Railway History
We in the North-East should be proud that here is the
‘cradle of railways’. On 27 September 1825 were inaugurated services on the
nascent Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Beginning at Simpasture, the line was projected to facilitate the conveyance of
coal from the West Auckland district collieries to Stockton, via Darlington.
Immediate envy and capitalist enthusiasm led to the
promotion of the Clarence Railway
being promoted in opposition to the S & D and in 1833 a line to shorten the
haul of West Durham coal for shipment was opened from a junction with the S
& D near Shildon to Port Clarence (then named Port Stockton), near the
mouth of the Tees.
Meanwhile, in 1832, the Hartlepool
Dock & Railway Company had been formed with ambitious plans for a port.
For cargo, coal was the driving force and a main line was envisaged from
Moorsley to Hartlepool covering 14 miles, with various colliery branches.
However, the scheme did not wholly materialise, but a curtailed core line from
Haswell to Hartlepool was created [nowadays the trackbed is a public walkway],
with a branch to Thornley Colliery, opened in sections during 1835. The
complete line to Hartlepool was opened on 9 July 1835. In 1839 was added a
branch to Wingate.
The rival Stockton
and Hartlepool Railway was formed in 1839 to tap the rich coal seams of
West Durham. A new station was created at Stockton and a curve at Billingham
from the Clarence line enabled direct services to what was to become West
Hartlepool. According to which history you consult this was inaugurated on
either 10 February 1841 or 9 February 1842.
Coal remained the main business of the port, with high-level
staiths in operation by both rivals. This gravity system was still a novelty,
though operated at Blyth, Dunston and Tyne Dock, whereas the revolution had not
reached Middlesbrough or Hull, where mechanical hoists were in use. Locally,
the tracks to the staiths were so designed that the loaded wagons could be
pushed uphill by a locomotive to the delivery point, at which the coal was
discharged through tippler doors into the collier’s hold; the empty wagons
returning by gravity to sorting sidings in which trains were marshalled for
their return to the pits.
In 1848, the York,
Newcastle and Berwick Railway purchased Hartlepool docks and the town
became linked with the main rail arteries of the country. This amalgamation did
not affect the position of the West Hartlepool Dock at Stranton. The two port
installations remained keen rivals and this was probably to the benefit of West
Hartlepool, which had sprung up around Stranton Dock.
The Leeds Northern
struck for the Tees from Melmerby to Northallerton and thence Stockton, opening
on 2 June 1852. This venture explains how the mileposts visible approaching
Hartlepool give the distances from
Leeds. The late 20th Century saw the section between Harrogate and
Northallerton closed and traffic between Northallerton and Hartlepool freight
only. But fortunes can flow as well as ebb; an hourly Transpennine service
transforming journeys between Middlesbrough and
Thornaby and York, Leeds and
Manchester, including a new station at Yarm to serve a growing estate.
Meanwhile, one of the most ambitious – even audacious –
‘might-have-beens’ was a plan by the London
& North Western Railway to acquire the South Durham & Lancashire
Union Railway (Tebay to Barnard Castle) and part of West Hartlepool dock, thus
linking west and east coasts. Parliament blocked the bid, but subsequently
trains would carry Furness iron ore to Teesside and return with coking coak
crossing the Pennines as envisaged via Stainmore Summit, with the Hartlepools
losing out.
On 31 July 1854 the North
Eastern Railway came into being and in 1865 took control of the West
Hartlepool Dock and having received the Hartlepool Dock as part of the York,
Newcastle and Berwick Railway incorporation, the NER joined the two dock
systems into one co-ordinated, efficient system. The catalyst for the formation
of the NER was the expectancy of a true main line to dominate the fragmented
situation. The East Coast Main Line (ECML hereafter throughout) would form the
backbone of the railway system east of the Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and
Cheviots, but the course of the ECML we know today was not joined up until
1872. Meanwhile, the NER steadily gobbled up the independent companies, often
built as a result of senseless competition and spite. This was a pattern to be
oft repeated and in living memory the Beeching era, with its pathological
eradication of anything resembling a duplication of routes, to the disadvantage
of countless communities. Among the missing territorial gaps the NER jigsaw
which it filled in was the Hartlepool to Seaham section, opened in May 1839,
Sunderland gained a bridge across the Wear and the Tyne was bridged a second
time.
The NER was notable for its Quakerish sobriety, efficiency
and caution, and pre-grouping could be regarded as fourth in seniority
nationally. Vincent Raven’s loco designs were bold and practical, even
extending to the ‘Pacific’ 4-6-2 wheel arrangement for express work. Management
paid great regard to services such as that on the coast line and Paul Drew has
observed waspishly, ‘the NER non-corridor bogie coaches were very comfortable,
notably in the design of seats. Some of the services survive today, worked by
less comfortable diesel multiple units’. (1)
When the NER combined the complex components of various
companies it allowed autonomy before elements of unification took precedence.
The aforementioned trade in Cumbrian ore was the most profitable aspect – even
above coal – and net receipts allowed major expansion. As far as Seaton Carew
was concerned, it did not miss out entirely within the ‘big picture’ and played
its role. The NER pioneered more peripheral activities to better utilise idle
locos, stock and labour by running Sunday excursions.
My earliest record of tourism related to Seaton Carew comes
from local historian Maureen Anderson’s splendid pot-pourri Tales, Trials & Treasures of Seaton
Carew. (2) The book cites an advertisement placed by Harry Thornton, who
arrived on the scene in 1870 and set about tackling the neglect which had
blighted the magnificent Seaton Hotel. His wife was equally fastidious and her
aim to give visitors satisfaction became widespread. Here’s the notice:
THE SEA-SIDE SEATON CAREW
Splendid sands,
capital sea-bathing, hot water salt baths, bracing climate and excellent
lodgings at the Seaton Hotel which has been newly decorated and furnished.
Cabs, carriages and saddle horses, billiard &c. Seaton Carew is about 10
miles from Stockton-on-Tees, and 2 miles from West Hartlepool, the railway
station is within 10 minutes walk of the village. Cabs meet every train.
Harry Thornton
proprietor,
Late of Middlesbrough,
York.
The North Eastern Railway tracks through Seaton Carew were
among 1,758 route miles surrendered to one of the ‘Big Four’, the London & North Eastern Railway from
1 January 1923. Lean years followed for the nation as a whole, but at least the
struggling company was blessed with Nigel Gresley’s modern ‘Pacific’ locos.
Just as earlier railway companies had lost their identities
during amalgamations, so the LNER became history on 31 December 1947.
Nationalisation and the Transport Act failed to eradicate intense rivalry
between the constituent regions of British
Railways, based on the four previous companies’ territories. Luckily for
the Northumbrian area, stretching from the Humber to the Tweed, it received its
separate identity as the North Eastern Region. Once the post-war austerity had
been overcome, thoughts turned to the future.
The bold 1954 Modernisation Plan envisaged the building of
steam locomotives to standard designs to last into the Seventies, but there was
included a pilot scheme to test many new types of diesel and electric traction.
Diesel multiple units ousted suburban and rural steam haulage and the 3,300hp
‘Deltic’ locos revolutionised travel on the ECML from 1962 onwards. InterCity
125 high-speed trains in turn ruled the roost from 1978/9. Such benefit for
Poolies had to be savoured to and from Darlington, involving slow, draughty
DMUs.
