A History of the Growth of the Steam-Engine Part 15

constructed by Messrs. Braithwaite & Ericsson, the latter being the distinguished engineer who subsequently came to the United States to introduce screw-propulsion, and, later, the monitor system of iron-clads; the "Rocket," built from Stephenson's plans; and the "Sanspareil" and the "Perseverance," built by Hackworth and Burstall, respectively.

The "Sanspareil," which was built under the direction of Timothy Hackworth, one of Stephenson's earlier foremen, resembled the engine built by the latter for the Stockton & Darlington road, but was heavier than had been stipulated, was not ready for work when called, and, when finally set at work, proved to be very extravagant in its use of fuel, partly in consequence of the extreme intensity of its blast, which caused the expulsion of unconsumed coals from the furnace.

The "Perseverance" could not attain the specified speed, and was withdrawn.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 54.--The "Novelty," 1829.]

The "Novelty" was apparently a well-designed and for that time a remarkably well-proportioned machine. _A_, in Fig. 54, is the boiler, _D_ the steam-cylinders, _E_ a heater. Its weight but slightly exceeded three tons, and it was a "tank engine," carrying its own fuel and water at _B_. A forced draught was obtained by means of the bellows, _C_. This engine was run over the line at the rate of about 28 miles an hour at times, but its blowing apparatus failed, and the "Rocket" held the track alone. A later trial still left the "Rocket"

alone in the field.

The "Rocket" (Fig. 55) was built at the works of Robert Stephenson & Co., at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The boiler was given considerable heating-surface by the introduction of 25 3-inch copper tubes, at the suggestion of Henry Booth, secretary of the railroad company. The blast was altered by gradually closing in the opening at the extremity of the exhaust-pipe, and thus "sharpening" it until it was found to have the requisite intensity. The effect of this modification of the shape of the pipe was observed carefully by means of syphon water-gauges attached to the chimney. The draft was finally given such an intensity as to raise the water 3 inches in the tube of the draught-gauge. The total length of the boiler was 6 feet, its diameter 40 inches. The fire-box was attached to the rear of the boiler, and was 3 feet high and 2 feet wide, with water-legs to protect its side-sheets from injury by overheating. The cylinders, as seen in the sketch, were inclined, and coupled to a single pair of driving-wheels. A tender, attached to the engine, carried the fuel and water. The engine weighed less than 4-1/2 tons.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 55.--The "Rocket," 1829.]

The little engine does not seem to have been very prepossessing in appearance, and the "Novelty" is said to have been the general favorite, the Stephenson engine having few, if any, backers among the spectators. On its first trial, it ran 12 miles in less than an hour.

After the accident which disabled the "Novelty," the "Rocket" came forward again, and ran at the rate of from 25 to 30 miles an hour, drawing a single carriage carrying 30 pa.s.sengers. Two days later, on the 8th of October, steam was raised in a little less than an hour from cold water, and it then, with 13 tons of freight in the train, ran 35 miles in 1 hour and 48 minutes, including stops, and attained a speed of 29 miles an hour. The average of all runs for the trial was 15 miles an hour.

This success, far exceeding the expectation of the most sanguine of the advocates of the system, and greatly exceeding what had been a.s.serted by opponents to be the bounds of possibility, settled completely the whole question, and the Manchester & Liverpool road was at once equipped with locomotive engines.

The "Rocket" remained on the line until 1837, when it was sold, and set at work by the purchasers on the Midgeholme Railway, near Carlisle. On one occasion, on this road, it was driven 4 miles in 4-1/2 minutes. It is now in the Patent Museum at South Kensington, London.

In January, 1830, a single line of rails had been carried across Chat Moss, and, six months later, the first train, drawn by the "Arrow,"

ran through, June 14th, from Liverpool to Manchester, making the trip in an hour and a half, and attaining a maximum speed of over 27 miles an hour. The line was formally opened to traffic September 15, 1830.

