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Top 10 Astonishing Facts about George Stephenson

George Stephenson By Original uploader was Jan Arkesteijn

George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer renowned for his contributions to railway transport. Stephenson was considered by many as the father of railways.

We have George to thank every time we embark on a journey via rails. The standard gauging between rails has been the works of this great man.  Here are 10 astonishing facts about the father of steam locomotives, George Stephenson.

1. He played a key role in the development and building of Britain’s Railways

Statue of George Stephenson outside Chesterfield Railway station By Phil Sangwell – 

George Stephenson’s most famous invention was the locomotive engine called the ‘Rocket’, during the Industrial Revolution, which would revolutionize the way people could travel on the railways and would put Britain as a world leader in terms of developing train travel for decades to follow

2. George Stephenson started working at a young age

Stephenson was born on 9^th June 1781 into poverty. He was the son of Robert Stephenson, a mechanic who worked at the Newcastle mine. Robert operated a Newcomen atmospheric-steam engine that was used to pump out coal. George was one of 6 children and lived in Wylam, Northumberland with no formal education.

At the age of 10, George started working in the coal mines like his father to make ends meet. He then became an assistant fireman when he was 14 years old. By 19, he worked on the winding machine, which pulls the cages of miners up from the pit face back to the surface.

3. He lost his wife and his newborn daughter

George enrolled himself in night school and learned to read and write. In 1802, a year after he went to Scotland to study engines, he married Frances Henderson. They had a son together called Robert and George learned to repair shoes, fix clocks, and cut clothes for miners’ wives to earn extra income.

It is through the odd jobs that he met his friend Sir William Fairbairn. Four years later, Frances died from tuberculosis not long after having given birth to a daughter, who died shortly after leaving him and Robert.

4. George learned mathematics with his son

Robert Stephenson By Maull &amp –

After the passing of his wife, George sent Robert to a Newcastle school to learn mathematics. When Robert got home from school, George and Robert would go over the homework and learn together.  Due to financial constraints, however, Stephenson left his son with his parents in search of work in Scotland. He came back after his father endured an accident in the coal mines and looked for work locally.

Stephenson mended a broken pump engine at the mine, his expertise led to him being promoted to charge of all the mining equipment. This marked the beginning of his reputation as an expert on steam engines.

5. ‘Blucher’ was George’s first locomotive

George persuaded backers from the local area to support his plan for a locomotive engine which he then called ‘Blucher’ after Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. George built the engine in 1814 as the first of a series of locomotives that he designed.

This established his reputation as an engine designer. The Blutcher could pull a train of 30 long tons at a speed of 4 miles per hour up a gradient of 1 in 450. This Blucher was able to travel 4 miles per hour while pulling a load of 30 tons.

Stephenson measured its performance and realized that it saved little money overall compared to horses. He made one significant improvement by redirecting the steam outlet thereby increasing the efficiency of the boiler. Blücher’s performance was described in the second 1814 volume of the Annals of Philosophy as a success.

6. George Stephenson built Rocket with his son

Stephenson’s Rocket drawing Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons

This locomotive engine ‘Billy’ was very vital as the blueprint of Rocket. In 1816, Billy traveled on the Springwell and Jarrow line and carried coal to Newcastle. Seven years later, George opened his first locomotive factory in Newcastle after growing fame and success.

Rocket was designed by Robert Stephenson in 1829 and built at the Forth Street Works of the father-son company in Newcastle upon Tyne. Rocket was the first to bring together several innovations to produce the most advanced locomotive of its day.

It was initially designed for the Rainhill Trials and followed the specific rules of that contest. As the first railway was intended for passengers more than freight, the rules emphasized speed and would require reliability. Stephenson’s made the ingenious decision to use a single pair of driving wheels, with a small carrying axle behind

7. Stephenson built the first steam locomotive for passengers

the locomotive built by Robert Stephenson By uncredited  –

George and his son Robert launched their company named Locomotion No. 1 in 1823. Two years later, in 1825 the duo had built the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

Moreover, George built the first public inter-city railway line in the world to use locomotives. It was called the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830.

This was an incredible achievement at the time as it carried 450 passengers while traveling at a speed of 15 miles per hour. In addition, it was the first engine to carry passengers instead of cargo. The cost to build the locomotion was 500. In this same year, 1825, the world’s first passenger railway line, which is 26 miles long and runs between Stockton and Darlington.

8. George Stephenson’s Rocket won first place at a National Railway board competition.

The Rocket was entered for the Rainhill trials in 1829, which were tests to find the best model of a locomotive to carry passengers on the future Liverpool to Manchester railway. Rocket was the only locomotive to complete the trials, with an average of 12 mph. This meant a top speed of 30 mph which was deemed to be the fastest locomotive of its time. Through Robert’s ingenious invention, he proved that locomotives were better at pulling trains rather than stationary winding engines.

9. He won a prize of 500 euros for the Rocket’s performance.

During the Rainhill trials, the Rocket completed its trial runs at an average speed of 15 miles per hour, then reached an astounding 30 miles per hour. It beat four other entrants on the criteria of weight, speed, power, and reliability. It has become a proud symbol of Britain’s industrial heritage ever since.

10. Stephenson died at 67 years of age

On 12 August 1848, George finally passed on after succumbing to pleurisy, a disease that impairs the lubricating function of the pleurae and causes pain when breathing. Presumably, his son Robert took over as he had worked with his father as a railway engineer, at his company, Robert Stephenson and Company.

George’s legacy continues through his inventions that have been the foundations of modern-day railways.