Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/746

RAILWAYS. therefore, consisted less in any advance in the mechanical features of railway transportation than in establishing the possibility of the railway as a common carrier of passengers and freight. Railway transportation in the modern meaning of the term began, thus, with the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

The success of the Stockton and Darlington Railway revived another railway enterprise which was destined to accomplish more in some respects for railway engineering than did the earlier road. This enterprise was the project for a railway line between Liverpool and Manchester, a distance of 30 miles. Construction was begun upon the road in 1826, with George Stephenson as chief engineer. Considerable difference of opinion existed as to the best method of operating the road when completed. Stationary engines had many advocates, including some of the most noted engineers of the day; others were in favor of horse power aided by stationary engines at the steep inclines, but few had any faith in locomotives, and Stephenson stood practically alone in openly advocating their use. His persistent earnestness, however, influenced the board of directors to offer a prize of £500 for the best locomotive engine which in a certain day should be produced on the railway and perform certain specified duties in the most satisfactory manner. The date of the test was October 1, 1829, and on this date four locomotives appeared to compete. One of these was the Rocket, built by Stephenson, and another was the Novelty, built by the Swedish engineer John Ericsson, afterwards famous as the designer of the iron-clad Monitor. The trials of these locomotives lasted until October 14th, when the prize was awarded to Stephenson's locomotive, the Rocket, which undoubtedly ranks as the first high-speed locomotive of the modern type. (See for description.) The success of the Rocket determined the motive power for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and incidentally for railways throughout the world. On September 15, 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was opened for traffic and on December 4th of the same year the locomotive Planet hauled the first load of freight, consisting of 18 wagon loads of cotton, 200 barrels of flour, 63 sacks of oatmeal, and 34 sacks of malt, from Liverpool to Manchester in two hours and thirty-nine minutes. As the model railway of its time the track construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway deserves some mention. Upon the graded surface was placed a layer of broken stone two feet deep. Stone blocks two feet square were set three feet apart and upon them and upon the wooden cross-ties used on embankments were fastened cast-iron chairs in which the rails were secured by wedges. The rails were of wrought iron 15 feet long and were rolled with the web deeper at the middle than at the ends. They weighed 35 pounds per lineal yard. The locomotive used has already been mentioned. The passenger cars resembled closely the familiar stage coach, while the freight cars consisted simply of a platform about 10 feet long, with sides from 4 inches to 10 inches high, mounted on four wheels.

In addition to establishing the practicability of the steam railway as a means of transportation for passengers and freight, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway proved the commercial value

of such thoroughfares so satisfactorily that projects for railway lines sprang up all over the world. In Great Britain in 1840, ten years after the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, there were 1331 miles of railway. These figures had increased to 6635 miles in 1850, to 10,410 miles in 1860, to 15,310 miles in 1870, to 17,935 miles in 1880, to 20,873 miles in 1890, and to 21,855 in 1890. Chronologically Austria-Hungary of the European countries ranks second to Great Britain in the construction of railways. The Austrian railway from Budweis to Lintz, 80 miles, was begun in 1825 and 40 miles were completed in 1828; it was operated by horse-power. In France the first railway, from Saint Etienne to Andrézieur, 13 miles, was also completed in 1828. The first steam railway in Germany, that between Nuremberg and Fürth, 4½ miles, was opened in 1835. To trace the development of the railway systems of these and other foreign countries in detail would exceed the limits of this article, and it must be sufficient to state the year in which the first important railway line was opened for traffic in each, as follows: Belgium, 1835; Germany, 1837; Russia, 1838; Netherlands, 1839; Italy, 1839; Switzerland, 1844; Denmark 1844; Canada, 1847; Spain, 1848; Mexico, 1850; Sweden, 1851; Peru, 1851; Chile, 1852; India, 1853; Norway, 1853; Brazil, 1854; Portugal, 1854; Australia, 1855; Egypt, 1856; Turkey, 1860; Paraguay, 1863; Argentine Republic, 1864; Venezuela, 1866; Uruguay, 1869; Greece, 1869; Colombia, 1880. The articles relating to these countries give further details concerning the history of railway development in them and the latest available statistics of mileage are presented in the accompanying Table I. It will be observed from these figures that nearly one-half the total railway mileage of the world is credited to the United States, and for that reason the history of the development of the railways of the United States has been allotted a paragraph by itself.

Common report has it that the first railway line in the United States was a short stretch of track laid by Silas Whitney on Beacon Street, in Boston, Mass., in 1807; the first line of which there is undisputable record was one three-quarters of a mile long constructed by Thomas Deiper at his stone quarry in Delaware County, Pa., in 1809. This was followed by several tram roads of similar character, the most important of which was one from Quincy to Newport, Mass., three miles long, and one at Mauch Chunk, Pa., nine miles long, both built in 1827. These roads had a track consisting of an iron strap on wooden rails, supported by stone blocks or wooden sills, and were operated by horses. The first attempt made in the United States to use locomotive engines, otherwise than for mere experiment, was made on the railway from Carbondale to Honesdale, Pa., 16 miles, built by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. Under instructions from this company its chief engineer, Horatio Allen, had ordered the building of these locomotives in England, and one of them, called the Stourbridge Lion, was placed upon the road in August, 1829, by Mr. Allen, who personally ran the engine during its first trip. In 1830 construction was begun on the South Carolina Railroad, with Mr. Allen as chief engineer, and upon his recommendation and by his advice the road was designed and built to be operated by steam