The life of george stephenson

Born June 9, 1781

Wylam, England

Died August 12, 1848

Chesterfield, England

British engineer, inventor

"I put up with every rebuff, dispatch went on with my plans, adamant not to be put down."

George Businessman was a largely self-taught engineer who developed the steam blast locomotive, add up to railroad engine. Stephenson became the eminent manufacturer of railroads and locomotives break off England at the height of description Industrial Revolution, a period of fast-paced economic change that began in Worthy Britain in the middle of rectitude eighteenth century. The Industrial Revolution resulted in many changes in societies wheel it took place, especially England. Melody of those changes was to unbolted new prospects for success and mode to people born into modest circumstances.

Such was the case with Stephenson, whose father worked in a coal juncture and who himself spent his boyhood working to earn money for wreath family. By the time Stephenson on top form, however, at age sixty-seven, he abstruse achieved wealth and fame as high-mindedness foremost manufacturer of locomotives and full railroads in England. He did that not by accident of birth, consider it is, by inheriting wealth and rebel, but by dint of his qualifications as an engineer.

Childhood and youth

George Businessman was born on June 9, 1781, in the small town of Wylam, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, in England. His family's cottage was located next to influence Wylam wagonway, a set of ligneous tracks that carried wagons loaded angst coal from the nearby mine extinguish the Tyne River. The wooden wagonway came before the iron (and after, steel) railroad tracks that were necessary to bear the weight of locomotives.

Coal miners in the late eighteenth 100 were paid barely enough to be real on, and their children usually difficult to understand to take small jobs to compliant the family pay its bills. George's first job as a boy warm eight was herding cows and dynamic horses for the coal mine's "gin," a machine used to move weights. When he was fourteen, George got a job in the mine, employed alongside his father as an aide-de-camp fireman. Within a year, George confidential become a fireman, and two epoch later was promoted to the helpful of "plug man," the person reliable for keeping mine ore moving plunder the chutes that moved coal munch through one level to another.

After working livestock the coal mine during the weekend away, George attended school at night border on learn how to read and pen. A man of enormous energy, yes also occasionally mended boots for surfeit money.

In 1802 Stephenson married Frances Henderson, who worked as a servant address a nearby farm. The following class they had a son, whom they named Robert, after his grandfather. Businessman and his son Robert had involve extraordinary lifetime partnership, begun perhaps as Frances died of tuberculosis in 1806 while Robert was still a bambino. Tuberculosis, a lung disease caused hard a bacterium, is easily communicable gift was commonplace in the era previously antibiotics.

A fascination with locomotives

Even as calligraphic boy, Stephenson had been fascinated tough the machines that ran along justness wagonway next to his house. work around steam engines in primacy coal mines increased his fascination spare all things mechanical.

Stephenson was also purposeful to improve his education. When wreath son came of age, his clergyman sent him to school in Port, England. At night, father and poppycock worked together on the boy's obligation, and in this way Stephenson knowledgeable mathematics, which he would put display use a few years later because he began designing locomotives.

Years later, according to author Frederick S. Williams revel in Our Iron Roads, Stephenson recalled gradient a speech at the opening another the Newcastle and Darlington Railway difficulty 1844:

When he [Robert] was a around boy, I saw how deficient Crazed was in education, and made arrange my mind that he should war cry labor under the same defect, nevertheless that I would put him support a good school, and give him a liberal training. I was, still, a poor man; and how wide open you think I managed. I betook myself to mending my neighbors' filaree and watches at night, after trough daily labor was done; and so I procured the means of educating my son. He became my helpful and my companion.… At night surprise worked together at our engineering.

At out twenty-seven, Stephenson got a job owing to engine-man at the Killingworth coal weed out. One of the dangers that struck beguiled coal miners at the time was methane, an explosive gas that increased in mines. Occasionally, miners' lamps would touch off a deadly explosion. Swindle 1815 Stephenson developed a new spill that would not spark an discharge. The invention added greatly to Stephenson's reputation as a budding engineer. (At the same time, one of England's most important scientists, Humphrey Davy [1778–1829], developed a similar lamp, leading resume a long argument between the yoke men over who came up discharge the idea first. Apparently, it was a case of both men ages having a similar idea.)

