Newcastle-upon-Tyne Railway Station in 1960, viewed from the castle at the east end. The famous diamond crossing was made even more complex at this time by third-rail electrification for the North Tyneside line, which has since then become the Tyne and Wear Metro. What it would have been like if Brunel’s atmospheric tubes had been installed beggars imagination. Here we see one of the Tyneside EMUs (electric multiple units) setting off in the centre; a goods train headed by a British railways 9F 2-10-0 waits in the station behind; and on the right, former North Eastern Railway J71 0-6-0T station pilot gets on with a little shunting.
GEORGE [Stephenson] was standing with his back to the fire, when Lord Howick called to see Robert.* George began, “Now, my Lord, I know very well what you have come about: it’s that atmospheric line in the north; I will show you in less than five minutes that it can never answer.”
“If Mr Robert Stephenson is not at liberty, I can call again,” said his Lordship.
“He’s certainly occupied on important business just at present,” was George’s answer; “but I can tell you far better than he can what nonsense the atmospheric system is: Robert’s good-natured, you see, and if your Lordship were to get alongside of him you might talk him over; so you have been quite lucky in meeting with me.”
He proceeded in his strong Doric to explain his views in detail,* until Lord Howick could stand it no longer, and he rose and walked towards the door. George followed him down stairs, to finish his demolition of the atmospheric system. “You may take my word for it, my Lord, it will never answer.”*
George’s visitor was Henry George Grey (1802-1894), 3rd Earl Grey, styled Viscount Howick from 1807 to 1845. His father had been Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834.
Doric was a dialect of ancient Greek spoken around Sparta, deemed uncultured by Attic speakers in Athens. In Smiles’s Edinburgh, Doric was used as a humorous term for the accent of Scots from the rural lowlands, as opposed to educated ‘Athenians’ from the capital city. He is implying that Stephenson was the rough-and-ready Spartan beside the polished Athenian, Earl Grey.
The atmospheric system was championed by the eminent engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859). He and George were rivals, and according to Smiles, “When Stephenson first met Brunel in Newcastle, he good-naturedly shook him by the collar, and asked ‘What business he had north of the Tyne?’.” George was actually quite right, though: atmospheric traction, which sucked carriages along using air pressure in a tube between the rails, was expensive and prone to breakdown, and steam locomotives were a far more robust solution.
Précis
When former Prime Minister Earl Grey came to see Robert Stephenson about a so-called atmospheric railway from London to Newcastle, Robert’s father George stepped in. He steered the statesman away from the more persuadable Robert, and explained that the scheme was quite impractical, indeed imprudent. His lordship eventually admitted defeat, and went away without ever seeing Robert. (57 / 60 words)
