Edward Pease, the son of a wool merchant, was born in Darlington in 1767. At the age of fourteen he left school and went to work with his father. Pease attended markets and rode round the country buying the fleeces from the farmers and selling the finished woven pieces to London merchants. When Pease reached the age of fifty he retired from the family business and began to concentrate on his idea of starting a public railway. On his travels buying and selling wool, Pease came to the conclusion that there was a great need for a railroad with wagons drawn by horses to carry coal from the collieries of West Durham to the port of Stockton. In 1821 Pease and a group of businessmen from the area formed the Stockton & Darlington Railway company.

On 19th April 1821 an Act of Parliament was passed that authorized the company to build a horse railway that would link the collieries in West Durham, Darlington and the River Tees at Stockton. Nicholas Wood, the manager of Killingworth Colliery, and his engine-wright, George Stephenson, met Pease and suggested that he should consider building a locomotive railway. Stephenson told Pease that "a horse on an iron road would draw ten tons for one ton on a common road". Stephenson added that the Blutcher locomotive that he had built at Killingworth was "worth fifty horses". That summer Pease took up Stephenson's invitation to visit Killingworth Colliery. When Pease saw the Blutcher at work he realised George Stephenson was right and offered him the post as the chief engineer of the Stockton & Darlington company.

It was now necessary for Pease to apply for a further Act of Parliament. This time a clause was added that stated that Parliament gave permission for the company "to make and erect locomotive or moveable engines". In 1823 Edward Pease joined with Michael Longdridge, George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson, to form a company to make the locomotives. The Robert Stephenson & Company, at Forth Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, became the world's first locomotive builder. Stephenson recruited Timothy Hackworth, one of the engineers who had helped William Hedley to produce Puffing Billy, to work for the company. Edward Pease missed the opening day celebrations as his son Isaac had died the previous night. Large crowds saw George Stephenson at the controls of the Locomotion as it pulled a series of wagons filled with sacks of coal and flour. The train also included a purpose built railway passenger coach called the Experiment. All told, over 600 people travelled in the train that reached speeds of 15 mph (24 kph). This meant that for the first time in history, a steam locomotive had hauled passengers on a public railway. When Pease retired he was replaced by his son Joseph Pease. He expanded the business and by 1830 had bought up enough local collieries to become the largest colliery owner in the whole of the South Durham. In 1832 Pease became Britain's first Quaker MP when he was elected to represent South Durham in Parliament. Pease, a member of the Society of Friends, supported the Anti-Slavery movement and he also supported Elizabeth Fry in her campaign for prison reform. Edward Pease died in 1858.