| Stephenson
designed his first locomotive in 1814, a travelling engine designed
for hauling coal on a coal site. Named Blucher, it could haul 30
tons of coal in a load, and was the first successful flanged wheel
adhesion locomotive (which is to say, it was the first locomotive
to use flanged wheels to rest on the track, and that its traction
depended only on the contact between the wheel and the track). Over
the next five years, he built sixteen more engines.
As his success grew, Stephenson was hired to build an 8 mile (13
km) railway from Hetton to Sunderland. The finished result used
a combination of gravity pulling the load down inclines and locomotives
for level and upward stretches, and was the first ever railway to
use no animal power at all.
In 1821, a project began to build the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Originally the plan was to use horses to draw coal carts over metal
rails, but after company director Edward Pease met with Stephenson
he agreed to change plans. Work began in 1822, and in September
1825, Stephenson completed the first locomotive for the new railroad;
named at first Active, it was soon renamed Locomotion. The Stockton
and Darlington opened on 27 September 1825. Driven by Stephenson,
Locomotion hauled an 80 ton load of coal and flour for nine miles
(15 km) over two hours, reaching a speed of 24 miles per hour (39
km/h) over one stretch. The first purpose-built passenger car (dubbed
Experiment) was also attached, and held a load of dignitaries for
the opening journey. It was the first time passenger traffic had
ever been run on a steam-driven locomotive railway.
While building the S&D railway, Stephenson had noticed that
even small inclines greatly reduced the speed of his locomotives.
One might add that even slight declines would have made the primitive
brakes next to useless. He came to the conclusion that railways
should be kept as level as possible. He used this knowledge while
working on the Bolton and Leigh Railroad and the Liverpool and Manchester
Railway, executing a series of difficult cuts, embankments, and
stone viaducts to smooth the route the railways took.
As the Liverpool & Manchester approached completion in 1829,
the directors of that company arranged for a competition to decide
who would build the locomotives for the new railway. The Rainhill
Trials were run in October of that year. Stephenson's entry was
Rocket, and its impressive performance in winning the contest made
it arguably the most famous machine in the world.
When the L&MR opened on 15 September 1830, the opening ceremony
was a considerable event, drawing luminaries from the government
and industry, including the then Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington.
The day was marred by the death of William Huskisson (Member of
Parliament for Liverpool) who was struck and killed by Rocket, but
the railroad was a resounding success. Stephenson became a very
famous man, and was offered the position of chief engineer for a
wide variety of other railroads.
Rich and successful for the remainder of his career, George Stephenson
passed away on 12 August 1848 in Chesterfield, England.
Stephenson's son, Robert Stephenson, was also a noted locomotive
engineer, and was heavily involved in the creation of many of his
father's engines from Locomotion onwards. Joseph Locke was initially
apprenticed to George Stephenson, eventually being promoted to chief
engineer on some of the schemes he instigated (e.g. the Grand Junction
Railway).
Stephenson gives his name to George Stephenson College, founded
in 2001 on the University of Durham's Queen's Campus in Stockton-on-Tees.
|
