166 LOCOMOTIVES OKDERED. CHAP. IX. 



were put in hand forthwith, in anticipation of the 

 opening of the railway. These were constructed after 

 Mr. Stephenson' s most matured designs, and embodied 

 all the improvements in the locomotive which he had con- 

 trived up to that time. No. I. engine, the " Locomotion," 

 which was first delivered upon the line, weighed about 

 eight tons. It had one large flue or tube through the 

 I boiler, by which the heated air passed direct from the 

 furnace at one end, lined with fire-bricks, to the chimney 

 at the other. The combustion in the furnace was quick- 

 ened by the adoption of the steam-blast in the chimney. 

 The heat raised was sometimes so great, and it was so 

 imperfectly abstracted by the surrounding water, that 

 the chimney became almost red-hot. Such engines, 

 when put to the top of their speed, were found capable 

 of running at the rate of from twelve to sixteen miles an 

 hour ; but they were better adapted for the heavy work 

 of hauling coal-trains at low speeds for which, indeed, 

 they were specially constructed than for running at 

 [ the higher speeds afterwards adopted. Nor was it con- 

 ' templated by the directors as possible, at the time when 

 they were ordered, that locomotives could be made 

 available for the purposes of passenger travelling. Be- 

 sides, the Stockton and Darlington Eailway did not run 

 through a district in which passengers were supposed to 

 be likely to constitute any considerable portion of the 

 expected traffic. 



We may easily imagine the anxiety felt by Mr. 

 Stephenson during the progress of the works towards 

 completion, and his mingled hopes and doubts (though 

 his doubts were but few) as to the issue of this great 

 experiment. When the formation of the line near 

 Stockton was well advanced, Mr. Stephenson one day, 

 accompanied by his son Eobert and John Dixon, made a 

 journey of inspection of the works. The party reached 

 Stockton, and proceeded to dine at one of the inns there. 

 After dinner, Mr. Stephenson ventured on the very 