Just as steam bowed out in 1968 so did the traditional
wagonload business, with the coast line enjoying the more financially rewarding
coal, fuel and limestone and other dedicated products running with modern
rolling stock as block trains.
The clapped-out DMUs were replaced by the abysmal ‘Pacers’
(did they really enjoy increasing level of patronage, as I have seen claimed!?)
and later the much improved ‘Sprinters’.
Yet another amalgamation saw the North Eastern Region become
the Northern Operating Area of the Eastern Region in the 1980s and British
Railways rebranded as a trendy, er, British
Rail.
The late 1980s saw the announcement of electrification of
the ECML. Well, about time too! Half a century previously the LNER had gone so
far as building a prototype loco for its proposed York to Newcastle electrified
main line. Hindsight has revealed the job was done on the cheap and overhead
lines continue to cause problem on a regular basis along with frequent
signalling faults. But it eventually came to pass. But passed by the coast line
where Seaton Carew does see electric locomotives and stock occasionally, but
only during diversions and dragged by diesels. Even the single track meandering
through Portugal’s Algarve province is now electrified. The vision which made
the North-East the birthplace of railways is now the equivalent of an old
folks’ home of geriatric ‘Pacers’. The railway pioneers have certainly been
badly betrayed.
But again, the times they were a’ changin’, as railfan Bob
Dylan sang. As Prime Minister, John Major envisaged privatisation as
re-creating a rose-tinted, golden era return of the ‘Big Four’. What came to
pass was a trial period of sectorisation, which proved unworkable, with profit
centres barring motive power borrowing by other sectors even in emergencies.
There followed ‘Plan B’, the geographical splitting of freight into three
companies and a separate nationwide mail and parcels shadow company. Wisconsin
Central was the surprise buyer of not one but all major goods outfits and
subsequently the postal service. All at a bargain price. Freightliner went to a
management buyout – all of £1. Passenger services too went at knockdown rates
in a bidding war and performance and human behaviour has left a great deal to
be desired. Mandarins at the Department of Transport still have learned neither
how to prepare a franchise document nor to understand the term ‘depreciation’,
i.e. ‘Pacers’ cost more to maintain than new-build in all likelihood. The
wisdom of privatisation is still the subject of acrimonious debate – often
fuelled by unhelpful political dogma – and in my opinion, the jury is still
out.
References:
1. Paul Drew, ‘North Eastern Retrospect’, Trains Illustrated British Railways Then
& Now, No. 15, The North Eastern Railway, Ian Allan, 1975
2. Maureen Anderson, Tales,
Trials & Treasures of Seaton Carew, privately published, c1991
UK RAILWAYS IN 1841 by
John Tatam Stanesby
In
Charles Knight (ed.), Knight’s Store of Knowledge, pages 65–80 (1841)
This
article gives a detailed account of the railway system as it was in 1841. By
that time the technology of railways was well developed, as the author
describes; on the other hand, they had been operating on a large scale for only
a few years, so that he is still unsure of their future importance.
I have extracted only relevant
material. The Web version was rescued from oblivion and digitised by neo-antiquarian
Michael Behrend to whom thanks are offered. Diagrams have been relettered for
clarity.
J. T. Stanesby (1819–1886) made a living as a bookseller,
and later in life as an actuary. He was also an engraver and a member of the
Society of Arts. He contributed several articles to Knight’s publications such
as the Penny Cyclopædia.
A RAILWAY is a road in which smooth
tracks of wood, iron, or other suitable material are laid to facilitate the
motion of wheel-carriages. Railways are of various kinds, and have long been
used as a means of transport for minerals and heavy goods; and recently, in
conjunction with locomotive steam-engines, they have been introduced very
extensively for the purposes of general conveyance.
History.—It does not appear that any satisfactory
notice of what may fairly be considered a railway is to be found before the
seventeenth century, in the early half of which wooden rail, tram, or waggon
ways were introduced in the collieries of the north of England. They were
adopted in order to reduce the labour of drawing coals from the pits to the
places of shipment in the neighbourhood of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and they
consisted simply of pieces of wood imbedded in the ordinary road, in such a
manner as to form wheel-tracks for the carts or waggons.
The wooden tracks presented a much smoother surface for the
wheels than the very imperfect roads previously used, and therefore greatly
increased the available power of the horses. The advantages even of this rude
kind of railway were so great as to cause its extensive introduction in various
mining districts, and in course of time several improvements were made upon it.
About 1765, from a hundred to a hundred and fifty years after their first
introduction, the wooden railways appear to have been made in the following
manner:—The road was prepared by being levelled, or reduced to as uniform an
inclination as circumstances would allow; pieces of wood, roughly squared,
about six feet long and four to eight inches square, were then laid across it
at a distance of two or three feet from each other, and upon these other
pieces, carefully sawn, about six or seven inches wide and five deep, were
fastened by means of pegs, in such a manner as to form two wheel-tracks, about
four feet apart. The road was then completed by filling the spaces between the
crosspieces (which are called sleepers), and also the spaces under the
rails, with ashes, gravel, or other road materials.Fig. 1 is an
elevation and ground-plan of this primitive railway, a a being the
sleepers, andb b the rails.
An important improvement on this
construction consisted in the addition of a second set of rails, similar to the
first, and spiked or pegged down to them, as shown in the elevation, fig.
2, in which c represents the upper rail.
By this improvement several inconveniences were removed, as
the upper rails might be repeatedly renewed without disturbing the
substructure. Another advantage of the change was that, by the rail being
raised, a greater depth of ballast or road material might be spread over the
sleepers, to protect them from the horses’ feet.
The vehicles used upon these wooden
railways were generally waggons, carrying from two to three tons of coal, and
mounted upon small wheels. The wheels were sometimes provided with a flange, or
projecting rim, which, by coming in contact with the side of the rail, kept the
waggon in the proper direction. Each waggon was drawn by one horse.
It became usual, at least as early as
1716, to nail thin plates of malleable iron upon the surface of the wooden rails,
wherever a steep ascent or a sharp curve rendered the draught harder than
usual. The circumstances in which these lines were used were such that there
was almost invariably a descent towards the river or sea-shore, which, being in
favour of the load conveyed, was an advantage. Where the descent would
otherwise be too abrupt, it was not unusual to make an elevated staith at the
river end of the railway, and shoot the coal from the waggons, by an inclined
plane, into the hold of the ships. Sometimes also, where the inclination would
prove inconvenient if distributed equally along the line, it was so arranged
that the greater part of the railway was made of a convenient descent, and the
remaining fall accomplished by one or more inclined planes, or runs,
which the waggons were allowed to descend by their own gravity, the velocity
being checked by a piece of wood, called a brake or convoy, which
was pressed forcibly upon one or both wheels on one side of the waggon.