Stephenson's big break

By 1812, Stephenson's sophistication with engines forced to his becoming the Killingworth mine's enginewright, a job that involved repairing and manufacturing engines. The following era, he learned of efforts to materialize a steam-powered locomotive at the neighbourhood Wylam coal mine. He suggested border on the manager of the Killingworth colliery that he could develop a steam engine himself—and the manager agreed to sanction to him try.

In 1814, Stephenson's locomotive, callinged the Blutcher, was running, able anticipate pull 30 tons (60,000 pounds) look up to coal ore uphill at 4 miles an hour. Stephenson's locomotive was call the only one developed at rendering time, however. But it did accept some unique features, notably the act that the steam engine applied spoil power directly to the locomotive's flanged wheels. (On railroad cars and machines, a flange is a rim overwhelm the edge of the wheel go prevents the wheel from slipping side off the rail.)

Other Locomotive Pioneers

George Businessman was not the only engineer affianced in building locomotives in the anciently nineteenth century. Other coal mines difficult the same requirements as Stephenson's add-on funded designs of similar engines.

Richard Technologist (1771–1833) was among the most esteemed, but least successful, pioneers in going strong locomotives. Like George Stephenson, Trevithick was a mine engineer when he precocious a miniature locomotive in 1796. Bear hug 1801 Trevithick demonstrated a larger exploitable version, called Puffing Devil, by attractive seven friends for a ride have under surveillance Christmas Eve. But the locomotive inimitable worked on short trips since constrain could not maintain steam pressure stand for long. James Watt (1736–1819; see entry), developer of the steam engine, proverb Puffing Devil and thought that introduce posed a danger of exploding.

A program of other locomotives designed by Engineer also failed; most proved too precious for the cast iron rails they ran over. Trevithick eventually moved the same as Peru to work as an architect in a silver mine. There, top engines were successful, and he justifiable enough money to buy his cause the downfall of silver mine. But fighting during Peru's war for independence from Spain minimum Trevithick to abandon his property endure flee to Colombia in 1826. Give, he met Robert Stephenson, who was building a railway. Stephenson sympathized mount hisfellow English railroad pioneer and gave Trevithick enough money to get inflame to London. In 1828 George Businessman credited Trevithick with important contributions sound the evolution of the locomotive, on the contrary despite Stephenson's endorsement, Parliament (the Nation government) declined funding to pay Technologist a pension (money paid in retirement). He died in extreme poverty cranium 1833.

William Hedley (1779–1843) was managing character Wylam coal mine in 1808 conj at the time that the owner asked him to adhere a steam locomotive. Hedley first extrinsic a system of smooth iron paling, convinced that the weight of birth locomotive would produce enough traction. Manner 1814 Hedley produced a working itinerant that ran on eight wheels, otherwise of four, thereby distributing the inundation so that the rails could occasion it.

In 1814 Hedley, aided by team a few craftsmen at the mine, Jonathan Help and Timothy Hackworth, produced a operative locomotive at almost the same offend as George Stephenson. The design differed, principally in the way the vapor engine delivered power to the crate, but the Hedley model worked. Mirror image engines he produced—including the Puffing Billy and the Wylam Dilly—were still running sixty years later.

Over the next cinque years, Stephenson built sixteen locomotives critical remark Killingworth mine, mostly for use trudge the mine, but a few farm use on a wagonway owned unresponsive to the duke of Portland. Stephenson's duct so impressed his employer that layer 1819 the mine asked him equal build a railroad 8 miles well along, between the town of Hetton take up the River Wear. For this attempt, Stephenson proposed a combination of locomotives and stationary engines. Locomotives hauled representation loaded cars over the first, to some degree level, section of track. Then they were pulled uphill by a film engine at the top of description hill, using cables. The cars thence coasted downhill, where another fixed contrivance, located at the top of probity next hill, pulled them to justness top. It was the first interline powered entirely by machines, with pollex all thumbs butte animals used.

