One of the world鈥檚 most historically important railway artefacts has been rediscovered by 51爆料 after more than 50 years.
For the first time, members of the public will be able to see detailed plans by George Stephenson – known as the father of the railways – for the world鈥檚 first passenger railway to use locomotives.
The notebook, dated 1822, was found by John Page, a records assistant at 51爆料鈥檚 archive in York. It outlines Stephenson鈥檚 redesign of and budget for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and became the blueprint for the railways that followed.
John uncovered the notebook, which had not been seen since the 1950s, while searching for documents in the archive鈥檚 deeds room in April. There are about 20,000 documents on the shelves; the Stephenson notebook is number 350.
He said: 鈥淏ecause it is a historical document it would never have been loaned out or requested as it didn鈥檛 impact the running of the railway so since the 1950s, it has sat on a shelf unnoticed amongst hundreds of other packets.
鈥淚 was looking for a deed for one of our internal colleagues and purely out of curiosity decided to look through the packets, and there it was, and what a thrill it was to find.鈥�
Click on the gallery to see the front cover as it looks today and the first page
The rediscovery means the public will be able to see the notebook for the first time – unveiled a display of the notebook on 27 September, the 193rd anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington line.
The notebook shows Stephenson鈥檚 survey of fellow engineer George Overton鈥檚 original 1821 line and the amendments he recommended to it.
There were significant changes to the Overton design. Overton鈥檚 plan had sharp inclines, steep curves and tunnels whereas Stephenson favoured gradual inclines and eased curves. Stephenson also proposed the use of spoil excavated from the cuttings to create the embankments, avoiding the need for a tunnel Overton had recommended. This would shorten the Darlington branch by three miles.
Overton鈥檚 plan relied heavily on horses and wagons upon the line鈥檚 completion, much like his colliery lines in South Wales. In South Wales, goods would be brought by canal part way and then transferred onto wagons, which were then hauled by horses on iron tramways.
Stephenson (pictured right) saw the advantage of using steam-powered locomotives and engines after a few successful trials on his colliery lines in Killingworth, in North Tyneside, so planned the Stockton and Darlington route to best suit their adoption.
In total, Stephenson鈥檚 estimate of the cost of his line was just over 拢60,000, down significantly from Overton鈥檚 more than 拢77,000.
The 12鈥� x 12 notebook is bound in its original form and is written in ink with pencil annotations. It was signed by G Stephenson at Killingworth Colliery on 18 January 1822.
Stephenson was well known to struggle with written English – he was illiterate until the age of 18. John said: “It is said that he dictated pretty much all of his writing to a secretary. I think this is what happened in this case, it was dictated live, and then corrected in pencil, and then signed by Stephenson himself.”
He added: “In pencil you can see an editor has tried to 鈥榯idy-up鈥� his Northumbrian dialect.鈥�
