The directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, before erecting
the stationary engines by which they had intended to draw their
passenger and freight carriages, determined to appeal to the mechanical
talent of the country, in the hope of securing some preferable form of
motor. A prize was accordingly offered, in the autumn of 1829, for the
best locomotive engine, to be tested on the portion of the railway then
completed. Ericsson was not aware that any such prize had been offered,
until within seven weeks of the day fixed for the trial. He was not
deterred by the shortness of the time, but, applying all his energies
to the task, planned an engine, executed the working-drawings, and had
the whole machine constructed within the seven weeks.

The day of trial arrived. Three engines entered the lists for the
prize,--namely, the Rocket, by George Stephenson; the Sanspareil, by
Timothy Hackworth; and the Novelty, by Ericsson. Both sides of the
railway, for more than a mile in length, were lined with thousands of
spectators. There was no room for jockeying in such a race, for
inanimate matter was to be put in motion, and that moves only in
accordance with immutable laws. The signal was given for the start.
Instead of the application of whip and spur, the gentle touch of the
steam-valve gave life and motion to the novel machine.

Up to that period, the greatest speed at which man had been carried
along the ground was that of the race-horse; and no one of the
multitude present on this occasion expected to see that speed
surpassed. It was the general belief that the maximum attainable by the
locomotive engine would not much exceed ten miles. To the surprise and
admiration of the crowd, however, the Novelty steam-carriage, the
_fastest_ engine started, guided by its inventor Ericsson,
assisted by John Braithwaite, darted along the track at the rate of