The wooden railway continued in use for
a century and a half without any important step being taken for the
introduction of a more durable material. Some stone-ways were
constructed for similar purposes, but, though possessing many advantages, they
are not so smooth as those of wood. The next material improvement was the use
of cast-iron plates upon the wooden rails. It is somewhat remarkable that,
notwithstanding the well-known effect of iron plates in diminishing the
resistance, and their frequent use as already stated, this experiment is said to
have been made more in consequence of accidental circumstances than as a
premeditated measure of improvement. A wooden railway was in use at the
Colebrook Dale ironworks, about the year 1767, when the price of iron became
very low, and it was determined, in order to keep the furnaces at work, to cast
bars which might be laid down upon the wooden rails, and which it was proposed
to take up and sell as pigs in case of a sudden rise. This plan was suggested
by Mr. Reynolds, who erected the first iron bridge set up in England, also at
Colebrook Dale. These bars, or “scantlings of iron,” as they were called, were
five feet long, four inches broad, and an inch and a quarter thick, and were
cast with three holes for convenience of nailing to the wooden rails. Mr.
Hornblower, an ingenious mechanician, in describing this road, remarks on the
facility with which vehicles might be turned off the track when required, owing
to the absence of a guiding flange; but this is a convenience incompatible with
some of the most important qualities of a railway.
Various plans have been proposed for combining the smoothness
of a railway with the character of a common road, and of these perhaps none is
more feasible than that patented by Mr. Woodhouse, in 1803, in which, by
ingenious arrangements, rails of the sectional form represented by fig.
3 are imbedded in an ordinary pavement or road. The concave form of the upper
surface of the rail would tend to keep carriages in the right direction, and
yet admit of their being turned out without difficulty. The ease of draught
which would be attained by such a plan may be conceived by observing the effect
of the iron gutters in some of the streets of London, which closely resemble{66}Woodhouse’s rail in form, and are frequently made
use of as wheel-tracks by drivers, notwithstanding the inconvenience arising
from their being confined to one side of the vehicle.
Shortly
after the experiment at Colebrook Dale, cast-iron rails with
an upright flange, as shown in section infig. 4, were brought into use.
They were first used, it is believed, at the colliery of the Duke of Norfolk,
near Sheffield, in 1776.
Originally they were fixed upon cross sleepers of wood, like
those used to support wooden rails. They were cast with holes for nails, and
laid down so that both the flanges were towards the middle of the track, or vice
versâ. Thus, as explained by fig. 5, which represents an end section
of the two rails fixed to a sleeper, with a pair of wheels on them, one flange
on each rail is sufficient to prevent carriages from running off.
About the year 1793 blocks of stone
were introduced as supports, instead of the wooden sleepers. They were, in the
early railways, about a foot square, and eight or nine inches deep. One of
these blocks is imbedded in the road under each joint in the rails, which are
spiked down to wooden plugs inserted in the stone. As the foundation made by
stone blocks is firmer than that of wooden sleepers, they were quickly
introduced in most cases where a durable road was required.
Many ingenious improvements have been
made upon the kind of railway just described, which is still extensively used
in mining districts.
It is, for distinction, called the plate-railway or tramroad,
and is very convenient from the facility of its construction, and the
circumstance that vehicles adapted for use upon it can also be used off the
rails. The form of the rail is however a weak one, considering the quantity of
iron used; and it permits the lodgment of stones and dirt. The former of these
inconveniences has been in some degree remedied by the use of a rail with an
under rib, as shown in fig. 6, a form which was adopted to reduce the
cost of repairs on the Surrey tramroad.
The serious disadvantages of the
plate-railway led to the use of edge-rails, which have now almost
entirely superseded the previous form. The first edge-railway of any
considerable extent was completed in 1801, for the conveyance of slate from the
quarries of Lord Penrhyn.
Its construction is illustrated by fig. 7, which represents
the two rails, and the form given to the tire of the wheels in order to keep
them in the right course. These rails were of an oval section, the longest
diameter being vertical. They were four feet six inches long, and had a
dovetailed block cast beneath each end, which fitted into an iron sill imbedded
in the road. The wheels were formed with a grooved tire, fitting loosely on the
rail. It was found however that in course of time the groove became so deepened
by wear as to fit the rail tightly, and thereby produce much friction. To
remedy this, Mr. Wyatt, the inventor, introduced a rail and wheel formed as
shown at b, fig. 7, in which the bearing surface of the rail and
the corresponding part of the wheel were flat. The rails being laid only two
feet apart, the carriages were necessarily small, and the friction
considerable; yet the saving of power effected was such that two horses
regularly drew a train of twenty-four waggons, each containing about a ton.
Edge-rails were adopted extensively by
the coal-owners of Northumberland and Durham, within a few years after the
successful experiment at Penrhyn.
The form of rail most generally adopted was even better
calculated to economise the strength of the iron than that of Mr. Wyatt. The
following figures represent a mode of construction introduced early in the
present century, and which is still used for colliery railways. The rails are
cast in lengths of three or four feet, and their greatest sectional dimension
is in the depth. They are made of what is called a fish-bellied form, the lower
edge being curved so as to give the rail greater depth in the centre than at
the ends or points of support. a,fig. 8, represents the cross
section of the rail in the middle, and b at the end. The ends are so
made as to form a half-lap joint (fig. 9), and they fit into a suitable
cavity in a cast-iron pedestal or chair, which is spiked down to the ordinary
stone blocks or wooden sleepers.
A side view of the rail with two chairs is given at c,fig.
8, and the upper part of the figure is a section of the railway as completed,
showing also the form of wheel employed. In this plan the protecting flange is
upon the wheel instead of the rail. By this arrangement the flange may be made
much smaller than that of a tram-plate, and the friction is usually still
further diminished by giving a slightly conical form to the wheel-tires, so
that the flanges are rarely brought into actual contact with the rails.
Although the principle of construction
here given is that most commonly followed, the details vary so much that hardly
any two railways are alike. The sectional forms of edge-rails, though very
various, generally resemble that here represented; and the fish-bellied profile
has been selected as having been formerly the most usual; althoughparallel
rails, or those of equal depth throughout, were also much used in the earlier
railways. The form of the chairs or pedestals, and the method of securing the
rails to them, are also very variable. In figs. 8 and 9 the rails are
represented as having half-lap joints, the two ends being placed together
between the cheeks of the chair, and fastened by a pin driven through the
whole. Sometimes the ends of the rails are made square, abutting against one
another in the chair, and secured by a separate pin through each rail. Since
the general introduction of locomotive engines, the use of pins has been
abandoned, as they have a tendency to work loose; and wedges or keys, which may
be tightened when necessary, have been applied in different ways in their stead.
In some cases edge-rails have{67}been cast with a pedestal attached to
one end, fitted to receive the opposite end of the adjoining rail.