This was one of the most notable occasions in the history of the railroad, and the successful termination of the great work was celebrated, as so important an event should be, by impressive ceremonies. Among the distinguished spectators were Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington. Mr. Huskisson, a Member of Parliament for Liverpool, was also present. There had been built for the line, by Robert Stephenson & Co., 7 locomotives besides the "Rocket," and a large number of carriages. These were all brought out in procession, and 600 pa.s.sengers entered the train, which started for Manchester, and ran at times, on smooth portions of the road, at the rate of 20 and 25 miles an hour. Crowds of people along the line cheered at this strange and to them incomprehensible spectacle, and the story of the wonderful performances of that day on the new railroad was repeated in every corner of the land. A sad accident, the precursor of thousands to follow the introduction of the new method of transportation, while it repressed the rising enthusiasm of the people and dampened the ardor of the most earnest of the advocates of the railroad, occurring during this trip, a.s.sisted in making known the power of the new motor and the danger attending its use as well. The trains stopped for water at Parkside, and occasion was taken to send the "Northumbrian," an engine driven by George Stephenson himself, on a side track, with the carriage containing the Duke of Wellington, and the other engines and trains were all directed to be sent along the main track in view of the Duke and his party. While this movement was in process of execution, Mr. Huskisson, who had carelessly stood on the main line until the "Rocket," which led the column, had nearly reached him, attempted to enter the carriage of the Duke. He was too late, and was struck by the "Rocket," thrown down across the rail, and the advancing engine crushed a leg so seriously that he died the same evening.

Immediately after the accident, he was placed on the "Northumbrian,"

and Stephenson made the 15 miles to the destination of the wounded man in 25 minutes--a speed of 36 miles an hour. The news of this accident, and the statement of the velocity of the engine, were published throughout the kingdom and Europe; and the misfortune of this first victim of a railroad accident was one of the causes of the immediate adoption and rapid spread of the modern railway system.

This road, which was built in the hope of securing 400 pa.s.sengers per day, almost immediately averaged 1,200, and in five years reported 500,000 pa.s.sengers for the year.[54] The success of this road insured the general introduction of railroads, and from this time forward there was never a doubt of their ultimate adoption to the exclusion of every other system of general internal communication and transportation.

[54] Smiles.

For some years after this his first great triumph, George Stephenson gave his whole time to the building of railroads and the improvement of the engine. He was a.s.sisted by his son Robert, to whom he gradually surrendered his business, and retired to Tapton House, on the Midland Railway, and led a busy but pleasant life during the remaining years of his existence.

Even as early as 1840, he seems to have projected many improvements which were only generally adopted many years later. He proposed self-acting and continuous systems of brake, and considered a good system of brake of so great importance, that he advocated their compulsory introduction by State legislation. He advised moderate speeds, from considerations both of safety and of expense.

A few years after the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester road, great numbers of schemes were proposed by ignorant or designing men, which had for their object the filling of the pockets of their proposers rather than the benefit of the stockholders and the public; and the Stephensons were often called upon to combat these crude and ill-digested plans. Among these was the pneumatic system of propulsion, already referred to as first proposed by Papin, in combination with his double-acting air-pump, in 1687. It had been again proposed in the early part of the present century by Medhurst, who proposed a method of pneumatic transmission of small parcels and of letters, which is now in use, and, 15 years later, a railroad to take the place of that of Stephenson and his coadjutors. The most successful of several attempts to introduce this method was that of Clegg & Samuda, at West London, and on the London & Croydon road, and again in Ireland, between Kingstown and Dalkey. A line of pipe, _B B_, seen in Fig. 56, two feet in diameter, was laid between the rails, _A A_, of the road. This pipe was fitted with a nicely-packed piston, carrying a strong arm, which rose through a slit made along the top of the pipe, and covered by a flexible strip of leather, _E E_. This arm was attached to the carriage, _C C_, to be propelled. The pressure of the atmosphere being removed, by the action of a powerful pump, from the side toward which the train was to advance, the pressure of the atmosphere on the opposite side drove the piston forward, carrying the train with it. Stephenson was convinced, after examining the plans of the projectors, that the scheme would fail, and so expressed himself.

Those who favored it, however, had sufficient influence with capitalists to secure repeated trials, although each was followed by failure, and it was several years before the last was heard of this system.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 56.--The Atmospheric Railroad.]

