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

CHAP, xxvn.] PROMOTES LOCAL IMPROVEMENTS. 319
of efficient pumping engines, and the skilful casing of the shaft
with segments of cast iron—a process called " tubbing," which
Mr. Stephenson was the first to adopt in the Midland counties,
it was eventually made water-tight, and the sinking proceeded.
When a depth of 166 feet had been reached, a still more formi-
dable difficulty presented itself,—one which had baffled former
sinkers, and deterred them from further operations. This was
a dyke of fused granite, which had been brought down by vol-
canic action from the adjacent Charnwood Forest range, and
here overlapped the coal-bed of the district. Mr. Stephenson
fell back upon his old motto, " Persevere :
" he determined to go
on boring ; and down through the solid granite he went until,
twenty-two feet lower, he came upon the coal measures. In the
mean time, however, lest the boring at this point should prove
unsuccessful, he had commenced sinking another pair of shafts
;
about a quarter of a mile west of the " fault " and after about
nine months' labour he reached the principal seam, called the
"main coal."
The works were then opened out on a large scale, and Mr.
Stephenson had the pleasure and good fortune to send the first
train of main coal to Leicester by railway. The price was im-
mediately reduced there to about 8s. a ton, effecting a pecuniary
saving to the inhabitants of the town of about 40,000Z. per annum,
or equivalent to the whole amount then collected in government
taxes and local rates, besides giving an impetus to the manufac-
turing prosperity of the place, which has continued down to the
present day. The correct and scientific principles upon which
he conducted his mining operations at Snibston, offered a salutary
example to the neighbouring colliery owners. The numerous
improvements which he introduced were freely exhibited to all,
and they were afterwards reproduced in many forms all over the
Midland Counties, greatly to the advantage of the mining inter-
ests.
At the same time Mr. Stephenson endeavoured to extend the
benefit of railways throughout the district in which he now re-
sided. He suggested to Lord Stamford the importance of con-
structing a branch line from the Leicester and Swannington
Railway through his property, principally for the purpose of
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