History of rail transport in Great Britain to 1830
Encyclopedia
The history of rail transport in Great Britain to 1830 covers the period up to the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
, the world's first intercity passenger railway operated solely by steam locomotives. The earliest form of railways, horse-drawn wagonways, originated in Germany
in the 16th century. However, the first use of steam locomotives was in Britain. The invention of wrought iron
rails, together with Richard Trevithick
's pioneering steam locomotive
meant that Britain had the first true railways in the world.
in Nottinghamshire built between 1603 and 1604 to carry coal.
As early as 1671 railed roads were in use in Durham to ease the conveyance of coal; the first of these was the Tanfield Wagon Way. Many of these tramroads or wagon ways were built in the 17th. and 18th. centuries. They used simply straight and parallel rails of timber on which carts with simple flanged iron wheels were drawn by horses, enabling several wagons to be moved simultaneously.
These primitive rails were superseded in 1793 when the then superintendent of the Cromford Canal
, Benjamin Outram
, constructed a tramway with 'L'-shaped flanged cast-iron plate rails from the quarry at Crich
: it was a little over a mile in length descending some 300 feet (91.4 m) and had a gauge of . Wagons fitted with simple flangeless wheels were kept on the track by vertical ledges, or plates. Cast-iron rails were a significant improvement over wooden rails as they could support a greater weight and the friction between wheel and rail was lower, allowing longer trains to be moved by horses.
Outram's rails were superseded by William Jessop
's cast iron
edge rails
where flanged wheels ran on the top edge of simple bar-shaped rails without the guiding ledges of Outram's flanged plate rails. The rails had been first employed in 1789 at Nanpantan
at the Loughborough
Charnwood Forest Canal
. Such rails could be manufactured in lengths. Jessop, a former pupil of John Smeaton
, became a partner with Outram in 1790 in the latter's Butterley ironworks
.
Cast iron rails had a propensity to break easily, and the short lengths soon became uneven. In 1820, John Birkenshaw introduced a method of rolling rails in greater lengths using wrought iron
which was used from then onwards.
to build, to enforce the sale of wayleave by landowners. The Acts also protected investors from unrealistic, or downright fraudulent, schemes.
The first line to obtain such an act, in 1758, was a private coal-owner's wagonway
, the Middleton Railway
in Leeds
. The first for public use, and on cast iron rails, was the Surrey Iron Railway
incorporated in 1799. It obtained an Act of Parliament on 21 May 1801 to build a tramroad between Wandsworth
and Croydon
in what is now south London
; the engineer was William Jessop
. Although it survived only until 1845 and was for freight traffic only, it prefaced many others in different parts of the country. Meanwhile, the first passenger-carrying public railway was the Oystermouth Railway, authorised in 1807. All three of these railways were initially worked by horses; the Surrey Iron Railway remained horse-drawn throughout its life.
The Kilmarnock and Troon Railway
was authorised by Act of Parliament on 27 May 1808 and was also built by William Jessop. It was the first line in Scotland to carry passengers. The line began life as a gauge waggonway and at first it was operated by horse
s, but in 1817 locomotive haulage was trialled, using one of Stephenson's locomotives. This was the first use of a steam locomotive in Scotland.
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The first steam railway locomotive was introduced by Richard Trevithick
in 1804. He was the first engineer to build a successful high pressure stationary steam engine, in 1799. He followed this with a road going steam carriage in 1801. Although that experiment ended in failure, in 1804 he built a successful unnamed rail going steam locomotive for the narrow gauge Merthyr Tydfil
Tramroad in South Wales
(sometimes - but incorrectly - called the "Penydarren Tramroad"). The Penydarren
locomotive used a high pressure cylinder without a condenser, the exhaust steam being used to assist the draught via the firebox, increasing efficiency even more. These fundamental improvements in steam engine designs by Trevithick did not change for the whole of the steam era. Amid great interest from the public, on 21 February 1804 it successfully carried 10 tons of iron, 5 wagons and 70 men a distance of 9.75 miles (15.7 km) from Penydarren to Abercynon
in 4 hours and 5 minutes, an average speed of nearly 5 mi/h. This locomotive proved that steam traction was a viable proposition, although the use of the locomotive was quickly abandoned as it was too heavy for the primitive plateway track. A second locomotive, built for the Wylam colliery, also broke the track.
