the age of invention-第11节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


by　the　State　of　New　York　to　explore　a　route　for　the　Erie　Canal　an　elaborate　memoir　calculated　to　prove　that　railways　would　be　much　more　in　the　public　interest　than　the　proposed　canal。　He　wrote　at　the　same　time　to　Robert　R。　Livingston　（who；　as　well　as　Robert　Fulton；　his　partner　in　the　steamboat；　was　one　of　the　commissioners）　requesting　his　influence　in　favor　of　railways。　Livingston；　having　committed　himself　to　the　steamboat　and　holding　a　monopoly　of　navigation　on　the　waters　of　New　York　State；　could　hardly　be　expected　to　give　a　willing　ear　to　a　rival　scheme；　and　no　one　then　seems　to　have　dreamed　that　both　canal　and　railway　would　ultimately　be　needed。　Livingston；　however；　was　an　enlightened　statesman；　one　of　the　ablest　men　of　his　day。　He　had　played　a　prominent　part　in　the　affairs　of　the　Revolution　and　in　the　ratification　of　the　Constitution；　had　known　Franklin　and　Washington　and　had　negotiated　with　Napoleon　the　Louisiana　Purchase。　His　reply　to　Stevens　is　a　good　statement　of　the　objections　to　the　railway；　as　seen　at　the　time；　and　of　the　public　attitude　towards　it。

Robert　R。　Livingston　to　John　Stevens

〃Albany；　11th　March；　1812。

〃I　did　not；　till　yesterday；　receive　yours　of　the　5th　of　February；　where　it　has　loitered　on　the　road　I　am　at　a　loss　to　say。　I　had　before　read　your　very　ingenious　propositions　as　to　the　rail…way　communication。　I　fear；　however；　on　mature　reflection；　that　they　will　be　liable　to　serious　objections；　and　ultimately　more　expensive　than　a　canal。　They　must　be　double；　so　as　to　prevent　the　danger　of　two　such　heavy　bodies　meeting。　The　walls　on　which　they　are　placed　must　at　least　be　four　feet　below　the　surface；　and　three　above；　and　must　be　clamped　with　iron；　and　even　then；　would　hardly　sustain　so　heavy　a　weight　as　you　propose　moving　at　the　rate　of　four　miles　an　hour　on　wheels。　As　to　wood；　it　would　not　last　a　week；　they　must　be　covered　with　iron；　and　that　too　very　thick　and　strong。　The　means　of　stopping　these　heavy　carriages　without　a　great　shock；　and　of　preventing　them　from　running　upon　each　other　（for　there　would　be　many　on　the　road　at　once）　would　be　very　difficult。　In　case　of　accidental　stops；　or　the　necessary　stops　to　take　wood　and　water　&c　many　accidents　would　happen。　The　carriage　of　condensed　water　would　be　very　troublesome。　Upon　the　whole；　I　fear　the　expense　would　be　much　greater　than　that　of　canals；　without　being　so　convenient。〃*

*　John　Stevens；　〃Documents　Tending　to　Prove　the　Superior　Advantages　of　Rail…Ways　and　Steam…Carriages　over　Canal　Navigation〃　（1819）。　Reprinted　in　〃The　Magazine　of　History　with　Notes　and　Queries〃；　Extra　Number　54　（1917）。


Stevens；　of　course；　could　not　convince　the　commissioners。　〃The　Communication　from　John　Stevens；　Esq。；〃　was　referred　to　a　committee；　who　reported　in　March：　〃That　they　have　considered　the　said　communication　with　the　attention　due　to　a　gentleman　whose　scientific　researches　and　knowledge　of　mechanical　powers　entitle　his　opinions　to　great　respect；　and　are　sorry　not　to　concur　in　them。〃

Stevens；　however；　kept　up　the　fight。　He　published　all　the　correspondence；　hoping　to　get　aid　from　Congress　for　his　design；　and　spread　his　propaganda　far　and　wide。　But　the　War　of　1812　soon　absorbed　the　attention　of　the　country。　Then　came　the　Erie　Canal；　completed　in　1825；　and　the　extension　into　the　Northwest　of　the　great　Cumberland　Road。　From　St。　Louis　steamboats　churned　their　way　up　the　Missouri；　connecting　with　the　Santa　Fe　Trail　to　the　Southwest　and　the　Oregon　Trail　to　the　far　Northwest。　Horses；　mules；　and　oxen　carried　the　overland　travelers；　and　none　yet　dreamed　of　being　carried　on　the　land　by　steam。

Back　East；　however；　and　across　the　sea　in　England；　there　were　a　few　dreamers。　Railways　of　wooden　rails；　sometimes　covered　with　iron；　on　which　wagons　were　drawn　by　horses；　were　common　in　Great　Britain；　some　were　in　use　very　early　in　America。　And　on　these　railways；　or　tramways；　men　were　now　experimenting　with　steam；　trying　to　harness　it　to　do　the　work　of　horses。　In　England；　Trevithick；　Blenkinsop；　Ericsson；　Stephenson；　and　others；　in　America；　John　Stevens；　now　an　old　man　but　persistent　in　his　plans　as　ever　and　with　able　sons　to　help　him；　had　erected　a　circular　railway　at　Hoboken　as　early　as　1826；　on　which　he　ran　a　locomotive　at　the　rate　of　twelve　miles　an　hour。　Then　in　1828　Horatio　Allen；　of　the　Delaware　and　Hudson　Canal　Company；　went　over　to　England　and　brought　back　with　him　the　Stourbridge　Lion。　This　locomotive；　though　it　was　not　a　success　in　practice；　appears　to　have　been　the　first　to　turn　a　wheel　on　a　regular　railway　within　the　United　States。　It　was　a　seven　days'　wonder　in　New　York　when　it　arrived　in　May；　1829。　Then　Allen　shipped　it　to　Honesdale；　Pennsylvania；　where　the　Delaware　and　Hudson　Canal　Company　had　a　tramway　to　bring　down　coal　from　the　mountains　to　the　terminal　of　the　canal。　On　the　crude　wooden　rails　of　this　tramway　Allen　placed　the　Stourbridge　Lion　and　ran　it　successfully　at　the　rate　of　ten　miles　an　hour。　But　in　actual　service　the　Stourbridge　Lion　failed　and　was　soon　dismantled。

