dinary coal-owners; whilst the small amount of interest felt in
railways by the general public, and the supposed impracticability of
working them to a profit, as yet prevented ordinary capitalists from
venturing their money in the promotion of such undertakings. The Hetton
Coal Company were, however, possessed of adequate means; and the local
reputation of the Killingworth engine-wright pointed him out as the man
best calculated to lay out their line, and superintend their works. They
accordingly invited him to act as the engineer of the proposed railway,
which was to be the longest locomotive line that had, up to that time,
been constructed. It extended from the Hetton Colliery, situated about
two miles south of Houghton-le-Spring, in the county of Durham, to the
shipping-places on the banks of the Wear, near Sunderland. Its length
was about eight miles; and in its course it crossed Warden Law, one of
the highest hills in the district. The character of the country forbade
the construction of a flat line, or one of comparatively easy gradients,
except by the expenditure of a much larger capital than was placed at the
engineer's disposal. Heavy works could not be executed; it was therefore
necessary to form the line with but little deviation from the natural
conformation of the district which it traversed, and also to adapt the
mechanical methods employed for its working to the character of the
gradients, which in some places were necessarily heavy.

Although Stephenson had, with every step made towards its increased
utility, become more and more identified with the success of the
locomotive engine, he did not allow his enthusiasm to carry him away into
costly mistakes. He carefully drew the line between the cases in which
the locomotive could be usefully employed, and those in which stationary
engines were calculated to be more economical. This led him, as in the
instance of the Hetton Railway, to execute lines through and over rough
countries, where gradients within the powers of the locomotive engine of
that day could not be secured, employing in their stead stationary
engines where locomotives were not practicable. In the present case,
this course was adopted by him most successfully. On the original Hetton
line, there were five self-acting inclines,--the full waggons drawing the
empty ones up,--and two inclines worked by fixed reciprocating engines of
sixty horse power each. The locomotive travelling engine