + Blenkinsop's engine, 72; + Chapman and Brunton's engines, 73; + Blackett's Wylam engine, 74; + Kenton and Coxlodge engine, 80; + Stephenson's Killingworth locomotive, 81, 86; + Stockton and Darlington locomotives, 135; + prize at Liverpool for the best engine, 207; + won by the "Rocket," 218; + the "Arrow," 222; + further improvements, 226. + +Locomotive manufactory, Stephenson's, at Newcastle, 132, 193, 199, 310. + +Long Benton. _See_ Benton. + +London and Birmingham Railway projected, 237; + the Stephensons appointed engineers, 238; + opposition to the Bill, Sir Astley Cooper, 239; + the Bill rejected, 240; + Bill passed, 241; + the works, 242; + Tring Cutting, 244; + Blisworth Cutting, 243; + Primrose Hill Tunnel, 244; + Kilsby Tunnel, 245; + magnitude of the works, 249. + +Losh, Mr., Newcastle, 111, 152. + +Lough's statue of George Stephenson, 355. + + * * * * * + +MANCHESTER and Leeds Railway 254; + the Act obtained, 255; + construction of summit tunnel, 256; + magnitude of the works, 257. + +Manchester, trade with Liverpool, increase of, 146, 154. + +Mania, the Railway, 288. + +Maps, Newcastle district, 2; + Stockton and Darlington Railway, 123; + Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 150; + Leicester and Swannington Railway, 233; + London and Birmingham Railway, 242; + Menai Strait, 325. + +Mariquita, Robert Stephenson at, 196. + +Mechanical Engineers, Society of, 353. + +Mechanics' Institutes, George Stephenson's interest in, 280. + +Menai Suspension Bridge, 320; + Railway Bridge, 331. + +Merstham Tram-road, 153. + +Microscope, George Stephenson's, 346. + +Middlesborough-on-Tees, 144. + +Middleton Railway, Leeds, 72, 148. + +Midland Railway, 257. + +Militia, G. Stephenson, drawn for, 40. + +Mining, coal, 3, 7, 92; + in South America, 197. + +Montrose, G. Stephenson at, 38. + +Moodie, underviewer at Killingworth, 94-7, 119. + +Morecambe Bay, proposed reclamation of, 262. + +Morton-on-the-Marsh Railway, 153. + +Multitubular boiler, 208. + +Murdock's model Locomotive, 66. + +Murray, Mathew, Leeds, 72. + + * * * * * + +NASMYTH'S steam hammer, 312, 316. + +Navvies, railway, 250-52. + +Nelson, the fighting pitman 29. + +Newburn Colliery, 20, 22. + +Newcastle and Berwick Railway, 306. + ,, and Carlisle Railway, 12, 203. + ,, and Darlington Railway, 306. + +Newcastle-on-Tyne in ancient times, 1-3; + Literary and Philosophical Institute, 378; + Stephenson, jubilees at, 206, 310; + High Level Bridge, 312; + George Stephenson's statue, 354. + +Newcomen's atmospheric engine, 8, 41. + +Nile, R. Stephenson's tubular bridges over, 357. + +North Midland Railway, 257, 261. + +North, Roger, description of early tram-roads, 5. + +Northampton, opposition of to Railways, 232. + +Northumberland Atmospheric Railway, 337. + +"Novelty," Locomotive, 214, 216, 218, 230. + + * * * * * + +OLIVE MOUNT Cutting, Liverpool, 185. + +Openings of Railways, + Hetton, 118; + Stockton and Darlington, 136; + Middlesborough, 143; + Liverpool and Manchester, 222; + London and Birmingham, 268; + Birmingham and Derby, 268; + East Coast route to Scotland, 319; + Britannia Bridge, 339; + Trent Valley, 352. + +Organization of labour, G. Stephenson's, 182, 222, 225. + +Outram, Benj., Little Eaton, 6. + + * * * * * + +PARLIAMENT and Railways, 292, 294. + +Parr Moss, Railway across, 181. + +Passenger traffic of early Railways, 138, 156, 160. + +Paxton, Sir Joseph, 378. + +Pease, Edward, + projects the Stockton and Darlington Railway, 123; + first interview with George Stephenson, 156; + visits Killingworth, 129; + joins Stephenson in Locomotive Manufactory, 132, 199, 202; + Stephenson's esteem and gratitude, 145; + letters to Robert Stephenson, 199, 253, 357. + +Peel, Sir Robert, 224, 293. + +Penmaen Mawr, Railway under, 321. + +Permanent way of Railroads, 110. + +Perpetual motion, George Stephenson studies, 34, 48. + +"Perseverance." Burstall's Locomotive, 214, 218. + +Phillips, Sir R., speculations on Railways, 148. + +Pile-driving by steam, 312, 316. + +Pitmen, Northumbrian, 