sinking, and the engineer who surveyed it was only able to prevent himself doing so by walking upon pattens, or boards, fastened to the soles of his feet. It seemed impossible that the bog could ever support the weight of a railway and the long heavy trains. This, however, was what Stephenson determined it should do. His idea was to make

a floating railway upon the Moss. He considered that if the weight could be diffused over a sufficiently large surface, the amount of pressure on each individual part would be reduced, so as to enable a light road, capable of bearing heavy trains, to float on it, just as a heavily-laden ship floats on the waters; and his argument in favour of thus extending the bearing surface was strengthened, by observing that the pattens, which it was necessary for people to use when walking upon the Moss, and the flat wooden soles which were fitted on to horses' feet when ploughing those parts which had been brought into cultivation, effectually prevented them from sinking. He therefore commenced operations at once. First, a footpath of heather, on which men might walk without sinking, was laid down where the road was to run; drains were then dug on either side of it, and between them, on the intertwined heather and long grass, were laid branches of trees, hedgecuttings, long hurdles, and even old gates in the softest parts. This formed a tolerably firm surface, upon which a thin layer of gravel was placed : the rails were then laid down in the usual manner.

At the Manchester end of the Moss an embankment was needed, and in making this the greatest

difficulty was experienced. Dry moss and turf were brought up in waggons, and thrown into the bog; but no sooner had the embankment risen a few feet above the ground, than its own weight caused it to sink down into the bog. It was in vain that more moss was thrown in; it still continued to disappear, and for weeks the workmen laboured on without making any progress. at last their perseverance was rewarded. ground grew gradually firmer, and then began to rise, till the embankment became high enough to join the fleating road on the Moss.

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road was now soon completed, and the first train passed along safely and steadily. There were many other difficulties encountered in the formation of the railway. A tunnel, a mile and a half in length, was constructed, running under the town of Liverpool; a deep cutting was made in the solid rock at Olive Mount, which was two miles long and more than a hundred feet deep; a fine viaduct, consisting of nine arches of fifty feet span each, was built across the Sankey valley and canal, besides sixty-three other bridges either under or over the railway. All these works were designed by Stephenson, and their construction personally superintended by him. Every idea had to be thought out and brought to a definite plan by his own mind. He planned the waggons, trucks, and carriages, made all the arrangements for the future working of the railway, and no detail was too small to be made the object of his careful attention and consideration. He had moreover, to organize a staff of railway labourers and workmen of all kinds, and almost to teach them their work, for as yet they were ignorant and untrained. The bands of "navvies," now employed exclusively for railway work, and whose strength and industry are almost proverbial, did not then exist; indeed Stephenson may be said to have created them. We know little of the time, labour, and anxiety which the construction of the first great railway cost Stephenson and those working under him; and we are now so used to rail

ways, and fly along the road so smoothly and easily, that it is almost impossible for us to form any idea of the extraordinary difficulties they encountered. Added to these there was the difficulty of overcoming the strong prejudice which existed throughout all England against the formation of railways this was no light task, and Stephenson used often to say that "he could engineer matter very well and make it bend to his purpose, but his greatest difficulty was in engineering men." It was in truth a gigantic undertaking, and none but a mind and will like Stephenson's could have accomplished it.

While the works were in process of construction, the Directors were discussing whether horses or steam engines should be employed on the railway to draw the trains. Horse power was decided to be inadequate, the general leaning was towards fixed engines, and all the great engineers of the day were in favour of them; but the Directors, who had great confidence in Stephenson, determined to give the locomotive a trial, and a prize of £500 was offered for the best locomotive engine, fulfilling certain conditions; the principal of which were, that it should not weigh more than six tons, and that it should be able to draw twenty tons weight at the rate of ten miles an hour.

The construction of a locomotive engine was forthwith entered upon by Robert Stephenson, who was now in charge of the factory at Newcastle. This engine, which was called the "Rocket," united

every improvement which the ingenuity of the father and the science of the son could devise, and it was completed and placed on the Killingworth Railway, in readiness for the trial of locomotives which was to take place there. Great interest was taken in the approaching competition, not only by scientific men, engineers, and mechanics, but by the public in general; and on the appointed day, a large crowd of people assembled to witness the trial. Four engines appeared in the lists. The "Rocket" was the first to show off its powers; it performed its journey at the rate of fifteen miles an hour, five miles faster than the rate specified in the conditions. Its success was complete, and greatly astonished the spectators. On the succeeding days the other engines made their trials, but they were either too heavy, or broke down, and the "Rocket" was left master of the field. Its superiority over fixed engines was also proved incontestably: the battle of the locomotive was fought and won. The Directors resolved to use locomotive engines exclusively on the new railway, and several were immediately constructed at Newcastle to be ready for the opening of the line.

The railway works were at last completed; the trial trip the whole length of the road had been successfully performed, and the great day of the opening of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway approached. The ceremony took place on the 15th of September 1830. It is thus described by Mr.