The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-11-26
MISCELLANY.
"The Father Of Railways"

Geo. Stephenson, who il now justly
called the father of railways" was the
child of poor parents in England. Una
bic to send hIm to school. they employ
ed him at home as a nurse for the
younger children until he was eight
years old. His chief duty as nurse was
to keep his little brothers and sisters
from under the hoofs of the horses
which drew the coal-cars on the s'tram-
way"-a wooden railroad leading from
a coal-mine, which ran near his fathers
door. At this early age, while watching
the coal trains passing, he conceived the
idea that iron wonld make better rails
than wood, and If he could put upon
wheels the steam-engine which his faith
er tended as fireman at the coal-pit, ii
could be made to draw as heavy train
of coal-cars as could be moved by a
great team of fifty-hOrses.
The idea did not pass away from the
brain of George Stephenson when he
vas removed from his home at nine
years of age, and hired ont. at four
cents day, to.tend the cows of a neigh =
boring farmer He had enough of leis-
IRE while watching the herd in the field
to think over the subject. He even
bnilt him an engine of clay, with hem
lock branches for steam pipes. / sus-
.,ect that, like Little Boy Blue, he some
times let the cows stray into forbidden
meadows while he sat thinking about
engines on wheels and roads of iron. He
conld not study about them in books for
two very good reasons. In the first
place, no books about railroads and loco
motives had been printed, since neither
had been built. The other reason was
that George Stephenson eouldn't read at
all. He did not know his alphabet un-
Gil be was nineteen years old.
Little George, or "Geordy," as the
common people nicknamed him, was
next employed to drive the horse which
turned the winding machine, or "gin."
IA the colliers called it, at the coal-pit
where his father worked. He then be-
gan to think of a plan for making the
steam do the work of the horse, and one
LAY astonished the cOlliers by building
on bench, in front of his fathers cot
tage. model in clay of an engine
which tnrned the "gin'. and lifted the
coal He was at this time SO young and
.mall that his father made him hide
when the owner of the coal-mine went
the rounds" to pay his hands. for fear
ne should think him too small to receive
.ixteen cents day wagesl
It was not until he was nineteen years
I'D, and was set TO watch an engine. that
he found time to attend school and learn
70 read and write. He worked steadily
at his old idea for twenty-five years. He
made the first locomotive with smooth
irving wheels. 1t had been thought
necessary by some engineers TO contrnct
locomotives with cogged driving wheels,
and corresponding rack on the rail, to
prevent the wheels from slipping. But
Stephenson successfully set aside all
these contrivances. He was nearly fifty
wears old before he found men willing
to risk their money in constructing an
iron railroad to test his locomotive.
When. at length, the first railroad was
completed. between Stockton and Oar
lington 1.-TWO English towns only twelve
miles apart), the procession with which
the day was celebrated was headed by a
man on horseback, to keep the road clear
for Stephenson's locomotive and car
and ladies and gentlemen on horseback
and in carriages kept pace with the
train by riding by the side of the track
But after the procession had proceeded q
short distance, Stephenson, who was run.
hing his own engine, impatiently called
to the horseman to get out of the way
and. putting steam on, he ran his loco
motive the rest of the distance at the
terrible pace of twelve miles an hourl-
(St. Nicholas for December.
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| I,ONGEvTrSr ar VETxp va or 1919