8. + +"Planet" Locomotive, 229. + +Plugman, duties of, 22. + +Politics, George and Robert Stephenson's, 378-9. + +Primrose Hill Tunnel, 244. + +Prophecies of railway failure, 158, 166, 172. + +Pumping-engines, George Stephenson's skill in, 38, 41, 44, 247. + +Pupils, George Stephenson's, 190-2, 269. + +Pyrenean Pastoral, 298. + + * * * * * + +'QUARTERLY,' the, on railway speed, 159. + +Queen, the, her first use of the Railway, 274; + opens the High Level and Royal Border Bridges, 319; + visits the Britannia Bridge, 338. + + * * * * * + +RAILS, cast and wrought iron, 6, 133. + +Railways, + early, 5-7; + Merthyr Tydfil (Pen-y-darran), 69, 71; + Middleton, Leeds, 72; + Wylam, 74; + Killingworth, 84, 116; + Hetton, 118; + Stockton and Darlington, 123; + Liverpool and Manchester, 222; + Grand Junction, 230, 253; + Great Western, and Leicester and Swannington, 232; + London and Birmingham, 237; + Navvies, 250; + Manchester and Leeds, 254; + Midland, 257; + York and North Midland, 261; + travelling, 270-4; + undulating, 284; + atmospheric, 286; + Chester and Birkenhead, 286; + mania, 288; + Newcastle and Berwick, and Newcastle and Darlington, 306; + South Devon, 308; + Chester and Holyhead, 320; + Trent Valley, 352. + +Rainhill, locomotive competition at, 215. + +Rastrick, Mr., C.E., 219, 253. + +Ravensworth, Earl of, 46, 82. + +Rennie, Messrs., C.E., 123, 171, 173, 325. + +Road locomotion, + Cugnot's steam-carriage, 64; + Evans and Symington's, 65; + Trevithick's, 67; + George Stephenson on, 113. + +Robertson, Andrew, schoolmaster, 24, 28. + +Robins, anecdote of George Stephenson and the, 265. + +Robison, Dr., his idea of a Locomotive, 64. + +"Rocket," the, + its construction, 210; + arrangements of, 212; + wins the prize of 500 pounds, 218. + +Roscoe, Mr., his farm on Chat Moss, 169, 174, 176. + +Ross, A. M., Engineer, 360. + +Royal Border Bridge, Berwick, 311. + +Rutter's School, Benton, 50, 55. + + * * * * * + +SAFETY-LAMP, Dr. Clanny's, 92; + Stephenson's first lamp, 94; + second lamp, 99; + third lamp, 100; + Sir H. Davy's paper, 92; + his lamp, 101; + the safety-lamp controversy, 102; + the Davy and Stephenson testimonials, 104-6; + comparative merits of the Davy and "Geordy" lamps, 107-8. + +Sailing-waggons on tram-roads, 63. + +"Samson" Locomotive, 227. + +Sandars, Joseph, Liverpool, 147, 149, 154. + +Sankey Viaduct, 185. + +"Sanspareil" Locomotive, Tim Hackworth's, 214, 216, 218. + +Sea, the force of, 321, 323. + +Seguin, Mr., C.E., his tubular boiler, 210. + +Self-acting incline, 61. + +Sibthorpe, Colonel, on Railways, 231, 274. + +Simplon Road, Midland Railway compared with, 257. + +Snibston Colliery purchased by George Stephenson, 234. + +Sopwith, Mr., C.E., 96, 297. + +Spanish Railway, George Stephenson's survey of, 298. + +Speed, railway, + on Middleton Railway, 72; + Wylam, 80; + Killingworth, 85, 156; + Coxlodge, 80; + Stockton and Darlington, 143; + G. Stephenson before Committee of House of Commons on, 282. + +Speed of engines tried at Rainhill, 214-19; + of the "Northumbrian," 224; + George Stephenson's views on, 282. + +Spur-gear, locomotive, 83. + +Staiths, coal, 10. + +Stationary-engine power, 118, 129, 135, 203, 205. + +Statues of George Stephenson, 354. + +Steam-blast, invention of, 85, 208-11. + +Steam-springs, G. Stephenson's, 112. + +Stephenson family, the, 15, 17, 19, 21, 39; + "Old Bob," 14, 15, 39, 55. + +Stephenson, George, birth and parentage, 13, 15; + employed as herd-boy, makes clay engines, 16, 17; + plough-boy; drives the gin-horse, 18; + assistant-fireman, 19; + fireman, 21; + engineman--study of the steam-engine, 22; + his schoolmasters, 24, 48, 60; + learns to brake an engine, 26; + duties as brakesman, 27; + soles shoes, 28; + saves his first guinea, 29; + fights with a pitman, 30; + marries Fanny Henderson, 33; + heaves ballast, 34; + cleans clocks, 35; + death of his wife, 36; + goes to Scotland, 37; + returns home, 38; + brakesman at West Moor, Killingworth, 39; + drawn for the militia, 