A considerable portion of several of the later years of Stephenson's life was spent in traveling in Europe, partly on business and partly for pleasure. During a visit to Belgium in 1845, he was received everywhere, and by all cla.s.ses, from the king down to the humblest of his subjects, with such distinction as is rarely accorded even to the greatest men. He soon after visited Spain with Sir Joshua Walmsley, to report on a proposed railway from the capital to the Bay of Biscay. On this journey he was taken ill, and his health was permanently impaired. Thenceforward he devoted himself princ.i.p.ally to the direction of his own property, which had become very considerable, and spent much of his time at the collieries and other works in which he had invested it. His son had now entirely relieved him of all business connected with railroads, and he had leisure to devote to self-improvement and social amus.e.m.e.nt. Among his friends he claimed Sir Robert Peel, his old acquaintance, now Sir William, Fairbairn, Dr.

Buckland, and many others of the distinguished men of that time.

In August, 1848, Stephenson was attacked with intermittent fever, succeeded by haemorrhage from the lungs, and died on the 12th of that month, at the age of sixty-six years, honored of all men, and secure of an undying fame. Soon after his death, statues were erected at Liverpool, London, and Newcastle, the cost of the second of which was defrayed by private subscriptions, including a contribution of about $1,500 by 3,150 workingmen--one of the finest tributes ever offered to the memory of a great man.

But the n.o.blest monument is that which he himself erected by the establishment of a system of education and protection of his working-people at Clay Cross. He made it a condition of employment that every employe should contribute from five to twelve pence each fortnight to a fund, to which the works also made liberal contributions. From that fund it was directed that the expenses of free education of the children of the work-people, night-schools for those employed in the works, a reading-room and library, medical treatment, and a benevolent fund were to be defrayed. Music and cricket-clubs, and prize funds for the best garden, were also founded.

The school, public hall, and the church of Clay Cross, and this n.o.ble system of support, are together a n.o.bler monument than any statue or similar structure could be.

The character of George Stephenson was in every way admirable. Simple, earnest, and honorable; courageous, indomitable, and industrious; humorous, kind, and philanthropic, his memory will long be cherished, and will long prove an incentive to earnest effort and to the pursuit of an honorable fame with hundreds of the youth who, reading his simple yet absorbing story, as told by his biographer, shall in later years learn to know him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 57.--Stephenson's Locomotive, 1833.]

After the death of his father, Robert Stephenson continued, as he had already done for several years, to conduct the business of building locomotives, as well as of constructing railroads. The work of locomotive engine-building was done at Newcastle, and for many years those works were the princ.i.p.al engine-building establishment of the world.

After their introduction on the Liverpool & Manchester road, the engines of the firm of Robert Stephenson & Co. were rapidly modified, until they a.s.sumed the form shown in Fig. 57, which remained standard until their gradual increase in weight compelled the builders to place a larger number of wheels beneath them, and make those other changes which finally resulted in the creation of distinct types for special kinds of work. In the engine of 1833, as shown above, the cylinders, _A_, are carried at the extreme forward end of the boiler, and the driving-wheels, _B_, are coupled directly to the connecting-rod of the engine and to each other. A buffer, _C_, extends in front, and the rear end of the boiler is formed into a rectangular fire-box, _D_, continuous with the sh.e.l.l, _E_, and the flame and gases pa.s.s to the connection and smoke-pipe, _F_, _G_, through a large number of small tubes, _a_. Steam is led to the cylinders by a steam-pipe, _H H_, to which it is admitted by the throttle-valve, _b_. A steam-dome, _I_, from which the steam is taken, a.s.sists by giving more steam-s.p.a.ce far above the water-line, and thus furnishing dry steam. The exhaust steam issues with great velocity into the chimney from the pipe, _J_, giving great intensity of draught. The engine-driver stands on the platform, _K_, from which all the valves and handles are accessible. Feed-pumps, _L_, supply the boiler with water, which is drawn from the tender through the pipes, _e_, _f_.

