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

CHAP. XXIX.] NOTIONS OF FAST ENGINEERS. 353
George Stephenson, be entirely self-educated—were found
greatly their superiors.
With all the wholesome rivalry and competition to which we
have referred, and which tended to stimulate and strengthen their
practical ability, there was a considerable admixture of jealousy
and heartburning. It was long before Mr. Stephenson, notwith-
standing the immense engineering works he had planned and
executed, was recognized by the " regular " professional men as
entitled to the status of a Civil Engineer. He -had served no
apprenticeship, and could show no indentures. Even the me-
chanical engineers connected with the manufacture of steam-
engines regarded him as an interloper, denied him all merit, and
pursued him with detraction in the pages of their " Mechanics'
Magazine," long after the world had recognized his claims to dis-
tinction. This bitterness of spirit produced a similar spirit in
himself; and he occasionally entertained a resentment towards
his detractors which he could not and would not conceal.
The railway system, as established by Mr. Stephenson, was too
new as yet to command that prestige which belongs to older in-
stitutions. It was but in its infancy ; and the many able en-
gineers who rose up, naturally supposed it to be imperfect, and
capable of vast improvement. The scientific professional men
employed to survey the numerous new Unes of railway which
radiated in all directions from the metropolis, exerted themselves
to improve upon Mr. Stephenson's plans, and thereby to enhance
their own reputation. Indeed, they were sometimes twitted by
the press for following so closely in the footsteps of the com-
paratively uneducated men who had gathered their experience
in the Newcastle coal-pits. Several of the new engineers there-
fore determined to be original. About the year 1838, they
began to strike out many new lights, and to propound new plans,
by way of improvement upon the Stephenson system.
These aspiring engineers did not want followers enough
amongst railway speculators. In answer to the objections ad-
vanced against their plans, they cited the numerous predictions
which had so recently been uttered against the practicabiUty of
working the locomotive itself upon railways. Give them an
opportunity, and they would prove even the locomotive to be