40; + takes a brakeing contract, 41; + cures pumping-engine, 42; + engine-wright to the colliery, 46; + evenings with John Wigham, 48; + education of his son, 50-4; + cottage at West Moor, 57; + the sun-dial, 60; + erects winding and pumping engines, 61; + study of locomotive, 62; + makes his first travelling-engine, 82; + invents the steam-blast, 85; + second locomotive, 85; + fire in the main, personal courage, 90; + invents and tests his safety-lamps, 93, 102; + the Stephenson testimonial, 105; + further improvements in the Killingworth locomotive, 110; + constructs the Hetton Railway, 117; + surveys and constructs the Stockton and Darlington Railway, 128; + his second wife, 129; + starts a Locomotive Manufactory, 132; + appointed engineer of the Liverpool and Manchester line, 154; + examined before Parliamentary Committee, 162; + the Railway across Chat Moss, 173-86, 192; + life at home, 190; + the "Rocket" constructed, 210; + public opening of Liverpool and Manchester line, 223; + engineer of Grand Junction, 230; + purchases Snibston Colliery, and removes to Alton Grange, 234; + appointed joint engineer of London and Birmingham Railway, 237; + engineer of Manchester and Leeds Railway, 253; + of Midland Railway, 257; + of York and North Midland Railway, 261; + life at Alton Grange, 263; + visit to Belgium and interviews with King Leopold, 267; + takes lease of Clayross Colliery, 277; + lime-works at Ambergate, residence at Tapton House, 278; + appearance at Mechanics' Institutes, 280; + opinions of railway speed, 282; + views as to atmospheric system of working, 287; + opposes the railway mania, 290; + again visits Belgium, 295; + visit to Spain, 297; + retires from the profession of engineering, 301; + Newcastle and Berwick Railway, and Chester and Holyhead Railway, +307; + habits, conversation, etc., 343; + theory of coal formation, 351; + meeting with Emerson, 352; + illness and death, 354; + characteristics, 368. + +Stephenson, Robert, + his birth, death of his mother, 36; + his father's care for his education, 50; + is put to Rutter's school, Benton, 50; + sent to Bruce's school, Newcastle, 52; + evenings with his father, 54; + his boyish tricks, 55; + repeats Franklin's lightning experiment, 56; + his father's assistant, 50, 53; + gives lessons to the pitmen's sons, 60; + calculates the latitude for a sundial at Killingworth, 60; + his recollections of the trial of the first safety-lamp, 94; + apprenticed to a coal viewer, 119; + sent to college at Edinburgh, 121; + assists in survey of Stockton and Darlington Railway, 128; + assists in survey of Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 153; + leaves England for Colombia, 193; + residence at Mariquita, 196; + resigns his situation as mining engineer, 199; + rencontre with Trevithick at Cartagena, 200; + shipwreck, 201; + return to Newcastle, 202; + pamphlet on the locomotive engine, 206; + discussions with his father as to the locomotive, 208; + constructs the "Rocket," 210; + wins the prize, 218; + improvements in the locomotive, 221; + appointed engineer of Leicester and Swannington Railway, 232; + his first tunnel, 233; + finds coal at Snibston, 234; + appointed joint engineer of London and Birmingham Railway, 237; + construction of the works, 242; + overcomes the difficulties of the Kilsby Tunnel, 248; + letter to Sir Robert Peel on "undulating railways," 293; + his extensive employment, 302-3; + the competitor of Brunel, 304; + engineer of Newcastle and Berwick Railway, 306; + engineer of Royal Border Bridge, Berwick, 311; + engineer of High Level Bridge, Newcastle, 312; + engineer of Chester and Holyhead Railway, 320; + constructs the Britannia and Conway Tubular Bridges, 324; + succeeds to his father's wealth, and arranges to retire from +business, 357; + designs tubular bridges for Canada and Egypt, 357; + member of Parliament, foreign honours, 366; + death, 368; + character, 377. + +Stock Exchange and railway speculation, 289. + +Stockton and Darlington