

332 



THE MIDLAND KAILWAY. 



CHAP. XVI. 



part by the projection of the 

 Midland Counties Railway from 

 Rugby to Derby, they confined 

 themselves to the district between 

 Derby and Leeds ; and in 1835, a 

 Company was formed to construct 

 the North Midland line, with 

 George Stephenson for its engi- 

 neer. The Act was obtained in > 

 1836, and the first ground was I 

 broken in February, 1837. 



Although the Midland Railway | 

 was only one of the many great/ 

 works of the same kind executed 

 at that time, it was almost enough 

 of itself to be the achievement of 

 a life. Compare it, for example ,\ 

 with Napoleon's military road 

 over the Simplon, and it will at 

 once be seen how greatly it excels 

 that work, not only in the con- 

 structive skill displayed in it, but 

 also in its cost and magnitude, 

 and the amount of labour em- 

 ployed in its formation. The road 

 of the Simplon is 45 miles in 

 length ; the North Midland Rail- 

 way 72^ miles. The former has 

 50 bridges and 5 tunnels, mea- 

 suring together 1338 feet in 

 length ; the latter has 200 bridges 

 and 7 tunnels, measuring together 

 1 1 ,400 feet, or about 2J miles. The 

 former cost about 720,000/. ster- 

 ling, the latter above 3,000,000/. 

 Napoleon's grand military road 

 was constructed in six years, at 

 the public cost of the two great 



