Stockton to Darlington.The first ever passenger rail line in the world. For those that like a little history :- Conceived by wealthy local wool merchant Edward Pease, the S&DR was authorised by Parliament in 1821 and was initially intended to be an ordinary horse-drawn plateway, which were then commonplace in the United Kingdom. However, George Stephenson had been perfecting his engines at Killingworth for about seven years, and had built the Hetton colliery railway. With the help of his manager from Killingworth colliery, Nicholas Wood, he persuaded Edward Pease, on the day that the Act received Royal Assent, to allow him to resurvey the route and work it, at least partly, by steam. Accordingly, a new Act of Parliament was obtained approving Stephenson's changes to the route, and a clause added to permit the use of "loco-motive or moveable engines". This latter clause narrowly escaped being struck out of the bill because of officials not understanding the meaning. The bill also included provisions for transporting passengers though, at the time, they were regarded as little more than a sideline. He had given up on the "steam springs" that were proving unsuccessful at Hetton, but retained other improvements, such as the direct connection of the pistons by crank rods, though the wheels were coupled by gears. He also made improvements to the track to overcome the problems with settling of the stone blocks on which they were laid, and used T-section malleable iron in fifteen foot lengths, for the rails, pioneered by John Birkinshaw at Bedlington Ironworks in 1820. Initially Stephenson's son Robert assisted him, but then went to join William James in surveying a proposed new line between Liverpool and Manchester. George and Robert, with Edward Pease and Michael Longridge (owner of Bedlington Ironworks) together established a company at Newcastle-on-Tyne, to manufacture locomotives, which became Robert Stephenson and Company. The line was twenty six miles in total, with two cable-worked inclines at the western end, joined by a short horse-worked section. From Shildon the line was relatively level through Darlington to Stockton. The line's structures included one of the first railway bridges. Designed by architect Ignatius Bonomi, the so-called 'first railway architect', the Skerne Bridge in Darlington is the oldest railway bridge still in use today. From 1990 until 2003, the bridge appeared on the reverse of Series E ?5 notes issued by the Bank of England which featured George Stephenson. The bridge is shown with a train hauled by Locomotion No 1 crossing it.[1] S&DR's track gauge was required to accommodate the horse-drawn wagons used in the older wagonways serving coal mines. This influence appears to be the main reason that 1435 mm (4 ft 8? in) was subsequently adopted as standard gauge. Steam locomotives were then a new and unproven technology, and were slow, expensive and unreliable. The initial impetus for steam power had come during the Napoleonic Wars, when horse fodder had become very expensive, and had still not settled down, while improving transport and mining methods was making coal more plentiful. However, many people weren't convinced that steam engines were a viable alternative to the horse. So at first, horse traction predominated on the S&DR, until steam could prove its worth. S&DR Locomotion No. 1 preserved at the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum The first locomotive to run on the S&DR was Locomotion No 1, built at the Stephenson works though, in the absence of Robert, Timothy Hackworth had been brought in from Wylam. (On Robert's return he took charge of maintenance at the S&DR's Shildon's Soho works.) "Locomotion" used coupling rods rather than gears between the wheels, the first to do so. The official opening of the line was on 27 September 1825; the first steam-hauled passenger train ran and carried up to 600 passengers. The first passenger train was not fast, taking two hours to complete the first 12 miles (19 km) of the journey. Most of the passengers sat in open coal wagons but one experimental passenger coach, resembling a wooden shed on wheels and called "The Experiment", carried various dignitaries. An experimental regular passenger service was soon established, initially a horse-drawn coach with horse provided by the driver. While passenger carrying was contracted out, locomotive coal trains were either paid by the ton, contractors providing their own fuel, which meant they tended to use the cargo, or by fixed wages, which meant they did not bother to economise. Three more engines were built similar to Locomotion then, in 1826, Stephenson introduced the "Experiment" with inclined cylinders, which meant that it could be mounted on springs. Originally four wheeled, it was modified for six. Not all engines came from Stephenson. In 1826 also, Wilson, Robert and Company, of Newcastle, produced one for the l

Made this for my wife's birthday. The cake is not actually baked in the oven. I made in my TurboCooker. It's a big pan with a large domed lid with a valve that allows you to control the steam from the water that is in the bottom of the pan. It also has a rack (for steaming vegetables 'n such) and a spring form pan (for making cakes or quiches, etc.) Everything is done in the one pan on the stove. For this cake, I first made the chocolate cake (boxed cake mix -- except in place of the oil, use diet cherry cola). Then I made the vanilla cake. After they both had cooled, I hollowed out the chocolate cake. Made a mixture of french vanilla and banana puddings and filled the hollowed out section. Placed the vanilla cake on top. Dumped a can of cherry pie filling into the pan with the remainder of the cherry cola. Brought it to a bubble and then spooned it over the cake. It was pretty good. Kinda messy to eat 'cause there was so much filling. :)