Railway, + projected, promoted by Edward Pease, 123; + act passed, 125; + re-surveyed by G. Stephenson, 128; + opening of the Railway, 136; + the coal traffic, 138; + the first passenger coach, 139; + coaching companies, 140; + increase of the traffic, 141; + town of Middlesborough, 144. + +Strathmore, Earl of, 46, 105. + +Sun-dial at Killingworth, 60, 280. + +Swanwick, Frederick, C.E., 190, 192, 352. + +Symington, Wm., steam-carriage, 65. + + * * * * * + +TAPTON HOUSE, Chesterfield, 278, 341. + +Tram-roads, + early, 5; + Croydon and Merstham, 147. + +Travelling by Railway, 160. + +Trevithick, Richard, C.E., + his steam-carriage, 67; + his train-engine, and substitute for steam-blast, 70; + rencontre with Robert Stephenson at Cartagena, 200. + +Trent Valley Railway, 352. + +Trellis girder bridges, 360. + +Tring Cutting, 242. + +Tubular boilers, 209. + +Tubular bridges, 334, 339, 360. + +Tunnels, railway, + Liverpool, 183; + Primrose Hill, 244; + Kilsby, 245; + Watford, 245; + Littleborough, 255. + +Tyne, the, at Newcastle, 3, 10, 11, 315. + + * * * * * + +VIADUCTS, + Sankey, 185; + Dutton, 254; + Berwick, 311; + Newcastle, 312. + +Victoria Bridge, Montreal, 357-66. + +Vignolles, Mr., C.E., 171, 185, 204. + + * * * * * + +WAGGON-ROADS, early, 4-7, 16, 63. + +Walker, James, C.E., 159. + +Wallsend, Newcastle, 1, 33. + +Walmsley, Sir Joshua, 297, 299, 371. + +Wandsworth and Croydon Tramway, 69, 147. + +Watford Tunnel, 245. + +Watt, James, and the Locomotive, 64. + +Way-leaves for waggon roads, 5. + +Wellington, Duke of, and Railways, 223, 274. + +West Moor, Killingworth, 37, 40, 91, 108. + +Whitehaven, early Railroad at, 6. + +Wigham, John, Stephenson's teacher, 48-9. + +Willington Quay, 28, 31-6. + +Wilton, Earl of, 172. + +Wood, Nicholas, + prepares drawing of safety-lamp, 94; + is present at its trial, 95; + assists at experiments on fire-damp, 98; + appears with Stephenson before Newcastle Institute, 102; + opinion of the "Geordy" lamp, 108; + experiments with Stephenson on friction, 117; + accident in pit, 119; + visits Edward Pease with G. Stephenson, 126. + +Woolf's tubular boilers, 209. + +Wylam Colliery and village, 12-14. + ,, waggon-way, 74, 78. + + * * * * * + +YORK and North Midland Railway, 261. + +Young, Arthur, description of early waggon-roads, 5. + + + + +NOTES. + + +{4} In the Newcastle dialect, a chare is a narrow street or lane. At +the local assizes some years since, one of the witnesses in a criminal +trial swore that "_he saw three men come out of the foot of a chare_." +The judge cautioned the jury not to pay any regard to the man's evidence, +as he must be insane. A little explanation by the foreman, however, +satisfied his lordship that the original statement was correct. + +{5} 'Six Months' Tour,' vol. iii. 9 + +{26} Father of Mr. Locke, M.P., the engineer. He afterwards removed to +Barnsley, in Yorkshire. + +{33} The Stephenson Memorial Schools have since been erected on the site +of the old cottage at Willington Quay represented in the engraving at the +head of this chapter. + +{38} This incident was related by Robert Stephenson during a voyage to +the north of Scotland in 1857, when off Montrose, on board his yacht +_Titania_; and the reminiscence was communicated to the author by the +late Mr. William Kell of Gateshead, who was present, at Mr. Stephenson's +request, as being worthy of insertion in his father's biography. + +{52} Speech at Newcastle, on the 18th of June, 1844, at the meeting held +in celebration of the opening of the Newcastle and Darlington Railway. + +{57} Robert Stephenson was perhaps, prouder of this little boyish +experiment than he was of many of his subsequent achievements. Not +having been quite accurately stated in the first edition of this book, +Mr. Stephenson noted the correction for the second, and wrote the author +(Sept. 18th, 1857) as follows:--"In the kite experiment, will you say, +that the copper-wire was insulated by a few feet of silk cord; without +this, the experiment cannot be