calling attention to the application of the locomotive engine to the purposes of rapid steam travelling on railroads, was a series which appeared, in 1824, in the Scotsman newspaper*, then edited by Mr. Charles Maclaren. In those publications the wonderful powers of the locomotive were logically demonstrated, and the writer, arguing from the experiments on friction made more than half a century before by Vince and Colomb, which scientific men seemed to have altogether lost sight of, clearly showed that, by the use of steam-power on railroads, the more rapid, as well as cheaper transit of persons and merchandise might be confidently anticipated. The important experiments referred to had demonstrated that friction upon roads is the same at all velocities. Dr. Young had, indeed, in referring to these experiments, as early as 1807†, made use of the following prophetic words :-"It is possible that roads paved with iron may be hereafter employed for the purpose of expeditious travelling, since there is scarcely any resistance to be overcome except that of the air; and such roads will allow the velocity to be increased almost without limit."

Mr. Maclaren, after going carefully into the questions of gravity, resistance, friction and other impediments to motion upon a road, proceeded to prove by fair inferences, clearly argued out, "that were railways to come into general use, two-thirds or more of the expense of transporting commodities would be saved." After anticipating that an average velocity of twenty miles an hour would be secured on railways at very little more cost than a velocity of one mile, and that it must be left to the engineer to find out the best

The able articles referred to were published in December, 1824, and were republished, or extensively quoted, in most of the English newspapers. They were also translated into French and German, and reprinted in the United States.

† Dr. Young's Lectures on Natural Philosophy.

means of giving effect to the truths thus demonstrated, the writer went on to say "We are afraid that some practical men will be disposed to treat these propositions as matter of idle and profitless speculation. But we confess that this does not abate our confidence in their truth. . . The application of the laws of friction to the motion of carriages on railways has scarcely ever been investigated. Yet the subject is of vast importance, and the results are extraordinary. Among all the new projects and inventions with which this age teems, there is certainly not one which opens up such a boundless prospect of improvement, as the general introduction of railways for the purpose of commercial communication. We have spoken of vehicles travelling at 20 miles an hour; but we see no reason for thinking that, in the progress of improvement, a much higher velocity might not be found practicable. Tiberius travelled 200 miles in two days, and this was reckoned an extraordinary effort; but in twenty years hence, a shopkeeper or mechanic, on the most ordinary occasion, may probably travel with a speed that would leave the fleetest courser behind."

Little more than five years passed before these anticipations, sanguine and speculative though they were regarded at the time, were amply realised. And yet even Mr. Nicholas Wood*, in 1825, speaking of the powers of the locomotive, and referring doubtless to the speculations of the Scotsman as well as of his equally sanguine friend Stephenson, observed," It is far from my wish to promulgate to the world that the ridiculous expectations, or rather professions, of the enthusiastic speculator will be realised, and that we shall see engines travelling at the rate of twelve, sixteen, eighteen, or twenty miles an hour. Nothing could

A practical Treatise on Railroads. By Nicholas Wood, Colliery Viewer, C.E. London: Hurst, Chance, and Co.

do more harm towards their general adoption and improvement, than the promulgation of such nonsense."

Indeed, when Mr. Stephenson, at the consultations of counsel previous to the Liverpool and Manchester bill going into Committee of the House of Commons, confidently stated his expectation of being able to impel his locomotive at the rate of twenty miles an hour, Mr. William Brougham, who was retained by the promoters to conduct their case, frankly told him, that if he did not moderate his views, and bring his engine within a reasonable speed, he would "inevitably damn the whole thing, and be himself regarded as a maniac fit for Bedlam." *

The idea of travelling at a rate of speed double that of the fastest mail coach appeared at that time so preposterous that Mr. Stephenson was unable to find any engineer who would risk his reputation in supporting his "absurd views.” Speaking of his isolation at this time, he subsequently observed, at a public meeting of railway men in Manchester: "He remembered the time when he had very few supporters in bringing out the railway system-when he sought England over for an engineer to support him in his evidence before Parliament, and could find only one man, James Walker, but was afraid to call that gentleman, because he knew nothing about railways. He had then no one to tell his tale to but Mr. Sandars of Liverpool, who did listen to him, and kept his spirits up; and his schemes had at length been carried out only by dint of sheer perseverance." †

* Mr. John Dixon, engineer of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, then Mr. Stephenson's assistant, relates the above circumstance.