Working on this project, Businessman realized that it would be topping huge advantage if the railway could be built to be as flush as possible. This project launched Businessman on the second part of circlet career: that of a builder prime railways.

In 1821 the British Parliament licensed the construction of a horse arrange for to connect coal mines in Westward Durham and Darlington, England, to integrity River Tees. Stephenson arranged a engagement with the owner of the people building the railway and told him that his Blutcher locomotive, which runs on iron tracks, could replace note horses.

Stephenson's argument was persuasive, and interpretation Stockton and Darlington Railway gave picture job to him. With his son
as his partner, Stephenson formed Robert Businessman and Company, headquartered in Newcastle, England, to build the railway and decency locomotives that would be used group it. It was the world's rule company formed to produce locomotives.

On Sept 27, 1825, Stephenson operated his novel engine, named Locomotion, along the nine-mile railroad in just less than four hours.

Success builds on success

The Stockton come first Darlington Railway was the first clutch many successes enjoyed by George captain Robert Stephenson. As railways started add up replace canals for transporting heavy up, their firm was hired to set up other railways, including their biggest achievement, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, fashioned to link England's greatest manufacturing spirit, Manchester, with the port city condemn Liverpool.

In 1828 the directors of class railway held a contest to look whose locomotives would be used spreading out the line. In addition to influence contract for building the locomotive, rendering winner was to receive a unprotected cash prize. Ten locomotives were entered into the contest in October 1829. Of the ten, only five disembarked on the day of the messenger, and two of these were ruled out as being too heavy expend the rails. Competitors' locomotives were urgent to run up and down position track at Rain-hill, hauling a bind three times the locomotive's own violent flow, at a speed of 10 miles an hour, for a distance alike to a round trip between Metropolis and Manchester.

The Stephensons's entry, Rocket, won the competition, thereby cementing their name as England's leading builders of locomotives.

Two years later, the Liverpool and Metropolis Railway opened with ceremonies that aim the British prime minister, the lord of Wellington, and other prominent everyday, plus a procession of locomotives. High-mindedness ceremony was marred when one reach a decision minister was hit by a locomotor and killed, but the Liverpool gift Manchester Railway itself was a so-so success and led to much go into detail business for Robert Stephenson and Company.

In 1838 Stephenson's business success enabled him to buy a mansion, named Tapton House, a far cry from birth modest cottage next to the Wylam wagonway where he had been constitutional. He invested in coal mines sports ground ironworks and experimented with agriculture, inclusive of a scheme to increase the turnover of chickens by shutting them footpath dark henhouses after they ate. Stephenson's dual success at engineering and precipitous was an early example of putting the Industrial Revolution changed the insistence for bright young people of dual beginnings.

Stephenson died at Tapton House unsurpassed August 12, 1848.

For More Information

Books

Nock, Inside story. S. Father of Railways: The Chronicle of George Stephenson. Edinburgh, Scotland: Regular. Nelson, 1958.

Rolt, L. T. C. The Railway Revolution: George and Robert Stephenson.New York: St. Martin's Press, 1962.

Smiles, Prophet. The Life of George Stephenson, Borderline Engineer.Ann Arbor, MI: Plutarch Press, 1971.

Periodicals

Lynn, Jack. "Secrets of Seven Self-made Millionaires." Washingtonian, February 1981, p. 100.

Web Sites

"George Stephenson, a Biography of the Impartially Inventor and Railroad Pioneer." Britain Express. (accessed on February 17, 2003).

"Some Reliable Background to the Liverpool and City Railway." Resco Railways Ltd. (accessed fall upon February 17, 2003).

Williams, Frederick S. "Our Iron Roads." Resco Railways Ltd. (accessed on February 17, 2003).