favorite plan of building a "traveling
engine," as he then called it.

He made an engine that was fairly successful, as it drew eight loaded
cars on a railway at a speed of four miles an hour. But he was not
contented; he knew that he could do much better. Soon afterward, he
was employed to construct another engine, in which he made some great
improvements that enabled it to go twice as fast as the other.

Accounts of Stephenson's great invention crept into print, and people
began to have faith in the locomotive. In 1822, a company began to
build a line of railway between two towns named Stockton and
Darlington. Stephenson was employed to construct the road-bed and
build the engines. It was completed three years later, and was the
subject of great popular curiosity.

Great crowds came to see the line opened. Stephenson himself drove the
first engine. The train consisted of thirty-four cars. The signal was
given and the train started. Great was the sensation as it moved off,
and still greater was the admiration of the people at Stockton when the
train arrived there after a safe journey. Thus, in 1825, was opened
the first railway ever made for public use.

Stephenson was soon engaged in constructing a railway between
Manchester and Liverpool. But now a storm of opposition broke out.
Pamphlets and newspaper articles were written, making fun of
Stephenson, and declaring that the new railroad would be a failure. It
was claimed that the engine would certainly set fire to the surrounding
country, that it would explode and kill the passengers, and that it
would run over the people before they could get out of its way.

A committee was appointed by the English Parliament to look into the
matter. They sneered at Stephenson as a lunatic, when he assured them
that he could run his engine at twelve miles an hour. One of these
wise men said to him: "Suppose a cow were to get in the way of an
engine running at that rate of speed, wouldn't that be a very awkward
circumstance?" "Yes," answered Stephenson, "very awkward for the cow."

But the consent of Parliament was at last obtained, and the line was
completed in 1830, after many great obstacles had been overcome. It
was shown that a train could be run at thirty miles an hour with
safety, and thus the enemies of Stephenson were silenced.

Stephenson superintended the building of many other lines of railroad,
and lived to see his best hopes realized. He became