Trevithick built a third locomotive in 1808, the Catch me who can
, which ran on a temporary demonstration railway in Bloomsbury
, London. Members of the public were able to ride behind at speeds up to 12 mi/h. However, it again broke the rails and Trevithick was forced to abandon the demonstration after just two months.
The first commercially successful steam locomotive was the twin cylinder Salamanca, built in 1812 by John Blenkinsop
and Matthew Murray
for the gauge Middleton Railway
. Blenkinsop believed that a locomotive light enough to move under its own power would be too light to generate sufficient adhesion, so he designed a rack and pinion
system for the line. This was despite the fact that Trevithick had demonstrated successful adhesion locomotives a decade before. The single rack ran outside the narrow gauge edge-rail tracks and was engaged by a cog-wheel on the left side of the locomotive. The cog-wheel was driven by two cylinders embedded into the top of the center-flue boiler. Four such locomotives were built for the railway, and they worked until the early 1830s.
The proprietors of Wylam
Colliery, near Newcastle upon Tyne
wanted to abolish horse-drawn trains in favour of steam. In 1804, William Hedley
, a manager at the colliery, employed Trevithick to build a steam locomotive. However, it proved too heavy for the wooden track to allow it to be used. William Hedley and Timothy Hackworth
(another colliery employee), designed a locomotive in 1813 which became known as Puffing Billy
. Puffing Billy featured piston rods extending upwards to pivoting beams, connected in turn by rods to a crankshaft beneath the frames, which in turn drove the gears attached to the wheels. This meant that the wheels were coupled, allowing better traction
A year later George Stephenson
, another of Wylam's employees, improved on that design with Blücher
, which was the first locomotive to use flanged wheels keeping the locomotive on the track, and had cylinder rods directly connected to the wheels in the manner of Catch me who can.
In 1821 an Act of Parliament was approved for a tramway between Stockton
and Darlington
. Stephenson's design convinced the backers of the proposed tramway to appoint Stephenson, who had recently built the Hetton colliery railway
, as engineer. Traffic on the Stockton and Darlington Railway
(S&DR) was originally intended to be horse-drawn, but Stephenson carried out a fresh survey of the route to allow steam haulage, and the Act was subsequently amended to allow the usage of steam locomotives. The railway was also empowered to carry passengers in addition to coal and general merchandise.
The line was 25 miles (40.2 km) in length, had 100 passing loops along its single track, and four branch lines to collieries. It opened on 27 September 1825. The first train was hauled by Stephenson's Locomotion No 1
at speeds of 12 to 15 mph (5.4 to 6.7 ) . Four locomotives named Locomotion were constructed, and were effectively beam engine
s on wheels with vertical cylinders. They were also amongst the first locomotives to use coupling rod
s rather than chains to drive its wheels. The railway was initially operated like a public road, and it was a common occurrence for waggoners' trains to meet on the single track, leading to arguments as to who should back up to a passing loop.
. An Act of Parliament authorising the railway was passed in 1824, and it opened in 1826 as a gauge, Scotch gauge
, railway.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway
' (L&MR) was the world's first intercity passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and operated by steam locomotive
s. This differed from the Stockton and Darlington
, as sections of this line employed cable haulage, and only the coal trains were hauled by locomotives. Further, horse-drawn traffic could use the Stockton and Darlington upon payment of a toll. The passenger-carrying Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
opened three months before the L&MR. However, it used cable haulage by stationary steam engines over much of its length, with steam locomotives restricted to the level stretch. The L&MR was primarily built to provide faster transport of raw materials and finished goods between the port of Liverpool
and mills in Manchester
in north-west England
.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company was founded on 24 May 1823. The 35 miles (56.3 km) line was a remarkable engineering achievement for its time, beginning with the 2250 yards (2,057.4 m) Wapping Tunnel
beneath Liverpool from the docks to Edge Hill
. Following this was a two mile (3 kilometres (1.9 mi)) long-cutting, up to 70 feet (21.3 m) deep, through rock at Olive Mount, and a nine 50 feet (15.2 m) span arch viaduct over the Sankey Brook Valley, around 70 feet (21.3 m) high. There was also a 4.75 miles (7.6 km) crossing of the Chat Moss bog.
