George & Robert Stephenson

THE LIFE OF George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson Comprising also a history of the invention and introduction of the railway locomotive. By Samual Smiles With Portraits and Numerous Illustrations.   [iii] PREFACE. The present is a revised edition of the Life of George Stephenson and of his son Robert Stephenson, to which is prefixed a history of the Railway and the Locomotive in its earlier stages, uniform with the early history of the Steam-engine given in vol. iv. of “Lives of the Engineers” containing the memoirs of Boulton and…

Read More >>

Sankey Viaduct Train Derailment

LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY?FURTHER PARTICULARS. Performance of the Engines. It has been stated in several of the newspapers, by way of apology for the delay which took place in the re-turn of the rear division of the pro-cession from Manchester on the day of the opening, that it arose from an apprehension that, as night had come on, accidents might have arisen from proceeding at a more rapid rate. The authors of this apology forget that at the same time the night came on the expectant crowds went off, and…

Read More >>

The Sankey Viaduct ( Nine Arches Bridge )

It was then that the wealthy Quaker Joseph Sandars met William James, who proposed a railway which he undertook to build in 18 months at a cost of £100,000. Though his offer was accepted, long delays then occurred and by 1824 he was succeeded by George Stephenson as the company’s engineer. The next year a Parliamentary Bill was introduced, but it failed principally owing to Stephensons inability to answer questions on his survey by opposing counsel. He was accordingly dismissed by the board, who appointed the professional civil engineers Sir…

Read More >>

Sankey Viaduct and Embankment

Although the Stockton & Darling-ton Railway was the first public railway on which locomotives were used, the Liverpool & Manchester Railway was the first in the accepted sense of the word today. The scheme for a railway between the great port of Liverpool and the thriving cotton-manufacturing town of Manchester, was first entertained as a practical proposition in 1821, when a preliminary survey of the proposed line was made. The company was formed in 1824, and George Stephenson was appointed Chief Engineer in 1826. The route had to be amended…

Read More >>

BOB CARLISLE – “The Walker”

My earliest recollection on my way home from St. Johns School at the corner of Legh St. and Market St., and one that stands out very clearly in my mind, is of seeing a man walking round and round Earlestown Market Square. I was later to learn that his name was Bob Carlisle, and he was repeating a feat of walking one thousand miles in one thousand hours, at not more than one mile an hour. This had been performed some time before for a wager between some very prominent…

Read More >>

Tommy Burns jump off the 9 Arches?

Tommy Burns was a young Widnes man who had been causing no end of a sensation up and down the country by his high diving feats. He laid no claims to being a great) swimmer but he had cer?tainly perfected the art of diving. Height never daunted him, he always gave a per?fect performance and did not demand very deep water for he had no sooner cut the water than he was swimming on the surface Burns was travelling about the country giving exhibitions of diving for what he could…

Read More >>