The life of George Stephenson, railway engineer - Lighthouse ...

178 LIFE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON. [chap. xvi.
and make arrangements to enter into contracts for the supply
of the stone and wooden blocks on which the rails and chairs
were to be laid. It was determined in the jSrst place to proceed
with the works at those parts of the line where no deviation was
proposed ; and the first rail of the Stockton and Darlington
Railway was laid with considerable ceremony, by Thomas Mey-
nell, Esq., of Yarm, at a point near St. John's Well, Stockton,
on the 23d of May, 1822.
It is worthy of note that Mr. Stephenson, in making his first
estimate of the cost of forming the railway according to the in-
structions of the directors, set down, as part of the cost, 6,200^.
for stationary engines, not mentioning locomotives at all. The
directors as yet confined their views to the employment only of
horses for the haulage of the coals, and of fixed engines and
ropes where horse power was not applicable. The whole ques-
tion of steam locomotive power was, in the estimation of the
public, as well as of practical and scientific men, as yet in doubt.
The confident anticipations of Mr. Stephenson, as to the even-
tual success of locomotive engines, were regarded as mere spec-
ulations ; and when he gave utterance to his views, as he
frequently took the opportunity of doing, it had the effect of
shaking the confidence of some of his friends in the solidity of
his judgment and his practical qualities as an engineer.
When Mr. Pease discussed the question with Stephenson, his
remark was, " Come over and see my engines at Killingworth,
and satisfy yourself as to the efficiency of the locomotive. I
will show you the colliery books, that you may ascertain for
yourself the actual cost of working. And I must tell you that
the economy of the locomotive engine is no longer a matter of
theory, but a matter 'Of fact." So confident was the tone in
which Stephenson spoke of the success of his engines, and so
important were the consequences involved in arriving at a cor-
rect conclusion on the subject, that Mr. Pease at length resolved
upon paying a visit to Killingworth ; and accordingly he pro-
ceeded thither, in company with his friend Mr. Thomas Eichard-
son,* a considerable subscriber to the Stockton and Darlington
project, in the summer of 1822.
* Mr. Richardson was the founder of the celebrated discount house of Rich-
ardson, Overend, and Gournej', in Lombard Street.