To determine which locomotives would be suitable, the directors organised the Rainhill Trials
. These were arranged as an open contest that would let them see all the locomotive candidates in action, with the choice to follow. A prize of £500 was offered to the winner of the trials. The trials were won by Rocket
, built by George Stephenson
and Robert Stephenson
. Rocket was the first locomotive to use a multi-tubular boiler
, which allowed more effective heat transfer from the exhaust gases to the water. It was also the first to use a blastpipe
, where used steam from the cylinder
s discharges into the smokebox
beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught of the fire. With these innovations, Rocket averaged 12 miles per hour (5.4 m/s) achieving a top speed of 30 miles per hour (13.4 m/s) hauling 13 tons, and was declared the winner of the trials. The Stephensons were accordingly given the contract to produce locomotives for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.
The line opened on September 15, 1830 with termini at Liverpool Road, Manchester
(now part of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
) and Edge Hill, Liverpool.
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
, the world's first intercity passenger railway operated solely by steam locomotives. The earliest form of railways, horse-drawn wagonways, originated in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the 16th century. However, the first use of steam locomotives was in Britain. The invention of wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
rails, together with Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive...
's pioneering steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
meant that Britain had the first true railways in the world.
Early rails
The first recorded use of rail transport in Great Britain is Sir Francis Willoughby's Wollaton WagonwayWollaton Wagonway
The Wollaton Wagonway , built between October 1603 and 1604 in the East Midlands of England by Huntingdon Beaumont in partnership with Sir Percival Willoughby, is currently credited as the world's first overland wagonway and is therefore regarded as a significant step in the development of...
in Nottinghamshire built between 1603 and 1604 to carry coal.
As early as 1671 railed roads were in use in Durham to ease the conveyance of coal; the first of these was the Tanfield Wagon Way. Many of these tramroads or wagon ways were built in the 17th. and 18th. centuries. They used simply straight and parallel rails of timber on which carts with simple flanged iron wheels were drawn by horses, enabling several wagons to be moved simultaneously.
These primitive rails were superseded in 1793 when the then superintendent of the Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
, Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
, constructed a tramway with 'L'-shaped flanged cast-iron plate rails from the quarry at Crich
Crich
Crich is a village in Derbyshire in England. It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Village, and at the summit of Crich Hill above, a Memorial Tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I.Built in 1923 on the site of an...
: it was a little over a mile in length descending some 300 feet (91.4 m) and had a gauge of . Wagons fitted with simple flangeless wheels were kept on the track by vertical ledges, or plates. Cast-iron rails were a significant improvement over wooden rails as they could support a greater weight and the friction between wheel and rail was lower, allowing longer trains to be moved by horses.
Outram's rails were superseded by William Jessop
William Jessop
William Jessop was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Early life:...
's cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
edge rails
Wagonway
Wagonways consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam powered railways. The terms "plateway", "tramway" and in someplaces, "dramway" are also found.- Early developments :...
where flanged wheels ran on the top edge of simple bar-shaped rails without the guiding ledges of Outram's flanged plate rails. The rails had been first employed in 1789 at Nanpantan
Nanpantan
Nanpantan is a small village in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is located in the south-west of the town of Loughborough, but the village is slightly separated from the main built-up area of Loughborough...
at the Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
Charnwood Forest Canal
Charnwood Forest Canal
The Charnwood Forest Canal, sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation", was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further connection to Barrow Hill, near Worthington, in 1794...
. Such rails could be manufactured in lengths. Jessop, a former pupil of John Smeaton
John Smeaton
John Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
, became a partner with Outram in 1790 in the latter's Butterley ironworks
Butterley Company
Butterley Engineering was an engineering company based in Ripley, Derbyshire. The company was formed from the Butterley Company which began as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790 and existed until 2009.-Origins:...
.
Cast iron rails had a propensity to break easily, and the short lengths soon became uneven. In 1820, John Birkenshaw introduced a method of rolling rails in greater lengths using wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
which was used from then onwards.
Early public railways
The earliest railways were built and paid for by the owners of the mines they served. As railway technology developed, longer lines became possible, connecting mines with more distant transshipment points and promising lower costs. These longer lines often required public subscription to build and crossed over land not owned by the mine owners. As a result they needed an Act of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
to build, to enforce the sale of wayleave by landowners. The Acts also protected investors from unrealistic, or downright fraudulent, schemes.
The first line to obtain such an act, in 1758, was a private coal-owner's wagonway
Wagonway
Wagonways consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam powered railways. The terms "plateway", "tramway" and in someplaces, "dramway" are also found.- Early developments :...
