II 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOCOMOTIVE 



THE Great Western opened their broad- 

 gauge railway with a curious lot of loco- 

 motives. Soon afterwards they appointed 

 to the care of the iron steeds a young 

 man who was to help to make locomotive 

 history, and finally end his career as chair- 

 man of the big system, which he saw grow 

 up from quite small beginnings. This 

 was Daniel Gooch, afterwards Sir Daniel 

 Gooch. 



When he took charge there were no 

 great works at Swindon; what locomotives 

 there were often broke down. Gooch men- 

 tions in his diary that he had not only 

 to be about all hours of daylight to keep 

 his iron horses at work, but at night he 

 used to sleep in a carriage in the repair 

 shops, so that he could be on call for the 



