Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1875-12-10
The First Locomotive and Passen

Inc tlFSt LpsofhOtiNe anu tIstS~tH-
ger-car.
Stephenson had been called lunatie
when he had said that his locomotive
could run twelve miles an hour. One
very distinguished officer of the Eng
lish Government, whose duty it was to
see that the mails were carried as rap
idly as possible, laughed at the idea,
and said that " if ever locomotive ran
ten miles an hour with a mailbag be-
hind it, he would eat stewed engine
wheel for his breakfast"
There was some little excuse for this
disbelief, for the first locomotive was a
very clumsy machine. 1t was called the
Locomotion." Stephenson, when he
built it, was the only man besides his
son Robert who believed it would go at
all and some of the learned members
of the English Parliament declared that
it could not run against strong wind
1t was small, clumsy affair, weighing
not more than one-ffth as much as an
engine of the present time.
The first improvement on 1.-THE
in appearance, but was found to be fas-
ter and stronger Before it was accept
ed by the railroad company, it was put
in race with three other engines man
ufactured by other engineers; and o
the judges and thousands of persons
who witnessed the race, nine-tenth'
were against the Rocket, because of it
appearance" But Stephenson received
the prize over the other competitors, on
, Of whom was Captain John Ericsson
! His locomotive could run fifteen mile
an hour, and once actually drew thirteel
tons at speed of twenty-nine miles al
hour. That performance decided tn
fate of locomotives, and engineers a
] once went to work to improve the ne'
4 motive power.
The first railroad passenger-car wa
: simply an old box on wheels, with seat
. running along the sides, door at tt
y rear end, and seat in front for I'll
l. driver, like the omnibus. 1t was calle
. by Stephenson, who invented it, tt
Experiment" because it was not gel
:. orally believed that people would trav
~ on the railway. In 1925, about Il
. time the first line was finished, one
u the principal papers Of England sa
'e that nothing could lie more ridiculo
- than the prospect Of locomotives ira
- cling twice as fast as stage-coaches
- ~ And it added that people would as so
- suffer themselves to be fired off up'
se one Of Congreve's rockets as trust thel
- selves to the mercy of such a machi
VI going at such arate" Stephenson, no
Sc ever, firm in his belief that passengt
p would travel by rail, declared that t
''' time would come, and he hoped to Ii
q to see it, when it would be cheaper for
ne poor man to ride then walk This p
phecy threatens to be more then fulfill
o. in few years 1t is proposed in El
n's land to send passengers by rail at or
ne nary English letter-rates, and under
ne system of tickets like postage-stamps
'es six cent stamp emitting the holder to
by any route to any part Of Great Bl
,iy ain. Bnt George Stephenson was !
ior believed then, and the people continr
sht to call him Daft Geordy," VIII
sht means Crazy George" 1t was
me long after the Stockton and Darling
ino road was opened that more passeng
ess cars were needed The first impro
n.y. ment on the Experiment was do
ro- lie car, made out of two mourni
ars coaches" This car was lighted at MI
iiu by a single candle. st. NichoLas
'llc Dec.