† Speech of Mr. Stephenson at a meeting held in Manchester on the 15th of June, 1847, to present a service of plate to J. P. Westhead, Esq., chairman of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway Co.

Mr. Stephenson did not hesitate to speak freely to his intimate friends of the high speeds which he anticipated securing on railways by means of his

George Stephenson's idea was indeed at that time regarded as but the dream of a chimerical projector. It stood before the public friendless, struggling hard to gain a footing, but scarcely daring to lift itself into notice for fear of ridicule. The civil engineers generally rejected the notion of a Locomotive Railway; and when no leading man of the day could be found to stand forward in support of the Killingworth mechanic, its chances of success must have been pronounced small. But, like all great truths, the time was surely to come when it was to prevail.

When such was the hostility of the civil engineers, no wonder the reviewers were puzzled. The Quarterly", in an able article in support of the projected Liverpool and Manchester Railway, while admitting its absolute necessity, and insisting that there was no choice left but a railroad, on which the journey between Liverpool and Manchester, whether performed by horses or engines, would always be accomplished "within the day," - nevertheless scouted the idea of travelling at a greater speed than eight or nine miles an hour. "We are not the advocates," said the reviewer, "for visionary projects that interfere with useful establishments; we scout the idea of a general railroad as altogether. impracticable, or as one, at least, which will be rendered nugatory in lines, where the traffic is so small that the re

improved engines. At a dinner given to his son, Mr. Robert Stephenson, on the presentation of a testimonial from the contractors on the London and Birmingham Railway, on the 16th Nov. 1839, Mr. Biddulph related the following circumstance: "He could well recollect the time when railroads, and, indeed, all plans for speedy communication, were treated as chimerical; and he recollected a conversation he had had with Mr. George Stephenson, which, although perhaps that gentleman had forgotten it, he (Mr. Biddulph) had not. Mr. Stephenson on that occasion observed, 'Whatever may be said of horses or dogs racing, what comparison could there be between that and seeing an engine flying across the country with more than a hundred people in its train, at a far greater speed than either the fleetest horses or dogs could run?'" * Quarterly Review, for March, 1825.

ceipts would scarcely pay for the consumption of coals. . . . The gross exaggerations of the powers of the locomotive engine, or, to speak in plain English, the steam-carriage, may delude for a time, but must end in the mortification of those concerned." Adverting to a project for forming a railway to Woolwich, by which passengers were to be drawn by locomotive engines, moving with twice the velocity and with greater safety than ordinary coaches, the reviewer proceeded: "What can be more palpably absurd and ridiculous than the prospect held out of locomotives travelling twice as fast as stage coaches! We should as soon expect the people of Woolwich to suffer themselves to be fired off upon one of Congreve's ricochet rockets, as trust themselves to the mercy of such a machine going at such a rate. We will back old Father Thames against the Woolwich Railway for any sum. We trust that Parliament will, in all railways it may sanction, limit the speed to eight or nine miles an hour, which we entirely agree with Mr. Sylvester is as great as can be ventured on with safety."

The article in the Quarterly, in which these passages occur, was nevertheless an able argument in favour of the formation of the proposed railway from Liverpool to Manchester. It denounced the monopoly of the carriage of merchandise between the two towns, attempted to be upheld by the canal companies,―argued against their so-called “vested rights," which, it averred, could not stand for a moment against the rights of the million, if it could be shown that by an improved application of steam the transport of goods can be effected in a more safe, certain, expeditious, and economical manner, -and it also combated the fears of the landlords lest their property should be injured by the proposed new line of communication. "It has been said," observed the writer, " that an opposition to railroads will be made on the part of the landed proprietors; but the ab