Editing Stephenson's Rocket (section)

== History ==

=== Prior developments ===

''Rocket'' was built at a time of rapid development of steam engine technology. It was based on experience gained from earlier designs by [[George Stephenson|George]] and [[Robert Stephenson]], including the [[Killingworth locomotives|Killingworth locomotive]] ''Blücher'' (1814) ''[[Locomotion No. 1|Locomotion]]'' (1825), and ''[[Lancashire Witch]]'' (1828).

=== Conception ===

There have been differences in opinion on who should be given the credit for designing ''Rocket''. [[George Stephenson]] had designed several locomotives before but none as advanced as ''Rocket''. At the time that ''Rocket'' was being designed and built at the Forth Banks Works, he was living in Liverpool overseeing the building of the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]]. His son [[Robert Stephenson|Robert]] had recently returned from a stint working in South America and resumed as managing director of [[Robert Stephenson and Company]]. He was in daily charge of designing and constructing the new locomotive. Although he was in frequent contact with his father in Liverpool and probably received advice from him, it is difficult not to give the majority of the credit for the design to Robert. A third person who may deserve a significant amount of credit is [[Henry Booth]], the treasurer of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. He is believed to have suggested to Robert Stephenson that a multi-tube boiler should be used.<ref name="Burton"/><ref>{{Cite book | title=The Willing Servant | last=Ross  |first=David | publisher=Tempus | year=2004 | isbn=0-7524-2986-8 | pages=32–33 }}</ref>

Stephenson designed ''Rocket'' for the [[Rainhill trials]], and the specific rules of that contest. As the first railway intended for passengers more than freight, the rules emphasised speed and would require reliability, but the weight of the locomotive was also tightly restricted. Six-wheeled locomotives were limited to six tons, four-wheeled locomotives to four and a half tons. In particular, the weight of the train expected to be hauled was to be no more than three times the actual weight of the locomotive. Stephenson realised that whatever the size of previously successful locomotives, this new contest would favour a fast, light locomotive of only moderate hauling power.{{sfnp|Snell|1973|p=59}}

=== Rainhill trials ===
{{Main|Rainhill trials}}

On 20 April 1829, the board of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway project passed a resolution for a competition to be held to prove their railway could be reliably operated by steam locomotives, there being advice from eminent engineers of the age that stationary engines would be required.{{Sfnp|Ferneyhough|1980|p=44}}  A prize of £500 was offered as an incentive to the winner, with strict conditions a locomotive would need to meet to enter the trial.{{Sfnp|Ferneyhough|1980|p=46}}  Robert Stephenson was able to report to [[Henry Booth]] on 5 September 1829 that ''Rocket''{{efn|Originally ''Rocket'' was known by the Stephensons as the ''Premium Engine''{{Sfnp|Ferneyhough|1980|p=48}}}} had performed initial manufacturer tests with flying colours at [[Killingworth]]. ''Rocket'' was dismantled at [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] and began the long trip to Rainhill: by horse wagon to Carlisle; [[Lighter (barge)|lighter]] to [[Port Carlisle]] then by the [[Cumberland (1826 ship)|''Cumberland'']] steamer to Liverpool for re-assembly on 18 September 1829.{{Sfnp|Ferneyhough|1980|p=49}}{{sfnp|Thomas|1980|p=66}} ''Rocket'' passed the trial requirement of achieving an average speed of {{cvt|10|mph|kph}} over {{convert|70|mi|km}} by over 40 percent.{{Sfnp|Ferneyhough|1980|p=55}} Demonstrations also saw ''Rocket'' consistently and easily haul a carriage with over 20 persons up the Whiston Incline at over {{cvt|15|mph|kph}}, and light engine running of around {{cvt|30|mph|kph}}.{{Sfnp|Ferneyhough|1980|p=55}} No other locomotive at the trials could match anything like Rocket's performance reliably, with partners Booth and Stephensons sharing the £500 winnings and showing that stationary engines were unnecessary, with sceptics such as [[John Urpeth Rastrick|Rastrick]] being convinced.{{Sfnp|Ferneyhough|1980|p=56–57}}

=== Operation ===
[[file:Replica Rocket and coach.jpg|thumb|right|A replica coach and ''Rocket'' at the [[Rocket 150|''Rocket'' 150]] event]]
[[file:Stephenson's Rocket.jpg|thumb|''Rocket'' as preserved in the [[Science Museum, London]].]]
[[file:StephensonRocketScienceMuseumLondonJan2008.jpg|thumb|A closer view]]

The [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|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 [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]]. The day started with a procession of eight trains setting out from Liverpool for Manchester. 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.<ref name="Burton"/>

History between 1830 and 1840 is only vaguely documented. From 1830 to 1834, ''Rocket'' served on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

After service on the L&MR, ''Rocket'' was used between 1836 and 1840 on [[Brampton Railway|Lord Carlisle's Railway]] near Brampton, in Cumberland (now [[Cumbria]]), England.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Webb  |first1=Brian  |author-link1=Brian Webb (railway historian) | last2=Gordon  |first2=David A. | year=1978 | title=Lord Carlisle's Railways | location=Lichfield, Staffordshire | publisher=[[Railway Correspondence and Travel Society|RCTS]] | page=101 | isbn=0-901115-43-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author=Mel Draper | url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ms.draper/FNRM_SoE/Talks_Reports/mr1201.html | title=Engineering and History of Robert Stephenson's Rocket | access-date=16 November 2010 }} {{dead link|date=April 2012}}</ref>

Built as a prototype to win a speed trial, the engine was soon superseded by improved designs, such as Stephenson's [[Northumbrian (locomotive)|''Northumbrian'']] and [[Planet (locomotive)|''Planet'']] designs, both of 1830.

