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.