The stick clay/tone & Darlington Railway company (S&DR) was the first public railway, with which also persons were carried at the same time. It connected the localities Bishop Auckland, Shildon, Darlington, coming to a hold on on tea and haven Darlington, the today's Middlesbrough in northeast England. It existed from 1825 to 1863 and came up thereafter in the net of larger railway companies. In addition it has special meaning for the history of the railway, because their - in the origins on the remote ways of the Roman realm based - found track track width of 1435 mm in the consequence world-wide as standard gauge with most courses spreading.

History

Coal transportation in northeast England in 19. Century

To end 18. Century developed in the course of the industrialization in England increasingly a need of coal for the again developing steam engines, for smelting of ores and not least also for the heating of the houses in London and the other large cities. Well usable coal occurrences were in the northeast England and particularly also in the counties around to the teas River and coming to a hold on on tea.

Since the Middle Ages the coal was brought here to horses to the rivers, in order from there particularly in far London to be shipped. In 16. Century were in addition hundreds, probably even thousands of luggage horses in the whole county at all times on the way. The horses carried the coal first in lateral packing ashes, the coal also on trucks were later shipped. Transport with heavy trucks in the humidity-soaked earth from northeast England was however laborious. Therefore developed here soon "tramroads ", on which a horse could draw a ton of coal over nine to ten miles on one day. This "tramroads" consisted of a trace lined let in into the soil with Holzbohlen, in which the car wheels had an easier run than on bare earth.

The extent of these carrier's businesses favoured economically the regions and places, which were included in it. Between the surrounding places naturally a competition developed to affect and who was not geographically given preference to, approximately with a port lain well, the tried these transportation stream to its favour. Thus citizens of coming to a hold on on teas planned a channel from their city to Evenwood at the gauge, "the stick clay/tone and Auckland Canal ". With this coal transportation from the mines of the district Durham be promoted and naturally also fees should be taken.

Local one rivalries - channel or "Tramroad

The planned canal construction displeased however in Darlington the residents businessmen Edward Pease, Jonathan Backhouse and Francis Mewburn. The channel would miss its hometown and the surrounding coal mines around eight miles. They used themselves therefore for the building of one "tramroad ", which should lead from the mines around Bishop Auckland across Darlington after stick clay/tone.

Already to the time at that time England was so densely populated that roads and routes of transportation ran unavoidably over private Landbesitz or disturbing in their proximity. New routes of transportation required also therefore parliamentary permission. The group around Pease decided on 13 November 1818 to request the necessary parliament act for the building "tramroad ". By more favorable capital proofs and cost calculations it succeeded to Pease first to represent the idea of a course more convincingly than the competitive channel project. They lost this and a further licensing procedure before the English parliament however particularly by the resistance of lord Darlington, which was afraid for its areas used to the fox hunt.

With a new alignment the committee of Darlington wanted to step 1820 again before the parliament. The death of king George III on 29 January 1820 and the new election of the parliament following on it permitted input however only 1821. The routing sketched again by George Overton covered 37 miles with five branch lines. On 12 April 1821 the input was swotted successfully by the House OF Commons and on 17 April by the House OF lord and received on 19 April the royal permission of George IV.

Permission specified among other things that everyone could let a car on the distance drive, presupposed, it paid the fees and used safe equipment. The enterprise was permitted in the morning and 10 o'clock in the evening in the morning and 6 o'clock in the afternoon between 7 o'clock in the winter and between 5 o'clock in the summer. However neither the principal purpose of coal transport, still another possible transport of passengers was mentioned.

George Stephenson and "the Railway "

Still during Pease in the evening 19 of April 1821 at home in Darlington on the crucial message from London, called on him the manager of the bill Killingworth, Nicholas Wood, and its engineer George Stephenson waited. Anekdotisch is reported that George Stephenson Peases house entered barefoot. It is argued however, whether Stephenson moved barefoot after Darlington, over its footwear to preserve or whether he took the shoes off before its house from respect for the influential Pease.

Stephenson suggested Pease, instead of establishing "tramroad "to the rail course ("railway ") with locomotives. Stephenson explained that "on an iron route 10 tons pull a horse compared with a ton on a normal road "became. It added that the locomotive built by it in Killingworth would be worth "Bluecher ""fifty horses ".

Pease visited this machine in the Killingworth bill and reported on 23 July 1821 to the committee members of the impressing achievements of the machine. Was decided instead of building "the Tramway "one "for Railway ". Against the resistance of some committee members Pease interspersed besides that the routing is again specified by Stephenson. Stephenson presented the result of its investigations on 18 January 1822 and received four days later a fixed employment as well as the order for the building of the course. It was per annum paid with 660.

In the later process it showed up that Stephenson had difficulties to build the locomotives in time. Pease therefore considered even giving to another company in Leeds the construction contract for the locomotives. The problem for Stephenson and his cooperating son Robert was paradoxically that they were too successful with "the railway fever breaking out now in England ". They were considered as prominent in their area and took over orders for many new course projects. Thus George Stephenson took over advisory functions with four further railway projects and son Robert traveled short hand to South America, where he took over a post as an engineer with the Columbian Mining Association and the next three years mostly in Venezuela and Bolivia worked.

In the meantime the committee strove for a parliamentary permission for the routing changed by Stephenson and received the appropriate "Amending act "to 23. May 1823. Hiergegen raised lord Darlington again objection, which was however rejected now. The document contained also permission for raising a fee from 6 Schilling per mile from everyone to which wanted to let a vehicle with passengers on the distance drive. Thus the thought to a transportation of human beings on rails is occupied for the first time. Still more importantly it was however that also the enterprise with a tractor even driving was approved.

Articles in category "Stick clay/tone and Darlington Railway"

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