The introduction of malleable iron as a
material for rails is an improvement which may perhaps be considered to have
done more than any other in preparing railroads for becoming the principal
highways of a commercial country. From the commencement of the use of iron
railways much inconvenience was caused by the frequent breakage of the rails,
especially those of the tram-plate form. The brittleness of cast-iron rendered
it necessary that the rails should be made much stronger than sufficient to
bear ordinary loads, that they might be able to resist accidental strains and
shocks; but although many of the earlier railways were relaid with heavier
rails than were originally supposed needful, breakages were of very common
occurrence. So long as the travelling was restricted to a low rate of speed,
the accidents and delays thus occasioned were of minor importance, but the
difficulty of guarding against them would no doubt have greatly retarded the
use of railways for the conveyance of passengers, if an adequate remedy had not
been provided before the experiment was made. Bars of malleable iron were laid
down as rails to a limited extent in or before 1808, and some engineers
advocated their use, notwithstanding the inconvenience arising from their
unsuitable form; no machinery being then used by which they could be made
economically in any other than a square or flat form. The desire to introduce a
more durable rail led also to experiments on the combination of wrought and
cast iron; but these and all similar contrivances were superseded in 1820 by
Mr. Birkenshaw’s invention of an efficient and cheap method of rolling iron bars
suitable for rails and other purposes. The fibrous texture of wrought-iron
makes it far less likely to break when subjected to concussion than cast-iron,
and the sectional form used is such as to render bending improbable. Malleable
rails, when in use, do not rust to any material extent, while the same rails,
if lying on the ground beside the track, rapidly waste away. It is also an
important advantage of malleable rails that they effect a reduction in the
number of joints: they are usually made fifteen feet long, while the
brittleness of cast rails rendered it unsafe to have them more than three or
four feet, the space between two points of support. Originally the long wrought
rails were confined to the parallel form, but they are now, by a very ingenious
adaptation of rolling-machinery, made fish-bellied when that form is preferred.
The application of railways was till
recently limited to the conveyance of minerals and merchandise, and that at a
very moderate velocity. The carriages were usually four-wheeled waggons, of
small dimensions compared with those used on ordinary roads, in order that the
weight might be distributed over a considerable length of road. Being guided in
the required direction by the flanges, it is unnecessary to attach the axles of
railway carriages in such a manner as to enable them to turn, and the wheels to
lock under the body, as in common vehicles; and for the same reason, combined
with the greater straightness of a railway, it is unnecessary to allow the
wheels to revolve independently of the axles. The most approved plan,
especially for edge-railways, is to fix the wheels firmly to the axle, and
allow the axle to revolve in bearings attached to the body of the carriage. The
wheels are almost invariably made of iron, those for slow traffic being cast,
and others either wholly or partially made of malleable iron, in order to
diminish the risk of fracture. Cast-iron wheels were found to wear very rapidly
when used upon wrought edge-rails, but the application of the case-hardening process
has rendered them more durable. From a very early period railway vehicles have
been fitted with an apparatus called a brake, consisting of a piece of
wood adapted to the form of the wheel-tires, and capable of being pressed
against them by levers or screws with sufficient force to impede or arrest
their revolution. Previous to the recent adaptation of railroads to rapid
travelling, the use of springs was not common either in carriages or locomotive
engines.
Animal power was the only means of
locomotion originally employed on railways to any considerable extent; but the
purpose to which they were applied, that of conveying mineral produce to a
place of shipment, led to the application of gravity as an auxiliary, and, in
some cases, as the sole source of motion. In such a case, where the inclination
of the ground is very moderate, the slope of the road is frequently so adjusted
that no greater power is required to take a loaded carriage down, than to take
it up again when empty. When a declivity occurs steeper than is convenient for
the ordinary power, an ingenious arrangement, called a self-acting inclined
plane, is occasionally resorted to; on which a loaded carriage, or train of
carriages, is allowed to run down by the force of gravity, drawing a rope,
which, after passing round a wheel at the top of the incline, is conducted down
the slope and attached to an empty train—the force of the descent of the loaded
vehicles being sufficient to cause the empty train to run up to the top of the
plane. This admirable contrivance was introduced in the latter part of the last
century, and is still extensively used. Stationary steam-engines, which draw
the carriages by means of ropes guided by pulleys or sheaves in the centre of
the track, have been used from an early period, generally in situations where
the ascent is too great to be conveniently mounted by horse-power. Locomotive
or moveable steam-engines, in many different forms, have also been tried at
various times since about the year 1805, although for more than twenty years
after that time their powers were very imperfectly developed.
In the following notice of the steps by
which the locomotive engine has been brought to its present state of
comparative perfection, those points only will be dwelt upon which are peculiar
to that machine as applied to railroads.
The possibility of applying the
steam-engine to the purposes of locomotion was conceived by several of its
earliest improvers, and in 1784 a plan was suggested in one of the patents of
Watt; but it does not appear that either he or any other inventor carried their
ideas into practice until about 1802, when Messrs. Trevithick and Vivian
patented a high-pressure engine which was admirably adapted for locomotive purposes.
Within a few years they built several carriages, one of which, at least, was
for use on a common road. In 1805 they made experiments with a machine similar
to that represented by the annexed cuts, on a tramway near Merthyr Tydvil, and
thereby proved the practicability of their plan. Notwithstanding the extreme
simplicity of this machine, it possessed almost all the essential arrangements
of the modern engines.
Fig. 10 is a side and end elevation of this machine,
the same letters in each referring to the same parts:
a is the boiler, which is of a cylindrical form, with
flat ends. The fire is contained in a large tube within, and on one side of,
the boiler. One end of this is seen at b, and the form is indicated by
dotted lines in the side view. This tube extends nearly to the opposite end of
the boiler, and then, being diminished in size, it is turned round and brought
out to the chimney at c. The fire-tube is completely surrounded by the
water, by which arrangement steam is generated with great rapidity and of a
high degree of elasticity. The steam cylinder is{68}placed vertically at d, being immersed nearly to the bottom of
the boiler, as shown by the dotted lines. The steam is admitted alternately
above and below the piston by means of a fourway-cock in a valve-box at the top
of the cylinder; and the waste steam, after propelling the piston, passes by
the eduction pipe e into the chimney, where its emission causes a strong
draft. The upper end of the piston-rod is attached to a crosshead f,
which slides up and down on vertical guides, and from the ends of which
connecting rods g g descend to cranks fixed on the axles of the
fore-wheels, which are thus caused to revolve like the fly-wheel of a
stationary engine: h is a safety-valve on the upper part of the boiler.
The immersion of the working cylinder in the boiler is happily contrived for
compactness and economy of heat, and has been frequently imitated in subsequent
engines; and the admirable arrangement of throwing the waste steam into the
chimney has been almost invariably followed, as it affords a blast always
proportionate to the speed of the engine, and the consequent demand for the
evolution of steam. This machine, when tried on the Merthyr tramway in 1805,
drew a train of waggons containing ten tons of iron and a considerable number
of persons, at the rate of five miles per hour. A supplementary carriage
followed the engine to carry a supply of fuel and water; and a small
force-pump, worked by the machine itself, maintained the requisite quantity of
water in the boiler.
Trevithick was aware that, although the
adhesion between the engine-wheels and the rails was sufficient to ensure the
progressive motion of his machine on a level or nearly level road, the wheels
would slip round without advancing if the inclination were considerable, or the
load attached too great. He therefore in his patent proposed to remedy this by
making the propelling wheels uneven by the projecting heads of bolts,
cross-grooves, or fittings to railroads, where the adhesion of the plain wheels
should prove insufficient. Being otherwise occupied himself, he did not proceed
with his locomotive experiments. An erroneous idea was for many years generally
entertained, that the adhesion of plain wheels was insufficient for any practical
purpose, and consequently much ingenuity was expended in contrivances for
securing progressive motion by other means. One of the most successful
experimentalists in this way was Mr. Blenkinsop, who, in 1811, patented a
locomotive engine in which the power was applied to a large cogged wheel, the
teeth of which entered a rack laid down beside the ordinary rails. Blenkinsop’s
engine was in other respects very similar to that of Trevithick, but two
cylinders and pistons were employed, working separate cranks at an angle of
90°, so that one was exerting its full force while the other passed its dead
points. Engines on Mr. Blenkinsop’s plan were worked for some years on a
colliery line near Leeds, and drew very heavy loads at a slow rate; but the
friction of the machinery was excessive, and they are consequently now disused.
