The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1913-04-10

| airy committee. are .amusing. They
objected that horses would fly in
terror from such a monster. He re-
piled that horses were known to shy
at wheelbarrow. One of the COM
mittee said: Suppose COW were
to stray on the line in front of the
locomotive, would not that be q very
awkward circumstance" TO which
Stephenson replied: Very awk-
ward for the cow" Another cues
ton was, would not animals be
frighte ned by the engine at night
by the glare from the red hot Chin
ney? How would they know it
wasn't painted said Stephenson,
In the building Of the Liverpool
and Manchester Railway he proved
himself to be civil engineer of ex-
traordinary ability and many were
the ingenious devices he used to
conquer this difficult undertaking.
A prize of $4,000 offered by the
directors of this railway for
the best locomotive, subject to
certain conditions, led Stephenson
and his son Robert to build tie
Rocket" 1t was built in their
Newcastle shop, was fitted with
tubular boiler six feet long and three
feet four inches in diameter. On
! each side of the boiler at it's rear end
was an oblique Cylinder, the piston
rods being connected with the two
driving wheels, which were in front.
The tender was simple four wheel
ed affair. the water being carried in
cask, the locomotive weighed 5000
pounds. After a trial in which
other engines took part, the best
known being John Erickson's Nov
city," the prize was awarded to
STEPHENSON; the engine attaining 35
miles an hour. The locomotive is
now in the Science and Art Muse
um. South Kensington, London.
When we consider the locomotives
of to-day, their improvements, great
.er steam pressure and consequent
speed. Stephenson's Rocket" must
be considered a wonderful achieve
ment, marking, as it did, not only
the turning point of locomotive
design, but the turning point of in
dustrial progress.
The railway has brought prosper
ity and Progress where ever it has
been introduced, opening up new
fields Of industry, creating new towns
and cheapening the cost of trans
portation. Take the case of the new
line through Northwestern Canada,
all along this line towns are spring
ing up over night, and settlers are
coming into the country by thous-
ands; then there is India, the rail-
way has done much to place this
country on firmer footing.
In George Stephenson we see
man who was man, self taught.
versatile, he was beloved by all who
knew him. He was equally as good
at civil engineering as he was at
m b an lea | engineering. Conf
dence in his own ability. persever-
ance, and love for his work, these
are the secrets of his success.
In the above there is lesson for
all of us. In the first place we can
not get far in the race for success
without confidence in our ability.
Secondly, We cannot hope to attain
success all at once, and must per-
force introduce perseverance into
our makeup. Thirdly, without a
love for our work we can get no.
where; if we find we can take no in
terest in the work we are doing
then it is up to us to find work we
can take an interest in.
. The last few years of Stephenson's
life were spent in affiuence and ease.
he had fought his battle and won,
he mad advanced the interests of
trade and promoted the welfare of
mankind. The world owes George
Stephenson a debt it can never
repay.