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 neighborhood of Chesterfield, several seams of
coal were cut through in the Claycross Tunnel, when 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 even
as far south as the metropolis itself.
At a time when every body else was skeptical 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 sea-borne,
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 great 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
since 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. 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 every thing must needs
be run faster, and a much larger proportion of the gross receipts is
consequently absorbed by working expenses."
In advocating these views, George Stephenson was considerably ahead
of his time; and although he did not live to see his anticipations
fully realized as to the supply of the London coal-market, he was
nevertheless the first to point it 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 our engineer 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.
[Illustration: LIME-WORKS AT AMBERGATE. [By Percival Skelton.]]
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 Stephenson extended his coal-mining
operations in the same neighborhood, and in 1841 he himself entered
into a contract with owners of land in the townships of Tapton,
Brimington, and Newbold 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 upward of two hundred tons a day. The limestone was brought
on a tram-way from the village of Crich, about two or three miles
distant from the kilns, 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.
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 the engineer 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
amid woods, upon a commanding eminence, about a mile to the northeast
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
locomotive's shrill whistle 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 in 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.
[Illustration: FORTH-STREET WORKS, NEWCASTLE.]
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 taken place 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
world-wide reputation as a public benefactor. His fellow-townsmen,
therefore, could not hesitate to recognize his merits and do honor to
his presence. During the sittings of the Association, the engineer took
the opportunity of paying a visit to Killingworth, accompanied by some
of the distinguished savans whom he numbered among 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, showing what parts of it had
been his handiwork, and told them the story of the sun-dial over the
door, describing the study and the labor 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 civilized world.
About the same time, his services were very much in request at the
meetings of Mechanics' Institutes held throughout the northern
counties. From a very early period in his history he had taken an
active interest in these valuable institutions. While residing at
Newcastle in 1824, shortly after his locomotive foundery 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 afterward
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 felt to be an honor to secure
Mr. Stephenson's presence at any public meetings held for the promotion
of popular education. Among the Mechanics' Institutes in his immediate
neighborhood at Tapton were those of Belper and Chesterfield, and
at their soirées 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 word.
On more than one occasion the author had the pleasure of listening
to George Stephenson's homely but forcible addresses at the annual
soirées of the Leeds Mechanics' Institute. He was always an immense
favorite with his audiences there. His personal appearance was greatly
in his favor. 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 endeavors 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 fullness 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 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
traveling. "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. He was also 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 speeds, about which wild ideas
were then afloat, one gentleman of celebrity having publicly expressed
the opinion that a speed of a hundred miles an hour was practicable
in railway traveling! Not many years had passed since Mr. Stephenson
had been pronounced _insane_ for stating his conviction that twelve
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 it to be limited to
forty miles an hour. He said: "I do not like either forty or fifty
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 forty miles an hour on the
most favorable gradient; but upon a curved line the speed ought not
to exceed twenty-four or twenty-five miles an hour." He had, indeed,
constructed for the Great Western Railway an engine capable of running
fifty miles an hour with a load, and eighty miles without one. But he
never was in favor 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,[79] "I have said the
locomotive engine _might_ be made to travel a hundred 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 fifty or sixty miles an hour is an unreasonable speed. Long before
railway traveling 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 tires must break. Every increase of
speed, by increasing the strain upon the road and the rolling stock,
brings us nearer to that point. At thirty 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 ten miles, then every thing must
be greatly strengthened. You must have heavier engines, heavier and
better-fastened rails, and all your working expenses will be immensely
increased. I think I know enough of mechanics to know where to stop. I
know that a pound will weigh a pound, and that more should not be put
upon an iron rail than it will bear. If you could insure perfect iron,
perfect rails, and perfect locomotives, I grant fifty 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 can not 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 twenty or thirty ton engine
dashing over them at the speed of fifty miles an hour? No, no," he
would conclude, "I am in favor 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 a certain 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." Dr. Lardner, who at an earlier period was
skeptical as to 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.[80] For a time this theory
found favor, and the "undulating system" was extensively adopted; but
George Stephenson never ceased to inveigh against it, and experience
has 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 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 lessons taught him by
these early trials, which he had made and registered long before the
advantages of railways had become recognized. 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
neutralized 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 George 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 _éclat_ 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 endeavored 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.[81] Nor was he influenced by the sordid consideration
merely of what he could _make_ out of any company that employed him,
but 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. Stephenson's
amounted to £800, 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 can not afford to pay me this amount of money; I will
reduce it to £200, and I will not ask you for the £200 until your
shares are at £20 premium; for, whatever may be the reverses you have
to go through, I am satisfied I shall live to see the day when your
shares will be at £20 premium, and when I can legally and honorably
claim that £200."[82] 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 proposed substitution of atmospheric pressure for locomotive
steam-power in the working of railways. The idea of obtaining motion
by means of atmospheric pressure originated with Denis Papin more
than a century and a half 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 ahead of the carriages
being previously exhausted of its atmospheric air. The same idea was
afterward taken up, in 1835, by Mr. Pinkus, an ingenious American.
