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

CHAP. XVII.] THE "EXPERIMENT." jgg
" Giant and the Dwarf" and other wonders of the world, than a
passenger coach of any extant form. A row of seats ran along
each side of the interior, and a long deal table was fixed in the
centre ; the access being by means of a door at the end, in the
manner of an omnibus. This coach arrived from Newcastle the
day before the opening, and formed part of the railway proces-
sion above described. Mr. Stephenson was consulted as to the
name of the coach, and he at once suggested the " Experiment ;
and by this name it was called. The company's arms were
afterwards painted on her panels, with the motto of " Periculum
privatum utilitas publica." Such was the sole passenger carry-
ing stock of the Stockton and Darlington Company in the year
1825. But the "Experiment" proved the forerunner of a
mighty traffic ; and long time did not elapse before it was dis-
placed, not only by improved coaches (still drawn by horses),
but afterwards by long trains of passenger carriages drawn by
locomotive engines.
No sooner did the coal and merchandise trains begin to run
regularly upon the line, than new business relations sprang up
between Stockton and Darlington, and there were many more
persons who found occasion to travel between the two towns,
merchandise and mineral traffic invariably stimulating, if not
— "
calling into existence, an entirely new traffic in passengers.
Before the construction of the line, the attempt had been made
to run a coach between Stockton, Darlington, and Barnard
Castle three times a week ; but it was starved off the road for
want of support. Now, however, that there were numbers of
people desiring to travel, the stage-coach by the common road
was revived, and prospered, and many other persons connected
with the new traffic got a " lift " by the railway wagons, which
were even more popular than the stage-coach.
The " Experiment " was fairly started as a passenger-coach
on the 10th of October, 1825, a fortnight after the opening of
the line. It was drawn by one horse, and performed a journey
daily each way between the two towns, accomplishing the dis-
tance of twelve miles in about two hours. The fare charged
was a shilling, without distinction of class ; and each, passenger
was allowed fourteen pounds of luggage free. The " Experi-