This was the period in the mid-1840s known as the Railway Mania.
By this time the "railway mania" was coming to an end and contracts in Britain were becoming increasingly more difficult to find.
He avoided all the triumphs and disasters of the railway mania.
In 1847, at the height of the railway mania, his income was enormous - estimates vary from £40,000 to £100,000.
So, at first, the company concentrated on this, a decision that had repercussions across the country and triggered the "railway mania".
In the mid-1840s, railway mania swept throughout the United Kingdom.
His fortunes improved with the Railway Mania of 1844-46.
Hype cycles are common in many emerging technologies, such as the railway mania or the dot-com bubble.
The Portsmouth Direct Line was built after the 1840s 'railway mania'.
Darbyshire's migration to Victoria coincides with the end of what is now termed the 'railway mania'.