Several scientific gentlemen, Dr. Lardner and Mr. Clegg among others,
advocated the plan, and an association was formed to carry it into
effect. Shares were created, and £18,000 raised; and a model apparatus
was exhibited in London. Mr. Vignolles took Mr. 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. The stationary-engine system was open to
serious objections in whatever form applied; and every day's experience
showed that the fixed engines could not compete with locomotives in
point of efficiency and economy. Stephenson stood by the locomotive
engine, and subsequent experience proved that he was right.
Messrs. Clegg and Samuda afterward, in 1840, patented their plan of
an atmospheric railway, and they publicly tested its working on a
portion of the West London Railway. The results of the experiment
were considered 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."
No one can say that the atmospheric railway had not a fair trial. The
government engineer, General Pasley, did for it what had never been
done for the locomotive--he reported in its favor, whereas a former,
government engineer had inferentially reported against the use of
locomotive power on railways. The House of Commons had also reported in
favor of the use of the steam-engine on common roads; yet the railway
locomotive had vitality enough in it to live through all. "Nothing will
beat it," said George Stephenson, "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 skillful, 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
favor of locomotive power.[83]
One of the remarkable results of the system of railway locomotion which
George Stephenson had by his persevering labors mainly contributed
to establish was the outbreak of the railway mania toward 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. The Stock Exchange looked askance
upon them, and it was with difficulty that respectable brokers
could be found to do business in the shares. 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 farther 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, 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[84]--into their
pockets, 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 shop-keepers, clerks in
public offices, and loungers at the clubs. Noble lords were pointed
at as "stags;" there were even clergymen who were characterized 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 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 Fitz Plushe, by virtue of his supposed
wealth, sat among peers and was idolized. Then was the harvest-time
for 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.
Parliament, whose previous conduct in connection with railway
legislation was so open to reprehension, interposed no check--attempted
no remedy. On the contrary, it helped to intensify the evils arising
from this unseemly state of things. Many of its members were themselves
involved in the mania, and as much interested in its continuance
as the vulgar herd of money-grubbers. The railway prospectuses now
issued--unlike the original Liverpool and Manchester, and London and
Birmingham schemes--were headed by peers, baronets, landed proprietors,
and strings of M.P's. Thus it was found in 1845 that no fewer than 157
members of Parliament were on the lists of new companies as subscribers
for sums ranging from £291,000 downward! The projectors of new lines
even came to boast of their Parliamentary strength, and of the number
of votes which they could command in "the House." At all events, it
is matter of fact, that many utterly ruinous branches and extensions
projected during the mania, calculated only to benefit the inhabitants
of a few miserable boroughs accidentally omitted from Schedule A, were
authorized in the memorable sessions of 1844 and 1845.