made." + +{70} Mr. Zerah Colburn, in his excellent work on 'Locomotive Engineering +and the Mechanism of Railways,' points out that Mr. Davies Gilbert noted +the effect of the discharge of the waste steam up the chimney of +Trevithick's engine in increasing the draught, and wrote a letter to +'Nicholson's Journal' (Sept. 1805) on the subject. Mr. Nicholson himself +proceeded to investigate the subject, and in 1806 he took out a patent +for "steam-blasting apparatus," applicable to fixed engines. Trevithick +himself, however, could not have had much faith in the steam-blast for +locomotive purposes, or else he would not have taken out his patent for +urging the fire by means of fanners. But the fact is, that while the +speed of the locomotive was only four or five miles an hour, the blast +was scarcely needed. It was only when high speeds were adopted that +artificial methods of urging the fire became necessary, and that the full +importance of the invention was recognised. Like many other inventions, +stimulated if not originated by necessity, the steam-blast was certainly +reinvented, if not invented, by George Stephenson. + +{71} 'Mining Journal,' 9th September, 1858. + +{73} Other machines, with legs, were patented in the following year by +Lewis Gompertz and by Thomas Tindall. In Tindall's specification it is +provided that the power of the engine is to be assisted by a _horizontal +windmill_; and the four pushers, or legs, are to be caused to come +successively in contact with the ground, and impel the carriage! + +{82} Speech at the opening of the Newcastle and Darlington Railway, June +18, 1844. + +{95} The Editor of the 'Athenaeum' having (Nov. 8th, 1862) characterized +the author's account of this affair as "perfectly untrue" and a +"fiction," it becomes necessary to say a few words in explanation of it. +The Editor of the 'Athenaeum' quotes in support of his statement a +passage from Mr. Nicholas Wood, who, however does not say that the +anecdote is "perfectly untrue," but merely that "the danger was _not +quite so great_ as is represented:" he adds that "at most an explosion +might have burnt the hands of the operator, but would not extend a few +feet from the blower." However that may be, we were not without good +authority for making the original statement. The facts were verbally +communicated to the author in the first place by Robert Stephenson, to +whom the chapter was afterwards read in MS., in the presence of Mr. +Sopwith, F.R.S. at Mr. Stephenson's house in Gloucester Square, and +received his entire approval. But at the time at which Mr. Stephenson +communicated the verbal information, he also handed a little book with +his name written in it, still in the author's possession, saying, "Read +that, you will find it all there." We have again referred to the little +book which contains, among other things, a pamphlet, entitled _Report on +the Claims of Mr. George Stephenson relative to the Invention of his +Safety Lamp_. _By the Committee appointed at a Meeting holden in +Newcastle_, _on this 1st of November_, _1817_. _With an Appendix +containing the Evidence_. Among the witnesses examined were George +Stephenson, Nicholas Wood, and John Moodie, and their evidence is given +in the pamphlet. We quote that of Stephenson and Moodie, which was not +contradicted, but in all material points confirmed by Wood, and was +published, we believe, with his sanction. George Stephenson said, that he +tried the first lamp "in a part of the mine where the air was highly +explosive. Nicholas Wood and John Moodie were his companions when the +trial was made. They became frightened when they came within hearing of +the blower, and would not go any further. Mr. Stephenson went alone with +the lamp to the mouth of the blower," etc. This evidence was confirmed +by John Moodie, who said the air of the place where the experiment was +about to be tried was such, that, if a lighted candle had been +introduced, an explosion would have taken place that