In 1812 Messrs. Chapman constructed engines on eight wheels, all of which were
turned by the machinery in order to increase the adhesion. They also proposed
to stretch a chain or rope along the railway, which should pass round a grooved
wheel turned by the engine, and thereby aid the progressive motion.
In 1814 and 1815 engines were again
tried with plain wheels, and, being found efficient, were used upon railways in
the north of England. Several attempts have however been made since that time
to introduce contrivances for increasing adhesion, to enable locomotive engines
to ascend planes of greater inclination than they will do with smooth wheels
alone.
Patents were taken out in 1816 and 1817,
by George Stephenson, in connection with Messrs. Dodd and Losh, under which
several locomotives were constructed and brought into operation upon colliery
railways near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The boiler in these machines resembled that
of Trevithick, but the fire-tube passed completely through, instead of being
turned and brought out at the back. Two vertical cylinders were used, each
working a distinct axle and pair of wheels, the cranks of which were kept at
the requisite angle of 90° by means of an endless chain stretched over grooved
or toothed pulleys fixed on the axles; or, in the more recent engines, by
connecting rods outside the wheels. Engines of this kind seldom exceeded a
speed of about five miles per hour, unless unloaded, when they occasionally ran
at the rate of ten or twelve.
When the projectors of the Liverpool
and Manchester Railway were engaged in the design and execution of that great
work in 1825 and the following years, the advantages of locomotive
steam-engines were so imperfectly developed, that it was uncertain whether they
should he adopted. The experiment of forming a railway for passengers as well
as general merchandise traffic had scarcely been tried, although the Stockton
and Darlington Railway, which was opened in 1825, had done more than any of its
predecessors in showing the capabilities of a railway for such a use. As the
Liverpool line approached completion, the directors were convinced that
horse-power was ineligible, as it was intended to aim at considerable velocity.
It was not so easy to decide on the comparative merits of stationary and
locomotive engines. Various suggestions were made for the application of fixed
engines at intervals of a mile or two along the line, to draw trains by ropes
from station to station; but it was eventually determined to use locomotives,
and to offer a premium of 500l. for the best which would fulfil certain
conditions, of which some were that it should not emit smoke, should draw three
times its own weight at the rate of ten miles per hour, should be supported on
springs, not exceed six tons weight, or four tons and a half if on only four
wheels, and should not cost more than 550l. The trial was fixed for
October, 1829, when four steam locomotives were produced, one of which was
withdrawn at the commencement of the experiment. Of the other three, the
Novelty, by Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericson, was very light, and had the
requisite draft produced by a blowing-machine. Its performance was very
promising, until an accident with the boiler put an end to the experiment. More
recent attempts have been made to introduce engines of similar construction,
but they have not proved successful. The Sans Pareil, by Mr. Hackworth, was
very similar to Trevithick’s engine, but had two cylinders, both working the same
axle. The two pair of wheels were coupled together by connecting rods, so as to
make use of the adhesion of them all. This engine attained a velocity of
fifteen miles per hour with a gross load of nineteen tons, but at length gave
way owing to a trifling accident. The remaining engine, the Rocket, was
constructed by Robert Stephenson and Mr. Booth, of the Liverpool and Manchester
Railway, and succeeded in performing more than was stipulated for.
The following cut represents a side
view of the machine,
{69}with a cross section of a portion of
the furnace: a is a cylindrical boiler, with flat ends; b the
fire-box, which is double, as indicated by the cross section, the fire being
contained in the inner part, and the space of about three inches between the
inner and outer casing being filled with water. Twenty-five copper tubes of
three inches diameter extend longitudinally through the boiler, opening at one
end into the fire-box, and at the other into the bottom of the chimney at c:
d is one of the steam-cylinders, of which there were two, placed
diagonally on the sides of the boiler. The piston-rods worked in guides, and by
means of connecting rods transferred the motion of the pistons in a very simple
and effective manner to the large wheels. It was arranged as usual that one
piston was in the middle of its stroke while the other was at the end of the
cylinder, and consequently powerless. The waste steam passed from the cylinders
along the pipe e to the chimney, in order to produce draft: f fare
pipes connecting the water in the casing of the fire-box with that in the
boiler.
The use of several tubes of small
diameter instead of one large flue through the boiler, is the most important
peculiarity of this machine, as, owing to the great extent of surface of heated
metal thus placed in contact with the water, steam was produced with
extraordinary rapidity. This plan, which was suggested by Mr. Booth, has since
been carried to a great extent, by reducing the diameter and increasing the
number of the tubes. The inclined position of the steam cylinders caused the
motion of the machinery to interfere less with the play of the springs than if
they were placed vertically, but their situation had the disadvantage of
exposing them to the cold air, by which the power of the steam is diminished—an
inconvenience avoided in most subsequent engines by placing them horizontally
in a casing under the chimney. The nuisance of smoke was prevented by the
employment of coke as fuel. The Rocket, with a gross load of seventeen tons,
averaged a speed of fourteen miles per hour; but under some circumstances it
attained double that velocity. Subsequent engines built by Mr. Stephenson were
of much greater power.
Great as are the advantages realised
from this improvement in the means of intercourse, it is impossible, after the
lapse of only ten years, to form an adequate idea of their importance; but the
fact that it has led to an expenditure exceeding 60,000,000l. in the
construction of railways in this kingdom alone indicates the magnitude of the
changes introduced by it. Modern improvements will be treated of as they come
under notice in a sketch of the operations of designing, constructing, and
working a railway.
Locomotive Engines.—Since the successful adoption of
locomotive steam-engines on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, improvements
have followed closely upon one another, but they have been chiefly of a minor
character, when compared with that of tubing the boiler, which formed the
distinguishing feature of the Rocket engine. Stephenson built several engines
shortly after the competition in which the Rocket had proved victorious,
retaining this arrangement, but having the machinery disposed in a different
manner. The cylinders were placed in a box beneath the chimney, and the piston-rods
moved horizontally under the boiler, working two cranks formed on the axle of
the hind-wheels, which were then made the largest. The boiler and machinery
were attached to a massive frame, the sides of which were outside the wheels,
and rested, by means of springs and brass bearings, on the ends of the axles.
Bearings outside the wheels have this decided advantage over inner ones—which
are, nevertheless, preferred by some engineers—that the ends of the axles may
be turned away to so small a diameter as materially to diminish the friction,
without the risk of breakage which would attend the reduction of the axle
within the wheels. The superior economy of large engines becoming evident from
experience, it was deemed advisable to add a third pair of wheels, which were
made small, like the fore-wheels, and placed under the fire-box end of the
machine. The flanges on the two pair of small wheels being sufficient to guide
the machine, Stephenson removed them from the central or driving pair, which
thus{78}became mere rolling or propelling
wheels, and were relieved from the lateral strains arising from the flange
coming in contact with the rail at curves and switches; such strains having
been found injurious to the cranked axle and the machinery connected with it.