George 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 endeavored 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 labor and without honor.
He himself never speculated in shares. When he was satisfied as to the
merits of an undertaking, he would sometimes subscribe for a certain
amount of capital in it, when he 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 toward 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 afterward 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 neighborhood--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
33_s._; he supposed he had been about the first man in England to sell
a railway share at a premium.
During 1845, his son's office in Great George Street, Westminster,
was 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 humor,
that it gladdened one to look upon in that sordid, selfish, and
eventually ruinous saturnalia of railway speculation.
Being still the consulting engineer of several of the older companies,
he necessarily appeared before Parliament in support of their branches
and extensions. In 1845 his name was associated with that of his son as
the engineer of the Southport and Preston Junction. In the same session
he gave evidence in favor of the Syston and Peterborough branch of
the Midland Railway; but his principal attention was confined to the
promotion of the line from Newcastle to Berwick, in which he had never
ceased to take the deepest interest.
Powers were granted by Parliament in 1845 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 sterling for the construction of
farther lines; and they were actually conceded to the extent of 4790
miles (including 60 miles of tunnels), at a cost of about £120,000,000
sterling.[85] 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 connection with existing
companies for which he had long acted as engineer. At the same period
all the leading professional men were fully occupied, some of them
appearing as consulting engineers for upward of thirty lines each!
One of the features of this mania was the rage for "direct lines"
which every where 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 favor
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
neighborhood 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 course adopted by Parliament in dealing with the multitude of
railway bills applied for during the prevalence of the mania was as
irrational as it proved unfortunate. The want of foresight displayed by
both houses in obstructing the railway system so long as it was based
upon sound commercial principles was only equaled by the fatal facility
with which they now granted railway projects based upon the wildest
speculation. Parliament interposed no check, laid down no principle,
furnished no guidance, for the conduct of railway projectors, but left
every company to select its own locality, determine its own line,
and fix its own gauge. No regard was paid to the claims of existing
companies, which had already expended so large an amount in the
formation of useful railways; and speculators were left at liberty to
project and carry out lines almost parallel with theirs.
The House of Commons became thoroughly influenced by the prevailing
excitement. Even the Board of Trade began to favor the views of the
new and reckless 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 favor of
the "undulating system." They there stated that lines of an undulating
character "which gave gradients of 1 in 70 or 1 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 favor 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, when speaking in favor of the
continuance of the Railways Department of the Board of Trade, 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
would they be to arrive at any such conclusion. When George 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
such 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 underestimate 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 farther 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 labors of Parliament was a tissue of legislative
bungling, involving enormous loss to the nation. Railway bills were
granted in heaps. Two hundred and seventy-two additional acts were
passed in 1846. Some authorized the construction of lines running
almost parallel with 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; and in the scramble for bills, the most unscrupulous
were usually the most successful. As an illustration of the legislative
folly of the period, Robert Stephenson, speaking at Toronto, in Upper
Canada, some years later, adduced the following instances:
"There was one district through which it was proposed to run two
lines, and there was no other difficulty between them than the
simple rivalry that, if one got a charter, the other might also.
But here, where the committee might have given both, they gave
neither. In another instance, two lines were projected through a
barren country, and the committee gave the one which afforded the
least accommodation to the public. In another, where two lines were
projected to run, merely to shorten the time by a few minutes,
leading through a mountainous country, the committee gave both. So
that, where the committee might have given both, they gave neither,
and where they should have given neither, they gave both."
Among 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 labor, and also without honor, were too ready to
enter upon courses of the wildest extravagance; and a false style
of living 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; land-owners, to promote branch lines through their property;
speculators in shares, to trade upon the exclusive information which
they obtained; while 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.
One of the most prominent celebrities of the mania was George Hudson,
of York. He was a man of some local repute in that city when the
line between Leeds and York was projected. His views as to railways
were then extremely moderate, and his main object in joining the
undertaking was to secure for York the advantages of the best railway
communication. The company was not very prosperous at first, and
during the years 1840 and 1841 the shares had greatly sunk in value.
