Page:Once a Week Jul - Dec 1859.pdf/380

29, 1859.] Stephenson will  live  as  long  in  connection  with the great  Tubular  Bridge  and  the  other  mighty works of  which  he  was  the  chief  designer  and constructor.

Robert Stephenson  first  saw  the  light  in  the village of  Willington,  at  a cottage  which  his  father occupied after  his  marriage  with  Miss  Fanny  Henderson — a marriage  contracted  on  the  strength  of his  first  appointment  as  “breaksman ” to  the engine employed  for  lifting  the  ballast  brought  by the  return  collier  ships  to  Newcastle. Here Robert was  bora  on  the  17th  of  November,  1803. As the  cottage  looked  out  upon  a tram-way,  the eyes of  the  child  were  naturally  familiarised from infancy  with  sights  and  scenes  most  nearly connected with  his  future  profession. At this time, George  Stephenson's  means  were  small,  as indeed  may  be  guessed  from  the  fact,  that  nearly ten years  later  he  thought  himself  a happy  man when he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a post  as  engineer to a colliery  with  a salary  of 100l. a year. Notwithstanding these slender  resources,  the  liberal- minded father  found  means  to  give  his  son  such an education  as  could  be  obtained  in  a provincial town, to  which  the  energy  and  industry  of  the  son superadded such  of  the  rudiments  of  mechanics and engineering  science  as  he  could  pick  up  in the  long  winter  evenings,  in  the  library  of  the Literary and  Philosophical  Institute  at  Newcastle. Mr. Smiles  tells  us  how  keenly  the  father  felt  as he  grew  up  the  want  of  a solid  education,  and how perseveringly  he  laboured,  after  reaching  the years of  manhood,  to  make  up  for  lost  school-time during his  leisure  moments,  and  how  he  resolved that, poor  as  he  was,  his  son  should  not  suffer,  in like  manner,  by  the  want  of  early  instruction  in reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  to  which  he added  mechanics  as  a fourth  desideratum. The rudimentary and  experimental  knowledge  which Robert picked  up  in  his  father's  workshop,  came  in naturally  to  the  aid  of  the  theoretic  teaching  of books,  and  supplemented  his  science  by  practical capacity. As an  early  proof  of  the  latter,  we may  mention  that  there  still  stands  over  the  door of the  cottage  at  Killingworth,  then  occupied  by George  Stephenson,  a sun-dial,  the  production  of the  hands  of  the  son,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  a work  to  which  the  elder  Stephenson  looked  back with an  honest  pride  to  his  dying  day.

It is  now  just  forty  years  ago  since  Robert  was taken from  school  and  taught  to  feel  the  truth  of the  old  saying  of  Persius,  Magister  artis  venter. In 1818  or  1819,  we  find  him  apprenticed  as  an under- viewer  to  a coal  mine  in  the  neighbourhood of the  place  in  which  he  had  spent  his  childhood. Having devoted  a year  or  two  to  making  himself practically acquainted  with  the  machinery  and working of  a colliery,  he  was  sent  to  the  University of  Edinburgh,  where  he  spent  a session  in attending  the  courses  of  lectures  on  chemistry, natural philosophy,  and  geology. How far  he may  have  profited  by  this  opportunity  of  increasing his  scientific  knowledge,  we  have  the means of  ascertaining,  for  he  brought  home  a prize  for  mathematics,  much  to  the  delight  of  his father. He knew  the  value  of  opportunities,  and he had  the  great  secret  of  success— * the  art  of availing  himself  of  them. His mind  was  too  eminently  practical  to  forego  any  study  or  pursuit which was  calculated,  even  in  its  remoter  bear- ings, to help  him  on  in  the  great  struggle  of  life: and happy,  indeed,  are  they  who  can  look  back with regret  upon  so  few  opportunities  missed,  so few  court  cards  thrown  away  out  of  their  hands,  as Robert  Stephenson.

Having spent  a year  or  two  as  an  apprentice in his  father’s  manufactory  of  locomotives  at Newcastle  (even  at  that  time  a school,  if  not  of thought,  yet  of  action),  and  two  or  three  more years in  South  America,  whither  he  was  sent  to examine  and  report  upon  the  gold  and  silver  mines of Columbia,  he  returned  to  England  at  the  close of 1827. He found  the  public  mind  greatly excited upon  the  railway  question. “Can locomotives be  successfully  and  profitably  employed for passenger  traffic?”  was  still  a moot  point,  of which  his  father  sustained  the  affirmative,  alone against a host. It was  almost  a repetition  of Athanasius  contra  mundum,  when  George  Stephenson fought  the  battle  of  the  Locomotive — of  the Rail and  Wheel — or  as  he  himself  termed  them, “Man and  Wife.”  Mr.  Smiles  tells  us  how  he struggled  for  their  conjunction  in  the  committee-room  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  when  men deemed him  all  but  a maniac  for  persevering  in  his theory, how  bravely  and  tenaciously  he  persisted till he  had  succeeded. Joining forces  with  Mr. Joseph  Locke,  the  eminent  engineer,  the  son  not only wrote  the  ablest  pamphlets  on  the  subject  in debate,  but  he  greatly  aided  his  father  in  the  construction of  the  Rocket — the  celebrated  prize  locomotive— whose  powers  as  displayed  at  Liverpool at once  settled  the  question  at  issue: just  as  the trial trip  of  the  Great  Eastern  has  settled,  we  presume, the  much-debated  point  as  to  whether  so large  a ship  can  possibly  be  manageable  in  a heavy  sea.

One of  those  best  qualified  to  speak  to  his  contributions to  the  development  of  the  locomotive-engine  informs  us  that,  from  about  five  years  from his return  from  America,  Robert  Stephenson's attention  was  chiefly  directed  to  its  improvement. “None but  those  who  accompanied  him  during the period  in  his  incessant  experiments  can  form an idea  of  the  amazing  metamorphosis  which  the machine underwent  in  it. The most  elementary principles of  the  application  of  heat; of  the  mode of calculating  the  strength  of  cylindrical  and other boilers; of  the  strength  of  rivetting  and of staying  flat  portions  of  the  boilers,  were  then far from  being  understood,  and  each  step  in  the improvement of  the  engine  had  to  be  confirmed  by the  most  careful  experiments  before  the  brilliant results of  the  Rocket  and  Planet  engines  (the latter  being  the  type  of  the  existing  modern  locomotive) could  be  arrived  at.”

Stephenson’s time  was  not,  however,  so  fully taken up  during  the  above  interval  as  to  preclude attention to  his  other  civil  engineering  business, and he  executed  within  it  the  Leicester  and Swannington, Whitby  and  Pickering,  Canterbury and  Whitstable,  and  Newton  and  Warrington Railways,  while  he  also  erected  an extensive  manufactory  for  locomotives  at  Newton, in Lancashire,  in  partnership  with  the  Messrs. Tayleur. About the  middle  of  the  above  period