Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-12-02

wager was adjudged to be won. The
engine was afterward set to work on
iron rolling mill. The versatile inven-
tor, although he made other travel
ing engines" to run on rails. or else on
the road, received scant encourage
ment.
One Of the tram engines Of Trevi-
thick's design was made at Newcastle
on-Tyne in 1905 for Mr.. Christopher
Blackett, proprietor Of Wylam Col
liery, when 1t was to work wagons on
the tramway down to the River Tyne.
On trial 1t did not prove success. for
the master mind was not there to
overcome the numberless difficulties
that beset any radical departure from
the beaten track, and consequently II
never reached Wylam. The question
Of haulage remained acute and was
forced to the front again by the bad
times of 1912. The taxation necessary
to support our Napoleonic wars. the
shortage Of horses and the rise in the
cost Of provender made It almost i'm
possible to keep the colliery going any
longer, situated as 1t was, five miles
from the staithes on the Tyne. where
the coal had to be shipped in keels or
lighters. In October OF 1872 Mr..
Blackett therefore decided to try again
and see IL anything could be done with
steam power. He asked William He'd
ley, the colliery viewer q. e.. manager
or overseer), to undertake the job. be-
cause Trevithick. who had been ap-
preached, had declined the business,
being otherwise employed. The engi-
neers in those days were under the
impression that smooth wheels would
slip on smooth lines. Obviously cog
wheel traction from London to Edin-
burgh would have been unpleasant.
Hedley did not share the accepted
view, and made experiments with
little model which satisfied him that
the friction or adhesion Of smooth
wheels on smooth rails was sufficient.
To make quite sure. he constructed an
underframe on four wheels the full
width of the colliery plateway. which
was worked by men at cranks stand
ing on platforms attached to the frame.
Different known weights of iron were
placed on 1t, and wagons from two up
to six in number attached successive
ly. The relationship between the
weights and the load when slipping
took place was found to be practically
the same in every case. With the as
sistance of Timothy Hackworth. the
enginewright of the colliery (srbse-
quently well known as a locomotive
engineer), Jonathan Foster, the black
smith, and Tommy Waters. a Gates
head iron founder, Hedley began the
construction OF the steam engine. II
had single horizontal cylinder and a
fly-wheel, while the boiler was Of cast
iron with the fire tube straight through
1t. The result, however. was not very
successful. principally because the
steam raising capacity was insufi-
cient.
Various extraordinary machines be-
gan to crawl about, ana as they pass
ed the door of his cottage, drawing
coal wagons, George Stephenson de-
cided in 1874 to try his hand at max
ing locomotives for Lord Ravens
worth's collieries, where he was then
employed as enginewright. Finding
that the locomotive was more econom-
ical than horses power, he was led Ia
ter to reflect on the possibility Of ex-
tending the idea TO the transport OF
goods generally on a public railway.
He had an opportunity Of urging the
adoption of this method about ten
years later, when his talents had led
to his appointment as engineer to the
Stockton and Darlington railway. 1t
was owing almost entirely to him that
the partners in that undertaking OBJ
tanned parliamentary powers to use
the locomotive instead Of horses, the
traction power that had been contem-
plated. After the public goods locomo-
tive had become success 1t was put
step further, to use 1t to carry pas
sengers, though this was not done on
scale that enabled the speed OF the
stage coach to be surpassed till the
invention of the tubular boiler was en-
bodied In the famous Rocket, which
made its appearance. at the Rainhiil
trials Of the Liverpool and Manches-
ter railway in 1929. 1t Is good to think
of these things now that the aeropiane
soars like dragon-f1y. even as the To-
comotive used to crawl as snortins
snail