, the Middleton Railway
Middleton Railway
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd...
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. The first for public use, and on cast iron rails, was the Surrey Iron Railway
Surrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway was a horse drawn plateway whose width approximated to a standard gauge railway that linked the former Surrey towns of Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham...
incorporated in 1799. It obtained an Act of Parliament on 21 May 1801 to build a tramroad between Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
and Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
in what is now south London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; the engineer was William Jessop
William Jessop
William Jessop was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Early life:...
. Although it survived only until 1845 and was for freight traffic only, it prefaced many others in different parts of the country. Meanwhile, the first passenger-carrying public railway was the Oystermouth Railway, authorised in 1807. All three of these railways were initially worked by horses; the Surrey Iron Railway remained horse-drawn throughout its life.
The Kilmarnock and Troon Railway
Kilmarnock and Troon Railway
The Kilmarnock and Troon Railway was the first railway line in Scotland authorised by Act of Parliament, in 1808; the engineer was William Jessop. It was the first railway in Scotland to use a steam locomotive; and it was the only one in Scotland for fourteen years...
was authorised by Act of Parliament on 27 May 1808 and was also built by William Jessop. It was the first line in Scotland to carry passengers. The line began life as a gauge waggonway and at first it was operated by horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, but in 1817 locomotive haulage was trialled, using one of Stephenson's locomotives. This was the first use of a steam locomotive in Scotland.
Introduction of steam locomotives
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive...
in 1804. He was the first engineer to build a successful high pressure stationary steam engine, in 1799. He followed this with a road going steam carriage in 1801. Although that experiment ended in failure, in 1804 he built a successful unnamed rail going steam locomotive for the narrow gauge Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
Tramroad in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
(sometimes - but incorrectly - called the "Penydarren Tramroad"). The Penydarren
Penydarren
Penydarren Ironworks was the fourth of the great ironworks established at Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.Built in 1784 by the brothers Samuel Homfray, Jeremiah Homfray, and Thomas Homfray, all sons of Francis Homfray of Stourbridge. Their father, Francis, for a time managed a nail warehouse there...
locomotive used a high pressure cylinder without a condenser, the exhaust steam being used to assist the draught via the firebox, increasing efficiency even more. These fundamental improvements in steam engine designs by Trevithick did not change for the whole of the steam era. Amid great interest from the public, on 21 February 1804 it successfully carried 10 tons of iron, 5 wagons and 70 men a distance of 9.75 miles (15.7 km) from Penydarren to Abercynon
Abercynon
Abercynon is a small village in the Cynon Valley in Mid Glamorgan, Wales. The unitary authority is now known as Rhondda Cynon Taff. It is composed of the village of Abercynon itself,Carnetown,Glancynon,Park View and Pontcynon. However, in recent years the sign to show motorists they are entering...
in 4 hours and 5 minutes, an average speed of nearly 5 mi/h. This locomotive proved that steam traction was a viable proposition, although the use of the locomotive was quickly abandoned as it was too heavy for the primitive plateway track. A second locomotive, built for the Wylam colliery, also broke the track.
Trevithick built a third locomotive in 1808, the Catch me who can
Catch me who can
Catch Me Who Can was the fourth and last steam railway locomotive created by Richard Trevithick, . Built in 1808 by Rastrick and Hazledine at their foundry in Bridgnorth, England...
, which ran on a temporary demonstration railway in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, London. Members of the public were able to ride behind at speeds up to 12 mi/h. However, it again broke the rails and Trevithick was forced to abandon the demonstration after just two months.
The first commercially successful steam locomotive was the twin cylinder Salamanca, built in 1812 by John Blenkinsop
John Blenkinsop
John Blenkinsop was an English mining engineer and an inventor of steam locomotives, who designed the first practical railway locomotive....
and Matthew Murray
Matthew Murray
Matthew Murray was an English steam engine and machine tool manufacturer, who designed and built the first commercially viable steam locomotive, the twin cylinder Salamanca in 1812...
for the gauge Middleton Railway
Middleton Railway
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd...
