Editing Stephenson's Rocket (section)

=== Conception ===

There have been differences in opinion on who should be given the credit for designing ''Rocket''. [[George Stephenson]] had designed several locomotives before but none as advanced as ''Rocket''. At the time that ''Rocket'' was being designed and built at the Forth Banks Works, he was living in Liverpool overseeing the building of the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]]. His son [[Robert Stephenson|Robert]] had recently returned from a stint working in South America and resumed as managing director of [[Robert Stephenson and Company]]. He was in daily charge of designing and constructing the new locomotive. Although he was in frequent contact with his father in Liverpool and probably received advice from him, it is difficult not to give the majority of the credit for the design to Robert. A third person who may deserve a significant amount of credit is [[Henry Booth]], the treasurer of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. He is believed to have suggested to Robert Stephenson that a multi-tube boiler should be used.<ref name="Burton"/><ref>{{Cite book | title=The Willing Servant | last=Ross  |first=David | publisher=Tempus | year=2004 | isbn=0-7524-2986-8 | pages=32–33 }}</ref>

Stephenson designed ''Rocket'' for the [[Rainhill trials]], and the specific rules of that contest. As the first railway intended for passengers more than freight, the rules emphasised speed and would require reliability, but the weight of the locomotive was also tightly restricted. Six-wheeled locomotives were limited to six tons, four-wheeled locomotives to four and a half tons. In particular, the weight of the train expected to be hauled was to be no more than three times the actual weight of the locomotive. Stephenson realised that whatever the size of previously successful locomotives, this new contest would favour a fast, light locomotive of only moderate hauling power.{{sfnp|Snell|1973|p=59}}