Railway Companies Disestablished in 1863: Stockton and Darlington Railway, Georges Creek Railroad, West Midland Railway

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 142. Not illustrated. Chapters: Stockton and Darlington Railway, Georges Creek Railroad, West Midland Railway, Conway and Llanrwst Railway, Wansbeck Railway, Dundee and Perth Railway, Cleveland Railway, Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroad, Midland Land Damage Company, Southern Midland Railroad, Newport and Fall River Railroad, Troy and Rutland Railroad, Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad, Marion and Mississinewa Valley Railroad, Galena and Illinois River Railroad, Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad, Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad, Atchison and Topeka Railroad, Old Colony and Fall River Railroad, Savannah, Albany and Gulf Railroad. Excerpt: The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR), which opened in 1825, was 26 miles (40 km) long, and was built between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees and from Darlington to several collieries near Shildon in north-eastern England. The line was initially built to connect inland coal mines to Stockton, where coal was to be loaded onto sea-going boats. Much of its route is now served by the Tees Valley Line, operated by Northern Rail. It was also the longest railway at the time. Conceived by wealthy local wool merchant Edward Pease, the S&DR was authorised by Parliament in 1821 and was initially intended to be an ordinary horse-drawn plateway, which were then commonplace in the United Kingdom. However, George Stephenson had been perfecting his engines at Killingworth for about seven years, and had built the Hetton colliery railway. With the help of his manager from Killingworth colliery, Nicholas Wood, he persuaded Edward Pease, on the day that the Act received Royal Assent, to allow him to resurvey the route and work it, at least partly, by steam. Accordingly, a new Act of Parliament was obtained approving Stephenson's changes to the route, and a clause added to permit the use of loco-motive or ...