Some engine-builders still retain all the flanges, from an idea of greater
security. The following figures may give some idea of the locomotive engine in
this improved state, in which form it is now in use upon most of the railways
in this country, and several on the Continent and in America. Fig. 21 is
an elevation, and fig. 22 a longitudinal section, in which many minute
details are omitted, for the sake of distinctness.
Owing to the limited size of the
boiler, the steam which collects in the upper part is mixed with spray from the
water. A steam-chamber d is therefore added, in which it becomes free
from the spray, and then enters the steam-pipe that passes through the
smoke-box c to the cylinders or engines at e. A throttle-valve in
this pipe is placed under the command of the engineer by a rod passing through
the boiler and terminating in a handle connected with a graduated scale at the
back of the engine. By this the supply of steam to the cylinders is regulated
or cut off when necessary. Eccentrics for working the slide-valves, which admit
steam alternately to each side of the piston, are fixed on the main crank-axle;
and in some engines two pair are used, one for working in common, and the other
when the engine runs backwards. The steam cylinders are usually twelve or
thirteen inches diameter, and eighteen inches stroke; and the driving-wheels of
the engine from five to seven feet diameter, the small wheels being three or
four feet.
The pipe shown in the section passing
from the cylinders to the chimney is the blast-pipe for the exit of waste
steam, its upper end being tapered to give greater effect to the jet. At the
top of the chimney a wire-gauze cap is frequently fixed to arrest sparks and
small cinders which are often thrown up by the strong draft, and have been the
occasion of many destructive fires; but a more effectual remedy has been
recently introduced, consisting of a grating at the bottom of the chimney,
which stops the cinders before they are affected by the steam jet.—f and
g are safety-valves held down by springs, the former only being under
the control of the engine-driver.—h is a steam-whistle, which, by its
shrill sound, warns persons working on the line of the approach of an engine.—i
is one of two feed-pipes, communicating between the water-tank in the tender
and small forcing-pumps under the boiler, which are worked by the engine, and
ensure an equable supply of water in the boiler. Valves for regulating this
supply, handles for reversing the motion of the machine, steam and water
gauges, and numerous other conveniences are added, being placed within reach of
the engine-driver, when on the platform at the back of the fire-box. In order
to economise the heat by checking its radiation, the boiler is coated with
wood, and sometimes flannel is placed between them. The steam-dome and similar
parts are double, the space between the inner and outer casing answering the
same purpose. The tender, and sometimes the engine itself, is supplied with
powerful brakes, to arrest the motion of the wheels when necessary. Some of the
carriages also have them, and handles for working them are placed within reach
of the guards.
Stationary Engines.—Locomotive engines are very expensive
to work, on account of their necessarily limited dimensions, and the rapid
action of the working parts; while the addition of their own weight to the load
to be conveyed, and the injury they cause to the rails, form additional
disadvantages, from which stationary engines are exempt. But the smaller cost
of working stationary engines is met by a serious drawback,—the friction of the
rope used to convey their power to the carriages, and of the sheaves or pulleys
upon which it is supported. The use of stationary engines is generally confined
to those parts of a railway which are too steep to be conveniently worked by
locomotives; but a very ingenious{79}application of them has been introduced
for working the London and Blackwall Railway, which appears to possess some important
advantages for the working of a short line with numerous stations, as the
through passengers are not delayed by the stoppage of the train at intermediate
stations; each station having a distinct carriage, which stops and starts
independently of the rest. To avoid the inconvenience attending the use of
ropes is the object of the “atmospheric railway,” in which the power of
stationary steam-engines is communicated to the train by means of an exhausted
tube, instead of a rope. The diminished risk of collision is one advantage
attending the use of stationary instead of locomotive engines.
A tabular statement of the principal railways in the United Kingdom, to which some explanatory notes are added below, may appropriately close this paper.{This being p79}
The annexed Table of British railways is far from complete, yet it contains every line of general importance on which the conveyance of passengers by steam power is a principal object, whether such lines are opened or in course of construction. All merely projected lines are excluded, and also a few which have received the sanction of Parliament, but are not likely to be executed at present.** The reader who is desirous of further information on the Railways of Great Britain and Ireland will find a more complete table in the “Penny Cyclopædia,” Art. “Railway,” or in the “Companion to the Almanac” for 1841. The latter contains, in chronological order, every railway for which an Act of Parliament has been obtained, whether constructed or not.Unless otherwise specified, the railways included in this table are worked by locomotive steam-engines. The number prefixed to each line in the first column is for the convenience of reference, and, when followed by an asterisk, refers to a note on this page. The length given in the fourth column is usually that of the main line, independent of branches, which are often left unnoticed for want of room. The date of opening, in the sixth column, is that of opening throughout; partial openings being mentioned in the additional notes, to which references are inserted. Where the precise date of opening is not known, a dash is inserted in this column; and where it is left blank it indicates that the railway is in progress, but no part of it is complete and in use. The last column gives the gross sum which the company are authorised to raise for the undertaking, of which from one-fourth to one-third is usually procured by loans. The sum here stated often exceeds the actual outlay of the company; as, for instance, when new shares are issued at a discount, or powers are obtained for the construction of branches that are subsequently abandoned. In a few cases the sum actually raised is greater than the parliamentary capital, as mentioned in the notes on the Great Western and London and Birmingham Railways.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES TO THE TABLE at p. 80.
1. Leased to No. 30 Company.
2. 38½ m., from Hampton to Derby, opened in 1839.
3. 6½ m. of No. 11, from Cheltenham to Gloucester, used by this company.
5. The length and capital here given include the extension of 2½m. to Kenyon, though it was formed by a distinct company.
6. Rather more than 9 m. opened February, 1841.
8. Opened from Bristol to Bridgewater, 32½ m., June, 1841. Leased to the Great Western Railway Company.
9. This line commences 7½ m. from Bristol, on a colliery-railway, which is to be widened and improved, and extends to No. 11, at Standish, 7½ m. from Gloucester.
10. Worked by locomotive and fixed engines, and horses.
11. Opened from Swindon to Cirencester, 17 m., May 31, 1841. Leased to No. 22 Company. The part between Gloucester and Cheltenham is also open, and used by No. 3 Company.
13. The company was, in 1840, incorporated with the Grand Junction Railway Company.
14. From the Tees, about 4 m. below Stockton, to No. 50, at Sim Pasture, with many branches, which are included in the length stated. Used chiefly for coal, &c.
15. For minerals and merchandise. Worked chiefly by fixed engines and horses.
18. Opened to Brentwood, 17½ m. in 1840.
19. In progress. Made by No. 35 Company.
20. The length and capital are for the whole line, of which about 4¼ m., from Warrington to Newton, were formed by a distinct company.
