150 Book of Locomotives 



time, too, opposition to the railways and 

 the locomotives had largely died down; a 

 new generation had grown up, who found 

 the trains of the greatest use for both 

 business and pleasure. 



The failure to find a really satisfactory 

 method of consuming smoke, steam, and 

 fumes was the greatest difficulty with which 

 the first underground railway in London 

 was faced. Parliament had insisted upon 

 the impossible, and although certain strides 

 had been made towards abating the smoke 

 nuisance in the open, it was realised that 

 in tunnels there would be very grave draw- 

 backs. The only method which seemed 

 feasible to the engineers charged with the 

 production of a smokeless locomotive, was 

 to have constructed a very curious experi- 

 mental machine. This was a single-driver, 

 built by Stephensons, to the design of the 

 engineer of the Metropolitan Railway. The 

 principle was really a fireless locomotive 

 with the water renewed at the end of each 

 trip from stationary boilers at the two 

 termini. To keep this water at practically 