. Blenkinsop believed that a locomotive light enough to move under its own power would be too light to generate sufficient adhesion, so he designed a rack and pinion
Rack railway
A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...
system for the line. This was despite the fact that Trevithick had demonstrated successful adhesion locomotives a decade before. The single rack ran outside the narrow gauge edge-rail tracks and was engaged by a cog-wheel on the left side of the locomotive. The cog-wheel was driven by two cylinders embedded into the top of the center-flue boiler. Four such locomotives were built for the railway, and they worked until the early 1830s.
Stockton and Darlington Railway
Wylam
Wylam is a small village about west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located in the county of Northumberland.It is famous for the being the birthplace of George Stephenson, one of the early rail pioneers. George Stephenson's Birthplace is his cottage that can be found on the north bank of the...
Colliery, near Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
wanted to abolish horse-drawn trains in favour of steam. In 1804, William Hedley
William Hedley
William Hedley was one of the leading industrial engineers of the early 19th century, and was very instrumental in several major innovations in early railway development...
, a manager at the colliery, employed Trevithick to build a steam locomotive. However, it proved too heavy for the wooden track to allow it to be used. William Hedley and Timothy Hackworth
Timothy Hackworth
Timothy Hackworth was a steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.- Youth and early work :...
(another colliery employee), designed a locomotive in 1813 which became known as Puffing Billy
Puffing Billy (locomotive)
Puffing Billy is an early railway steam locomotive, constructed in 1813-1814 by engineer William Hedley, enginewright Jonathan Forster and blacksmith Timothy Hackworth for Christopher Blackett, the owner of Wylam Colliery near Newcastle upon Tyne, in the United Kingdom. It is the world's oldest...
. Puffing Billy featured piston rods extending upwards to pivoting beams, connected in turn by rods to a crankshaft beneath the frames, which in turn drove the gears attached to the wheels. This meant that the wheels were coupled, allowing better traction
A year later George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
, another of Wylam's employees, improved on that design with Blücher
Blücher (locomotive)
Blücher was an early railway locomotive built in 1814 by George Stephenson for Killingworth Colliery. It was the first of a series of locomotives that he designed in the period 1814-16 which established his reputation as an engine designer and laid the foundations for his subsequent pivotal role in...
, which was the first locomotive to use flanged wheels keeping the locomotive on the track, and had cylinder rods directly connected to the wheels in the manner of Catch me who can.
In 1821 an Act of Parliament was approved for a tramway between Stockton
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
and Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
. Stephenson's design convinced the backers of the proposed tramway to appoint Stephenson, who had recently built the Hetton colliery railway
Hetton colliery railway
The Hetton colliery railway was an 8-mile-long private railway opened in 1822 by the Hetton Coal Company at Hetton Lyons, County Durham, England. It was the first to be designed from the start to be operated without animal power, and was George Stephenson's first entirely new line. When it closed...
, as engineer. Traffic on the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
(S&DR) was originally intended to be horse-drawn, but Stephenson carried out a fresh survey of the route to allow steam haulage, and the Act was subsequently amended to allow the usage of steam locomotives. The railway was also empowered to carry passengers in addition to coal and general merchandise.
The line was 25 miles (40.2 km) in length, had 100 passing loops along its single track, and four branch lines to collieries. It opened on 27 September 1825. The first train was hauled by Stephenson's Locomotion No 1
Locomotion No 1
Locomotion No. 1 is an early British steam locomotive. Built by George and Robert Stephenson's company Robert Stephenson and Company in 1825, it hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 27 September 1825....
at speeds of 12 to 15 mph (5.4 to 6.7 ) . Four locomotives named Locomotion were constructed, and were effectively beam engine
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
s on wheels with vertical cylinders. They were also amongst the first locomotives to use coupling rod
Coupling rod
right|thumb|connecting rod and coupling rods attached to a small locomotive driving wheelA coupling rod or side rod connects the driving wheels of a locomotive. Steam locomotives in particular usually have them, but some diesel and electric locomotives, especially older ones and shunters, also have...
s rather than chains to drive its wheels. The railway was initially operated like a public road, and it was a common occurrence for waggoners' trains to meet on the single track, leading to arguments as to who should back up to a passing loop.
Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
The first public steam railway in Scotland was the Monkland and Kirkintilloch RailwayMonkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway was an early mineral railway running from a colliery at Monklands to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, Scotland....
. An Act of Parliament authorising the railway was passed in 1824, and it opened in 1826 as a gauge, Scotch gauge
Scotch gauge
Scotch gauge was the name given to a track gauge, that was adopted by early 19th century railways mainly in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. It differed from the gauge of that was used on some early lines in England; and from the standard gauge of...
