CHAP. XIV. STIMULATES LOCAL ENTERPRIZE. 299 



At the same time Mr. Stephenson endeavoured to 

 extend the benefit of railways throughout the district in 

 which he now resided. He suggested to Lord Stamford 

 the importance of constructing a branch line from the 

 Leicester and Swannington Railway through his pro- 

 perty, principally for the purpose of opening out his 

 fine granite quarries at Groby. The valuable advice 

 was taken by Lord Stamford, and Mr. Stephenson laid 

 out the line for him and superintended the works gra- 

 tuitously. Another improvement which he effected for 

 Lord Talbot proved of even greater pecuniary value. 

 He contrived for his Lordship, with no slight difficulty, 

 a plan for "tubbing off" the fresh water from the salt 

 at his mines near Tamworth, which enabled the salt- 

 works there to be subsequently carried on to a great 

 profit, which had not before been practicable. Mr. 

 Stephenson was less successful in his endeavours to 

 induce the late Marquis of Hastings to consent to the 

 Birmingham and Derby Railway, of which he was the 

 engineer, passing through the mineral district of Ashby- 

 de-la-Zouch. The Marquis was the principal owner of 

 the colliery property in the neighbourhood, and Mr. 

 Stephenson calculated upon his Lordship's influence in 

 support of a scheme so certain to increase the value of 

 his estate. But the Marquis, like many others of his 

 class, did not yet detect the great advantages of rail- 

 ways, and he threatened his determined opposition if 

 the Derby line were attempted to be brought through 

 his coal-field. The line was consequentlv taken further 

 to the west, by way of Burton ; and thus Ashby for a 

 time lost the benefits of railway communication. Twenty 

 years elapsed before Mr. Stephenson' s designs for its 

 accommodation were carried into effect. 



Nor was Mr. Stephenson less attentive to the comfort 

 and well-being of those immediately dependent upon 

 him the workpeople of the Snibston colliery and their 

 families. Unlike many of those large employers who 