would have been +"extremely dangerous." "Told Stephenson it was foul, and hinted at the +danger; nevertheless, Stephenson _would_ try the lamp, confiding in its +safety. Stephenson took the lamp and went with it into the place in which +Moodie had been, and Moodie and Wood, apprehensive of the danger, retired +to a greater distance," etc. The other details of the statement made in +the text, are fully borne out by the published evidence, the accuracy of +which, so far as the author is aware, has never before been called in +question. + +{105} The tankard bore the following inscription--"This piece of plate, +purchased with a part of the sum of 1000 pounds, a subscription raised +for the remuneration of Mr. GEORGE STEPHENSON for having discovered the +fact that inflamed fire-damp will not pass through tubes and apertures of +small dimensions, and having been _the first_ to apply that principle in +the construction of a safety-lamp calculated for the preservation of +human life in situations formerly of the greatest danger, was presented +to him at a general meeting of the subscribers, Charles John Brandling, +Esq., in the Chair. January 12th, 1818." + +{107} The accident above referred to was described in the 'Barnsley +Times,' a copy of which, containing the account, Robert Stephenson +forwarded to the author, with the observation that "it is evidently +written by a practical miner, and is, I think, worthy of record in my +father's Life." + +{125} Mr. Pease died at Darlington, on the 31st of July, 1858, aged +ninety two. + +{129} The story has been told that George was a former suitor of Miss +Hindmarsh, while occupying the position of a humble workman at Black +Callerton, but that having been rejected by her, he made love to and +married Fanny Henderson; and that long after the death of the latter, +when he had become a comparatively thriving man, he again made up to Miss +Hindmarsh, and was on the second occasion accepted. This is the popular +story, and different versions of it are current. Desirous of +ascertaining the facts, the author called on Thomas Hindmarsh, Mrs. +Stephenson's brother, who assured him that George knew nothing of his +sister until he (Hindmarsh) introduced him to her, at George's express +request, about the year 1818 or 1819. The author was himself originally +attracted by the much more romantic version of the story, and gave +publicity to it many years since; but after Mr. Hindmarsh's explicit +statement, he thought fit to adopt the soberer, and perhaps, the truer +view. + +{130} The first clause in any railway act, empowering the employment of +locomotive engines for the working of passenger traffic. + +{131} This incident, communicated to the author by the late Edward +Pease, has since been made the subject of a fine picture by Mr. A. +Rankley, A.R.A., exhibited at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1861. + +{144} Middlesborough does not furnish the only instance of the +extraordinary increase of population in certain localities, occasioned by +railways. Hartlepool, in the same neighbourhood, has in thirty years +increased from 1330 to above 15,000; and Stockton-on-Tees from 7763 to +above 16,000. In 1831 Crewe was a little village with 295 inhabitants; +it now numbers upwards of 10,000. Rugby and Swindon have quadrupled +their population in the same time. The railway has been the making of +Southampton, and added 30,000 to its formerly small number of +inhabitants. In like manner the railway has taken London to the +sea-side, and increased the population of Brighton from 40,000 to nearly +100,000. That of Folkestone has been trebled. New and populous suburbs +have sprung up all round London. The population of Stratford-le-Bow and +West Ham was 11,580 in 1831; it is now nearly 40,000. Reigate has been +trebled in size, and Redhill has been created by the railway. +Blackheath, Forest Hill, Sydenham, New Cross, Wimbledon, and a number of +populous places round London, may almost be said to have sprung