Within a few years, the ''Rocket'' itself had been much modified to be similar to the ''Northumbrian'' class. The [[cylinder (engine)|cylinder]]s were altered to a near-horizontal position, compared to the angled arrangement as new; the firebox capacity was enlarged and the shape simplified; and the locomotive was given a drum [[smokebox]].<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11734/11734-h/11734-h.htm#3 The Project Gutenberg EBook of ''Scientific American'' Supplement, No. 460, 25 October 1884, by Various]</ref> These arrangements can be seen in the engine today.
Such are the changes in the engine from 1829 that ''The Engineer'' magazine, circa 1884, concluded that "it seems to us indisputable that the ''Rocket'' of 1829 and 1830 were totally different engines".<ref>{{cite book | first1=Michael R  |last1=Bailey | first2=John P  |last2=Glithero | title=The Stephensons' Rocket | year=2002 | publisher=National Railway Museum/Science Museum  |location=York | isbn=978-1-900747-49-3 }}</ref>

In 1834, the engine was selected for further (unsuccessful) modifications to test a newly developed rotary steam engine designed by [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] [[Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald|Thomas Cochrane, The 10th Earl of Dundonald]].<ref>Bailey; Glithero (2000: 35–37)</ref> At a cost of nearly £80, ''Rocket''{{'}}s cylinders and driving rods were removed and two of the engines were installed directly on its driving axle with a feedwater pump in between. On 22 October, of that year, an operational trial was held with disappointing results; one witness observing, that "the engine could not be made to draw a train of empty carriages". Due to inherent flaws and engineering difficulties associated with their design, Lord Dundonald's engines were simply too underpowered for the task.<ref>{{cite web | author=Douglas Self | author-link=Douglas Self | url=http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/POWER/rotaryengines/cochrane.htm | title=Cochrane's Rotary Steam Engines.|access-date=14 July 2018 }}</ref>

In April 1837, ''Rocket'' was sold for £300 and began service on the [[Brampton Railway]], a mineral railway in [[Cumberland]] that had recently converted to [[Stephenson gauge]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Brian |last1=Webb |first2=David A. |last2=Gordon |title=Lord Carlisle's Railways |publisher=Railway Correspondence and Travel Society |location=Lichfield |date=1978 |ISBN=0-901115-43-6 |page=101}}</ref> Rocket was acquired to haul mineral trains, but was too light and was laid aside in 1840.<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Joy |title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain |volume=14 |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot |year=1983 |isbn=0-946537-02-X}}</ref> It remained at [[Tindale, Cumbria|Tindale]] until 1862 and its donation to the Patent Office Museum, London.

=== Preservation ===

In 1862, ''Rocket'' was donated to the Patent Office Museum in London (now the [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]])<ref name=RainhillTrials/> by the Thompsons of Milton Hall, near [[Brampton, Carlisle|Brampton]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Liffen |first=John |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=M. J. T. |title=Early Railways 2 |year=2003|publisher=Newcomen Society |location=London |isbn=0-904685-13-6 |pages=202–220|chapter=The Patent Office Museum and the beginnings of railway locomotive preservation}}</ref>

The locomotive still exists, though it has not been operated since becoming a museum exhibit. It was displayed at the [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]] for 150 years, although in a much modified form from its state at the Rainhill Trials. In 2018, it was displayed in Newcastle<ref name=returnToNorth /> and then in Manchester at the [[Science and Industry Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/about-us/press-office/stephensons-rocket-returns-manchester-first-time-180-years |title=Stephenson's Rocket returns to Manchester for first time in 180 years |date=2018-05-23 |access-date=2019-06-16}}</ref> From 2019, it was displayed at the [[National Railway Museum]], York,<ref name=returnToNorth>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/23/our-elgin-marbles-stephensons-rocket-returns-to-north|title='Our Elgin marbles': Stephenson's Rocket returns to north|first=Mark|last=Brown|date=23 July 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=23 July 2018}}</ref><ref name=NRMExhibit>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B06LaAkhEp1/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B06LaAkhEp1 |archive-date=26 December 2021 |url-access=registration|title='Stephenson Rocket at NRM': Stephenson's Rocket to be exhibited at National Railway Museum|first=Mark|last=Brown|date=8 August 2019|website=NRM on Instagram}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and has been exhibited at the [[Locomotion Museum]] in [[Shildon]], County Durham, since 2023.