Legends 73....Stephenson's Rocket by debbielove
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Description
Greetings Folks,
This is THE Rocket.. Preserved by some miracle in London's Science Museum it sits here as the very first example of a fully working Steam Engine..
Stephenson's Rocket was an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, designed by Robert Stephenson in 1829. It was built for and won the Rainhill Trials held by the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1829 to choose the best design to power the railway.
Though the Rocket was not the first steam locomotive, it was the first to bring together several innovations to produce the most advanced locomotive of its day.
It was built at the Forth Street Works of Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most famous example of an evolving design of locomotives by Stephenson that became the template for most steam engines in the following 150 years..
The first Locomotive was 'Blucher' but was very basic and did not put anything.. This was in 1814..
Locomotion No 1 ran in 1825, it IS preserved still at the Darlington Rail Centre and Museum, U.K. Again it was a one unit basic engine..
Rocket was a fully working engine and tender it puled carriages..
Top speed was 28 mph and it served on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.. It had an accident on its very first day!
The opening ceremony of the L&MR, on 15 September 1830, was a considerable event, drawing luminaries from the government and industry, including the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington. The day started with a procession of eight trains setting out from Liverpool. The event took place at Newton-Le-Willows in Merseyside. The parade was led by Northumbrian driven by George Stephenson, and included Phoenix driven by his son Robert, North Star driven by his brother Robert Sr. and Rocket driven by assistant engineer Joseph Locke. The day was marred by the death of William Huskisson, the Member of Parliament for Liverpool, who was struck and killed by Rocket at Parkside.
I've tried to bring the photo out as much as I can, this is very old, dark wood and sooty as hell lol
Enjoy
Rob
Comments (12)
ysvry
great foto and story thx for sharing.
rangeriderrichard
Very cool engine, great shot!
neiwil
Now that's a LEGEND and a very cool photo....I remember as a small child this used to be in the Transport Gallery of Liverpool Museum.. Huskissons fate is well known, the first widely reported railway death..The aftermath was interesting too...The Duke of Wellington felt that the remainder of the day's events should be cancelled following the accident at Parkside, and proposed to return to Liverpool. However, a large crowd had gathered in Manchester to see the trains arrive, and was beginning to become unruly. Wellington was persuaded to continue to Manchester. By the time the trains reached the outskirts of Manchester the crowd had become hostile and was spilling onto the tracks. With local authorities unable to clear the tracks, the trains were obliged to drive at low speed into the crowd, using their own momentum to push people out of the way.....with several casualties from deliberate 'ramming', another first, not a great start to the story of rail travel :-)
miwi
Cool shot,klasse info!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bebopdlx
Outstanding info and photo.
jayfar
The photo is fine and the info is great Rob.
Buffalo1
I'm glad someone had the presence of mind to save this important bit of history. I've seen the replica at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, but I'm glad oyu posted the real thing and gave us a wonderful history.
flavia49
great capture
blinkings
I'll be soot too at that age! He had Bright's Disease if memory serves me correct.
goodoleboy
Cool capture of the Rocket, although one never intended to go into orbit or be used in warfare. Stephenson must have had delusions of glory with that name. I had known about this speed burner, so I knew what to expect by the title. Looks like it has been salvaged out of tar pit.
Faemike55
Fabulous capture and cool stories again, this isn't something I learned at school
RodS
A fantastic shot of this wonderful old piece of history, Rob! The information you include really adds to the photo as well. This is a real beauty, soot and all.