into +existence since the extension of railways to them within the last thirty +years. + +{147} Lives of the Engineers, vol. i. p. 371. + +{189} Mr. Gooch's letter to the author, December 13th, 1861. Referring +to the preparations of the plans and drawings, Mr. Gooch adds, "When we +consider the extensive sets of drawings which most engineers have since +found it right to adopt in carrying out similar works, it is not the +least surprising feature in George Stephenson's early professional +career, that he should have been able to confine himself to so limited a +number as that which could be supplied by the hands of one person in +carrying out the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway; +and this may still be said, after full allowance is made for the +alteration of system involved by the adoption of the large contract +system." + +{193} Letter to the author. + +{196} Letter to Mr. Illingworth. September 25th, 1825. + +{199} Letter to Mr. Illingworth. April 9th, 1827. + +{201} 'Geological Transactions of Cornwall.' i. 222. + +{206} The arguments used by Mr. Stephenson with the directors, in favour +of the locomotive engine, were afterwards collected and published in 1830 +by Robert Stephenson and Joseph Locke, as "compiled from the Reports of +Mr. George Stephenson." The pamphlet was entitled, 'Observations on the +Comparative Merits of Locomotive and Fixed Engines.' Robert Stephenson, +speaking of the authorship many years after, said, "I believe I furnished +the facts and the arguments, and Locke put them into shape. Locke was a +very flowery writer, whereas my style was rather bald and unattractive; +so he was the editor of the pamphlet, which excited a good deal of +attention amongst engineers at the time." + +{207} The conditions were these:-- + +1. The engine must effectually consume its own smoke. + +2. The engine, if of six tons weight, must be able to draw after it, day +by day, twenty tons weight (including the tender and water-tank) at _ten +miles_ an hour, with a pressure of steam on the boiler not exceeding +fifty pounds to the square inch. + +3. The boiler must have two safety-valves, neither of which must be +fastened down, and one of them be completely out of the control of the +engineman. + +4. The engine and boiler must be supported on springs, and rest on six +wheels, the height of the whole not exceeding fifteen feet to the top of +the chimney. + +5. The engine, with water, must not weigh more than six tons; but an +engine of less weight would be preferred on its drawing a proportionate +load behind it; if only four and a half tons, then it might be put on +only four wheels. The Company to be at liberty to test the boiler, etc., +by a pressure of one hundred and fifty pounds to the square inch. + +6. A mercurial gauge must be affixed to the machine, showing the steam +pressure above forty-five pounds per square inch. + +7. The engine must be delivered, complete and ready for trial, at the +Liverpool end of the railway, not later than the 1st of October, 1829. + +8. The price of the engine must not exceed 550 pounds. + +{214} The inventor of this engine was a Swede, who afterwards proceeded +to the United States, and there achieved considerable distinction as an +engineer. His Caloric Engine has so far proved a failure, but his iron +cupola vessel, the "Monitor," must be admitted to have been a remarkable +success in its way. + +{219} The "Rocket" is now to be seen at the Museum of Patents at +Kensington, where it is carefully preserved. + +{234} Tubbing is now adopted in many cases as a substitute for +brick-walling. The tubbing consists of short portions of cast-iron +cylinder fixed in segments. Each weighs about 4.5 cwt., is about 3 or 4 +feet long, and about 0.375 of an inch thick. These pieces are fitted +closely together, length under length, and form an impermeable wall along +the side of the pit. + +{263} During this period he was engaged on the North Midland, extending +from Derby to Leeds; the