, railway.
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
' (L&MR) was the world's first intercity passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and operated by steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s. This differed from the Stockton and Darlington
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
, as sections of this line employed cable haulage, and only the coal trains were hauled by locomotives. Further, horse-drawn traffic could use the Stockton and Darlington upon payment of a toll. The passenger-carrying Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.- Early history :...
opened three months before the L&MR. However, it used cable haulage by stationary steam engines over much of its length, with steam locomotives restricted to the level stretch. The L&MR was primarily built to provide faster transport of raw materials and finished goods between the port of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and mills in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in north-west England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company was founded on 24 May 1823. The 35 miles (56.3 km) line was a remarkable engineering achievement for its time, beginning with the 2250 yards (2,057.4 m) Wapping Tunnel
Wapping Tunnel
Wapping or Edge Hill Tunnel in Liverpool, England, was constructed to enable goods services to operate between Liverpool docks and Manchester, and all points between, as part of the planned Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was the first tunnel in the world to be bored under a metropolis...
beneath Liverpool from the docks to Edge Hill
Edge Hill, Liverpool
Edge Hill is a district of Liverpool, England. It is located to the south east of Liverpool city centre, bordered by the city centre, Kensington, Wavertree and Toxteth. Edge Hill University was founded here, but moved to Ormskirk in the 1930s.-History:...
. Following this was a two mile (3 kilometres (1.9 mi)) long-cutting, up to 70 feet (21.3 m) deep, through rock at Olive Mount, and a nine 50 feet (15.2 m) span arch viaduct over the Sankey Brook Valley, around 70 feet (21.3 m) high. There was also a 4.75 miles (7.6 km) crossing of the Chat Moss bog.
Rainhill Trials
The Rainhill Trials were an important competition in the early days of steam locomotive railways, run in October 1829 in Rainhill, Lancashire for the nearly completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway....
. These were arranged as an open contest that would let them see all the locomotive candidates in action, with the choice to follow. A prize of £500 was offered to the winner of the trials. The trials were won by Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket was an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, built in Newcastle Upon Tyne at the Forth Street Works of Robert Stephenson and Company in 1829.- Design innovations :...
, built by George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
and Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
. Rocket was the first locomotive to use a multi-tubular boiler
Fire-tube boiler
A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire pass through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water...
, which allowed more effective heat transfer from the exhaust gases to the water. It was also the first to use a blastpipe
Blastpipe
The blastpipe is part of the exhaust system of a steam locomotive that discharges exhaust steam from the cylinders into the smokebox beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught through the fire.- History :...
, where used steam from the cylinder
Cylinder (steam locomotive)
The cylinders of a steam locomotive are the components that convert the power stored in the steam into motion.Cylinders may be arranged in several different ways.-Early locomotives:...
s discharges into the smokebox
Smokebox
A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a Steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney .To assist...
beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught of the fire. With these innovations, Rocket averaged 12 miles per hour (5.4 m/s) achieving a top speed of 30 miles per hour (13.4 m/s) hauling 13 tons, and was declared the winner of the trials. The Stephensons were accordingly given the contract to produce locomotives for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.
The line opened on September 15, 1830 with termini at Liverpool Road, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(now part of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England, is a large museum devoted to the development of science, technology, and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields...
) and Edge Hill, Liverpool.
See also
- History of rail transportHistory of rail transportThe history of rail transport dates back nearly 500 years and includes systems with man or horse power and rails of wood or stone. Modern rail transport systems first appeared in England in the 1820s...
- British narrow gauge railwaysBritish narrow gauge railwaysThere were more than a thousand British narrow gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways...
- Haytor Granite TramwayHaytor Granite TramwayThe Haytor Granite Tramway was a unique granite-railed tramway running down from Haytor Down, Dartmoor, Devon. The tramway was built in 1820 to carry Haytor granite, which was of fine grain and high quality, down from the heights of Dartmoor for the construction of houses, bridges and other...
- Little Eaton GangwayLittle Eaton GangwayThe Little Eaton Gangway, or, to give it its official title, the Derby Canal Railway, was a narrow gauge industrial wagonway serving the Derby Canal, in England, at Little Eaton in Derbyshire.- The Derby Canal :...