The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-29

] Wages paid for making railway coach 1 called Earl Grey dt was named after l Earl Grey the great Whig politician, \ who, On passing through Darlington on E{his way to London, October G. 1882. was S"scorted by almost all the inhabitants Of ! lhe Quaker town). July 12. 1884. The ! lime occupied in the building was three weeks, the mems wages only being IS { p,vnds 17z. sd" The cost altogether of the frst coach was between 70 and 80 p1..ndg. It was composite vehicle, ] twelve fest org and about eighteen inches l low CT than the carriages of today. It had l three compartments. the central being l fl, ,st-class. This was upholstered in the sober Quaker drab, with low, springless seats. The end compartments were sec l ond-class, and oak-grained, clean, but coId-iooking. and destitute of everything pertaining to luxury or other adorrment. , Tho outside was painted a rich maroon. and had the name the number afterwardl | inclosed in the pretty blue ribbon work | which marked for many years all s. and D. carriages. and it was further orna- mented with scroilwork on the corners of the panels. The wheels were of wrought iron, and the grease boxes an- ciens and n-ldded. It had slide brake whlca was worked by the guard. who was provided with seat on the top of the rear. When the "trainse were stopping ! 1t was his duty to climb down the steps at the back and put on the brake with hand and foot.
 l. was d neat little carriage. and my fatfcr and his worhmen were proud, in- | dceG. os it's ingenious contrivanccs. can vouca for the accuracy of the description, because I watched Earl Gray" drawn by four horses, start from Albion Buildings. and go along Northgate to Station No. l. Darlington--a narrow. wooden platform the length of the first train. I was only very little girl. but like many more childhood's remembrances. it rings true. A difficulty arose when Coach No. was going to be built. because the entrance to the shops was lot large enough to allow of its exit so the different parts
 had to be put together in a large shed
 nearby. The memory of travelling witt
 my father by No. l train to Stockton
 stands out clearly among my early ex' p4"iences. With what glee jumped alona
 by his side and ascended the steps that
 ran Up the steep incline on the top or
 vi hich stood the train, consisting Of en-
 zine and coach. CThe spot is near the
 North Road Railway bridge. When traf-
 ic .,.creased and Darlington became more
 enterprising, a statioPaYaE bY4tes little
 to the west, and theAtesp iheline was
 leyeled. a bridge being put across 'th
 road leading to the shops which wer>
 built 10 carry on coach building for the
 line. Beyond tho bridge now is quite
 small town, and most of the great works
 ar, situated Ihere) My father lifted me
 into the side compartment and shut the
 door. I peeped eagerly through the win
 G1w and saw MT. Edward Pease, the
 Quaker. and father of railways. step up
 to my father and shake hands, saying.
 Good day, John" They stood deep in
 conversation for a few minutes.
 The chief director stepped into the mid
 Ilc commandment, and my father came be-
 side me- and after great deal Of puffing
 and blowing, accompanied by dense vol-
 umes of smoke, with which We would
 have been smothered if the windows had
 been left open, we started. The pace was
 exceedingly slow, now and then almost
 stopping altogether After what seemed
 on the engines part a great effort we
 drew up at Stockton, after a three hours
 ride of ten miles. There being no plat
 form we stepped down and walked into
 th3 town. After visiting Skinner Street
 we were returning to where the train
 stood, when. to our horror. it commenced
 to m we before we reached our goal. It
 c IJld not stop when once started. slow as
 was the pace. My father quickly lifted
 me up beside the guard md disappeared.
 never knew if he got into the carriage
 or stood beside the engiueman. The
 "train" slowed up at Yarm. and my fath-
 CT came and lifted me down. and into
 the compartment we both stepped. The
 exchange was happy one for me, for
 to cling on to the rails beside the guard,
 both of us perched almost on the rear
 ro )f, was not very pleasing experience.
 though very amusing to look back upon.
 The train" only made one journey to and fro each day.