Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S. 34
and the cylinder and piston being vertical, the latter was attached to
a crank, which again was applied to the axles of the wheels, which made
them revolve at every double stroke of the piston. The whole of this
engine was mounted on a carriage; and this may be termed an improvement
upon Watt’s engine, and the second stage of this great invention.
Trevithick and Vivian being convinced of success, took out a patent for
the tubular boiler and the engine, for its application to common roads
and railways; and foreseeing that if the wheels were applied to the
smooth surface of a railway, the adhesion of their surface, combined with
the weight of the whole machine, would be sufficient to impel it forward
when worked by the engine, proposed that the peripheries of the wheels
should be smooth; but in other cases, where more grip or action might be
necessary, they proposed to add bosses or cogs to the peripheries of the
wheels. What they now required was to apply the invention to practice.
They accordingly were either invited or went to the Merthyr Tydvil Iron
Works, where iron tramways were in extensive use, and there proposed
an engine for drawing the waggons, instead of manual and horse labour.
The invention was greatly approved of, and the proprietors of the mines
determined to give it a fair trial. A locomotive engine was then made by
Trevithick and Vivian and placed on the railway. Waggons laden with ten
tons of iron and coal were attached to the engine, and, to the surprise
of all, it drew them at the rate of six miles an hour. This was in the
year 1802.
One would have thought that the principle, practice, and value of
the invention having been thus fairly demonstrated, the wealthy and
enterprising ironmasters would at once have adopted it and have brought
it into general use. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive why this was
not so. It is true that the machine was still cumbrous and difficult
to manage, and the cast-iron tramways were probably too light and
badly laid, so that they were frequently broken; still sufficient must
have been proved to show that these were defects that might easily be
remedied, and that continued practice would enable the inventors to
render both the locomotive and the railway more perfect. In almost
all new inventions, nothing is made perfect at first, and it requires
constant trials and much perseverance to remove obstacles which cannot be
foreseen, and the existence of which can only be proved by experience,
when the proper remedy can be applied. The attempt to introduce
locomotives on railways was not, however, for the time prosecuted further
at Merthyr Tydvil.
It may be asked, why did not Trevithick and Vivian pursue the matter
further elsewhere? I believe the answer to this is simply that they had
not the means; they had already expended so much in prosecuting the
invention that their resources were exhausted, and unless fresh pecuniary
aid came in they must necessarily abandon it, at least for the time.
Nothing is more difficult than to introduce a new invention, however
plausible it may appear at first sight. We become by habit so wedded to
our old ways that we are apt to regard anything new with indifference.
When it has succeeded, the more simple it is the more we are astonished
that we should not have perceived its value before; hence, unfortunately,
we so frequently find that many able men, who have made brilliant
discoveries and inventions which have conferred so much benefit upon
mankind, have exhausted their all, and have died of starvation, just at
the very moment when they have succeeded. Then some lucky one steps in
and derives all the advantage. Such was the fate of poor Trevithick, who
may be said to have been the inventor of the modern railway system. Even
Watt himself would have probably shared the same fate, if he had not
met with the great Matthew Boulton, who appreciated his inventions, and
furnished the means for carrying them into effect. The same may be said
of Cort, who introduced puddling, the simplest mode of converting cast
into wrought iron. Bessemer himself told me that he was nearly ruined
before his great discovery succeeded. In fact, numberless examples might
be adduced of this melancholy truth; but to my story.
The next example we find of the employment of the locomotive engine was
that of Blenkinsop, of Leeds, which was similar to, but more compact and
lighter than that of Trevithick and Vivian, and was applied to draw the
waggons laden with coal from Middleton Colliery, near Leeds, to that
town; I saw it at work in the year 1814. It then drew 20 tons at the
rate of seven miles an hour, at which I was much astonished. Although
quite a lad, I thought to myself, “Something more will come out of this
hereafter.” But the most singular thing connected with this was, that the
principle of adhesion to the rails by the smooth tired wheels, and the
fact of the power of a locomotive being in its weight, as laid down by
Trevithick, was completely forgotten, and the locomotive was propelled
forward by means of a toothed wheel driven by the engine, acting on a
corresponding toothed rack laid alongside the rails; this was nothing
more than Trevithick’s idea of bosses or teeth attached to the wheels,
but intended to be applied in a different way. Still the invention was
making its way. Blenkinsop’s engine excited great interest in the north,
especially in the neighbourhood of the Tyne and Wear, and numbers of
engineers, scientific men, and others went to see it, and being convinced
of its value, determined to introduce it into that district. Amongst
others, Mr. Blackett, of Wylam Colliery, who had seen Blenkinsop’s engine
and railway, perceived the error of attempting to propel the locomotive
by means of the toothed wheel and ratchet, and determined to revert to
Trevithick’s original design of the smooth tired wheels. Whether he had
heard of Trevithick’s invention or not, does not appear, although, as
the subject had become generally known, and numerous intelligent minds
had been directed towards it, it is very probable that he had. However,
be that as it may, he has the credit of reintroducing Trevithick’s
invention, and a locomotive, with improvements, leaving out the toothed
wheel and ratchet, was applied to a railway at Wylam with complete
success.
