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almost entire system of lines embracing the principal districts of Belgium; connecting Brussels with all the chief cities; extending from Ostend eastward to the Prussian frontier, and from Antwerp southward to the French frontier. The total extent of railway thus authorised was 246 miles. The eventual success of this measure was mainly due to the energy and sagacious enterprise of the king. The execution of the works was immediately commenced, the money being provided by the state. Every official influence was called into active exertion for the purpose of carrying them forward to completion. And, in order to prevent the Belgian enterprise becoming in any way converted into a stock-jobbing speculation, it was wisely provided that the shares were not to be quoted on the Exchange at Antwerp or Brussels, until the railway was actually completed.

Mr. Stephenson and his son, as the leading railwayengineers of England, were consulted by the king as to the formation of the most efficient system of lines throughout his kingdom, as early as 1835. In the course of that year they visited Belgium, and had some interesting conferences with King Leopold and his ministers on the subject of the proposed railways. On that occasion the king appointed Mr. Stephenson by royal ordinance a Knight of the Order of Leopold. Improvements of the system were recommended and adopted; and in 1837 a law was passed, authorising the construction of additional lines,-from Ghent to Mouscron on the French frontier,--from Courtray to Tournai,-from Brain-le-Comte to Namur,-with several smaller branches. These, with the lines previously authorised, made a total length of 341 English miles. Much diligence was displayed by the government in pushing on the works; the representatives of the people in the Chambers now surpassing even the king himself in their anticipation of the great public benefits to be derived from railways. The first twelve miles between Brussels and Malines were opened in 1835, a year after the passing of the law; and successive portions were opened from time to time.

276

DINES WITH THE KING AND QUEEN. CHAP. XIV.

At the invitation of the king, Mr. Stephenson made a second visit to Belgium in 1837, on the occasion of the public opening of the line from Brussels to Ghent. At Brussels there was a public procession, and another at Ghent on the arrival of the train. Mr. Stephenson and his party accompanied it to the Public Hall, there to dine with the chief ministers of state, the municipal authorities, and about five hundred of the principal inhabitants of the city; the English ambassador being also present. After the king's health and a few others had been drank, that of Mr. Stephenson was proposed; on which the whole assembly rose up, amidst great excitement and loud applause, and made their way to where he sat, in order to jingle glasses with him, greatly to his own amazement. On the day following, Mr. Stephenson dined with the king and queen at their own table at Laaken, by special invitation; afterwards accompanying his majesty and suite to a public ball given by the municipality of Brussels, in honour of the opening of the line to Ghent, as well as of their distinguished English guest. On entering the room, the general and excited inquiry was, "Which is Stephenson?" The English engineer had never before known that he was esteemed as so great a man.

It is curious to contrast the conduct of the English government with that of Belgium at the same time. The House of Commons was still endeavouring to introduce the steamcarriage on common roads, and the government was expending large sums of money for the purpose of improving those roads, so as to enable them to compete with the railways which were in course of formation. It is a remarkable fact that during the time that the London and Birmingham Railway was under construction, 130,000l. was voted by Parliament to place the road between these two termini in an improved state, with this object. The alterations were carried out under the superintendence of Mr. Telford, the government engineer, and the money was expended just as the new turnpike-road was not wanted. The gradients were made easier, the line was straightened and

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shortened, and even granite tramways were laid downof which specimens may yet be seen between Towcester and Daventry-monuments of folly for the admiration of a scanty At one place the government engineer was cutting down the gradients over the very same hill under which the railway engineer was tunnelling. Telford even tried upon this road the experiment of a steam-carriage, which proved a complete failure. Wherever any undue resistance was offered to its progress, the engine stuck or broke down; and after stopping at almost every blacksmith's shop to be repaired, and being beaten by every coach upon the road, to the infinite delight of the coachmen and guards, it reached Birmingham-then an eleven hours' journey—on the third day after its departure from London. The government engineers learnt discretion from these and similar failures. Since that time they have left the formation of the great high-roads of the country to private enterprise, and pursued the safer course of sitting in judgment upon what other engineers have done.

