 In 1824, George Stephenson, assisted by Padley, was appointed surveyor to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, largely utilising the route projected by James, and in the following year Stephenson was made engineer of the Canterbury and Whitstable, using James’s least preferred route.James’s visionary steam-worked Central Junction Railway emerged as the horse-worked Stratford and Moreton Tramway opened in 1826 with John Urpeth Rastrick as surveyor and Robert Stephenson senior (George’s brother) in an engineering capacity.Although recognising that railways were the coming mode of transport, James inherited inland waterways interests from his father.