21. Opened from York to Darlington, 44 m., in 1841. The southern part of the line is formed under an Act passed in 1837.
22. In addition to the parliamentary capital, as given in the Table, the directors have been authorised to borrow 600,000l. on loan notes. There have been several partial openings, the latest being May 31, 1841, which left only 13 m. incomplete.
26. Leased, in 1840, to No. 54 Company.
28. The capital in the Table includes 208,000l. for a branch at Manchester, to unite with Nos. 37 and 38, which is not yet (June 1841) commenced.
29. Chiefly for minerals. The length in the Table embraces numerous branches, which, with great part of the main line, have been made under an Act of 1835. Part was opened as early as 1833.
30. In addition to the parliamentary capital in the Table, the Directors have been authorised to borrow 250,000l. by loan notes.
31. Excepting a quarter of a mile at the London end, this line was opened in July, 1840. It is worked by stationary engines and ropes.
32. A branch of 5½ m., to Shoreham, was opened in 1840, and others are embraced in the Act, but not in progress. The whole of the branches amount to 19½ m.
35. The capital given is exclusive of the Gosport branch.
36. As originally intended, this line was 45½ m. from Manchester to Chebsey, with branches to Crewe and Macclesfield, making 26¾ m. more; but it is now proposed to abandon the main line, making only that from Manchester to Crewe, 38½ m., with a branch of 11 m. to Macclesfield. 5¼ m., from Manchester to Stockport, were opened in 1840.
38. The distance between Manchester and Leeds, by this line, is 60 m. Branches to Oldham, Halifax, &c., are intended.
39. Opened for coal, &c., 7¼ m. from Maryport, in 1840.
43. Formerly intended to extend to Cambridge. 16 m. opened in 1840.
45. The southern part of the line was formed as a separate undertaking. The statements of length and capital include this, which was called the Wigan Branch Railway.
50. The main line from Witten Park Colliery to Stockton is 28, or to Middlesbrough 32 m., and the total length of the lines specified in the Acts of Parliament is about 40 m. Several additional branches have, however, been made, extending the whole length of railway, in 1838, to about 54 m., of which 28 has a double track. The parliamentary capital is only 252,000l., but 450,000l. had been expended by the company at the time alluded to. The line is used principally for the conveyance of minerals.
51. Besides the main line of 24½ m., there are about 17 m. of branches, some of which are not yet completed.
52. Though in a forward state, the works are suspended on account of the difficulty of raising the capital required. On part of this line the atmospheric apparatus of Clegg and Samuda has been tried.
53. Worked chiefly by horse power.
56. Projected to extend to Johnstone, 22½ m. ; but only 5½ m. of the main line, and 6½ m. of branches, have been made. Improved in 1840, and connected with No. 64.
58. Worked by locomotive and stationary engines. There are railways from this line at Newtyle to Coupar Angus, and to Glammiss.
59. The length given includes branches. This line is worked by horses.
62. This line is chiefly used for the conveyance of minerals, &c. It is connected with the Ballochney, Kirkintilloch, Wishaw and Coltness, and Slamannan Railways, all of which are used in like way, the conveyance of passengers being a minor consideration.
63 and 64. 6½ m., from Glasgow to Paisley, is the joint property of these two companies. The Ayr line is to have a branch to Kilmarnock, and one or two others, amounting to 17½ m.
68. 8 m. of this line, from Belfast to Lisburn, were opened in 1839, and a further portion is in progress. Excepting this and the Drogheda line, the Irish railways may be considered to be in abeyance, though Acts of Parliament have been obtained for the construction of a few more.
{80}
|
PRINCIPAL RAILWAYS OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
| ||||||
|
No.
|
NAME.
|
COURSE, &c.
|
Length in miles.
|
Date of Act.
|
Date of Opening.
|
TOTAL CAPITAL.
|
|
£.
| ||||||
|
Aylesbury
|
No.
30, at Cheddington, 35 m. from London, to Aylesbury
|
7
|
1836
|
1839
|
66,000
| |
|
Birmingham
and Derby
|
No.
30, at Birmingham and at Hampton, to Derby
|
48½
|
1836
|
1,056,000
| ||
|
Birmingham
and Gloucester
|
No.
30, at Birmingham, to No. 11, at Cheltenham
|
45
|
1836
|
1840
|
1,266,666
| |
|
4
|
Bodmin
and Wadebridge
|
From
near Bodmin to Wadebridge, Cornwall
|
12
|
1832
|
1834
|
35,500
|
|
Bolton
and Leigh
|
Bolton
to Leigh, and thence to No. 28, at Kenyon
|
10
|
1825
|
1831
|
201,750
| |
|
Bolton
and Preston
|
No.
37, at Bolton, to No. 45 at Euxton
|
14½
|
1837
|
506,000
| ||
|
7
|
Brandling
Junction
|
No.
41, at Redheugh, to S. Shields and Monkwearmouth
|
15¼
|
1835
|
1839
|
400,000
|
|
Bristol
and Exeter
|
No.
22, at Temple Mead, Bristol, to Exeter
|
75½
|
1836
|
2,000,000
| ||
|
Bristol
and Gloucester
|
22
|
1839
|
533,000
| |||
|
Canterbury
and Whitstable
|
Canterbury
to Whitstable Bay
|
6¼
|
1825
|
1830
|
111,000
| |
|
Cheltenham
and Gt. Western Union
|
No.
22, at Swindon, through Gloucester, to Cheltenham
|
43½
|
1836
|
1,000,000
| ||
|
12
|
Chester
and Birkenhead
|
No.
13, at Chester, to the Mersey at Birkenhead
|
14½
|
1837
|
1840
|
499,999
|
|
Chester
and Crewe
|
No.
20, at Crewe, to No. 12, at Chester
|
20½
|
1837
|
1840
|
458,333
| |
|
Clarence
|
36
|
1828
|
—
|
500,000
| ||
|
Cromford
and High Peak
|
Cromford,
Derbyshire, to Whaley Bridge, Cheshire
|
33
|
1825
|
1830
|
197,280
| |
|
16
|
Durham
and Sunderland
|
Durham
to Sunderland. (Worked by stationary engines)
|
16
|
1834
|
1836
|
326,000
|
|
17
|
Durham
Junction
|
No.
23, at Moorsley, to Usworth, county of Durham
|
1834
|
1838
|
130,000
| |
|
Eastern
Counties
|
London,
by Colchester, to Norwich and Yarmouth
|
126
|
1836
|
2,533,333
| ||
|
Gosport
Branch
|
No.
35, at Bishopstoke, to Gosport.
|
15¾
|
1839
|
400,000
| ||
|
Grand
Junction
|
No.
30, at Birmingham, to No. 2S, at Newton
|
86½
|
1833
|
1837
|
1,957,800
| |
|
Great
North of England
|
No.
54, near York, to the Tyne at Redheugh
|
76
|
1836
|
1,730,000
| ||
|
Great
Western
|
Paddington,
London, to Temple Mead, Bristol
|
117½
|
1835
|
4,999,999
| ||
|
23
|
Hartlepool
|
Hartlepool
to Moorsley, county of Durham
|
15
|
1832
|
1836
|
492,000
|
|
24
|
Hull
and Selby
|
Humber
Dock, Hull, to No. 26, at Selby, Yorkshire
|
30¾
|
1836
|
1840
|
533,333
|
|
25
|
Lancaster
and Preston Junction
|
No.