Mr. Alderman Meek, the first chairman, having retired, Mr. Hudson was
elected in his stead, and he very shortly contrived to pay improved
dividends to the proprietors, who asked no questions. Desiring to
extend the field of his operations, he proceeded to lease the Leeds and
Selby Railway at five per cent. That line had hitherto been a losing
concern; so its owners readily struck a bargain with Mr. Hudson, and
sounded his praises in all directions. He increased the dividends on
the York and North Midland shares to ten per cent., and began to be
cited as the model of a railway chairman.
He next interested himself in the North Midland Railway, where he
appeared in the character of a reformer of abuses. The North Midland
shares also had gone to a heavy discount, and the shareholders were
accordingly desirous of securing his services. They elected him a
director. His bustling, pushing, persevering character gave him an
influential position at the board, and he soon pushed the old members
from their stools. He labored hard, at much personal inconvenience, to
help the concern out of its difficulties, and he succeeded. The new
directors, recognizing his power, elected him their chairman.
Railways revived in 1842, and public confidence in them as profitable
investments was gradually increasing. Mr. Hudson had the benefit of
this growing prosperity. The dividends in his lines improved, and
the shares rose in value. The Lord-mayor of York began to be quoted
as one of the most capable of railway directors. Stimulated by his
success and encouraged by his followers, he struck out or supported
many new projects--a line to Scarborough, a line to Bradford, lines
in the Midland districts, and lines to connect York with Newcastle
and Edinburg. He was elected chairman of the Newcastle and Darlington
Railway; and when--in order to complete the continuity of the main line
of communication--it was found necessary to secure the Durham junction,
which was an important link in the chain, he and George Stephenson
boldly purchased that railway between them, at the price of £88,500.
It was an exceedingly fortunate purchase for the company, to whom it
was worth double the money. The act, though not strictly legal, proved
successful in the issue, and was much lauded. Thus encouraged, Mr.
Hudson proceeded to buy the Brandling Junction line for £500,000 in
his own name--an operation at the time regarded as equally favorable,
though he was afterward charged with appropriating 1600 of the shares
created for the purchase, when worth £21 premium each. The Great North
of England line being completed, Mr. Hudson had thus secured the entire
line of communication from York to Newcastle, and the route was opened
to the public in June, 1844. On that occasion Newcastle eulogized Mr.
Hudson in its choicest local eloquence, and he was pronounced to be the
greatest benefactor the district had ever known.
The adulation which followed Mr. Hudson would have intoxicated a
stronger and more self-denying man. He was pronounced the man of the
age, and hailed as "the Railway King." The highest test by which
the shareholders judged him was the dividends that he paid, though
subsequent events proved that these dividends were in many cases
delusive, intended only "to make things pleasant." The policy, however,
had its effect. The shares in all the lines of which he was chairman
went to a premium, and then arose the temptation to create new shares
in branch and extension lines, often worthless, which were issued at
a premium also. Thus he shortly found himself chairman of nearly 600
miles of railway, extending from Rugby to Newcastle, and at the head of
numerous new projects, by means of which paper-wealth could be created
as it were at pleasure. He held in his own hands almost the entire
administrative power of the companies over which he presided: he was
chairman, board, manager, and all. His admirers for the time, inspired
sometimes by gratitude for past favors, but oftener by the expectation
of favors to come, supported him in all his measures. At the meetings
of the companies, if any suspicious shareholder ventured to put a
question about the accounts, he was snubbed by the chair and hissed
by the proprietors. The Railway King was voted praises, testimonials,
and surplus shares alike liberally, and scarcely a word against him
could find a hearing. He was equally popular outside the circle of
railway proprietors. His entertainments at Albert Gate were crowded by
sycophants, many of them titled; and he went his rounds of visits among
the peerage like a prince.
