[37] At the Stephenson Memorial meeting at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 26th of October, 1858, Mr. Hugh Taylor, chairman of the Northern Coal-owners, gave the following account of one of such visits made by Stephenson to Wylam, in the company of Mr. Nicholas Wood and himself: "It was, I think, in 1812, that Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Wood came to my house, then at Newburn, and after we had dined, we went and examined the locomotive then on Mr. Blackett's wagon-way. At that early date it went by a sort of cog-wheel; there was also something of a chain to it. There was no idea that the machine would be sufficiently adhesive to the rails by the action of its own weight; but I remember a man going before—that was after the chain was abrogated—and scattering ashes on the rails, in order to give it adhesiveness, and two or three miles an hour was about the rate of progress."
[38] Speech at the opening of the Newcastle and Darlington Railway, June 18, 1844.
[39] It must, however, be mentioned that Mr. Zerah Colburn, in his excellent work on "Locomotive Engineering and the Mechanism of Railways," points out that Mr. Davies Gilbert noted the effect of the discharge of the waste steam up the chimney of Trevithick's engine in increasing the draught, and wrote a letter to "Nicholson's Journal" (Sept., 1805) on the subject; and Mr. Nicholson himself proceeded to investigate the subject, and in 1806 he took out a patent for "steam-blasting apparatus," applicable to fixed engines, which, however, does not seem to have come into use. (See ante, [p. 82.])
[40] Nicholas Wood, "Practical Treatise on Railways," ed. 1825, p. 147.
[41] Ibid., p. 292-3.
[42] Nicholas Wood, "Practical Treatise on Railways," ed. 1825, p. 294. These passages will be found in the first edition of Mr. Wood's work, published in 1825. The subsequent editions do not contain them. A few years' experience wrought great changes of opinion on many points connected with the practical working of railways, and Mr. Wood altered his text accordingly. But it is most important for our present purpose to note that, in the year 1825, long before the Liverpool and Manchester line was opened, Mr. Wood should have so clearly described the steam-blast, which had been in regular use for more than ten years in all Stephenson's locomotives employed in the working of the Killingworth railway.
[43] Evidence given by George Stephenson before the Select Committee on Accidents in Mines, 26th June, 1835.
[44] The accuracy of the above statement having been called in question, it is proper to state that the facts as set forth were verbally communicated to the author in the first place by Robert Stephenson, to whom the chapter was afterward read in MS. in the presence of Mr. Sopwith, F.R.S., and received his entire approval. But at the time at which Mr. Stephenson communicated the verbal information, he also handed a little book with his name written in it, still in the author's possession, saying, "Read that; you will find it all there." This little book contains, among other things, a pamphlet, entitled "Report on the Claims of Mr. George Stephenson relative to the Invention of his Safety-lamp. By the Committee appointed at a Meeting holden in Newcastle, on the 1st of November, 1817. With an Appendix containing the Evidence." Among the witnesses examined were George Stephenson, Nicholas Wood, and John Moodie, and their evidence is given in the pamphlet. Stephenson said that he tried the first lamp "in a part of the mine where the air was highly explosive. Nicholas Wood and John Moodie were his companions when the trial was made. They became frightened when they came within hearing of the blower, and would not go any farther. Mr. Stephenson went alone with the lamp to the mouth of the blower," etc. This evidence was confirmed by John Moodie, who said the air of the place where the experiment was about to be tried was such, that, if a lighted candle had been introduced, an explosion would have taken place that would have been "extremely dangerous." "Told Stephenson it was foul, and hinted at the danger; nevertheless, Stephenson would try the lamp, confiding in its safety. Stephenson took the lamp and went with it into the place in which Moodie had been, and Moodie and Wood, apprehensive of the danger, retired to a greater distance," etc. The accuracy of the other statements made in the text relative to the invention of the safety-lamp is confirmed by the same publication.
[45] The early connection of Robert with the Philosophical and Literary Society of Newcastle had brought him into communication with the Rev. William Turner, one of the secretaries of the institution. That gentleman was always ready to assist the inquirer after knowledge, and took an early interest in the studious youth from Killingworth, with whose father he also became acquainted. Mr. Turner cheerfully helped them in their joint inquiries, and excited while he endeavored to satisfy their thirst for scientific information. Toward the close of his life Mr. Stephenson often spoke of the gratitude and esteem he felt toward his revered instructor. "Mr. Turner," he said, "was always ready to assist me with books, with instruments, and with counsel, gratuitously and cheerfully. He gave me the most valuable assistance and instruction, and to my dying day I can never forget the obligations which I owe to my venerable friend."
[46] "A Description of the Safety-lamp, invented by George Stephenson, and now in use in the Killingworth Colliery." London, 1817.