JAMES BICHENO FRANCIS. 333 



JAMES BICHENO FRANCIS. 



James Bicheno Francis was born at Soutlileigh, Oxfordshire, 

 England, May 18, 1815. He was sent to school at an early age, 

 but when his father was elected Superintendent of Construction of 

 the Forth Cawl South Wales Harbor Works, the lad, anxious for 

 practical work, applied for the position of, and became an assistant 

 to, the engineer. Later he was employed in the construction of the 

 Great Western Canal in Derbyshire. 



The works of inland navigation, the improvement of harbors, and 

 the construction of canals, afforded the great opening at that time for 

 engineers. But as a means of transport the canal could only be 

 availed of when a sufficient water supply could be secured, and the 

 speed of transit was not equal to the growing demands of maimfac- 

 turers and commerce. It was evident from the experience of coal 

 railways, which had been in use for a century, that this system of 

 transport, in its general application throughout a country, was supe- 

 rior to that of canals. With confidence in this decision, enterprising 

 men had undertaken the construction of railways in this country as 

 well as abroad. 



Cable traction and the locomotive had been used for some time on 

 coal roads, but their success on long routes had not been established. 

 When the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was undertaken, and 

 till nearly complete, the motor power had not been settled. A.t last 

 the board of directors decided to refer the matter to a commission of 

 engineers, who reported favorably on the adoption of the locomotive, 

 and drew up a specification for its construction. The report was 

 adopted by the directors, and a prize of £500 was offered for a loco- 

 motive to be tested on the railway, complying with the terms of the 

 specification. 



The results of the trial of the competitive locomotives, which took 

 place in October, 1829, settled the motor power for railways, and 

 gave an additional impulse to their construction and extension in this 

 country. 



Of the practical knowledge of the laying out of railroads and their 

 construction little was of course known anywhere, and especially 

 here. Graduates and students of West Point were detailed, or re- 

 signed from the army, to accept positions on railroads ; canal engi- 

 neers of more or less experience, and surveyors were drawn from 

 their works at home and abroad, — among others, young Francis, who 



