KAILWATS. 273 



of their delight when they went " coaching, a 

 Ions; time aofo." 



Railways were originally formed altogether 

 of timber, and it was not until 1767 that the 

 first experiment was tried, and that upon a very 

 small scale, to determine the advantage of sub- 

 stitutino; iron for the less durable material. 

 Nor does it appear that this experiment was 

 successful, or followed by any practical result, 

 for in 1797 Mr. Carr claimed to be considered 

 the inventor of cast-iron rails. 



The railways which were constructed up to 

 the beginning of 1800 were all private under- 

 takings, and each was confined to the use of the 

 establishment — generally a colliery — in which it 

 was employed. The public railways of the United 

 Kingdom are strictly creations of the present 

 century. Here I may remark that as early as 

 the year 1216 the idea of applying the power 

 of steam to locomotion first suggested itself. 

 Roger Bacon, a Franciscan friar, who flourished 

 during the reign of Henry III., foretold that 

 ships would some day move without sails, and 

 carriages without horses ; and though his 

 scientific researches were not duly appreciated 

 in his own times, he may fairly take rank 



T 