45, at Preston, to Lancaster
|
20½
|
1837
|
1840
|
488,000
|
|
Leeds
and Selby
|
Marsh-lane,
Leeds, to the Ouse, at Selby, Yorkshire
|
20
|
1830
|
1834
|
340,000
| |
|
27
|
Leicester
and Swannington
|
The
Soar, at Leicester, to Swannington. (Chiefly for coal)
|
16
|
1830
|
1832
|
175,000
|
|
Liverpool
and Manchester
|
Lime-street
and Wapping, Liverpool, to Manchester
|
31
|
1826
|
1830
|
1,832,375
| |
|
Llanelly
|
Llanelly
to Llandibie, Carmarthenshire
|
26
|
1828
|
270,000
| ||
|
London
and Birmingham
|
Euston
Grove, London, to No. 20, at Birmingham
|
112
|
1833
|
1838
|
5,500,000
| |
|
London
and Blackwall
|
Fenchurch-st.,
London, to Brunswick Wharf, Blackwall
|
3½
|
1836
|
1,050,000
| ||
|
London
and Brighton
|
No.
33, near Croydon, to Brighton
|
41½
|
1837
|
2,400,000
| ||
|
33
|
London
and Croydon
|
No.
34, 1¾m. from London Bridge, to Croydon
|
8¾
|
1835
|
1839
|
741,000
|
|
34
|
London
and Greenwich
|
South
end of London Bridge, to Greenwich
|
3¾
|
1833
|
1838
|
993,000
|
|
London
and South-Western
|
Vauxhall,
London, to Southampton
|
76¾
|
1834
|
1840
|
2,140,000
| |
|
Manchester
and Birmingham
|
Manchester,
to No. 20 at Chebsey, and at Crewe
|
1837
|
2,800,000
| |||
|
37
|
Manchester
and Bolton
|
Irwell-street,
Manchester, to No. 6, at Bolton
|
10
|
1831
|
1838
|
650,000
|
|
Manchester
and Leeds
|
Manchester,
to No. 44, at Normanton. near Wakefield
|
50½
|
1836
|
1841
|
3,249,000
| |
|
Maryport
and Carlisle
|
Harbour
of Maryport, to No. 41, at Carlisle
|
28
|
1837
|
240,000
| ||
|
40
|
Midland
Counties
|
No.
30, at Rugby, to Derby, 49m. & to Nottingh.47¼m.
|
57
|
1836
|
1840
|
1,533,000
|
|
41
|
Newcastle
and Carlisle
|
Newcastle
and Redheugh, to Carlisle
|
61
|
1829
|
1839
|
1,250,000
|
|
42
|
Newcastle
and North Shields
|
Pilgrim-street,
Newcastle, to North Shields
|
6¾
|
1836
|
1839
|
320,000
|
|
Northern
and Eastern
|
No.
18, at Stratford, to Bishop’s Stortford
|
30
|
1836
|
1,200,000
| ||
|
44
|
North
Midland
|
Nos.
2 and 40, at Derby, to Hunslet-lane, Leeds
|
72½
|
1836
|
1840
|
3,400,000
|
|
North
Union
|
No.
28, at Parkside, by Wigan, to Preston
|
22½
|
1831
|
1838
|
730,000
| |
|
46
|
Preston
and Wyre
|
No.
25, at Preston, to Fleetwood-on-Wyre
|
19½
|
1835
|
1840
|
400,000
|
|
47
|
Sheff.,
Ashton under-L., & Manch.
|
Spital
Fields, Sheffield, to No. 36, at Manchester
|
40
|
1837
|
933,000
| |
|
48
|
Sheffield
and Rotherham
|
Brightside,
Sheffield, to Rotherham, and to No. 44
|
5½
|
1836
|
1838
|
200,000
|
|
49
|
South-Eastern
|
No.
32, at Red-hill, 20 miles from London, to Dover
|
66
|
1836
|
1,850,000
| |
|
Stockton
and Darlington
|
Stockton,
by Darlington, to Witten Park Colliery
|
28
|
1821
|
1825
| ||
|
Taff
Vale
|
Merthyr
Tydvil to the Port of Cardiff
|
24½
|
1836
|
1811
|
620,000
| |
|
West
London
|
Nos.
22 and 30, near Holsden-green, to Kensington
|
3
|
1836
|
280,000
| ||
|
Whitby
and Pickering
|
Whitby
Harbour to Pickering, N. R. of Yorkshire
|
24
|
1833
|
1836
|
135,000
| |
|
54
|
York
and North Midland
|
Tanner-row.
York, to No. 44, at Altofts, W.R. of Yorksh.
|
23½
|
1836
|
1840
|
669,999
|
|
SCOTLAND.
| ||||||
|
55
|
Arbroath
and Forfar
|
No.
57, at Arbroath, to Forfar
|
15¼
|
1836
|
1839
|
160,000
|
|
Ardrossan
|
Ardrossan
Harbour to Kilwinning, Ayrshire
|
5½
|
1827
|
—
|
106,666
| |
|
57
|
Dundee
and Arbroath
|
Trades-lane,
Dundee, to No. 55, at Arbroath Harbour
|
16¾
|
1836
|
1840
|
140,000
|
|
Dundee
and Newtyle
|
North
side of Dundee to Newtyle, Forfarshire
|
10½
|
1826
|
1831
|
170,000
| |
|
Edinburgh
and Dalkeith
|
Edinburgh,
by Dalkeith, to Newbattle
|
15
|
1826
|
1831
|
205,753
| |
|
60
|
Edinburgh
and Glasgow
|
Haymarket,
Edinburgh, to North Queen-street, Glasgow
|
46
|
1838
|
1,200,000
| |
|
61
|
Edinburgh,
Leith, and Newhaven
|
Princes-street,
Edinburgh, to Trinity Harbour
|
2¼
|
1836
|
140,000
| |
|
Garnkirk
and Glasgow
|
Glasgow,
by Garnkirk, to Cargill Colliery
|
8¼
|
1826
|
1831
|
169,195
| |
|
Glasgow,
Paisley, and Greenock
|
Near
Glasgow-bridge, through Paisley, to Greenock
|
22½
|
1837
|
1841
|
666,666
| |
|
Glasgow,
P., Kilmarnock, & Ayr
|
Near
Glasgow-bridge, through Paisley, to Ayr
|
40
|
1837
|
1840
|
833,000
| |
|
65
|
Paisley
and Renfrew
|
Paisley
to the Clyde, at Renfrew-ferry
|
3¼
|
1835
|
1837
|
33,000
|
|
IRELAND.
| ||||||
|
66
|
Dublin
and Drogheda
|
Custom-house
quay, Dublin, to Drogheda
|
32
|
1836
|
600,000
| |
|
67
|
Dublin
and Kingstown
|
Westland-row,
Dublin, to Kingstown Harbour
|
52/3
|
1831
|
1834
|
270,000
|
|
Ulster
|
Belfast,
by Lisburn and Portadown, to Armagh
|
36
|
1836
|
800,000
| ||
Paul
Screeton writes: The full text of this article can be found at:- cantab.net/users/michael.behrend/index
[END]
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