Of course Mr. Hudson was a great authority on railway questions in
Parliament, to which the burgesses of Sunderland had sent him. His
experience of railways, still little understood, though the subject
of so much legislation, gave value and weight to his opinions, and in
many respects he was a useful member. During the first years of his
membership he was chiefly occupied in passing the railway bills in
which he was more particularly interested; and in the session of 1845,
when he was at the height of his power, it was triumphantly said of him
that "he walked quietly through Parliament with some sixteen railway
bills under his arm."
One of these bills, however, was the subject of a severe contest--we
mean that empowering the construction of the railway from Newcastle to
Berwick. It was almost the only bill in which George Stephenson was
concerned that year. Mr. Hudson displayed great energy in supporting
the measure, and he worked hard to insure its success both in and out
of Parliament; but he himself attributed the chief merit to Stephenson.
He accordingly suggested to the shareholders that they should present
the engineer with some fitting testimonial in recognition of his
services. Indeed, a Stephenson Testimonial had long been spoken of,
and a committee was formed for raising subscriptions for the purpose
as early as the year 1839. Mr. Hudson now revived the subject, and
appealed to the Newcastle and Darlington, the Midland, and the York and
North Midland Companies, who unanimously adopted the resolutions which
he proposed to them amid "loud applause," but there the matter ended.
The Hudson Testimonial was a much more taking thing, for Hudson had it
in his power to allot shares (selling at a premium) to his adulators.
But Stephenson pretended to fill no man's pocket with premiums; he was
no creator of shares, and could not therefore work upon shareholders'
gratitude for "favors to come." The proposed testimonial to him
accordingly ended with resolutions and speeches. The York, Newcastle,
and Berwick Board--in other words, Mr. Hudson--did indeed mark their
sense of the "great obligations" which they were under to George
Stephenson for helping to carry their bill through Parliament by
making him an allotment of thirty of the new shares authorized by the
act. But, as afterward appeared, the chairman had at the same time
appropriated to himself not fewer than 10,894 of the same shares, the
premiums on which were then worth, in the market, about £145,000.
This shabby manner of acknowledging the gratitude of the company to
their engineer was strongly resented by Stephenson at the time, and
a coolness took place between him and Hudson which was never wholly
removed, though they afterward shook hands, and Stephenson declared
that all was forgotten.
Mr. Hudson's brief reign drew to a close. The saturnalia of 1845 was
followed by the usual reaction. Shares went down faster than they
had gone up; the holders of them hastened to sell in order to avoid
payment of the calls, and many found themselves ruined. Then came
repentance, and a sudden return to virtue. The betting man, who,
temporarily abandoning the turf for the share-market, had played his
heaviest stake and lost; the merchant who had left his business, and
the doctor who had neglected his patients, to gamble in railway stock
and been ruined; the penniless knaves and schemers who had speculated
so recklessly and gained so little; the titled and fashionable people,
who had bowed themselves so low before the idol of the day, and found
themselves deceived and "done;" the credulous small capitalists, who,
dazzled by premiums, had invested their all in railway shares, and now
saw themselves stripped of every thing, were grievously enraged, and
looked about them for a victim. In this temper were shareholders when,
at a railway meeting in York, some pertinent questions were put to the
Railway King. His replies were not satisfactory, and the questions
were pushed home. Mr. Hudson became confused. Angry voices rose in the
meeting. A committee of investigation was appointed. The golden calf
was found to be of brass, and hurled down, Hudson's own toadies and
sycophants eagerly joining the chorus of popular indignation. Similar
proceedings shortly after followed at the meetings of other companies,
and the bubbles having by that time burst, the Railway Mania thus came
to an ignominious end.
While the mania was at its height in England, railways were also being
extended abroad, and George Stephenson continued to be invited to
give the directors of foreign undertakings the benefit of his advice.