Pass　now　to　Rainhill；　England；　and　witness　the　birth　of　the　modern　locomotive；　after　all　these　years　of　labor。　In　the　same　year　of　1829；　on　the　morning　of　the　6th　of　October；　a　great　crowd　had　assembled　to　see　an　extraordinary　racea　race；　in　fact；　without　any　parallel　or　precedent　whatsoever。　There　were　four　entries　but　one　dropped　out；　leaving　three：　The　Novelty；　John　Braithwaite　and　John　Ericsson；　The　Sanspareil；　Timothy　Hackworth；　The　Rocket；　George　and　Robert　Stephenson。　These　were　not　horses；　they　were　locomotives。　The　directors　of　the　London　and　Manchester　Railway　had　offered　a　prize　of　five　hundred　pounds　for　the　best　locomotive；　and　here　they　were　to　try　the　issue。

The　contest　resulted　in　the　triumph　of　Stephenson's　Rocket。　The　others　fell　early　out　of　the　race。　The　Rocket　alone　met　all　the　requirements　and　won　the　prize。　So　it　happened　that　George　Stephenson　came　into　fame　and　has　ever　since　lived　in　popular　memory　as　the　father　of　the　locomotive。　There　was　nothing　new　in　his　Rocket；　except　his　own　workmanship。　Like　Robert　Fulton；　he　appears　to　have　succeeded　where　others　failed　because　he　was　a　sounder　engineer；　or　a　better　combiner　of　sound　principles　into　a　working；　whole；　than　any　of　his　rivals。

Across　the　Atlantic　came　the　news　of　Stephenson's　remarkable　success。　And　by　this　time　railroads　were　beginning　in　various　parts　of　the　United　States：　the　Mohawk　and　Hudson；　from　Albany　to　Schenectady；　the　Baltimore　and　Ohio；　the　Charleston　and　Hamburg　in　South　Carolina；　the　Camden　and　Amboy；　across　New　Jersey。　Horses；　mules；　and　even　sails；　furnished　the　power　for　these　early　railroads。　It　can　be　imagined　with　what　interest　the　owners　of　these　roads　heard　that　at　last　a　practicable　locomotive　was　running　in　England。

This　news　stimulated　the　directors　of　the　Baltimore　and　Ohio　to　try　the　locomotive。　They　had　not　far　to　go　for　an　experiment；　for　Peter　Cooper；　proprietor　of　the　Canton　Iron　Works　in　Baltimore；　had　already　designed　a　small　locomotive；　the　Tom　Thumb。　This　was　placed　on　trial　in　August；　1830；　and　is　supposed　to　have　been　the　first　American…built　locomotive　to　do　work　on　rails；　though　nearly　coincident　with　it　was　the　Best　Friend　of　Charleston；　built　by　the　West　Point　Foundry；　New　York；　for　the　Charleston　and　Hamburg　Railroad。　It　is　often　difficult；　as　we　have　seen；　to　say　which　of　two　or　several　things　was　first。　It　appears　as　though　the　little　Tom　Thumb　was　the　first　engine　built　in　America；　which　actually　pulled　weight　on　a　regular　railway；　while　the　much　larger　Best　Friend　was　the　first　to　haul　cars　in　regular　daily　service。

The　West　Point　Foundry　followed　its　first　success　with　the　West　Point；　which　also　went　into　service　on　the　Charleston　and　Hamburg　Railroad；　and　then　built　for　the　newly　finished　Mohawk　and　Hudson　（the　first　link　in　the　New　York　Central　Lines）　the　historic　De　Witt　Clinton。　This　primitive　locomotive　and　the　cars　it　drew　may　be　seen　today　in　the　Grand　Central　Station　in　New　York。

Meanwhile；　the　Stevens　brothers；　sons　of　John　Stevens；　were　engaged　in　the　construction　of　the　Camden　and　Amboy　Railroad。　The　first　locomotive　to　operate　on　this　road　was　built　in　England　by　George　Stephenson。　This　was　the　John　Bull；　which　arrived　in　the　summer　of　1831　and　at　once　went　to　work。　The　John　Bull　was　a　complete　success　and　had　a　distinguished　career。　Sixty…two　years　old；　in　1893；　it　went　to　Chicago；　to　the　Columbian　Exposition；　under　its　own　steam。　The　John　Bull　occupies　a　place　today　in　the　National　Museum　at　Washington。

With　the　locomotive　definitely　accepted；　men　began　to　turn　their　minds　towards　its　improvement　and　development；　and　locomotive　building　soon　became　a　leading　industry　in　America。　At　first　the　British　types　and　patterns　were　followed；　but　it　was　not　long　before　American　designers　began　to　depart　from　the　British　models　and　to　evolve　a　distinctively　American　type。　In　the　development　of　this　type　great　names　have　been　written　into　the　industrial　history　of　America；　among　which　the　name　of　Matthias　Baldwin　of　Philadelphia　probably　ranks　first。　But　there　have　been　hundreds　of　great　workers　in　this　field。　From　Stephenson's　Rocket　and　the　little　Tom　Thumb　of　Peter　Cooper；　to　the　powerful　〃Mallets〃　of　today；　is　a　long　distancenot　spanned　in　ninety　yea