Stephenson’s Rocket and the Rainhill Trials
Stephenson’s Rocket and the Rainhill Trials

Author: Richard Gibbon

Publisher: Shire Publications

Published: 2010-09-21

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 9780747808039

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The iconic shape of George and Robert Stephenson's Rocket, as unveiled to the world in 1829, is arguably the most enduring silhouette in railway history. But why was Rocket that special, curious, shape? And why does the surviving locomotive, a star exhibit at London's Science Museum, look so unlike the striking yellow image associated with the Rocket today? Rocket was built to take part in The Rainhill Trials, the competition to find a locomotive design to pull trains on the world's first passenger line, the Liverpool and Manchester. The trials caught the public's imagination and its victor, Rocket, became a sensation. It quickly became of symbol of technological progress and was increasingly seen as a milestone in industrial, and world, history. Incorporating several important innovations, the Stephensons' engine set the pattern for future world steam locomotive development for the next 130 years. But would the steam locomotive have developed differently if Rocket had not won the trials? Richard Gibbon addresses all these questions while exploring in words and pictures the machine that became the metaphor for what is seen as Britain's greatest gift to the industrial world: the steam locomotive.

The Rainhill Trials
The Rainhill Trials

Author: Anthony Dawson

Publisher:

Published: 2018-09-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781445669755

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Drawing on contemporary data, and analysis of replica locomotives at the re-enacted Rainhill Trials, Anthony Dawson explores the history of the famous Rainhill Trials between 1828 and 1830.

Locomotives of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Locomotives of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

Author: Anthony Dawson

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2021-05-31

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 1526763990

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The Liverpool & Manchester Railway was Britain’s first mainline, intercity railway; opened in 1830 it was at the cutting edge of railway technology. Engineered by George Stephenson and his team – John Dixon, William Allcard, Joseph Locke – the project faced many obstacles both before and after opening, including local opposition and the choice of motive power, resulting in the Rainhill Trials of 1829. Much of the success of the line can be attributed to the excellence of its engineering but also its fleet of pioneering locomotives built by Robert Stephenson & Co. of Newcastle. This is the story of those locomotives, and the men who worked on them, at a time when the locomotive was still in its infancy. Using extensive archival research, coupled with lessons learned from operating early replica locomotives such as Rocket and Planet, Anthony Dawson explores how the locomotive rapidly developed in response to the demands of the first intercity railway, and some of the technological dead ends along the way.

Stephenson's Rocket Manual
Stephenson's Rocket Manual

Author: Gibbon Richard

Publisher: Haynes Publishing UK

Published: 2016-06-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781785210631

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Stephenson's Rocket is one of the most famous steam locomotives of all time. Designed by Robert Stephenson, with input from this father, George, Rocket set the fundamental design template for almost all the locomotives that followed it. The original locomotive is owned by the National Railway Museum, and is currently on display at the Science Museum in London. Two working replicas of the locomotive have been built. The most advanced steam engine of its time, Rocket was built in 1829 for the Rainhill Trials held by the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (LMR) in order to evaluate locomotive designs and choose the best one for use on this new railway. Five locomotives took part in the trials and Rocket was chosen as the winning design. Published in association with the Science Museum, this manual, illustrated with a wealth of photographs and technical drawings, provides a fascinating insight into the design, construction and operation of Rocket.

The Stephensons' Rocket
The Stephensons' Rocket

Author: Michael Reeves Bailey

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13:

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In 1999, Michael Bailey and John Glithero undertook a major survey of the original Rocket, involving an examination of all its components and detailed research into the documentation relating to its history. This book is based on their findings. It describes Rocket, its main components and the way in which they worked. Setting the locomotive in its historical context, the book emphasises the importance of the father-and-son engineers, George and Robert Stephenson. It also tells of the fame that Rocket achieved in 1829 and its brief career at the very beginning of the railway era.

Great Inventors and Their Inventions
Great Inventors and Their Inventions

Author: Frank Puterbaugh Bachman

Publisher:

Published: 1918

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13:

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Nine remarkable men produced inventions that changed the world. The printing press, the telephone, powered flight, recording and others have made the modern world what it is. But who were the men who had these ideas and made reality of them? As David Angus shows, they were very different quiet, boisterous, confident, withdrawn but all had a moment of vision allied to single-minded determination to battle through numerous prototypes and produced something that really worked. It is a fascinating account for younger listeners.

Nothing Like It In the World
Nothing Like It In the World

Author: Stephen E. Ambrose

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2001-11-06

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 9780743203173

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The story of the men who build the transcontinental railroad in the 1860's.

The Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway

Author: Anthony Dawson

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2020-12-28

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1473899141

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What day-to-day life was like for those who traveled and worked on the world’s first intercity railway in early nineteenth-century England. Much has been written about the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, especially how it came into being and the Rainhill Trials, but very little has been said about what happened after the grand opening on 15 September 1830. Drawing on years of research, and practical experience of working with the replica of Stephenson’s Planet at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry, this book shows how the Liverpool & Manchester Railway worked in its day-to-day operations, including passenger and goods working, timetabling, signaling, and when things went wrong. Chapters describe what it was like to work and travel on the railway, and study the evolution of passenger accommodation and working and safety practices. Finally the book looks at how the Liverpool & Manchester fits into the wider picture, how its operational practices and rules and regulations became the basis of national practices in 1841.