Stephenson Locomotive Rocket, 1829 



Probably the most famous of Robert Stephenson's many 

 locomotives, the Rocket, winner of the Rainhill Trials in 

 October 1829, is represented in the Museum collection by 

 a nonoperable model (figure 63) that, with its tender, is a 

 little less than 1 V2 feet long. The model was transferred to 

 the Museum (USNM 244890) from the U. S. Department 

 of the Interior in 1906. 



The original Rocket, the considerably altered remains of 

 which now appear on exhibition in the Science Museum at 

 South Kensington, was constructed by Stephenson at New- 

 castle-upon-Tyne to compete for the £500 prize offered by 

 the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The Rocket turned 

 out to be the only one of the five competing machines to 

 finish the trials. Its success was especially important because 

 it showed beyond doubt that steam locomotives were suitable 

 for general railway work, and also because they could attain 

 speeds not previously known. Running with a light load, it 

 reached a speed of 29 miles an hour. 



The locomotive weighed 3^4 tons empty and 4'A tons in 

 working order. It had two inclined cylinders of 8-inch bore 



Figure 63. — Model of Stephenson Rocket, 1 829. 