The London and Birmingham Railway having been completed in September, 1838, after being about five years in progress, the great main line of railway communication between London, Liverpool, and Manchester, was then opened to the public. For some months previously, the line had been partially opened, coaches performing the journey between Denbigh Hall (near Wolverton) and Rugby-the works of the Kilsby tunnel being still incomplete. It was already amusing to hear the complaints of the travellers about the slowness of the coaches as compared with the railway, though the coaches travelled at a speed of eleven miles an hour. The comparison of comfort was also greatly to the disparagement of the coaches. Then the railway-train could accommodate any quantity, whilst the road conveyances were limited; and when a press of travellers occurredas on the occasion of the Queen's coronation-the greatest inconvenience was experienced, as much as 107. being paid for a seat on a donkey-chaise between Rugby and Denbigh. On the opening of the railway throughout, of

278

OPENING OF NEW RAILWAYS.

CHAP. XIV.

course, all this inconvenience and delay was brought to an end.

Numerous other openings of railways constructed by Mr. Stephenson took place about the same time, and shortly after. The Sheffield and Rotherham line was opened in November, 1839; the Birmingham and Derby in August, 1839; and in the course of the following year, the Midland, the York and North Midland, the Chester and Crewe, the Chester and Birkenhead, the Manchester and Birmingham, the Manchester and Leeds, and the Maryport and Carlisle railways, were all publicly opened in whole or in part. Thus 321 miles of railway (exclusive of the London and Birmingham) constructed under Mr. Stephenson's superintendence, at a cost of upwards of eleven millions sterling, were, in the course of about two years, added to the traffic accommodation of the country.

The ceremonies which accompanied the public opening of these lines were often of an interesting character. The adjoining population held general holiday; bands played, banners waved, and assembled thousands cheered the passing trains amidst the occasional booming of cannon. The proceedings were usually wound up by a public dinner; and on such occasions Mr. Stephenson would often revert to his favourite topic-the difficulties which he had early encountered in the establishment of the railway system, and in proving, to the satisfaction of the public, the superiority of the locomotive. At the dinner which followed the opening of the Sheffield and Rotherham line, the Earl Fitzwilliam presided, and most of the notable personages of the district, including the Master Cutler, were present and made speeches.

On such occasions, Mr. Stephenson always took great pleasure in alluding to the services rendered to himself and the public by the young men brought up under his eye--his pupils at first, and afterwards his assistants. No great master ever possessed a more devoted band of assistants and fellow-workers than he did. And, indeed, it was one of the most marked evidences of his own admirable tact and judg

ment that he selected, with such undeviating correctness, the men best fitted to carry out his plans. The ability to accomplish great things, to carry grand ideas into practical effect, depends in no small measure on an intuitive knowledge of character, which Mr. Stephenson possessed in a remarkable degree. Thus, on the Liverpool and Manchester line, he secured the able services of Messrs. Vignolles and Locke; the latter had been his pupil, and had laid down for him several coal-lines in the North. John Dixon, trained by him on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, afterwards ably carried out his views on the Canterbury and Whitstable, the Liverpool and Manchester, and the Chester railways. Thomas Gooch was his able representative in superintending the execution of the formidable works of the Manchester and Leeds line. Swanwick on the North Midland, Birkenshaw on the Birmingham and Derby, and Cabrey on the York and North Midland, seconded him well and ably, and established their own reputation while they increased the engineering fame of their master. All these men, then comparatively young, became, in course of time, engineers of distinction, and were employed to conduct on their own account numerous railway enterprises of great magnitude.

At the dinner at York, which followed the partial opening of the York and North Midland Railway, Mr. Stephenson, as was his wont, prominently acknowledged the merit of his engineering pupils and assistants, and accompanied the recognition with many encouragements drawn from his own life and experience. On this occasion he said, "he was sure they would appreciate his feelings when he told them, that when he first began railway business, his hair was black, although it was now grey; and that he began his life's labour as but a poor ploughboy. He was only eight years old when he went to work, and he had been labouring hard ever since. About thirty years since, he had applied himself to the study of how to generate high velocities by mechanical means. He thought he had solved that problem. But when he afterwards appeared before a Committee of Parliament, and stated

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