Editing Stephenson's Rocket (section)

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Built as a prototype to win a speed trial, the engine was soon superseded by improved designs, such as Stephenson's [[Northumbrian (locomotive)|''Northumbrian'']] and [[Planet (locomotive)|''Planet'']] designs, both of 1830.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