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Stockton and Darlington Railway -
Edward Pease |
Edward
Pease, the son of a wool merchant, was born in Darlington in
1767. At the age of fourteen he left school and went to work
with his father. Pease attended markets and rode round the
country buying the fleeces from the farmers and selling the
finished woven pieces to London merchants. When Pease
reached the age of fifty he retired from the family business
and began to concentrate on his idea of starting a public
railway. On his travels buying and selling wool, Pease came
to the conclusion that there was a great need for a railroad
with wagons drawn by horses to carry coal from the
collieries of West Durham to the port of Stockton. In 1821
Pease and a group of businessmen from the area formed the
Stockton & Darlington Railway company.
On 19th April 1821 an Act of Parliament was passed that
authorized the company to build a horse railway that would
link the collieries in West Durham, Darlington and the River
Tees at Stockton. Nicholas Wood, the manager of Killingworth
Colliery, and his engine-wright, George Stephenson, met
Pease and suggested that he should consider building a
locomotive railway. Stephenson told Pease that "a horse on
an iron road would draw ten tons for one ton on a common
road". Stephenson added that the Blutcher locomotive that he
had built at Killingworth was "worth fifty horses". That
summer Pease took up Stephenson's invitation to visit
Killingworth Colliery. When Pease saw the Blutcher at work
he realised George Stephenson was right and offered him the
post as the chief engineer of the Stockton & Darlington
company.
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It was now necessary for
Pease to apply for a further Act of Parliament.
This time a clause was added that stated that
Parliament gave permission for the company "to
make and erect locomotive or moveable engines".
In 1823 Edward Pease joined with Michael
Longdridge, George Stephenson and his son Robert
Stephenson, to form a company to make the
locomotives. The Robert Stephenson & Company, at
Forth Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, became the
world's first locomotive builder. Stephenson
recruited Timothy Hackworth, one of the
engineers who had helped William Hedley to
produce Puffing Billy, to work for the company.
Edward Pease missed the opening day celebrations
as his son Isaac had died the previous night.
Large crowds saw George Stephenson at the
controls of the Locomotion as it pulled a series
of wagons filled with sacks of coal and flour.
The train also included a purpose built railway
passenger coach called the Experiment. All told,
over 600 people travelled in the train that
reached speeds of 15 mph (24 kph). This meant
that for the first time in history, a steam
locomotive had hauled passengers on a public
railway. When Pease retired he was replaced by
his son Joseph Pease. He expanded the business
and by 1830 had bought up enough local
collieries to become the largest colliery owner
in the whole of the South Durham. In 1832 Pease
became Britain's first Quaker MP when he was
elected to represent South Durham in Parliament.
Pease, a member of the Society of Friends,
supported the Anti-Slavery movement and he also
supported Elizabeth Fry in her campaign for
prison reform. Edward Pease died in 1858. |
Joseph Pease |
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Elizabeth Fry |
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