The valve-gear was then substantially what it is to-day, the "Stephenson link" (Fig. 58). On the driving-axle were keyed two eccentrics, _E_, so set that the motion of the one was adapted to driving the valve when the engine was moving forward, and the other was arranged to move the valve when running backward. The former was connected, through its strap and the rod, _B_, to the upper end of a "strap-link," _A_, while the second was similarly connected with the lower end. By means of a handle, _L_, and the link, _n_, and its connections, including the counterweighted bell-crank, _M_, this link could be raised or depressed, thus bringing the pin on the link-block, to which the valve-stem was connected, into action with either eccentric. Or, the link being set in mid-gear, the valve would cover both steam-ports of the cylinder, and the engine could move neither way. As shown, the engine is in position to run backward. A series of notches, _Z_, into either of which a catch on _L_ could be dropped, enabled the driver to place the link where he chose. In intermediate positions, between mid-gear and full-gear, the motion of the valve is such as to produce expansion of the steam, and some gain in economy of working, although reducing the power of the engine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 58.--The Stephenson Valve-Gear, 1833.]

The success of the railroad and the locomotive in Great Britain led to its rapid introduction in other countries. In France, as early as 1823, M. Beaunier was authorized to construct a line of rails from the coal-mines of St. etienne to the Loire, using horses for the traction of his trains; and in 1826, MM. Seguin began a road from St. etienne to Lyons. In 1832, engines built at Lyons were subst.i.tuted for horses on these roads, but internal agitations interrupted the progress of the new system in France, and, for 10 years after the opening of the Manchester & Liverpool road, France remained without steam-transportation on land.

In Belgium the introduction of the locomotive was more promptly accomplished. Under the direction of Pierre Simon, an enterprising and well-informed young engineer, who had become known princ.i.p.ally as an advocate of the even then familiar project of a ca.n.a.l across the Isthmus of Darien, very complete plans of railroad communication for the kingdom were prepared, in compliance with a decree dated July 31, 1834, and were promptly authorized. The road between Brussels and Mechlin was opened May 6, 1837, and other roads were soon built; and the railway system of Belgium was the first on the Continent of Europe.

The first German railroad worked with locomotive steam-engines was that between Nuremberg and Furth, built under the direction of M.

Denis. The other European countries soon followed in this rapid march of improvement.

In the United States, public attention had been directed to this subject, as has already been stated, very early in the present century, by Evans and Stevens. At that time the people of the United States, as was natural, closely watched every important series of events in the mother-country; and so remarkable and striking a change as that which was taking place in the time of Stephenson, in methods of communication and transportation, could not fail to attract general attention and awaken universal interest.

Notwithstanding the success of the early experiments of Evans and others, and in spite of the statesmanlike arguments of Stevens and Dearborn, and the earnest advocacy of the plan by all who were familiar with the revelations which were daily made of the power and capabilities of the steam-engine, it was not until after the opening of the Manchester & Liverpool road that any action was taken looking to the introduction of the locomotive. Colonel John Stevens, in 1825, had built a small locomotive, which he had placed on a circular railway before his house--now Hudson Terrace--at Hoboken, to prove that his statements had a basis of fact. This engine had two "lantern"

tubular boilers, each composed of small iron tubes, arranged vertically in circles about the furnaces.[55] This exhibition had no other effect, however, than to create some interest in the subject, which aided in securing a rapid adoption of the railroad when once introduced.

[55] One of these sectional boilers is still preserved in the lecture-room of the author, at the Stevens Inst.i.tute of Technology.

The first line of rails in the New England States is said to have been laid down at Quincy, Ma.s.s., from the granite quarry to the Neponset River, three miles away, in 1826 and 1827. That between the coal-mines of Mauch Chunk, Pa., and the river Lehigh, nine miles distant, was built in 1827. In the following year the Delaware & Hudson Ca.n.a.l Company built a railroad from their mines to the termination of the ca.n.a.l at Honesdale. These roads were worked either by gravity or by horses and mules.

The compet.i.tion at Rainhill, on the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad, had been so widely advertised, and promised to afford such conclusive evidence relative to the value of the locomotive steam-engine and the railroad, that engineers and others interested in the subject came from all parts of the world to witness the trial. Among the strangers present were Mr. Horatio Allen, then chief-engineer of the Delaware & Hudson Ca.n.a.l Company, and Mr. E. L. Miller, a resident of Charleston, S. C., who went from the United States for the express purpose of seeing the new machines tested.

