The engine with its load of water weighed a trifle over four tons--seemingly little more than a toy-locomotive, as compared with the modern monsters more than thirty times that weight. But for its size the little _Rocket_ was a marvelous performer, even as judged by recent standards. On the first day of the contests over the two miles of trial tracks, it covered twelve miles in considerably less than an hour, shuttling back and forth over the road. The next day, as none of the other engines was in condition to exhibit, Stephenson offered to satisfy the curiosity of the great crowd that had gathered--a crowd that contained representatives from all over the world--by an unofficial trial of the _Rocket_. He coupled the little engine to a car, loaded on thirty-six passengers, and took them for a spin over the road at the rate of from twenty-six to thirty miles an hour. The following day some of the competing locomotives were still unable to exhibit, and again the _Rocket_ was given a semi-official trial. Hauling a car loaded with thirteen tons' weight, it ran back and forth over the two-mile road, covering thirty-five miles in one hour and forty-eight minutes including stoppages. The maximum velocity attained was about twenty-nine miles an hour. As this performance was duplicated on the day of the official trial, the _Rocket_ was declared the winner, and awarded the prize. [Illustration: THE FAMOUS LOCOMOTIVES "ROCKET" AND "SANS PAREIL." Stevenson's celebrated "Rocket" is known to everyone as the winner of the competition for the prize of 500 pounds offered in 1829 by the Directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The "Sans Pareil," which, like the "Rocket," is still preserved at the South Kensington Museum in London, competed unsuccessfully for the prize. Though not equal to the "Rocket" it was in many respects a well-made locomotive. It was purchased by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company and saw many years of active service.]