THE ROMANCE OF INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3881, 31 July 1928, Page 17

THE ROMANCE OF INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.

By

GEORGE E. HOPCROFT.

(Special for the Otago Witness.)

XIII.—STEPHENSON AND THE LOCOMOTIVE.

STEPHENSON STUDIES THE COLLIERY LOCOMOTIVES. George .Stephenson began life'as a herd boy at 2d a day, yet he fought his way upward, and it is mainly due to his efforts that we have to-day an almost perfect railway system. After serving in many humble positions at Wylam Colliery, George at last became engineer at Killingworth, and, about the year 1811, began to study the crude locomotives that were then’being tried at various collieries. °

< STEPHENSON BUILDING HIS FIRST LOCOMOTIVE. Lord Ravensworth assisted Stephenson to construct a locomotive of his own, and we see him and the colliery blacksmith hard at work upon it in the above sketch. The machine was fairly successful, and George improved upon it later on. He was engineer of the famous Stockton and Darlington railway, and built the first locomotive for the line.

THE FIRST TRAIN ON THE- STOCKTON AND DARLINGTON RAILWAY. The opening of this railway, in September, 1825, was a great event. In the sketch we show the first train on this, Britain’s first passenger railway. Stephenson’s great chance came, however, in 1829-31, when he planned and built the Liverpool and Manchester rail wav.

THE ROCKET WINNING THE PRIZE AT RAINHILL. The directors offered £5OO for the best locomotive, and Stephenson’s famous “Rocket” won the prize at the memorable contest held at Rainhill in October, 1829. The little engine ran at 28 miles an hour, beating three other locomotives that were entered for the test. From that day Stephenson became the leading railway engineer, and before his death in 1848 he saw engines running at 50 miles an hour.