Mr. Allen had been authorized to purchase, for the company with which he was connected, three locomotives and the iron for the road, and had already shipped one engine to the United States, and had set it at work on the road. This engine was received in New York in May, 1829, and its trial took place in August at Honesdale, Mr. Allen himself driving the engine. But the track proved too light for the locomotive, and it was laid up and never set at regular work. This engine was called the "Stourbridge Lion"; it was built by Foster, Rastrick & Co., of Stourbridge, England. During the summer of the next year, a small experimental engine, which was built in 1829 by Peter Cooper, of New York, was successfully tried on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, at Baltimore, making 13 miles in less than an hour, and moving, at some points on the road, at the rate of 18 miles an hour. One carriage carrying 36 pa.s.sengers was attached. This was considered a working-model only, and was rated at one horse-power.

Ross Winans, writing of this trial of Cooper's engine, makes a comparison with the work done by Stephenson's "Rocket," and claims a decided superiority for the former. He concluded that the trial established fully the practicability of using locomotives on the Baltimore & Ohio road at high speeds, and on all its curves and heavy gradients, without inconvenience or danger.

This engine had a vertical tubular boiler, and the draught was urged, like that of the "Novelty" at Liverpool, by mechanical means--a revolving fan. The single steam-cylinder was 3-1/4 inches in diameter, and the stroke of piston 14-1/2 inches. The wheels were 30 inches in diameter, and connected to the crank-shaft by gearing. The engine, on the trial, worked up to 1.43 horse-power, and drew a gross weight of 4-1/2 tons. Mr. Cooper, unable to find such tubes as he needed for his boiler, used gun-barrels. The whole machine weighed less than a ton.

Messrs. Davis & Gartner, a little later, built the "York" for this road--a locomotive having also a vertical boiler, of very similar form to the modern steam fire-engine boiler, 51 inches in diameter, and containing 282 fire-tubes, 16 inches long, and tapering from 1-1/2 inches diameter at the bottom to 1-1/4 at the top, where the gases were discharged through a combustion-chamber into a steam-chimney.

This engine weighed 3-1/2 tons.

They subsequently built several "gra.s.shopper" engines (Fig. 59), some of which ran many years, doing good work, and one or two of which are still in existence. The first--the "Atlantic"--was set at work in September, 1832, and hauled 50 tons from Baltimore 40 miles, over gradients having a maximum rise of 37 feet to the mile, and on curves having a minimum radius of 400 feet, at the rate of 12 to 15 miles an hour. This engine weighed 6-1/2 tons, carried 50 pounds of steam--a pressure then common on both continents --and burned a ton of anthracite coal on the round trip. The blast was secured by a fan, and the valve-gear was worked by cams instead of eccentrics. This engine made the round trip at a cost of $16, doing the work of 42 horses, which had cost $33 per trip. The engine cost $4,500, and was designed by Phineas Davis, a.s.sisted by Ross Winans.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 59.--The "Atlantic," 1882.]

Mr. Miller, on his return from the Liverpool & Manchester trial, ordered a locomotive for the Charleston & Hamburg Railroad from the West Point Foundery. This engine was guaranteed by Mr. Miller to draw three times its weight at the rate of 10 miles an hour. It was built during the summer of 1830, from the plans of Mr. Miller, and reached Charleston in October. The trials were made in November and December.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 60.--The "Best Friend," 1830.]

This engine (Fig. 60) had a vertical tubular boiler, in which the gases rose through a very high fire-box, into which large numbers of rods projected from the sides and top, and pa.s.sed out through tubes leading them laterally outward into an outside jacket, through which they rose to the chimney. The steam-cylinders were two in number, 8 inches in diameter and of 16 inches stroke, inclined so as to connect with the driving-axle. The four wheels were all of the same size, 4-1/2 feet in diameter, and connected by coupling-rods. The engine weighed 4-1/2 tons. The "Best Friend," as it was called, did excellent work until June, 1831, when the explosion of the boiler, in consequence of the recklessness of the fireman, unexpectedly closed its career.