York and North Midland, from Normanton to York; +the Manchester and Leeds; the Birmingham and Derby, and the Sheffield and +Rotherham Railways; the whole of these, of which he was principal +engineer, having been authorised in 1836. In that session alone, powers +were obtained for the construction of 214 miles of new railways under his +direction, at an expenditure of upwards of five millions sterling. + +{288} The question of the specific merits of the atmospheric as compared +with the fixed engine and locomotive systems, will be found fully +discussed in Robert Stephenson's able 'Report on the Atmospheric Railway +System,' 1844, in which he gives the result of numerous observations and +experiments made by him on the Kingstown Atmospheric Railway, with the +object of ascertaining whether the new power would be applicable for the +working of the Chester and Holyhead Railway, then under construction. +His opinion was decidedly against the atmospheric system. + +{289} The Marquis of Clanricarde brought under the notice of the House +of Lords, in 1845, that one Charles Guernsey, the son of a charwoman, and +a clerk in a broker's office, at 12s. a week, had his name down as a +subscriber for shares in the London and York line, for 52,000 pounds. +Doubtless he had been made useful for the purpose by the brokers, his +employers. + +{309} "When my father came about the office," said Robert, "he sometimes +did not well know what to do with himself. So he used to invite Bidder +to have a wrestle with him, for old acquaintance' sake. And the two +wrestled together so often, and had so many 'falls' (sometimes I thought +they would bring the house down between them), that they broke half the +chairs in my outer office. I remember once sending my father in a +joiner's bill of about 2 pounds 10s. for mending broken chairs." + +{324} The simple fact that in a heavy storm the force of impact of the +waves is from one and a-half to two tons per square foot, must +necessarily dictate the greatest possible caution in approaching so +formidable an element. Mr. R. Stevenson (Edinburgh) registered a force +of three tons per square foot at Skerryvore, during a gale in the +Atlantic, when the waves were supposed to run twenty feet high. + +{327} Robert Stephenson's narrative in Clark's 'Britannia and Conway +Tubular Bridges,' vol. i. p. 27. + +{329a} 'Account of the Construction of the Britannia and Conway Tubular +Bridges.' By W. Fairbairn, C.E. London, 1849. + +{329b} Mr. Stephenson continued to hold that the elliptical tube was the +right idea, and that sufficient justice had not been done to it. A year +or two before his death Mr. Stephenson remarked to the author, that had +the same arrangement for stiffening been adopted to which the oblong +rectangular tubes owe a great part of their strength, a very different +result would have been obtained. + +{335} 'The Britannia and Conway Tubular Bridges.' By Edwin Clark. Vol. +II, pp. 683-4. + +{336} No. 34, Gloucester Square, Hyde Park, where he lived. + +{350} The above anecdote is given on the authority of Mr. Sopwith. +F.R.S. + +{354} The second Mrs. Stephenson having died in 1845, George married a +third time in 1848, about six months before his death. The third Mrs. +Stephenson had for some time been his housekeeper. + +{368} In 1829 Robert Stephenson married Frances, daughter of John +Sanderson, merchant, London; but she died in 1842, without issue, and Mr. +Stephenson did not marry again. Until the close of his life, Robert +Stephenson was accustomed twice in every year to visit his wife's grave +in Hampstead churchyard. + +{377} Address as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, +January, 1856. + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF THE ENGINEERS*** + + +******* This file should be named 27710.txt or 27710.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/7/7/1/27710 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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