The Railway Era 225 



It was unfortunate that these two pioneer public railways 

 were a failure because, had they succeeded, and had they 

 really formed the first sections of a through line of communica- 

 tion between the Thames and Portsmouth, there would have 

 been established a further precedent and one of much greater 

 value than that of a common user the precedent, namely, \ 

 of a trunk line made by companies co-operating with one j 

 another to give continuous communication on a well-organised . 

 system, in place of collections of disconnected lines designed, j 

 at the outset, to serve the interests only of particular localities, ; 

 with little or no attempt at co-ordination. 



Yet the principle of a general public railway had, at least, 

 been established by the Surrey and Merstham lines, and this 

 principle underwent further important development by the 

 Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first Act for which was 

 obtained in 1821. 



The only purpose originally intended to be served by the 

 Stockton and Darlington Railway was the finding of a better 

 outlet for coal from the South Durham coalfield. A company, 

 with Edward Pease as the moving spirit, was formed in 1816, 

 but two years later the projectors were still undecided whether 

 to make a canal or " a rail or tramway." George Overton, 

 who preceded George Stephenson as a distinguished railway 

 engineer, wrote to them, however, advising the latter course. 

 " Railways," he said, " are now generally adopted, and the 

 cutting of canals nearly discontinued " ; and he told them, 

 further, that within the last fifteen years the great improve- 

 ments made in the construction of tram-roads had led to the 

 application of the principle to a number of new roads. His 

 advice was adopted, and the first Act, obtained after several 

 unsuccessful efforts, authorised the making and maintaining 

 of " a railway or tramroad " from the river Tees, at Stockton, 

 to Witton Park Colliery, with various branches therefrom. 

 The line would, the Act said, be "of great public utility by 

 facilitating the conveyance of coal, iron, lime, corn and other 

 commodities from the interior of the county of Durham to 

 the town of Darlington and the town and port of Stockton," 

 etc. 



It was first intended to use wooden rails, and to rely on 

 horse-power, no authority for the employment of locomotives 

 being obtained under the Act of 1821 ; but George Stephen- 