One of the most agreeable of his excursions with that object was his
third visit to Belgium in 1845. His special purpose 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, by
Couvins, through the Forest of Ardennes, to Rocroi, across the French
frontier, examining the bearing 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. 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 the engineer's visit
to invite him to a magnificent banquet at Brussels. The Public Hall, in
which they entertained him, was gayly decorated with flags, prominent
among which was the Union Jack, in honor of their distinguished guest.
A handsome marble pedestal, ornamented with his bust crowned with
laurels, stood at 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. 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, the 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?'" It
was, indeed, the model of that celebrated locomotive; and the engineer
prized the delicate compliment thus paid him perhaps more 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 cordially received by his majesty. The king immediately
entered into familiar conversation with him, discussing first 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 favorite one with George Stephenson, and,
encouraged by the king, he proceeded to explain 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 description. The conversation then passed to the
rise and progress of trade and manufactures, Stephenson pointing out
how closely they every where 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 as 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, Stephenson,
bethinking him of the model by which he had just been illustrating the
Belgian coal-fields, said to his friend, "By-the-by, Sopwith, I was
afraid the king would see the inside of my hat; it's a shocking bad
one!"
George Stephenson paid a farther 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 was requested 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 the proposed line. The directors of the company had declined
making the necessary deposits until more favorable terms had been
secured; and Sir Joshua Walmsley, on their part, was about to visit
Spain and press the government on the subject. George 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 he 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 amid 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 color in the dresses of the women,
and the gay sashes of the men, formed a striking picture, on which the
travelers 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 travelers 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. George Stephenson used afterward 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
object 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 toward Madrid, surveying
as he went. The proposed plan included the purchase of the Castile
Canal, and that property was also examined. He next proceeded to El
Escorial, situated at the foot of the Guadarama Mountains, through
which he found 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 on condition that the requisite
land was given to the company for the purpose; that they should be
allowed every facility for cutting such timber belonging to 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 thousand convicts while engaged
in the execution of the earthworks. General Narvaez, afterward 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 bull-fight, but that
was not quite the business Stephenson had gone all the way to Spain
to transact, and the offer was politely declined. The result was that
Stephenson dissuaded his friend from making the necessary deposit at
Madrid. Besides, he had by this time formed an unfavorable 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 traveling 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,
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 traveled, therefore, almost continuously,
day and night, and the fatigue consequent on the journey, added to
the privations 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. After a few weeks' rest at home, however, he
gradually recovered, though his health remained severely shaken.
[Illustration: CLAYCROSS WORKS.]
FOOTNOTES:
[79] It may be mentioned that these views were communicated to the
author by Robert Stephenson, and noted down in his presence.
[80] "Treatise on Railway Improvements." By Mr. Richard Badnell, C.E.
[81] He often refused to act as engineer for lines which he thought
would not prove remunerative, or when he considered the estimates too
low. Thus, when giving evidence on the Great Western Bill, Stephenson
said, "I made out an estimate for the Hartlepool Railway, which they
returned on account of its being too high, but I declined going to
Parliament with a lower estimate. Another engineer was employed. Then,
again, I was consulted about a line from Edinburg to Glasgow. The
directors chalked out a line and sent it to me, and I told them I could
not support it in that case." Hence the employment of another engineer
to carry out the line which Stephenson could not conscientiously
advocate.
[82] Speech of Wm. Jackson, Esq., M.P., at the meeting of the Chester
and Birkenhead Railway Company, held at Liverpool, October, 1845.
[83] 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 gave 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.
[84] 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 12_s._ a week, had his name down as
a subscriber for shares in the London and York line for £52,000.
[85] On the 17th of November, 1845, Mr. Spackman published a list of
the lines _projected_ (many of which were not afterward prosecuted),
from which it appeared that there were then 620 new railway projects
before the public, requiring a capital of £563,203,000.
[Illustration: NEWCASTLE, FROM THE HIGH-LEVEL BRIDGE. [By R. P.
Leitch.]]