Stephenson's Rocket

Rocket
A contemporary drawing of Rocket
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderRobert Stephenson and Company
Build date1829
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte0-2-2
 • UICA1 n2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1.435 m)
Trailing dia.2 ft 6 in (0.76 m)
Wheelbase7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Axle load2 long tons 12 cwt 1 qr (5,850 lb or 2.65 t)[1]
Loco weight4 long tons 5 cwt (9,500 lb or 4.3 t)
Fuel typeCoke
Firebox:​
 • Grate area6 sq ft (1 m2)
Boiler
  • 3 ft 4 in (1 m) diameter x
  • 6 ft (2 m) length[2]
x 0.25 in (6 mm) thick[3]
Boiler pressure50 lbf/in2 (340 kPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox1.6 m2 (17 sq ft)[2] x 2 ft (0.61 m) width x 3 ft (0.91 m) height[4]
 • Tubes12.8 m2 (138 sq ft)[2]
 • Tubes and flues25 3 in (76 mm) copper tubes
 • Total surface15.2 m2 (164 sq ft)[2]
CylindersTwo, outside. Angled at 38°[3]
Cylinder size8 in × 16.5 in (203 mm × 419 mm)[5]
Valve gearslip eccentric with manual override
Valve typeflat slide valve with exhaust cavity
Performance figures
Maximum speed30 mph (48 km/h)[6]
Tractive effort825 lbf
Career
Operators
  • Liverpool and Manchester Railway
  • Lord Carlisle's Railway
Current ownerScience Museum
DispositionOn static display

Stephenson's Rocket is an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement. It was built for and won the Rainhill Trials of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), held in October 1829 to show that improved locomotives would be more efficient than stationary steam engines.[7]

Rocket was designed and built by Robert Stephenson in 1829, and built at the Forth Street Works of his company in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Though Rocket was not the first steam locomotive, it was the first to bring together several innovations that produced the most advanced locomotive of its day. It is the most famous example of an evolving design of locomotives by Stephenson, and became the template for most steam engines in the following 150 years.

The locomotive was displayed in the Science Museum in London until 2018, after which it was briefly exhibited at sites around the UK, ultimately at National Railway Museum in York. Since 2023, it has been based at the Locomotion Museum in Shildon.[8]

  1. ^ "Rocket" (PDF). Rainhilltrials.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Engineering Timelines – Rocket, Stephenson's locomotive".
  3. ^ a b Dawson, Anthony. Locomotives of the Victorian Railway: The Early Days of Steam. United Kingdom, Amberley Publishing, 2019.
  4. ^ Smiles, Samuel. The Story of the Life of George Stephenson: Including a Memoir of His Son Robert Stephenson. United Kingdom, John Murray, 1873.
  5. ^ Richard, Gibbon. Stephenson's Rocket Manual: 1829 Onwards. United Kingdom, Haynes Publishing UK, 2016.
  6. ^ "Stephenson's Rocket". The Science Museum Group. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  7. ^ Carlson (1969), pp. 214–215, 219, 223.
  8. ^ "Stephenson's iconic Rocket to be displayed at Locomotion in Shildon | National Railway Museum". 2 March 2023.
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