When all this had been accomplished, the disturbing influence of
railways began. "I see mischief in these confounded iron roads," said
the Duke of Bridgewater. But the time for railways had arrived, and they
could not be postponed. The first railroads were used for the conveyance
of coals from the pits to the seaside, where they were shipped for
London. Then it was proposed that they should be laid for the conveyance
of goods from town to town; and the largest traffic being in Lancashire,
one of the first railways was constructed between Liverpool and
Manchester, from which towns they were afterwards constructed in all
directions throughout the country.
Had Mr. Baxendale resisted the new means of conveyance, he would, before
long, have been driven off the road. But he clearly foresaw the ultimate
triumph of the railway system; and he went with it, instead of against
it. He relieved the Liverpool and Manchester Company of a great deal of
trouble, by undertaking to manage their goods' traffic and by collecting
and delivering it at both towns. Then, when the railways from Warrington
to Birmingham and from Birmingham to London were projected, he gave
evidence before the committees of Parliament, in proof of the estimated
traffic. And when the lines were made, he transferred the goods from his
carrying vans to the railway.
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