Amongst others who visited Blenkinsop’s railway and locomotive engine was
Mr. James, a general land agent and surveyor, at Newcastle, who was in
large practice, and had a respectable fortune. He was a man of enlarged
mind and great intelligence, and although not a practical mechanician, he
was so much struck with the effect of Blenkinsop’s engine and railway,
that he at once said it was a new mode of conveying passengers and goods
which must supersede all others, and become universal. In his enthusiasm
he wrote a long letter, addressed to the Prince Regent, on the subject,
in 1815, pointing out the value of this new mode of transport, the saving
which it would effect in manual and horse labour, the ease and expedition
with which goods and passengers would be conveyed, and the vast benefits
which would be conferred upon the country by the general introduction of
the railway system.
Immediately he set to work and devoted his whole energies and time,
regardless of his own business, to the promotion of this new mode of
transit. The celebrated George Stephenson, who up to this time had
been a working collier, began to emerge from his obscurity and exhibit
his genius to the world. James got acquainted with him, and being
greatly taken by his talent, imparted his views about the introduction
of railways, and, it is said, supplied money towards aiding him in
prosecuting the work. Be this as it may, Stephenson, who had seen
Blackett’s engine, was fully convinced of the soundness of the system,
and that it must become universal; and therefore, with his usual
indomitable energy and talent, he applied himself to promote and develop
the new scheme by every means in his power. He became acquainted, and
ultimately entered into partnership, with Mr. Lord, and established a
manufactory for locomotive engines at Newcastle, which maintains its
celebrity at the present day. He first made a locomotive of a new and
improved construction, which worked with considerable success upon the
Hetton Colliery railways. Next he was employed on the Stockton and
Darlington, for which he made several locomotives, all of which, be it
observed, were employed solely for carrying goods at the rate of about
eight miles an hour; and it was by no means anticipated that they would
be able to exceed that, or that they could calculate much upon general
passenger traffic. However, the success that had already attended their
efforts, made Stephenson confident that the railway system could be
equally well applied wherever there was a large traffic. James and
Stephenson then entered into a kind of partnership, and first proposed
to make a railway, in 1817, from Manchester to Liverpool, for between
those towns the traffic was so enormous that the Duke of Bridgewater’s
Canal and the Mersey could not accommodate it properly, and great
dissatisfaction was expressed at the delays and high charges. Nothing,
however, was done at the time, and it was not until the year 1825 that
the project was so far matured as to enable a company to be formed to
carry it into effect. This company was principally composed of gentlemen
from Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle; and George Stephenson was
their chief engineer. They went to Parliament in the year 1825, but were
so ill prepared to encounter the violent and powerful interests by which
they were opposed, particularly that of the Bridgewater Canal, which
enjoyed a very large portion of the traffic, that they lost their Bill.
The late Earl of Lonsdale, then Lord Lowther, one of the Lords of the
Treasury, a very able and intelligent young man, knowing me from my
connection with London Bridge, and with the Whitehaven Harbour, of which
I was the engineer (where his father was the chief owner of all the
great collieries round the town), asked my opinion about the proposed
new system, and whether I thought that it was likely to succeed. I told
him frankly that I thought it would. His lordship replied, “I think
so, too;” and he offered me the post of engineer to the Manchester and
Liverpool Railway, adding, “Although it will be greatly opposed, I think
we shall carry it.” I replied that my brother and myself would be happy
to undertake it, provided that we did not interfere with Mr. Stephenson
or any other engineer who had been previously employed. Lord Lonsdale
said that he would arrange all that with the Company, and my brother and
myself were accordingly appointed engineers-in-chief.
As we were left entirely to our own discretion to adopt the old or to
choose an entirely new line, we selected the present energetic and
talented engineer, Mr. Charles Vignolles, to make the necessary surveys
for Parliament. After examining the old line and the surrounding
country, we finally decided upon adopting the present one, which
passes over Chatmoss. Whilst we were proceeding with the survey, my
brother George and Mr. Vignolles met Mr. Bradshaw, who was the sole and
independent manager of the Duke of Bridgewater’s Canal, on Chatmoss,
not far from the line, and near his own residence. He went up to my
brother and introduced himself as the manager of the Duke’s Canal, and
my brother at once mentioned his name. Mr. Bradshaw shook him by the
hand very cordially, and said that he was glad to make the acquaintance
of the son of his old friend, Mr. Rennie, for whom he had the greatest
respect and friendship; and knowing what we were about, said that he, on
the part of the Duke’s Canal and the other water carriers, would oppose
the railway by every means in their power, and he felt pretty confident
that they could throw out the Bill a second and even a third time, if it
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